The Afternoon

How we started our afternoon journey

To find this a few miles away

"Grandma"

With a few weeks left in Santa Cruz (yet again...have we not been here before about 3 times?), I made a commitment to doing one new thing that we have not done before during the weekends.

Today, it was to try a new beach that we had not been to before: Gazos Creek was the pick of choice. We drive by it all the time, to get our favorite that is Bean Hollow. And each time we pass by Gazos Creek, I would ask the kids if we could try this one out. "NO!" would be the answer. Everytime.

Well, not today. I had a mission that needed to be accomplished.

We left sunny Santa Cruz, to a cold and foggy coastline. The cold wind blew, making the wind-surfers particularly happy. But us? On a new windy beach? Not too happy. We lasted 30 minutes before calling it quits.

There were strawberries to be picked!

And some sun to be had!

So much for trying to do something new. But you know, we would not have known: to never go to a beach where the wind-surfers thrive. Now I have to think about what the new thing will be for next weekend...

Before I go, can I just tell you what a cool group of pickers we had at Swanton Farm? It was possibly one of the most diverse group of pickers in Santa Cruz county. There were Asian families and Indian families... The grandma in the picture above was my favorite. She was picking, eating, all the while collecting strawberries in her sari. She was also conversing with her family members in fast, fluent (I am assuming) Hindi. It was awesome to watch. Claire kept asking me why I was so interested. "This scene makes me happy... I can't really tell you why, but I am digging the grandma!"

Reporter

Claire and I had the morning together. She wanted to write a report on something (because that is a budding reporter does, right?). We decided on Alan Chadwick garden since it is near by, and there is always something interestingly fun there.

We learned from some farm apprentices we met there that there is a red shoulder hawk in residence at the garden. And that the other day, the hawk had a snake in its mouth with two crows trying to get it away. That's news!

We also learned that the garden has some issues with gophers (most gardeners here have the same problem, unfortunately). And that they have a nifty device to catch these little pests.

We noted that the apple and plum blossoms were gone, only to be replaced by baby apples and plums. And that the citruses were in full bloom. One of our favorite fragrances ever!

That is the report for today, from Claire Yoon MacDonald.

Little things

An old typewriter, a thrift store find

Mung Bean plants sprouted from seeds

Lamp by our artist named Momo

A little corner of our daughter's

Roses from a friend's garden

This desk, its color and history, makes me happy

"Tim", the Venus Fly Trap

Sometimes it's the little things that make us happy. When life gets big and confusing, and the world at large seems violent and out of control (witness Thailand), I try to focus on the little things in my life, in my little family, that put a smile on my face.

Around our house, these are the treasures that make me happy:

An old typewriter found at a thrift store. It makes me happy to show the children how important this apparatus used to be. Especially in my life, the tap-tap sound of typewriters brings back memories of Sunday afternoons visiting my father at his work; the hubbub of the newsroom and the smell of ink in the air. Claire claims that she wants to be a reporter...how ironic would that be? And that old school desk! I had to get it when I 'found' it on craigslist. It just goes perfectly with the typewriter! Not to mention it will be the perfect spot for homework and things. Now I just need to find one more...

The Mung bean plants that the kids and I grew together from the mung beans. Again, it was a rather selfish project. Every Thai child (well at least when I was growing up) had to grow mung beans during their school years. Some were grown in the dark, some in the sunlight, some became beansprouts to eat. Another wonderful childhood memory that I need to instill in my own children.

Roses from a friend. If you have been reading this blog long enough, you will know that I have a special fondness for flowers. Especially flowers freely given and found. I love them.

Tim, our Venus Fly Trap. After visiting La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, we adopted Tim, and he has been a pretty happy camper catching flies around the house. A carnivorous plant that needs to eat 3-4 insects a year. How can one not like that?

Lamps made by the children's artistic talents. Thanks to friends who gave us the idea and to yard sales and thrift stores for providing materials, we made these awesome lamps the other day that are both useful and fun. Brightness equals happiness.

Wherever you are, I hope you can find little things that bring a smile to your face today.

Memories with the Pie Plant

I sometimes wonder what I like more: the rhubarb itself, or the idea of the rhubarb, or the memories I have that come with the rhubarb.

I did not grow up with rhubarb, not at all. Thailand is too warm and humid for this seasonal plant. I am not sure when I was introduced to it exactly. I know it was sometime during my life in New England.

I remember visiting Jim in Maine (where I later lived) at an old farm house where a huge rhubarb plant thrived in the dark, nutrient rich soil. We would make rhubarb crisps out of it. I was hooked.

While studying Chinese herbs, it was introduced to me that rhubarb root is a very important Chinese herb, Da Huang, it's called in Chinese. It's a potent purgative, used for many ailments from serious constipation to serious febrile diseases. Every time we learned about Da Huang, though, my mind would go back to the farm house in Maine, and the delicious Spring time rhubarb crisps, and other Maine memories.

Then there was Blue Heron Organic farm, my friend Ellery's farm in Lincoln, Massachusetts. We spent a huge amount of time on the farm during our sojourn in the Boston area. One of the first things that came up in the Spring on the farm was the rhubarb plants, with its rather ugly-looking buds poking from the ground. Once the stalks were big enough, I would help Ellery harvest and bundle them for the farm-stand. I remember coming home one day with one of the bunches ourselves. I had moved beyond the crisps by that point. Strawberry-Rhubarb pies became our family new favorite dessert.

Most recently, while living in New Zealand, the house we rented had its own rhubarb plants! I was delighted to have an easy access to this coveted (at least for me) ingredient.

For several reasons, those New Zealand rhubarb stalks did not turn into pies or crisps (too cold? too English?). Instead, I turned them into rhubarb compote, simply by chopping them up, adding sugar to the heated pot and watching it soften and transform into the sweet and sour stew.

I loved eating the compote with some creamy Greek yogurt (NZ did that well). In fact, I would have it everyday at about 10am. It became part of my routine.

So, you see, the Pie Plant is full of memories for me. It brings me back to different times of my life: Maine, Massachusetts, and New Zealand. When the lady at the market asked me the other day what I was planning to do with a big bunch of rhubarb, I could not really give her a good answer. It was like saying hi to an old friend, really. But I was not going to tell her that... Luckily, it's a tasty kind of friend.

A Quiet Moment

Amidst our busy days (in a small house), I treasure seeing these moments...

O-H-I-O

If you had asked me if Ohio was ever going to be on my list of places to live, I would have given you a quick "No!". With the exclamation mark and all.

Well, there is a saying, isn't there: never say never.

This is my second visit to this Buckeye State where people take their sports (very) seriously, the locals are proud of their heritage, and the notorious midwestern hospitality lives strong.

I am also finding that it can be livable, even when the closest coastline is a thousand miles away (with the great lakes a bit closer). There are some lovely neighborhoods with character, and charm, and good schools. I think I even spotted a natural food store in a street corner somewhere along my outing today.

There is a reason we are not in New Zealand anymore. Professional opportunity has led us this way, and I think we would be silly not to give it a go.

Still early in the game, but we are finding our way through this maze called life. I will keep you posted!

Springtime at the farm

One of my favorite places to go with the kids. It's in full bloom right now. If I were a painter, I would bring up my brushes and canvases and spend a late afternoon capturing the beauty of springtime.

When life gives you lemons and horses. (in L.A.!)

Amazing how much one can do in Los Angeles in 48 hours. And that includes sleeping and driving to and from. Just 6 hours south of where we live, L.A. is in a completely different climate zone. It felt like Thailand (in the winter), actually, with hot sunny days and delicious Thai food everywhere you go.

Thanks to Case and Maude, we had a wonderful time eating, riding Rayo, squeezing lemons, and finding duck eggs -- all in the city of angels.

Egg-time

No Easter Bunny around our house (still not really sure what that is, but I don't think I want to really go there), although we do like to color some eggs since it's the thing to do around this time of year. Plus, it actually is rather fun to see the transformation of an ordinary egg into something a little extraordinary.

And oh, can I just say how wonderful it is that our children can read now? Not only can they read to themselves, they can also read to each other! Splendid.

We still like to read to them, though, so we won't let that go for hopefully a long time yet.

As though we never left...

It's been just over a week of being back in California. We left early fall in New Zealand, to be in early Spring in the States. How lucky are we?

We are also very lucky to come back to the generosity and warmth of friends and neighbors, of beautiful weather, and nature all around.

With fondness, we look back at our experiences in New Zealand: the people we met, the beautiful landscapes we explored, the culture that is just a little different than our norm. We will take all the lessons learned, and hopefully use them in our next chapter of adventures yet to come.

Images above were taken today at Greyhound Rock Beach - the site of our wedding ceremony almost eight years ago now!

Lay Over

If you had to wait 7 hours at the Auckland airport for your next flight, this was not such a bad place to hang for a few hours.

Out of his generosity, Jeff Masson invited us to his home, on the beach just outside of Auckland. The day was warm (almost sub-tropical compared to what we had left in Dunedin), and the water was calm.

We enjoyed lively conversations, a delicious lunch, and the beach thanks to Jeff.

Well fed, and well rested, we hopped on the direct flight from Auckland, to San Francisco.

And our adventures continue, on the other side of the Pacific ocean.

St. Paddy's Day

Celebrated St. Patrick's Day (in honor of my mother-in-law since I have NO Irish-anything in me), with style in Dunedin...well, actually Port Chalmers, but very close to Dunedin. Many people in green, clanging pints of Guinness all around!

Almost...

Our time in the land of the penguins is coming to a close. It was meant to be a longer adventure, but we decided that we have had enough of this adventure, for a variety of reasons. And so, my friends, we will be going back to the so called 'land of opportunities'.

Until then, remember to enjoy each day to its fullest!