Archive for the “Rich” Category…the parents will play! After a slow morning with coffee and pups in bed, we went to lunch @ Gordon Beirch. Yumm O! Then to a winery in VA this afternoon. Casanel. It was so relaxing. The breeze on the patio. The guitar duet. The Cabernet. We played a few hands of Rummy–Rich claimed “how do you play?” and then totally creamed me! We enjoyed the early evening there before driving home for a walk with the dogs and grilled portebello mushrooms! My tummy is happy! I seem to remember that around this time last year I had no posts… Summer is a strange time for me. My dear friend reminded me that she checks in to see what I have posted and there has been nothing new. This does NOT mean there is nothing new in my corner of the world! I will link all of these bullets to the dates that I took the pix. When the print is color instead of black, the link is done. I will try to crank them out for you! Click on the link if you want to see or read more. A few bullets: The end of the school year brought many activities. James’ soccer team finished their season–champions! Kate had her instrumental music concert. They both were recognized for achievements in school at an assembly. I started a shop for my creativity. It’s called Simple and Green. I hope to have new things to post there soon too. Crafting can take a lot of time… but I love it! Rich went on tour with Joyful Noise through PA and OH. He got to see the music hall of fame–the highlight of the trip for him. Followed by the “homecoming concert” that finished this year of “noise”. James and Kate went to R-Camp for a week. They always have a fantastic time making new friends and seeing old ones, learning some independence and growing in spiritual principles. Coco is growing. Fast. Her personality is strong. She is vocal about everything. She is “on” and going non-stop, or “off” and sleeping deeply. We wonder about her lineage. Many comment that she looks like Akita. We were told Sheltie mix… We’ll see. The 4th of July found us at a friend’s annual bash. Pool. Drinks. Food. Fireworks. Fun. Snow. That’s all that anyone is talking about. We had a blizzard. We got around 30 inches of snow. The good news is that it was forecast correctly. Starting mid/late Friday morning and snowing until late Saturday. Friday morning I went to the store. The produce section was barren. There were no eggs. The shelves looked ransacked by crazy people… The school system decided to open on time, but to close early. The kids came home as the snow fell hard. It snowed constantly. Friday. Saturday. We were among the lucky few who did not loose power. Many of our neighbors and friends were without power all weekend. The temps were only in the 20s! I am so grateful! Sunday true to it’s name= SUN. Digging out began. The kids have created a constant stream of wet snow clothes to keep the drier and I working overtime! Rich took the kids on a two mile hike to the middle school for sledding. (Backpack with provisions) They met friends (who were able to drive) and got a lift home–well–to the top of the hill a couple of blocks from home! On our street…No plow has come by. Still. It’s Monday night! Cars and trucks are getting stuck in front of our house. Rich has helped push many free. School is closed, but they have only committed to being so thru tomorrow! AND we are forecast for 10-20 MORE inches Tuesday night! So… I have been working a 1000 piece puzzle in between meeting all the needs. Food. Clothes. Dishes. Clothes. Shoveling. Clothes. Do I get paid time and a half for all the overtime?!! (the pix have letters in front of them because of my sort filter–and I don’t even think it worked!) We live in an area where there are not only panhandlers on the corners of most busy intersections, but also “mobile florists”. Guys holding about a dozen bunches of roses in various colors strolling up and down the median while you wait for the light to change. Coming home from a usual weekly appointment, at a light that last week contained a familiar woman with a “please help” sign, a man holds his arms toward my sweet hubby’s car. We are in two cars since he meets me at the appointment. I am waiting behind him in line. I expect to have to shake my head “no” to the flower man as he moves on, but to my surprise, I see hubby put down his window! He hands the bills to the man who looks at me and back at him. He walks to me smiling. I put my window down to “pick one”… What a romantic surprise!
We got to do a little more sight-seeing. We had breakfast at this diner. We were the only one’s there because we’d been wandering around looking for a certain coffee shop that, even tho we asked many people, we never found! So we were very happy to land here:
We then when over the mountains –stopping to make a call in to work, and take some pix–and through the woods to see the Redwood trees. Wow. Amazing. Fabulous. Incredible. The adjectives failed us. God is amazing! I felt so small. On the other side of the ridge, we arrived at the ocean once again. This time in Santa Cruz. We had lunch on the pier with the pelicans! (the picture is not cropped or zoomed, just right out the window from our table!)
We did some shopping and then headed back to San Jose. It was fun trying to see how far the Prius could go on just one tank of gas, and we weren’t done yet! We drove up to Napa Valley. It was so beautiful. We had tasting and lunch at V. Sattui where I had been with Kirsy before. The tasting was fun. We bought a Medeira which is a type of port. As we were going back south, we were following a slow car into a winery. When we got out of the car, we could hear the air flowing out of the tire! Rich volunteered to help. Turns out the driver was on his way to a Dr. consultation about having knee replacement surgery and would have missed the appointment if he’d had to wait for a tow truck. They were so grateful and couldn’t believe Rich offered to help. The lady and her two friends insisted I join them for tasting. She is a member there and treated us not only to the tasting but also to a bottle of Cabernet! Good wine, Good scenery, and Good deeds. We did some of the famous things–with me as the tour-guide. Obviously after one visit almost 2 yrs ago, I am an expert! Ghiradelle Square was very nice. We had an ice cream, bought some chocolate, listened to live music, and had the first California wine tasting. Nice way to start the trip! Rich really wanted his picture under the Haight Ashbury sign… ahh musicians. We drove down the crookedest road. Rich even video taped that one. And we had a “smoochie scene” as the sun set over the ocean horizon. Our next door neighbor is in a band called House of Echo. They are becoming fast recognized in the DC music scene. (click the link and take a listen) They asked if Rich could join them for this concert “Rock 4 Jesus” that was raising $ for kids in Guatemala. It was rockin’! My pix are many. Most are edited since my camera bag was mysteriously missing the footing for my tripod! ARGH!
Today marks the end of the 3rd week of school. What I want to know is how is it that these 3 wks. are gone so fast and those last 3 wks. of summer were so torturous and slow?!!! I know that it’s all my perspective…
I have been enjoying the time,
but not entirely. In these 3 weeks, three out of five of us have been sick. Yep. School gompus has infiltrated our home! James started it and graciously shared with me. I lost my voice for a couple of days… now Kate is home from school!
I have been busy too. Both schools had “Back to School Night” where I got to meet the teachers. The Elementary School is familiar. I had 3 teachers to meet. There were three segments. Perfect. The Middle School format is nuts. The mission, should you choose to be a good parent, is to grab a map and a schedule from your kid and report to first period at the sound of the bell. (I was late) Then, every 6 minutes, after the teacher has spoken at super sonic speeds about course requirements and expectations, you must navigate all the other good parents with maps to the next class…Before the bell…Repeat for all 7 periods. Leave with handouts and prayers that your kid has a better clue than you! I also have begun the school volunteering. Realized that I have racked up about 7 hours so far! Made a dish for the staff welcome back breakfast, and one for the staff dinner before back to school night. Took 2 stints at the fall book fair. That’s a trip– Little kids with handfuls of change and crumpled bills (totaling $2.04) wanting to buy a $4 wacky pen all before the late bell rings. Soccer, Ballet, and Hockey have all started for the kids. Still working out the kinks in who goes where and when do we eat…
Meanwhile, the grass is growing and my garden is dying. Kirsy hooked me up with a local farmer who delivers a box of produce every week to my door. It’s been fabulous. I had to come up with a dish for lots of eggplant. I made kind of fried chips–the kids loved ‘em! I have been sneaking this veggie into sauces for over a year!
Here’s to hoping the year is not filled with loads of illness, but instead loads of fun and productivity! Rich’s co-worker, Christine, invited us to their 4th celebration on the 3rd. Pool. Food. Drinks. Fireworks. Fabulous. We closed down the party after a Rock Band challenge by Kevin. James crushed him on “Won’t Get Fooled Again” on “hard” . Then we played Dance Dance Revolution and all made complete fools of ourselves. |
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