Tuesday Morning in the Woods

Tuesday morning, the boys brought me coffee in bed from the Continental Breakfast in the lobby. Can I just say, I love coffee in bed.

Since I actually picked up during our stay (for a change), it didn't take us long to pack and we were off to Armstrong Woods by 10:15 am. It's just outside of Guerneville and has hikes of different levels. It was sad though, because the campsite is closed indefinitely due to the bad budget :(

There was a school field trip there, and we couldn't help but tease The Kid that we should just let him join them. We had a pretty nice little walk all on our own though.

* I love when your child blocks your body fat. Good job Kid!

What was that?

*He's part thespian on his father's side.

I can tell you we were pretty hungry after our easy little walk. So before we could truly enjoy our tacos in Santa Rosa, we ate all the chips on the table first. No pics of our greed sorry.

We took our time coming back to the city. The boys acted as if we had been gone ages and stuck themselves in front of the t.v. and video games while we did 4 hours of laundry. All too soon back to work with sunburns, and neglected knitting.

Memorial Day Weekend Was Memorable

If any weekend doesn't start off chockful of zipping around it's surprising. Friday, the 25th was the last day of school (!!Can you believe it??) and I took the day off to make some snacks for The Kid's pals, and to go laze around on the playground and the park afterwards. Saturday was East Bay family fun with my sister and her son. Somehow it turned into a shopping trip with Dad as well.

Who knew a man was so picky about his cargo pants?

Who knew men were often between sizes as well?

Sunday morning was Zumba-free so I packed as quickly as I could and we were off to the Russian River.

May is not exactly a hot month for the river, even in a dry year like we've been having. It has been windy and partly cloudy quite a bit in Northern California. However, we are lucky to usually get at least a few hours of warm and where we were staying was far enough inland we knew it would be warm enough without rain.

We checked in to the Rio Villa just before 3pm (the proprieters are so nice) and the spot was jumping with families and friends that had already spent 2 nights for the three day weekend and were setting up for their last evening on the River. Many of these people come every year. They were really kind.

After we unpacked, the boys headed off to explore and check out the public beach via the private lane and I went to knit in some sunshine.

The place was lovely. Even better, a nice woman came by and said, "Oh I wish I brought my knitting!" (She had a book with her) But like all true knitters, she excused herself and came back with this amazing reddish pink hexagonal summer top! I didn't have my camera with me, otherwise I would've asked to take a picture.

This nice lady "A" was very kind and we sat together and chased the sun, moving from chair to chair as we knit and we discussed our favorite projects.

See our lovely view...

And this is where we were sitting...


This picture shows another nice knitting spot just in the front (remember, I am not very good at the photos)

As people began queueing up the BBQs we made our way into Guerneville and ate at Boon Eat + Drink. Dinner was absolutely tasty pants. I loved the simplicity, but also the lovely use of flavors that balanced and brightened. Yay!

The next morning as everyone packed up to leave, we packed up a picnic lunch and went to rent a canoe at the local public beach. It was windy, but we thought, a few hrs paddle upriver, a little lunch and a few swims, then let the current takes us back.

Well ... the wind was strong, so even the return wasn't as easy as it could've been. Most importantly it was FUN! The Kid wanted to row, so we switched spots on the way down and I had to sit at the bottom of the canoe and occassionally grab the oar to help out Dad. It was awkward, but since I'm short, sitting in the front on the edge of a metal bench was awkward too. Now it was just awkward on the bottom of the boat, with a wet crotch. ugh. ha!

By the time we got back we were ready to turn in the canoe. It was when we went back to our rooms did I realize that I had a 4-hr canoe sunburn. Mom is always the one who is lame about putting on and reapplying. And my burn just shows my girth, where I can't reach ;)

After a shower we had the grounds to ourselves. There were only 3 or 4 other rooms taken. The Manfriend  went to market and we made kabobs (Onion, Mushroom, Tomato, Pepper, Meat). The best thing about them is you don't have to buy a bunch of individual seasonings. Olive oil, one mixed grill seasoning, some paper plates and new skewars which we needed anyways, charcoal and TADA! I highly recommend for a BBQ on the fly or unprepared grilling venue.

This is where we prepped, in the cute little kitchenette area:

Cute no? I had to divide the room up in half. But look! natural light!

Well I will save Tuesday for another post. Technically the Memorial Weekend ends with Monday right?

Heartshaking - not heartbreaking

Heart ... shaking ... get it? It's J-E-L-L-O!

I found a photo, act impressed kids.

This picture that I pulled from the family photo site is from 2009. That's 3 years of photos not uploaded. Sad no?

My Valentine's Day card to my kid reads like a chapter out of a passive aggressive text book. (shame on me ... shame. It's decided I'm not quite a Tiger Mom, it's more like a Meerkat Mom. *sigh)

My husband came home from work at the restaurant and says, "Hey, did you know that Valentine's Day is kind of a big deal? We were so busy. I think people took the day off." Now mind you it's not sad for me because he obviously doesn't know the value of a good Hallmark holiday (this is sarcasm for those unfamiliar with me) it's that he's of a grown-up age and still surprised other people like it.

I went to Zumba rather than stay home and eat dinner w/the family. I like when The Kid asks me to show him a new fast move or tries to immitate me. If I really flail around like he does, that's sad ... but funny. So I get my heart shaking in the best of ways :)

Holy Hot Pockets! Christmas is really close!

I got through the end of last week's deadlines a little rough, but OK.

I have since had a chance to raise a glass of holiday cheer with some lovely friends, and have a sentimental dinner with my dear husband, host The Kid's best pal, and trim the tree.

Gift knitting makes slow progress since it appears (as with all aspects of my life) I must make a a multitude of mistakes before i can grasp completion. Two examples:

1) The modified Mothed sweater. I did not include the eyelet sleeves, just good old fashioned bell sleeves 17" long instead of 18". I thought I was on a roll, until I realized I was going to be almost 4" short when I was binding off for the 2nd sleeve. I had to pull back the first sleeve. Now I have a modified Moth with 3/4 sleeves. Really it's fine.

2) The log pillows are angry with me. The yarn is angry, one US 15 double-point needle splintered in anger at me and the knitted caps were a complete bust. I told myself I needed to channel the generations before and try and crochet the caps. At least I finished the body of the pillows right? I'm down to my final week. Well, after tearing apart my knitting notions again... I realize I do not own an "I" crochet hook anymore.

One more thing to procure during these spendy days with stingy time.

I had not planned on giving the adults anything more than "hostess gifts" this year like I always do. However my Aunt suggested we get my father a Chicago Beef Sandwich kit and it was too good of an idea to forgo. He is difficult to get things for on a good day, so this seemed like a great opportunity to do something fun and easy. The problem is I'm now having absolute guilt about not getting other people (the other set of parents and in-laws) something specific. However where we are now, will seriously crush the budget and I'm up against the timeline. I also worry it will set a precedent. I like having Christmas be about the kids and the sparkle and the eats and the small friend treats (hey I'm rhyming I feel some holiday happy coming on!) Everything else, is just painful.

It appears that the Man Friend and I have had a miscommunication over the menu for Christmas Eve and we have both decided to reassess the situation. We will naturally keep things tasty, but we need to be honest about how much work we are taking on, and what if anything has the potential to make prep too stressful to enjoy the day.

Bah, we always have Christmas Day to enjoy and fart around on slow mo.

Also it appears that we have not solidified plans for going anywhere next week. I know, we are unbelievable we really are. I was willing to book it out, but then over dinner on Saturday he tells me, "Well, I'm not sure when the contractors are coming to the restaurant now."

Oh really?

Whatever, it will be a week off of school / work together. I'm sure it will all be dandy like candy. I'd rather have my moments of "Now what?" peppered with what are we going to do with this wonderful time we have together vs. "Now (TF) What?!?" As in what the hell is going on now?" or "What the Jane Austen should I be doing next?"

Well, the days and nights are running out about as fast as my kid's patience. I better hop to it. As of today, I'm going to dwell on the positive. I gave into the holidays "excuse". My December has been to whiny. No more of that. I'm going to roll-back to November a bit. A more thankful time. See you on the sunshine side...