Birthday fever

One of my oldest and dearest friends gave me a pretty substantial gift card for my birthday in February and this past week….wait for it….I finally spent it! Well, most of it. It was a whack load of a gift card for World Market, yo! I bought myself stuff I never do; Caviar, sparkling white wine, pumpernickel bread (besides the Germans, who buys that stuff?).

The kids ran amuck and kept asking for things like the blow up shark or the metal kazoo but I was determined to just get stuff for me. Then I came home today to find my husband dipping into my stash and I had to pinch him by the ear.

But two nights ago, after taking home my booty from World Market,  Matt and I busted out the color-embellished caviar that was supposed to look like black fish eggs and we rocked the night away. Cheers to living the high life, on a sweet gift card. BAM!

My night with Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott in Tacoma

 

A little disclaimer: I did not spend the night with this woman, not really. I didn’t even say much to her. Apart from shaking her hand, asking to get a photo with her and telling her that I’d let her get back to sifting through her Q and A cards, I didn’t really spend one on one time with this woman….at all.

She was in town lecturing at our church FOR FREE so I just had to go. I’ve been reading her books for years and simply adore her candid, humorous writing style. Her lecture was superb as she spoke about writing, faith in God, raising a son and her woes through the Bush administration. I rushed home and wrote down some of her anecdotes so I wouldn’t forget them. Then I posted the picture taken with her and I on the almighty Facebook and I called it a night. Quite a night!

There was a Q and A time and I couldn’t think of one thing to ask her on my piece of paper. All I really wanted to do was take her home with me and have her as my surrogate mother. Instead I got to put my arm around her like a silly fan and walk away totally forgotten in the abyss of other silly fans. She’s really soft and fluffy though, and delightful to listen to. Twas a stellar night indeed.

Amish for a week or so?

Courtesy of flickr

Today Matt and I were listening to NPR while making breakfast. There is so much chatter devoted to the potential R. candidates that I’m on overload. I’ve found some great comic relief lately that keeps me up at night giggling as I think about the absurdity.

Apparently Mitt Romney made $42 million last year, or was it over two years? Either way that is a serious buttload of cash. I told Matt that we should just become Mormon because they pay their missionaries a helluvalot better. Also, in terms of community the Mormons have it down. They create great community ties and the stay at home moms do a lot of cool crafts! Then I decided that I was no more likely to become Mormon than I was to buy a dozen Persian kittens and live in a dark room with all of them. So I decided if it’s community we want in our religion we should just become Amish. Matt’s reply was, “Babe, you’re about five life choices away from becoming Amish as it is”.

Occasionally he drops a comedy bomb that makes me laugh, I’ll admit. And that one was sort of funny. So as Matt sees it I’m:

1. A technophobe- It’s true. I can email and write drafts but when it comes to applications and all of the ‘things’ this computer can do, I curl up into a ball and begin to rock back and forth while holding my knees to my chest. I’d be ok with paper and pencil for the rest of my life.

2. Committed to simple living- Now, I’m not out there washing clothes in the wash tub but I do enjoy a good line dry from time to time.

3. Committed to slow food-Down with animal hormones and what have you!

4. I like to wear hats- This needs no further defining

5. I enjoy a nice long skirt from time to time (I think he was fishing on this one)

I would say my number five would be more that I don’t really like to have my photo taken. I do think I could do the Amish gig for a while. And if the “fit hits the shan” they are likely going to be the most prepared of all of us.

Ice!

We’ve been experiencing this crazy ice storm out here in the PNW and due to the fact that our city doesn’t invest into ploughs or salt (that due to the fact that this freak-weather only happens once every 15 years or so) we’ve been hulled up in our home for three days now. Yesterday was mental! Not only was I going crazy because my son was bouncing off the walls with cabin fever, but there was really nowhere to go. Everything was closed. If you were brave enough to walk about you risked a twisted limb or getting impaled by falling icicles.

Now that it’s warmer and beginning to thaw all you hear outside is the cracking of breaking branches under the weight of all that ice and the slide and crunch of sheets of ice skidding off the roofs. Happy ice storm of 2012.

Daddy play dates

When you think of play dates do you think of moms getting together with their wee ones, sitting around the table knitting and eating scones, talking about life and what have you? Do you envision kids running around with food and drink crusted around their mouths and foul-smelling nappies in their nether regions as 18 month olds stretch and pull the toys away from one another screaming, MINE! while mommys sip green tea and talk about the economy?

When you think of play dates do you think of knitted beer hats and strong coffee while little girls play with dolls and the dads talk about bikes and wearing said knitted beer hat to festivals in order to get free beer? I know that’s what I think of. Matt has had a few stay at home dads who like to bike over to let our kids play together. I showed up yesterday and felt immediately like this was a play date of its own kind. How right I was….

Ye old Rainer Beer. Notice the fig newton next to the hat. Must have snacks

Matt. Maker of said hats. Hand knitted, yo!

Check out more of his awesome hats here:

The Can Hattery

When the kids get bored….throw them outside!

When my kids start to climb the walls inside the house, these days I have to tell them to get their shoes on and go outside before I tear my heart out. Obviously they have to get some wiggles out and they also really start to bug me when they jump on furniture and run around the house, clomping on our hardwood floors like a couple of Clydesdales.

They winge and moan being told to leave the house but I always know throwing them outside will produce something of beauty once they just engage with being out there. You have to make extra effort to get outside when you live in an urban setting, even in the lush beauty of the Pacific Northwest. So out they go….then this is usually the sort of thing that I find them making:

It's a pirate ship! Complete with oars and a flag

Apparently it's a Swiss Pirate Ship

Hilltop is getting a new sandwich shop!

This spot (a few doors down) is soon to be a Euro style breakfast spot

I couldn’t be more excited about this news. I’ve been telling people since we moved here that our main street, MLK Blvd, is ripe for more retail. This is such a ripe area and I am stoked about more development. Now all we need is:

Garden Shop, Bakery, Cafes, fruit stands, food carts and vendors in the winter (think chestnuts and hot dogs out of small carts), a few restaurants, apparel and shoes and yadda, yadda….. I could go on.

 

I remember when Sixth Ave was just a spot where you could get some of Tacoma’s ubiquitous teriyaki, some funky Winchell’s donuts and hit any number of dive bars that stretched about eight city blocks, all peppered between empty retail buildings. The ave was a pretty lame spot for a number of years. As soon as Starbucks planted their corporate arse smack in the middle of Sixth Ave business picked up and people started to open shops. Say what you will about big business but it really can help an area out when it’s in decline. Hell, I’d welcome a Starbucks here on MLK Blvd. It would do huge things to the area.

 

So back to how thrilled I am that two brothers are opening a sannie shop on the Hill; I think we should ask them to call it Sandwich Masters and the logo could be two twelve foot subs jousting each other. Who’s with me????

The things that matter to kids

Yep. He's planking

A week back Oliver won an award at school. You know those bumper stickers that say, “My Kid Is A Terrific Kid”? Well, he won one of those. They honoured some of the kids at a school assembly so Matt and I showed up and took our parent’s share of photos. He stood up there and tried his hardest not to smile. He does that when he’s in front of people and I’m not sure why. It was a lot of fun to see him receive an award.

They also announced other awards for different kids in areas of Math, great attendance….other stuff that I can’t remember. His best friend in the class won a Math award and it’s not surprising because that kid is pretty academically inclined. His teacher says Q is “the smartest kid in my class” to which I always want to chime in, “You know, there are different types of intelligences” but she’s a school teacher so I don’t get into that with her. Nonetheless, Q is a very bright kid and I think he’s going to do very well through his school years.

It’s funny how adults gage things that kids do. There is so much pressure in school to get kids up on Math and Science because we seem to be failing from the rest of the world, there’s a huge push to get the Math scores up. Also, if your kid is good at Math, well, you just know life’s doors will be opened up for them. When Oliver got the Terrific Kid award I thought it was awesome but I do know other kids will get it this year too because they want to honour all the children at some point. When Q got the Math award I knew it was because he was good at Math. Oliver is good at Math and even likes it but he’d rather draw than do homework. I don’t blame him. But I secretly hoped that some day he would get a Math award because “that proves that my kid is smart”, right?

The funny thing is, I had Q over to play with Oliver the day they won the awards and Q said, while they were making robots out of cardboard, “Oliver won the Terrific Kid award. I just won a stupid Math award”. Then later he told his dad, “The day goes slowly when Oliver isn’t at school. He’s a Terrific Kid, you know?”

The things that matter to kids aren’t being amazing at Math while in first grade. The things that matter are people recognising that they are great children and that they are really loved; that people celebrate them. The things that matter to adults are, “You think my kid is smarter than yours, right?” I have to say that listening to the boy’s comments while playing really put things into perspective for me. I’ve always believed that kids learn differently and have different strengths that need to be fostered but now that he’s in school the things that are important to his teacher (Math and Reading) have to be important to me because I have to do the work with him. We work on these subjects together but I don’t ever want to lose perspective as I help him in his academics. I mean, he is in first grade for the love of God! I have to remember that it matters to him that I think he’s terrific! He doesn’t care that I’m impressed with his reading level. It matters to him that I think he’s a great little boy who impresses me just because he’s a part of our family and because he exists.

Now I see why people put the bumper stickers on their minivans. Still, I think we’ll hang ours in our room.

Cleaning up the Hill

Photo by sleepinyourhat

Yesterday we had our neighborhood clean-up day and I’ll be damned if I missed it. I thought it was at 3pm but it was at 2pm. I was even home and occasionally peeking out the window but I didn’t see anyone. So at three I came out with my latex gloves on, ready to pick up smashed Rainer cans and empty Snickers wrappers from our gutters. Then I noticed….no one! The street also looked very clean. Finally, I saw one neighbour raking up some leaves and said, “Oh, are we ready?” Through her surprised look I could see we were indeed past ready. I had missed it. The shame of it all is that this whole neighborhood clean-up was MY IDEA!

So I basically entreated my loving neighbours to take care of our street on a brisk Sunday afternoon while I sat inside in my cozy home. I felt so embarrassed and wished someone would have knocked on my door and dragged my butt outside. Well, I redeemed myself by spending the next hour raking leaves out of our drainage and out of the street. Victory!

Through my embarrassment I will say the street looks lovely and it’s so right to come gather as a community, in the midst of a notoriously rough area that is no longer rough-just a bit unstable, and clean up the rubbish. I’m beginning to love my street and our fantastic neighbors. Here’s to helping lovely things stay lovely.

My First Pottery Class

Before you conjure up images of scenes from Ghost where Patrick and Demi throw a pot linking fingers with Unchained Melody in the background, let me say my first pottery class wasn’t like this, although the young instructor did place his hands over mine in order to show me how to guide the clay. But he was a mere 22 so it was more like my son or very young kid brother helping me navigate.

It was rad though. One reason I’ve always wanted to do pottery is because I love to watch the clay grow and shrink as it’s being formed and I LOVE to watch the swirls bending in and out. It’s hypnotic. This is my first time ever making pots and cups and my instructor said I caught on very quickly. They have yet to be glazed.

The bottom of the pots will be cleaned up before glazing