Dots … connected

The magical connection between learning words and reading stories is happening! In the last two weeks, K has gone from reluctant to avid (or at least avidly interested) reader. Thanks Harry Potter!!

Learn something new …

Guess what new skill I’ve added to my repertoire? Door re-screening …

Look at that beauty. So taut you could play quarters on it. Until Sunday, I thought screening doors was the purview of professional handyman who wear droopy pants. Thanks to the incomparable Cori, who also knows how to fix sprinklers, I can now re-screen doors with the experts. We have decided that this is a job done best in pairs because 4 hands seems to be the key to a very tight screen, and it saves oodles of time. We re-screened 3 doors in under 2 hours. Oh yeah!

Other than that, just a few inexpensive supplies from the hardware store and you’re in business for a fraction of what the professionals charge. Speaking of business, we might just have to start a sideline screen operation!

Fountain drink

Of late I have been enjoying the occasional fountain drink. Not soda in a can or poured into a glass at home, but a mix of syrup + CO2 from a spigot cascaded over a cup full of ice. The best place I’ve found to get the fountain drink is at the 7-11 because it’s the place where I’m not tempted by burgers and fries. Plus, the way they mix the syrup with carbonation results in the flavor of a coke slurpee in liquid form.

The cup pictured above is the 2nd smallest choice. There are three larger options, the largest of which is the size of a bucket. (And that begs a much bigger story about American food consumption but I won’t go there right now). The fascinating thing about going to the 7-11 is that you run into the most interesting crowd. The sales guy who wears his pants too high, stopping for a cheap lunch on the road. The prematurely old smokers counting change for another pack of cigarettes. The guy with baggy pants and basketball buying the giant can of Bud. And the clusters of men smoking by the entrance.

It’s a lot to go through but the fountain drink is worth it. My friend Martha understands. She once tried to find out the flavor of the cookie part under the frosting of a black and white cookie. She asked the man at the bakery counter several times, in several different ways. He finally gave up, telling her in his distinctive accent, “I cannot explain the black and white cookie to you.” That’s almost as funny as the story her boyfriend tells of the man at Burger King who, after getting his order, said, “Where are my samples?” The cashier and then the manager tried to explain that BK doesn’t give out samples but the man just kept asking, “Where are my samples?”

So what do we take from all this? Just this: fountain drinks come complete with counter-culture experience and a good response to any difficult question is either: “I can’t explain the [insert topic] to you” or “Where are my samples.” Both are guaranteed to divert attention.

Edited to add: The guy at BK actually said, “Chronologically speaking, I should have my samples.” This gives us that much more material to work with in diverting attention!

And with that my friends, happy weekend!

Spoiled

Last Saturday, just minutes after returning from San Luis Obispo, the phone rang. It was my friend Lauri who wondered if I’d be home Sunday mid-day; she had something to drop off on the way to a pre-race practice hike. I said sure and that was that. In my post-trip haze it hadn’t occurred to me to ask what she was dropping off or why. Or why she and her husband were coming over to Marin to hike when they have no shortage of hiking trails in Berkeley.

The reason, I found out around noon the next day, was this:

An incredibly generous, immediately treasured gift for helping out with their wedding. In its first life, this piece was a radio cabinet, constructed in the 1940s. We spied it in a little shop on College Avenue in Berkeley the Sunday before K and I headed off for our Spring Break trip. I loved it at first sight, quickly imagining my fabric collection neatly housed and easily accessible. But, against all spontaneous purchasing habits, I decided to think about it before buying (Dad, can you believe it?). So Lauri bought it for me. I couldn’t quite believe it when they brought it in. Stunned is the word. Pretty sure I was blushing too. And protesting. I mean, I adored every minute of making paper tissue flowers and favors, throwing a little pre-wedding party. I live for that kind of thing so a gift was beyond generous. Lauri, did you forget you already got me Bobby Big Teeth, the big rubber rat?

It is really the perfect addition to the upstairs family + craft room. The fabrics have all been folded and sorted …

I love having a separate section for scraps and projects in progress …

And many opportunities to create different vignettes on the top.

I’m a lucky, lucky girl to have such an amazing friend.

Shelves and Sushi with Sean

Until the self-cleaning desk is invented, I’ve found a cheap and easy solution to kid desk clutter:

All the bits and pieces that used to cover the desk are now contained on simple shelves made of wood and brackets picked up at the local hardware store. Screws plus those reinforcer thingys create sturdy construction. A drill and electric screwdriver make it a quick project … well, as long as you measure straight and all. That’s not my forte, so the supply list for these shelves also included the ex-husband who had it all together speedy quick.

I imagine it would work well for adult desk clutter as well. I would try it myself if I had any open wall space in my office. Ha!

You’re probably wondering what all this has to do with sushi and Sean. Really nothing. I was just pleased that a celebrity sighting last night provided me with alliteration for today’s title. As it happened, we were enjoying dinner at a local sushi restaurant when a man at the sushi bar caught my eye. He looked like an ordinary guy at first glance but then I realized I was just a few feet away from Sean Penn. Sushi with Sean. On a Monday. At the early kid/senior dining hour. Go figure.

I thought I was the only one who noticed given the lack of hubbub in the room. Turns out that my fellow diners were playing it just as cool as I was. Only after he left, accompanied by a tall, thin woman who looked more like a handler than girlfriend, did I realize everyone was acutely aware of the star studded atmosphere. In fact, there was quite the stir when the waitress realized he hadn’t paid the bill. Neither had Miss Handler apparently. A hue and cry ensued with waitresses running out the door, chasing after the forgetful diners and the other clientele speculating that perhaps the latest movie hadn’t done well. Sean and Miss Handler had disappeared so the wait staff came back empty-handed. Snippets of conversation bounced around the room leaving us uncertain as to whether they had forgotten to pay the whole bill or just leave a tip. My guess is that he thought she was taking care of it, and she thought he was. I bet they’ll make it up next time. And maybe we’ll be there for another sushi with Sean evening.

Splash

5 days in central coast sun :: lots of pool time :: beach excursions :: great restaurants :: Ballys for amazing frozen yogurt :: Hearst Castle :: Gum Alley

Good to be away, good to be home.

Today’s motto

Because there’s just one thing between me and a few days off …

My goal: write fast, don’t over-think it, be brilliant.

Daily giggle

“There is unexpected beauty hidden everywhere in this world — one just has to be open to seeing it. Remember that the next time you sneeze on your monitor.” — Nathan Walton

City scenes

The ‘ol blog is getting a bit dusty. As much as I love this creative medium, I’ve been feeling quiet lately. The random musings that normally flow through my princess head have gone dormant.  Instead, I’m spending more time on visual endeavors (well, when not laying down many, many, many words for my clients) like daily photos, which I will pop in to show you while my creative muses are recharging their batteries.

One of the best places to get inspired, restock art supplies and, if you’re not careful, max out your credit card!