oh my beautiful child

Sometimes, I just can't enough of these kids. I happen to think (as all parents do) that my children are just the funnest, cutest, most awesome kids alive. And they are-- at least to me! :)

The Bean is growing up so! He's witty, and funny, and kind. He's an environmental educator's dream. He soooo buys into it. He loves nature and being outdoors. He's garnered much favor with the local nature camp staff. He can guide a nature walk with the best of them!

EB's latest thing is "mine". Fortunately, it's not the snotty, terrible-two kind of "mine" it could be. At least not always. She likes to run up to me or daddy and say "MINE mommy!" while giving me a big hug. She talks so much and loves to laugh and smile.

And here is Ella with her cousin Sammy

Drowning in a Sea of Braininess and Beauty

I love the New Yorker magazine. I am a subscriber. I also find the New Yorker to be, at times, completely freaking overwhelming!

At the moment I'm three issues behind, and I'm pretty sure there will be another one waiting in my mailbox when I go to the post office tomorrow. *sigh* Why, oh why, does it have to be so dang interesting? And why can I not let myself skip anything. I mean, I should just skim the articles that are not my absolute favorite, so I can get on to the next issue. But I can't. It's like there is this 900 pound gorilla standing behind me, ready to pummel me if I fail to adequately absorb every syllable. In the last three weeks I have learned about birding in China, tenure and racism at Barnard College, and George Clooney's unbearable charm. For heaven's sake woman! Let it go!!!

In other news, we're experiencing a heat wave. On the Island. Oh, and we live in the MIDDLE of the island, so we aren't blessed with as much of the ocean breezes as the coast. But we're not exactly the Mojave desert either. Our little community here has been moaning for three days about how ungodly hot it is. Can I just say, the temperature peaked at 90 today? 90 degrees people! When I have lived here for many years and have grown accustomed to the mild, almost unwaveringly perfect weather, please, please, please, smack me if I ever complain about a whopping 90 degrees! Especially when the beach, where it's maybe 83 degrees with a gentle ocean wind, is just five miles away.

I told S. today that I almost feel like we live on vacation. Seriously. Sometimes it's almost embarrassing how lovely it is here. We were sitting on the beach; Nathan was playing with a school mate and Ella was sleeping on the blanket near us. I looked out at the harbor and watched a woman standing on her surf board and paddling around looking at the fish. A few kayakers floated by and a fisherman pulled in his lines. A sailboat drifted lazily around the harbor and kids dug for shells on the shore. Campers wandered down from the campground to swim and dogs chased rocks in the waves. Is that not a travel ad??? Two days ago we went for a walk along the reservoir near our house. We saw three rare birds, including a bald eagle feeding beside the water, and a herd of bison with calves just a few months old. They eyed us nervously until it was clear we were heading away from their camp. Woohoo. It's like Swiss Family Robinson with refrigeration and the internet!

Maybe were just in a honeymoon stage here; after all, we could end up with serious Island Fever some day. (And if I do, please refer me back to this post and tell me to snap out of it!) But for the time being, I am so in love with where we are in life. I know I risk seriously jinxing myself by saying this, but life is good. And I am grateful.

All kinds of fun things are happening

One of the projects I'm working on at the moment is a new blog. Yep, that's right, I couldn't even keep up with this one, so a new one is the perfect solution, huh? ;)

This new one however is a joint venture. A collaborative effort. Jump on over and see what's cooking. And if you're inclined (Amanda Jane!) maybe you'll join us...

http://www.kitchenmirror.blogspot.com

It's time for a Makeover

Spring has sprung... well, okay, it showed itself about a month and a half ago, but like I said, I was absent. Not to mention the fact that here on the Island, it's spring about 10 months out of the year. (yes, I rub it in.) So, with a new home to make my own and a new beginning for our family, it's time for a new look here as well. I thought I needed a little greening up of the space. I love the new flower, don't you?

Here's a quick synopsis of the last three months:

• S. accepted the job
• we realized "Oh crap! Now we have to finish the house!"
• S. worked his hiney off to get things finished before moving and starting the new job
• he did an awesome job, but sadly, had to leave a fair few things for me to finish
• S. arrived on Island Feb 27; kids and I stayed in Coarsegold to finish the house and for Nathan to finish school at spring break
• I "finished" the house. heh, sort of. After much begging, pleading, hair pulling, tears, and frustration, I managed to cobble together a crew consisting of me, a hired hand (so not worth the $ I paid him!), my neighbor and his two teenage sons (I paid them too, but they were more than worth it!), and the new tenants who moved in April 1, and we "finished" the house.
• OK, so finished is a stretch. But, the place does look great. And the tenants are getting a break on the rent until September in return for finishing up things like staining the woodwork and installing light fixtures, etc.
• The bridge to the loft is DONE! And it too looks great. The neighbor and sons finished the bridge that S. framed up before leaving, added hand rails and stairs, and it turned out so nice. They are now working on adding a shower, toilette and sink to the loft.
• Nathan, Ella and I finally headed out of the hills on March 25 after teary goodbyes with friends and family (mostly my mom; I miss her!)
• We've been here for about 6 weeks now and are really happy. We've explored the island a bit, made friends, had parties, joined a co-op, went to Disneyland for the first time, started school, and started getting to know each other again!

That's it in a nutshell. And except for the harried and stressful moth of March, I really am this boring.

Surfacing

After disappearing for over three months, I figured there was no excuse for neglecting my little journal here for any longer. And of course, there are all kinds of reasons that I was absent for so long, but no good excuse!

I'll start today with a fun internet time waster: The Look-o-like meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph