Random Acts of Encouragment

Posted on February 27, 2009 by jeannie

Remember the improv group I posted about, where 207 people froze in place for a full five minutes in Grand Central Station in New York? (It’s worth seeing the clip if you missed it the first time around.)

My father-in-law just sent me another link to one of their hijinks. This time they chose a Little League baseball game in Hermosa Beach to cheer and support. The letter from one of the kid’s dads at the end of the post brought tears to my eyes. Granted, I could be ovulating, which makes me pretty emotional, but I love when people take the time to make other people feel good. (Btw, their site Improve Everywhere is a fun site to browse.)

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I'll take a pass, please

Posted on February 26, 2009 by jeannie

After several weeks of frenzied activity, everything ground to a halt this week – between choosing to stay at home and friends being sick, I’ve found myself at home TWO STRAIGHT DAYS IN A ROW!

I’m considering staying at home a few more days though, now that I’ve heard what my friends have been sick with. Have you heard of the Noro virus? The ugly GI virus that became famous after causing the evacuation of several cruise ships a few years back?

My 38-week pregnant friend thinks she had the Noro virus – and she was throwing up and having diarrhrea (every 10-15 minutes!) for 24 hours – until she became so dehydrated that her contractions started and they went to the emergency room. It took 5 bags of IV to rehydrate her. Thankfully the contractions stopped right away, and the baby seems well. Probably better for that baby to stay inside a few more days while the mom disinfects the house. (According to the wiki article, noro is completely wiped out by chlorine-based cleaners – although, what isn’t???)

Unfortunately, the virus started in the rest of the family and the poor little almost-three year old was vomiting every ten minutes around the clock. Poor baby! She okay now, but I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of a stomach flu as bad as this bug. Luckily the dad and brother just had a mild bout of vomiting and a short period of feeling unwell. But the two who got it, really were throwing up regularly for almost two days it seems. And only able to hold down popsicles and jello.

Apparently, there are outbreaks of Noro going on all throughout the country. The worst part is that the once-infected person can remain contagious for up to three days after the symptoms have passed. To top it off, people do not seem to be building any immunity to the bug, so you can get it again and again.

So, I’m nervously feeling healthy and well and popping a few vitamins. I was thinking about going to a free Family Yoga class tomorrow morning, but now staying at home and frequently washing my hands sounds more appealing than letting the baby crawl around a sweaty gym floor with dozens of other kids…

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The Children's Garden

Posted on February 25, 2009 by jeannie

The children’s garden at the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena is one of the most inventive, ingenious, delightful outside parks I have ever encountered for children. It is at least an hour’s drive from my house and admission to the Huntington Library grounds is $15, but I am definitely considering a membership ($100), because I had such a pleasurable day there.

You enter the Children’s Garden through an enchanting little blue gate. All in front of the door there are children’s footprints leading up to it. Animal footprints too, like all the natural world were rushing to a special place.

Inside there were so many spaces to enjoy and discover. One arbor was filled with small round fountains. All at child’s eye level and with small spurts of water for playing. The large fountain in the middle had no spurting, but only a smooth shimmering basin in the middle that was vibrating. The vibration was making the water dance.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r657Nv3pV0]

Another arbor was a mostly enclosed circular space – with tall walls and trellises of ivy. Every five minutes or so, a fine mist would shoot out from the ankle-level misters and FILL THE ENTIRE SPACE SO YOU COULDN’T SEE ANYTHING. That was cool. We stayed through a half dozen cycles and when we left we were faintly damp.

There was a rainbow tunnel. In the middle it opened up and there were prisms on the wall.

And funnily enough we found our favorite thing right where Christian and I had been hanging out. There was a low stone wall that looped around and enclosed a small sandy space. It was the perfect height for Christian to hang on to. At one spot the stone wall curved up and arched and split. Then started again after a six-inch gap. There was metal grating in the gap. I thought it was just decorative.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxOoniOGa0E]

But later that afternoon when we passed by again we heard a melodious jingling, like a music box and it was coming from that arch. A little girl was pouring pebbles down into the space and as each pebble made its way through the nails and thin metal bars to the ground, it sang out in a pleasing tinkling. It was a version of a rain stick!

Posted in Jeannie's Stamp of Approval, SoCal attractions | Leave a comment

Highly Recommended

Posted on February 24, 2009 by jeannie

Whoa. Things have gotten really busy all of a sudden – kinda feels out of control and like I need to spend a few days at home.

I’m heading out to the Irvine La Leche League meeting here in a moment. It IS fun to see the same babies (happy breastfed babies) month after month, growing visibly each time. Real-time time-lapse.

One of the great things about having a baby again is getting to hang out with lots of kids. I love to scout out activities that kids enjoy, and I like to think that Christian enjoys the adventuring too.

We discovered a wonderful place last month: The Huntington Library and Gardens.

Granted, my friend and I treated ourselves to the all-you-can-eat-and-drink high tea first ($25 – mine was an early Valentine’s Day treat from the hubby, who I think was a little relieved to get out of the tea-drinking responsibilities), so we were high on caffeine, but the day as a whole is already a highlight of 2009. It’ll probably be in the top ten.

The high tea was more casual than I expected, but that worked well, because Sierra and I had three children between us. The food was excellent, especially the finger sandwiches. Darn, I’m making myself hungry again. Mental note though – it’s hard to appreciate a leisurely tea with three kids… It would be perfect for a long catch-up with an old friend, or a date. Any scones you don’t finish they pack up for you.

Which is perfect, because you’ll need them later while you’re walking around. That’s all we did. Walk and talk. (After the eating – we were starving when we arrived and did quite well on those yummy finger sandwiches. We both like the carrot and ginger one the best. The desserts were as good as the savory, but after all the cavier I ate I didn’t have that much room left!)

The Huntington is only open from noon to 4:30 right now – winter hours maybe? We were there that entire time and barely felt like we spent enough time there. There is SO MUCH TO SEE. Not to mention a Gutenberg Bible. We never even went into any of the buildings there.

I guess that just means we have to go back soon.

Note: there is a Free Day, the first Thursday of each month. However, you must have a ticket to get in, and tickets are available the first of the month previous, ie., March Free Day tickets were available (momentarily) on February 1. Good luck with that one.

Posted in SoCal attractions | 1 Comment

Mark, meet Williams.

Posted on February 24, 2009 by jeannie

It started around Thanksgiving. I asked my friend Sierra for her osso buco recipe and she introduced me to Williams – Willams-Sonoma recipes online, that is. Every time I asked her for a recipe she would refer me back to the site, saying that she’d never tried a recipe there that she didn’t like.

And now after a dozen or so recipes, I have to agree. The recipes there are GREAT.

Recently I have made (and been very impressed with) the chicken pot pie, including the crust; the coleslaw with a cooked dressing (you basically make your own mayonaise); and the cassoulet (a slow cooker version that was recommended for Valentine’s Day).

I have not been neglecting my Mark Bittman though – I made a second Valentine’s Day meal: Beef Stroganoff.

Have we been eating like crazy? Little bit.

But this may be the last time in my life I can eat so many calories so indiscriminately. The baby has started solids, but depends on his nursing calories for most of his energy. And let me tell you, I am burning through calories like wildfire keeping both him and I going all day long. That boy is going to be ACTIVE – he NEVER STOPS.

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Photo Journal of One Morning

Posted on February 20, 2009 by jeannie

I loved reading about Maya’s day and Nathen’s day, so I wanted to do a photo journal too. But typical me, I got distracted half-way through the day, so now it’s just a photo journal from wake-up at 7 am to about 1 in the afternoon. I’ll try for the other half another time.

Sleepy smiles upon waking at 7 am (to his mother singing!)

Sleepy smiles upon waking at 7 am (to his mother singing!)

More alert at the morning sit-down.

More alert at the morning sit-down.

Going for a morning crawl while dad cooks breakfast (eggs scrambled with tapenade and tomatos). Chad made a caption for this photo, where Christian is saying, Im going to PRANK this M**********R!

Going for a morning crawl while dad cooks breakfast (eggs scrambled with tapenade and tomatos). Chad made a caption for this photo, where Christian is saying, "I'm going to PRANK this M**********R!"

Eating breakfast, but wondering when the parents are going to give that camera a rest?

Eating breakfast, but wondering when the parents are going to give that camera a rest? (He typically eats some of my plain oatmeal.)

Saying good-bye to Daddy as he leaves for work.

Saying good-bye to Daddy as he leaves for work. Our place is the apartment over the four garages to the far left.

Being greeted by my friend Sierra and her daughter Anna (both still in pjs). This is how I am always greeted when I visit. Anna always waits for her mother to tell her its safe then she runs across and gives me a hug!

Being greeted by my friend Sierra and her daughter Anna (both still in pj's). This is how I am always greeted when I visit. Anna always waits for her mother to tell her it's safe then she runs across and gives me a hug!

Having a massive cooking day to fill her freezer (shes 36 weeks preggers if you didnt notice) and to fill my fridge.

Having a massive cooking day to fill her freezer (she's 36 weeks preggers if you didn't notice) and to fill my fridge. That day we made excellent chicken pies, spaghetti sauce, gallons of Korean BBQ marinade, and banana bread - and we had chicken piccata for lunch.

Thats Anna helping us dice eggplant.

That's Anna helping us dice eggplant, like how Bella used to help me!

Well, that’s one day until 2:30 pm.  Boy, that chicken pot pie was delicious…

Posted in Christian Holden, food | 2 Comments

Rebekah Bogard

Posted on February 19, 2009 by jeannie
Role Reversal, 2008

Role Reversal, 2008

With a decidedly feminine slant, Rebekah Bogard imbues her cute doe-eyed bunny creatures and their intimate interactions, with a large dose of sexuality. Pale pink and quite hairless, each coupled pair of ceramic animals is engrossed in their own private piece of relationship history, whether it be whispered somethings or an arched back of orgasmic ecstasy. The manga-like make-believe creatures have just barely enough detail to be considered animals – their shiny pale porcelain skin and pink puckered anuses all serve to make us feel as though we are seeing more than we should. Effective as a unified installation, this show will lure many viewers to venture further abroad to see Bogard’s concurrent show in east LA (Sam Lee, Chinatown).

The body of work in Rebekah Bogard’s concurrent museum show was created previous to her show in Chinatown during her divorce, and the endearing creatures populating the room reflect the sometimes impossibility of connecting with an other. This show also links Bogard’s work from grad school, heavily influenced from the natural world and more static, to her current stylized bucolic installations. Clearly envisioned as an installation, with the walls painted a deep teal to match the palette of the flora and fauna in the room, the scattered pairs and solo animals reveal the artists progressive interest in relationships (Vincent Price Art Museum, East LA).

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LN to MdR

Posted on February 17, 2009 by jeannie

For those of you who thought I was the crazy one in the marriage, think again. For all Chad’s mild-mannered appearance, he can be intense, and intensely determined.

The picture above is of Chad’s route from Laguna Niguel to Marina del Rey on Sunday. About 67 miles, and that’s already the second time he’s biked to Los Angeles in 2009. (The first time was to Union Station.) And while he finds the most pleasant route he can, he is often just on the street and not always in the best of neighborhoods. Now THAT is a crazy adventure. I used to lead bike tours, but only on idyllic country roads in New England and France. And never more than 30 miles a day!

Segue: We have been pretty busy and, DOING, as it turns out, is not that compatible with WRITING. I have lots to post about, and no time to do it. Which, in thinking about it, is the way I prefer it. I’d rather do much and write less than to do less.

Last week…

Tuesday: Drove to the Waldorf School of Orange County for a meetup I’d organized. Walked briskly with the other mothers and kids for an hour or two, and then browsed leisurely in the toy shop there. Everything you could want Waldorf is there.

Wednesday: Drive to Hungtington Gardens with friend, Sierra. We have a blast. The children’s garden there is the most ingenious bits of landscape planning I have ever experienced. Didn’t get home until 8pm, at which point I realized I had completely spaced on picking up our bi-weekly CSA basket. In a slight panic (I don’t want to forfeit my $40 basket of organic veggies), I toss the baby into Chad’s arms and rush back out. I am relieved to find that my basket is one of four that still hasn’t been picked up and that nobody appears to have noticed. It is only the next day that I realize that I had completely missed my bunco game. I RSVP’d “Yes” and then I never showed or even called. How rude am I?

(The Huntington Gardens are in Pasadena. You can just make out Pasadena to the left of the traffic tab in the picture.)

Thursday: Recupped in the morning and then packed for Joshua Tree. At six, drive Bella to her Safe-Rides Officer Meeting. At 7:30, pick her up, ready to go and drive directly to Joshua Tree.

(Joshua Tree is off the map to the top right. Another 50 miles east on the 60 or 10.

Friday: Spend an hour with a friend (Darlene), then meet another friend for lunch (Caryn and her daughter), and then the afternoon with Granma and Grampy. In the evening drive back to Laguna Niguel.

Saturday: Wake up and enjoy Chad’s delicious breakfast (homemade hash browns and eggs with tapenade). While baby sleeps for unprecedentedly long nap, we watch Lost, Sarah Connor Chronicles, and the rest of The Reader.

Sunday: Chad leaves for bike ride to LA. Bella, Christian and I depart by car. Reconvene in Marina del Rey at friend’s house to eat homemade chicken pot pie and salad. Walk around the Third Street Promenade. Attend Murdy family shindig in celebration of February girls’ birthdays at delicious Tompkin’s Square. Eat, drink, and be merry. Drive home.

Monday: Wake up late and walk around in a daze all day. Do laundry. Make beef strogonoff to celebrate last night of eating dairy.

Tuesday: Today. Blow off my “rain or shine” wilderness hike because it is raining and post while the baby is napping.

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The Art We Saw In D.C.

Posted on February 12, 2009 by jeannie

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Waldorf School Store

Posted on February 10, 2009 by jeannie

After dropping in on the Waldorf School of Orange County’s school store (called The Company of Angels) a few weeks ago, I was so smitten that I immediately went home and organized a meetup there. And since just meeting in just a single store, even a Waldorf store, is a slim excuse to get friends to drive 30 minutes, I tacked on a nature walk in the adjacent Fairview Park as well.

After several days of cold rain, we finally got a beautiful crisp day – perfect for a walk. In weather terms, it felt like a fall day on the east coast.

As per usual, we had great conversation with the four moms (and six kids) who came. And we all enjoyed the heck out of the school store, which is filled, not only with wooden and natural toys, but many one-of-a-kind items. I love how the Waldorf philosophy promotes imagination and values a single lovely handmade object over many mass-produced (plastic) toys. We all agreed too, that a Waldorf atmosphere with all its practical manifestations: handmade dolls, plant-dyed silks, wooden kitchen sets, child-sized brooms and shovels, is more winning than the Waldorf “talk” which can get quite esoteric and spiritual.

Christian loved the tree stumps and dirt out front. Wish we had some! (Stumps I mean…)

And I found my next project. Is that doll not SO SWEET?! I think it might be more appropriate for a youngun’ like Christian, than the more detailed doll I made for his niece. (Laura, you’ll have to tell me what kind of doll you think Flann will like best for his first doll.)

I am also considering making a “heavy baby.” As I learned from my niece, Noi naa, there really are kids who like to LUG. The heavy babies, like the ones here, are 4 1/2 pounds each. The weight is supposedly very reassuring to some children.

Posted in crafts, waldorf | 3 Comments