What we've been up to....

1. Losing teeth.

Alaina lost her 6th tooth last week.   Then a few days later, Ethan lost his LAST baby tooth.   A strange milestone.   The tooth fairy was extra generous for this last tooth and gave him $3 instead of the usual $1.

2. Harvesting from the Garden

I have successfully grown some Rhubarb in Marin County.   I was told that it wouldn't ever grow here, but planted a bulb last summer anyhow.   Lo and behold, it came back this spring, and has been growing quite nicely.   I finally had enough stalks to harvest some and Ethan and I made a rhubarb cake for dessert tonight.   It was delicious!

Other items: tomatoes--the cherry ones are producing well--and snap peas.   I am also trying artichoke and watermelon this year.....stay tuned.

3. Dealing with the wild animals of Marin.  

Months ago, I planted impatients in the front of the house.   About a week later, I noticed that something had pulled them out.   The plants were laying, basically unharmed, right next to their holes.   But clearly unplanted:
 

Well, this has not become some sort of a deranged game between me and whatever critter is doing this over and over again.   Seems like each week, the plants are ripped out by their roots.   And so, each week, I replant them.   And each week, I lose a plant or two.   But I will keep replanting until none are left, I suppose.  I think it might be crows, but I am not sure.


The other wild nature encounter recently was evidence of what we thing was a squirrel nesting in our attic.   Even morning at exactly 5:15 am, we would hear scratching in the ceiling above our bed.  Further examination revealed critter poop in the attic.   So, we had all our entry points inspected and sealed...and guess what, the scratching has stopped.  

So, yes, there have been some fun times between us and the wild animals that live here recently.

Good-bye Park Ridge

Well, it is time for me to say good-bye to the Park Ridge house that I grew up in.   I have been here for the past week, helping my dad organize for the move--packing up boxes, selling extra furniture, and donating un-needed items to Goodwill.   It is bittersweet--I have a lot of memories here, and of course this is where my mom was cared for until the very end.  But at the same time, I am really looking forward to having my dad out near us.   Certainly the weather will be better for his hiking hobby!

During my time here, we mostly worked, though we did take a break one day to visit my grandma through the window at her assisted living facility.   It was honestly, a pretty miserable way to visit, but I guess it is better than nothing.   She looked pretty good through the glass!

My dad closes on August 21 and will head pack up a moving truck shortly beforehand.  Next time I see him, he will be moving in to his new place.  I took a bunch of pictures of the inside of the house, since I will likely never see it again, which is such a strange feeling.   Even since I left the area in 2005, I was still here 3 or 4 times a year.   Now when I return to Chicago for work, I won't be able to just stop by.

Anyway, onwards!   On chapter in life has closed, but another is just beginning.

Full Professor

As of July 1, I was promoted at work to a full professor!   I have been working hard for this goal for many years, and I feel very proud.   Last weekend, Jason surprised me with a small gathering of some of my closest work friends for an outdoor bbq lunch to celebrate.

I was completely surprised!   Jason told me that our friends Sue and Ben were stopping by for lunch other way up to the Russian River.   They arrived and we were hanging out and then a bunch more people walked in!  

Jason had made pulled pork, but also secretly made ribs and had Jeremy bring a cake.   It was a really nice celebration.  And we all did our best to wear masks to stay safe when not eating!   I feel so lucky
to have such a supportive husband, and a great group of colleagues to celebrate this with!

Remembering Mom

Three years ago today, my Mom died.   I have been thinking about her a lot today.  The rose that we planted in her memory is blooming beautifully.  We miss you Mom!

An Idaho Roadtrip and my Birthday

Last Friday, I celebrated #41.  Originally, we were supposed to fly to Mexico a vacation on my birthday :(.   But since that couldn't happen, we decide to take a road trip to the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho.  We chose Idaho because 1.It was open (most hotels are still not in California) and 2. we could drive there and 3. we haven't been there, and thought it would be a good hiking destination.

We celebrated my birthed a little bit early before leaving, with my dad.   We had a nice dinner, and of course, my favorite buttercream cake with sprinkles.

Early Friday morning, my dad headed back to Chicago and we got on the road to Boise.  Boise is a 10 hour drive from San Francisco, and we made it in one day.   We spent the first night along the greenbelt in Boise which is a lovely green space along the Boise River.   We had a meal in a restaurant (gasp!) which was a real treat.  Downtown Boise was super cute, with lots of boutiques and  restaurants.

Unfortunately the next am, we woke up to heavy rain and thunder.   Our plans to go whitewater rafting were out the door, and there was little to do inside, so we decided to leave a day early for the mountains.   Three hours later we were in Sun Valley, which as the name suggests was actually sunny (though a bit cold).   We spent three nights in Sun Valley, which is a cute town.   We had two nice days of hiking there, though one our our hikes (to Kane Lake) was truncated by a snowstorm.   The third day, the rain started again.   Sigh.

Our second destination was the small town of Stanley in the Sawtooth Mountains.   Stanley is about an hour north of Sun Valley and and absolutely beautiful small town.  Unfortunately the rain continued on our first day there, so we decided to go to some hot springs (there are tons of hot springs   in Idaho,  who knew!)

Luckily, on our last two days in Staley the bad weather cleared, and we enjoyed the spectacular mountains.  We took 2 great hikes.   We also had some surprisingly great food in Stanley, including the best fried chicken we have ever eaten at the Stanley Supper Club.  Ethan also did some fishing and kayaking.

 

On Friday, we headed back west, stopping briefly in Boise for a bite before heading to Winnemucca for the night.   We got back home on Saturday afternoon.

Overall a nice trip, at least we were able to salvage something for the week.   The weather could have been better, but so it goes.  At least we got away.

Dad braves the plane

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Dad bought a house out her that closed at the beginning of May.   However due to the CoVid-19 situation, he was reluctant to travel.   This past week, he decided that things had calmed down enough to make the trip.  

He got a cheap flight (that went though Seattle).  Luckily his flights were both pretty empty.  He did wear a mask the entire time.

Here's a pic from dinner on Friday--our restaurants are still not open so we did take-out pizza at the park!

Since he's been here he has been spending a lot of time at the new house, getting it ready for move in.   Obviously a bit of a daunting task--he has been in his house in Park Ridge for 33 years!  We are super excited about having him out here with us!

Hike in Armstrong Redwoods

Jason and I were both off for the long weekend.   Though we obviously wanted to get out of town, we are still under shelter in place across most of California, so we stayed put.

A few of our state parks did open their parking lots this past week, so we took advantage and headed up to Armstrong Redwoods State Park.   This park is a lesser-known version of Muir Woods--but it is equally beautiful.   It is located outside of Guerneville, on the Russian River.  We went there years ago, but haven't been back since.   So with the long weekend, it was a good excuse to go check it out.

The park was as beautiful as I remembered.   We took a 6.5 mile loop long the ridge (east ridge trail to the pool ridge trail).   It was lovely, and shaded most of the way, and we stopped for a picnic lunch.   We also saw a lot of wildlife--the highlight was a pileated woodpecker--such a cool bird.   Also a deer, a snake and multiple lizards.

We stopped for take out pizza in Petaluma on the way home and bought it to a nearby park for a picnic, and then went to Lala's creamery for some ice cream.   Overall, not a bad way to spend the day.