Newspapers

This is why we get the newspaper.  I don't think I would have read an online article about bowls (Finally, the Bowl Gets Its Due), but David read the first part of the article, which described a family that had bought a bowl for a few dollars at a yard sale and then sold it for $2.2 million at an auction.

A great discussion followed.  A. asked what I would do with the money and I thought we would pay off the mortgage ("What?  We still owe the bank money for the house?"), take a trip to somewhere like Puerto Rico, and maybe re-tile the fireplace.  A. thought we should definitely pay off the house and maybe redo the backyard so it has better grass for playing.  R. suggested we buy a backup drive that allows computers to easily share files.

I learned so much about my kids (and their lack of communal wants, which is separate from their personal wants) just from one article.

Nano Days

In addition to the Nano Days event that David is hosting at the library, high school students will visit him at Pomona College and he hosted 170 students at Sycamore Elementary School yesterday.

Notice a cute soccer player in this picture?

With the help of colleagues and students, four stations were set up where students got to use an airzooka to move air molecules, explore the powder inside diapers, and make a bracelet out of beads that change color when exposed to sunlight.

Showing how clear nail polish can
show its iridescence (like a soap bubble).

Normally I don't write about David's outreach efforts, but I had the opportunity to be his lovely assistant and watch him at work.  I know I am biased but I thought he was engaging and explained things at their level.

I loved that most kids wanted to miss part of recess so they could finish their activity.  It might not have been the Exploratorium, but David brought a bit of a hands-on science museum to each child.

my new tattoo - whatisnano.org

Hope to see you at the library!

Emergency Room Visit

A parent reacts one way when a kid has a stomach ache before school, but reacts very differently when that same kid has a stomach ache just before a sleepover.  That same parent reacts more cautiously when her friends' kid was not allowed to leave class because of a stomach ache, only to have her appendix removed later that night.

It seemed a bit much, but after talking with the nurse at Kaiser we were off to the emergency room at the relatively new Ontario Vineyard hospital.  The waiting room was empty and showing funny videos while we checked in.  There was no wait before seeing the very friendly triage nurse.  Next we were off to through the very clean, very peaceful emergency center and into a clean cubicle.  The wait wasn't long before another friendly nurse took some information.  Some time passed before the doctor saw A., but by then he was distracted and the pain had subsided.  She understood and was able to assess the situation, ask questions that got right to the point, and after a pain reliever we were on our way our way home.

"That was kind of fun," was the conclusion.  I suppose it was a good dry run in case of (G-d forbid) a future emergency, and was certainly a better experience than visiting urgent care because of a pea up the nose.

Neighborhood mystery

This morning I saw this at our intersection and thought of my friend who used to throw her gym shoes in her tree at the end of every school year.

I didn't think much more of it until we were in the village (a.k.a. downtown Claremont) and saw more.

I think maybe one is a rabbit.  We also saw one in the shape of Arizona and freeway sign with the running family.  I like the yarn bombing better.

stairs leading to yarn store

Game On!

My younger sister said I was a Californian because I owned a yoga mat.

I am now a soccer mom because I finally decided the camping chairs we got 20 years ago could be replaced by the standard soccer-mom model.  The chair that was five dollars more had two cup holders, but I am hoping I learn to manage with just one.

Book Fest

The Friends of the Claremont Library hosted the second annual Children's Book Festival.

The theme was copied from inspired by Ithaca's book fest, but makes one wonder about next year.  If it was cats the first year and hats this one, will next year be rats?  Wombats?  Brats?

Each kid got a couple free books after doing activities like stacking hats (Caps for Sale), matching hats and their origin on the globe (Hats, Hats, Hats), and making a hat (A Three Hat Day).

modeling a practice hat - the real ones hat a lot more glitter

My job was to create a writing table.

Theme copied from inspired by NEA's Read Across America.

I came up with prompts for writing a limerick (and even found a clean one as a sample) 

and for writing a story.

I had fantastic volunteers - a student in a kiddie lit class, a former elementary school teacher, and a liberal arts professor from Cal State L.A.  Their ability to guide each child to work at his or her own level made our station close to a smash hit.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching the kids, the ones who had lines and lines of thoughts to share and the ones who wanted to carefully copy the list of rhyming words.

A successful event!  I'll keep you posted about next year's theme.

Music to my ears

It warmed my heart to hear my son humming while making French toast yesterday and again today while getting some things out for dinner.  I think David gets a lot of credit because he sings to him each night, but I also give credit to his current cello teacher/former Music Together teacher.  Even his sister, who doesn't take cello and didn't go to Music Together hums the Suzuki songs!

Celebration

We love celebrating.  Today is March 14, which can be written 3.14, which is pi (the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, about 3 1/7).  Who needs a better reason to celebrate?

I almost bought a pie at the store and remembered I had two crusts in the freezer.  

It turned out to be easy to make an apple pie.

Plus I got to use the dish I bought at the Cornell Orchards in 2004.

We had our annual reading.  Love this series!

This was from the new 3D printer in David's department.

Next up, the Ides of March.  Maybe I'll wear a toga.

A Tale of Two Trails

This post is a gift to my faithful readers.  I went for a great hike this morning and didn't take a single picture so I went back later just so I would have something to show you.

Sycamore Canyon has been closed since the fire of 2003 but with the help of the L.A. Conservation Corps (among other groups) it reopened last weekend.  I missed the celebration, but was happy to have a chance to explore today.

Head down the steps near Higginbotham Park through the fence to the trails.

There are two trails and this is the short, flat one that has a bit of shade.

This shows some of the work done, including planting saplings and strengthening the hillside.

One of the saplings

A Boy Scout cabin was built here in the early 1930's.

The trail ends at the cabin, but if you go a bit farther you can see signs of the fire.

You can also see signs of why the trail ends (poison oak).

This longer, steeper trail connects to Johnson's Pasture and the Claremont Wilderness Park.

It was a clear day and I could see mountains to the north (above), east, and south.  

Unfortunately my little camera did not take pictures worth sharing with you.

There were lizards and wildflowers along the way.

I am excited to go back when I have more time and when it is not 90ºF.

Educational television

I was asked how I decide what to post on Facebook and what to post here.  I don't have a list to help me decide, but since a little blurb on Facebook got no reaction I feel the need to go into detail here.

I would like A. to keep up his language skills so usually he watches a soccer/football news program in Danish, but that is produced only weekly.  To find something else I usually go to dr.dk, the national radio and television site.  There is a children's channel and I can see a list of videos if I click on the last week's tv link.  When he was home after having a tooth pulled he watched an entertaining game show that takes place in a school (Ramasjangskolen), but I couldn't find that so I found Uncle Shrimp and the Children's Mailbox.

If you have been reading The Economist you might remember that we should be looking to Nordic countries to know the future, so here it is.

smoking!  an unkempt beard!

public urination!  cigarettes!

fireworks!

dancing toilets!

men in underwear!

What a great country!

The Art of Food

In only her first year of ceramics R. had a piece accepted into a local show, ArtReach: The Art of Food.

 My niece also had a piece in the show.

There were so many other pieces I liked a lot.  Sorry I can't show all of them to you.

a piece made food

food made of paper

a table setting in the style of Christo

a chess game - processed food versus produce

Euro 2012

When we were in Denmark last August all the Euro 2012 (soccer cup) trading cards were on sale. A. took his own money to the gas station (the one with the delicious bread, briefly mentioned here) and bought a binder for keeping his cards, which was a deal since it came with ten packs of cards.

I can't quite remember how it happened, but one friend decided to start collecting cards and the two of them started trading.  A third friend bought cards (from Amazon and shipped from Europe)  and then it got drastic - checking prices on eBay, carrying to cards to every playdate, and constant negotiations.  That was nothing compared to watching videos of other people opening cards!!

A. saved many weeks of allowance and bought a box of 50 packs, which was shipped from the U.K.  Less than 24 hours later he asked (with a smile) if they had arrived.  Over 300 hours later we were all relieved from the stress of waiting, constantly looking by the front door, and imagining that definitely tomorrow they would arrive.

Worth the wait!

Sorting!

Displaying the first pack.

The binder is almost full!

Now the hope is for his friends to receive more cards for birthday presents so they can keep trading.  What will happen when the supply dries up?  What will happen if we go to Europe and come back with 2012-13 Champions League cards?

Election Day

Another beautiful day to do my civic duty, even if only three people were running for two spots on City Council.  Two were listed as incumbents and the third was listed as a professional window washer.  Most people did not feel the need to vote, as was shown by the fact that I was the 80th voter when I went in at 11:30 a.m.

All information is shown in many languages.

Including information about electioneering
and a voter bill of rights.