Grand Opening

Earlier the library had a soft opening of the new children's section, meaning they opened it without any hoopla.  Today was the hoopla.

There were many, many speeches.  

Afterward there was a raffle of classic children's books,

food

and beverages,

and a give-away for members of the Friends group.
(nice logo by Naomi Howland and Joel Cinnamon)

Some people were content to read books

including the kind that did not exist 100 years ago.

Free Entertainment

One of the best things about hanging out with a baby is choosing what I want to do and having it count as work.  We were so busy watching each phase of the new sidewalks being created I almost forgot to take pictures.

The first day was the jackhammering to get rid of the old sidewalks.  That was not my favorite part.

The step before this was to cut the little pieces that go into the dirt that get hammered to the long pieces that mark the edges of the sidewalk.  We didn't get to see a lot of the tamping and wheelbarrow work.

We both enjoyed watching the cement truck and the concrete being poured.  Those guys had to work fast and be so accurate (no spills over the edge).  Marking the divisions (above) was more interesting than I would have guessed, maybe because I enjoyed the precision of it.  The baby and I could have stayed longer but we had to move along.

We crossed the street and walked the sidewalks that had been poured a few weeks ago.

Go Team, Go!

In the old days we lived a couple blocks from campus and we had only one baby who didn't complain about where we went as long as we took her with us.  No one had a bedtime, homework, or things they would rather do so we went to lots of sporting events.

This break we relived the old days by going to a Pomona-Pitzer men's basketball game to watch the grandson of my father's former colleague.  In one of those small world happenings, he is also the grandson of my mother-in-law's former law school classmate (my father's colleague's ex-wife).

Pomona-Pitzer defeated Redlands 90-73

Because it was between semesters there weren't a lot of students in the stands, but the swim team, in town for their winter training, came to cheer them on.  Seeing them motivated me to check out their schedule so I could give them some support.

Start of the men's 100 yard free

I used to go volunteer at the meets in exchange for swimming privileges, but when I lost those I stopped going.  The starting blocks have moved and the scoreboard has been updated, but it was still as I remembered it.  I was sorry not to see any basketball players, but the swimmers didn't seem bothered.

Next up, baseball and softball.  Go Hens!

New Recipes

Last June friends were leaving for sabbatical and gave me an enormous bag of lemon juice, which I vowed to use before they got back.  I suppose I work best with a deadline so their return next week motivated me to find a couple recipes.

Two cups of juice went into a double batch of lemon sorbet.  I don't have an ice cream maker, but I will put this into a food processor, refreeze it, and repeat.

I had to find a new lemon bar recipe because mine calls for only 1/3 cup juice and this one used a full cup.  The kids said it was messy but yummy.  Unfortunately, D. doesn't like lemon flavored foods.

with toasted coconut

without

He does like marzipan, which is the main ingredient in these cookies.  They were both very sticky, but the one with toasted coconut flakes held together a bit better.  Despite that, my taste testers preferred the plain.

The final project (other than dinner) was to use up a bit of apple cider and some half-price apples from farmers' market.

It was a treat to have so much time in the kitchen.  We had taken a family trip to the kitchen store in Glendora and I got to use the new utensils (rubber spatula, metal spatula, and zester) I bought with my birthday money.  Plus, the house smelled great.

Olives, Phase Two

Remember when I helped set up the olives?

They were hanging from the trees but had to be moved
because the salt leaking out was killing the plants below.

Our first peek in two months.  They looked like raisins.

Next was to take them out of the salt and rinse them.

They dried for a few hours.  The squirrels did not seem interested in them.

After putting them in jars we covered them in olive oil
(did not add citrus zest or chili, as suggested).

The ones that are not in oil are supposed to be able to stay in the frig for a long time.
The ones in oil can stay on the counter or go in the frig.

What I can't show you is the taste, which is fine because I didn't think it was very good.  There are so many variables that I don't know what we did wrong, but I also don't know if it is worth doing again to make any changes.

'Tis the Season

It isn't as dark as Denmark, but it is still jigsaw puzzle season.  When D. is home more between semesters and when my parents are in town we get more puzzles done.

This was the easiest of the bunch.

This was from 1969 and challenging because of the non-traditional shapes of the pieces.

My mom did most of this one, with help from the 

members of the family who have the table memorized.

Now it is time to decide whether to put away the card table or get out another puzzle.

Then and Now

December 2003

December 2006

January 2014

Our annual Christmas trip to Legoland was moved to New Year's Day, which was more crowded but just as fun.  Part of the fun is visiting favorite spots as a family and another fun part is having the parents sit on a bench and smooch while the kids go off and enjoy things on their own.  It is hard to know if we will return next year or move up to Magic Mountain?  Disneyland?  By then maybe one kid will be driving a real car!

January 2014
R. passed the first part of the CA driver ed. requirements.

.