Oktoberfest

photo by P. Kuenning

Led by the wonderful Frau Tsai, the German club at the high school put on a fantastic Oktoberfest.  The music was German pop and I didn't hear any accordions, but even without beer we were told it was very authentic.

photo by P. Kuenning

People lined up to get bratwurst, sauerkraut, potato salad, and German pastries.

sorry no bratwurst picture

For a little extra you could get your face painted.

It was my first time helping with the event and I am grateful that I didn't have to worry about the weather.  I was also grateful not to be grilling and not to be in charge.  I was happy to follow the directions of the club president and help where needed.  Plus, it is always good to be on campus and see a slice of R.'s life.

Afterschool Activites

In addition to orchestra and cello lessons,

last May's recital

soccer,

and playing with friends

picking herbs, drying them in a foil bowl,
crushing them, and making tea

A. has now added visual art.

Extended Summer

R. said that she didn't need to go to the beach twice, but was sad that she had not gone to the beach even once.  Fighting our natural planning instincts we spontaneously went to the beach yesterday afternoon.

We weren't quite to the beach but we could see the skywriting -
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The weather was great, the parking was easy, and the view was fantastic.

Not very many people were on the beach.

The water was warm enough for swimming and the low tide was about an hour after we arrived.

starfish

exploring the tide pools

small mussels?

I miss apple picking and fall colors, but this is pretty good, too!

Rankings

In addition to listening to baseball on the radio I also love the stats of baseball.  In March I save the section of the paper with predicted finishes and compare the results in October.

Boston was inaccurately predicted by three spots, but Cleveland by only two.

I am sad Cleveland lost their playoff game, but I am happy my please-let-this-be-the-year-they-finish-above-.500 prayers were answered.

Seismic Shift

I haven't felt an earthquake recently (and I might not be able to learn about it since the US Geological Survey site is suspended during the government shutdown).  The shift has been in our household.

At the elementary school the kids generally change their seating arrangement at the beginning of each month.  We adopted the same tradition in our family so no one would be stuck always or never looking out the window or whatever other variable was unpleasant.  Yesterday I let A. pick his seat first (on the left facing the window).  R. was given second choice and also wanted to look out the window and therefore opted to sit next to A.  That is a huge first!!  Until this month they have always sat diagonally from each other, although sometimes in restaurants they would choose to be closer.

It is small but it warms my heart and gives me hope for the future.

Toy Hall of Fame

In alphabetical order, the following toys were announced as the class of 2013 with two of them being chosen to enter the Toy Hall of Fame.

• Bubbles
• Chess
• Clue
• Fisher-Price Little People
• Little Green Army Men
• Magic 8 Ball
• My Little Pony
• Nerf Toys
• Pac-Man
• Rubber Duck
• Scooter
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Last year Star Wars action figures and dominoes were inducted and with this year's class the total will be 53 toys.  You can nominate your favorite here and you can check to see if it is already included here.  I love that a stick is part of the list!

The Hall of Fame Fame seems to be in what I used to call The Strong Museum but is now called The Strong and has several components.

• National Museum of Play
• International Center for the History of Electronic Games
• National Toy Hall of Fame
• Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play
• American Journal of Play

Regardless of the name, I have fond memories of visiting there more than a few years ago.

Furniture

Even though I wrote in July that David's building was being demolished, it hasn't happened yet.  The sustainability group is still selling off things left behind, like bookcases and desks, of which we bought two and one respectively.

The table that belonged to my grandmother was being used as a desk by R., but is now behind the couch.  Perfect for a beautiful vase of flowers?  Or even pussywillows, like my grandmother had?  I don't think they have them in L.A.

Now she has a desk with drawers!  She did a bit of sorting and cleaned the desk and it looks great.  May she use it in good health.