Year of the Horse

Before putting up anything for Valentine's Day I looked in our
holiday drawer and pulled out some classics.

The collection of money envelopes started with the one 

on the left from R.'s kindergarten teacher.

We usually give the kids U.S. currency,
but here is an alternative.

Another souvenir from kindergarten -
"May you be blessed with peace and safety in all four seasons," and
"May you be blessed with peace and safety wherever you are."

I used to check out books, but haven't in a while.
Maybe it is time to pass these on?  Or not.

Gung Hay Fat Choi (or Kung Hei Fat Choy)!

Tandem Rally

Last year father and son set off in the cold, drove across the mountains in the snow and dark, and joined about 35 other pairs of cyclists for a tandem rally in Borrego Springs (the center of this map).

The plan was to do the same thing this year, but drive around the mountains in warmer weather.  A friend invited A. to a slumber party that included a boy who had overseas for seven months.  How could a mother say no?  So instead of planning a quiet weekend I was going to spin class and on long bike rides to get used to sitting on the saddle.  It was worth it!

I joke that this was my view,

but I could sometimes see things more like this,

or turn to the side and see this

and these cool statues that are part of the Galetta Meadows Estate.

I wish I could show you the dragon and nursing camel, but I like this, too!

The best part of the trip was being with my best friend
(and the second best part was riding in the sunshine instead of the snow)!

Seasoning

I was given some birthday money to spend and wanted to wander around the cooking store in Glendora, but it is closed on Sundays and Saturdays seemed to fill up.  We finally forced it onto our family calendar and headed off for adventure.  In addition to a new metal spatula, rubber spatula, and zester I replaced a small skillet I had bought ten or fifteen years ago because it had been highly recommended and was deeply discounted.

It says on the bottom that it is a Look skillet, but I can't find that company anymore.

It was our only non-stick skillet (safety concerns, but this was a new type at the time),
but it is no longer non-stick.

My new skillet is not the beautiful $125 enameled cast iron, but just plain cast iron.

What is different about this one is that I didn't do the traditional seasoning, but tried the Cook's Illustrated ultimate way to season.  This involved flaxseed oil, multiple rounds of opening pores, and a 550ºF oven.  I finally finished and haven't noticed the difference, but I hope time will tell.

Fads

Last weekend my son had a friend sleepover and they used a Rainbow Loom to make bracelets together.  The next day he played with a friend and made a bracelet with him and his brother.  On Sunday he played with another friend and made a bracelet with his friend, the friend's brother, and the friend's sister.  How many craft fads reach boys and girls?

my fishtail bracelet

I've heard that some local schools have banned the sale of them, but last I heard our local school is open for business (five cents for a simple bracelet).

my son's wrist - more typical

Guess who is asking for his own rubber bands?

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!