A quick visit

In the last sixteen months I have taken a few trips on my own (Cleveland, Chicago, and Ithaca) and decided I enjoyed them enough that I would go visit my sister by myself for a weekend.

I loved seeing their new art.

Front and back of street banners now used as curtains for the guest room

Stained glass that includes a broken bowl that was formerly a MUNI light.

I also loved seeing where my sister worked.  Sorry I didn't take a picture of her office,

which is so cool -  so many fun tchotchkes!

picture of her National Park Service building in Fort Mason (stolen from the nps site)

view from the window
Sorry I cut off The Bridge on the right. 

If you walk a bit away from her office you see this view, scenic fog included.

Up next - exploring!

Where to begin?

Since I started this blog for my dad I will start with three things he enjoys - swimming, biking, and running.

The school district created a four-day weekend and I decided if I went away for two days I would still have two days to do laundry and other joys of being a grown-up.  I bought a ticket to visit my sister and even though I was gone for less than 48 hours it felt like a real vacation.

I think it is the first time I have ever forgotten to pack a swim suit!  I didn't really forget it, as in I meant to pack it but didn't.  It didn't even cross my mind that I would have a chance to swim.  What was I thinking?

A perfect place to swim!

I wish I had taken a picture of my sister's garage, which has a beautiful variety of two-wheeled vehicles - almost one of each kind.  Lucky for them, we drove right by a couple of free contraptions.  After circling around the block and checking them out the smaller one made the cut and has found a new home.

I love that the name of the street is imprinted in the sidewalk.

Since I am trying to get a good time for the Turkey Trot I didn't want to miss my Sunday run.  Staying in the Sunset neighborhood means I just have to walk up the street and cross into Golden Gate Park. 

What a pleasure to explore a new place!

Try, try again

The day started with a 100 fly for time with friends (of course with friends - no one else would do that with me)!  This was followed by a short hike following a new route and we didn't get lost!  How could the day get better?  Hanging up laundry in the sunshine was good, having David stop as we crossed paths on our cycling routes was even better, and there were lots of good freebies at the college health fair.

To top it all off, I was able to donate blood!!  Pint 67!  Usually I schedule an appointment, eat lots of grape nuts, and take iron pills before attempting to donate.

Maybe this is too small to read,
but it shows that a serving has 90% of the recommended daily allowance of iron.

I take one or two of these each day.

Despite my efforts I have not been able to donate in over a year and last time my reading was 12.3 g/dL.  Healthy for a woman is as low as 12.0, but to donate blood a reading of 12.5 is required.  Today I was at 13.3!  Amazing!  Maybe it is an omen of more good things to come.

The Shan

I had been inside the new building, formally known as the R. Michael Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning, at Harvey Mudd College for Math Field Day, a recital, and a Q&A after a campus tour, but I hadn't seen anything beyond that.  Filling time with a toddler is a perfect excuse to poke around.

At first nothing was here, then it said Quiet Zone, and now it says No Wheels.

This sign explains that the wheels transfer noise into the basement classrooms.

People are good about picking up their skateboards, unicycles,
and freeline skates and parking them outside the cafe.

We wandered upstairs and found the math department.
Even the design on the furniture looks clever.

not shown - Google Interview room

I'd like to take a class with this guy.
I read more about the profs in their newsletter,
which did a great job of promoting math at Mudd.

There is an outdoor classroom and this living roof.
If you look carefully you can see snow on the mountain in the background.

We did not stop in the Office of the President even though it is right next to the math offices, but maybe we'll go back to the admissions office one day!


p.s. Not enough for you?  Then you might enjoy this time lapse video of The Shan construction.

Rocks

Maybe it isn't my very favorite part of the garden, but I do like rocks (as you can see in our garden).  They are easy to care for and require no water.  And as an added bonus, they are free!

Our neighbors are adding a driveway from the street
(instead of entering the garage from the alley).
They have generously donated rocks to us.

The toddler and I collected some small ones and made a little rock garden.

Today they generously gave us a very large rock, which fits in perfectly.

It is also good for sitting and waiting.

Belated Halloween post

The 11-year-old took the equipment outside and carved the pumpkin.  No request for help, no nothing.  I suppose I am pleased that he is so independent, but it seems too soon!

He was very pleased with the results.

A big group went trick-or-treating, but these two planned their costumes together.  You can read about Spy vs. Spy, published in Mad Magazine since 1961, here.

She was pleased that the lab coat that Dad brought home has some authentic stains!

This is only part of the haul.  The older one went out with a friend for a only a short while and came back with four full-size candy bars (plus more)!  The younger one was out longer and did a lot of trading at a friend's house so I am not sure what the original haul was.

The good news was that there was a wonderful rain that started about 9pm so we couldn't hear any of the parties in the neighborhood.  The bad news was that we did not have many visitors (<150) and now have a lot of extra candy.  May we all have such problems!

Final Mask Parade Post

I have previously written about the school parade, but since the youngest kid is in his last year it deserves another post.

our first in 2003 - fish

a mask of a classmate

mythical creature

another mythical creature?

democracy

bat

no idea

at the back of some animal

our last in 2014 - a nose

In addition to reading part of the introduction and marching in the parade,
these two (A. on the left) helped to run the sound system.

Yes, I have been around the school a long time, but nothing compared to the mom who went to her first in the 1990's and has a few more years to go (18 years total).  The good news is that my neighbors will be in the parade and I can always go to ooh and aah over their masks.