Peter called me this morning as I was writing about Green Gulch Farms. “Did you get my picture?” he asked. I’d received nothing by phone or email. He’d sent me a picture of his now-crushed car, and asked me to pick him up on the freeway with the possessions he’d been able to salvage from…
Month: August 2007
Zen Garden Escape
One public school ritual I have come to loathe is the last-minute-of-summer posting of class rosters. And this year I had a particular chip on my shoulder, knowing my son’s marvelous learning capabilities under my private guidance, and having hung out with a crowd actively opposed to government-controlled schooling. The last minute posting is just…
So Now We Have HDTV
Peter recently realized that HDTV reception has become relatively affordable, so he set about getting it. For the record, I’m indifferent to HDTV. I grew up in the pre-cable era, and remember watching movies from LA channels that were often ghosted in with competing signals. Anything better than that is fine by me, though I…
Real Food
Lately, as we’ve been enjoying a fairly comfortable existence, at least compared to most of the world, and all of history, there’s been sort of a nutritional nostalgia for eating old food, the old way, whether that means slow food, pesticide free farming, or the Neanderthal diet. The latest entry to this line is the…
California Black Tie
My favorite fashionista, Manolo the Shoeblogger, has expressed his confusion about what “California black tie” means on an invitation. I can tell you exactly what it means, because Peter and I have worn it, but I’m not sure it’s exactly a good thing anywhere east of the Mississippi. A few years ago, my friend Kyra…
Reading Program Bonanzas
Before this summer, I had never signed my children up for any summer reading program, because it seemed like a drag to have to keep track of one’s reading. But this summer, I knew Neil would be reading a lot because I was homeschooling him, and Kelly, well, we all know how much Kelly loves…
The San Mateo County Fair
Last Friday, our whole family went to the opening evening of the San Mateo County Fair. We were delighted with it. It had all a county fair ought to have: livestock exhibits, a pony ride, home arts competitions, a bustling midway, kiosk food, and vendors exhibiting rarely seen products. To explain why we found the…
Oh, So That’s Why People Hate Christians
For a long time, I’ve been puzzled by the hatred against Christians. I have more than a few devoutly Christian friends and acquaintances, and they’re far from obnoxious, and very often, they’re very, well, Christian: eager to help others regardless of creed, striving to live up to their own moral standards, and engaged in their…
The Golden Gate Park Band
I’ve been wanting to see the Golden Gate Park Band with Peter for several years now. It’s the only brass band I know of in the entire Bay Area that gives public concerts, and they play in the Spreckels Temple of Music, a wonderful acoustic shell in the park’s main concourse surrounded by statues of…
My Birthday Cake
As I’ve mentioned before, Kelly loves reading. Specifically, she loves being read to, which means I get to read a lot of children’s books, often over and over again. So this year, for my birthday, I decided I had to have a big round pink cake. The good cakes in children’s books are always round…