The New Improved Mr. Mom

Candice is up at the Lake House for a well-deserved weeklong mommy-getaway, and Juliet and I are holding down the fort.  So far, we've kept very busy with school, softball closing day, the SCMS Yard Sale, working on her science project, and just hanging out around the house and playing.  We also watched the solar eclipse last night -- we went down to Seacliff State Beach for a better view, since there are so many trees around our house.

It's been much easier this time than the last extended time "on my own" back on 2008 (I think) when Candice went to Canada during her dad's illness.  Juliet is so much bigger now and is really fun to be with.  We're really having a nice time together.

In a couple days, we'll be heading up the PML to join Candice for a long Memorial Day weekend and our first visit to the Lake House in six months.

Harsh Reality

Well all the trips are done, I'm back home and harsh reality is setting in.

Trips, trips, trips

Got a lot of travel coming up:

• Golf weekend with my buddies in Vegas. THIS should be fun. Short, but fun.
• Few days in Phoenix with the family for spring break.
• Two weeks in Australia with my friend John Michaelenko (who lives there) and Mike T. We're going prospecting for opals in the outback. Not something you get a chance to do every day.

Back in the saddle

After almost two weeks away in Costa Rica.

Self-recrimination

Which is of course, pointless, but what do you do when you regret doing something and you've apologized, but your apology has not been accepted? And how through total stupidity did you get yourself to such a point?

Not a pretty sight, for sure. Nothing to do but get up, dust yourself off and try to carry on, hopefully somewhat the wiser. Next time, keep your head about you.... and don't be daft. Your life depends on it.

Mr. Mom

Candice went to Canada for five days to inter her father's remains and meet with her family. Fraught with emotion and tension, her trip was, since some of the family had not spoken in almost two years due to disagreements over the will.

Meanwhile Juliet and I were left to fend for ourselves, and things have gone quite smoothly thanks to good planning and help from dear Lisa, who my heart goes out to with the loss of her father.

Sheryl Crow at The Mountain Winery

I took Candice to see Sheryl Crow at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga last week. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was a really great show! She's backed now by a 10-person band, including two horn players, two backup singers, two drummers, two guitarists and a bass player, and they all put on a great show. We had awesome seats in the 7th row, which cost a small fortune, but it was totally worth it because Candice enjoyed it so much.

We had dinner on the Chateau Deck beforehand and sampled lots of their wine. All in all, a lovely concert experience!

Back to School

Juliet's first day of first grade... a big step. She's back at Santa Cruz Montessori, but has moved up from "primary" to "elementary."

See Candice's picture:

Last week of summer

Back home, soon to be joined by the girls. Trying frantically to finish half the summer projects on my list. I still have a long list. :-(

Marine Layer from hell

This has been a very cool, foggy, and overcast summer in Aptos, and elsewhere in California. Everyone is complaining about how foggy its been. Yesterday, the sun didn't come out AT ALL. Today, it finally broke through at 2pm, and then the fog came back in around 4pm....that's like the best we can hope for these days, apparently.

It's terribly depressing and I intend to get to the Lake House ASAP.

Pictures from Jamaica

As promised, here are some pix from our trip...

Us at the water slide:
Juliet coming down the water slide:
































Candice on the beach. Us with some new friends we met; Juliet's best buddy, Ashley.

Julilet at six

Today was Juliet's sixth birthday party. For the first time, she requested a jumpy house, but it was raining so we had to make do with a toss the bug into the frog's mouth game and a cotton candy machine. Both were very well received by the girls. I say girls because there were eleven little girls... no boys.

All in all, it went pretty well. No major meltdowns, and everyone had fun. Once again, Lisa, "Auntie Lee Lee" came early to help with the cake, and she was a huge help. Candice did he usual awesome job on snacks and drinks, and it was a very nice party overall.

Now on to Christmas!

Halloween

Bittersweet Halloween, remembering what was happening a year ago. Back to normal to some degree. Went to work as a monkey princess, which apparently is my lot for this year's costume after many years as a cowboy.

Blogless Summer

Yes, I'm afraid it's true. Somehow I never found time to blog this summer...since The Fourth.


To make up for it, I'm going to post some pictures from the Lake House. Candice took these.




And now summer is officially over because Candice and Juliet have returned from The Lake House. School starts next week, and we are back into our normal routine. The lazy hazy days of summer are over....for those who really had them, that is.

As for me, I went back and forth a lot between Edgewood and The Lake House, and also refurbished my study (nee Library) into a whole new room, at least it feels that way. At some point, I'll post pictures of the new study and my new Scotch Bar.

Another Fourth at The Lake and Lucy

At Pine Mountain Lake, where the "McKinney Relaxin' Shack" is, the Fourth of July (Independence Day) is THE big holiday, when the normally placid beaches fill up with throngs. Normally, we lay low. But this year, our friends Lisa & Eric joined us (unexpectedly) and we were invited by our neighbors' family to go out on their boat and join the Boat Parade, another fine PML tradition in which folks festoon their boats and parade around spraying everyone else onshore and in other boats with squirt guns, partying, and generally making merry.

Apparently, there are even annual "themes" beyond the obvious red, white, and blue and other patriotic regalia; this year it was holidays. A canoe was made to look like a Thanksgiving turkey rowed by pilgrims and Indians. A prancing leprechaun, festooned in bright green with a red beard cavorted maniacally beneath a pot-o-gold terminated rainbow. Drinks were drunk and music was played. And, as my mother used to say: A good time was had by all.

Until the next day. Lucy awoke not her usual perky self, but lethargic and weak. She appeared to be in pain, and at times, she shivered. We were worried, and I had to return to work and our home in Aptos. Then, Lucy developed a swelling on her chest; Candice took her to the vet twice in Sonora (who unfortunately was leaving imminently). Then Candice decided to come home for a while and consult her usual vet.

Lucy seems to be getting better, but her temperature won't stay down. We're still worried.

No rafting this year

We decided that since Colin's trip was so brief, and rafting would be a full, long day, we'd not do the rafting trip after all.

Candice and Juliet are going to Phoenix for our friend Suzanne's 50th birthday. I'm staying home to hold down the fort and keep working. Maybe have a little fun on my own if I can.

Pandemic fears

We escaped Mexico just before the flu hit....not sure yet whether this is going to be a pandemic like 1918 or just a mild outbreak. I just keep thinking about The Stand, which starts with a flu-like disease spreading around the world.

All we can do is wait, watch, and hope. And if things start to look bad, prepare...

(Un)Luck and Equanimty

I thought I would be industrious and cut up the oak tree that fell on our property in the recent winter storms; instead I ended up having a two thousand-dollar accident. As Brian Eno might say: "...just another day on Earth."

With the back of the Audi station wagon mommy-mobile filled with recently-cut oak rounds, and the tailgate up, backing up, it just caught the eaves of our garage. WTF? Totaled the tailgate, bent like a fork. Don't know how much it will cost, but probably a lot.

Chagrined, abashed, sorry? Yes. Upset, stressed? No.... that is among the small stuff not to be stressed about, as Candice so rightly reminds me. We have a lot of other fish frying in the fire at this point in our lives, and they are all bigger than the tailgate of the car, as inconvenient as it may be.

Santa Barbara

Candice, Juliet, Lucy, and I went down to Santa Barbara weekend before last for a brief visit. I hadn't been down there since Juliet was born (over five years!) and I still have quite a few friends down there, so it was high time for a visit.

We rented a little vacation house (duplex, actually) near east beach. It was a cozy two bedroom place with a nice little kitchen, a small back yard, just a few steps from the beach. It was really perfect for our stay. Kudos to Candice for finding it on http://vrbo.com.

The trip down was a bit disconcerting, because we saw two serious accidents. The first, we actually witnessed, near Pismo Beach, when an SUV about 4 cars ahead of us careened off the road and ran directly into the guardrail. The second we drove by minutes after it happened, near Buellton. It was even more serious, and we saw the victims on the roadside, obviously injured. To make it even stranger, Jennifer told us that it was actually a friend of hers, and she visited her in the hospital the next day!

Anyway, we arrived safe and sound in SB. We ordered dinner in from a nice Italian place called Ca' Dario. Then, Jim and Linda came over and we visited with them for a bit. On Saturday, we went to the home of my old friend Jon Southard, whom I hadn't seen in a number of years. I had not even met his wife and two sons, and Candice had not met any of them. Jon made us a nice lunch and the kids had fun playing in their large back yard with all kinds of animals (chickens, rabbit, dog, etc.) Even Lucy came along!

That night we had dinner with Jennifer and John at a swooshy new place called Cafe Luck. Michael Keaton and his wife were sitting near us, and on the way out we saw Dennis Miller. A true Santa Barbara moment.

Sunday we went to the charming Santa Barbara zoo. In the evening, Rod came over and we grilled steaks and watched the Oscars.

All in all, an enjoyable, if somewhat rushed visit. I still have fond place in my heart for Santa Barbara.

Hoping for a better '09

We celebrated the New Year at our lake house, taking a brief break from our daily routine at home. Candice's mom, K.B., kindly visited and helped to look after my dad while we were gone.

We drove up to Yosemite for lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel, and then spent a few minutes sledding at the Crane Flat snow play area. It started snowing on our way out of the valley, and we had to put chains on Candice's car for the first time, which was something of an adventure.

Anyway, we're all hoping for a better year. For Juliet, a big change will be that she will start going to school for a full day, rather than half day. That will give Candice a bit more free time, which she can surely use.