At Long Last, Another Book Finished

In my women's book club, we will often bring books we are finished reading to loan out, and two months ago, Jan leant me Good Things I Wish You by A. Manette Ansay. She said it was about Clara and Robert Schumann along with Johannes Brahms, and about the mysterious relationship between Clara and Brahms. As a music historian in my past life, I was interested to read this novel.

It's a quick read. I got a big chunk of it read on the ferry from Catalina to Long Beach on Saturday.

Ansay sets up parallel relationships between her protagonist, a woman who is writing a novel about Clara, and Clara, herself. I had known very little about the Clara/Johannes story, so reading quotations from their correspondence and diaries was interesting. The theme of the novel, can men and women be true friends (think When Harry Met Sally), seemed a little contrived to me, but it turns out that Ansay drew quite a bit from her own recent life for this book which you can read about here.

Sunday Afternoon Project

College Women's Basketball

Last night the Carleton Knights played CMS (Claremont/Mudd/Scripps) Athenas in Basketball. The game was close all the way through, but CMS pulled off the win 61-60. For Thanksgiving Weekend, the gym held quite a few spectators from both teams.

Catalina Celebration

We are grateful to have had the chance to spend several days of Thanksgiving on Catalina. Mostly we were celebrating Hal's big birthday.

Thursday was spent getting to Avalon and eating a lovely Mexican Thanksgiving meal at Mi Casita and then walking that meal off with a stroll around the town. The weather was perfectly sunny and calm, and we even took a stroll up the canyon to the Botanical Gardens just as they were closing.

We stayed at a little inn called La Paloma / Las Flores in a quaint 50's style "apartment" with a partial view of the harbor from our shared balcony. The only uncomfortable part of that was that the room has no heater, and it was clear that we were going to be too cold to sleep. However, we requested extra blankets, and we also got a space heater which made the room much warmer, otherwise we might have had to get a different hotel.

Yesterday we took the 7:30 a.m. airport shuttle to Catalina's Airport-in-the-Sky where we had some hearty breakfast burritos before we started our 9-mile hike back down to Avalon. That is certainly the way to walk, although downhill does take it's toll on one's calves the next day. The sky was clear blue and we had lovely vistas of the mainland, including snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Soon I will add photos to my picasa site of our getway celebration.

Family

It goes without saying, but I'm saying it. I am thankful for my family - my family of origin and the family that Hal and I have created. We love each other, even though we know all our foibles and we appreciate each other, too. I am especially thankful for the great sense of humor that runs through our genes!

Milestone Day

Today I am most thankful for my fabulous husband. Happy Birthday to the best guy I know!

Not a Cliche

Today I am most thankful for my good health. It's not a cliche for me, since last year at this time I was not feeling so well at all, and I missed a good deal of teaching time in November. This year I am running on full steam and appreciating it every day when I wake up.

Vista del Valle Elementary School

I have been thankful for Vista del Valle Elementary School for many, many years now. It's the school that nurtured my daughters; it's the place where I have been working, one way or the other, for 15 years, as librarian and music teacher. It's a community of people who believe in the whole child.

I am especially grateful this year for the beginning string students I have who are eager to learn, practice their instruments, help out, are kind to each other and love music. This gives meaning to my life, even though they don't know that. I'm heading out to teach them now, and I am looking forward to it!

Book Clubs

I am so grateful to have two interesting and fun book clubs. One book club is women-only and we meet on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening over coffee and cookies.

Last night our co-ed book club met to discuss The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. This club meets on Sunday nights over a potluck supper. This particular installment of the book club had some of the best food ever. I loved the curried chicken and rice dish, the mashed parsnips, and the roasted sweet potato salad.

With both book groups, I appreciate the varied insights into the books, whether I liked the book or not. I always learn something and appreciate the friendships that last over the years.

A Week of Thanksgiving

In honor of Thanksgiving, which will last all week, one way or the other, today I am thankful for my church which has been a great community in which to raise children, make lifelong friends, share great meals together and to be part of something bigger than myself.

Today was our annual Thanksgiving feast after the 10:00 service. Here is what the tables looked like before the influx of the throngs (400ish people?). Our persimmons graced many of the tables before we took them to one of our friends who will dry them.

Möbius Revealed

You know HMC is a different kind of school when the lecture hall is filled on a Friday night for a math lecture. Okay, it was a fun math lecture that has to do with this video on youtube, and yes, there was cake afterwards. Oh, yeah, and then it's over by 8:00 and the campus parties have not yet started, but still. Kids at an optional Friday night lecture. And, even faculty spouses show up for fun.

The lecture was by one of the two creators of this video explaining how it came about, how it went viral, about how the math works, and how they used the software to create the visuals.

Another Blog and More About Vista

Check out the newest blog I am following which is all about Reading at Vista. Our great librarian has set this up, and the kids post little videos of book reviews or short ditties about the books they are reading. I just found out yesterday morning that the Vista Library may be part of a story on NPR next week, so stay tuned to see if it will be!

Blog Stats

It's kind of fun to check the stats on my blog. This shot, taken yesterday, shows what countries read my blog yesterday (US, Denmark and NZ - you know who you are!), and it looks as though most people who read my blog use Macs and also use Firefox over Safari.

Annual Persimmon Update

Two years ago our persimmon tree yielded very few fruits. Last year we had about 30 persimmons. This year . . . . WOW! We are donating them to our church for table decorating for our Thanksgiving Dinner, but after the dinner, we'll give them to one of our friends who dries them as a Japanese delicacy.

La Parolaccia

Last night we finally went to La Parolaccia for dinner. Claremont has a number of Italian restaurants (Tutti Mangia, Aruffo's, and Buca di Beppo), but we hadn't made it to the newest one yet.

The service was very good, and I chose the special - Orange Roughy with vegetables to go with a spinach salad. I thought the food was very good. I was surprised and happy to find that the vegetables on the special included mashed potatoes which I rarely eat, but really enjoy.

The house white wine, a generous portion, was fine, but nothing spectacular.

Happy Birthday, John!

We were fortunate to attend John's 26th birthday party last night. While he might have spent the day in DC, with his parents in Boston, sister in Florence, Italy, and us here, his grandmother's memorial service brought us all together. Other friends of the Clicks had invited them over for homemade pizza and we were included in an evening of great laughter and sharing. Our contribution to the celebration was this chocolate cake with buttercream filling from Some Crust Bakery.

Monrovia Canyon Park Hike

It is a beautiful sunny day here in So Cal, perfect for a little hike. Using my California Hiking book I found short walk to a waterfall in Monrovia Canyon Park, just about 20 miles from Claremont. Looking for further information on the hike, I stumbled on this youtube video which shows much of the hike by a family.

It's so funny these days to see people on a hike talking on their cell phones, whereas I can walk next to my husband and enjoy each other's company without saying too much.

Memorial Service

This morning, at the La Verne Church of the Brethren, family and friends gathered to remember Ellen Click who passed at the end of October. The service was lovely, befitting a woman who is remembered as Grace Personified. Her three children and one granddaughter spoke so eloquently about this special woman.

Annual Peppernut Dough Day 2010

Today I plan to make peppernut dough. Stage one of three. Last year I made a movie about the dough-making process and put it in my blog.

This year the peppernuts take on a poignant meaning for me since my gramma who bequeathed her family this recipe passed on in March. I love this legacy of hers and plan to carry it on as long as my arm can stir that dough.

It's also poignant because our dear friends, the Clicks, are in Claremont to commemorate the passing of Rodney's mother just recently. It is so good to have them all here to reconnect and share memories, but I wish it could be under different circumstances.

Alice Waters

Alice Waters, founder and owner of Chez Panisse, spoke to a packed house at Garrison Theater last night. It was interesting to hear about her journey as a chef, restauranteur, champion of local and organic food because that was not how she started out. She just wanted to have food that tasted really good. I especially liked her story of how her daughter started at Yale eight years ago and neither one of them could stand the smell of the cafeteria on the first day. Before the freshmen and their parents met the president of the college, her daughter told her mother NOT to say anything about the food, but Alice could not resist, and now Yale has a sustainable food project.

November 9 This Year

The house was 61 degrees when I woke up this morning, so I turned on the heater for the first time this year!

Some Good Things that Libraries Give that E-Readers Can't

As I said on Saturday, I went to the public library to browse their travel guides. I love not only the instant gratification of picking up a book (for free!), but knowing that when I am finished with it, I don't have to find a place in my home to store it. The library is my other bookshelf, and I can always go back and pick up that book when I want it.

Funny thing about books on shelves. The Central American travel section is in the 917s, but right next to that section starts the 92s, the biographies. My eyes just happened to glance over and see a spine that said Piano Lessons by Noah Ad (rest of name covered by a sticker). I pulled it out and saw that it's by Noah Adams, host of NPR's All Things Considered. A peek inside the dust jacket, and I read that it's a chronicle of his 52nd year and learning to play the piano. It wasn't too thick, so I added it to the stack of checkouts.

I have two books to read for book clubs this month (actually I am rereading them, so I am a step ahead), but I snuck this book in, and found it enjoyable. Parts lagged, but I particularly enjoyed the chapter of October where Adams spends 10 days in Bennington, VT at the Autumn Sonata Piano Camp. As a music teacher and musician, it's always fun to read about other people's experiences in learning an instrument.

My doctor took up the piano two years ago and has really enjoyed it, but he is taking a break while he studies for something (recertification of his boards?). He would probably enjoy this book.

Bucket List

Now that we have gotten our two children through college, it is time to think about what we want to do with our time and money. What's on our bucket list? Travel! The trouble is trying to prioritize where we want to go first. So, today we went to the library's travel section and checked out books on Hawai'i, Costa Rica and the Anasazi ruins in the Four Corners region.

2010 seems to have been our urban year. We've been to San Francisco, Boston, New York and Chicago, along with solo trips to Fort Collins and Des Moines. I yearn for nature.

How to choose when there isn't really a bad choice? Stay tuned.

More Leaves

Our neighbor boys, the famous 6-year-old twins are very, very industrious these days. Every morning before school, and after school, they are sweeping up and raking leaves up and down the block and making their own leaf pile. They were worried when I told them that our gardeners were coming to rake our leaves, but they need not be concerned. Way more leaves have fallen in the past day to keep them busy, even if they work all day long.

The Saga Ends

Yesterday I finished the last Stieg Larsson book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. I had heard disparate reviews comparing the last two books. Some had liked the second better than the third, some the third better. Actually those two are really one long story, so it's hard for me to differentiate them too much.

Without giving too much away, the trial in the last book was gripping and I found it quite satisfying.

Upon reflection of this series, I think what made me like it so much was the character of Lisbeth Salander. The plots are exciting, even when I think there is an overabundance of mundane detail at times. It's seeing how Lisbeth works through her predicaments and her resilience to what life has thrown at her that kept me riveted. Plus, she's so dang smart.

Fall and Indian Summer

It's raining leaves, as it should in fall. It's also 95 degrees outside! The Santa Anas are blowing, giving us an Indian Summer and helping me to keep my heater off for a little while longer.

Rights as an American

Today I voted. All I had to do was walk around the corner to my local polling place and mark my ballot (and talk to friends and by a baked good to help 6th graders go to outdoor school).

Claire, a California citizen, too, was not so lucky. A year or two ago she registered to receive her ballot by mail on a regular basis. She has gotten all of them except for this one. Since we are never quite sure where she will be on any given election, it makes sense to have it mailed here, and then I can forward it to her.

Think I'll be making a phone call or two on her behalf. She was unable to participate in her rights.

Halloween on Indian Hill Blvd.

Wow. I knew that Indian Hill Blvd. was a busy street on Halloween, but I hadn't realized just how busy it is! We went to our friend's house where they had purchased 15 BIG bags of candy and by the time we left at 8:15, most of the candy was gone. The line of trick-or-treaters was a constant stream, just like an assembly line. Our friends giving out candy also enjoyed a little of their own liquid treats making for a festive evening, indeed.