A Year Of Photos

This morning I went through all my photos from 2013 and decided not to bore anyone with my favorites, or whatever, as a year-end post. I did delete over 500 photos. That is from this year alone! I mean, how many pictures of flying pelicans, oceans, plants, food, bad photos of oneself, etc does one need to leave on the computer?

I ran across this one that I took last week. We were wandering through the colleges, and I was going to show L where I could not find Gabby Giffords' signature, and, low and behold, it popped right out at me. (You can see it right in the middle of the photo.)

So, in lieu of a year-end wrap-up, I will just say - Looking Forward to a New Year!

Alle Meine Kleider

During our family time on Christmas, my daughters reminded me of a German song that I had forgotten. They must have learned it from the children's choir director at church when they were in elementary school.


Grün grün grün sind alle meine Kleider,
Grün grün grün ist alles was ich hab
Darum lieb ich alles was so grün ist
Weil mein Schatz ein Jager, Jager ist.

It basically means, all my clothes are green because my love is a hunter.

You can go through other colors then. Blue for sailor, white for baker, black for chimney sweep, and then all the colors for a painter.

I found this funny video on youtube so you can hear the song. 

Inside Llewyn Davis

When my daughter L was young, and I thought she was old enough to have me read The Phantom Tollbooth aloud to her, she looked up at me somewhere in the middle of the book and said, "I don't really understand this book, but I really like it!" Well, I probably should have waited about 2 or 3 years to choose that particular book, and I hope that someday she gets around to reading it to herself, because she will understand it now, for sure.

I am waiting for C and B to come over soon for some football viewing so that we can discuss Inside Llewyn Davis, the latest Coen Brothers film. H and I walked out of the Laemmle yesterday and said, "We really liked that film. What did it mean?"I don't know if waiting 2 or 3 years will help me understand it, but others' insights might.

Of course, we had to look up reviews online and in the LA Times hard copy. The Times talked about the music of the movie (which I really, really liked, especially since the lead character played by Oscar Isaac not only acted well, but sang and played the guitar for reals. [sic] Then I asked H what he thought about the meaning of the cat (We had had a discussion about the meaning of the cat at the last episode of the Sopranos….), 'cause that cat wove it's way throughout the movie. I came across this article in the Atlantic (and it has spoilers, so you are warned). I thought it had some great observations and might be on to something.

In any case, I plan to see this movie again at some point. I'm glad I saw it in the theater first, though.

Library Check-Outs

This is an odd sight on my library account page - no check-outs and no holds! I recently read and returned the newest No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency book (The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon) and The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida (written by a 13-year-old Japanese autistic boy to explain what it's like to be autistic). Now I need to read some of the books that I own…

Philippe's For Breakfast

All good things come to an end, and this morning we took L and C back to Union Station for their return home. Their train left at 10:10, so we thought it might be a good time to try Philippe's for breakfast. L had only ever been once, and C had never been to this iconic LA eatery. Traffic was light, so we made great time, and the lines at Philippe's were not long. Somehow we never get to LA for breakfast, so this seemed to be our chance to try it out.

The portions are large, and we were pretty stuffed when it was all over. I had the veggie omelette which comes with hash browns, coffee, and either biscuits or toast. I think it will hold me until lunch!

Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Christmas has been particularly wonderful this year. As many know, when children grow up, and create their own families, it becomes rarer to have everyone in one place at one time, especially for Christmas. We feel so blessed this year to have one of those years.

Some of our highlights of this year's holiday (to add to the trip to the Natural History Museum):

1) watching The Apartment, one of B's favorite movies (1960 with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLain)

2) remembering lots of old songs and singing all the lyrics we could remember

3) looking at old family photos and home movies from the 1960s and 70s

4) eating really, really good food (and spending lots of time preparing it - thanks C and B!)

5) (and this is a lowlight, not highlight) not going to see The Hobbit, nor hiking in the foothills, both which were on our to-do list

6) playing Legos, Carcassonne, and some wii u, although we didn't get to Citadel

7) watching people get just what they wanted (headlamps, indoor/outdoor thermometer, Legos, Danskos, yoga mat, shaver, cookbooks, dino slippers, and a vacuum cleaner, among other things, including donations to favorite charities)

8) just being together - the best part of all!

H and C (C Mc, to be precise, since it is hard to discern from the context here), assembled H's birthday present - a Lego version of the UN Building. See post from last year….

LA Natural History Museum

What I learned at the LA Natural History Museum today:

California teachers get in free. Not advertised... Students still have to pay. 

The plesiosaurus, a large sea reptile, had one baby at a time and it was a live birth. The baby was 40% of the mom's size at birth. This skeleton, found in Kansas, is complete with fetus. I already knew that Kansas was under water at one point. This skeleton was nearly complete, only the head and the top of the neck are fabricated.

The T rex grew rapidly and did not live particularly long. These two skeletons show a two-year-old and a juvenile, about 13-14-years old. Huge size difference.

The museum has a very cool miniature replica of downtown LA, a WPA project built between 1939 and 1940. 

We had not been to the museum for many, many years, and I enjoyed seeing how more open and bright the dinosaur exhibits are. Unfortunately, C was not feeling well, so she and B did not accompany us on this trip. However we did make a stop in Arcadia to pick up a friend of L and C's (a student at the U of O) who is home on vacation.

Together Again

All the chickies are back in the nest! L and C arrived from Oregon by train last night to join us with C and B for some family time. Hooray!

The Weekend Before Christmas, When All Through the Village

The Claremont Village is an exciting place once the holiday gets underway. Yesterday while sipping tea at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, my friends and I watched as groups of kids, fresh on winter break strolled up and down Indian Hill Blvd. We waved to our students and former students as we all relished our new-found freedom.

Cars, cars everywhere. 

The CHS Orchestra entertained parents and passers-by with carols in front of City Hall.

Winter Sing!

I have a new attitude about Vista's Winter Sing. I have always just dreamed about the moment that it is over and I can start my vacation. This year I found myself looking forward to the actual event. I think I am finally remembering that we are not having dress rehearsals (the very worst part of the whole thing), and that for the past few years when it was over I thought, "that wasn't so bad."

This year I felt excited about all the pieces the kids were going to perform. We had two audience sing-a-longs (I'm not sure how much the audience participated in Feliz Navidad and Winter Wonderland, but I know the kids enjoyed the songs). I had 18 beginning strings perform along with the Vista Orchestra, our (now) traditional Jingle Bells. I loved the Ks in Gingerbread Cookies and the 1st graders were adorable in I Want to Be an Elf. I was amazed at the beauty of the 2nd graders singing Simple Gifts - so clear, loud and on pitch. You would think that I would know they could sing that way, but, really, they ratcheted it up two notches for the performance.

I also learned that for the 5th and 6th graders, who do not like to sing in public, having them lead the group singing for Winter Wonderland and then do a body percussion with a rap about wrapping Christmas Presents was a fine option. I totally stole the choreography for the final number (4th and 5th graders) from this youtube video which the kids LOVED rehearsing. If more of the kids had actually shown up for the performance, it would have been better, but, for those of us there, it was really fun.

Recorders, were, as usual great, even though this is the smallest class - about 22 kids total - but they just rocked their pieces.

The kids were just amazingly good and so happy to be there, and I enjoyed watching them be their very best.

I have also come to appreciate, more and more, how easy my job on the actual night is. The teachers are there to keep track of their classes. They set up and clean up, and they make the kids look great. Special thanks to my fabulous husband who helped move risers and chairs and stands, and then got out the vacuum at the end and stayed to turn out the last light.