Welcome to Douglas

The kids get a big kick out of the sign at the entrance to Hugh and Mary's place.

Extra protein

Discovered during the washing-up (yes, after we had eaten the broccoli).

Evan's Letter to Santa

Evan asked for a Phineas and Ferb DS game and a surprise (2 presents because he says last year in Michigan, Santa forgot to bring him anything).

Interminable...

Ellen's Christmas Dance concert today.

Passing through Heathrow

The kids were delighted to meet Father Christmas and the table lady (now there's a story).

I kept hoping we would run into Keaneau (hey, it's not beyond the realm of possibility, it is Heathrow after all) but it was not to be. However, Speed was on telly that night, so I'm taking that as a sign that something's working (must try harder).

Happy Christmas

At the tree-lighting at MV City Hall

Monarchs

On the way home from Asilomar we stopped at Pacific Grove to see the butterflies.

1:11 on Nov 11

OK so we missed 11:11 but this is still cool!

Earthquake!!!

OK, I've been holding back on the exclamation points lately but I really feel this post deserves the punctuation. So last night, around 8:15pm, I was lying on bed with my laptop, trying to work out the Big Oh for a matrix multiplication formula (that's not as much fun as it sounds!).  All of a sudden the bed started shaking - a fairly rare occurrence these days!- (enough already with the exclamation points!). I was looking around the room to see if anything else was going on but as we've no art up in the bedroom yet, I couldn't tell if the walls were shaking. All the while the bed is going - I don't just mean a gentle tremble...it was  a good shuddering - I was really jiggling (I had my own seismic event going on). Anyway, after about 30 seconds or so it stopped. I immediately checked the interweb for the skinny, and landed on the USGS site which had a link asking "Did you feel it?".

Even tho' I wasn't sure if it had actually been an earthquake I decided to report it and filled out the form. When I'd finished I refreshed the page and sure enough, it had happened.  I was 55km from the epicenter of a 3.8 earthquake.See the site for the quake I felt.

Double Rainbow

We got a drenching last night - it turned our path into a canal - but this morning's rain also brought a double rainbow.

Ciara cycles to school

Ciara was so careful cycling to school, it was great to see her slowing down at all the driveways and walking the bike across the road etc. She said, "Mom, I think I'm more afraid of me dying than you are afraid of me dying". Brilliant. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have created this neurosis in my child - it's every mother's dream really.

Final Night Home Alone

Console myself on my final night sans famille with a last meal of comfort food and a Halloween magazine.

Jeffrey Slonim

My brother-in-law, Jeffrey Slonim, is profiled in a magazine.
http://www.kdhamptons.com/jeffrey-slonim/

Ellipses

Ellipses might just be edging out exclamation points in terms of my favorite punctuation. There's that tantalizing "h" in the HTML entity for an ellipse - … - what's up with that? I dunno, they're more sophisticated somehow than exclaimation points, less needy, got a bit of mystery about them. Dontcha think …

Soccer Mom of the Match - Part 2

I went to the 'Quakes match against the Chicago Fire as the groupie of Liz, who had won VIP passes to the game as part of her "Soccer Mom of the Match" prize. I could get used to that VIP stuff. We had some great grub and saw a little pre-match wrestling where Q took on some luchadores.

Then we were allowed to go on the sidelines and watch the warm-up. I must say, I think Logan Pause (captain of the Chicago Fire) fancies me, several times he ran towards me (I also must say, the feeling is reciprocated, Logan).

Then the moment we had waited for, the ceremony where Liz was declared "Soccer Mom of the Match". Swag in the form of a Pink 'Quakes shirt.

It was only Liz's name that appeared on the jumbotron.  It looks tiny.

Back to our non-VIP status to see the Quakes win two to zip. (I'll comfort you Logan).

Beer Friday

Had to blow off Beer Friday with Eva because we're so busy.
Eva says she's happy to have me back as all her friends have given up the booze because of the calories. Or they say," I can't drink because I have to cook something special for my husband or I can't drink because my kids are bringing friends for a sleepover, or I can't drink because I have to get up early tomorrow morning".
"Hell, those are all the reasons why I want to drink" she says, cranking a cold one.

Haircut

Feeling happy

Go to San Carlos to see Melissa for a haircut.
This is the After photo. Click on the before button to see what magic has been wrought.

Soccer Mom of the Match

Talked to Liz about her getting a call from the 'Quakes to say she would be their VIP guest at the their match on Saturday. She's going to be on the jumbothron TV too. John had entered her into a competition and she had won. She has been 5 years doing AYSO stuff. We had a laugh about the dubious honor. Akin to me being spokesmodel for Rogaine for Ladies.

Home Alone

Up before 5 am to get Doug and the kids to SFO for their flight to Michigan. Back home and get a ton of boxes unpacked and put away. Living room looks not too bad.

Senior moment

So, having dropped some stuff off at the thrift store, I decide to have a bit of a look round, that being a nice little de-stresser for me. I happen upon a bowl by Thomas O'Brien and a knife from IKEA. When I went to pay for them, the cashier totaled my purchases and then said

Cashier: Oh wait, it's Tuesday, you get the seniors' discount.
Me (not quite understanding what she was saying, but hearing clearly the word "discount"): What discount?
Cashier: Senior discount -  10%.
Me: The simian discount?
Cashier: Sen-ior, Sen-ior, Sen-ior, Seeeeen-yooooour discount.
Me: Oh, the senior discount, yeah sure,  55 and over right?

I think it's time to do my roots.

It's not often one gets a chance to see the exact price of their dignity, to see in cold hard cash the value of their esteem. In my case it was 49¢ ; the amount my senior discount saved me. The bowl still makes me happy tho'.

Robbie Burns said it best - and he uses a lot of exclamation points, so you've got to love that.

 O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!

 (English Translation)

O would some Power the gift to give us

To see ourselves as others see us!

It would from many a blunder free us,

And foolish notion:

What airs in dress and gait would leave us,

And even devotion!

Robbert Burns, To A Louse, (1786)

Happy Birthday Edie

Me and Richard Simmons

In what I suspect will prove to be the highlight of our trip to Paris, today I ran into Richard Simmons. We had returned to the Rodin museum because last night as we were leaving Ciara cried on account of missing the part of the tour inside the house. So we spent another couple of hours (no hardship for any of us, still loads to see and it only costs 10€ for the whole family). We're finished up in the house mid-morning, so adjourned to the gift shop. While nosing around, Evan asked me if a black watch tied around a black ball was a grenade, and I heard someone laugh behind us. I turned around and saw a man dressed all in white including a small pair of white feather wings, like angel wings. I said hello (of course I knew who he was, I first heard about him from reading an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer in the '90s about how he had helped this woman from Bryn Mawr lose over 300 lbs and I was a HUGE (pun intended) fan) and so we had a little chat.
I said he looked fabulous (he did too and when I put my arm around his waist for the picture he was firm) - he called me adorable and wondered if I was Canadian.

Trying to act cool around Richard Simmons at the Rodin museum.

We parted from Richard and spent the rest of the day visiting Paris and finished off with an evening at the Louvre. We went first into the gift shop (ground floor) and I split up from the family, browsing around the books while they went upstairs. I was thinking that it would be funny if I met Richard Simmons in the giftshop of a museum again. A little while later I ran into Doug and he told me "Richard's here". Now Doug has two bosses named Richard.

I asked: Richard Mount?
Doug: No
Me: Richard du Bois?
Doug: No...Richard.
Me: You mean Richard Simmons, oh my God, I was just thinking about him. Where is he?"

Doug told me he was upstairs so I hurried above (took the stairs naturally, my homage to the king of exercise) and found him at the jewelry counter. I was very excited to see him, he said "How nice to see you again" and I launched into my story about just thinking how funny it would be to see him again etc. etc, being very excited but wanting to play it cool, 'cause it's Richard Simmons like, and he said "Byh byh now". BURN!!
We stayed until closing time at the Louvre, kids held up pretty well. I had been to Paris many time before but had never been to the Louvre. Could have gone back for another day. I walked all over. My favorites were eighteenth and nineteenth century french paintings.

Me and Keaneau

Had a fantastic dream about Keaneau Reaves last night. I dreamed that he asked me out to watch him rehearse a version of "Howl". It was taking place in a church, the seating was very weird. Keaneau seemed delighted throughout. Everything I said seemed incredibly witty and intelligent. I was so ON. For an example of one of my bon mots, I said it was a good thing that they turned it into a musical because it kept people interested. Keaneau hung on my every word. I must say, I wasn't a total sycophant, in the dream it perked up a bit when they started into the musical.
I skipped ahead to the end of the night and decided he would have to settle for a chaste kiss because I didn't want to sleep with him until I had lost 10 pounds!
Then I started to notice what I was wearing - and started to have some anxiety but convinced myself that it was all part of my charm.
Afterward I hung out with the director and cast and gave them the benefits of my insight. Other stars appearing  included Carol O'Caroll and some guy in dungarees who kept doing somersaults and cartwheels.