Saturday, June 30, 2007

And another week...







I can't believe I haven't blogged in almost a week. Here's what's been happening...

I finished the book Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver and I REALLY recommend it to those of you who care where your food is coming from and what you can do to make your food more organic, more local, and more your own. It is nonfiction and a great read. BK is one of my favorite authors anyway, but this book was both compelling and inspiring. In fact, when I finished I immediately announced to Joe that we were going vegetarian, pulling up our grass to have more garden, and getting a goat. Joe shook his head and sighed. Those of you who know me know my enthusiasms are intense and, sadly, much in conflict with reality. (Do any of you remember the time I was going to write to Bush weekly for a year. To my credit, I did write 18 letters and received exactly one response of no consequence.) At any rate, I am relaxing and am determined now simply to plant more veggies and learn how to make my own cheese. (Seriously! I'll let you know how it turns out.) But Joe is resting easier since I said I didn't really want a goat. Afterall, don't they eat tin cans? Why do I think that?

And in other news...Joe and Sophie have returned from a successful visit to Colorado Springs to see Oma (visiting from Holland), Uncle Larry, Aunt Ginger, and Gina, and of course, the dogs! Sophie had a great time -- fed giraffes, played with the dogs, met a fellow four-year old named Marcie, and had a great time with Oma and Gina. I think she was taller when she got home.

It was weird to be on my own for those couple of day. I had two poetry meetings and dinner out with the girls, but mostly I stayed at home and tried to write, mostly unsuccessfully. -sigh- Right now writing feels like trying to swim in jello -- you think you are getting somewhere, but you aren't at all. --double sigh--

FILM RECOMMENDATION -- Today we saw Ratatooie (sp?), a very funny animated flick. We took the intrepid Sophia, but it isn't really a kids' movie. It is a good movie for grown-ups who take joy in food and are not rataphobic. Delightful! I give it a two-thumbs up and so does Joe, but Sophie says, 'what?!" whenever we mention it. She seems to have liked the cheese grating scenes.

So that's all for now. Here are a couple of photos from the CO trip. Tata for now. ~ gw

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Shakespeare, Swimming, and Picnics











I bet you were thinking we'd never return, and yet, here we are! We've been in Ashland for the past few days with Mom. We saw several plays, ate good food, swam, played with cats and dogs (that was mostly Sophie), and visited the science museum and several quilt shops (that was Mom). A good time was had by all. We saw The Taming of the Shrew (Mom & Gillian), Romeo and Juliet (Mom & Joe), and The Tempest (Joe & Gillian). Very good all around, of course, but last was my favorite. We would also like to recommend the Burger Barn in Dunsmuir, CA if you are ever driving north on I-5 and find yourself in need of good burger or humonguous BLTs. Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Dog Days


Are there any of you out there who don't know that pets are not my thing? And yet, right now, I find myself living in a house with one nocturnal mouse named Algernon and one ill-behaved dog named Schatzie. Algernon sleeps all day and runs on her wheel all night. It makes a noise like a cup of tea bubbling over. Schatzie makes a lot of noise, steals breakfasts, chews up toys, and runs out front door any time she can. She is still a sweetie for all that. Go figure. We just spent half an hour trying to coax Schatzie out of a reclusive neighbor's back yard. This is a house where we think one person lives, but we have never seen them. Their house is sort of the haunted house of the neighborhood,dilapidated, overgrown, windows always closed and curtained, and there were Joe and I standing in the driveway with a tempting bowl of kibble, daring each other to go up and knock so that we can ask to go into the backyard and retrieve the dog. Sophie helped by shouting "Bad dog!" periodically and telling us maybe we should look in New York or San Diego. Anyway, Schatzie eventually came out covered in burrs and thorny bits which we duly combed out and cut out. Algernon simply rolls his eyes at all this. He's been with us for 12 weeks now and has seen it all. He's a world-weary mouse, having been rescued from the parking lot of a high school. Who wouldn't be world weary after that?

So, when I started this, I did state that I couldn't promise anything terribly interesting, and so I have proven myself right.

Oh, two more movie reviews...we saw Oceans 13 yesterday and enjoyed it very much. Funny and light-hearted and goofy. Lots of in-jokes between the actors, but they have so much fun together it is fun to watch them. And who can't enjoy watching George Clooney. Oolala. And...we watched Ghost Rider last night. It was about two hours long and I thought it was 97 minutes too long. Joe liked it though, and thought it honored the Marvel comic pretty well. Not for the kids though. Yikes! Lots of ghosts and melting people.

And that's it for now. Oh here is a question you can answer for a small prize:
To what short story does Algernon's name refer? (Hint: he was named by high school students.) First one to answer wins.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

movie rec/swim class/procrastination

Hello, Oh Family and Friends!
Well, the last few days have been eventful with small events that make our lives seem uneventful, but sometimes you've got to start small, eh? So, we finally got our new front door put up and it looks quite lovely and we got our new water heater installed so now we can have hot water and save energy at the same time. Speaking of energy, Joe and I recommend the movie Who Killed the Electric Car? Did you know there was an all-electric car marketed in the early years of this century by GM? It seemed to be marketed mostly around the LA area, got great gas mileage, and was cute and zippy too. Well, GM proceeded to take them all back from their drivers, transport them out the desert, and crush and shred them into nothingness! Yikes! These cars make hybrid technology look old school. At any rate, the movie is interesting and thought-provoking. Just how much is the Corporate-Government Man holding us down???

Sophie is in swim class again this term and is supremely confident in the water. Her favorite stroke is the back stroke and she loves to play with the foam noodles. Miss Tess is her teacher at the Y and they all have a terrific time. We get there a little early so that she can swim on her own for a while.

So, Joe is next door mowing our neighbor's lawn and I am sitting here updating our blog so that I don't have to face the empty page. -sigh- Empty page, here I come!

Sunday, June 10, 2007



Parties are exhausting!




Here are the kids (Sophie, Eva, Emma, Molly, Anna, and Dylan) enjoying the plums from our tree. Sophie was the quick-change artist of the evening and put in appearances as an angel, a ballerina, a scarf dancer and as a regular old 4year old.

Sunday's Today

So, last night's party was pretty fun. The dessert was rather disappointing (I can say that because I made it.) and we had WAY TOO MUCH food, so now our mission is to see how much of the food we can consume this week. -sigh- At any rate, the darts were good and the kids had a good time. Thanks, everyone, for coming!

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Happy Birthday, Joe!

It is Joe's bday today, and though in traditional Joe-fashion we aren't really celebrating it, but we are having a nice day with some good friends and a barbeque tonight. Hooray for friends! Hopefully pics will be up tomorrow or the next day, but in the meantime, here's a thought for you: age isn't what the years say but how you act. Joe is currently taking a nap on the couch, whereas Sophie, who is supposed to be taking a nap, is observing how slowly her clock moves. (She is supposed to have quiet time until 3 and it is now 2:33. )

Friday, June 8, 2007


Here is Sophie this past week!

We had the pool up in the backyard and she was thrilled to be out there. Being in the water is one of her favorite activities!

Announcing! Announcing!

This is Joe and Gillian and Sophia's blog! Can you believe it?! Look here for updates on our world here in Modesto and beyond! We can't promise it will be exciting, but we can promise photos, short explanations of weird daily events, notes about upcoming poetry happenings, and an assortment of thoughts you never knew you needed to know. Check in periodically and see what's to be seen!