Foggy Day

• Fog reachs our altitude (1500')
• It's a "burn day"; Jonathan & I get a great bonfire roaring in the southwest corner.

• In the quiet after sundown, Jonathan and I work on supper, Celtic music on the radio, cat begs food -- magical moment.
• Rena reads a piece in WSJ on "Chinese Parenting" and gets weepy and agitated, remembering growing up during Cultural Revolution.
• Tried watching 1968 Bob Hope "Eight on the Lam" but it was unbearable -- Phyllis Diller, polyester hip ambience.   Settle on a 1941 Jimmy Stewart "Pot of Gold" (musical!)

Friday January 7

• Drive Mary to playdate with Shea and encounter thick fog 5 minutes from home. It's quite startling: warm, blue sky one moment, cold, thick soup the next.

• A Gold Rush cemetery

• Mary took my camera and the girls took pictures of one another

• On the way back, emerging from the fog, someone is selling alpacas on the roadside!

• It's a "No Burn Day", so Jonathan and I spend afternoon cutting and collecting wood.
• Movie: Bob Hope in "Casanova's Big Night" -- lots of fun

Wednesday January 5

• Morning walk with the kids...

• it feels like Spring already

• A hummingbird in January!  I'm afraid he won't survive.

• Beside the creek, a willow jumps the gun.

Beautiful Day

Burn Day
Area close to house...

Is there anything sweeter than working outdoors with a son?

IKEA

Christmas vacation is a long 3 weeks and the kids are growing antsy.  I distract them with a trip to the big city!

 

Sacramento is only a half-hour drive but we never find a need to go there.  Our excuse today is visiting the Ikea store.

The capital of California is actually a small cowtown, a little bump in the distance as you descend the foothills into the broad flat Central Valley.

It feels about the size of Birmingham or Jacksonville.

We have a great time people watching and looking at the clever designs.

We buy nothing but frozen meatballs that we bring back home and cook.

Christmas Charity

To walk off the turkey (and do a good deed) I dragoon the kids for a "Pick Up the Trash" walk.  We follow our usual 3 mile circuit.

The staff photographer snaps a self-portrait...

Christmas Eve

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Party with friends

Firecrackers for the kids