Summer Fun

I'm really not supposed to get sucked into sitting at my computer, but my mom has requested a blog post so I'm going to write a quick update in the 10 minutes before I wake Jerry up to walk the dog (his request!).

First, some pictures from the last few weeks:

Etienne arrived on July 9. Ravenpaw took to him immediately.

And so did Charlie.

We all did, actually. The first day he was here we didn't do much. The next day we watched the World Cup

then we went to one of our favorite places, Will Rogers State Historic Park.

After playing frisbee we hiked up to "Inspiration Point" where Etienne literally ran circles around us at the summit. The boy has a lot of energy.

Monday we went to Mountasia for some mini-golf

go kart racing

video game playing

bumper boats

and ice cream at Farrell's.

I don't remember what we did Tuesday--rest, I suppose, because Wednesday we went to Knott's Berry Farm with Summer (my niece), and Etienne's sister, Laure.

I don't remember what happened Thursday, but on Friday we drove up to Sacramento where we met up with Patricia and her daughter, Alexandra, from Switzerland. They stayed at my mom and dad's house with us and we all went to the California World Music Festival.

The music festival was fun, but what the kids really liked was my mom's pool.

We drove home on Monday (or maybe Tuesday) and went to Knott's Berry Farm (again!) on Wednesday.

We spent the next couple days preparing for our vacation in San Diego, then left on Saturday for a week of fun with my family (mom and dad, brother and sister, and my nieces and nephews) at a resort near Legoland.

I'll have to post about San Diego later because those pictures aren't on the computer yet.

As far as what's going on with us now, all the guests are gone and we're enjoying an open schedule and time at home. I'm going to make some fig jam today, strawberry jam on Saturday, I'm cleaning, organizing, giving things away to clear space in our lives, watching movies with Jerry and going for walks. Etienne's family is coming for dinner on Sunday and I'm looking forward to meeting all of them. We were very sad to say good-bye to our French visitor, so we're glad we'll get to see him again!

Bedtime and Other Fun

I know this is supposed to be a blog about unschooling. But, since all my angst is gone I've hardly mentioned it at all in the past year. So, today I'm going to start with two unschooly (but, brief) items. First off, my blog was included in a list of the top 8 unschooling blogs! Can you believe it!? Wait a minute–don't answer that. Anyway, it was quite an honor to be included on that list, so I just wanted to share it with you. But, now I feel obliged to write something about unschooling. So here goes:
I had a realization about bedtimes the other day. Jerry has been staying awake most of the night and sleeping until 3 or 4 in the afternoon for the last month or two. I'm not happy about it, really. I miss seeing him during the day and it makes me wonder where I fit into his life if I'm asleep for much of the waking portion of it. Still, I let him make his own choices. If he's not feeling well or of he's very tired you can bet I ask him if he thinks he got enough sleep (not all the time and not in an accusing way, but sometimes I just can't stop myself because I want him to be aware of how and if his sleeping patterns are affecting him). Anyway, I was thinking about the whole bedtime thing and I realized that this is the time in Jerry's life when it's natural for him to seek out independence–to move away from his parents in some ways. And what better place to do that than in our own home? He gets the entire house to himself. He's free to make choices without taking anyone else into consideration. And yet, if something happens that he wants to talk to me about (and that's not uncommon) all he has to do is walk downstairs and wake me up. It's the perfect situation, really. He's safe, but solo. And he gets the added bonus of being able to talk to friends who live in different time zones and might not be available during the day. So, I'm not saying I'm entirely happy with the situation, but I understand it. And I understand that there are benefits. So, I let it be.

On to other topics now! We've had a really fun week. Yesterday Jerry got together with his friend Josh and we all ended up going to see some music together at the Hammer Museum.

I swiped the above photo, taken by Andrew Herrold, off the KCRW blog. The event took place in a really nice outdoor setting. Everything about it was great. The lead guitar player of Saint Motel, the headlining band, is a close family friend of Josh's so we met his family, which was really nice. The guitar player's dad had created this really cool set up that puts cameras on the microphones and some of the instruments. He also created a small hand held camera that his wife carries around through the crowd while the band plays. Then he has this thing that looks like a wooden piano keyboard that allows him to switch from one camera to another–the image is projected onto a screen behind the band. It's really cool. So we got to check out the camera system a bit. We were also able to watch the DJ do some of his stuff (which Jerry loved) because we arrived early enough to see him and the opening band, Kitten (fronted by an amazing 15-year-old singer). And, as an added bonus, Jerry scored an old Apple Airport that he can take apart in his attempt to create remote internet access for his computer while we're on long drives.

As if that wasn't enough excitement for one week, we went to Anime Expo at the Los Angeles convention Center today. We took Jerry's friend Shea and the boys had a great time marveling at all the costumes, watching anime, and shopping in the mega exhibit hall. I didn't bring my camera, but here are a few phone pics:
Jerry and Shea.

Here's a group of people dressed as characters from One Piece.

Lots of Bleach cosplayers viewed from up above.

We bought a few things for Jerry, but my favorite by far was this Pokemon t-shirt.

I just thought it was hilarious and so did Jerry. That's it for now.

Have a happy 4th!

Magic Happens

Call it magic, serendipity, or coincidence. No matter what name you give it, when people, places, and things align themselves to grant your wishes it's really cool. Yesterday morning I was on the phone with my sister, lamenting the fact that I have no close female friends in Los Angeles. I was telling her (again) how I feel so isolated and explaining that I wanted to start up some neighborhood events so that I could build a closer community here in the neighborhood. We're having an outdoor movie night for the homeschooled teens this weekend and I had been thinking that a regular neighborhood movie night would be really cool.

Cut to a few hours later. Jerry and his friend Kyle are on the couch playing video games and I'm loading the car with boogie boards and beach chairs for our first homeschool beach day of the summer. I was on my driveway and saw a woman with two kids (they looked to be about 2 and 4) across the street. I said "Hi," and almost left it at that, but then I asked if they lived in the neighborhood. She said they did and we started talking. I told her about how there were no kids at all when we first moved in, and we shared notes on which houses have kids and how old they are (they're all much younger than Jerry) and how long they've lived there. I invited her and the kids in for some iced tea (figuring homeschool beach day could wait) and we spent the next hour happily chatting while the kids played with sidewalk chalk. I even broke out the old Thomas the Tank Engine tracks.

It was amazing! I felt like I asked for something and it appeared. But, what I realized–and what I'm sure I should have thought of long ago–is that, while the answer to my wish was right there in front of me, if I hadn't put myself out there and spoken to the woman I would have missed the moment entirely. How many other things that I've longed for have been right in front of me only to pass out of my vision because I was too blind (or shy, or lazy...) to see them and grab hold!? I'm not dwelling on the things I may have missed, but I will certainly try not to let this lesson go to waste. From now on, I talk to everyone I see! We're going to plan some neighborhood events and I'm really looking forward to seeing her and her kids again. Finally, a friend with kids in the neighborhood!!

And that was just the beginning of a fabulous day. After Rebecca left, I finished loading the car, then Jerry, Kyle and I headed for the beach. I wasn't sure if we'd know anyone, but we did–two of Jerry's good friends were there. It was really great. Kyle spent almost the entire time in the water while Jerry hung out on the sand and I talked to the other moms and one of the teen girls. Then we went down to the Santa Monica pier with another family for some video games and a couple rides.

Fun was had by all.

Big News!

Our local library branch opened on Monday! I was there for the ribbon cutting ceremony along with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a couple councilmen, the fire chief, some random city officials, and about 300 neighbors. It was awesome! Our library is so cool! The first cool thing is the fact that it exists at all. The voters of L.A. approved a bill to build more libraries a decade or so ago--but the Silver Lake branch wasn't one of them. However, the Office of Public Works, in an unprecedented display of a government competence, managed the money so well that they had enough money to build four extra libraries (four!)--and ours was one of them! The next cool thing is that the library is a Leed Certified green building. And it's beautiful! And the final cool thing is that I can walk there! It's literally around the corner from my house!!

Anyway, the library opening is big news, but it's not the big news. The big news is that after considering my frenzied excitement over the opening of our library, and thinking about how much I love books and information and sharing books and information with people, and how I'd love nothing more than to live a long fruitful life and die in a room full of dusty old books, I've decided to become a librarian! It's a long-term plan because I won't actually get a job until Jerry is off doing his own thing. I'm going to start by getting a certificate in Library Science at the local community college. (I registered yesterday and had my transcripts sent to the school and everything!) I'm going to volunteer at our library (which I would have done anyway) to gain some experience. And then, when the time is right for both me and Jerry, I'll apply to the UCLA Masters of Library and Information Science Program. Woohoo!

And then, I was thinking "How can I combine being a librarian with travel?" and I thought maybe I can start a nonprofit group that builds libraries in third world countries. Wouldn't that be awesome!!? Anyway, it's very exciting and I'm trying not to think too much about it so I don't start wondering how I'll have the time. I'm just going to dive in. I can't wait to start going to school again. I love school!

The other exciting news, also related to the library, is that I met Janet Fitch (author of White Oleander) and Cecil Castellucci (author of The Queen of Cool) at the opening--they both live in Silver Lake. Anna Hays, an author I had interviewed for the local paper (and really loved talking to), introduced me to them. So that was really cool. I was buzzing with excitement when I got home--and it's obviously lingered for a few days.

Well, the dirty dishes on my kitchen counter are calling out my name so I'd better go wash them. I'll dream about my life as a librarian while I scrub....

Hometown Tourists

A lot has happened in a just a few days--and it's all good. Let's go back to last Wednesday, the day before our guests from England arrived. I took Sol, my 93-year-old friend, and his lady friend, Annalise, to Royal Palms State Beach for our monthly "field trip." We saw some crazy geology.And found some very cool, weather-beaten rocks.Then we stopped by the beautiful Wayfarers Cathedral for a quick look around.Thursday afternoon our guests from England arrived. I picked them up from the airport, dropped them off at the house, booked over to the valley to pick up Jerry's friend Jackson at school, dropped the boys off at computer class, and raced back home to get ready for (drum roll, please) The Lebowski Fest!!!!Jesus was there (there were a few, actually).And the original Dude, Jeff Dowd, made an appearance.
The movie night was fun and all but the some seriously obnoxious guys sat right behind us shouting out lewd remark for most of the show. So that was kind of a drag. But we still had fun. The most fun, however, was had at the bowling party the following night.Warren and I donned our "Achiever" t-shirts and bellied up to the bar for a couple "caucasians."
The costumes were hilarious. Here's Cynthia, Walter's ex-wife.Here we have one Dude and a few Walters.
I'm not sure which was more disturbing. Bunny...Or the landlord. I think maybe bunny.
Inanimate objects were big. Here's the Dude's toilet. There were also rugs, Folgers coffee cans, and white russians.
For more (and better) photos check out the LA Weekly site.

Friday afternoon Warren went off to work and Jerry, Jackson and I took our guests to Universal Studios (where I neglected to take a single photo). Saturday we toured L.A. We started off with huevos rancheros at one of our favorite taco stands, dropped Nick and Elle off in Hollywood where they spent a few hours on Hollywood Boulevard, then picked them up for a visit to the La Brea Tar Pits, a drive through Beverly Hills and down Rodeo Drive, and a stop at the original Farmer's Market and the Grove.

On Sunday (Mother's Day) Warren and Jerry made scones and we all took a picnic breakfast up to the Griffith Observatory. Here's Nick and Elle at breakfast (we had our picnic at the tables just outside the cafeteria). Here they are with Warren and Jerry enjoying the view. I love this building.Jerry, Nick and Elle went into the Observatory for a quick look around while Warren and I sat on the grass taking pictures of ourselves.
Then we went to the Hollywood Farmer's Market.Then Venice Beach.
On Monday we went to the San Diego Zoo. I hadn't been there since I was even younger than Jerry so it was like visiting for the first time. The Panda made it onto to everyone's favorite animal list.As did the hippo. It's hard to see with the reflection but the hippo was leaning right up against the glass, resting his head on a rock. He was just inches away from our fingers.The meerkats were a big hit, too.
And the sloth bear was good for a laugh.
We had so much fun seeing our home town through the eyes of out of town guests. Nick and Elle are up in San Francisco for the next few days. They return Saturday night for their flight home on Sunday. Next time I hope they stay longer. But thanks to our hospitality exchange we can look forward to more guests next month!