first

thank you little red hen

'tis the season

found thrity of these vintage japanese ornaments for two ninety-nine at the goodwill today.

they will adorn some of the gifts we are sending out. not sure what i am going to do with the rest of them. (sam?)

1999

dear rock,

is it really possible this was 9 yrs ago? trying to get myself in the holiday spirit, and stumbled across a stack of old pics in a box of decorations.

this one made me smile.

and miss you.

love,
ant

ticket to ride

one of d's main objectives when i suggested a trip to berkeley for the holiday was to make sure we took at least one of these bikes for a test drive. when our bike trailer began to fail, we thought this would be the logical next step. as a one car family - with d commuting by bike/public transit daily - we decided the initial expense would be a worthwhile investment.

we had tried checking one out down here - but no one carrying them could be found. (our neighbors picked up an xtracycle on a recent trip to seattle, and love it.) i actually thought i had my heart set on the kona. i really liked the look of it. though practically speaking i worried about where the kids would put their feet. (the xtracycle can have footrests attached, and the rack on the kona serves as a footrest as well.)

enter "rock the bike". (man, i love berkeley.)

"We're bike people. We're inventors and advocates working away in a sweet little workshop in Berkeley, California, pushing the limits of bike culture. Our dream is to help spread the spirit of the bike into the broader culture by organizing, entertaining, inspiring, educating, and inventing new ways to get the message out there. And more importantly, we help our customers spread the message in their communities."
from the Rock the Bike website

so we tried the yuba mundo. then the xtracycle. then the mundo again. i took d for a spin around the block and couldn't even tell he was on the back. sold.

inspired by this conversion - d immediately set to work dialing in our version.

and voila...



three to ride and room for cargo. so good.







oh, and we learned that as of last week, the mundo is now available in the los angeles area at: orange20 and palms cycle

gratitude

for friends who are my family

and for family who are my friends

a wonderful thanksgiving in berkeley. oh we miss you guys already!

xo

sew sew

oh right. i like to sew.

trying to reacquaint myself with my machine, and get some holiday goodies together.

k had been asking for a "chicken jacket" for a while. i put this together last night on a hand-me-town hoodie. it's a little wonky to me. but i am pleased she likes it. this morning she told me she was "totally happy" (yes my gals are true valley girls!). that it is chick-a-dee.

what to do next?..

oh yeah

Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.
- President-Elect Barack Obama

shhhh...

s t i l l

feeling uninspired and sluggish. can't stand the fact that it is mid-november and temperatures are in the 90s. my heart goes out to all dealing with the fires. the air quality in our neighborhood keeps us inside. which is ok in the fact that it is hot out anyway. it is snowing ash.

i miss winter.

i am drinking hot tea and trying to channel holiday thoughts while the fan blows cool air across the room.



some lovely s t i l l s here.




and thank you for your lovely anniversary wishes. we had a date. something we rarely do. it was really very nice! (thanks robyn for watching the kiddies!)

:: 9 ::

1. i am stubborn :: he often lets me get my way
2. i don't make friends easily :: they refer to him as "mr. friendly"
3. i break things :: he can fix anything
4. my multi-tasking drives the girls crazy :: he can focus on them and only them with ease
5. i am tall :: he is taller
6. i don't handle grief well :: he bears with me
7. i like men with strong hands :: he has strong hands
8. my favourite meal is breakfast :: he makes a mean "egg-in-the-hole"
9. i want to spend the rest of my days with him :: he seems to want to spend the rest of his days with me

happy anniversary honey. to 9 wonderful years. and to many many more.

no prop h8

today d, k and i (e was off with a friend) marched with our friends and neighbors in opposition to the passing of proposition 8. we wore signs. held hands. and chanted for equal rights for all. we are blessed to live in a diverse neighborhood, where the word family is defined in many different ways. though ultimately the same: to have people who love you.

prop 8 passed by only 495,857 votes (52%) - with 10,842,073 Californians voting.

in 2000, a similar ballot initiative, proposition 22 passed with 61% of Californians in favor. it was overturned.

we have hope that this unfair action too, will soon be overturned.

equality marches continue throughout California.

wilted and dropping their petals.
but i can't seem to part with them.

happy friday.

::

"I think we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include."- Pere Henri, in the movie Chocolat

i have a cold.

today

blows my mind

breaks my heart

HOPE.

vote

NOW



LATER

::

had a wonderful neighborhood halloween. complete with parade and (too much) trick-or-treating. k wore e's old witch costume from a couple of years back, and e was a sorceress with hooded cape and gown. d was frankenstein, and i was my go-to halloween standby of my youth - pippi.

saturday we all started to sniffle and slept. and slept. and slept.

(love that fall time change!)

hope you had a wonderful weekend!

once upon a school

it always warms my heart when i receive a comment that i have inspired someone to get involved in their neighborhood school. i truly believe that it is up to my generation to either save the public school system in this country - or see its demise.

lots of ideas and inspiration at a new forum put together by dave eggers: once upon a school

inspiration

"Kids today are bombarded with a pop culture that teaches redemption through buying things. School gardens, on the other hand, teach redemption through a deep appreciation for the real, the authentic, the lasting, the things that money can't buy: the things that matter most of all if we are going to lead sane, healthy and sustainable lives."
- Alice Waters

weekend to

finish putting up hallowe'en decorations
finish the young sorceress's cape
finish another grant application

enjoy some downtime with my family

hope you enjoy too