I adore small town festivals! Loomis is the town next to us. We all enjoyed eggplant parmesan for lunch!
Handing out free eggplant…
They were a little bummed, yet relieved, that is was not egpplant flavored…
Loomis Eggplant Festival
Oct 5th, 2011 by leigharev2
San Francisco Day Trip
Oct 5th, 2011 by leigharev2
Grandma Margaret came for a visit and that means one thing for sure….day trip to SAN FRAN!
We got a later start than typical, and left the house at 10:30am. This was such a blessing in disguise! When we leave earlier, we are often sitting in traffic in Davis, Fairfield, and entering SF. But this time, no traffic until we had passed the SF toll! We were at our destination by noon!
First stop…Tommy’s Joynt . When we visit San Francisco, lunch is always seafood of some sort, usually chowder in a sourdough bowl. This time, my brother in law suggested a place close to where he lives. Tommy’s Joynt is the original hof-brau of San Francisco , and has become one of San Francisco’s longest living institutions. One wall of the place is dedicated to a beverage bar, the other wall, a MEAT bar! The boys had the brisket; I ordered the special of the day…lamb shanks.
A server takes your drink order, but you wait in line to order food…
Uncle Paul is being silly…pretending to eat horseradish…
This is an overhead view from the balcony…
Overhead shot of the meat bar…
I did the driving into S.F., and got a nasty surprise when we left the hofbrau. I had a $50 ticket on my windshield for not turning my wheels into the curb. I was barely on an incline, but if the grade is over 3 degrees…:(
We then walked to Philz Coffee for an incredible cup of turkish coffee. I have a friend who always served me turkish coffee. After she moved, I missed her…and her coffee. It was nice to enjoy that flavor again.
Looking at a $239,000 car…I can’t recall which one…
Someday, I want to visit San Francisco for a few days, with the sole purpose of taking pictures of architectural elements…
Dave’s dream car…don’t be judgin’….
This was taken just before driving down the steepest hill I have ever experienced. It was crazy!!
We went to SF on a Thursday. The day before, friends of our visited Sf for a Giants game. It was 80 degrees and sunny. We packed up sunscreen and beach wear for an afternoon at the beach. Well, it was 65 degrees and foggy…this did not dissuade the boys from begging us to take them to the beach….
They LOVE rolling down the sand dunes…
We drove through the incredible neighborhood of ‘Sea Cliff”, where mansions meet the sea…
The Golden Gate Bridge is under this fog somewhere…
We drove to Mill Valley for dinner at our FAVORITE pizza place, Pizza Antica. We had discovered this place in Granite Bay, and went into mourning when it closed down a few months later. We were happy to learn that they had another one just outside of S.F., and tracked it down. Here’s the bonus….after a fabulous dinner, we did not have to drive back through San Francisco to get home!
One of my favorite desserts….espresso affogato. Vanilla gelato with espresso poured over…
Turkeys on the Golf Course
Oct 4th, 2011 by leigharev2
Living the Good Life.
Oct 4th, 2011 by leigharev2
Umm….Thanks?
Oct 4th, 2011 by leigharev2
New and Improved(?) Chess Set
Oct 4th, 2011 by leigharev2
The boys took the the chess pieces and swapped them out with Lego characters. It was all fun and games until they forgot which piece was supposed to be which, and oddly enough big brother was insisting that he was winning….
Dolphin Tales
Sep 27th, 2011 by leigharev2
‘Dolphin Tales’ is a family film that was released recently. A group of our homeschool friends went on the opening day matinee. The movie was such a blessing. It was entertaining, heartwarming, and educational, and , it showed homeschooling in a positive light. This is a mainstream, big screen film with A-list actors!
The movie is based on the true life story of ‘Winter’, a dolphin who was caught up in a fishing net when she was only three months old. She was rescued, but her tail was beyond saving and had to be amputated. A prosthetics doctor created a tail for her, and she is still doing great.
There were side plots that made for a great film, but these side plots were not real.
My friend, and running partner, Crystal, also brought her sweet grandma (Gam) with her…
Heritage Potluck
Sep 27th, 2011 by leigharev2
My love had to go away on a business trip, so I decided to host a potluck. I had the theme, “Heritage Potluck”. Everyone brought a dish that represented their ethnic heritage. It was such a fun night, with a great variety of dishes.
We had swedish meatballs, chicken tikka masala, stuffed pasta shells, vegetable curry over rice, arugula and asparagus salad, an Italian green salad, a sausage soup, corn cakes, sauerbraten, a pear and apple tart, chocolate cake, and ice cream and sorbetto with kahlua and chocolate shavings.
I made potato pancakes and two savory toppings. One topping was for my German side: Black forest ham, with sauerkraut, mustard, and thyme. The other topping was for my Norwegian side: Smoked salmon, creme fraiche,and dill.
Toward the end of the evening, we all went around and shared stories about the weirdest food we have ever eaten. So fun!
Creative Stories
Sep 26th, 2011 by leigharev2
Today, the boys had to create a story based on this picture.
Their stories had to answer the following questions:
Who are the boys?
How did they get there?
What are they trying to do?
How do they feel?
What are the men in the boat trying to do?
What is the weather like?
I had the boys dictate their stories into a recorder. I typed them up and printed them out. Then, the boys had to write the stories into their notebooks.
Shipwreck
By R. A.
9/26/11
This is the story of two boys. Their names were Fred and Jack. They were on a boat. The boat sunk. They were floating on a chunk of it. They were trying to get to an island were trying to survive. They felt worried. The weather was dangerous. It was stormy and the waves were high.
While they were stranded on the island, a lifeboat came by and rescued them. They felt happy to be rescued.
When they got back home, they did a victory dance. They did back flips, spun on their heads, and ate cheese pizza until they got sick.
The End
——————————————————————————————————————-
Not a Happy Ending
By A. A.
9/26/11
Once upon a time, there were some boys. They were having boat ride. The boat crashed onto a rock and exploded.
All of a sudden, one of the boys said, “Hey, what are we doing? Let’s swim to that piece of boat junk.”
The boy’s names were Captain Crunch and Apple Jack.
They got stranded on an island. All they could eat were coconuts and bananas. One of the boys, Apple Jacks, slipped on a banana. Then, the other one slipped on a coconut. It was dangerous there.
They floated around, looking for a boat. Then they went back to the island. Apple Jacks said to Captain Crunch, “Hey, I found some Captain Crunch on the beach! Hey, you can have it!”
Captain Crunch said, “Maybe it’s a trap.”
Apple Jack said, “Just eat it.”
Captain Crunch said, “Maybe it’s a trap! Hey, look! There’s some Apple Jacks on the beach too!
Zoom. They took off running.
They filled their bellies with happiness.
Then, they saw a boat. They got on their piece of boat junk and yelled, “Hey, boat, we are alive here! Help us! Please! Please!”
Then the boat picked them up and saved them. They started driving home. Then, this boat got shipwrecked. The boys had to go back and make a home on the island. Not a happy ending.
The End
My Son, the Drag Queen
Sep 26th, 2011 by leigharev2
This is his favorite costume right now…he’s got a little Dolly Parton thing going on!
