three things

that made this a great Monday morning:

1. I woke up next to my warm, sleeping husband. This hasn't been happening with much regularity over the last two months, as harvest usually wakes him up long before me or keeps him away all night.

But yesterday, he had a day off. So he took the girls to the pumpkin patch and made a huge pot of his famous vegetable soup and got to sleep in this morning until eight! Mmmmmm. The vegetable soup leads me to the second thing...

2. Pink pee! The soup is always heavy on beets, at Mazzy's request. And there's nothing like a good surprise to get your day going.

and finally...

3. Coffee. Oh, coffee, I will never take you for granted again. Our coffee pot broke at the end of the summer and we endured two confusing months without caffeine. I finally got wise and bought a french press last week, and it's been pure joy ever since. Pure joy and lots of cleaning.

And a happy Monday to you.

Mazzy's Song of the Week

Mazzy had the pleasure of meeting Brett Dennen at High Sierra two years back. I'm pretty sure she has had a little crush on him ever since, or whatever the equivalent feeling is for a girl her age. I can see the appeal, what with the towering frame and flaming hair and that voice she's so familiar with (thank you, Mosaic Project).

Brett sort of saved the day with this one, since the new Old Crow Medicine Show album has been in heavy rotation in our house this past week, this video came along just in time to divert her attention before she memorized and started in with impromptu performances of a few of those tunes (Methamphetamiiiiiinnne!).

wheelin' and dealin'

We spent a good deal of last Saturday at our friends' house for Open Studios, which is an annual event here in the Napa Valley where artists invite visitors into their homes/studios to see and buy their work.

Our friends Will and Nikki participate every year, and they're the only studio we ever visit.

Will's art is very touchable and interactive and I like to encourage Mazzy to take part, but her fine motor skills are still being refined and caution is not her strong suit. That along with all manner of long-necked vases and breakable ceramics large and small that litter the yard makes for a good exercise in listening and self-control.

This year, though, the Callnans were prepared for kids and had lots of diversions for them. Mazzy had a good long session with the kick wheel and some clay.

Eden was happy snacking on sweet peas and kicking, stacking and knocking down all of the empty paint cans Will had out.

And no visit to Chez Callnan is complete without a little time spent on the deck on top of the van.

It was a tough act to follow, but Big Mama (never one to disappoint) showed off some of her own art on our way home:

A lovely day.

turn on, tune in

Attending to our civic duty, the girls and I (widowed by the grape harvest) packed into the car last night and headed for the hills. Over the river and through the woods to a friend's house to tune in to the first Presidential Candidate debate.

We brought the radio into the kitchen, tuned it to NPR and gathered around as we cooked dinner and the kids played and picked teaser bites off the counter.

There was a disappointing lack of details and a few frustrating sound byte repetitions, but neither candidate got cornered or mired down, which was a refreshing change from all the attacks that have been flying around recently.

McCain highlighted his age when he kept talking about Ronald Reagan and the cold war, and Obama put in a good defensive jab when he reminded everyone about McCain's song about bombing Iran.

The reception got a little dicey at one point and Matt had to stand in a corner with the radio in his hand in the air like the Statue of Liberty.

The kids were great, the food was yummy, the drinks were plentiful and we were feeling proud to be Americans, which is a break from the norm. Not the kids part, the Americans part.

I can't wait until the next one, I think we've come up with a good tradition.

mmm hmmm.

Such a negligent blogger! I've gone and bored the two of you who read this. Sorry.

Not that nothing's been going on. The opposite, really. My husband has a new job. My daughter had her first day of her second year of school, a day that passed with very little fanfare compared to last year. A king snake slithered into my front door one night. Our rooster learned how to crow. Every day my littlest girl says something new. Today it was "I'm alright, mama" after she got through a little coughing jag.

The thing that finally moved me to sit down and write was the weather.

It's perfect outside right now (why am I in here?!) The air is body temperature, not hot, with a breeze that's not cold. There are big fluffy white clouds that are fun to watch change shape. It's the kind of day that makes you thankful for everything that's going right in your life, instead of that feeling I have too often that there's something more I should be doing.

My life, and probably lots of you working moms', is so full of stuff that needs to be done. It feels so much easier for me to sweat it all than to relax. It takes a concentrated effort for me to relax. I have to be working with one hand, cleaning with the other, and entertaining and stimulating my kids with my go-go-gadget arms.

But not today. All we need today is some fresh air and sunshine, our lungs and hands, some blueberry pancakes, a few sticks and a couple rocks and some little shiny things and we're good.

We're good.

move over, carly simon

There's a new girl in town. This is the latest of Mazzy's favorite music videos. Much more modern and um, shiny.



She asked me to make her an outfit like that. I said, if I could make an outfit like that, it would be for me. And if that happens, I think we've got next Halloween figured out.

and it don't stop...

So, the ringing in my left ear is lowering and I'm able to sleep with that side of my face on the pillow, I can breathe fully through my nose and am no longer walking around with my mouth hanging open for air.

BUT

now the left side of my face isn't working. I can only raise one eyebrow and wrinkle one side of my nose, and my smile is a little lopsided, to say the least.
Mama's got Bell's Palsy.
Which has to be the lamest condition ever. Just a temporary paralysis of one side of the face, you know, so you look stupid for a little while.
So if you see me, please don't say anything to funny, because laughing is the most embarassing thing I try to do. Oh, and if you come into my house in the middle of the night and see me with my eye taped shut, that was the doctor's recommendation.
Come on! Apparently my karma isn't as good as I thought.