Block Party

This evening our neighborhood had a block party and a wonderful time was had by all, especially the boys who got to hang out in (and then get a ride in) a neighbor's Model T Ford. Very very cool. And Z made a new friend...

A Little Drop Spindle

Look what Z has learned to do! Pretty cool if you ask me.

Afternoon hike

Gopher snake

Storytelling

Mom I want to tell you a story...

First I need to lay down. Take a picture of me laying down...

Ok, Once upon a time there was an old man...

Goody O'Grumpity

The book Goody O'Grumpity was a side lesson this week and we read it, Z recited the poem from it aloud, and then we all worked together to make the spice cake from the back page. Z even got some fraction work in because, instead of the several spices it called for, we only had pumpkin pie spice, so we had to add all the component spices together. A nice side lesson. And apparently Z already has a handle on fraction basics.

The cake though? It did not turn out well. And frankly, calling it cake isn't completely accurate. It is more like a sweet, heavy bread. Maybe it was our yeast, maybe not, but it came out heavy and dry and didn't rise much at all. Really unsuccessful. It did smell fantastic while it was baking though. But, not to be deterred, and refusing to waste, today we had Chocolate Bread Pudding for breakfast, made from the leftover failed bread. (oops. Cake.) This was infinitely more successful.

So a little of Goody O'Grumpity and a little of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Joseph had a little overly heavy Spice cake?) all in one week.

Corner View: The Great Outdoors

This is a local Seal Rookery here in coastal Southern California where the harbor seals return every year to have their babies. We never miss it. This year while we were out there we spotted, in addition to the seals, pelicans, sanderlings and a pod of dolphins in the water.




On a different day, we headed inland just a touch to play in the creek in a local National Forest. The kids built dams, attempted to climb the cliff faces, dismantled dams, discovered they could use rocks to write on other rocks and had a wonderful picnic lunch - all with friends.


This is a post as part of the Corner View project begun by Jane at Spain Daily. Dro by and follow the links to some other wonderful treats from around the world.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

We are huge fans of this book around here (and the others illustrated and written by Simms Taback) and as luck would have it, he lives in the same town as we do! The local Museum has a children's book exhibit that we saw yesterday that is simply magical. I didn't get many good pictures out of it thanks to my lack of flash, but one of the docents at the museum made clothing pieces from the book that kids can try on and follow through the story. Totally cool, although I think I was more impressed then my kids were. We even got to see the Caldecott Medal he won and the program from the ceremony. Oh and the Happy Meal box he designed. And we found a book by him that we have added to the must buy list (Kibitzers anf Fools: Tales my Zayda Told Me)

There was also a reading corner where the same docent had made costumes to match several other of the books. King Arthur from Excaliber, Robin Hood, Loud Emily, the Rebozo from Nana's Big Surprise (which was gorgeous!).

Corner View: Shopping

We regularly visit the Farmer's Markets around here. It is my single most favorite thing about living in California. The beautiful fruits and vegetables all year round are a wonder. Today we went to a new-to-us market because I was unable to get to my regular one due to a plumber appointment at the last minute. (Aren't they always at the last minute?)

Anyway, the foods were amazing and, as usual, I spent too much. But how can it be helped when there are tables that look like this:

Note the hand sanitizer in the middle. Hello flu fears!

Meant to add: I posted this although I am not an official participant in the Corner View thing started by Jane in Spain, but it is interesting to follow.