It started when the cinnamon toast caught fire in the oven and had to be put out with a saucepan of cold water and ended when Tyler told me over dinner that two older kids passed him on the way to lunch and called him a "twerp"
Category: Home
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Christmas Lights
So we live on a street that’s also known as “Christmas Tree Lane” and while we’re not going to do anything with neon (at least this year) we have gotten our 60 amp cartridge fuses upgraded and made a modest investment in lights in an attempt to strike the right balance between over-the-top kitch and single-wreath-on-the-door austerity.
We know what we were getting into when we moved here (we were warned by our realtor and I think there was something on the disclosure statement) so we actually negotiated with the sellers to leave their lights. The red-faced Santa that you see on the roof is one of the leave-behinds and talking with the previous owner who was back for a visit, it’s known on the block as the “devil Santa” because of his red face. He was rescued out of a dumpster outside Tahoe and has been dragged out each Christmas since then. It’s hard to see in the photo but Dav and I secured it to the roof with a few well-placed nails through his feet (no Christ on the cross symbolism intended) and a leftover rake which, nailed into the peak of the roof, acts as a decent brace. Viewed from the street, ol’ St. Nick looks like he’s about to take a tumble but is still trying to stay jovial about the whole thing.
After plying Doug and Dave Yarrington with Dim Sum, they came by to help with the lights on the tree which, looking at it in the photo, looks like an alien hand. We also inherited that white plastic Christmas tree but I think that’s going to get pitched.
We’re pending on the final touch with is a large sheet of plywood upon which we were inspired (after watching Fahrenheit 9/11 last night) to write something to remind everyone that it’s not all that peaceful out there and that many families are going through the holidays without a loved one because of the war in Iraq. We floated the idea of painting:
“Santa can’t fly to war zones. Pray for Peace.”
but didn’t get much of a rise from anyone. The opportunity seems ripe to get a message across because we’ve heard that as many as 3000 cars drive by each night to take a look at the displays on our lane.
Anyone have any better ideas?
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Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving at the Yarrington’s – good company, food, drink, and (most importantly for the kids) – ice cream cake!
Happy Birthday Andy-boy!
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Boating with my neighbor
My neighbor has a small powerboat that he takes out to cruise around the Bay, including over to SBC Park where he’s got season tickets to see the Giants. This morning, at his invitation, Tyler and I went out to cruise around Alameda Island passing the giant cargo cranes (pictured) on the way out of the estuary that lies between the Island and West Oakland. These cranes were built by Hitachi many years ago and passing them one time on the Bart train, the driver came on the PA to tell the passengers that the cranes were the inspiration for the Imperial Walkers in the Star Wars films.
Once we cleared Alameda Point, we were hit by the full force of the wind and water on the open Bay. We then spent the next 20 minutes soaking ourselves as we motored down the leeward side of the Island. Tyler and the neighbor’s son, Julian, whooped it up enjoying the morning thrill but as a parent I was a bit concerned with all the violent thumping – happy to have noted earlier that the hull was “Kevlar enforced.” Drying off later, we headed into the city for supper in Chinatown. Another weekend in San Francisco.
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Wise Guy
When the kids ask for something without saying "please," we teach them to use the magic word. This morning when I prompted Tyler with, "What’s the magic word?" Tyler said:
Abracadabra!
In other news, Tyler also mis-spoke on a present given to him by Grandma Takei. It’s a small, light green teddy bear that has a peridot gemstone on it’s colla. His name is Peridot. I’m not sure he knows the association he’s making but he’s calling it Baba-dot* instead.
*Baba translates roughly as "old hag" in Japanese
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Soccer Champion
Last Sunday was the last day of the Alameda Soccer club season. Tyler’s coach, Jim Koermer, was amazing. He went out of his way to bake a cake (with little soccer men on it) and on his own dime bought all the kids a trophy; everyone was beaming.
Thanks Coach!
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Library Card
Now that we have a permanent address and can prove to the local library that we’re not going to pinch their books, Izumi was able to get Tyler his library card. Only one other litmus test – he needs to be able to write his own name.
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Giant Robo
I finally got the digital camera hooked up to the Mac and pulled out the photos that were sitting in storage. Here’s a photo of the giant robot that I constructed with my neighbors out of some of the empty moving boxes.
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That’s not so funny!
Tyler accused me of lying last night. He said I had deceived him when I was describing the funnybone in your elbow. Turns out he tested my theory when he took a spill and banged his elbow. It didn’t feel funny and he didn’t laugh. In fact, it hurt quite a bit!
The myths are falling by the wayside. He also spit out his toothpaste onto a blob of mine that was in the sink as we brushed out teeth together and found out it didn’t explode after all.