Wordless Wednesday: The Argument
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Monthly Archives: August 2010
Classes, Camps and Learning Something New
On the Monday after vacation, we slid our suitcases back into the rafters and slipped right back into life: Rene started lacrosse camp in the mornings and volleyball camp in the evenings; I started a new fiction-writing class in the evenings and scrambled to get my “homework” done at night; Ricky tried to coordinate driving Rene back and forth to her camps; and Chris and I traded volleyball-pickup with dinner prep.
(It’s as if vacation never happened. …)
But overall, it was a fun week, despite the stress and schedule-planning — mostly because it’s always kind of exhilerating (scary, stressful, but exciting) to learn something new.
I always love taking new classes, especially in writing, because I love learning new writing techniques. There are so many cool techniques I’ve never heard of before, and I’m always stunned to learn new craft. I also get a kick out of meeting new people in the classes — I used to be the shy, quiet kid who sat in the back, but in these online classes I’m actually kind of talkative and outgoing.
And Rene — I have to really give her a hand because she’s never played lacrosse OR volleyball in her life. In fact, she’s never been particularly athletic. (This is the child for whom soccer season meant being able to match her nail polish and hair-bow to the color of the uniform.) Continue reading
Growin’ My Own
… herbs, that is.
I’m always a little stunned that basil costs so much at the grocery store. It’s about $3 or more for this tiny plastic tub-thing that gives you only about six leaves. Not that I need more than six leaves, but still … $3???? That’s kind of crazy. And we use basil a lot. We do a mixture of basil, olive oil, roma tomatoes and cheese (parm or mozzerella) that we spoon over cheese ravioli and then hum and close our eyes because it’s so delicious. And I do a bruchetta that’s almost the same (only feta cheese, and the addition of olives). I always love basil in spaghetti sauce, too.
So, at the grocery store a few weeks ago, I saw this basil plant for only $1.99! Thought I’d try to grow my own. Look how cute he looks. My brother-in-law called him Senior Basil:
Unfortunately, while we were gone on our week-long road trip, Senior Basil bit the dust.
Hoping it was only due to the fact that we were gone for a week, I decided to try again and bought another one. I’m giving it another whirl. …
I’ve never been good at growing anything on that window sill before. It doesn’t get any direct sun, and I’m not sure how much sun basil needs. (I think a lot?)
Now, one herb I DO have good luck with is rosemary, but absolutely anyone can grow rosemary in So. Cal because it grows like wild here. (It actually thrives when it’s hardly watered and left to die.) Here’s my crazy rosemary. (I zoomed in really close and took this at a reeeeeeally creative angle so you couldn’t see the rest of my yard, which looks horrible right now!):
I’ve got this rosemary growing for about five feet along the side of my house. I send the kids outside for some when we roast red potatoes or chicken.
And that’s lavender in the background, too (the bluish green plant) — I suppose I can cook with that, too, right? I’ll have to look into that one. I have recipes for both a lavender lemon cake and a lavender limeade, but I’m never sure if all lavender is the same and you can cook with any? Or are there only certain varieties that can be used for cooking?
So what’s next up? Maybe dill! (I’m gettin’ wild, people!)
Do you have luck with any herbs? Do you have tips for growing the basil? Do you think Senior Basil II will survive? Any favorite dishes for using rosemary or basil?
End of Trip!
So our road trip is over! It was so fun.
Traveling with the kids has changed a lot over the years, and now that they’re teenagers they get bored a lot faster, so I worried about this trip. But I think the road trip concept worked really well for them.
Chris and I could have easily stayed the whole seven days in Tahoe — just going to the different beaches and enjoying different hikes like this (Sand Harbor, Nevada):
In fact, Chris tried to smuggle an aspen branch home, because we never see aspen trees, and we thought they were just beautiful. The kids called the branch “Aspy.” We only got a few funny looks from info-booth workers and passers-by:
Anyway, although Chris and I could have easily stayed in Tahoe the whole time, the kids really liked the ever-changing atmosphere of a road trip, and loved switching hotels along the way and musing about the fact they’d just been in such-and-such town last night — Manhattan Beach, Mammoth, Bodie, Tahoe, Virginia City, Davis, etc. We stayed longest in Tahoe, but they liked the rotation of the rest of the trip a lot. And every time we got in the car, they were fine. They listened to their iPods and watched the constantly evolving California scenery roll by:
It was a great trip. Definitely a memory-maker:
If you missed any of the posts and places, they’re here:
Road Trip! Day One: Manhattan Beach wedding/Mammoth
Road Trip! Day Two: California scenery
Road Trip! Day Three: Ghost Town of Bodie
Road Trip! Day Four: Virginia City, Nevada/meeting my parents
Road Trip! Day Five: Hike to Eagle Falls, South Lake Tahoe
Road Trip! Days Six and Seven: Truckee, Nevada City, Grass Valley, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara
