Smoldering Santa Barbara

Another fire devours our mountain slopes. The fourth major one in less than two years. This is getting old. My school is closed today because of the fire. Our second "fire" day this year. Many of my students had to be evacuated from their homes last night. Fortunately, we aren't in any danger where we live so no need to prepare for evacuations. It seems that things are under control now - twenty hours after is all started.

So, on another topic, Daryl and I are proud to say that we have been working hard to help the economy. We have just bought a huge flat screen TV, an iPod Touch, and a Blu-ray player, to name just a few of our purchases. We feel smug about this - the act of purchasing, that is. In fact, we might even be accused of, ahem, dare I say it, patriotism! I have to say, this consumerist behavior is all rather discombobulating, though. We agonize over how to offset our carbon footprints each time we watch a DVD on the monster screen. The guilt - oh the guilt .... Someday, perhaps when these gadgets are passe, we'll be able to enjoy them.

Is it really the last month of school? I'm not counting the days. It's May, ffs. My absolute favorite month of the year. Here, in Santa Barbara, there's beauty all over. Our mountain slopes are still green and flowers are in bloom everywhere. The purple jacaranda flowers are gorgeous. And what a pleasure to shop at farmer's market. Fava beans, asparagus, basil, peas - yum, yum. Goodbye lentils and dried beans and soups. Our friends, Brangwyn and Stephan taught me how to make this delicious fava bean spread flavored with mint and lemon juice and served with warm pita. It's a winner!

At school, I'm having the best time ever with my 3rd graders. I adore them all. They love learning and are so eager to please. Sometimes, I feel guilty about working them too hard. I tend to raise the bar a tad high and I know I ought to relax a bit regarding my expectations. At the moment we are working on a play/musical. This is an established third grade event at my school and whoever came up with the idea - I salute you. What a great way to maintain enthusiasm as the school year winds down. Out play is called TIDEPOOL CONDOS. It's the story of how Poseidon persuades a realtor not to build condominiums on the beach. Cute, funny, with songs the kids love singing. So we're having fun.

Now, if only my writing life would flourish! I need to place my historical fiction with some nice publisher and finish my current project asap!!

Busy, busy spring

Quick, quick post to give family and friends an update. It's a sizzling day in Santa BArbara. Can hardly move. Is it going to another scorching summer this year? Yesterday we saw The Valkyries at the LA OPera. It was magnificent. I'm not crazy about Wagner. But I'm glad we made ourselves go see this second installment of The Ring Cycle. Placido Domingo as Siegmund was utterly incredible. Oh, he was amazing. What a treasure we have here in Southern California! An altogether awesome production. But long - 4 hours long!

We have friends/colleagues visiting and are trying to be good hosts. Stephan, Brangwyn and their adorable 4 month old are here from OZ. They will soon start living in Brisbane and we'll be seeing them there in December. Juan Porti from Barcelona is here too. So Daryl is having a merry old time thinking, eating, and breathing topology!!


School is winding down. Can you believe it? I have just a month left with my 3rd graders. next week they'll take the big California STAR tests. Hopefully they will be fine. Of course, I don't fret about stuff like this. I fret if I feel I haven't done enough fun stuff in class like poetry and music and art and literature!!

We're off to dinner with Stephan and Brangwyn, so ciao!!

Spring break!

What luxury to wake up in the morning and know that the day is mine. I own it. I can choose to do whatever the heck I want. I actually feel like a human being. My morning coffee gets delivered to me while I'm still in bed listening to NPR's Morning Edition. After the caffeine boost I ease out of bed and spend the next half hour or so reading the New York Times.

And then my mood changes. I feel utterly helpless at the state of the world. What does it all mean? Am I allowed to smile? Can I just take it easy and enjoy the sunshine and the spring flowers? Or should I be doing something about the economy? Is Geithner a good guy or a bad guy? Why is Paul Krugman so critical? Is he really god? Obama - is he amking the right decisions? Are there right decisions? I can't stew about this. It's my spring break after all.
So, I push aside the news about GM and AIG and the G20 summit, and put on my bathing suit. Half an hour of swimming, then a soak in the spa, and relaxing in the steam room. Oh, what joy!

Back home I realize I have all the time in the world to catch up with email and read news blogs and peruse Facebook. I know what you're thinking. Aren't you working on a book, you ask??? FFS, don't I deserve a few days of pretending I have all the time in the world to do whatever I want?

Yes, yes, I'm about to get out my manuscript and work on the next chapter.

The Ides of March Already!!

March has some cool dates - especially this year. There was square root day on 3/3/09. Then yesterday 3/14 was pi(e) day, and then today, of course, is the Ides. I looked at my last post and realized a whole lot has happened. I could be here for hours updating my blog - but, I've got only minutes to do this.

So, let's see, biggest news - we were in Washington, DC last week. It was my second time there and I have to say, it's one of the more interesting American cities - and definitely worthy of a visit. I took a couple days off work so I had a decent 4 days to take in the city. When I had arrived - in the morning - after a red-eye - I saw mounds of snow on the ground so I braced myself for chilly weather. But, to my surprise, the days were pleasantly warm and the evenings mild enough to drink and dine outdoors.

We sipped wine beside the harbor and watched the rowers sailing down the Potomac River. We had dinner in Georgetown on the first evening, then in Dupont Circle the next evening. On our third evening we came across an excellent middle eastern restaurant which served superb mezzes. We saw the usual sights along the National Mall, took in the museums, did a tour of the Capitol, etc. It was still very much winter in DC despite the unusual warmth. The trees were all bare, the grass was brown, and none of the fountains were running. Even the Reflection Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument was drained out. In another month the cherry trees will be in full blossom and I'm sure the city will look beautiful.

Back in Santa Barbara meanwhile spring has arrived. When I opened our back door the first thing that hit me was the strong fragrance of wisteria, which is in full bloom. All the fruit trees are blossoming and the shrubs are green and lush with new growth. The California poppies and lupines are out and all over the landscape.

Switching to daylight savings time too early in the season has been a huge pain. I hate waking up in pitch darkness. Whose idea was this? And shouldn't we the citizens have a say in this?

At school my students are getting excited about St. Patrick's Day. They've been writing stories about leprechauns. I feel quite pleased when I see their stories. They know how to create good plots - it seems to come naturally to them. And I notice that they are always trying to do better and better. It's wonderful.

And now I have to dash off to the grocery store.

Valumtime's Weekend!

Kids are so cute. I find myself smiling whilst going through my daily doings, thinking about the funny things the kids in my life say. I can't get my third graders to pronounce Valentine's correctly. But I guess I don't really try too hard because I love the way they say it. It sounds so innocent. I love their excitement about this holiday too. It's so achingly sweet. Heartache, heartbreak, rejection, unrequited love - it's all there waiting for them in the not too distant future. Inevitably a part of life's journey - and the lessons, though hard and cruel - will strengthen them, make them wiser, worldly, and better at equipped for life. But for now, what a treat it is for me to experience vicariously the pure innocence of childhood. So wrapped up was I in the kids and their excitement that when a colleague asked about my Valentine's Day plans I realized I hadn't even given it a thought. Aren't we a bit past that? She then proceeded to tell me about the gift she got her husband and I have to admit, it sounded such a juvenile thing to me - for people past middle age (she's past 60) to be exchanging Valentine's Day gifts. Daryl and I acknowledged the day by having a somewhat better than usual meal at home - roasted butternut squash and portobello mushroom risotto. For dessert I made a chocolate souffle served witha raspberry and Grand Marnier sauce. It was as delicious as it sounds, in case you're wondering!

At the moment I'm sitting by the fire o=in our living room. A storm is brewing. It's windy, grey and cold outside. We've had a pretty wet February so far and this storm is supposed to bring quite a downpour. After a dry and very mild January we are relieved that this isn't going to be another drought year. Two days ago we got a dusting of snow on the mountains near us. So it's been cold.

It's President's Day weekend. We get a 4 day weekend. Didn't go anywhere. Tried to do gardening chores - planted more fruit trees (Daryl's on a role!). And I really should be working on my manuscript.

Birthday celebrations and things

On Friday evening we had our annual joint celebration of Daryl's and Adrienne's birthdays. And boy, did we celebrate! Bisi opened up his 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon from Buttonwood Winery in the Santa Ynez Valley. But there was a lighter wine with starters and then French champagne afterwards. I know this sounds quite crass in the current economic climate. But, believe me, the economy and the stimulus package was all we talked about. Leftist liberals that we are, we lamented the diluted Keynesian proposal the Obama folks have come up with. More spending, much more spending, like Paul Krugman says, we muttered, shaking our socialist heads. Bisi kept filling our glasses with the excellent wine and the conversation got increasingly animated.
The next morning - Saturday - I awoke with a vicious headache. I felt awful the entire day.

It was film festival week in Santa Barbara with hundreds of excellent movies in town. I don't go to them because of the crowds and endless lines and lousy seats you end up getting. But we miraculously got seats for a free showing of YES SIR, MADAM, a documentary about Kiran Bedi an Indian Police Commissioner. It was a terrific movie and got my mind off my hang-over.

We've had a wet, wet week. Yippee!!

Post Inauguration

In the past I never had the least bit interest in the inauguration of a new president. But this year, like many millions around the world, I watched the entire ceremony. I watched it in my classroom with my third graders. It was all very touching. Every few minutes I'd tell my students, "You are watching history in the making, guys." They were completely captivated. They even patiently listened to Obama's speech which they thought was great but couldn't tell me what it was about. The rest of that school day my students practised pronouncing the word "inauguration".

In these early weeks I flinch each time there's a criticism of Obama. Timothy Geithner not paying taxes raised a few sharp words. Nobody wanted any of Obama's appointments to have bumps, but alas, it isn't to be so. Geithner is the best there is, folks are saying, and so his appointment as Treasury Secretary gets approved. Now Tom Daschle is found not to be squeaky clean either. Jeez!

The NYT had an article with some details about the stimulus package Obama is trying to get passed. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that a lot of the money will be used to help schools, universities, and other social programs. The NYT had a lot of enthusiasm for it, but was critical of the fact that there isn't any mention of money for high speed rail and other mass transportation programs. Well, it's already a hard sell to the Republicans.

Even though politics seems to dominate our conversations these days, we are definitely balancing our lives with other stuff too. Last weekend Daryl and I went to see Mozart's "The Magic Flute" performed by the LA Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Concert Hall. It was a terrific production. We spent the night in LA at a hotel - Mikayo - in Japantown. the hotel was reasonably nice, about a mile from Chandler - and the area filled with Japanese stores and restaurants quite interesting.

Later in the week I had some author friends of mine - Caroline Hatton, Alexis O'Neil, and Kate Hovey - over for dinner. They are all from the LA area and were the authors for an event called "Author-Go-Round" organized by Santa Barbara County schools. It was great to get my mind off teaching and to talk about writing. Caroline had told me about a YAbook called MANY STONES which is mostly set in South Africa. So we discussed the book a bit. She had a lot more enthusiasm for the book than I did. But, given that my current work in progress has some elements in common with MANY STONES I'm really glad to have read it.

We are spending the weekend arguing about fruit trees. Daryl went out and bought four fruit trees, and then decided to plant them in places that I, let's just say, found "unsuitable". So I huffed out of the garden and decided to update my blog!!