Anatomy of a wind storm (liveaboard version)

HOUR 1: Oh look, the wind seems to be picking up. I should check the forecast and see what's coming. Ah yes, we're due for a bit of a blow. Time to pull the odds and ends that are laying in the cockpit inside so they don't get away.

HOUR 2: Wow it's really blowing like stink out there. Let's turn on the instruments and see how hard it's really blowing compared to the forecast. Whoa did you feel that gust? "Hey mommy it feels like the boat is surfing." Baby coos. Lunch is made while bracing against the counter.

(That's 40 knots sustained - which is 46 miles per hour. The gusts were higher, but not something I was willing to stand out and catch with a camera on the wind instrument!)

HOUR 3: I can't believe it's still blowing just as hard. In fact I think it's picked up a bit. Let's carefully head out on the dock and make sure our neighbor's boats are ok. Pop baby in the Ergo. Pop life jacket on to the boy. Grab camera and head out. Of course other neighbors are out too, securing run away canvas and checking dock lines.

(That bimini was a goner.)

(Careful John! Those fingers piers wobble something fierce in a blow.)

(Chafed, undersized line. Not good.)

We marvel at the waves crashing around our normally very protected dock.

HOUR 4: Ok, now my brain hurts. Can it really still be blowing and gusting. We're at the slip and I feel fatigued. Baby is rolling on the bed during diaper changes and she can't roll over yet. Boy is getting whiney. Mama is getting whiney.

(Our neighbor R was happy to be at work during most of the storm since her boat was leaning pretty hard.)

HOUR 5: We head off the boat for a walk. Land feels wobbly after many hours aboard a rolling boat. Zach plays in the wind, arms outstretched, hair straight up. Then I see the large limbs on the grass. And I look up at the loose ones in the trees. Maybe this isn't such a safe idea. Back to the boat.

(That flag didn't last.)

(Tarp on the loose.)

HOUR 6: Ok wind, you win. You're very tough. You're very powerful. We get it. Can we please have a break now? We hear something we forgot to put away bang on deck and trip off the lifelines. Bye bye whatever that was, you belong to King Neptune now. Doug comes home from work and states the obvious, "Wow it's really blowing in here." He suggests dinner out. We all cheer. Life in the restaurant seems so normal. Don't these people have houses that buck and roll in wind storms? Why are we the only ones walking with a stagger?

(Before...)

HOUR 7: We give up. Laying in bed we hear every whoosh, groan, bang, and screech. Sleep is pointless. Hours later in the pre-dawn glow, the wind finally simmers down like a drunk who's been out on an all night binge and finally folds. Sober as can be we all wake up with wind hangovers and appreciate the stillness.

(... After)

~this moment~ nap attack!

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

could I borrow an egg?

I remember my mom sending me to the neighbor's house to borrow an egg. Or some butter. Or baking soda. There was a knock on the hull the other day and our neighbor C was there. "Hey, can you winch me up my mast?"  Perfectly normal request in this neighborhood.

Lightbulbs to switch out. Lines to replace. Stuff happens up there and so up we must go every now and again. And pulling the lines to get someone up there is part of being neighborly.

one cup of cocoa

This is our winter cocoa ritual. It starts by placing an order by Friday night to the farm. Two 1/2 gallon containers of whole, raw milk please. My boy understands that one gallon won't do, it's a lesson in space saving. One gallon of milk will in not fit in the boat fridge, but yes two 1/2 gallons can sit snugly in the fridge door side by side. A little math with our milk.

Then there's the cocoa powder. Organic and unsweetened. We splurge on the good stuff and we make it last all winter long. When that container or cocoa runs out it's usually just in time for spring. A lesson in quality over quantity, in putting good things into our bodies, in moderation with this cocoa powder.

Next is the honey. Thick dripping sweetness straight from our busy little bee friends. It's subtle. It's slow. It's soft on the palate. It's just right. You can taste the milk, you can taste the coco powder, you can taste the honey. It's not liquid sugar. And this matters.

Treats like this set the stage for taste expectations. He knows what real food tastes like and where it comes from. He tastes the lollipop from the bank teller and hands it to me, "No thank you mama, it's too sweet." It's early March, we're down to a few tablespoons of cocoa. But the lessons are there, and will stick with him. One little cup of cocoa that will last a life time.

29 again

Today is my birthday. A mellow, sweet day, lazy kind of day. I ate chocolate. I thought about my mom. I got sweet phone calls from my family. And I loved seeing all of the birthday wishes on Facebook from as far away as Burundi, Guam, Spain, and Kansas :) I heard from friends I have never met face to face. And I heard from friends I have known for 35 years (which I still can't figure out, since it's my 29th birthday...)

Thanks for all of the heartfelt birthday wishes!

And the Oscar goes to...

A blogger friend of mine remarked that he thought it was odd that I LOVE to watch the Oscars. I always rail against mainstream media and pop culture. We don't own a TV. And in an earnest effort to keep family screen time at a bare minimum we rarely watch movies and when we do they are from 2 years ago at best (for the grown ups). But Doug and I truly do love movies. And being in the TV biz I can really, truly appreciate the art and craft of the moving picture. I understand sound mixing and how it's different from sound editing. I geek out over lighting. And who doesn't get lost in a great performance?

So each year we'd make a date with our fellow Oscarphile boat dwelling neighbors and good friends Scott & Lisa. We didn't just get together and watch the show. Oh no. We'd make a night of it. Fabulous food. Loads of chocolate. Intense competition on winner guessing. And a genuine red carpet experience.

Serioulsy how cool is that? Scott & Lisa pull out all the stops with this led light red carpet dock walk complete with Hollywood style gold stars.

And inside Lisa's boat we get a little silly as well.

Tonight we're home though. Naia is snoozing on my shoulder as I type. Doug and Zach are crashed out together. And Lisa is home recovering from cancer surgery. Her third to be exact. Anyone who ever met Lisa has loved her from the first minute. She is all smiles, crazy smart, super adventurous, and one of the strongest people I know. So tonight my Oscar for Best Fight Scene in a Human Body goes to Lisa.
Kick some butt girlfriend and get better for next year's show. I'll bring the champaign and chocolate.

~this moment~

A Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. - via soulemama.

art start

When I was a girl my mom would love to drag me to art museums. I say drag because that's what I thought of it. My mom would have been an art historian if she could have a life do over. But me, no thank you. I even tried taking an art history class in college. I dropped out after a week. Slide shows of painting after painting, jotting down names and aritsts... YAWN.

If only I had a start in art appreciation like Zach is getting this year. The National Gallery of Art here in DC has these marvelous classes -- yep you guessed it-- FOR FREE that introduce little ones (and big ones who were too tuned out earlier in life to appreciate art) to the world of modern and classical art.

(The amazing work of Chuck Close. I love how all of the kids are unknowingly striking a different pose while looking & listening.)

Each class has a theme, and last week was shape and color in the east wing which holds modern works of art. We were worried that the sweet, elderly docent charged with making these paintings and sculptures come alive for a spirited group of 6-8 year olds might, well, get eaten alive by our kids. But she held court like a rock star.

(Synecdoche by Byron Kim is a grid of 400 small panels that each recreate the skin color of a friend.)

Zach was hooked from hello when she had the children gather around an Andy Goldsworthy piece and talked about the architecture of the building ("Hey mom, the gold guy from that movie we saw! He made this!" - referring to Rivers & Tides).

Our docent encouraged the kids to ask questions and express ideas and make noise and move their bodies. In short, she made art more than a static canvas, she made it come to life. (damn that professor who bored me to tears. I hope he moved on to some other career.)

(exploring the works of Alexander Calder...)

(... then she gave the kids colored wires and encouraged them to make their own Calder-esque works.)

(Making mini Matisse creations whilst in the shadows of the real thing.)

(This was my feeling when my mom used to take me to art museums. Now that I know how to do it, I'll make sure she wakes up to the beauty of it all when the time is right.)

If you come to DC, don't miss out on the galleries. If you get a group of at least 10 kids together, you can arrange a class tour of your own. And if you can't make it out here, click on over to the National Gallery of Art web page for some cool kid activities. And once again, thank you American taxpayer. And thank you mom. Now I get it.

green place

It's turning into Outing Week here. We've been out and about so much with the recent thaw it's felt so good to stretch our legs and feed our minds. Another favorite spot in Washington DC is the United States Botanic Gardens.

It's like walking into a warm, earthy hug  - perfect on a day when the cold is still nipping at your nose outside. "Mommy, this is like being back in Hawaii!" Well... close enough for here and now.

There's a desert plants area, medicinal plants area (my favorite!), and so on. But the tropical jungle room is a true oasis on a winter's day. How amazing to wipe sweat from your brow in February. ahhhhhhh.

It's full of fun things to see and touch and smell. And like everything out here on the National Mall, it's free. Thank you once again taxpayers!

chocolate love

I know many people have strong feelings one way or another about Valentine's Day (yes I am talking about Valentine's day more than a week later, really are you surprised?) But for us, it's all about chocolate. If I could, I would rename it Mid Winter Chocolate Cheer Day where tired mommies and cooped up children drown their seasonal affective disorder in that intoxicating mix of sugar and cacao beans. Isn't that better than cheesey Hallmark poems and overpriced roses?

It started with Eric Idle. If you and your little ones have never heard him read Charlie and The Chocolate Factory in the audio book version of Roald Dahl's classic you must download it or get your paws on it somehow. Aside from Idle's spot on interpretations of everyone from Grandpa Joe to Mike TeeVee to Veruca Salt to Willy Wonka himself, you can truly smell melting chocolate by the end of the story. Or maybe it was the brownies we were making.

The brownies were good. But the melted spiced chocolate at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian was divine. They held a chocolate festival the weekend before Valentine's Day and the faithful flocked to partake in the good bean.

(grinding cacao beans. a few went home in his pocket and are in a place of honor next to the mongoose skull from hawaii. boys and their treasures.)

The museum itself is always a fabulous place to spend the day. They have, hands down, the BEST lunch food in all of Washington DC (this is not opinion, it's local fact). And the building itself is relatively new and full of eye candy. Our favorite are the giant prisms in the walls and ceiling that cast rainbows all over the museum throughout the day.

Happy chocolate addicts were then treated to some amazing traditional dancing from Bolivia. Zach loved the colorful costumes (hey mom, they have chullos just like me!)  Naia wanted to boogie along with them.

Reason number 268 why I love homeschooling in the DC area. Thank you taxpayers. And here's wishing you all had a wonderful Mid Winter Chocolate Cheer Day!

winter beach

Is there nothing more uplifting for the sad winter soul than a sunshine, short sleeved day at the beach?

 I think not.