Appliance Decals

I first discovered the joy of using decals as part of home decor about a year ago when I found these bird decals on Etsy. 

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I actually love my appliances and would not want to 'cover them up' but I wish I had known about these back when I was renting!

Too Occupied To Care About Occupy

My time is too occupied to take the time to chit chat about the Occupy movement.  I did get into a discussion on FB and then I quickly backed down- I just don't really care that much.

Here is the thing- the only Occupy Protest I've seen, live, is the one in San Francisco.

I took my monkeys to hang out as it was across the street from where we were meeting Dr. J after his medical conference.  We were there in the heart of 'tent city' for about an hour.  It was my observation that the media practically outnumbered the Occupiers and that there were way more tents than people to occupy them.  My sympathies are with the countless small business that are having to lay off workers due to Occupy Protest camps taking over where there used to be paying customers.  

I like the juxtaposition of the corporate logos on the monkeys clothes against the tent background 

I saw these photos today for Occupy Legoland- 

'We want to be referred to as a Nation not a a Land!'

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Now that is funny!

It takes a village

Valerie of A Place Like This... inspired me to write this today. She wrote a post describing how her son was interested in archery and that when she took him to the archery place for him to learn to shoot a bow and arrow that "a wonderful man who saw the glimmer in my child's eye took the time to let him experience a real bow and arrow"

Great Ranger at Mesa Verde National Park

As a mother, and now homeschooling mother, I find one of the most rewarding experiences is to facilitate pleasure and passion in the interests that my monkeys have. Isn't that why I drag them to the Preserve when I know there will be a show about insects? So much of what I do is plan; plan fun trips, excursions, adventures, experiences. But what is all this planning for, if not for the help of strangers who then answer those inquisitive eyes (for my shy son) or demanding, precocious questions (of my not so shy one).

When I take the monkeys to our local Children's Museum (often, as we are members) and I read the days workshops, demonstrations and presentations- all I can do is lead them to the information at the predetermined time slot. I don't know the answers to many of the questions. I don't know all the elements of the periodic table. All I can do is hope that the person with the knowledge is patient enough to share it with my monkeys.

In our modern world it is hard to maintain the idiom 'It takes a village to raise a child', after all who really cares about other peoples children- more than their parents, grandparents and family? Often, as in our case, family and those who have a vested interest in our children, live far away.

It is perhaps because of the distance from those who love us the most, that I find myself feeling so blessed when another adult- a teacher, an educator, a docent- take an interest in helping me lay the foundation for these monkeys I have been entrusted with molding.
I find myself casting gratitude while trying to give the impression that I too want to understand how a volcano works or how a snake sheds it's skin (sure…I'd love to touch the snake too!)

I have a limited amount of knowledge. There is only so much I can teach my children and as they get older, my influences on them will wean. My role as their facilitator for learning and education will not.
I know this because my parents still send me articles and books to read.

I am grateful to all who take the time to teach a child, set a good example, fuel a passion or give a smile- It is the little things that add up to make a great person and I certainly could not Make Men Out Of Monkeys on my own.

San Francisco

I love San Francisco in the fall- It is one of my favorite cities in the US.  The summer is too cold for my liking but when the sun is shining and the water is sparkling I feel happy and alive in San Francisco.

Bay Bridge

  

Eating Fish and Chips and Chowder in a bread bowl at Pier 39

I love how SF is such a politically motivated city- 

We spent about an hour at the Occupy San Francisco camp because I wanted to give the boys a unique perspective.  I love how children don't have boundaries.  They watched a meditation group, played with animals, ran around tents, spoke to people, watched food being distributed and then, as I had hopped, asked their dad and I a lot of questions. 

The next three photos are from Alcatraz Island which I wrote about HERE

Photo of a Tee-Shirt from the Pork Place at the Market (Pier One) 

What is your favorite city in the US?

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember

www.soulemama.com/soulemama

Alcatraz

We visited Alcatraz last week and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  I knew the monkeys would love it but expected it to be more of a 'little boy' type of excursion.
Alcatraz island was originally used as an army fortress as well as military prison before it became the notorious maximum security prison it's name is now synonymous with.  The prison officially closed in 1963 and stood empty for many years until it became a national park with historic gardens, tide pools and bird colonies as well as amazing views of San Francisco.

There were several 'cells' that were open to enter- needless to say it was a bit eery. 

These are the ruins of the Warden House- 

We could not have asked for better weather and the views were killer (hehe)

This is a copy of the original sign that you see upon docking at Alcatraz

The audio tour is award wining and able to keep both monkeys and adults entertained and informed- 

The sound effects for the attempted prison escape and subsequent riots played out as an audio reenactment.  

The monkeys were interested in the story behind the families of the prison staff which lived on the island and ferried into San Francisco for school and shopping.  

We checked out a book from our local library called Children Of Alcatraz which shares photos and stories of the families lives.

The tour also included tidbits of some of the more notorious criminals like Al Capone and Robert Stroud 'The Birdman'- 

On the advice of my favorite librarian- we rented Birdman Of Alcatraz a 1962 black and white film staring Burt Lancaster and the monkeys sat through, AND enjoyed, all 2.5 hours of it. 

Have you ever visited Alcatraz or seen Birdman Of Alcatraz?