Last week, we took a couple of family excursions. First, we headed back to Santa Cruz (sans Maisie), figuring this trip had to go better than our first. Luckily, it did! We enjoyed our time eating and meandering downtown. However, our trip that followed a couple of days later went even better.

Through the magic of social media, Tyler discovered a beach  frequented by The Big Dog Bus. From visiting the feed, you can clearly see that this beach (a.k.a. Fort Funston) is a place where big dogs go to frolick and fraternize. Since we have a Berner, we thought, “We should go!”

Unfortunately, the day we decided to go, Tyler was NOT feeling the family trip. I think he explained that he didn’t get a great night’s sleep. Unfortunately for him, after four and half months of pretty much never sleeping through the night, I was NOT sympathetic. =)

Nonetheless, he was a real trooper and volunteered to drive to the beach. Given that we went mid-day AND during the week, we were impressed with how full the parking lot appeared to be once we arrived. After Maisie and H were strapped in (each to a different apparatus), we headed down to the beach.

The walk to the shore was about half of a mile on sand. While the path wasn’t the prettiest, perhaps, it was fun running into a myriad of dogs along the way and watching Maisie sniff out (pun intended) who she wanted to be friends with.

 

The real fun happened when we hit the water though. It immediately reminded both of us of our time on the Oregon coast; it was cool and a  little foggy, and about halfway through our walk along the shoreline, we spotted whales!

H loved it as well. She was constantly peeking out of her carrier to take in the sights and figure out where the heck she was. In fact, her little brain was so overwhelemd by all of the new sights and sounds that she fell asleep halfway through our walk.

Fortunately for her, we will definitely be going back!

When I was pregnant I often imagined what family traditions Tyler and I would create for our children. As fun as imagining this was though, I always felt a little sad that I would probably have to wait a few years before really creating any salient memories; I mean, infants can only do and understand so much.

One tradition that I thought I might be able to establish earlier rather than later though is assigning Friday mornings (or afternoons) as challah making time. Challah is a special Jewish bread that despite it’s simple ingredients (i.e. eggs, flour, water, yeast) is absolutely DELICIOUS. It is eaten each week on Shabbat, which begins Friday at sundown, and then again several other holidays.

Growing up, my mother bought our challah for Friday nights, and it was goooooood. So good, in fact, that when we got older, she often bought two loaves so that there would be some left over for Challah French Toast the next morning. Smart lady.

Given these fond memories of my youth and my personal love of baking, I figured, “Why not combine the two for my own family?” Now, as I said before, infants can’t really do too much, but I have noticed that H is fairly enthralled with observing any event that goes on in the kitchen. So, this past weekend I made my first challah with H watching on the sidelines in her bouncer, and yes folks, I provided a live-action play by play as well for my four month old.

Ultimately, my hope is that, as she gains awareness/dexterity/mobility/communication skills (and so much more) over the coming months, one day she will have watched this ritual so many times that she toddles up to mommy and asks to join. It could happen, right?!

Anyways, I generally use this recipe, which I’ve found to be my favorite after trying several others. The ingredients list is small and there are no complicated steps. All you need is a little patience (for rising time) and a roll of aluminum foil; I’ve found that the top tends to brown very quickly, so if you want a well baked bread without a burnt crust make sure to cover your challah loosely with a sheet of foil about 15-20 minutes into the baking time.

P.S. I love using The Challah Blog as a reference for trying new braids and shapes.

P.P.S. I hope that when you read that title, you sang it in your head just as I did (aloud) when I wrote it.

It’s official; when I post this, we will have been living in California for eighteen days. I’d love to say that I feel settled already and that this move was meant to be, but I don’t know that yet. That’s not to say I hate it either. For some reason, I just feel like I’m visiting, like I’ll be going back home soon, even though it’s not true. So, here I am…stuck in this middle ground.

That said, over this short period of time, California has already made a number of  impressions on me. I will list them below from most positive to least.

1. The Food: Every town has a Farmers’ Market, and you can pretty much find one every day of the week. The produce is insane; the flowers are gorgeous; the meals we’ve been making are off the heezy. The local grocery store’s organic line is the cheapest thing on the shelf. ‘Nough said.
2. The People: Californians are SUPER friendly. As a New Englander (pretty much born and raised…I spent less than one year in Georgia), I think I’m allowed to say we can be chilly at times. I don’t mean that as a serious criticism; we just really value our privacy. Most New Englanders do not say hello to random strangers walking down the street. They do not stop you to have twenty minute conversations about life because your dogs are the same breed, nor do they chat you up in William and Sonoma for half an hour even though you’ve already bought product from them. Yes, all these things happened to us within the first few days of living here. Also, some woman randomly stopped me to ask my opinion of Swell bottles; she saw I was holding one and apparently thought I would have something valuable to say without even knowing me. SWEET.
3. The Weather: I need to start off by saying that we chose the WRONG time of the year to move. It has been hot has Hades over here, making it almost impossible to go outside and enjoy the gorgeous sunshine. To California’s credit, it does cool off noticeably in the evenings and remains manageable through mid morning, which helps. This past Monday was the first day it stayed below 85 since we arrived, and I have to say it felt sooo good. I am seriously contemplating how to get Tyler to “summer” elsewhere next year, while enjoying the more pleasant weather that supposedly exists September through May. Suggestions are welcome.
4. The Landscape: Since our cross-country road trip, I have found it quite strange to look up and see large hills or mountains off in the distance or surrounding the town or city I am in. For example, despite loving the city of Boulder, Colorado, driving around it consistently made me feel unsettled. It was as if there was something unnatural about being in that type of environment, which I feel here as well. I know this is odd because most people (including my husband, who is OBSESSED) think California is beautiful, and objectively, I recognize that it’s true.  But for now, the hills just makes me miss the relatively flat, green forests and suburbs I’ve always called home.  (Insert sad face.)

All that being said, I am sure that over the coming weeks and months my opinions of my new home will shift and take different shapes. In the meantime, I expect that I will continue to feel some homesickness, but as we told the boarding students where I used to work, it is important to put yourself in the “stretch” or “growth zone” every once in a while; so, here I am.