Cape Cod Vacation Summer 2016

The last few weeks have been busy buys busy. We took a vacation the first week of July which was wonderful but it's been non-stop with work and things since we've been back. It was our first trip traveling as a family of 4 and it was a revelation. Having that time off of work to spend time enjoying each other was amazing. And this effort was hugely helped by my wonderful dad. He lives on Cape Cod so we went and stayed at his house with him. He wanted us to have as a relaxing time as possible so he played with the kids, cooked, did the majority of the dishes and laundry, and even babysat so we could go out to dinner as a couple. Having another adult around willing to engage in parenting was so helpful!

Cape Cod is where my dad grew up and we woudl visit my grandparents there almost every summer so being there with my kids felt very nostalgic. It's one of my most favorite places in the world! And it's such a great place for kids.

My dad and C finding the first quahog of the trip (a tradition). It was a small one but it still counted!

 

This beach is to me the most perfect beach for kids. it's on the bay side of Cape Cod so there are almost no waves so the kids can be free to play and splash in the water. Also when the tide goes out it goes out for miles which makes great sand flats to play aorund on.

  

Happy water baby :)

 

Happy water baby and mama :)

Just the best. You can take the kids to a beach like this for the whole day and they won't get bored.

Mini-golf is one of our Cape Cod traditions. This was the first time C could actually kind of play the game. We get P to at least use her hands to put a ball in the holes after each round.

My uncle lives in Cape Cod too so my cousin and her family came for the weekend and our kids finally got to meet! Especially since this is where we played together as kids ourselves.

 My goodness I love these guys

Cousins playing together for the first time. It was a success!

This pond is close to my dad's house and another of our favorite spots. It's a great place to stop after the beach to clean off the salt water.

 We went through the basement at my dad's house (which used to be my grandparents house) and found this plastic pirate ship from my dad's childhood. The plastic was brittle and we lost a few pieces but it's a testament to how the classics never go out of style.

 

First Encounter Beach at low tide on our last day there. Looking for shells, enjoying the shallow "puddles", crab spotting, and lots of general running around. 

Sunset over the pond behind my dads house (no filter). We miss you Cape Cod!! Hopefully we'll be back next summer.

Thinking about summer! And gelato

It's summer and there are two things that I closely associate with the season: rosé wine and gelato. And both of these have to do with previous summer adventures. As a teenager and into college I was lucky enough to be able to visit family friends for a few weeks over a couple summers. These friends lived a few hours outside of Geneva near a town called Bursinel. My time at their home was about walking through local vineyards, exploring sunflower fields, eating delicious food, and going out on leisurely boat rides. And it was also where I was introduced to rosé. For years it was the only place I would be offered this perfect summer wine and to this day I feel those memories whenever I drink it.

If rosé means summers in Switzerland, gelato to me means summers in Italy. Two years ago we took a trip to Italy so that D could participate in a music festival that took place in a town called Pavia. There is a lot I could write about that trip. Not only did we make wonderful friends while there, we also learned I was pregnant with the Pepper just a few days into the trip! But what I'm thinking about today is the amount of gelato we ate during our stay. Pavia has an amazing gelateria that we frequented on an almost daily basis. And we weren't the only ones. It was late afternoon on the first day of our trip and as we were exploring the city I started noticing how many people were eating gelato. All different sorts of people (families, girlfriends, men in business suits, teenagers, elderly couples) were enjoying an evening stroll accompanied by a cone of delicious gelato! I would often joke while on the trip that I wanted to do a photo series of men eating gelato and I so regret that I didn't follow through! Upon seeing this D and I decided we had to adopt this wonderful routine ourselves. And our regular gelato excursions became some of my most cherished memories from the trip.

It was not something we replicated when we got him but a new gelato place opened up just up the street from us and D was nice enough to bring home some pistachio and salted caramel for me the other day. As I sat at my work computer enjoying my treat I was taken right back to sitting next to the magnificent San Michele Maggiore and enjoying my day's selection of gelato in the soft evening Italian light.

Enjoy your long holiday weekend and your own summer traditions!

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Being away

I'm traveling for work right now, something I need to do periodically. My company is based in Cleveland and I had to fly in for a management meeting. It's always really great to be in the office. Having the team together feels so productive and collaborative. It strengthens our existence as a team working toward a common goal and shared success. I feel energized and excited about my work after spending time with my colleagues in our office.

But it's hard to be away. I've taken a few trips since the Pepper's birth, usually work related, and this one has been the hardest. When she was younger being away didn't feel as crucial. She was less aware, and she slept so much of the time I didn't feel I was missing too much. I was able to feel ok about being gone from her. But this trip feels different. She's changed so much in the last few months. She's so much more engaged with us. She knows what's going on. Plus, she's in her separation anxiety stage. So I miss her! I miss playing with her and reading to her. And I feel like I'm missing out on her discovery of her world and herself. And I worry she misses me.

I know it's illogical to worry. I know she'll be fine. I know it's ok for me to be away (just 2 days!) and I know she won't be emotionally scared. I know these things. But it's hard to feel them sometimes.

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Mini-break!

This weekend D and I took The Pepper up to Ojai for one night. Ojai is just a little north of Los Angeles so it's a short 1.5 hour drive, but it's a totally different scene. It's an agricultural valley and it's all about horses and hiking and it's a wonderful change from our urban life. Even though it's just a weekend, it's recharging to leave our usual pace and do something different. I think changing scenery is good for the soul.

I'm always thinking about how to integrate travel into our lives. If you work in the US you are familiar with the usual 10 vacation-days most companies give. And if you don't live near your family, this really isn't a lot of time off. For us, it means that if D and I want to visit his family in Michigan it's hard to plan any other significant travel that same year. You throw in something like a wedding we need to travel for and any real vacation is out of the question. But getting away is so important! One thing we've therefore tried to do over the last year is take little mini-breaks. Sometimes it will mean I take a Friday off, but even if I don't just a weekend in a different location can give me a little energy surge. I think there is just the mental and emotional impact of experiencing something different, but there is also the escape from the trappings of the tediums of home life. It's nice to get away from the laundry or the house cleaning that sits over my head when I'm home. It's easier to be present on the moment if I'm taken out of my routines. While I hope we can take a longer trip this year, we're going to keep getting away whenever we can. Currently on my list of weekend trips: wine tasting in Santa Ynez.

Image from our weekend trip up to Ojai.

The beauty of Islamic patterns

Have you seen these pictures of the beautiful details and stunning light effects of the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque in Iran? What an amazing space, and the ambiance seems wonderful for celebrating one's faith, or just taking some time to be introspective. It reminded me of a mosque I visited over a decade ago now while on a cruise. We were lucky enough to have a stop in Casablanca where I got to visit the Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in the country! The top picture was taken of me in the courtyard. The scale was very impressive, as you can see from this picture:

What is harder to see in this picture is the beautiful and intricate designs found all over this building, both inside and out. You can see some of the tile work better here (that was a group of school boys we found taking a break on their way to school in the morning).

Typically, Islamic art focuses on the depiction of patterns and Arabic calligraphy, rather than on depictions of people. Apparently many Muslims feel that depictions of humans is a form of idolatry and therefore forbidden by God. I actually studied Medieval Art in college so I love my strange, flat, stylized depictions of people in religious art from that period. But in Casablanca I fell in love with both the simplicity and the complexity of Islamic religious art and it's lack of people. The patterns are mesmerizing on their own but when you put them together in a room the beauty is exponential. There is something about the effect that does allow you to become absorbed, like it creates a different world to inhabit. In this way the designs are well-suited to a religious space where I assume people want to take time to reflect and look inward.

Fantasy lives

I was recently reading about the best places to live (if you define "best" as the places people are happiest) and my imagination started running. My husband will tell you that I have many fantasies about living places other than Los Angeles. I love LA, and it is pretty awesome. A few weeks back I was having lunch with D and a friend of ours who is originally from England but has been in the US for decades now. The subject of my pining to relocate came up and our dear friend's response was "why?". He pointed out that we have a wonderful home and a great set-up and a fun lifestyle that seems to suit us. He loves LA, D loves LA, we have family here, so why would we move? I pointed out that I was the only one at the table who has not yet had the opportunity to move away from home (D is from Michigan originally). I understand where they are coming from, but I still have a yearning to try out one of the lives in my imagination.

I fantasize about living in France, specifically Paris or a suburb of Paris. I like their apparent approach to parenting and feel like their culture would suit how we live. I like their emphasis on good quality food and cooking at home. I appreciate their approach to education, especially for young children. Plus I think it's everyone's romantic notion to live in France one day. If we lived there I imagine us baking pastries at home on the weekends, drinking wine at cafes in the evenings, and enjoying walking around the beautiful city.

I fantasize about living in one of the Scandinavian countries. I feel they have a better work life balance, possibly because of all the help from the government. I like the idea of having healthcare and education taken care of. Plus the expectations for time taken off of work each year is much more than the US, this includes taking time off for maternity and paternity leave. If we lived in Norway or Sweden I would imagine we'd have a well designed and functional home, we'd travel and have more quality family time together, and we'd spend a lot of time on bikes.

On of my more realistic fantasies is moving about 80 miles north to Ojai, an agricultural valley just a little south of Santa Barbara. Not only is it beautiful up there, it's small and quaint which would be a nice change from the city. And the culture is built around farming so there are lots of people with animals like horses and goats. There are fabulous hikes and amazing local produce. They have great public schools and some very fancy private schools. Best part is that even though it's sort of remote it's driving distance to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. If we lived there I imagine the Pepper taking horse back riding lessons, visiting the farmers market every Sunday, and spending lots of time outdoors.

The thing about fantasy is that you don't think about the drawbacks. Of course anywhere we live will have it's good and bad sides. But part of my desire to move it to see if I like the change or if it makes me realize that Los Angeles really is the place for me. We'll see.

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Winter in Michigan

We spent about 3 weeks visiting D's family in Michigan this holiday season. His mom, step-dad, dad, and step-mom live there, along with one of his brothers. Even though everyone isn't in the same city they are close enough to be able to drive in a day. There were a few special things about the trip:

• Grandparent time: I actually didn't take much time off for the holidays, so while I worked the Pepper's grandparents looked after her. We don't see our Michigan family as much as we'd like so it was really nice for them to get to know her and bond a little. The Pepper had so much fun with them and will miss them!
• Cousins: Both of D's brother's and their families came. It was the first time everyone was together since all the little kids were born. Each of D's brother's have a child so we finally had all 3 cousins together. It was fun to see the older boys interact and play together, and it was fun to see everyone be sweet with the little baby Pepper. It also made me appreciate genetics, the Pepper could have easily fit in physically with any of D's brother's families.
• Food and wine: We certainly get fed and eat well when we go to Michigan. D's dad and step-mom hunt and fish, so we each got fresh Lake Michigan salmon, elk, venison, even some bear meat chili! Yum! And of course it being the holidays there was plenty of wine and other cocktails to enjoy.
• Winter: It was certainly a white Christmas for us. There was lots of lovely snow and cold chilly days. Being from California I enjoy the short bits of winter I get to enjoy when we visit family. And luckily we left right before things got real and the arctic wind chills hit! It was fun to take the Pepper for walks in the woods in the snow. Winter scenery can be so beautiful and peaceful.

I hope the grandparents pay us some visits here in California this year.  But also looking forward to our next Michigan Christmas.

London calling

As mentioned here we were in London for 10 days at the end of October. The main reason was that we asked our dear London-based friends to be the Pepper's god-parents, so we of course wanted them to meet her. But it was not a vacation for us. D had a few meetings with some local people in music publishing and I worked the whole week. I luckily got approval from my company to work from London so I worked Eastern time on the weekdays. This meant I had my mornings free and then worked in the evenings. Even though it was a working trip we made the most of it!

Amazing diversity in this modern world

In this modern day global economy it can feel like people located across the globe aren't really that far away. I work with people in Uruguay, Ukraine, and Romania. And our lives are all pretty similar. We work hard on our computers relying on our high speed internet and skype to keep us connected.

So it's wonderful to see the work of photographer Jimmy Nelson. Jimmy has photographed 30 secluded and slowly vanishing tribes from all over the world in an attempt to assure that the world never forgets how things used to be.

Already falling behind

So, I haven't blogged as much as I had wanted. I feel like I am already falling a bit behind. I have an excuse: we were traveling the last week and along with trying to fit everything into the trip I was also trying to keep up with my work day. So I was busy. But I know I will always be busy. Sometimes keeping commitments can be hard.

Museums have the best gifts

When I was living in Berkeley my favorite place to buy Christmas gifts was the SFMoMA gift shop. Now that the holidays are fast approaching I found two things from the MoMA Store that I want.