Future occupation # 32

Recent conversation with Ms. E

E: Mom when I grow up I want to be a teacher. Will that be O.K.?

Me: Absolutely honey.

E: I know I will be a good teacher because I am really good at pushing on the swings.





And no, this picture has nothing to do with that. I just love this shot.

And sorry, Dave B. This conversation sounds eerily close to something from Family Circle.

Future occupation #56

Hairdresser.

Erin was enamored with the front-do.  She said I was ready to sing Rock N'Roll.

The main "do".  Notice: the shiny silver is the shiny silver in my hair.

The final product.  Complete with 2 head-bands, 15 clips, LOTS of brushing and water spray.

Our family is growing by two. . .

. . . cats!

We got two new kittens. They're yet to be named.

Here is the girl kitty enjoying the clutches affections of their new kiddo friends:

Picture of the boy kitty coming soon.

Ever Industrial Erin

A little duct tape here, a little play dough there ....

... and voila!  A grid of roadway for her cars.

Erin gets a haircut

She got ribbons, sparkles, 

Stick-on earrings, a necklace, and a ring pop. 

Oh yeah.  Ms. Karen cut her hair too. 

Robin's first day at nursery school!

Robin missed the cut-off to start at Erin's preshchool this year by about 6 weeks.

 But she seems so engaged and interested, we thought she would enjoy getting into some peer activities.  So yesterday was her first day at nursery school.  She was there for 1.5 hours, the longest she's ever been away from family.  And she did great, only cried just before I picked her up.  And I think the only reason she was upset was that she was hungry.

Here is the art project she brought home:

A tree cutting story, part 1

We had two Monterrey pines in on our property listing to the side, threatening to topple our neighbor's house.  Apparently, in the 50's, people planted these trees in Orinda, at a cost of about $0.19 apiece, to make it more scenic.  What they didn't think about was the soil here was poor for these type of trees. So, 60 years later, and about 1,200x the cost, these trees must be taken down.

We hired a local crew who said it could be done in two days without cranes.

Indeed, the men on this crew were acrobats and could easily climb up, chainsaw dragging behind them, and use only ropes and a pulley to fell even the largest of branches.  Many of these "branches" could be classified as trees in their own rights. 

Here you see the observation crew.  Grandpa couldn't pass up a chance to see this kind of arborist engineering at play. 

The results of 1 days work.  Astonishing.