Presidents' Day Weekend with Jenny

Golden Gate Park--Conservatory of Flowers

Berkeley and our walking tour of Julia Morgan's architecture

Views from the Greek Theater

Five years since her last visit, just a few things have changed since 2003. . . (married, two kids) but Jenny graciously put up with the noisy, early-rising chaos we call our home. It was so great to catch up--in person--and see the bay area through her landscape architect eyes. We hiked Rancho San Antonio, drove through Woodside and the redwoods, walked around Stanford and Palo Alto, hit the farmers' market, explored Berkeley, visited the temple, walked downtown, cooked Morroccan food, muffins, stir-fry, and watched some bad eighties movies. What more could you ask for in a holiday weekend?

Let me feed you

Eli welcoming Stephen home from work with crackers

"Here's another cracker, Daddy!"

And another. . .

All gone; now we can look at the camera

Not to be forgotten, the noisy cowboy

A magnet for trouble

Tradition Numero Dos

THE BEACH. The weather gods have always, at least since 2002, smiled upon bay area temperatures in early February for some mysterious yet glorious reason. So after weeks and weeks of cold and rain, who wouldn't want to hit the beach? And when you're already in Los Gatos for cake (oh yeah, and lunch) and mid-sixties' sun... you're practically in the Santa Cruz mountains and pretty much halfway there anyway. Birthday indulgence #2: ocean therapy with sun, surf, and sand. Aaaaah..... "Age ain't nothin' but a numba!"

Birthday Tradition #1

This is the cake shop of my heart. When I lived in Los Gatos and within mere walking distance of Icing, I would indulge on a monthly (okay, sometimes weekly) basis. Now it's an annual indulgence that makes turning thirty-COUGH! more than worth it. February 7th can't come soon enough with Chocolate Buttermilk and Chunky Carrot Cake on the horizon. Their cookies rock the Casbah too: Coconut Cashew Chunk, Snicker- and Crandoodles, Triple Chocolate, Creme-filled Sandwich Cookies and Lemon Cremes, to name a few. Oh, and their cupcakes! How could I forget? Bennett loves their classics, I love their Rocky Road, Pink Peppermint Patti's, and creme-filled Swirly Cakes. As Benito said on the way home yesterday, "I think you should have lots of birthdays, Mommy."

Masterpiece

If you haven't heard,"Masterpiece Theater" has had a makeover. No more old men smoking wooden pipes in stuffy libraries full of Hawthorne and Melville. Now Gillian Anderson (aka Scully from "X Files") hosts, red locks aflame, as she introduces "Masterpiece's"-- note the new name--brand new series called The Complete Jane Austen. They've aired Persuasion, my personal favorite so far (check out Anne Elliott and smoldering Captain Wentworth above), Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, and tonight they show Miss Austen Regrets about Jane Austen's life. Sunday nights, 9 pm, PBS.