We were briefly part of a group that gathered once a month for a “visioning potluck”, an evening of food and imagination. There was one evening, the one most memorable to me, when we all shared a vision of the future, as if it were the past. The idea was that rather than saying, “I wish things were like this,” or “I plan to do that,” we were to think as if all that had already happened. What if we were at a potluck celebrating something that was 20 years old? What did it look like? What challenges had we …

The only thing in dinner tonight that came out of a can were the olives. Just about everything else can be accounted for. Homemade pizza crust, with homemade sauce. I made the mozzarella yesterday, with milk from Golden Glen Creamery. The tomatoes came from Rockridge Orchards. The zucchini came from the Alvarez Organic Farm. The pizza was a little overcooked – still trying to find the best way to divide the dough so that Ian and I get a pizza to share and Caitlyn gets her own pizza, with only the things she wants (“Nothing scary, Mama, ok?”). And the …

I’ve had the link to this video on my desktop for months, waiting for a good time to post it here. Not that the “why less stuff is better” shtick is news to any of the five people reading this, but it’s a good video with coherent explanations (I thought). Maybe one of the five people reading this know someone who could benefit from a viewing: The Story of Stuff Of course, in my quest to minimize stuff and reduce waste, I did just buy an actual plastic waste bin for the bathroom. And storage bins for Caitlyn’s enormous collection …

I’m attempting physical fitness by riding Ian’s bike through the neighborhood. Tonight, one of the neighborhood kids spotted me and called out, “Hi, Caitlyn’s Mom!” Awwww… It must be home.

We ate the first of our homegrown peas with lunch and dinner today. With dinner, they were sprinkled on a salad of homegrown lettuce and topped with homemade feta cheese. (For lunch, we ate them straight from the pod.) Very yummy! Caitlyn went to her third Solstice Parade at Fremont this weekend. We met with friends, picnicked on breakfast carbs (thanks for the idea, Abra!), and had front row seats for the general wackiness that is Solstice in Fremont. Caitlyn got to draw with chalk in the middle of the street, collect candy tossed by parade participants, and then follow …

Caitlyn has developed her own personal creation myth. Apparently, I sewed her together, around her bones, then glued her to a piece of paper, stood her up and said, “There you are, Caitlyn!” Sort of makes one wonder what all she thinks I’m doing at my sewing table while she’s napping. I’m not sure what I’ll say when she tires of asking me to make her new dresses and says, “Mama, make me a friend.” Happy Third Birthday, Sweet Pea!