2014 By the Books

Thanks to GoodReads here are the books I read this year. Almost all of them were checked out from my local public library - either on ebook or audiobook.I feel like there are some that aren't on the list but I can't remember...I wish Overdrive (much preferred to kindle for the iPad) or the library kept track of the books you have checked out. There were 22 in total - much less than 2013's 67 - but I guess not too shabby considering I had an infant for 11 months out of the year.

My favorite fiction book was Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things. I don't remember loving it as I was reading it, but it was full of surprises, and elements of the story really stuck with me.

My top five non fiction books:
All Joy and No Fun By Jennifer Senior - very thoughtful and unexpected book, well researched and not the typical overworked-mom-trying-to-do-it-all narrative

The Whole Brain Child by Daniel Siegel - lots of interesting stuff here, a good blend of neuroscience, psychology and

Navigating the Path to Industry by M.R. Nelson - a short ebook by a blogger I really like, an excellent guide for a job search

Breastfeeding Made Simple by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett - with a subtitle of Seven natural laws for nursing mothers, this was not a book I expected to like, but this is excellent, science-based, not preachy or biased. or maybe its just biased in the right way, but I will recommend this & only this to friends.

The Sports Gene by David Epstein - Its amazing what the human body can do. This book hit my popular science trifecta - fascinating subject, solidly researched, and excellent writing. This was great and I don't even like sports.

I've set a goal of 52 books again for 2015 - you can follow along with my progress at GoodReads.

Fall color

Amazing for this part of the world, we actually have lots of fall color this year. Not sure what the cause is - maybe the hard freeze we had a few weeks ago? Driving around, the hills are red, orange and yellow interspersed with dark green junipers. Lovely. Even the crepe myrtles are an intense red and orange.

Here's some of our fall color I captured walking in the neighborhood. 

Sole-less

We finally made it out mountain biking last Sunday. Although TD and I both bike a lot in town, we couldn't remember the last time we went mountain biking (probably 5 years?). TD used to be really into it; two big crashes have made me much more cautious but I was still looking forward to it.

One clue that its been awhile since we have been out was the state of our gear - my hydration bladder gave up the ghost while I was filling it and all of our water bottles were leaky and had been given away. But we persevered and were excited to get to the trail head when it was still cool and misty. We joked about being unprepared (no pump or patch kit) but figured our friends could help us out if we needed it.







But about a third of the way into the trail, I unclipped during a particularly tricky uphill section. Except I didn't unclip, the entire sole of my shoe peeled off, while remaining firmly clipped into the pedal. oops.



The remaining ride was interesting to say the least, trying to balance my now sole-less shoe on the very small clipless pedal. It was my dominant foot of course which made getting started all the more interesting. Thankfully TD was beyond patient & I eventually got some of my courage back and figured out how to coordinate starting off the other foot.

The place was beautiful though, and we look forward to going back. But in the meantime, I am trolling ebay for some new cycling shoes.

A perfect NorCal Day

After living in northern California for five years, I haven't been back since I left, except for a short weekend trip when TD graduated. I have such wonderful memories of that time and place, so during our trip to the Bay area and Sea Ranch I was looking for a quintessential Northern California experience on Sunday, our last travel day. I really wanted to pack in all of that Bay Area - Sonoma - Mendocino goodness into our very short trip.

But what would the quintessential Northern California experience be? Hog Island Oysters at Bodega Bay? Cheeseboard Pizza or Chez Panisse Cafe in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto? Eating pastries from Tartine while hanging out in Dolores Park? Wandering Golden Gate Park and visiting the de Young Museum?



I wasn't sure, and spent the weekend asking friends what they thought we should do. However, I should have known that the perfect Northern California experience sometimes finds you - sometimes when you are driving down Highway 1 and everyone is feeling either famished or terribly car sick, you might stop at the first sign of civilization and it just might happen to be next to a delightful coffee shop, that just happens to serve chowder and breakfast all day, and it just might be next to the water, and there might be an awesome bluegrass band playing while the fog rolls in. And that, my friends is the quintessential NorCal experience (at least for me).

Enjoy!

Sea Ranch Wedding

Our friends had a beautiful (did I mention NO FOG!) afternoon wedding on the bluff below the Sea Ranch Lodge. They had a beautiful ceremony with two dear friends officiating, and a another friend singing. Lovely and a perfect expression of the two of them.

Oh I wish I was in Austin

We had a great time in Colorado - photos coming soon - as well as a wonderful break in Austin. I got to hang out with Pdog, my parents and brother, while TD risked life and limb doing fieldwork in Oaxaca.

Here are a few snippets of my time in Austin.

Pdog was barely tolerated by Polly the cat

just another Wednesday night supper with my parents - Steelhead Roe and Truffled Mousse on toasts - best enjoyed on the couch watching MI5

Favorite summer breakfast - Almond milk, strawberries, protein powder

Lots of cleaning & organizing - now my childhood bedroom looks like it did when it was my childhood bedroom (after being a study/music room/staging area/wedding storage for the last 10 years)

Pdog got injured AGAIN! Stitches between her toes after cutting her webbing on a piece of glass :(

Olympics!! We got into the full spirit for the opening ceremony including Eton Mess for dessert

And of course Pimm's Cups!

Hearty Texas Breakfast - pork tenderloin, eggs, tomato, guacamole & a Texas Hill Country peach

And lots of driving - I swear our house gets further from Texas each time. At least for this ride, Pdog got upgraded to first class AKA she got to ride in the second seat and enjoy the AC

Stamp of Approval

We have joined a German Shorthaired Pointer rescue group, South East GSP rescue and we've applied to foster dogs for adoption.

We had our home visit this week and were approved! (Mainly I think they assess your fencing and if you are a weirdo). No idea when we will get a foster dog, but this should be interesting! (and will make me feel less guilty as TD wants our next puppy to be from a breeder)

Pdog has been going to the office over the weekends - and she was very interested in this dove at the feeder.

Mini-series (indulgent summer TV watching)

Lately I've been loving some BBC miniseries on Netflix. Sadly, they don't have the best miniseries ever available on instant streaming but I have found several new good ones. Although given that Netflix is doubling its rates, we may be canceling and going for Hulu plus Amazon Instant.

My favorite so far is Downton Abbey. Its set on the eve of World War I. Its worth watching for the interiors alone. Bonus - season 2 will be available soon.

Another goodie was North & South. Somewhat similar story to P & P, but enjoyable.

I really enjoyed Daniel Deronda - a George Eliot book I haven't read. The heroine reminded me of Middlemarch - not exactly the most sympathetic. Will have to read it once I am done with Middlemarch.

The Way We Live Now is an Anthony Trollope book. The show was pretty over the top - dramatic music and the like - and was my least favorite.

What's up next? 

The Kennedys

Bleak House (A Dickens novel I've never heard of...)