Birthday Weekend

Boy, am I tired. What a weekend.

It all started on Friday evening with a birthday party up in El Cerrito. The best part of the evening was watching 10 or 11 little boys giggling hysterically to Buster Keaton in The General.


Saturday. I hosted a school event, The Amazing Race Party/Dinner. As one of three planners...I was given the task of baking a Tres Leche Cake. I have never made such a thing and it scared me. First of all, the idea of "tres leche" as a lactose-intolerant person...not so good. Second of all, it needs 8 hours of soaking time before serving, so there was a time element as well. It ended up being one of the most delicious cakes I have ever tasted.


The event itself involved 5 couples racing across the city to get photos, clues and various objects in a two hour period. It was really fun. Here's a shot of Amy in cuffs for extra credit...

When the teams returned, we projected the photos on our TV, swapped stories, drank mojitos and ate. And ate. And ate some more.


Sunday. My birthday! I went for a 10 mile run with my running buddy, Erin in Alameda. When we returned to Oakland, Erin showed off the rose garden right across the street from her house, Morcom Rose Garden, so lovely.


By the time I got home, the day had become even more beautiful, so we went on a hike at Sibley Volcanic Reserve off of Skyline, just a few miles from our house.


When we finally returned home, I could hardly move. So we watched The Gold Rush with Charlie Chapin, then went for sushi...so yes, I am tired but what a great weekend.

Family

On Sunday, I got to spend the morning in San Francisco with Kim, who I haven't gotten to spend much time with in years (its felt like years). I easily lose track of what and who matters in the craziness of my over-scheduled life.

Running with Kim along the Embarcadero was beautiful. Perfect weather, loads of time to share and catch up on things, big and little things...Kim is really like family and its great to be reminded of that.


Monday, I flew to Chicago for work. I made plans to meet up with my mom's cousin, Peg. We got to walk along the lake and catch up...

I also got to meet her husband, and her two kids Louisa and Luke, and Luke's wife and baby. We got to talk about family history, we each have different stories and history...some of it overlaps but not much. It was wonderful to find out that there are more activists in the family. Great to know that civil rights and activism are in the genes.

I knew that my grandfather fought for civil rights, went to jail for not naming names...but I didn't know that my Great Uncle marched on Washington in the early 70's and was a lifelong progressive. Peg went on marches and rallies with her parents...love that.

I also found out I have several more relatives that live in Berkeley, barely 15 minutes away. My family just grew larger. In a good way.