This weekend the family met up at Filoli, as has become our custom, to remember Susan on the day that she passed. (It feels odd to me to call her ‘Susan,’  but as only two of us know her as Mommy and one of us as Grandmommy, I will use her most universal name.)

The weather was warm and the place was full to the brim with visitors, but it was still tranquil and refreshing to walk around the gardens.

One of our family’s iconic pictures of Susan was taken in the yew grove by the pool.

Filoli has undertaken renovation of these yews in the past few years, and they have changed dramatically since that photo.

In the latest issue of the Filoli newsletter, the head gardener explained why and wherefore they were so severely pruning the yews. Apparently they were getting so huge they required scaffolding to prune, and were also obscuring views of other parts of the garden (and the distant lake). Very interesting stuff, glad to be privy to the inner workings of our favorite garden.

Do you know what I dreamed about last night? Caterpillars at Filoli! - Lucy

One of the neat things about visiting Filoli is that you never know what you will see. The flowers are changed often, and the wildlife varies as well according to the season.

Recently we have seen wild turkeys and deer, and even both in the same day! The turkeys are hilarious…very self-assured birds who sometimes walk in front of a car, puff up, and gobble gobble at you.  The deer are so used to Filoli that they do not bolt at the first sight of visitors…esp. since we stay mostly at a distance.

There is also a resident rooster at Filoli, and though we have never seen him, we hear him often. Sometimes they let one of the chickens roam around in the garden…the last time that happened, Lucy was just a baby. She was scared of it even from a distance, and wanted to run away.

Oddly enough, her grandmother was also scared of chickens. She related this to me one time when we were walking through Filoli (possibly the same day as the chicken episode). Lucy has also shown a great dislike of chickens and roosters at petting zoos…so I think this might be an inherited trait.

Anyway, the last few visits we have been noticing…caterpillars! There are the little tiny green ones that dangle on strings hanging out of trees and get stuck in your hair (they have these every year at Stanford too), and the regular sized ones with stripes or spotty patterns. Here are some of the cool caterpillars we found recently.
Anyone able to identify them?

We’ve been to Filoli three times since it reopened in February. We went on Grandmommy’s birthday with the family, as has become our tradition.

Looking back through our photos I am reminded how happy Grandmommy was there, despite her illness. (The first photo below is Lucy now…the one next to it is Grandmommy in the same space 3 years ago. )

How peaceful and relaxing and ‘away from it all’ it is here.

“Oh, I love…everything!”
— Lucy in the morning (she actually meant to say, “I love shakes!” but had a momentary loss of words)

2010.09 Filoli from Mike C on Vimeo.

In remembrance of Jill’s mom, Susan, we got together at Filoli with Auntie Laura and Uncle John. Filoli was one of Susan’s favorite places, so it was the perfect spot to mark the occasion.

Both Jill and Laura took a lot of pics, so I’m sure we’ll have another post up soon showcasing many of them. For now, here’s a video of our day at Filoli. It’s dedicated to Susan.

Music Used:

• Alternate Route To Vulcan Street from Rings Around The World by Super Furry Animals

“Wubie crushed my wand — no magic show for him!”
— Lucy’s response after she waved her ‘magic wand’ (stick with a ribbon) in front of Wubie one too many times (he destroyed it).

We went to the SJ Obon with friends recently and had loads of fun, especially Lucy…she got to dance in her first Bon Odori.

Lucy went to her first Obon fest way back in 2008, when she was still a baby. Grandmommy had suggested we go, she had cut out a clipping from the newspaper for us, and urged us to go that very day (it was a Sunday and we had been visiting her in the hospital). We went and had a lovely time. Shortly thereafter Grandmommy got out of the hospital, so we all went together to the Palo Alto Obon fest. That was about a month before she passed away in September, and it was our last big outing together.

The Obon festival is held to remember ancestors and loved ones who are gone…so it seems appropriate that we keep going in memory of Grandmommy. (Posts from last year’s visits here and here.) If she were still here, she would surely be dancing with us!

Last week we went to see the daffodil hill at Filoli…it’s a great place to run around!

Grandmommy loved the daffodils…we imagined her enjoying them with us, just like we did when Lucy was a baby.

Drums! Rainbow shave ice! games for kids!

Lucy was excited about all these things in anticipation of the Obon fest this weekend…and it did not disappoint.

In the games area Lucy fished for ducks many times, and won two superballs and a pinwheel.

Next on the list: rainbow shave ice! what a delight! always reminds us of Hawaii…

She was really into the drums, dancing and bobbing to the beat, and in the kid’s area, even tried her hand at drumming. A future taiko drummer? who knows!

She also got a balloon animal, from this very creative and talented balloon animal crafter…

Last year we went to 2 Obons, once with Grandmommy and Gpa. Obon is all about family and remembering your loved ones and ancestors, so it was a perfect day to remember our love for Gmommy.

This past week would have been Gma Susan’s 65th birthday. To mark the occasion, we got together with Gpa Peter, John, and Laura to celebrate. In the middle of the dog, cat, and cupcake fun we made time to plant a Magnolia Susan tree for Gma. Happy Birthday, Susan.

Camera Used: Flip Video Ultra 60. Soundtrack:

• I Couldn’t Believe It Was True from Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson
• Li’l Liza Jane from Country Guitar Thunder by Merle Travis and Joe Maphis
• Mainstreet Breakdown (excerpt) from Country Music’s Two Guitars Greats by Merle Travis and Joe Maphis
• Nobody’s Sweetheart from Galloping Guitar: The Early Years by Chet Atkins
• Courtin’ from Spanish Eyes by The 50 Guitars Of Tommy Garret

Halloween is tomorrow! Auntie is coming down to help carve pumpkins, and we are thinking of taking Lucy out (to a mall) for her first trick or treat.

Since she is a little young for candy, i thought of collecting for UNICEF–something we did as kids, and which was a cause dear to Grandmommy (she volunteered at the UN when we lived in NYC.)

So I looked up the little cardboard boxes, and things have changed a bit since I was a kid! Now you can collect online–they even whip up a webpage for you–so in addition to her little collection box, Lucy now has a UNICEF webpage, which you can see here.

Now all I have to do is dig up her costume! She has a great dragon/dinosaur costume which Grandmommy got her last year (see above)…this year it should actually fit her!

Gmommy and Lucy playing Pattycake

Pattycake from Mike C on Vimeo.

Baking cookies! Lucy helped mommy by mixing the butter and the sugar together…

she had a little taste….

Mommy added the rest of the ingredients…

we baked them…

and cooled them…

and tasted them….

and saved some for a rainy day!

Then Lucy went over to her desk to play with her crayons.