palo alto

Oct 5 2011

A New Garden

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Yesterday we wanted to get in a little outdoors wandering before the rain started up again.  It was a bit late in the day for Filoli so we went to the lovely Elizabeth Gamble garden instead. It feels a bit like a mini Filoli.
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The main difference that is completely unlike Filoli is the traffic noise…it is surrounded on all sides by busy streets. I would guess it hasn’t always been so, and it must have been a most tranquil spot when Elizabeth Gamble first lived here.

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The grounds have a vegetable garden area where elementary school kids have been allowed to plant,  gorgeous rows of flowers, and several secret nooks with water fountains in them. By far madame’s favorite part of this garden is the rabbit topiary.

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Afterwards we stopped at a local patisserie for a macaron and next door got a really giant balloon…alas it popped as soon as it got home.
Today it’s expected to rain all day, so we will stay indoors and dry…and probably make chicken soup and pumpkin bread. Fall is here!

By jill • by Jill, The Kid, Travel • 1 • Tags: , , , , ,

May 30 2011

Not Bad for a Doctor’s Office (One Year Later)

“This is the worst (day/night/car ride/etc.) ever!”
— A Lucy “go to” quote when she’s not having fun.

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The kid was feeling a little under the weather so we made a visit to the doctor. (She’s feeling better now.) While meeting with the doctor, she brought up Lucy’s records and was surprised to discover that we’d brought the kid in exactly one year earlier, to the day.

When I got home I checked the blog and sure enough, I’d made a post about our previous visit.

Lucy’s favorite part about visiting the doctor is the neat “waiting area”, a little playground with a pirate’s motif. Here are a few pics of of Lucy playing. Pics on the left are from last year, pics on the right from this past weekend.

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Once we were called in to see the doctor, the experience went about as well as one could expect, much better than our visit one year before. Lucy got her measurements taken:

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…and got a ‘Princess’ sticker and lollypop for her trouble.

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By mike • by Mike, The Kid, Time Capsule • 1 • Tags: , , , ,

Aug 17 2010

Winning a Prize

The Palo Alto Obon fest is the third and final Obon festival we attend, and is a bit smaller than the others. It has drums and dancing and food and game booths. We attended the P.A. Obon with Grandmommy two years ago, and keep going in her memory.

This year the big event of the day was Lucy winning a prize at one of the game booths…a kitty cat! She has had luck on the ‘wheel of fortune’ two years in a row. Yay Lucy! I think you’ve found your game!
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By jill • by Jill, The Kid • 1 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 30 2010

Not Bad for a Doctor’s Office

The kid had a doctor appointment on Friday. Though it wasn’t a great day for her, it was made slightly less stressful when she discovered the cool pirate ship playground that was located right outside the doctor office.

The kid loves it when her parents tell her pirate stories (usually starring the kid as the captain and Wubert as her fuzzy first mate.) Imagine her glee when she saw this “real” pirate ship!

Yes, she ultimately did have to see the doctor and yes, there was a bit of crying involved. However, before and after the appointment she got to roam the seven seas in her pirate ship, a much better prospect than sitting in a cold sterile office for an appointment she didn’t really want to keep anyway.

She also got to ride three seals, (whom she dubbed “Larry”, “Daisy”, and “Mickey Mouse”) point out starfish and crabs, follow footprints in the sand, and do a lot of climbing, jumping, and running around. Not bad for an afternoon at the doctor’s office.

By mike • by Mike, The Kid • 1 • Tags: , , ,

May 9 2010

Palo Alto Flea Market

Palo Alto HS Flea Market from Mike C on Vimeo.

Here’s a quick video I took of our trip to the flea market yesterday (May 8th. I get the date wrong in the video.) This one’s held at Palo Alto High School the second Saturday of each month. I like it because it’s pretty small, easy to get to, and is my idea of a “real” flea market (i.e., a lot of real people selling used stuff, rather than outdoor retailers selling the kind of stuff you could pick up at any big box retail store.)

Though the kid was a bit sleepy at the beginning, she perked up once she saw stuff that interested her (toy mice, dollys, wagons, etc.)

I wasn’t looking for anything in particular but wound up with a ball and mitt for $5. From the age of 8-11 I don’t think a day went by where I didn’t have a mitt on my hand at some point, probably pretending I was Campy Campaneris or Willie Mays (showing my age!) The $5 mitt brought some of those memories back when I slipped it on. And it was already broken in too—no need to stick it under the bed post! It’s funny, the stuff you wind up with at the end of the day.

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By mike • by Mike, The Kid, Video • 2 • Tags: , , , ,