Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Stow (Lake) away
Today, in a nice break from the usual work routine of making the American Academy of Ophthalmology Web site the best darn Web site it can be, I participated in the Academy's annual outdoor volunteer day. About 25 of us sallied forth to Golden Gate Park, where we helped clean up around Stow Lake (links here and here). In my two+ years of living here, I've never made it to the park or this lake, which features a big hill in the middle with amazing (today: fog-shrouded) views of the city and paddleboats and other interesting stuff. The park is very cool -- I must get back there with Nicola to explore.
Despite the gray skies and cool weather (yes, I SAW MY BREATH ON JULY 13), I still managed to get sunburned on my neck, and I'm tired and sore from trimming, shoveling, raking, scooping, sweeping, etc. But I'm so glad I work somewhere that sanctions something like this -- a way to giv
e back to the city and the community. I realize it's a small gesture...yet it felt good. I saw a heron (I think), and I learned that you can suck nectar out of a nasturtium (spelling?) flower bud, and I saw a shopping cart couple cooking their lunch (or boiling their socks?) at a barbecue pit.
The best part: getting to come home a bit early and see more of Lindsay than I've seen in a few days. She was in an extremely happy mood tonight and let rip with some of the most delightful laughs and giggles -- it's crazy what you'll do to keep a baby laughing, just to keep the mirth coming. It's contagious and addictive and...man, I can't even do it justice. The photo is from a few weeks ago, but it shows how happy Lindsay is (even though we're letting her cry a bit at night now -- hard, but she's sleeping better and longer).
Cute tidbit from Ella the other day: we were reading "Tacky the Penguin" (love the author and illustrator team) the other day, and the penguin hunters say some rhyme about selling penguins for a dollar and getting rich, rich, rich. Ella opines: "How are they going to get rich selling them for a dollar? They'd need to sell them for like a thousand bucks or somethin' !" (appropriate missing "g" included). It really struck me as so cute and funny -- Ella was riffing off the book to make a joke. Holy crap, she's growing up fast!
Despite the gray skies and cool weather (yes, I SAW MY BREATH ON JULY 13), I still managed to get sunburned on my neck, and I'm tired and sore from trimming, shoveling, raking, scooping, sweeping, etc. But I'm so glad I work somewhere that sanctions something like this -- a way to giv
e back to the city and the community. I realize it's a small gesture...yet it felt good. I saw a heron (I think), and I learned that you can suck nectar out of a nasturtium (spelling?) flower bud, and I saw a shopping cart couple cooking their lunch (or boiling their socks?) at a barbecue pit.The best part: getting to come home a bit early and see more of Lindsay than I've seen in a few days. She was in an extremely happy mood tonight and let rip with some of the most delightful laughs and giggles -- it's crazy what you'll do to keep a baby laughing, just to keep the mirth coming. It's contagious and addictive and...man, I can't even do it justice. The photo is from a few weeks ago, but it shows how happy Lindsay is (even though we're letting her cry a bit at night now -- hard, but she's sleeping better and longer).
Cute tidbit from Ella the other day: we were reading "Tacky the Penguin" (love the author and illustrator team) the other day, and the penguin hunters say some rhyme about selling penguins for a dollar and getting rich, rich, rich. Ella opines: "How are they going to get rich selling them for a dollar? They'd need to sell them for like a thousand bucks or somethin' !" (appropriate missing "g" included). It really struck me as so cute and funny -- Ella was riffing off the book to make a joke. Holy crap, she's growing up fast!
// posted by Bill @ 8:39 PM 
