Camp Fire Centennial

 
chris made an awesome display for us



yes i am on the display committee...





















so we have the displays up and tomorrow is the BIG DAY!! 100 years of Camp Fire!!

camp wintaka

emily just returned from another week of camp wintaka. while she was away i spent the week putting a photo album together for the centennial celebration, pictures of camp wintaka over the last 50 years. it was surreal to look at photos of camp while i knew my own daughter was experiencing it in real time. next year lizzie can go as well, not sure if she will truly be ready to go... but if she wants to, i will let her. 

 

 

i just showed emily the book i made and she was surprised at how much camp wintaka has changed. a big thing to me is the lack of "work" and "chores" at camp. i asked her if she had to clean the lodge (i found a great picture of a kid mopping the lodge) and she said "what?" when i went to camp we had to clean the lodge, the bathrooms, the showers... all sorts of chores that were a part of the camp experience.... hmmmmm will need to talk to the staff about this.



the gangs all back... safe and sound. every year more and more of my group goes to camp (six went this year) and i hope someday the entire group attends.

dog park

 

Acoustic Tidal Artwalk

This year my camp fire groups hosted tables at the Acoustic Tidal Artwalk at the Colorado Lagoon... I had already organized some crafts from previous meetings so it was pretty easy to put together. I have learned a few tricks over the years to make an attractive kid friendly space and we had many customers stop by. The setting was fantastic, sunsets lovely and I let my kids pretty much run wild both nights. Instead of nagging nonstop, I let them play in the water and when they checked back in I would have them help until they asked to go play again. No one whined or complained, so refreshing. Liz even asked me today what time we were going to the lagoon (she had put her camp fire shirt back on!! ha ha!) It was probably the funnest event I have ever had to organize and participate in. When I didn't have butterflies in my stomach on Friday I got a bit worried that maybe I wasn't prepared or was over confident, but when both nights went off without a hitch I realized, either I know what I am doing or got extremely lucky!!!

 

the sunset friday was gorgeous and as the tide came in, the girls had fun sitting on the lifeguard chair on the "island" the high tide made












the setup was the same both nights, we painted rocks and made friendship bracelets friday, then made mosaics out of beans and seeds on saturday. a highlight for me was turning around and seeing two adults chatting and laughing while making friendship bracelets. they just stopped by and started in... we had a lot of adults paint rocks and make mosaics too.





















with only one more big event on my calendar (July 31st Camp Fire 100 year Ceremonial)... then Camp Shiwaka...then planning for next year... boy this summer is flying by!

chickens

a good friend of mine helped start an urban farm as a project for a local nonprofit group that helps inner city kids... i have been lucky enough to see the many stages of progress as she turned it into a lush green edible kitchen garden where a dilapidated vacant lot once stood. what a glorious example of what "could be" smack dab in the middle of a crowded cement city, a place to grow real food, teach children how to farm and spend time out of our busy days relaxing among vegetables and flowers. 

 

 

squash goes up the side of a strip mall, glorious!!


so a visit the other day was extra special since the chickens have been added to the mix














i have also become involved in a project... yep more and more projects! along similar ines...check it out and pledge if you can! this will be a great project for my camp fire groups (as saving the wetlands has probably become a tad boring to them) i am hoping if it is funded we can volunteer from the ground up. there is also a mulching station in the works on site, which i dont know a lot about but sounds interesting. if you're local, let me know if you want more info, especially parents/kids as i can mix you in with my camp fire kids.

summertime at camp gvl

 
we continue to focus on training miss maggie, turns out the cabin is a great place to do this. at home we have cats (who are pretty freaked out about sharing the backyard with a new puppy) so we have to limit the in and out activity which has been a bit confusing. we dont always know is she is asking to go out because she has to "go" or if she wants to chase the cats (or raccoons, possums, skunks etc). here at the cabin the door is always open to the deck and both dogs have relaxed and become part of our natural rhythm.



i was really looking forward to a few days of vacation, even though i had many "projects" to work on. it feels more fun and relaxing at this altitude, makes me sleepy and spacey in a good way.



i volunteered my two camp fire groups to host a craft table at the upcoming "tidal artwalk" at the colorado lagoon, two nights of crafts and games in a gorgeous location. the colorado lagoon is a part of the wetlands we are trying to save, it is just lucky enough to be right in the middle of a wealthy neighborhood so it's restoration has been less of a battle. the same people trying to save los cerritos, have been working on the lagoon restoration and we are all hoping to transfer the momentum for saving the lagoon on to the 400 acres of wetlands just a mile away.



we took a tour of the "childrens forest" up near our cabin between lots of sewing, painting and organizing of crafts. it really is a glorious place and i collected a whole bag of manzanita seeds, hope i can get some to sprout so i can plant them around the cabin.



i have been experimenting with a few photo apps on my iphone (since obviously i rely mostly on my phone as a camera now) i took a few last night while waiting for the fireworks to start and i think the results were interesting. here's one i liked:



i know its dark and weird...here is one of olive i like:



and the girls crafting



i use the "camera bag" app the most but the "hipstamatic" is growing on me!
last on my "what am i up to" list is something inspired by this amazing chick who has got me adding even more to my plate. so excited to finally see a green movement starting up at my kids school and i hope to get an edible kitchen garden on the map... i can't get enough of all the books and resources on urban farms. finding some good out of this current economic mess we are in.

more puppy

 

so we had a little scare with our new puppy, thought she might have been sick... but luckily she is feeling better today and a vet visit confirms she is 5 months old, not 3! craziness!! now we have to rush to get her spayed and the puppy 101 is desperately needed. i am enjoying most of this though.... she sure is fun!