Christmas

This Is It, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

We had a nice quiet family Christmas. I made soup and Krista made a green salad and a steamed kale salad. The browns provided really good French bread, a homemade cheese cake and lots of yummy appetizers. Aside from Zephyr here, the orgy of gift giving was somewhat contained.
We got in quite a bit of laughing and story telling. I'm wearing the lovely alpaca sweater and organic cotton socks Joyce and Jerry gave me. How cool is that?
Tomorrow we may get to go for a hike, if the weather holds.
I hope your festivities were as warm and loving and, well, festive.

Dangerous!

Dangerous!, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

I got Krista a gun for Christmas. A ray gun. It's really cool. It makes a very loud series of sounds and all kinds of lights flash. I bought it in Santa Cruz.
I also got her tickets to see Cracker this Saturday at the Mystic Theater down in Petaluma. I get to escort her!

Germ Dolls

Germ Dolls, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Actually, they are called Ugly Dolls, but Eden calls them germ dolls. She wanted them. Badly. Got 'em.
I had offered to put one of her old dolls in the gutter--you know, for the germs. She didn't think that was funny. One of the amazing things about these Ugly dolls is how freaking expensive they are! Hoo boy. You gotta wonder what those Chinese factory workers must think of us.

My LIttle China Doll

My LIttle China Doll, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

This is one of the (few) things I had on my Christmas list. I thought it might help me with my EFT studies. I had quite forgotten about it though, and was delightedly surprised by Krista.

Secrets

Secrets, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Someday you will be a REAL girl!

The Golden Compass

We just saw The Golden Compass in the theater. It was fantastic. The casting was superb, especially Lyra and Mrs. Coulter--Nicole Kidman did such a good job of being evil! I thought the special effects really supported the story rather than being the main attraction. And they were faithful enough to the book without being slavish.
They did stop the story before the book's majestic but very dark and traumatic ending. I thought this was a really good idea on their part!
The only disappointing thing was the half empty theater. I have no idea how well the movie is doing. I usually don't pay attention to such things. But this was a damn good production of a really good story. I hope enough people see it so that they'll do the second book!

Several people have told me the "religious right" is up in arms over the film. I find this astonishing and hilarious! If they want to identify themselves with the evil and megalomaniacal Magisterium in the film, well, I guess they know what they're doing. I hadn't made that connection myself, but if the shoe fits and all that, I guess.
This is one of those rare films you can see before reading the book, in my humble opinion. It is a bit violent in parts, maybe too much for younger children. Eden handled it okay, though she covered her eyes in parts and said it was a little too loud.
I hate to admit it, but I'll probably go see it again. It's the kind of film that really makes use of the big screen.

"Sunscreen" - good advice all around

The Tumbleweeds

Our playgroup (The Tumbleweeds) makes a calendar every year featuring the kids art. This is our first year contributing. Although I had lots of input from my kids, I pretty much commandeered the project and spent an absurd amount of time putting this together.
Click here to see a bigger size, if you dare.