Road Trip -- Law Office Style

Each year, I try to do something special with my staff to show them how much I appreciate their hard word and dedication. One year we went whale watching in Monterey Bay, another year it was dinner and a show in San Francisco. This year, I flew my paralegals, Bear and Molly, to Washington for a four day respite after the long hours we all put in in December. Our first night in Washington, we were greeted by this clever couple. The raccoons apparently thought that I had filled the bird feeders for their exclusive use. Unfortunately for them, I hung the feeders too high for them to reach. The pair tried for over an hour to crawl up the outer post, all in vain. They finally gave up.

Neither Bear nor Molly had ever been to Canada. They were excited to go so we had planned a day in Victoria, British Columbia. I asked my neighbor, Lennie, if she would like to join us and she said yes. On Sunday, January 13th, 2008, we caught the ferry from Port Angeles and headed for Vancouver Island. While we waited in line, I filled out the customs forms for our group and discovered it was Lennie's birthday!
Once we cleared customs into Canada, we headed up the street to do the tourist thing. Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia. Lennie, Molly and Bear posed in front of the Inner Harbour.
One of the prominent landmarks along the Inner Harbour is the Parliment Building. The Parliament Buildings were designed by a 25 year old creative architect named of Francis Rattenbury in honor of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Construction began on 1893. Construction of the Parliament Buildings utilized, as much as possible, local materials, resources, and expertise. Granite rock foundations were brought in from nearby Nelson Island, the facades were imported from Haddington Island, and much of the brick, lime and Douglas Fir were from Vancouver Island. The Parliament Buildings were completed in 1915.Equally impressive is another Inner Harbour landmark, the Fairmont Empress Hotel. This 460-room hotel was built in the Edwardian style and was recently restored to its original grandeur, complete with antique furniture and luxurious décor. Considered to be the most photographed attraction on Vancouver Island, The Empress was also designed by Francis Rattenbury. It opened in 1908. This year it celebrates it 100th anniversary.

Molly takes a pictures of the Empress Hotel while Bear and Lennie look on.
We next headed to the Royal BC Museum. The first thing we saw in the lobby was John Lennon's "Yellow Submarine". This car was manufactured in 1965 by the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, Crewe, Cheshire. The car was fitted with a limousine body by Mulltner Park Ward and finished in Valentines Black. When completed, the Phantom V was then delivered to John Lennon on June 3, 1965. The car measured 19 feet long and weighed three tons. It was originally painted black with chrome trim.
John eventually became restless with the "matt black overall" and decided to paint the car "psychedelic". A Dutch team of gypsy artists did the work. They designed and painted a pattern of scroll and flowers. The newly painted psychedelic car drew public outrage. In fact, an old woman, in London’s downtown, attacked the car using her umbrella and yelling: "You swine, you swine! How dare you do this to a Rolls-Royce." Obviously, the Rolls-Royce is passionately regarded in England as one of the many symbols of British dignity!
The Beatles used the Rolls exclusively in their heyday from 1966 to 1969. After the band broke up, it was donated to a museum.

The Royal BC Museum is one of my favorite museums so we headed there as our next stop. It houses one of the finest collections of totem poles in North America and a wonderful collection of spindles and woven articles.
After the museum, we all decided it was time to eat. Lennie didn't want anyone to know it was her birthday, so, of course, we immediately let the waitress know. Lennies was surprised with a huge piece of choclate cake.

After lunch we headed for the souvenior shops. Bear poses with a Canadian Bear.

All to soon, it was time to head back to the ferry. As we waited to clear customs, this car pulled into line. The car is a 1928 Graham-Page 610 Touring Sedan, an antique beauty with original motor, upholstery and accessories, now decorated with decals from car clubs and museums, the names of the 20-plus countries they've visited, and two signs. One says "Driving from Argentina to Alaska." The other says: "Tres Americas -- Una Huella." (Three Americas -- One dream).
The couple who own the car, Candelaria and Herman Zapp set out from Buenos Aires in January 2000 to fulfill a long-held dream: a road trip through the Americas. They figured it would take them six or eight months to reach Alaska--(the car has a top speed of 35 miles per hour) but instead, have been on the road eight years and have covered an incredible 50,000+ miles.
A poster inside describes the car's snaking route up South America, across Central America and into North America, past New York to Nova Scotia and Quebec, then across the continent to California, most of it traveled on back roads. "America has a lot of dead ends," comments Herman.
The car has no radio, no tape player, no GPS, no compass. "We have only the map of the next place we're going to be," he says. "If we get lost, so what?"
Even more amazing is the fact that they have three young children --- the youngest was just 6 weeks old!Planning next to cross Asia for three years, they're financing their travels in part with a book, Spark Your Dream, which they sell from the truck of the car. Here Bear and Molly get their books and pose for a picture.

And you know what? Lennie and I couldn't resist the books either!

The Endless Afghan - The Nineteenth Square

I am finally knitting again! Christmas is over, the office has slowed down back to normal, and Kenny’s homework is under control. What better project to celebrate "I-have-time-just-for-me-again" than the endless afghan.

This square is from the Great American Aran Afghan and was designed by Julie Levy.

It features interlocking diamond cables at the center of the square and a single row of diamonds at each of the edges.

Overall, a intricate looking square that is not difficult. And I am now one more square closer to finishing.

Christmas 2007

Last July, as Dan, Kenny, Justin and I pulled out of our driveway in Washington after a wonderful and relaxing summer vacation, Kenny gazed back wistfully at the house and wished that we all could celebrate Christmas together in Washington. During the long drive home to California, I imagined a happy family scene for Christmas, 2007:

My family is settled around a brightly lit and richly decorated Christmas tree. A cheery fire snaps and crackles as it burns in the hearth, while outside the window a lovely white snow blankets the yard. The scent of Christmas candles mingles with the aroma of Christmas dinner. Christmas carols pay quietly in the background as Justin, Kenny and Dan carefully unwrap their packages, all of which are "exactly what they wanted".

Happily deluded by my private dream, in a moment of utter insanity, I said "Yes, let's spend Christmas in Washington."

By October, reality was beginning to rear its ugly head. It started with airline reservations. Any other time of the year (except maybe Thanksgiving) I could locate tickets for $79 to $99 each way. Now, despite the fact that I was making reservations three months in advance, the cost of each ticket was roughly three times that of the National debt. (Apparently, airline companies aren't affected by the Christmas spirit.) I finally located tickets at a reasonable price but they required travel out of San Jose (two hours from our house) on Christmas Eve. Quickly deducing I was not going to be able to find, purchase, and decorate a tree in less than ten hours once we arrived on December 24th, I decided to decorate a tree during my October vacation.

In California, this didn't seem to be much of an issue. All the major stores start to display their Christmas inventory before Halloween. In fact, it is not at all unusual for many of the stores to be sold out of the majority of the "good stuff" by October 20th. But when I got to Washington, there was nary a decoration in sight. After checking ten different stores, I explained my dilemma to the manager of Scott McClendon Hardware. Wonder of wonders, they had a pre-lit, eight foot tree left over from the year before which they were willing to sell to me.

Next I had to locate decorations. After checking with local merchants (and enduring looks that suggested that they thought I was some kind of lunatic), I was finally directed to several gift stores in Seattle, Silverdale, and Shelton which carried Christmas ornaments on a year round basis. The catch was that all of the shops required at least a forty five minute drive to reach --- and all in opposite directions. Four days and seven trips later, I finally had enough ornaments to decorate the tree. I even found a tree skirt, a wreath, and a present for Dan!

Speaking of presents..............Oh, oh! The only way to get them to Washington on time was to ship them. Over the next two months, I became a clearing house for Christmas packages. I wrapped and reboxed everything, then made roughly 6,654 trips to the UPS store. Once each box was on its way, I had to track it online and notify my neighbor, Lennie, that a box was on the porch. She then retrieved the box and took it inside. Now add in the stress of the holiday season in Family Law. I began to feel like the Grinch in that Dr. Seuss cartoon. More than once I caught myself walking around and muttering "I must stop Christmas from coming!" to myself. It didn't work.

Before I knew it, it was December 24th. Alaska Airways recommended passengers arrive two hours before the flight to ensure time enough to get through security. Since our flight left at 6:00 a.m., we arrived at 4:00 a.m. Alaska Airlines apparently didn't read their own memo and didn't open Baggage Check-In until 5:00 a.m. Dan ranks waiting in an airport somewhere between having a tooth pulled without Novocaine and contracting a raging case of the flu. He paced in front of the ticket counter for a solid hour. Once it opened and our bags had been checked, we dashed to security. There is a math equation which states that the speed an airport security line moves is directly related to likelihood that you will miss your flight. Needless to say, it was close. Once in the air, there was turbulence.....lots of it. As we bumped and bounced on our way to Seattle, Kenny began to get air sick. You know, those air sick bags DO come in handy.

I was rethinking this whole "Christmas in Washington" thing when we finally landed at Sea Tac International Airport. I was relieved when we boarded the Kitsap-Bremerton Shuttle to Port Orchard, where our neighbor, Lennie, picked us up and drive us the remaining 20 miles to home.

Surprise! Lennie and her husband, Duane, had opened the boxes and finished decorating the house. Duane had hung Christmas lights on the outside of the house. Lennie had stocked our refrigerator. As a final touch, Duane had lit the pellet stove and turned up the heat while Lennie retrieved us.

This is what we saw when we opened the front door.

Kenny helped me finish up last minute issues, including folding luminarias. A luminaria means "light" or "little lantern". In New Mexico (where I grew up), luminarias are made from brown paper bags weighted down with sand and illuminated from within by a lit candle and traditionally displayed on Christmas Eve. These are typically arranged in rows to create large and elaborate displays. Tradition states that the lights will guide the spirit of the Christ child to one's home.

As a fund raiser, Kenny's class sold luminarias pre-cut with a candle cut-out. I folded them, Justin added a cup of dry sand to the bottom, and finally I added a votive candle (they last 18 hours). As night fell, we lit the candles.

Kenny turned on the tree lights and set up the Ipod to play Christmas Carols. And wonder of wonders, the Christmas spirit finally began to arrive. Gone was the stress and exhaustion. Instread, we were a family happily settling down for the night.

Christmas morning was happy and relaxed. We had a wonderful time finally discovering what was in those boxes. Dan found the most adorable sheep for me.
It moves when its back is stroked and bleats. Dan said he went to over seven stores trying to track it down.

After packages, I fixed crepes. Halfway through breakfast, it started to snow!!!

And boy, did it snow! As the snow got deeper, the boys donned hats, coats and gloves and headed outside for a snowball fight.
It was sort of one sided since Justin is so much bigger and stronger. But it didn't matter, Kenny had a great time.

As I stood at the window watching (I'm no dummy -- those boys would have hurled snowballs at me if I had gone outside), I realized that we HAD had a perfect Christmas.

I'm Back.........

I have been on a blogging hiatus. Being a Family Law Attorney is often stressful. When a marriage is dying, divorcing couples are rarely at their best. Now add in the stressors of the holiday season and things go from bad to worse. The time period from the end of November to the middle of January tends to be a very intense time at my office. This year was no exception.

My staff and I had to prepare for and put on four trials lasting one to two days each. In between the trial preparation, I also participated in fifteen office settlement conferences with opposing counsel and our clients in an effort to peacefully settle Christmas visitation schedules between upset and angry parents, who tend to each want Christmas their way. These conference typically last two to four hours before we are able to reach an agreement. Once an agreement was brokered, I had to draft a Stipulation and Order which had to be signed by both parents, both attorneys, and a Judge. As if all this wasn't enough, domestic violence is always an issue during the holidays and this year I appeared at six emergency hearings seeking restraining orders as a result of domestic violence. Add to the mix all the clients that want to their divorce paperwork filed before the end of the year and new clients who need immediate appointments and you get a scheduling nightmare. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, seventy hour work weeks are the norm for my staff and me. By the time December 24th arrived, we were all exhausted and looking forward doing to our winter break (I close the office from December 24th through January 2nd each year).

As if this isn't enough, I still have to try to decorate the Christmas tree, purchase and wrap presents, help Kenny with his homework, attend various school plays and band concerts.

I haven't been knitting........

I haven't been blogging.......

I haven't been weaving.......

I haven't been reading........ (except for reading endless declarations and case law).

But now, finally, things have settled back down to a semblance of normal and I can now catch up.

December 17th was the 50th birthday of my sister, Kris. Before the holiday madness began, I knit her a shawl.

I used Royal Bamboo and a lace pattern I particularly like.

I finished the ends with Swarovski crystals.

This is the knit side.....

.....and this is the purl side.

I really like the color of this yarn. Too bad it is a discontinued color. However, I saved enough of the yarn to make a scarf for myself.

Dan, Justin, Kenny and I spent Christmas in Washington. I just downloaded the pictures and will post the highlights tomorrow. In the meantime, I finally cast on a new square for the Great American Aran Afghan.

Happy 12th Birthday, Kenny!

The Endless Afghan - The Eighteenth Square

I finally managed to finish another square despite all the homework assignments Kenny has been bringing home from school.

This square was designed by Ann Strong in Olympia, Washington.

It is based on a pattern called "pomegranate" and does resemble the fruit after it has been cut in half.

The side cables are also interesting. It alternates a solid knit cable with a seed stitch cable intertwined with each other to create an unusual look.

Overall, there is a lot of seed stitch throughout the square which gives the square a very pretty and very distinct look. It was also fun to knit.

The Liberty Belle

Dan loves vintage airplanes. When we first started dating over 16 years ago, he took me to an airshow to see a Boeing B-17 nicknamed "Sentimental Journey". He happily gave me tour of the plane, explaining all of its history and quirks. Years later, Dan and I had the opportunity to fly in a B-17 called the "Nine-O-Nine" sponsored by the Collins Foundation. The flight, which stretched from Torrance, California to Monterey, California was, and remains, a very special memory for each of us.This week, Dan was excited to learn that another B-17 called "The Liberty Belle" (owned and operated by The Liberty Foundation) was coming to Fresno. He wanted to take Kenny to see this piece of history, and give him the opportunity to tour the inside of the plane. Boeing built 12,731 of these aircraft in the from 1936 to 1945. Today, only 14 are currently airworthy. Operating costs are on the expensive side, running approximately $3000 per hour. As a result, it is a real treat to see a B-17 that can actually fly. (Most of the remaining B-17s are part of ground based museum collections.) Kenny took a picture of his Dad posing by the front wheel.

After Dan explained to Kenny how a prop is different from a jet engine, we were allowed inside the plane.

The plane was nicknamed "The Flying Fortress" due to heavy armament to protect the aircraft during raids in World War II. Before the advent of long-range Fighter escorts, B-17s had only their .50 inch (12.7 mm) caliber machine guns to rely on for defense during the bombing runs over Europe. Because the bombers could not maneuver when attacked by fighters, and during their final run they needed to be flown straight and level, individual aircraft struggled to fend off a direct attack. In the picture above you can see two of the defensive guns and a yellow oxygen cylinder.

Because this B-17 is airworthy, all of the instruments in the cockpit actually work.
Dan in the cockpit area explaining the various instruments and how they work to Kenny.

Kenny discovered his favorite part of the plane. He said that it would be "just great" if he could sit in the nose gunner's area if the plane was in the air because"you can see the whole world from here".
And now Dan and Kenny get the surprise. I had booked them on a flight over Fresno. They attended the pilot's briefing then climbed aboard. The Liberty Belle taxis to the main runway.

Take off!

Kenny got his wish as he sits in the nose of the airplane and watches the world go by underneath his feet.

Kenny took this picture of the propellers over the Sierra Mountain Range.

Kenny took this picture of his Dad at the communications desk in the aircraft. I think Dan looks like he's enjoying himself, don't you?
After 45 minutes in the air, Dan and Kenny returned to the Fresno Air Terminal.

When Kenny and Dan exit the plane, both are all smiles. I was glad they both got to enjoy this bit of history together.