Halloween 2009

Reepicheep and King Peter

Michael's Narnia party did double duty as Halloween costumes. Unless you've read CS Lewis' Narnia, Jack's mouse costume will have been lost on you; we seemed to spend all evening explaining Jack's fantasy rodent ID to everyone on the street.

This year's festivities seemed scaled back, even for North Ranch, which was fine by us. I missed last year's magical expression of Michael as he, for the first time, witnessed teams of children in costume out at night: "There are children everywhere," he nearly gasped.

For Michael, the meaning was in the journey, as they say - his candy trophies nearly forgotten. Jack, on the other hand, has been plowing through his bag; I found it next to his pillow. Is he a chocoholic?

Our new church, with its refreshing non-sanitized approach to life, had no alternative celebration: no mentioning of a harvest or Reformation party. Their children, it was assumed, would also be out on the streets.

Narnia

Michael's Narnia party was a community effort, rallying mom, dad, and many close friends - Thank you all!

My energy was spent producing a cake worthy of the occasion -

(summer/winter)

taking me to this fantastic cake store - Kake Kreations - on Sherman Way, tucked along with many interesting stores in the Valley, where I found expert advice, as well as chocolate river rock.

The figurines aren't edible, although that's real Turkish Delight in the sleigh.

BTW, I stumbled onto a French bakery with everyone speaking Francois, old-fashioned hardware stores staffed by grandpa types, Southeast Asian noodle shops, Italian pasticceria, & Mexican taquerias - all hidden away in otherwise non-descript avenues like Ventura Blvd. The rents in the Conejo Valley where I live are too pricey, attracting only major retailers for the most part.

The throne seating was very popular.

Elle and Joanne were Mrs Beaver and Susan
Arielle was the youngest member of Narnia

Jack was Reepicheep, the mouse, who took a tumble early on, but recovered.

Master of Ceremonies: Katherine in a brilliant, homemade costume.

Michael and Amos in the victory parade

The jousting event was a huge success,

as children took aim at a White Witch box

and creature.

We are out there having fun
in the warm California sun.

Getty field trip

Carolyn chaperoned a Beacon Hill trip to the Getty Museum. A sister institution - the Getty Villa (Malibu) - houses the antiquity collection (I toured in high school).

The kids played in the "family room,"

entered a painting,

or explored the extensive grounds.

JP Getty never saw the fruition of his dreams, but his foundation has a LOT of dough - enough, apparently, to destabilize the art market, so they purposely limit their annual purchases. We had great plans to celebrate our anniversary at the California cuisine restaurant overlooking the city, but the traffic reports were discouraging, so we bailed.
Not a 19th century museum with its imposing wings and grand structure, the Getty is a campus with several buildings; ie sprawls. A blinding, gleaming (sunblock & sunglasses are essentials) white structure without - it seemed to me - that much art ever on display, has become an LA, cultural landmark (we don't have many) with subterranean parking joined by a tram that links the hilltop complex - Michael's first choo-choo. He'd crane his neck from the backseat, eyeing the hills for a sign of the tram.

Flibbertigibbet

The Hollywood Hills were alive...

with the Sound of Music Sing-Along.

Capacity crowd of all ages - eager homeschoolers, drunk 20-30 somethings, seniors, and a distinct gay undercrurrent, as well (something about dressing-up) - the coming of age story of a singing misfit nun was a memory we all agreed upon, if for different reasons. Some took the story at face value, while others were engaged in parody - mild yelps & benign cat calls - not only of the film, but of their own childhoods, as well. Either way, it was hysterical entertainment, as the audience engaged the screen, booing, hissing, cheering, armed with flashlights, props, etc - a family version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Surrounded by individuals plugged into a camp moment, Michael experienced the evening as larger-than-life fantasy (TV video became live theater). I guess I was somewhere in-between.

The Bowl - along with Dodger Stadium and the Griffith Observatory - is an LA icon (all hilltop venues) and has a great tradition of a pre-show picnic. Acoustics are quite good; you could hear yourself sing out in the void. Joanne, who made the trip to Salzberg while in Switzerland, joined us and the Kwongs for a memorable evening.

Carolyn rigged these last minute lederhosen out of ribbon and buttons. Michael is fascinated by the popper.

The movie was preceded by a costume competition mc-ed by a brassy gal lending an in-your-face dimension to the film's overall British civility. Leisl returned for the night, and the adorable, lifesize Toast, Jam, & Teacup sibling trio- we detected a Welch's Grape Jelly theme - won handily.

AYSO

Our weeks until sometime in November officially end on a soccer note. All Youth Soccer Organization, to be exact; Michael is now a Yellowjacket.

Games are held at PepperTree, a lovely park up against hills and valleys close to the ocean; cooler temps, even when our Westlake neighborhood nears 100.
A kind of victory passageway (both teams do it, however) ending every game.We love Coach Mike, who reinforces that the main goal is to have fun; the boys' positions are evenly rotated - everyone gets to play. Soccer moms and dads have a bad rep, so AYSO has a new rule that ousts parents who yell too much. It's really interesting how these benevolent games draw out your inner tyrant.

Jack's job was feeding Arielle.

Michael made goalie for the first game and loved the uniform

We are loving these games way more than imagined. Nice kids, parents, outdoors and NO Sunday games! I have to admit though, as nice as it is to just have fun, it is great to win and hard to lose.

Camarillo: Beacon Hill Academy & Grace Reformed Church

Our lives have shifted westward, away from LA, towards Camarillo (about 20 minutes), where we attend Grace Reformed Church

and Michael attends Beacon Hill Classical Academy,

which has a home-to-school program, allowing Carolyn to homeschool twice weekly; and volunteer an art rubric on Fridays. Today was Van Gogh; later in the month I'll do a segment on Hokusai, an early influence.

Red Fuji

The Great Wave

Initially a dicey venture, word has gotten out and this K-2 school is nearing its 20 student ceiling. I personally scrubbed those chairs and Carolyn made an IKEA trip to outfit the space.

Mr Smith

Anyone who has met Michael knows how much he loves social interaction - we think peers and additional authority figures in a community we trust is good.

Going from a setting largely bereft of social value, over the summer we landed in a world centered by church, with integrity of worship and meaningful conversation over tables of food in houses that are lived in; surrendering anonymity. Towns are no longer anchored by church architecture or public spaces; we meet in an office park, bordering farm fields and train tracks. But given the social alienation represented by the car culture of SoCal, these realities and the intermittent roar of a train during a GRC service is oddly healing to me.

Thinking demographics are also part of the story, compare these cities:

Camarillo
33K (per capita income) 28% (college degree)
Thousand Oaks
54K (per capita income) 45% (college degree)

Camarillo has a stronger agrarian tie, while TO showcases the transience of the professional class; by contrast, GRC has families spanning generations in the locale. We are the anomaly in the church, being from the outside with significant personal histories in other states, but hopefully add something to the mix. We've been made to feel very welcome here.