GAME TURTLES KAYAK

This post's format is a mystery to me, but that happens on the Mac. No sweat. You can figure this out. Here are the clever headings that should accompany these photos: Hangman - Star Wars/Marin style, Snacks with the turtles, Kayaking with Uncle Kai, and Kayaking with Dad.

By the way, I took the kayak out on Wednesday while everyone was in school. (I start school/teaching next week.)

What was there: silence, stillness, diving pelicans, a seal, a breeze drying my lips and standing my arm hairs up, a boat called Great White.

What was left of 'there' when I got home: salt streaks on my legs, sand on the floor, and the memory of the kayak spin-out, where you quit paddling and your kayak turns itself half-way around with a soft whoosh -- that slower, but just as satisfying, version of a teenage tire skid.

SATURDAY AT THE MUSEUM

Two Saturdays ago, we took the kids to the DeYoung's 10:30 AM children's art class. Mick studied in the cafeteria and I sat in on the docent tour/lecture and art project.

The topic was textures and patterns and symmetry. The first item we looked at was a thousand year old South American king's tunic made entirely of jungle bird feathers. You could barely tell they were feathers -- the texture was very flat -- and it was brilliant. The main color was yellow, with patterns created at the outer edge from blue, red, white and black "wave," triangle, line or square repetitions.

The kids' project was to cut colorful felt shapes and glue them onto a rectangular sheet of white cotton material in the symmetric pattern of their choice. Dane was done pretty quickly and not terribly engaged (I think he likes drawing or sculpting best); Aubrey took quite a while and cut out very tiny hearts and circles and triangles, and then accented with little pearl beads. All symmetrically, of course.

Afterward, we grabbed Mick and went outside to find the Sky room (not sure of its real name) where the accoustics allow for you to to hear sound purely -- where a whisper can envelop you if you stand in the center. (see photo above, taken when Maureen and Jackie visited)

With our packed lunches we headed across the street to the Arboretum in Golden Gate Park. We ate on benches next to the turtle pond, took a walk, played some frisbee, and finally headed home in the late afternoon.