Depression is something I feel like that even I fail to fully understand until I’m in the depths of it. I have to very carefully manage my priorities, because some days I just hit a wall and I need to make sure I get to work and that life-sustaining basics are done for myself and […]
Archive for the ‘castro valley’ Category
California summer adventures with my sister and nephew
August 30th, 2024 by pleia2
A couple weeks ago my sister Annette and my 12 year old nephew flew into town for a visit. We saw them over Thanksgiving, but that was at the townhouse in Philadelphia so it had been a full five years since they last came to our place in California. So much has changed! The family […]
Concluding summer vacation in California
August 20th, 2024 by pleia2
I’m glad to be back at home in California. Spending 8 weeks over the summer in Philadelphia was an adventure, but I love our walkable town, the support network here (small as it is), and being back where all my stuff is here in California. Being home also means I’m back to healthier routines, including […]
Loss, Passover, and our anniversary
May 24th, 2024 by pleia2
The day before I left for my trip that took me to Austin and Seattle, MJ’s aunt Sherry died. It was unexpected, and in addition to the shock and grief, left us all in a troubled state about what to do logistically. Should I cancel my trip? Should we all drop everything and immediately fly […]
“Just ride around in buses and trains and cable cars”
February 17th, 2024 by pleia2
Aaron and I recently went to San Francisco to see an aunt who was in town visiting, and he was really disappointed about not being able to go on a cable car. Adam was at school at the time, but hew knew that we went and that planted a seed that made him beg to […]
Harvests and Halloween
November 19th, 2023 by pleia2
Halloween is a pretty big deal at our house. Autumn is my favorite season, and our modern, spooky, secular Halloween is one that I’ve increasingly embraced as the years have gone on. We put hang lights and decorate, there are all kinds of little lights and spiders and eye balls that end up floating around […]
Summer fun and chores, chocolate, cars, and fish
September 8th, 2023 by pleia2
The first Tuesday in August is National Night Out. I seem to recall it was held at the BART station last year, and we stumbled upon it accidentally while passing by the setup earlier in the day. Now that I’m more hooked into the local parent groups, I’m starting to discover these activities quite a […]
Cars, baseball, and the rest of Father’s Day weekend
June 27th, 2023 by pleia2
At two and four, both of the boys are finally at ages where they can really enjoy family outings for what they are, so it was really fun to go into Father’s Day weekend recently with a bunch of family plans. The first event of the weekend was the Castro Valley Car Show. We go […]
A rodeo, 4 pounds of cherries, and “antiques”
June 13th, 2023 by pleia2
I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite things about living here downtown in Castro Valley is getting to enjoy the smattering of annual events that take place just a couple blocks from our doorstep. It’s no San Francisco, but they’re charming events that connect us with the area in a way that I thought […]
Passover, Tidbyt & TrainTrackr, and gardening
May 1st, 2023 by pleia2
When our flight from Philadelphia landed in San Francisco a few weeks ago, it was cool and very dark. We don’t usually take such late flights, but the timing and cost worked out that way this time. It had been a bit of a rough flight due to the boys missing naps too, but at […]