Thursday, January 13, 2011

Busy Again

It has been a busy week at Willow's Cottage.  There has been work, a little bit of play and a whole lot of driving.  As I walked and worked through my week, I tried to focus on what was the best part of each day, what I enjoyed, what I learned.  That's what makes up my Friday Fave Fives, those memories of goodness and thankfulness.  I truly appreciate the opportunity to share FFF every Friday.  Even if my week has been busy and I haven't been online much to post here or to read other blogs, I try to pull everything together to share my best moments for Fave Five.   Thanks goes to Susanne who hosts this every week at Living to Tell the Story.

1.  The Tall Ships sailed in to Ventura Harbor last week.  Although we have seen them before in other harbors, we decided to head over to Ventura to tour the two tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Adventure.  Can you imagine learning how to identify all those ropes to furl and unfurl the sails and keep them from tangling up?


2.  On Saturday, we drove to the southern part of Los Angeles County to meet a very special person-- the little girl who recently arrived from China to join our friends' family.  The dedication and welcoming of this sweet baby was a long anticipated event.  Out of respect for the privacy of the family, I won't post photos, but we were thrilled to meet this little one and celebrate with her new family.

3.  We took a second trip to Los Angeles on Monday afternoon to meet up at Farmers Market and The Grove with our daughter Mia, her husband and their friends.  Dinner at the Singaporan/Indonesian restaurant in the Farmers Market was oh so wonderful.  There's nothing like gado-gado with peanut sauce, mie goreng and es cendol!  Oops~no photos! In my excitement to see my kids, I left my camera in the car.  Here's a little history of Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax in West LA--it was first opened in 1934 as a weekly farmers market in the fields of a local farm where fresh vegetables and fruits were sold to area housewives.  As the market grew in size and popularity, it moved into a permanent building which is where the market still thrives, attracting celebrities, local students, and foreign visitors from all over the world.

4.  Did I mention work?  Yes, classes started again this week.  I loved greeting each group of students as they arrived--the smiles and excitement were contagious.  While I do greatly enjoy my vacation times, I also love to teach.  I have no interest in 'quitting my day job'.

5.  I have really missed having walking buddies to keep me accountable for my exercise.  This week, a local group has formed to challenge each other to walk 10,000 steps every day for the next two months.  I have walked my 10,000 steps only one day this week, although the other days I've exceeded 6,000 or 7,000 steps. But that's OK with me because I'm back on task with others to encourage me.  It's amazing how many steps you can accumulate walking around a grocery store while you are gathering your bananas, cereal and frozen peas.  Who knew shopping for food could be exercise?  Some days, I acquire unusual walking buddies like this deer which kept pace with me as I walked along the street that winds up the hill in my neighborhood and she pranced to meet her buddies who were waiting for her behind the bushes.


That was Willow's Week!  What wonderful things happened to you?

25 comments:

Jane said...

Its lovely to see you to Willow and i too have missed some of your posts. Perhaps at some point the New Boy and his family if they come to England might try a steam train ride on one of our preserved railways. Many of which have Thomas the Tank weekends during the summer.
Lovring the idea that you walked with deer - such beautiful but timid creatures Happy Friday Love Jane x

Tracy said...

Tall ships... they are a marvel, aren't they?! Always a joy to hear about your week. Hubby & I have both been under the weather with cold, so a rest & recovery weekend now. The most wonderful thing right now is no sore throat... LOL! ;o) Happy Days ((HUGS))

roxie said...

And if I recall my one quick trip, the Farmer's Market is within walking distance of Rodeo Drive, Right? What a fun time for you!

Hooray for all those eager little learners!

Hazel said...

So many sails! Don't they look like wires? The farmer's market sounds so LA. Got many friends and former classmates in the area. Oh I don't want to quit my day job either. At least not yet :D

Jerralea said...

Willow's week sounded wonderful. Congratulations to your friends on the arrival of their sweet child.

I would love to visit Farmer's Market!

Barbara H. said...

I got enamored with tall ships a few years ago when the first Horatio Hornblower series first came out on A&E. I've never actually seen one in person -- maybe some day! I don't think I could live on one for any length of time, but would love a short visit!

Neat about the new member of your friends' family!

I'm glad you love your job! I am sure that's reflected in your teaching and interactions wit students.

elizabeth said...

I recently bought a pedometer to see how I do with the 10,000 steps and found out that I've been fooling myself! I'm really working on it now and am thankful we have cool little gadgets to aid us. LOVE that you walked with deer!

Not only would I not want to learn which ropes to use for the ships did you SEE them standing so high up there on just a rope themselves? No thank you - I'll keep my sedentary job! :)

Elizabeth said...

Loved your week!
Good things around here were a visit from Henry aged one and walking round like a wild thing!

A birthday supper at a Mexican restaurant

and making my 20th knitted hat!

Good to hear from you!

Unknown said...

I teach too...and love the beginning of the new semsters and such! The cupcakes look divine!

ellen b. said...

Oh I recognize that deer scenery well. Good for you for connecting with this challenge. My toe isn't broken so I think I'll get on board, too. Glad you were able to enjoy good food with your kids at the Farmer's Market. Dear and I had some dates there in the Seventies :o)
The tall ships are just gorgeous.
Blessings...

Gattina said...

You had a real nice week ! The sailing boats are beautiful ! what a work the men must have !

Flower said...

A good start to the New Year, new beginnings and new thoughts.

Katrina @ Callapidder Days said...

Wow - those tall ships are really amazing.

And I think it is REALLY hard to get in 10,000 steps in one day. I'm happy if I get more than 5,000!

Brenda said...

Wow, sounds like a really busy week! I would love to see those ships in the harbor, what a fun thing to view. I too like the idea that you walk with the deer, precious.

Sharon Lynne said...

Beautiful pictures of the ship, and I enlarged the deer shot on the screen...so nice.

Farmer's Market is a place I should visit since its within striking distance. The woman I am a "caregiver" for might enjoy going there. But I wonder what the parking is like. She walks with a cane.

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

Wow -- a deer as a walking companion? How cool is that!

My son has friends who are in China with their new little daughter and posted a video of their first day with her. I watched with tears streaming down my face. So very sweet.

Have a great week, Willow.

Lisa notes... said...

Oh my. Seeing those ships must have been incredible. And no, I cannot even begin to imagine learning how to operate all those ropes and sails.

Congrats to your friends and their new addition. Wonderful. Love the cupcakes. It's also wonderful that you love teaching. That’s the kind of teachers we need! Glad you had a good week.

Sorry you don’t see snow this week in your SoCal town, but I guess you got your fair share of it when you lived in Oregon! :-)

Mama Mia said...

What a great week! It was wonderful seeing you-- and hearing about all your other adventures. :o)

Barbara said...

A wonderful sight the tall ships and especially when sailing down the Thames.

Just for the record:
I don't think they were saying that was the time tea drinking began in England, they were talking specifically about 'afternoon tea'.
Hope all well with you and have a great weekend.

Kathie said...

I love the tall ships - we usually have them once a summer here.

We have friends who adopted a little Chinese girl - it was such a happy occasion!

Good for you walking - I've been doing the same but with Lesli Sansone's DVD. When the roads are less icy I'll head outside. I won't see deer though - we don't have them here on PEI.

Happy Weekend Willow!

Ally Jay said...

Sounds like a great week. I need to get back on the exercise bus again that's for sure. I had a fun week too, friends round for a BBQ a game of Cranium, cinema trip and my man by my side.

Bethany said...

Well, I had a not so great week: being sick, Caroline's teeth pulled, Nathaniel had a health scare... but as usual everything is back to normal now! I love reading about your interesting weeks!

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

The food at that Farmer's Market is wonderful. I always want to experiment but then go back to my favorite Mexican dish. When my parents were newlyweds living in Los Angeles (over 50 years ago) they would go to the Farmer's Market too :)

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I've visited that wonderful LA Farmers market when I visited LA last year..it was a very interesting place to shop in and I found lots of goodies to take home.

I know you must be a good teacher, Willow..it is so refreshing to hear someone say that they love their job! :)

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

PS I became a "follower" as I just noticed that gadget on your sidebar!