All posts by louise crawford

Civics and Urban Life

Exciting Schedule at Fifth Avenue’s Brooklyn Arts Exchange

Loads to do at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, including a special President's Week Arts Program for kids, programs for curious dults and the Deedle Deedle Dees (four guys raised on the Muppets, Tom Waits, Dr. John, and the
Pixies).

President's Week Performing Arts Program includes: theater, musical theater, dance, singing, tumbling… and lots of fun!

8:30am–3:00pm daily (late pick-up to 5pm) during President's Week

Limited to 30 children currently enrolled in grades K-5.
Registration begins Jan. 2nd. Slots fill quickly!
For more information please click here or call 718-832-0018.

And check out these workshops designed for the curious, creative adult...

Hard-Core Dance Workout with Pene McCourty
Mondays Jan 5, 12, 26 & Feb 2 | 7 – 8pm
*There will be NO class Monday, Jan 19* in observation of MLK Day
$40 for the workshop | $15 drop in

Imagine
a hot sweaty dance party does a major mash-up with a structured dance
class. You learn new steps, get to do your own dance and de-stress. No
prior dance experience necessary.Just bring your bad self!

Then there's a series called January First Weekends, which highlights work by BAX’s Artists in Residence
and Artist Advisors

Friday & Saturday, January 9-10, 2009
8pm on Friday, 4pm on Saturday
admission: $5
(special first First Weekends of 2009 discount)

Friday January 9, 2009 at 8 PM:
Faye Driscoll, Sam Kim and Victoria Libertore

Saturday January 10, 2009 at 4 PM:
Abigail Browde, Sam Kim, Shannon Hummel and Victoria Libertore

In
837 Venice Boulevard director and choreographer Faye Driscoll revisits
her childhood while examining the construct of identity and how we
blame the world for our problems.

In her newest memoir piece, My
Journey of Decay, Victore Libertore delves into her extensive dental
work with her trademark humor, aplomb and sensuality.

Abigail Browde’s The Home by Josephine, a virtual house tour, transforms into a
map of the inner workings of Josephine, a person who is terribly afraid
of the unknown.

Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance’s latest work, Prey,
examines what could have been through the lens of what is as it
captures the essence of survival in all of us.

With
uncompromising honesty, Sam Kim’s Self Surgery exposes the horror and
reverence we feel for the magnitude of the body's potential.

For reservations, call 718-832-0018 or visit http://bax.org/tickets.php.

And one more thing:

The Jumpin' Juniper Show
Featuring the Deedle Deedle Dees!

Sunday, January 11, 2009 @ 2pm (playspace 2:45pm-4pm)
admission: $15 (includes one child), $8 each additional child or adult, Under 2 Free

Join
our popular host Jumpin' Juniper for an afternoon of music and fun.
Alongside the show, BAX offers a staffed, indoor playspace for children
with their parent or caregiver full of equipment appropriate for tots –
elementary age kids. BAXsnax will be available.

January features
The Deedle Deedle Dees — a rock band for the entire family featuring
four guys who were raised on the Muppets, Tom Waits, Dr. John, and the
Pixies.

Civics and Urban Life

Closes January 10: The Art of Politics at the Brooklyn Public Library

Artofpolitics01-lg
Political artist Randy Jones exhibits his work in the main lobby of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza:

This exhibition shows three aspects of my art: current (featuring
the long march of the 2008 presidential race), historical and the Inner
Circle Annual Roast for Mayor of New York City.

From food fights to lipstick, the first section features highlighted
events leading up to the memorable 2008 presidential campaign. It also
includes tear-sheets and original artwork from this long two-year race.

The second section features some of our favorite historical figures
such as Teddy Roosevelt, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Bud Abbott
and Lou Costello. It includes original art and the tear-sheets from the
publications in which they were printed.

Finally, work from the Inner Circle is featured. The Inner Circle
has been around since New York City Mayor Hylan (1918-1925) was in
office, and it continues to operate today. Its 100 members are
reporters who have covered City Hall and who are elected to join by the
standing members. I have created art that illustrates the songs about
the political year, from mayoral to national politics, written and
performed by the members of the Inner Circle. My first year doing so
was the last year of Mayor Dinkins's time in office in 1993.

Civics and Urban Life

A Bit of a Trek: Philip Pearlstein at the Montclair Museum of Art

Slide7
This is an artist I've always liked. Known for his nudes, he's having a retrospective at the Montclair Museum of Art that includes other works as well. Ken Johnson of the New York Times writes:

"Realism returned from the dead in the 1960s, and Philip Pearlstein was
one of its chief revivers. His seven-decade career is the focus of
“Philip Pearlstein: Objectifications,” a small, surprisingly varied
exhibition at the Montclair Museum of Art. The show offers proof that
Mr. Pearlstein, 84, has been an artist of greater range than his
signature nude works."

Center for the Urban Environment

Post-election Strategies and Campaigns Around Environmental Issues.

Will the Economy Overshadow the Environment?Will green jobs really change the way we operate?

Will the climate crisis be overshadowed by the economic crisis?

Where does the new administration stand on issues of the environment?

Join the Center for the Urban Environment (CUE) at our monthly "Third
Thursday" forum to discuss post-election strategies and campaigns
around environmental issues. Listen in as experts dissect the recent
election’s impact on national, state and local environmental
politics—including the role youth will play in ushering in a new clean
energy economy by holding newly elected officials to their campaign
promises and demanding real solutions to the climate crisis.

Come to CUE's Third Thursday to network, learn more, and take action.

Panelists:
Josh Nachowitz—New York State Policy Director for the New York League
of Conservation Voters; Dave Shukla—Organizer with the Student
Environmental Action Coalition and a Ph.D. student at the New School
for Social Research.

The Where and When

Thursday January 15, 2009
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Center for the Urban Environment
68 7th Street, Brooklyn
$10 Suggested Donation
Light Refreshments

Civics and Urban Life

Learn New York: Educational Advocacy

2 Comments

I got this email from Robin Warren about an education advocacy coalition called Learn NY.

Hello Brooklyn Parents,

My name is Robin Warren and I work with an education advocacy coalition called Learn NY based here in New York City.

Some background on our
organization: Learn NY is a non-profit organization dedicated to
ensuring that each of New York City's students receives a high-quality
education. We believe in an education governance system that provides
our schools with accountability and efficiency, so that our children
have a chance at a brighter future.

I am reaching out to
online New York City parent communities across all five boroughs to
introduce our organization and to hopefully begin a real dialogue with
you all.

In this community and
other New York neighborhoods, concerned parents are discussing how we
can improve the education system in New York City;
one of the issues that we are trying to raise more awareness about is
the renewal of the important Mayoral Control Law, as well as how we can
work to improve it.

In the coming weeks, I
hope to come back here to give some more background on Learn NY and on
this issue for those who might be less familiar with the law. I also
want to share with you some of the results and improvements that we
have seen, and which are directly benefitting New York City students. 

And lastly, the more we
hear from parents, the more we can improve the mayoral control law when
it comes up for renewal next year. I would love to gather some feedback
from you to help us better inform lawmakers in Albany of what's working
and what's not.

Parents from across the
City are getting involved with Learn NY, and we hope you will too. We
have received many comments noting the differences in the school system
recently, from how the schools are safer to the increase in test scores.

 If you would like to share your observations about your school's performance recently, please share your story with us on our website, a post here, or you can write to me at robin@learn-ny.org

We all want the best for our children. You can learn more about Mayoral Control at our website www.learn-ny.org, read what others are saying at www.Learn-NY.org/Viewpoints, or follow our blog at www.Learn-NY.org/Blog.

I look forward to continuing this discussion with you all.


Civics and Urban Life

Honor Thy Neighbor: One Family Discontinues Hallway Play

So how do people with kids in co-ops, condos and rentals co-exist with those without children, who don't appreciate the noise generated by the pitter patter of little feet, especially in public spaces?

A post on Park Slope Parents brought this vexing issue to light. One mom has resolved the problem she had with her neighbors by deciding  to "discontinue hallway play." She even had a revelation:

They brought our playtime noise to our attention in such an awful way that our shock at their behavior overshadowed the fact that we were actually being really inconsiderate in the hallway.

After a few days, the smoke cleared, and we realized what had to be
done.  We actually feel rather stupid not seeing it before now!  Our
neighbors say they've been giving us hints for a YEAR.  Unfortunately,
those "hints" were just mean looks.  It's just sad that 2 months ago
they came to my son's b-day party, and now I'm not sure we'll exchange
6 words in 2009.

So I guess it's about communication. It sounds like the angry neighbors should have brought up the matter earlier. Guess what? The complaing couple is pregnant. The PSP member wonders:

Perhaps that will change things in a year or two, but for now, we'll have fun on the 5th floor where short play times are encouraged.  I'm also going to try to get a playroom in the
building, since it looks like it could help everyone out – not just the families, but the neighbors as well!
Civics and Urban Life

Brooklyn Based: Weekly Tip Sheet

What would we do without the weekly Brooklyn Based Tip Sheet? It's got loads of interesting ideas for things to  do in Brooklyn in music, art, shopping, culture and food.

So what is Brooklyn Based?

Like all good things, we come in threes — three
emails a week that will turn you onto the best food, art, shops,
services, and people in the County of Kings.

From where to find the best tailor, to weekend
events, to interviews with neighborhood chefs, we are the most original
guide to Brooklyn life you’ll read.

Sound good? Then sign up for BB, delivered Tuesday through Thursday.

Go for it.

Civics and Urban Life

Gowanus Lounge: The Disgraceful State of Coney Island

Robert Guskind writes powerfully of the current state of Coney Island.
Read it and weep. Here's an excerpt but read the rest at his blog,
Gowanus Lounge:

"There were a lot of people in Coney Island on Saturday and most of
them were taking pictures of the mess it has become under the
stewardship of Joe Sitt and Michael Bloomberg. We stood on
Stillwell Avenue, freezing, with Mr. Sitt’s big empty lot on our left
and the vacant Beer Island on our right and wiped tears from our eyes,
not because of the cold but because of fond memories and a sense of
hopelessness and despair that those in charge of this process aren’t up
to the challenge of keeping it on life support while the economy works
itself out.

"What a sad, sad thing for a place that has suffered so much. We urge
the city to negotiate hard with Mr. Sitt. We hope all parties sit down
and come up with a realistic five year plan to keep Coney going. We
hope that Mr. Sitt shows that he has a shred of human decency in his
body and that “Joey Coney Island” helps save it instead of being the guy that pulls the trigger and inflicts the final fatal wound.

Time is running out."

Civics and Urban Life

Internet Rumor: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public Next Month

9 Comments

I got this helpful reminder from an OTBKB reader. It may just be an Internet rumor. Ahhhh…Hold off until I confirm. Thanks for all the comments.

REMINDER…. all cell phone  numbers are being released to
telemarketing  companies and you will start  to receive sale calls.
…. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE  CALLS

To prevent this, call  the following number from your cell phone:
    888-382-1222.


It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will  only take a minute of
your  time. It blocks your number for five (5)  years. You must call
from the cell phone  number you want to have blocked. You cannot call
 from a different phone  number.



It takes about 20 seconds. I just did it.


.

Postcard from the Slope

The Bridge Project at BAM: Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard

Now at  BAM, a new version of Chekhov's play by Tom Stoppard. It should be quite a show.

Beginning
in January of 2009, some of the finest talents of New York and London
theater converge at BAM to kick off an extraordinary venture—The Bridge
Project—an unprecedented three-year, transatlantic partnership uniting
BAM, The Old Vic, and Neal Street Productions. Academy Award winner (American Beauty) Sam Mendes, last at BAM with Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night (2003 Spring Season), returns to direct a formidable group of actors in an ocean-spanning double bill of revered classics: The Cherry Orchard and The Winter's Tale.

Simon
Russell Beale, Sinéad Cusack, and Rebecca Hall from the UK; and Richard
Easton, Josh Hamilton, and Ethan Hawke from the US take the stage in
Tony Award-winner Tom Stoppard's new version of The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov’s daring, droll meditation on bourgeois materialism and what remains in its wake.

Postcard from the Slope

The First Hours Back

I always love the day we come home from California on the red eye. There's something other-worldly about it. This time was no exception.

Friday morning, our flight got in at 6:30 am and we took an Eastern Car Service to a very quiet Third Street. Our neighbors were either asleep or away. Once we got all the suitcases up the stairs I went straight to my bed and fell asleep because I hadn't slept a wink on the plane.

Truth is, during the late night flight I couldn't stop watching True Life, a very entertaining documentary series on MTV about a variety of milieus, including girls who summer at the Jersey Shore, southern belles in Mississippi, female alcoholics, girls from Staten Island.

How do you spell addictive and a great way to stay up all night on an airplane?

I love the return to our bed. My pillow—the downy, squishy one. The weight of our comforter, the bright orange comforter on the bed. And to sleep: it is blessed.

No one called. No one knew we were back for at least two hours. That's the feeling I love: the sneaking back into town. The unpacked suitcases. The pile of fresh mail on the dining room table. The empty refrigerator.

It's a real clean slate kind of feeling.

Then the phone rang and it was time to get back to real life. Slowly. Slowly. You don't want to rush it those first few hours back in town. Take it slow.

Civics and Urban Life

Park Slope’s Nerissa Campbell: Jazzy Musings of a Telescopic Tree

Musingsofatelescopictreecove
Nerissa Campbell, an indie-jazz singer- songwriter originally from Perth,
Australia has been lving in Brooklyn, (Park Slope/Prospect
Heights) for over seven years.

She is set to release a new album next week. Check it out: there are a few tracks on her website at www.crookedmouthmusic.com.

Musings of a Telescopic Tree is described on the website as "an album of moodiness and of melancholy
– stories of desire and the sorrows of losing loved things, the weight
of depression and the lightness of being. The indie-jazz
singer-songwriter ponders a new approach to her music, – its roots in
jazz, it also ponders its way through somber pop-ballads, bluesy folk
songs, moody instrumentals and a lyricism full of thought and space."

"Her songs roil in the smoke of forgotten bars and express a love of
many styles and thoughts. Campbell composed these songs in her home of
Brooklyn, NY as well on travels across Europe, Australia and North
America. Drawn largely on her own life stories and from the tales of
the characters from those adventures, her songs are a manuscript of
insights to self and the world around her."

There's an album release gig  on January 15th at the 55 Bar in Manhattan.

The Where and When

January 15th
55 Bar
55 Christopher St (btn 6th and 7th av)
www.55bar.com
7 – 9pm
no cover

Community Bookstore

New: Non-Fiction Book Club at Community Bookstore

Over at the Community Bookstore, they're starting the Non-Fiction Book Club.

Third Wednesday of Every Month @ 7:30 pm

Moderated by Debbie Everett-Lane debra.everettlane(at)gmail(dot)com

This
club will read thought-provoking and entertaining nonfiction, both
classic and modern. The books will be chosen on a common theme, with
the club switching themes every six months or so. Every third session,
a book will be paired with a movie shown at the bookstore – film first,
then discussion afterwards.

The first theme is "Nature" and the book/film list so far includes:

Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)

Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac (1949)

Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance (1982, dir. Godfrey Reggio, music by Philip Glass)

John McPhee, The Control of Nature (1989)

Jared Diamond, Collapse (2005)

Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma (2007)

The first event will be: Wednesday, January 21 at 7:30
You've heard of Walden, but have you ever read it?  Now's
your chance to read one of the classics of American literature and
nature writing! In 1845, Henry David Thoreau quit working at his
family's pencil factory in order to begin a two-year experiment in
simple living, building a small cabin outside of town and living a life
of self-sufficiency. Join us for an evening of lively discussion as we
explore Walden Pond along with Thoreau, and learn about the pleasures
of "simplicity, simplicity, simplicity."

We
will be reading the Norton Critical Edition, which includes commentary
and other related texts. Though our discussion will focus primarily onWalden,
feel free to explore these other materials also. The book will be
available at your favorite local bookstore, Community Bookstore.

Postcard from the Slope

New: NYC Graphic Novelists Website

GraphicNYC
This Tuesday, January 6th, photographer Seth Kushner (The Brooklynites) and comic book journalist/historian Christopher Irving (Comic Book Artist Magazine Associate Editor) join forces to introduce a new brand of comics journalism, with  NYC Graphic Novelists.

The site is a preview of the work that Seth and Christopher are doing for Graphic NYC, their photo-essay book that combines Seth’s photos with Christopher’s in-depth interview based essays on New York cartoonists.

“I consider Graphic NYC, the upcoming book project that NYC Graphic Novelists is based off of, to be a kind of ‘New Comics Journalism’, combining New Journalism with comics history, and Seth’s lush photography. I’ve been ready to bring a little something new to comics journalism for a while, and this is it.”

Graphic NYC not only features conceptual photographs of comic book auteurs in their favorite and symbolic environments, but it also paints a narrative picture through essays that employ on-the-spot interviews and a critical view of their most personal work. Like a graphic novel, it employs the marriage of words and images to tell a story; in this case, it is the story of New York’s position in the development and life of comic books.

Previous attempts at chronicling comic book artists have either been too general, showing the artist behind their drawing table and accompanied by a brief biography, or so academic that they turn off potential casual readers. Graphic NYC offers an insider’s view of the comic book industry in New York (both past and present), but is presented in an accessible and general enough manner for that casual reader, yet savvy enough for the long-time comic book fan to appreciate.

The first subjects introduced in the site’s launch are the legendary Howard Chaykin of American Flagg! fame, and emerging star Dash Shaw, of the highly acclaimed graphic novel The Bottomless Belly Button. Following will be photo-essays on Dondi creator Irwin Hasen, Billy Dogma’s Dean Haspiel, Dan Goldman of the upcoming ‘08 graphic novel, Mad Magazine’s Al Jaffee, Battling Boy’s Paul Pope, and other comics luminaries. Updated on a regular basis, along with reviews and commentaries of work by other NYC cartoonists, www.NycGraphicNovelists.com promises to serve as a Who‘s Who of New York‘s favorite cartoonists.

But www.NycGraphicNovelists.com doesn’t give it all away at once, notes Irving. The essays presented are not published in their entirety: that won’t happen until the book version of Graphic NYC hits bookstores.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Irving notes. “Until we find the perfect publisher for what Seth and I consider our dream project. But, for now, we‘re enjoying the total freedom of putting it online for everyone to sink their teeth into.”

Postcard from the Slope

Representative Yvette D. Clarke to be Sworn into 111th Congress

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Yvette D. Clarke will be sworn into the 111th Congress on Tuesday, January 6th by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.   

The ceremony will take place at 4:00pm following the en masse oath of office on the floor of the House of Representatives.

On November 16th, the Congresswoman was elected as Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus.  She will also be sworn in as
Whip of the Caucus for the 111th Congress on the same day. Rep. Clarke
was recently re-elected in November with 94% of the vote. 

She currently sits on the House Committee of Education and Labor, the House Small Business Committee, and the Committee of Homeland Security.

Civics and Urban Life

Brookyn Paper: 90 To Watch in 09

Find out who and what to watch out for in Brooklyn in 2009. Here are just a few of the things on the Brooklyn Paper’s long list. For the full list, go to their website.

Like any respectable publication, The Brooklyn Paper makes lists. So
without any further ado, here are the 90 people, places and things to
watch in ’09:

84. Paul Auster: The prolific Park Slope author is rumored to be coming
out with a new novel this year, “Invisible,” after penning “Man in the
Dark” last year, which was set in a fictional United States wracked by a post-election civil war.

77. Cordula Volkening: This Park Slope artist has been battling
brain cancer while producing an astonishing array of representational
paintings in the past year. She is planning a spring show to benefit
her children at Brooklyn Artists Gym in Gowanus.

76. Susan Fox: The founder of the once-quaint, now-booming Park
Slope Parents Web site has emerged as a force throughout the borough.
She’s on the Park Slope Civic Council, she’s helping the Old Stone
House, she’s helping local merchants, and this year she even led the
annual Halloween Parade for kids. Someday, she’ll be in the City
Council.

70. Peter and Kristen Sclafani: The restaurateurs who brought Bar Tano
to a barren stretch of Third Avenue in Gowanus are planning to open
another European-styled cafe and wine bar in 2009, this time on an equally foodless stretch of Eighth Avenue in Park Slope. Econony be damned: These two know what they’re doing.

68. Catherine Bohne: The Park Slope Community Bookstore’s owner can’t
be stopped with her ebullience to keep the locals shopping locally. In
2008, Bohne started a restaurant tour along Seventh Avenue and expanded
the holiday bazaar Snowflake Celebration to two nights. She’s got more
up her sleeve for 2009.

Postcard from the Slope

Memoir Writing Workshop and World Class Mexican and Chinese Food

Donna Minkowitz wrote to say that she’s teaching a memoir writing class this spring starting Wednesday, January 28, which will go through Wednesday, March 18.

This class will be taught out of her apartment in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. (Check it out — there is world-class Mexican and Chinese food nearby.)

The workshop will focus on using emotional and sensual details, musical language, and storytelling to help you build your memoir and give richness to it.

It goes for eight weeks, and runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Writers at every level are welcome. The cost is $300. Here’s some info about Minkowitz’s class:

My memoir writing workshop is focused on craft. The class is limited to eight people. Students will get frequent feedback in a supportive atmosphere. All questions will be happily answered at minkowitz(at)earthlink(dot)net.

Donna Minkowitz is the author of Ferocious Romance: What My Encounters With The Right Taught Me About Sex, God and Fury (Simon and Schuster), a memoir that won a Lambda Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Quality Paperback Book Club’s New Visions Award "for the most promising and distinctive work by a new author." A former columnist for The Village Voice, she has also written for The New York Times Book Review, Salon, New York magazine, Ms. and The Nation. Minkowitz has performed her work at The Kitchen, the avant-garde arts space, with The Storytelling Center of New York City, and at Time & Space Limited in Hudson, N.Y. She was awarded a writer’s residency by Ledig House and has taught memoir writing workshops at the 92nd Street Y, the In Our Own Write program of the Lesbian and Gay Center, and The Kitchen.

Postcard from the Slope

Atlantic Yards Report: The Year in Review

Check out a month-by-month review of what went on with the Atlantic Yards in 2008 compiled by Norman Oder at the Atlantic Yards Report.  Here’s the intro. For the whole review go to AYR.

The year 2008 was chock full of Atlantic Yards news; below, I look back
chronologically at some memorable issues, moments, and quotes,
including the understated prediction by Forest City Ratner CEO Bruce
Ratner that the project is "not going to happen in a nanosecond."

Tomorrow, I’ll assess the outlook for this year, which is very much uncertain (as are the Construction Updates on the official AY site).

Postcard from the Slope

Stepping Into the New Year

That was fast. Christmas holidays come and gone. Time to wake the children. Time to readjust to the rhythms of school, work. Real life.

The children have been sleeping late since the start of their school vacation on December 24th. On holiday in California, bedtimes extended well past midnight. Back in Brooklyn, we’re still on West Coast time.

So we step tentatively into the New Year. The president-elect arrives in Washington, his children to begin school today. Financial jitters are pervasive. Israel is launching attacks in Gaza.

The world feels very unsafe and uncertain right now.

But I step into the new year with characteristic optimism. Obama. Obama. Even his name is like some kind of anti-depressant drug.

The children will be in their classrooms today. The president-elect will continue his transition. I will return to whatever it was I was doing before December 24th. The mysteries of 2009 begin to unfold.

Stepping into the new year.

Civics and Urban Life

Smartom: Christmas in Cali

1 Comment

Here’s this week’s Smartmom from the Brookyn Paper:

They had a little fight about it. Smartmom said they couldn’t afford
to go. But Hepcat prevailed. It had been two years since they’d spent
Christmas in California and Hepcat wanted to go.

Ultimately Smartmom gave in. She knows that Christmas means a lot to
Hepcat and it had been a while since he’d celebrated with his family:
last year, Smartmom’s dad was in Mt. Sinai Hospital between Christmas
and New Year’s. And the year before that, Manhattan Granny’s health
necessitated that they stay in town.

So it was decided. Hepcat charged the tickets ($2,000!) and they
were good to go. Smartmom knew the kids wouldn’t be thrilled at first
because they like to be around their friends during school vacation.
But they’d adjust.

Even Smartmom got used to the idea. She decided that loads of
together-time as a family was just what they needed. For seven days,
they’d be stuck in a big house in the country with nowhere to go;
they’d eat every meal together and have loads of time to talk, play
Scrabble and do jigsaw puzzles.

It sounded like heaven to her. 

Hepcat was thrilled to be going home for Christmas. That’s not to
say that he didn’t enjoy his two Brooklyn Christmases. He loved buying
Christmas trees from the handsome Vermonter who sells them on Ninth
Street from a tent blaring jazz music, and he loved the Christmas lox
and bagels brunch with Diaper Diva, Groovy Grandma and various members
of Smartmom’s extended Jewish family. And he always seemed to love a
Christmas Day movie at the Pavilion and Christmas dinner at Hunan
Cottage on Union Street.

But Smartmom wouldn’t be Smartmom if she couldn’t tell that her big
old California farm boy was homesick. He pined for the smell of
eucalyptus leaves in the garden, the whistle of the Southern Pacific
freight trains in the distance, the braying of his mother’s goats,
Flora and Miss America, out in the pen.

You can take a farm boy out of California, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy — especially on Christmas.

Teen Spirit and the Oh So Feisty One liked their Brooklyn
Christmases, too. It was fun to wake up on Christmas morning to find
their filled stockings tied to the dresser in the living room. No
matter that there’s no mantle. In Brooklyn, it is believed that Santa
Claus enters through the dumbwaiter or disguised as one of the delivery
guys from Coco Roco.

On the night before Christmas, Smartmom and family arrived on
Hepcat’s family farm (after an unusually long flight which included a
refueling stop in Salt Lake City) tired, hungry and ready for sleep.

For a nice Jewish girl from New York City, the scene couldn’t have
been more perfect. As always, there was a towering Christmas tree
festooned with vintage decorations; Mexican crèches placed tastefully
all over the house; and roaring fires burning in not one, but two,
fireplaces.

Yup, it was nice to be back.

OSFO popped out of bed Christmas morning. Teen Spirit was harder to
rouse (he’s 17 after all). They opened their gifts and hung out with
their cousins who they hadn’t seen in more than a year.

It was a jigsaw puzzle and Scrabble kind of day topped off by a
bountiful Christmas super, which included ham, oysters, sweet potatoes
and great conversation. Smartmom couldn’t stop eating the pannetone,
almond roca and coconut macaroons and swore to be back on Weight
Watchers by morning.

She could tell that Hepcat was enjoying himself big time. His mother
went through bags of old photographs while his sister regaled them with
hilarious stories about her new chihuahua.

In the days after Christmas, Teen Spirit and OSFO pretended to be
wildly bored. But Smartmom knew it was good for their creative juices.
Teen Spirit spent much of the holiday writing songs while OSFO
practiced a Bach minuet on the piano and used her grandmother’s
potter’s wheel.

As promised, the family ate every meal together, played plenty of
Scrabble and did jigsaw puzzles. They spent loads of time in each
other’s company.

Sure they got on each other’s nerves. 

Sure they had a few fights.

But it was Christmas in California. Seven days with nothing to do but be together. What could be better?