Marin Daddy Blog

We all managed to get through the first week--or rather the first three days--of kindergarten relatively unscathed. I took the whole week off of work, since this is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime event. Everyone we knew made sure to remind us of what a big step this was, and how emotional it was going to be, and of course it was.

We bought a backpack and a few other school supplies, which turned out to be overkill for kindergarten, since all you really need is a lunchbox for your snack.

So yesterday we made the mistake of checking out the new über-mega Safeway that opened up today in Novato (or Ignacio, if you want to get technical and all). It's the anchor tenant for the new Hamilton Plaza shopping center, which seems to be shaping up nicely. Only Safeway is open at this point.

Anyhow, they had a preview on Thursday afternoon and evening, and apparently everyone living within a 50-mile radius of the place decided to show up. Seriously, you had a hard time finding a parking spot, let alone even getting into the store. You'd think people had never seen a Safeway before. It's a Safeway. A SAFEWAY!

As my daughter has gotten older (she's now 2-1/2), she's developed her own unique vocabulary. It's been interesting to watch, as the process seems to be totally different than what I witnessed with my son. She's been speaking in near-complete sentences almost since she started talking, and never had any of those unique made-up "baby words" that her brother did. What she has started, recently, is coming up with colorful names to call people when she's not happy with them. I know I should probably try to get her to stop, but, honestly, it's pretty funny, even when it's directed, as it is often, at me.

I'm a dedicated reader of the online magazine A List Apart, one of the most valuable resources out there for those engaged in web design and development. Today, they've published Walking the Line When You Work from Home, a great article that really hits home for those of us, especially those of us with children at home, who either telecommute or run a small business from the home. It's really worth a read, especially since it's applicable to anyone who tries to work out of the home, not just those in the new media or design profession.

I don't remember whether I've mentioned this website here before (and I'm too lazy right now to look it up), but I thought I'd give a shout out to MarinNostalgia.org, a great resource for those of us who grew up in Marin, or anyone who's curious about what life in our county was like in decades past. It's an online time machine of sorts run by San Rafael Realtor Jason Lewis, and includes features on people and places from Marin's recent past, as well as a discussion forum.
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For those of us who like to set things on fire... and then cook something over the flames, I stumbled across a nifty new product this past weekend: the Lazzari Baja Firepack! We were planning on making use of the BBQ grills out at a picnic area in Point Reyes, and I wasn't really hot on packing up a big chimney starter and bag of charcoal, nor was I thrilled with the prospect of using one of those "matchlight" bags that's chock full of nasty petrochemicals. So, understandably, I was thrilled to find the nifty little Baja Firepack on sale at Harvest Market in Novato.