Crying and being grouchy was an Olympic sport in my childhood. I practiced for years and became quite good at it. I was helped in this endeavor by four older brothers and sisters who excelled in their chosen sport - Make Jessie Cry. After a time I figured out that not crying would be my best strategy in life. But it still amazes me to look back at some of the insignificant things that would get me all worked up. One of my more amusing ones was this plant item, which is blooming like crazy right now in Northern California:
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As we would take drives as a family and see these growing in the fields, my brother Jeff would say they were mustard seeds. I would say they were yellow flowers. And then he would say it was mustard and I would insist they were yellow flowers. And then I would cry. Over yellow flowers. Some kids were tormented by real threats from older siblings, I was upset by discussions of plant botany. I'm so glad I survived this horrific childhood to become a functioning adult who loves mustard.
But Jeff, for the record:
A weekend surrounded by pretty views, wine tasting and lovely spring weather was the result of some nice leg work on our friends' part. We are not great at making plans in advance to get away. Unless it involves a convention or a work related event, we just drift from weekend to weekend and then say "We should really get away." Our trips are usually because our more efficient friends got on the ball and made vacation plans or camping reservations and then asked us to join them. We are Vacation Barnacles. This time is was Russ and Arianne finding a great deal on off-season rates at Cottage Grove Inn in the Napa Valley. Cute as a button and right in downtown Calistoga, this place made for a very relaxing little trip. We packed gobs of board games, enjoyed just a touch of wine tasting and experienced a burst of spring in this most beautiful area. And Jeff, the mustard seed yellow flowers were amazing.
