From Here to Uncertainty: Our Blog

A Good Problem To Have

2010-03-06T10:52:48Z

We've spent the last few weeks working on the calendar, trying to figure how to puzzle out the next few months. It's a megillah! But still - figuring out where you're going to travel next, and how to puzzle everything together, is a good problem to have.

We've just booked seven weeks in a little town in the south of France called Saint Quentin la Poterie. I am the luckiest girl in the Whole Wide World. We got a good

Small Towns Everywhere

2010-03-04T11:54:51Z

A comforting thing about travel is finding the similarities among the obvious differences. The other day we were eating breakfast at a small town coffee shop in England called Friar Tucks. It reminded me of the White Lantern, the diner/hangout in the small Illinois town where I grew up -- not in looks so much as in feel. I noticed that several times the folks sitting in the booths would wave hello to the folks walking past outside. At one point an older woman waved to a man about my age, he waved back, and then she waved him inside to sit with her and her husband. I imagined he was their son.

Another, even older woman from the booth next over says to the guy coming in, "Do you always wear a helmet when you cycle, Casey?"

"Yeah," he said, to which she responded

Errand Day in Leith

2010-03-02T17:44:41Z

I really love where we live. I love living in a neighborhood! Just now Bob and I ran out to do errands and bring home lunch for everybody. Here's our errand list:

The Marie Curie Cancer Care charity shop (that's a tongue twister), to give away some clothes that the kids have outgrown.
The Post Office to mail postcards. From Paris. Sorry everybody!
Just Sew, to have them sew new buttons onto my black coat. It's old old old, and in the past two months all the buttons have fallen off but one. I've

Robert, The Guard At Windsor

2010-02-28T17:42:57Z

Traveling with kids is the best! Especially our kids. They're constantly forgetting things, loosing things, wandering into places they shouldn't, and most of the time that leads to some of the most memorable times of the trip.

We met Robert the Guard when Ella realized that she'd left her hat

I'm Calling In a Solid

2010-02-24T09:03:21Z

Hey Everybody,

Thanks for being here. We can't tell you how amazed and delighted we are that you come around from time to time.

We're calling in a solid. Part of our master plan to take over the universe involves having a website that has an overwhelming and exploding population. It also would really help us get a publisher interested. So we're asking you to tell a few friends about us. Send a quick email. Drop our name at lunch, or dinner. Maybe at lunch and dinner, providing you're having those two meals with different people.

Or, if you're a rabid fan, you could host a What! You Don't Know About This Fabulous Site Yet?!? party and invite a few hundred close

Spare Change

2010-02-23T18:39:57Z

Killing two birds with one stone is one of my absolute favorite things to do. This morning I did just that. I poured a small mountain of coins in front of Ella, and announced that today for math she was sorting and counting the coins. It was a big pile of Euros and Pounds from my wallet, and I was tired of fumbling through them at the market every day. After a few minutes she came to me saying, "What's this?" It was a Polish groszy.

"Why do we still have groszy?

"Just put it on the desk."

She came back a few minutes later, "I can't figure out this one."

"Oh - that's a Swiss Franc. Put it with the zloty."

She came back with some Serbian dinar, and a little later with two big silver coins. "What are they. They look the same on one side, but not on the other side. I don't think they're the same."

"They are the same," I said. "They're both quarters. You know - American money"

What on earth are we doing to our children?!

On the bright side, Eleanor can make change in several different countries.

Golden Reel Awards: I'll Be Missing the Party

2010-02-20T13:31:00Z

Brenna and Bob at the Golden Reels last year. Note the lack of shiny statue.One of the last TV shows that I worked on before we left Los Angeles last summer was the final season of "ER." It was a huge honor to have worked on the series, and I was lucky to be part of a great crew. We were recently nominated for a Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award. That's a mouthful -- Brenna just calls them the sound geek awards. The ceremony is tonight, and I'm sad that I won't be there to dust off the tux and hang with my pals (banquet food aside). Brenna is missing the excuse to search out the perfect vintage gown. Good luck Walt, Darleen and Bruce. We both miss you guys, and hope you take home a shiny trophy.

For those of you who don't work in post production sound, and might be wondering what the day-to-day activities of a sound editor really look like -- It's, frighteningly, a lot like this video!

Unintended Consequences

2010-02-18T09:20:02Z

That's the thing - they're unintended. This is the story of two decisions, which both had unintended consequences, and which led - one to the other.

William IV was the 3rd son of King George III, and no one ever expected him to be king. But between one thing and another, king he became, when he was 69, and he reigned for 7 years. His biggest historical claim is probably that he managed to stay alive until his niece, Victoria, reached the age of 18, and so could become queen without her mother being queen's regent. Queen Victoria did pretty well for the Monarchy.

Money seems not to have been William's friend. In face, when Parliament - faced with the prospect of no heir to the throne, offered to pay off all of William's debts if he would leave his mistress of 20 years (and their 10 children) to marry

Happy Chinese New Year

2010-02-15T21:18:46Z

Owen, being 11 and male, is not a fan of Valentine's Day. He hung in there with the family on Sunday morning while small surprises were given and received, but the big love-fest just isn't his bag. This year, however, Valentines Day is also Chinese New Year, and since Owen loves all things Chinese, he spear-headed a trip to London's Chinatown. It was a huge party! The dragons were dancing, the drums were drumming, and the crowds were out en mass. We ate incredible dim sum at a restaurant Owen found on-line, and awful desert from a Chinese bakery (I hate sweet red bean paste.) We exploded Chinese snap-n-pops in the rain that night with thousands of other wet people, all of us dodging umbrellas and prowling souvenir shops. It was loud and crazy, and Chinatown rocked. As did Owen.

Like Mother Like Daughter

2010-02-13T21:24:00Z

On our last day in Paris we decided to wander. Our wandering led us to a little restaurant in Montmarte with wonderful onion soup, and a window looking out across the street at a huge seconds shop called Sympa. We watched women digging through giant piles of clothing on tables as we ate our soup and roast chicken, and when a truck pulled up to drop off more boxes of clothes, Ella and I decided to cut to the chase. We spent an hour or so digging and comparing, and by the time we left Ella had scored pants, skirts, sweaters... she got a new wardrobe for €28. I think she has the Brenna Bargain Gene.Hey - it's cheaper than the Paris Designer Gene!