Deck the Halls with Flogging Molly..

It's 11:06 pm on Thursday before Xmas. I'm working tomorrow per normal and should be in bed, but have my latent holiday brownies in the oven, so I'm up extra latently. Which doubles as an excuse to have the house to myself!

I tucked Edie and her cousin Simone into bed tonight singing an endless cycle of "Silent Night" - which is such a lovely tune, but I always start to mumble when I get to the "Christ our Saviour" bit. I wish this season was pure light and clarity, but it is so very conflicted and abstract. I like the general sweetness of it's origin, but not being a True Believer it's hard to be fully immersed in the entire experience. I wish the holiday was built around how jaw-dropping Arana Gulch looked this morning, with the mist gently rising from the newly green meadow.

Or around how much I love the smell of sauteeing onions and butter. Or when my hair curls the right direction. Or the joy of finishing a project. Or when my kids are engrossed in something for a good while and emerge triumphant with something new. Or when my husband lets stress roll off his back. Or the magic of REALLY good music that knocks you out of where you are stuck.

These are tangibles I can relate to. Not some random guy from centuries ago. I don't mind the centuries, and the wisdom is real, but the corruption since has made the association with that little christ-child a little flimsy. But, yea verily, this makes for dee-licious comedy.


OK - it's now 11:59, the brownies are crisped around the edges and soggy in the middle. I think I should stick to onions and butter.

Happy Yule! God, I really do love Christmas. Gulchmas. Onionmas. Musicmas. Happymas. Productivemas. Kidmas. Mas.

Happy Winter from the FryesnSteins!

Welcome to the Fryes-n-Steins first Winter Greeting and Update blog!
















For those of you who haven't heard from us in a while - we moved to Santa Cruz, CA in June 2004, shortly after the birth of Edie. We chose Santa Cruz, where I (Jess) was raised up, after considering other options such as Petaluma, Arcata, Oregon, and even returning to Dave's home state of Virginia.
For the uninitiated,

SC is a pretty hoppin' little town, lots of live music, great restaurants (but why no good Indian?), lovely nature including the ocean and redwoodsy forests just a short ways away. The perfect mix of kitchy pleasures (the Boardwalk, the Mystery Spot) and genuine breathtaking beauty.

Our good pals the Koskis (Jennie) (Darius) moved here the same summer, with their two boys, so instantly habitual BBQing was established! It's lovely that our kids are growing up together.










I have family in SC as well, my mom and dad and aunts and uncles and cousins and lots of extended family too - so the family network has been fantabulous.

In SC Dave started out working for Darius' dad, building a house. After that project, Dave was hired by a super duper residential remodel company called Talmadge Construction. They have been fantastic to work for, and Dave is now a hands-on project manager, doing high-end remodels and construction projects. A perk of that work was meeting our friends the Lukes (Mike L. is a plumbing subcontractor) and their four kids who we adore!


I stayed on maternity leave for about 9 months after Edie was born, then was hired as office manager for the SC Symphony. About a year and a half after that, I was promoted to marketing director. That was a great learning experience on many levels. Recently I took the position of associate director for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Check out the website to learn more.

Other big news: Fiona graduated from 5th grade in June, and thusly began Middle School this September! So far so good - she likes it, and we are getting used to a totally new social structure, and all that Middle School brings up! Fiona was also accepted onto a competetive soccer team, the Jaws, who travelled to the Silicon Valley and thereabouts. A whole new ball game, as it were! Very exciting, great coaching, great team mates. She also was accepted onto her school soccer team, but has had to miss several matches due to breaking her wrist a few months back, then re-injuring it a few weeks ago. But kids are bouncy, right?
She is a fantastic kid, we are so proud.

Edie is now a spicy three-year-old, goes to preschool and hangs out with her Mima and Aunties and cousins. Edie is truly a crazy nut. But a cute one!






Dave and Darius and Mike all bowl in a League together, and now the Lukes and the Frye-Steins have formed a bowling team (the Lane Asses), looking ahead to January and our second year in the annual Punk Rock Bowling Tournament in Las Vegas! Hee-Haw!














So - I'll leave it there for starters, more later... Here's a parting picture to help you look forward to next Thanksgiving - my sister Consuelo and my husband Dave, haggling over the birds. That's Schmuel on the left, kosher (no butter) and Earl on the right. Dave is trying to recover from having shoved an entire stick of butter up under Earl's hide. " 'Appy Cookeeng" as Jacques says!