Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Wasps, Waves & Wedding Anniversaries



We had a belated wedding anniversary celebration in Timber Cove. We rented the home of Bob & Lauri Miller (who own the Bodega Bay Surf Shack) and had a very restful two days. See www.sonomacoastretreat.com

Grady got a wasp bite on his neck/throat area the weekend before we left and had to go to Kaiser. He had two chins and a very swollen neck and tongue. Once he got started on his prescriptions the swelling went down, but they made him a little hyper! We let him run it out on Glass Beach in Fort Bragg. It was high tide, so we all ended up getting pretty wet - but found some beautiful seaglass to add to our collection. I found part of an amber glass clorox bottle. My friend told me they stopped making those in 1929!


We unplugged, unwound, played scrabble, laughed a lot, listened to music, read and relaxed. Very needed.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Phoenix, Tucson , Nogales....Oh My!

Well, I went on a two-day trip to the Salas Family Reunion in Nogales, Mexico. While living here in Sonoma County is great, traveling is kind of a pain. We left the house at 3:30 am to catch a 6:10 am flight to Phoenix. We barely made the plane and were the last people to board. Grady was a trooper and ran as fast as his little legs would take him. We landed in Phoenix, met my brother (who flew in from Ontario), rented a car and visited my aunt and grandma for lunch. We then drove down to Tucson and met up with my cousins. The following day we drove to Nogales, Mexico and attended my aunt's renewing of her vows for her 30th wedding anniversary.


It was an emotional trip, as I didn't know much of my dad's side of the family. He never taught us Spanish and, therefore, we were a little out of the loop on the ceremony and subsequent conversations. They were gracious, kind and happy to see us. Grady was a complete joy to travel with and they all loved him. He kept saying "I have so many cousins!"


My father has been estranged from his family most of his life and we didn't get the opportunity to know them. This was a great chance (after 37 years) to embark on this journey and get to know everyone. I did liken the feeling to being adopted and finding out you have this entire family you knew nothing about. They should have felt like strangers, but they didn't. They were completely accepting and I wonder why my father didn't help us to know them. As a parent now, I vow to make sure Grady knows all of his family. In the end, that's all you have.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Remodel & Reflection

Well, the bathroom facelift is almost complete...just waiting for the sink. I have a few before and after pictures. There were issues with our subfloor and drywall near the shower due to years of previous water damage from the shower. We knew this when we purchased the house and were just waiting until we knew what materials we wanted to use to update our sole bathroom. After many lovely marital debates, we finally decided on all of the details (retexture the crazy uneven ceiling/walls and get rid of the institutional powder blue paint and repaint with Ralph Lauren "Oatmeal", replace the 80's linoleum with marmoleum in Hecht green, fixtures from Restoration Hardware and a gorgeous chocolate brown cabinet and rectangular porcelain sink/counter top). We kept the shower/tub in tact, but changed everything else.






The final outcome is a bathroom that looks updated and feels bigger. Grady was such a trooper over the past 10 days and the guys at Home Depot gave him an apron on one of his many recent visits. He likes to help Steve with projects around the house and carry various animals, screws, rocks, etc. Our contractor broke our toilet during the demo and Grady thought this was hilarious. Not as amusing to us, but quickly replaced.



I'm still trying to figure out and learn all about this blogging site, but hopefully it will help keep everyone up-to-date on what we're doing here in Northern California. It finally feels like we're in the right place since we moved to Valley Ford exactly one year ago. We love our 1950's farmhouse, the views from every room of the valley & hillsides, the llama farm next door, as well as all the weeds and list of projects that will probably never get completed. However, it's ours and it feels good to call this place home.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Fundraisers & Fried Chicken



Yesterday started off fairly normal. We're undergoing a bathroom remodel and have been living at the Mahley's house in Bodega Harbour for about a week. We had brunch at the Valley Ford Hotel, went home to do a few things and then I went to Grady's Art Show in Forestville at Frame of Mind. I donated and poured wine, listened to music, purchased art and came back home. Then things got weird...

We decided to go to the Valley Ford Hotel to listen to the music of "DGIIN" (french, gypsy, funk). Grady loves to get his groove on with this band and they let him play percussion for most of the night. The saxophone player said he has good rhythm and they were very sweet with G.

The interesting part of the evening was that we were sharing a table with a couple from Sebastopol and they seemed harmless enough - a little tipsy, but harmless. As our food arrived, she started reaching over my plate and eating Grady's french fries. She was giggling and acting sneaky and her husband told her to do it again. I offered them the fries, since they had shared their table with us and it was clear she wasn't going to stop eating any time soon. This was my peace offering or so I thought. Grady asked me to dance with him and off I went. When I came back to the table she had taken my fried chicken off my plate and was devouring it. Grease dripping off of her chin like a Chris Farley skit and my jaw must have hit the ground. I couldn't believe my eyes. All I could do was pick up my plate, confront her and walk off in a huff. My only witness was Patty and Steve, but he wasn't sure what had just transpired - so he was left to deal with her and told her to finish the chicken she had started. I had her 86'd from the VFH, but not until she licked the bones clean from the now infamous fried chicken. Come to find out, she was on her third bottle of wine + fries and chicken. See http://youtube.com/watch?v=-xgnIVchSCc

Strange things happen to me here on the Sonoma Coast and this blog is going to help keep track of mi vida loca.

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