Summer :: Day #53 (Haiku)

Sunday drive on One.
Family tucked inside car.
The blur of our life.

Summer :: Day #51

Today golf and tennis camp ended.
Grady is quite smitten with both sports.
Purchased a used set of clubs for him at the pro shop.
He almost cried and then said...

G:  I can't believe you bought me something new.
Me:  Well, they were previously used.
G:  Yeah, but not from a thrift store.

Then I almost cried.
My sweet, funny boy.
All of this was followed up by hitting hundreds of golf balls in the next 24 hours.
Golf fever + one golf glove + "new" set of clubs = Boy on fire on the driving range.

Summer :: Day #50

I like to call this little video clip confidence.
Strike that.
Over-confidence.

Summer :: Day #49

My first game of Clue.  Ever.
Mrs. White.
Lead pipe.
In the conservatory.
I am guilty.

Happy Birthday, Dad

This last picture makes me smile.
Happy 61st Birthday, Dad.
Love, Your Firstborn

Summer :: Day #48

The original Friday night gang reunion at Gourmet au Bay.
Same, but different?
Thanks for making the trip everyone.  

Summer :: Day #47

Golf camp.
My little man is the short one.
Hundreds of golf balls were hit this week.
Be good to your clubs and they'll be good to you, mom.
Gotcha.

Monday :: Link Love List

You're Simply Radishing by lizgrandmaison on etsy

We're staying at our friends' beach house this week in Bodega Bay and Grady is attending a golf and tennis camp that starts at the ungodly hour of 7:30 am.  Now, that may not seem early to some - but rousing an eight year old boy on a July summer morning is not the easiest of tasks.  I can assure you.  So, our dear friends said we could use their home and along with the amazing views and oh, so comfortable bed, we have fast internet connection!  It's the little things in this digital age, right?  Our connection is so slooooow at home and I can't peruse image-rich websites or be on Facebook for too long, but this week is my staycation in Bodega Bay and I will be perusing design websites, gathering inspiration and bookmarking sites to my heart's content while Grady is at camp.

Here are a few links I'd like to share from the past week:

planning...on using this template to make homemade stationary from my stash of pretty papers

stumbling...upon this amazing vintage Vera Neumann shop on etsy

loving...this fresh roasted corn with manchego & lime (eat warm & don't forget to finish with lime zest - like I did!)

finishing...up the novel The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall.  What. A. Journey.

planning...on buying some of this film for the vintage Polaroid Land Camera I picked up a few months ago while thrifting

sharing...my husband's handy-dandy local resource list for homeowners and renters on the Sonoma Coast

plotting...to kill one of my hens if she doesn't stay out of my rehabilitated fern fronds and baby carrot seedlings.  She has found a new hiding spot behind the BBQ and I feel like she's kind of asking for it...

thinking...this would make a perfect wedding gift

enjoying...the weekend under my own roof laughing, cooking, and catching up with my childhood best friend and her girls (and her mom, too!)

watching...my son perfect his belly-flop on the final day of swimming lessons at the Bodega Harbour pool

realizing...that yes, I can grow chard! and then realizing that hey, maybe not so much chard next year?

overhearing...Grady tell anyone who will listen that he is a birder and then explaining what that is - just in case they didn't already know

wanting...longer days, warmer nights and a better memory!


Happy Monday.

Summer :: Day #46

Summer :: Day #45

A grey July day at Doran Beach w/ Jenni

Hill-Davis Clan w/ Pop-up Grady in the back

Saying our goodbyes on the front porch

No shoes required at the beach

My childhood friend drove up with her girls and her mother for a quick trip.  We ate meals together, laughed, went to the beach to look for the elusive sea glass, thrifted for vintage graphic t-shirts, drank a little vino and watched a little "chicken t.v." in our garden.  It was a treat to cook for the gang and share a little bit of our daily lives with them.  

Is there anything nicer than a lifelong friend?  Seeing our kids play together and get along so well made my heart swell.  No conflict or harsh words.  Just sweetness, excitement and the gift of watching their friendships morph and unfold over the years.

Thanks for making the trip Jenni.  You made my summer.

Summer :: Day #44

Summer :: Day #43

Stopping to admire the beautiful freshly cut lines of grass on the hillsides

Hundreds of swallows line these wires throughout the day

Plucked a row of radishes to roast for dinner

The 12:30 swim gang

My version of a caprese salad

Mobile Library pick-up...

Summer :: Day #42

Summer :: Day #41

Summer is... by Grady Salas Hecht, age 8

Summer is...
fun.
watching movies.
reading books.
taking naps.
sleeping in.
laying on the couch.
playing games.
building the treehouse.
staycation at Bob & Linda's house.
swimming in the pool.
ice pops.
making & eating jam.
staying in your pajamas ALL day!

Summer is fun.

Monday :: Link Love List

Where did this last week go?  This post will be quick, as my internet connection is lame and is slowly slugging along and I'm just about to huck my computer out the window.  Whew.  There, now I feel better.

making...this for dinner twice in one week!  I love summer.

planning...our tenth anniversary celebration here and thinking we should stay in the same treehouse we did on our honeymoon (I now work for the company that manages this incredible property)

loving...this post by Amanda Soule about her sweet boy and his typewriter

realizing...my obsession with spheres, circles and dandelions - and deciding this print is just what I need to add to my madness

(still) researching...light fixtures for the entryway and loving this post about Schoolhouse Electric

beachcombing...for smooth river rocks to make little treasures like these for our home, garden and to share with friends

wanting...these pretty little hoses to spruce up my garden

wishing...Americans had the style the French have when celebrating our country

thinking...a lot about community, friendships and about what's really important in life

Hug your loved ones.  Be kind (even to slow computers).  Have a good week.

Summer :: Day #40

Early Monday morning.
Negative low tide.
Secret Beach.
Graffiti art.
Scavengers & Collectors.
Spirited laughter.
Lots of discovery.
A visit from their Fairy Godmother who located us on the beach.
Three, huge Goldsworthy-esque installations.
Plans and lists made for future return.
What made the list?
Sharpies.
Paint.
Hammer(s).
S'mores.
Sleeping bags.
Books.
Boom box.
Oh, and glitter.

Summer :: Day #39

Sunday afternoon was spent at the Santa Rosa Public Library.  This was our first trip and G quickly amassed a stack of Shel Silverstein poetry books and Beverly Cleary books on tape.

Some kids want theme parks...my kid wants a library.

Summer :: Days #33, 34 & 35

Day #33 - Swim Lessons

Day #34 - Rice Straw Mulch in Open Garden Beds (big plans for next year!)

Day #35 - First Day of Soccer Practice

Monday :: Link Love List

Gate just outside of Bodega Pastures Preschool

Well, this is the time I sit down with my Moomin coffee cup and look through my favorite bookmarks from the last week, a small pile of notes sitting on the corner of my desk and glance at my One Line a Day journal.  It's a start to the week that I enjoy and it gives me a small satisfaction to pause and share what has been going on with us or what I'm looking at this week.  I hope you enjoy it, too.

I've received several words of encouragement about my photos and blogging lately and it's a little bit embarrassing (to tell the truth), but I am pushing on and trying not to focus on all of that.  I think it's kind that people take a moment to check in on my/our lives and feel grateful to have a forum in which to share our days with them.  Thank you friends.

And now on to the Monday :: Link Love List...

reading...the last chapter of Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone to Grady just this morning. I'm so glad we waited to read this together once school was out.  Fantastic!

picking...up our first CSA of the season from Canvas Ranch.

scoring...a vintage (1995!) Ling Chang 11x14 calendar from the Hospice Thirft Store for $1.  The dates will work for next year's 2012 calendar year, too.  Gorgeous floral drawings.

watching...Steve and Grady work on the second phase of the treehouse project.  Photos and a blog post soon to follow.

loving...this simple hand-printed gift wrap!  I just finished reading Print Workshop by Christine Schmidt and gathered further inspiration for making our own stamps and labels.

attending...an artist reception at Quicksilver Mine Co. in Forestville to support Grady's wonderfully talented art teacher, Kai Samuels-Davis.  It was a collective of artists, all featuring works that were no larger than 12" x 12" x 12" and called "Boxed In: A Small Works Show".  This show is running through August 14th.

wanting...to compose a list like this one for summer, but I think she's covered it all!

tending...my neighbor's garden this past week and harvesting all of her hard work.  Thank you Beula (did you know Tom Waits mentions my neighbor Beula's porch in this song?  Yes, Mr. Waits lives just over the hill behind us in Valley Ford and Beula's grandchildren think this is oh, so cool).

driving...to and from swim practice every. single. day.


Happy Monday.  What are you loving?  Feel free to comment at the bottom of this post.

Summer :: Day #31 (Birding)

This little get-up was fashioned for his first birding expedition with a local birder from Bodega Bay.  G's guide has been all around the world and has spotted and identified over 50% of the world's bird population.  Pretty impressive.

G packed his bag with birding books, his birding journal and several other books on mammals and insects - you know, just in case.

When I picked him up several hours later he was excited to report that he spotted 15 new birds for his journal.  He hurried to his room to illustrate the journal and mark the Sibley's page numbers for each identified bird.

What a great hobby for this tree-loving, bird-seeking, artist of a boy.

Summer :: Day #30

This is a picture of the amazing schoolhouse that is Bodega Pastures Preschool.  We started our morning here and Grady was the guest reader.  He packed many a book into his bag and read to the little ones his favorite poem about eating a whale and a book about a dinosaur that hoards and saves many, many things.  It's hard to believe that only three summers ago, he attended this sweet preschool several days a week.

He crammed in reading, snack time, a game of whiffle ball and several hang-drops from the familiar branches of his favorite trees in the yard.

He learned of the new secret headquarters and we have a weekly reading date at the preschool to look forward to.  I say we, but he's asked me not to stay the next time he visits.  Oh, yes, he's stretching his wings again.  

Summer :: Day #27

Tuesday is father-son day around these parts.  I work on Tuesdays and Steve has been spending the day with Grady and doing guy things.  Hammering.  Measuring.  Planning.  Sweating.  You know, treehouse stuff.

However, they had special plans on this Tuesday.  The alarm was set for 6:30 am and they were out of the house by 7 am.  Quite early for these two.

With the car headed south towards San Francisco, they arrived at the California Academy of Sciences for the Snakes & Lizards exhibit.  The photos below were all shot from G's perspective, using his own camera and what he found interesting enough to photograph (and pick for this blog post).

Komodo Dragon

Burmese Python

Snake bone necklace

Red Spitting Cobra

Anaconda

Snake exoskeleton

Claude, the Albino Aligator

I just want to publicly thank my dear husband for taking our son to this exhibit, so that I didn't have to!  Ew.  I hate and fear snakes like nobody's business.  I'll get the next one, honey.  

Picasso Exhibit, here I come...

Monday :: Link Love List

Image courtesy of ablaze on etsy

Happy 4th of July!  This Monday finds me reflecting back on the past week and wondering how we found time to do all that we did.  What a fun string of days, afternoons and evenings with friends.  Here's what I've been loving this week...

gathering...inspiration from this sweet little summer cottage in Wisconsin

making...batches of yogurt, oven-roasted tomatoes, cakes, strawberry freezer jam and homemade tea

stocking...up on my summer pink wine supply and seeing many rosé Wednesdays on the horizon

imagining...our outdoor summer dining space and working on making it a reality soon

reading...To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and absolutely loving it

adding...these nutella cheesecake layer bars to my baking to-do list

celebrating...with dear friends throughout the weekend over birthdays (with this cake!), fundraising gigs and our nation's independence

watching...the best small town fireworks show with my fellas

planning...a trip to see the Gertrude Stein exhibit this summer

wanting...a sign like this in my town

Happy Monday.  Enjoy the coming week!

Summer :: Day #26

After all the busyness of the Independence Day weekend, this fourth of July found us at home for most of the day.  I spent a good portion of it rearranging outdoor furniture, watering the garden and planning small outdoor projects for the week.

We ended up taking a late-afternoon drive through town to the home of one of Steve's clients and picked out this Brown Jordan outdoor dining set for our front deck.  Escrow was closing soon and she was purging her estate of extra furnishings.  Bingo - exactly what I'd been looking for and, lo and behold, it matched.

I've been struggling with how to entertain outside during the warmer months with the hodge-podge of patio/deck furniture that we currently own.  You see, I have a chair fetish and have no shortage of seating, but no organized way to sit and have a meal together (one table that is too tall for the different chairs and benches that we have - therefore, rendering it pretty much useless).  This would solve my mismatched chair dilemma and provide a table that actually was the right height to sit, enjoy an adult beverage and linger outside until the sun goes down.

Summer :: Day #24

I caught the canning bug last summer and have been jones-ing for fresh picked berries ever since.  This weekend I had my chance, as I pulled to the side of Highway 12 in Sebastopol and bought half a flat of red, juicy strawberries from the strawberry guy.

I unearthed the kitchen tool to hull them with...a huller?  I don't know, but I owned it and had never even used it once.  Feel like a semi-professional after my hulling duties came to an end.  Such a great little device and saved a good portion of the berry that I would have lopped off with a knife otherwise and thrown to the chickens.

I followed the standard strawberry freezer jam recipe on the Sure Jell package and was happily surprised at how super easy it was.

And while this won't keep as long as regular cooked jam (up to a month in the freezer), I plan on sharing a good majority of it and using a jar or two for the daily PB&J my kid consumes.

Strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, loganberry and raspberry.  What an amazing bounty we have here in Sonoma County.  I just bought a 10 pound bag of sugar and I'm not afraid to use it!