Indian Summer

The bay in Bodega Bay

We wait all summer long for the end of summer, so that our real summer can begin.  Yes, Indian Summer is here on the coast and we've had a string of hot days, no wind and beautiful cloud plumes shooting across our blue skies.  I love this time of year.

Our calendars were packed every single day this last week and we worked well as a family doing what needed to be done, so that we could enjoy all of the extracurricular activities after school as a family.  Soccer practice & games, dinner parties, art shows and political fundraisers.

We met Scott & Jill's extended family and Grady learned about the game Ninja.  The older kids were so sweet with him and he entertained them with his crazy feet trick (above).  Scott's dad, Van, continued to harass me about when I would be getting Grady a cell phone.  We sent him the above shot of our make-shift phone and just love teasing him about this topic.

I can't say Grady will never have cell phone, but I can safely say that it will be a very, very long time before that happens.

The pampas grass is in full bloom and dotting the coast all the way up Highway One and around the bay.  Growing up, my mom used to have a bunch of pampas grass in an old ceramic country crock in our living room.  I still remember spraying it with hairspray, so it wouldn't shed on our royal blue carpet (remember it was the 80's) and constantly having to vacuum up all the little pieces that cleverly avoided the sticky spray.  

When we moved here I thought it was ugly, as it reminded me of the stuff in my living room growing up.  But now...I love it.  It's a harbinger of autumn and a reminder to soak up the sunshine because colder days are coming.

We attended the victory celebration for our local 5th District Supervisor, Efren Carrillo, on Friday night.  I worked on the campaign this year and this Fiesta was to celebrate his re-election, as well as bringing the community together over Mexican food, a margarita machine & copious amounts of cupcakes (Isabella ate 13 all by herself!).  The kids ran around the event and had a good time taking photos with the mariachi band, getting put behind bars in the back of the Sheriff's car and waiting patiently for the end of the party so that they could bring home the largest orange balloon in the house.

Bert & Steph were in Vegas for a wedding and we had the honor of having Isabella & Sophia here for the weekend.  The kids had several soccer games on Saturday and it was blazing hot in Sebastopol. We hurried home to get ready for a little dinner party and attend an art show at West County Design.  The kids played so well together and got good and dirty.  The laughter and energy was palpable while they were here and they finally drug themselves into the house as the sun was setting over the dry, crunchy hillsides and plopped on the couch to watch movies and play Legos.

Cheryl & Tony, Kai & Clare and the kids were here for the evening.  We enjoyed the back deck and the kids spotted a Great Horned Owl in the back pasture, as well as collected owl feathers & cow carcasses.  We sure do know how to have a party, eh?

We celebrated the eve of the eve of the eve of Sophia's 9th birthday.  I do love the eve of almost any special day or holiday and the fact that you can simply make any day a celebration.  She was delighted to be celebrated and the real gift was having both of the Rangel girls in our home.

Sunday we stayed in our pajamas all day long.  I needed a day to reboot and Grady did, too.  We watched a documentary about Christo & Jean-Claude's Running Fence through Valley Ford and spotted our house in the opening scene.  We read books on the front deck and started a few art projects.

We found a clever use for fallen eucalyptus leaves and G thought they would make great faux bird feathers.  I adorned mine with words and symbols that are important to me.

Art.
Family.
Books.
Nature.
Home.

It was another amazing week on the home front.

Warm days.
Cool nights.
Children laughing.
Excellent food.
An abundance of gifted tomatoes.
Found owl feathers.
A birthday party.
Watching the season say goodbye.
Hello to autumn.