Summer :: Day 16 (Road Trip)

We got up really early and drove through the morning fog towards the 101 Freeway South.  Anaheim Hills was our destination.

Steve loaded up an old iPod of mine for Grady.  This is a first for him and for the eight hours ahead of us, it was most definitely needed.  I stopped by the library for books on CD's earlier in the week and my tech-savvy husband downloaded Farmer Boy, Cicada Summer and Alvin Ho! for G's listening pleasure.  G is an excellent traveller and never once asked "are we there yet?" on our eight-hour journey to Southern California.

He was handsomely rewarded when we arrived at my best friend's house and quickly changed into his bathing suit.  He jumped in the pool (many, many times) and perfected his face-belly-flop combo within hours of our arrival.  Ouch!

Summer :: Day 15

Our back deck has the most beautiful light in the late afternoon.  Today was no exception.  No wind or pesky bugs.  Plenty of cold beverages.  The gardens growing and blooming right before our eyes.

I'm looking forward to many more impromptu gatherings with dear friends in this space.

Summer :: Day #14

My sweet boy experienced heat exhaustion at camp.
Perhaps it was this power of suggestion scribbled on his lunch sack?
Oh, a mother's guilt.

Summer :: Day #13 (Solstice Sundown)

7:28 pm - hay fields behind Valley Ford Market

7:35 pm - flower silhouettes against my house

7:36 pm - view from my back deck

Monday :: Link Love List

reflecting...on my family ties and missing my sister and her kids a bunch

adoring...this handmade hedgehog clock by decoylab

thinking...this might be a good compost bin project for the hubby

loving...this designer and her wearable blooms - gonna get me one!

digging...this pledge about reading the printed word

enjoying...this post about kids and screen time, as we negotiate our summer movie-watching schedule here at home

gathering...building inspiration, as Steve and Grady design, purchase materials and begin installation later this week for G's first-ever treehouse

admiring...this cool family portrait by etsy artist, Demofia

trying...to find a way to utilize the very full bottle of Leblon in my freezer and stumbled upon this beautiful Raspberry Caipirinha recipe

making...a list of crafts to do with Grady and loving these sweet walnut boats

ticking...things off my to-do list, so that I can head to Southern California this weekend for a much anticipated visit with my BFF and her family

appreciating...my husband for being such a good father and role model for our son

Happy Monday!

Happy Father's Day, Dad

It's been almost 10 years since I've seen my father, but looking at these recently scanned images from the early 70's brought back a lot of happy memories from my childhood.

He had a lot of different looks going on back in the day.

My parents were teenagers when they had me.  My dad's father died when he was six and his mother died when he was 12.  He paved his own way as a parent and did the best he could when I was younger.

My dad was (and still is) a union man.  Steelworkers Union Local #433.  His mantra was that ironworkers built the world and we never crossed a picket line.  Ever.

He worked hard for our family and drove into Los Angeles every morning before the sun was up and commuted home in hellish traffic every night.  On Friday nights he would buy me and my sister flowers from a downtown vendor.  Oh, how I loved getting those bouquets.

He taught me the value of a dollar and instilled a strong work ethic in me.  He also taught me how to balance a checkbook, wash a car, mow the lawn, clean street gutters and that adding and subtracting really do work together.  I also learned how to use colorful language from him, too, but that's another story!

As I got older, we would go out for ice cream and have father-daughter talks.  We would head to the mall and shop at Contempo Casuals for my mother's birthday and xmas presents.  My dad liked to try and embarrass me when I was growing up.  He would yell to innocent bystanders to get off the sidewalk while he was teaching me to drive.  He always made sure I had money in my pocket, so that I could use a pay phone to call him if a date went bad.

Dad, thanks for all you did to help me become the woman I am today.
Happy Father's Day.

Summer :: Day #10

Tunnel Hill Ranch, Tomales, CA

My mom and her husband packed up and headed out this morning for Surprise, Arizona.  It's been almost five years to the day since they moved here to be closer to their grandson.

We will miss them.
Wish them well on their journey.

The pull of family in Arizona was just too great and now they will return home to be surrounded by so many people that love them.

The weather will be a lot warmer.
The scenery will be vastly different.

After a long day of packing, we listened to George Strait on the iPod,
sipped chilled sparkling wine, ate steaming plates of spaghetti and meatballs, and then we had a good, long cry.

We woke early this morning and jumped in the car,
we spotted 18 little bunnies on the drive over to Gigi's house,
narrowly missing 4 with my car (much to my son's amusement),
and said our final farewells.

Grady will miss the ping-pong tournaments,
high-fructose corn syrup induced-treats,
and marathon movie-watching sessions.

I will miss my partner-in-crime when it comes to rearranging furniture,
thrifting around town,
and watching my son absolutely adore her.

Enjoy the journey.

Summer :: Day #9

Steve's new clients own a local nursery and shared some of their homegrown garlic and onions with us.  I'm really enjoying all of the neighborly sharing of food, flowers, homemade treats from the kitchen and homegrown goodness from the garden these past few weeks.  Summer trading is one of high on my list of things to do with my neighbors on Johns Street.  I hope to share tomatoes, jam, yogurt, butter, sea salted caramel, vanilla extract and herb bundles with my summer hostesses.  Go ahead, invite me over and see what I bring you!

Summer :: Day #8

I overheard Grady chatting with his new friend and playmate at the Rio Nido Roadhouse kiddie pool today -

I'm not that adventurous of a swimmer.  I'm from the country.

To which the other little boy shared - 

It's okay.  I'm not a good swimmer either.  I'm from the city.

Kids finding commonality.  Don't we all try and do that to some degree? 

I think kids just do it quicker. 

Summer :: Day #7

Doesn't everyone make popsicles in thrifted Goldschläger shot glasses?
Oh, I thought they did.
There goes my Mother of the Year title.  Again.

Summer :: Day #6

Fresh beets from the garden

Summer :: Day #5

Breakfast is served.

Monday :: Link Love List

ending...the school year with a great report card

thinking...I need to make this decadent version of s'mores right away

entering...this great giveaway for more of Clare Elsaesser's prints


coveting...this and this by Inklore

digging...the soulful mothering series on Soulemama last week, especially this one

making...my own yogurt was easier than I ever thought, thanks to this book

discovering...this Cartoon Museum in San Francisco and adding it to our ever-growing summer list

reading...Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling to Grady

learning...our local highway will be wide open nights and weekends during road construction

busting...out the kiddie pool for summer

sleeping...in

Happy Monday!

Garden Update :: June

Gardening is such a great metaphor for life.  Plant a seed, nurture it, watch it grow, harvest, enjoy, learn from your mistakes or successes and start all over again next season.

I've been harvesting rainbow chard from my garden plot at work.  Some little bugger has been chomping at it, along with the tops to my beets.

My neighbor has been gifting me the most fragrant sweet peas these last few weeks.  Every time I return her Mason canning jar - she fills it up again.  I'd love to plant some of these next year.

The crazy, crazy mint bed.  Must make some mojitos or start consuming mass quantities of tea in order to keep up with it.

The rains the first week of June were a bit disheartening to some, but I loved it.  Made pulling weeds so much easier.  Added bonus - the afternoon sky clearing up and watching the white, puffy clouds billow down the valley.

On the rainiest of days last Saturday, me and my good friend and neighbor, Jill, hit the local Valley Ford Volunteer Fire Department Pancake breakfast and then headed out in a big 'ole rainstorm to the Sunset Magazine Celebration Weekend at their headquarters in Menlo Park. As an avid Sunset reader, it is such a great event to attend and truly see their pages come to life with demos, wine tastings, great food, featured artists and tons of gardening inspiration.

This living wall of succulents was the coolest display.  I just saw dollar signs when I looked at it.  This would cost a small fortune to install, but what nice eye candy.

I've been drying my oregano and using it in soups, sauces and topping our pizzas with it.

Busted out the Scrabble game a few weeks ago on the back deck.  I'm looking forward to more evenings outside as the summer warms up.

This purple thistle is a wicked, wicked weed.  We have been watching it slowly multiply over the years and I finally hired someone to help me dig it all up and mow our one acre plot.  There were several snake sightings and slight interruptions with the June rains, but our property finally looks cared for.  Phase two happening this week.  Stay tuned.

The sunsets behind our house have been really beautiful lately.  The golden hour is getting later and later, but around 7:45 pm this is what I've been watching go down in the llama pasture.

We attended our first garden party of the season at the home of our neighbors, Scott & Jill.  And while it was a wee bit chilly, the lamb, roasted vegetables and delicious pinot noir kept us sated and warm.  I'm on the hunt for a thrifted picnic table to incorporate into our garden this year, so that we can do more of this!

Our asian pear tree is going to be prolific this year.  This is a picture of our tree prior to the mowing of the property.  The peach, cherry and apple trees are looking hopeful.  The hard pruning we did in February seems to have paid off and I think we've brought the persimmon trees back to life.

This is a honey bush (I think) and Grady selected it from the nursery a few years ago and planted underneath his bedroom window.  It can now be seen from the top of his bunk bed and he thinks its very Dr. Seuss-like.  I see a short story being written atop his bed with this lovely plant as his inspiration.

This little beauty was a hostess gift from last year that I planted in my flower bed behind the house.  I just love planting something and forgetting about it and then - BAM! - there it is.

I potted this yarrow at the end of last year, so that I could keep an eye on it and not lose it amongst all of my weeds.  I think I'm going to put it in the ground and watch it spread.  I love the dense flower heads and sage colored leaves.

Every year these show up (thanks to the homeowners before us) and I'm so happy to see them.  They are a little spindly and can topple over if not picked, but they are the best cut flowers and last for a week in the vase.  Don't know the name and can't figure it out right now (it's almost 2:30 am and I'm just not that ambitious at the moment).  Thanks for showing up mystery flower.  I heart you.

Harvested my garlic this week and had a lot of busted heads.  My farmer friend, Anna, told me it was most likely due to all of the late rain we had.  I probably should have harvested at the end of May, but I think it will all taste just the same.  This was planted from a few heads I purchased last year from the local vegetable stand and so I don't know what variety it is.

We discovered that one of our little chicks laid an egg.   The little pullets are approaching their three month birthdays, so it was quite a surprise to discover this little egg.  Normally they start laying between four and six months.  Another little one was found today, so our egg selling days might be here sooner than we think!

The first opium poppy of the season opened up today.  These are so magnificent.

Oh, this poor fern.  I try and I try, but the older hens just love to take dirt baths in this soil-filled wine barrel and, therefore, continue to crush this fern.  I thought they'd killed it earlier this winter, but it slowly rose out of the dirt and unfurled itself this spring.  I have a screen over it, but the hens have managed to get under it, move the screen and have a dirt party.  Lovely.

These little Meyer lemon trees bit the dust a few years ago when I planted them in a gardening bed, neglected them something awful and then promptly died on me.  I felt real bad about that and decided to dig them up, plant them in the pots my mom gave me for my 40th birthday and gave them a really good pruning (each tree was basically just a stick in a pot).  Lo and behold, with a little watering and a watchful eye this winter, the trees are flourishing.  I'm sure I should fertilize, but I'm a bit clueless in that department.

So that's all that's growing here in June.  I'll be planting more carrots, radishes and herbs in the garden this week.  

What are you enjoying in your garden right now?

Summer :: Day #4

Our version of a country club pool & spa day:
Water gun(s).
Ice cream.
Magazines.
Ice-cold beverages.
Sunscreen.
Ambush of father upon his arrival home.
Squeals of laughter.
Negotiations.
Flower pots and galvanized buckets as bases.
Whiffle baseball game.
Watching the sun set.

Summer: Day #3

We're on day three of Summer and we've already been to the Sebastopol library twice.  Reading, research and scaring me with snake books is definitely on the horizon.

Summer: Day #2

Summer: Day #1

A few years ago I kept a Summer log and posted pictures, with little or no words to accompany them.  I think that's what I'm going to do again this Summer.  A photo journal of sorts, with no expectation to write, but the option to do so if I feel like it.  Here is the first entry.

Last day of school.
Party in the park.
Jump on bike.
Hit two front teeth on handlebars.
Blood, tears, ice, hugs and then back on the bike.
Crash, hide from mom behind bush.
Again, with the blood, bandaids and a recovering toothy grin.
He's wearing injuries like a badge of honor these days.
I have so much to learn about boys.

Monday :: Link Love List

I missed a week of posting my Monday list, but I've been feeling a bit pensive lately about writing on this blog.  I may take it offline for the summer and continue writing for my own enjoyment privately.  I feel really exposed sharing here and not sure why I continue to do so.  Just a bit of soul searching that needs to be done, but until I get that squared away - here is my Monday Link Love List!

loving...the prints I purchased from Clare Elsaesser this past weekend

bottling...a few jars of this homemade caramel sauce to give as birthday presents later this week

discovering...the loveliest spice shop in Santa Rosa.  Can you say Italian Black Truffle Sea Salt?


planning...on planting plenty of nasturtiums this month, so that I can make this syrup for summer cocktails

cooking...this simple and flavorful radish side dish that paired perfectly with a 2009 Layer Cake Virgin Chardonnay from the Central Coast

hosting...my Babylon Book Club here last week where we discussed the disturbing cult classic The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart.  I hope the food made up for the terrible book selection!

enjoying...all of the festivals, paloozas, potlucks and pancake breakfasts my town(s) have to offer

coveting...this fireplace (since it's still raining here - and it's June!)

ordering...this sweet journal for my little man to record his summer reads in

admiring...the freshly mowed grass on our one acre of property

picking...June blooms in my yard and just off of the roadside on my way into town

hearing...that my boy learned to roller skate over the weekend AND pick buckets of fresh strawberries with his Soul Sisters, Isabella & Sophia

watching...the farms get mowed and soil turned all over the hillsides in Valley Ford

researching...and reading how to make bread from this amazing book

overhearing...my son bury some insects that he "captured" and tell them "you've had a good life"

listening...to him mildly berate a "stupid beetle", too...hmmmm?

traveling...to Menlo Park for the Sunset Magazine Celebration Weekend with my good friend, Jill (this was my third year and it was awesome!)

reading...The Wisdom of the Radish by Lynda Hopkins

planting...radishes, lettuces, carrots and herbs (see a radish theme here?)

preparing...our summer wish list of things we want to do and places we want to go

counting...down the days until school is out and sleeping in is the new morning routine

Happy Monday out there.