::these are a few of my favourite things ::

::swimsuit weather (but not too hot)::
::dog sitting our favorite pups::
::big sister reading to little sister::
::growing strawberries::
::garden ideas in the new issue of domino::
::listening to sarah polley talk about alice munro and julie christie::
::toothless grins::
::possibility::
::140 people working on our neighborhood school on sunday::

we brought in the most volunteers of any school in our area. for my friends and family who have helped me and stood by me while we realized bigsunday - thank you. especially to you d. it was an amazing day and in no small way that was because i had you by my side. anything is possible if you believe!

l o n g weekend coming

busy plans underway for bigsunday. (los angeles' day of community service.) just wanted to pop my nose in. or out. which way is it?

will be back soon.



(will be back sooner over here!)

i ♥

the sfv


i ♥ that you can go from here


to here


(on the orange line)

take good care of the earth. everyday.

a list of things we all can do.

Corners of My (Dream) Home(s) 2

when things move too quickly

when the world seems a bit too scary

when i crave some peace and some calm

i dream of this place



i know nothing about it. though have spent many days at the beach gazing at it. it is built on a tiny island off the coast of my favorite place on earth. off the grid. only accessible by boat. and perfect. to me. and my imagination. {can you see it?}

it has been a week where i am dreaming of this place. a lot.

up and down

full weekend. planting in the garden, birthday party in the park and preparations. (of the irs inclination.)

but at least a little time with my sewing machine.



(albeit not exactly what i wanted to sew...)

2006 was the year of the apron and cookbook.
2007 looks to be of the backpack and crayon roll.



how was your weekend?

Corners of Our Home 24

the wall of the patio off our bedroom where i want that vine to go

plant{ing} community

ahhhh. stretch. good to be back. the break was much needed. went too quickly. so enjoyed being with my mum. {can't wait for a trip home in june!}

we finally made the trip to the Theodore Payne Foundation over the weekend. i had never been, but had heard mention of it, and had been urged to visit after my post on sew green about our gardening plans. it was well worth it. they were founded in 1960 with the mission to "promote and restore California landscapes, and habitats", "propagate and make available California native plants and wildflowers", and "educate and acquire knowledge about California flora and natural history". {it was also their annual "poppy day" with plants priced 10% off!} what we thought would be an hour visit turned into a morning. the big bug was fascinated by the variety of plants. and walked around searching for tags with "dry", "full sun", "clay soil".

we are trying to plant by community. with the notion that plants which would grow together in nature, should grow well together in our yard. their similar needs will also ease maintenance. and they will attract more native critters {birds, lizards, and small mammals} to our yard as well. {we are also basing our plan on the concept of the national wildlife federation's backyard wildlife habitat program.}

we settled on a range of ceanothus {california lilacs} - some that will serve as low ground cover on what was our front lawn, others that will grow to be small trees around our pool; a largish variety of sage for drama; some toyon ground cover; a couple of native succulents that i couldn't resist; california fuschia for the butterflies and hummingbirds; and for good measure - a california bush sunflower {which isn't a member of "our community" but i thought i'd throw an outsider in the mix - plus they are a favorite of mine and a reminder of my prairie home.}

we are also going outside the box with a little meadow for our breezeway, which will also house a new pond for giselle. it is also an area which will be easy to give a little extra attention {"semi-dry" choices here instead of "dry"} to due to its small size. the girls chose most of the plants for this area, their favorite the dainty coral bells hybrids {as pictured above} and various grasses.

next trip - a few monkeyflower plants; some yarrow; manzanita; buckwheat; and a vine to cover the wall of the new sitting area off our bedroom.

it's great. neighbors passing by are all very curious about where our {albeit dead} grass has gone - and once they hear the virtues of native planting, they seem to be joining in. it will be curious to see the transformation {if any} along our little street.



i am madly preparing for our big sunday event for the school at month's end. so far it all sounds pretty on track. with a few bumps i hope to have resolved this week. we will be planting a native garden on the campus, touching up a faded mural and doing some general "sparkling". my mission "to promote and restore" our neighborhood, with our school being the heart of it all. {hopefully attracting new families, and birds and butterflies too!}

happy wednesday!

have a lovely weekend

so my meeting with the mayor went very well i think. i of course spoke of my interest in the role public schools play (or at least should play) in strengthening our communities. (you have heard it from me before!) of my desire for our little neighborhood school to build on that premise. to start a community/parent center on campus. to draw on our community for more enriching after-school programs. to investigate how beautifying our campus with a native garden, more trees, shade, murals, and a re-thought asphalt yard, will work to maximize our visibility in the community. he was receptive. encouraging. and seemed to be listening.

i had read about mayor villaraigosa's plan for school reform. the schoolhouse. but had not read the entire document myself. in preparation for my meeting i did. and i must say it all looks so very good. i am no expert in this area by a long shot. but i do know as a parent what i want for my kids. i am an expert there.

so we will see what happens. the hope is to have the mayor come visit our school. to stir the community. he expressed interest, but as with all things political you never know until it happens. he is a busy man. but his passion for education is evident. and that means a lot to me. (to give you an idea of the scope of our school system here, there are 658 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School Division, and in 2005 over 741,000 students. the number is growing. that doesn't include all of the charter and private schools in the city either.)

to back up a bit, my meeting with him came out of my involvement with big sunday. a city-wide day of community service. it is a great event. our little school is one of over 300 projects that will be taking place over the weekend of april 28 and 29. if you live in los angeles - get involved. you can find a project in your neighborhood at bigsunday.org.

i am going to take a bit of time off. lots going on. (mundane and otherwise.) hopefully good things will come of all of it. you can usually find me at flickr.

wishing you all a wonderful passover/easter/spring!