weekend to do

garden work day at our neighborhood school

around the house
contemplate library and weed it out




it is becoming increasingly apparent that with horse "ownership" our weekends are spent at the ranch. no complaints. just a shift in getting things done. a more concentrated effort required. and a move to mondays for my weekly clean.

june b.1922

i had the honor to sit in on an oral history interview a friend recently did with one of my eldest neighbors. i had posted something june said to me, on one of her early evening walks past our house, driving her walker, and with her caregiver at her side on Facebook and it caught erica's eye. she was intrigued, and conveniently was planning a visit to L.A. from her new temporary home in NY, where she is working towards an Oral History Master of Arts degree at Columbia.

June tells the best stories. the best. i am always thrilled to visit with her and to hear about her life.

born in 1922, she moved here as a child, growing up in Hollywood, then moving to Westwood and finally to the SFV. on that quiet friday with Erica, she told stories of attending the 1932 Olympic Games as a 10 year old. (equestrian and aquatic events.) how it was the depression, so there were very few spectators, and very few athletes. how she took public transportation to get there. she told stories of growing up in Hollywood - the Hollywood of the 1930s - and spending all day exploring on her homemade pushcart with her sister leading the way. she told stories of a job at a "five and dime" in hollywood where many movie stars shopped. she told stories about being a young woman studying at UCLA for an MS degree in Physical Education (now the university's kinesiology department) when it was still separate divisions for men and women (this practice wasn't eliminated until 1952) and where she met her husband. she told us how she almost made it to the olympics (1940) but then couldn't because of the war. how back then, you only had one chance to go to the olympics. she told stories of performing as a synchronized swimmer and comedic diver with esteemed aquatic groups (such as the mercury mermaids) at glamorous hotels including the biltmore and ambassador, back when this was a popular form of entertainment. she told us about esther williams shining star. she told stories of their little house in westwood, when they were both UCLA faculty. and how they lived across the street from one of ernest hemingway's sons. but never met the great man. she shared her life philosophies and the value she puts in physical fitness. she told stories of moving to the valley, and to the house they are now in. she told of visiting over 42 countries in her lifetime. and how a teeny tiny harmonica saved their life in egypt. she told stories of our neighborhood, a place she has called home for more than half her years.  (and I'll commit more of those stories to memory here soon.)


at the end she asked her daughter to get her teeny tiny harmonica, and played us a song. she said, "I was never that distinguished... I was too busy having a good time."

i hope that I am never that distinguished.


june december 19, 2014 age 92




this project also inspired me to schedule visits with more of my neighbors.  many original, or near original owners.  i want to know their stories too.

...

13 years gone, but always with me.



I can still feel his hand on my shoulder: when K picks up a deck of cards; when I walk the shore of Galiano with my mom; when a certain song comes on the radio; when we pull out of the driveway for a road trip; when E smiles that smile; when we gather with our neighbors; when out for a walk and a stranger smiles and says hello. xo

weekend to do

unpack & catch-up


happy valentine's day!



*****
lots of good reading on the plane...
the girl on the train
joni mitchell & great short article on marie kondo in NY magazine
as well as this movie. have you seen it? ouch. (variety review here.)

NY story

I'm back in NY for the CAA conference. it is inspiring to be back in a lecture hall and listening to people excited about what they are doing. (I'm here for the catalogue raisonne sessions in particular, along with digital publishing.) it is another quick trip, but i've also had the opportunity to visit with my niece (aunt bragging rights being pulled here - she is now working as a "product manager" at New York Magazine) as well as good friends.












today took me from one studying at NYU - and a coffee shop near Washington Square - to the upper east side - and the premier of the (wonderful!) documentary, maira kalman: my favorite things, a film by gael towey*, as well as the fantastic exhibition that inspired it, all at the newly reopened Cooper Hewitt. (go!)  highlight - abe lincoln's pocket watch and the story of its hidden message, and sitting behind martha stewart (!).

tomorrow, one more conference session, then back to my peeps. (and to scheme of bringing them here with me soon!)




*click on the link and see the film! now on the smithsonian channel website.

weekend to do

"home office cupboard" and file box clean-out*






*i spend a lot of time working at our dining room table. while the bulk of files etc. are housed in our shed office, active items often get regulated to one section of our "fauxdenza". (where they sometimes become inactive!) additionally, i have two file boxes of public eduction and home and cottage inspiration files in my bedroom closet. i'm reading this book right now - and feeling the need to really asses what i'm holding onto. taking her lead, i've been cleaning by category, not room. papers is the task this weekend. my january cure aspirations included this - but alas, i let it slide into february. paper is my bane. wish me luck.

reading light

this corner* is my favorite for curling up with a book. the tolomeo lamp was never quite right for reading, and has been reassigned as a desk lamp in the office.

we've been contemplating our options and struggling with something wall-mounted vs. a floor lamp. diy vs. readymade. i'd love a potence-style solution, or maybe something more organic.

all we know for sure is that it needs to be high enough to come over the shoulder. it is a tight corner, and the wall mounted option appeals in that sense, but i'm not convinced we want something else, aside from d's painting, on that wall.

ideas we are considering:



1
2
3
4
5
6



more lighting inspiration on pinterest


will let you know how we do!




*and so funny to look back at these (almost exactly 9 years old!) pictures and note how much (and how little) this corner has changed. new window. new paint. same beloved chair and little table d made all those years ago...

weekend to do

change pond filter
decide on new shower curtain (stuck between this & this for the "baby blue". the linen one we've had for years is sadly no longer available. opportunity to change things up?)
tax organizer

celebrate finishing the january cure :)

night out

The Burning (Mandelshtam), 2006 oil and wax on canvas

d and i were thrilled to be invited to the inauguration of Enrique Martinez Celaya's new Los Angeles studio. and even happier that my cold subsided enough that we could attend saturday night!

we started off with a nostalgic early dinner at father's office (we went to the helms bakery location, but i spent many happy hours as a getty graduate intern at the santa monica office, years ago, when it was a craft beer pub with a long history. the office burger is still one of the best burgers i've ever had.)

then we headed to Martinez Celaya's space, which he's been in for 9 months or so. the converted industrial building provides discrete spaces for the artist to paint, draw and sculpt. it was truly magnificent. the kind of LA studio one dreams of. (Kitaj would always joke about how small his studio was in comparison to most L.A. artists.)

the night ended with a performance by his long-time collaborators, the cowboy junkies, who performed a full set in the courtyard, under the stars.


The Well, 2013 bronze



enrique martinez celaya bio
works here
more studio shots here
watch for Martinez Celaya exhibition at LA Louver April 2015

weekend to do

my mom came back from b.c. with us so we've been working to take in a few things around town. this new painting at the getty was a must on my list.


horse show
birthday party
book club (the storyteller)

around the house
upper cabinet clean-off
wash kitchen floor
clean off office desk

beat this head cold into submission so that we will make it to this tonight!

ride on.

so yesterday was the first real day of our venture into horse "ownership". it was marvelous. k said it was even better than she had ever imagined. i am so happy.



and while i am sure there are different iterations, the basics of leasing a horse are most likely the same. it works something like this:

we have a quarter lease, which means, we are responsible for a quarter of the boarding costs. in turn, the girls have access to "their" horse and pony on Sundays, as well as being able to ride them in their lessons. access includes chores, and it also includes free riding in the ring, which is something they have been dreaming of. riding their horses with their friends. side-by-side. chatting. practicing what they've been learning in their lesson. getting to know the animal better.



of course there are limitations, and rules to follow, but there is also the comfort that there is someone else watching over our shoulder to ensure we are doing everything right. i appreciate that.

i did not grow up riding horses, as i've said before. but i love them. seeing this develop in the girls is thrilling for me.





k is leasing a welsh cobb pony named curio. who she has loved for a very long time. she's fast and sassy and challenging and k enjoys every minute of it.

e is leasing a mustang named suki. a gentle boy with a beautiful rolling canter. he's quiet and thoughtful. much like the girl.



and me. i am also taking lessons. and i am so happy to have been asked to help a new boarder at the ranch adjust. his name is cisco, and he is being taken care of through the ranch's horse and pony rescue program. he is a sweet old soul, and i am happy to spend time grooming and walking him as he prepares for his new job loving children and having them love him.



it is a new adventure. dipping our toe into horse ownership feels good. i'll definitely keep you informed how all this goes. xo


in the sfv and curious about horses? our ranch is an amazing place to start. summer camp registration begins February 1! visit Total Equestrian Experience

weekend to do

around the house
weed (rain - chickens = weeds. oh how i miss them this spring!)
laundry on the line (temps up to 80!)
assignment #11



time at the ranch (our new home away from home)

looking back...

october

love grows

november

completing the trifecta

december

merry merry

xo

looking back...

july

summer home

august

the long way back.

september

13!

and a trip to London

looking back...

april

that treehouse

may

lentil tacos

june
::10::

looking back...

january

open space

february

master bedroom redo!

march

best pound cake. ever.

weekend to do

home sweet home
& last days of winter break!

around the house
unpack
laundry!
clean-out fridge (had hoped to do this before we left town, but alas...)
and deep clean the kitchen (assignment #6*)




*I'm playing along with apartment therapy's "January Cure". this is the third year I've participated, and I enjoy the routine it brings to this first month of a new year. and in celebration of routine - i'm once again looking back, and will also spend next week revisiting some favorite moments from 2014. perhaps you'll join?

Galiano Winter IV

walk from our cottage to Sticks beach





things I want to remember about this trip:
building the best fires
marathon poker games
k's poker face
Moxie in her raincoat
the rain & a full moon
geese flying over the cottage at night
the crazy cat puzzle we never finished
new year's eve by candlelight

what we read:
k
The Essential Calvin & Hobbes
Wildwood

e
The Truth About Alice
Let's Get Lost
Will Grayson, Will Grayson
The Death Cure

d
The Goldfinch

me
The Lacuna
The Paying Guests
The Rise and Fall of Great Powers

Galiano Winter III

Shell Beach (Montague Harbour) II

Galiano Winter II

Bluff Park

Galiano Winter I

Shell Beach (Montague Harbour)I

here we are again. so very good. just a few photos to share. no words to add. save happy new year. xo