weekend to do

around the house
clean out fridge
catch up on laundry

photograph "etsy box"

.....

home from a very productive quick trip just in time for a low-key celebration of 44 with those i love the most. it is going to be a very good year.

(photo from last night at the Longines Los Angeles Masters Grand Slam. wow!)

from London xo

i'm here on business for a few quick days. the energy. the history. i love this city and always enjoy my time here, no matter how quick.

i usually stay with friends, but due to a tight work schedule i'm staying at a hotel on the strand. fun to explore a neighborhood i'm not as familiar with. will make time to take in some theater, and visit favorite museums. (must see this.)

only wish the girls and d were able to join me this time. (miss you. xo)

weekend to do

battling another cold (urgh!)
and prepping home and packing my bag for a business trip.

(more than enough)

::13::

at 12:33 p.m. yesterday this girl turned 13. there was indian food and chocolate pudding pie as requested (as always requested). and getting to stay up an extra hour to watch dwts.*

13! one of the last of her friends to turn teenager she was more than ready. (and funny how now that she can access, all the social media sites she's been curious to get on, they don't seem so intriguing to her! i guess that's a good thing.)



and while i thought i'd be mourning the loss of my little girl to teenager-dom, i find that, while challenging on many days! - i am really loving getting to know the young woman she has become (is becoming). i love seeing her try on new ideas. i love her confidence. i love that she knows there is a whole big wonderful world in front of her and its ok not to know exactly what to do with it. i love that she sees the possibilities.



happy birthday dear e. my strong, confident, beautiful, thoughtful and brilliant girl. ilyttmab xo





* do you watch television with your kids? we've always had a no screen during the week rule - but now that the kids are older, we were talking about picking one show a week we'd all follow. we have a good friend that works on dancing with the stars, so that was the pick. (i didn't realize it is 2 hours long... is it always 2 hours long?!) what are you watching?

"and we danced all night..." (in praise of "yes".)

e's 13 was celebrated last night with one of her favorite bands. i hesitate to say her favorite. we ordered these surprise tickets so long ago (!) and i think the opening band has actually superseded this one, along with a nice dose of pop punk and some "classics" as well. good stuff. but the affection for these 5 is longstanding and i know this first concert experience will remain with her. the collective experience. (over 100,000 people! that's my hometown times 2.5!) songs she knew every word to. having her best friend, and her sister at her side.

for me, it was pure joy to just do this. i feel sometimes, like i say "no" a million times a day to her. i am constantly seeing/reading articles on entitled children, how not to spoil your kids, how to say no, and so on. i often feel on the other side of that. and while i'm conscious that she is extremely lucky in many ways (with extra-curricular lessons, a cel phone etc.) she most certainly doesn't get everything she wishes for (and a 12 year old girl, i've found, can wish for a lot.) it is nice to say "yes". it feels good to give such a treat. and she knows it is such. and appreciates it. sure, she likely wishes we were front row center. (didn't i wish the same when i saw duran duran so many years ago?!) but looking back, i know that won't be what she remembers. she'll remember the music. the lights. the screaming. and that i said "yes".

weekend to do

around the house
clean light fixtures
trip to goodwill

prep for ::13:: (first stop)

& most importantly stay cool.

made in the shade

we do a lot of time poolside. more than ever now with our investment in a new shade.



we purchased it back in may - but alas, i was being cheap frugal and didn't invest in the stand that was recommended. i thought we could make do with what we already had, but our ikea stand couldn't handle the cantilever + weight of the new "umbrella". of course d came up with a brilliant and beautiful solution after i showed him this inspiration.



he prepared a bendy board mold and used the old stand as a base, retrofitting the tube to stand higher. after the cement cured, he created a slat top out of redwood scrap.



now to build up the pool & area redo fund ;) in the meantime, this is the perfect spot for a morning cup of coffee. and just enough shade for the afternoon lifeguard.

weekend to do

around the house
closet latches
pond pump
prune trees
early morning / late night tomato sauce (to use up our csa box bounty - but not during the heat of the day)

frame e's bday present (pretty sure you don't read this anymore - but if you do, no peeking!)

stay cool

hanging out (part deux)

i have always been a big fan of laundry lines. we had one in our yard for a while (remember?), then moved it up to the cottage when we built the modern shed. we use it through the summer and i love the smell of clothes dried in the sun.

i spied this a few years back, but alas, could not find the compact version i wanted stateside. i did find it at the local home hardware on galiano over the summer and brought it home. (and now I see ours is available on amazon.)

it is amazing. i know it's a bit odd to rave on over a clothesline, but this one really is the bee's knees. it folds down flat against the house when not in use and is extremely well made (trust the aussies to design for hot dry temperatures!) and holds a large load without problem. its compact enough to fit comfortably in our side-yard, inspiring a whole side-yard redo that is now underway.

but i couldn't resist showing it off first.




along with the line, i found these wonderful collapsable clothes baskets. i wanted something not too deep, that could fold down and be stowed between the washer and the wall in our laundry room when not in use. and these are perfect for hauling loads outdoors and back again.



more on doing our laundry here
if we had more room this is a great (and beautiful) solution

weekend to do

around the house
install new trash unit
prune backyard
remove trellis from raised bed

relax by the pool and enjoy a quiet house because september brings another busy month

my laughing place

goodness. there has been so much going on! we have had non-stop visitors since returning from galiano. no complaints! i love a house full. and these house guests were all very special people, making it all the better.

the last left last night. my little brother and his wife. they live many, many miles away, and have never been to visit. (we did get to spend a christmas with them not so long ago.) we didn't do too much sightseeing. lots of hanging out by the pool. lots of cooking. a trip to hollywood. and, how could we not?, a trip to disneyland. (my sister-in-law had never been - and for my brother it had been many, many years since he was there. and the girls had this as the #1 thing to do with their uncle & aunt.)

15 hours. from open to close. and more than one visit to splash mountain. (our current favorite.) we had a blast. memories the girls (and the adults!) will never forget.

weekend to do

keep on keeping on the houseguest train
xo

#nowthederins

i've written about this family i've married into, and the girls i have the honor of calling my nieces before. then they ranged in age from 3 to 21. and now they're 11 to 29. (and one of mine is as tall - and taller - as they are!) then i wondered what trials and tribulations they would face. and now i have watched the joy and the pain that 8 years can deliver.

and now the eldest one is married. (at 29, the same age i was when i married her uncle.) to a wonderful man. who fits into this crazy family (crazy in the very best way) so easily. they married under the same chuppah that many have married under before. we are so happy for the two of them - and blessed to celebrate their union at a most beautiful spot - that reflects their beauty, inside & out. congratulations c & m. we love you! and can't wait to watch what comes next as you start this new journey together. xo

weekend to do

back to it!

around the house
order side-yard pavers
clear out raised beds
prep for guests next week

but most importantly...
celebrate the love of my eldest niece & husband to be at what promises to be a wonderful wedding!

the long way home...

it has become our tradition that d flies home early from the cottage and the girls and i linger a little longer then take the coast back home. hearing the waves crash as i fall asleep is one of my very favorite things. if we are lucky we work in a stop to PDX and/or Corvallis and/or Berkely. this year there wasn't such luck on the first two, with deadlines and holiday traffic working against us. but luck did allow my mom to join us for the drive and a last night with friends like family. girl road trip 2014 took us to seaside, or; crescent city, ca and on to the bay area. it is a time for us to chat and to be quiet. to rest and to sing. to just be together. and to gaze out the window at the amazing landscape of the western coast we love. it is such a nice way to end our trip and prepare ourselves for the adventures a new school year brings.



today the new school year began. 5th and 8th grades unrolled before us and we are all excited by the prospects. it will be the final year at our neighborhood elementary school and also the last before e moves from middle school on to high school. it will go quickly i am sure.

and i imagine another drive the long way home will be here before we know it.

...

last shell beach sunset. (sigh.)

...

blackberry picking

...

sticks sunset

...

morning beach

...

hiking up to wildfire loop and a view of georgia straight