11 reminders of summer

As we wind down through the last days of summer, let's look back...

pictures from the summer of 2009.  

2 little farmers. at a strawberry farm. June 2009.



Flowers at the drive-through area of my local Starbucks. Visited at least once a week. At the minimum.



souvenir pictures. of the souvenirs we didn't buy. June 2009.




7 am in Marin. July 2009.




a shanty somewhere in Tomales Bay. August 2009.




One of the many bridges we encountered during a summer road trip. July 2009.




A cave. at the base of a giant sequioa. July 2009.




A man deep in thought. Yosemite Valley. July 2009.




The guest relations officer. At our hotel. July 2009.




2 random kids.


Priceless.





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our Yosemite adventures!
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SFO ---> SNA

Once in a while, I step out of my comfort zone, and venture out into the world alone.  One of these sublime journeys was a trip to Southern California to visit family.  I loaded up my bag, and booked an overnight trip.  Definitely a first in a long time.  The last trip I took all by my lonesome was in 2005.

Caltrans decided at the last minute to open the Bay Bridge in time to let us pass through to get to the airport in time for my flight.

 

The trip to the SFO airport was a breeze as you will see from the pictures I took using a tried and tested point-and-shoot.

 

The new span of the bridge was well underway.

 

We contributed heavily to the SFO airport income by taking a spot in the hourly parking garage ($2.00 per 30 minutes).

Hubby was kind enough to wait with me as I joined the ranks of travelers.  Traveling with only a small overnight bag helped me breeze through the lines.

I snapped these pictures on the way to the security gates. 

Arrived way too early at my gate.  Had a nice time people-watching.  I did miss work, my family, and my comfort zone.  And, I haven't even boarded by plane.

This is the view from my window seat.  Northern California from about 4,000 feet.

This is the scene at the arrival gates at the John Wayne Airport in Southern California.

Do people still use these?

I could have sat underneath these trees all day.  The weather was perfect.

I only spent about 36 hours with family, but feel that it was well worth it. 

And, I look forward to visiting again. And, maybe having another sweetened iced tea from this franchise.

Over and out.
Lease

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vino fino

How is fine wine made?

You need these:

Lots and lots.

And, maybe a couple of thousands more.

The warm Northern California weather is perfect for these grape vines.

Then, you need someone to do this for a couple of hours (days?).

The result is one of these.


Now, all you need is this...


And, this...


Sit back, relax and enjoy a glass (or 3)!

Happy weekend, folks!

more recent posts:
road trip: nevada
food trip: cheeseburgers

h&g: rebar, baby!

Welcome to our backyard project....

We've laid out the boards.

We've distributed and flattened down the bedrock.

We've irrigated the area ad nauseaum.

And now for the the fun part - Rebar, baby!


You can use a thinner mesh, but we chose steel rods to reinforce the area.


We figure that there will be a lot of biking, walking and partying on the patio, and wanted to make sure it would hold up.



Then, we inserted small pieces of rock underneath the rebar to raise it a bit off of the bedrock.


We measured the area again, and placed our order for cement.

Till the next step --- laying down the concrete slushie!

More to come on our little semi-DIY backyard project!








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Green Living: Air-drying contraptions

We are blessed to have *moderate* Northern California weather. Although, I must say that it can get very hot (105 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer, and this allows us to air dry practically anything we launder.

We've been air-drying since 2000, and as a a result, I have sampled and amassed a good amount of contraptions to allow us to air dry clothes, towels, and other what-have-you's...

This interesting contraption looks like it could also be used against nighttime intruders, or a little something to get the kids to do their homework pronto..




It can be attached to the shower curtain bar in our bathroom. It opens up and has these little hooks and pins...

What I love about it is that it folds into this small bunch...





It is perfect for hanging itty bitty children's clothes or towels...





For 'lay-flat-to-dry' items, I have this nice contraption from Ikea. It is perfect for pants and tops that need to lie flat to dry. I've also used this for scarves and fine linens. It also folds neatly into the space between our washer and dryer.

I'm happy to report that we've been able to cut down our drying by half. In the summer months, everything is dry and ready to fold in a couple of hours.

Part of our little *green* routine for planet earth...

Lease

for more "green" initiatives click here.

Giordano's

Guest Post: by the wonderful F

Giordano’s in Chicago, IL might be the only deep dish pizza that I found to be good. It’s a chain, unfortunately. They’re like an Uno’s but not quite as big. All locations are confined within Chicago and its suburbs.

I had their Spinach Stuffed Pizza – the crust is nice and flaky (mmmm!) and there was a good balance between the spinach and tomato sauce topping. Not at all like other deep dish pizzas that I’ve had that seemed to swim in sauce or filling that you couldn’t enjoy all the flavors.

Sadly, I was on the brink of a giant headache from caffeine withdrawal when we tried Giordano’s so I don’t remember much more from the hour or so that we spent in their restaurant. I do remember enjoying the pizza (did I say I really liked the crust?) and wondered if we should try other deep dish pizzas in Chicago for comparison, or to stop at Giordano’s so as not to taint the positive experience.

Zachary’s in Berkeley comes close but their crust wasn’t as good, I thought.

Stay tuned for my next episode featuring hoity-toity dining.

Cheers,
F


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11 books

books are an important part of my life.
my cousin-in-law, whom I have not see for more than 5 years, was in town recently, and she said something like, "you haven't changed, you still have your nose in a book."
true.
so, here are a few of my faves, and then some.

on my nightstand.
in random order.

A Measure of A Lady - Deeane Gist

Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella

Remember Me? - Sophie Kinsella

Lavender Morning - Jude Devereaux

Remembered - Tamera Alexander

The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle

Twilight - Stephanie Meyer

Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin

Faking It - Jennifer Crusie

Second Thyme Around - Katie Fforde

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

Take a peek at -

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