Hiking through the Green, Green Forest

Today we went to the Bear Valley visitor's center and took one of the trails up, up, up. We hiked up the mountain 1.8 miles and at the summit we saw this. It was breathtaking. As we were hiking up, we were secluded in forest: moss covered trees, ferns everywhere, lichen, mushrooms, birds, and slugs were along the path. It was a fairly vigorous climb. Then we got to the top and it opened up. We walked out of the forest area, into a meadow, and then through some trees where we beheld this amazing vista out over tree tops all the way to the ocean. The sound of the wind and the crisp, cool air was indescribable. A few times along the path I was like, boy am I struggling, maybe we should turn back. But it was worth seeing. I've never seen anything like it. We saw this dude with his horses as we were hiking back into the forest. There were a lot of folks with horses there today. Lucky horses, huh?

And then as we were leaving, we saw some, um, visitors, outside the visitor's center. So cute! They were all nom, nom, nom on the grass.

Good Morning from Manka's

Oh, oh, oh. We're here!!! I don't know where to begin. Is it the perfect vintage logde-y interior, or the tiny library stocked with old leather-bound books? Or is it American Prayer playing on my Nano? We just had this amazing breakfast that got dropped off in this carrying case thingy that is as cool as you'd expect. Sweet french linen tablecloth to dress the breakfast nook. Homemade yogurt and granola, fresh squeezed Inverness apple juice, buns that just jumped out of the oven. And, a little surprise -- the New York Times was on top. James is outside in the Japanese soaking tub, reading the NYT (snicker). I have so many pictures to post, but couldn't find the cable in J's bag. He will find it later, and maybe tomorrow I'll post pics. What a gorgeous place this is. More to tell soon...

Antiques and Grey Hair

I have a new story that I've been telling lately. It goes something like this: When I turn 60, I'm stopping coloring my hair and I'm opening an antique store. I say it somewhat defiantly waiting for some sort of push back. Then I say, I'm going to make as much money as I can in the next 10 years, and then that's it, I'm opening the antique warehouse. No one really reacts. They just sort of look at me. I crack myself up. I wonder if I'll do it? I'm pretty sure I'll at the minimum stop the dying of the hair. I mean, no offense, but is there anything harder looking than an older woman with really dark hair? Let's not even talk about dark red lipstick. I'm not sure when I turned the corner on the dark lipstick, but boy there was a day that I could rock Mac's Matte Rubine or Santiago. I remember when I was around 19 wearing Christian Dior's no. 492. It was a light almost bluish pink. It looked great. I was 19, how could it not? But as I get closer to my 50th birthday and my hormones start to settle down, I realize that I have aged into having a good head on my shoulders, and this simple fact is so comforting. Of course my friend Sherri will say, oh yeah? then why do you never remember what day it is? Anyway, just wanted to say that I feel it is just so wonderful to be alive, to have a good life, and to be surrounded by people I love and who love me. It's worth so much. It's all there is, really. I feel very grateful today.

This picture is of a little Victorian era sewing basket full of tatting thread. Not sure if I've ever posted it, but I just love this little basket full of colored string.

Beautiful Sky, Kate, and a Bunny

Last week, in the middle of the day, it rained for about 5 minutes. A Florida girl at heart, I miss the rain living here in dry California. I ran outside, threw open my arms and absorbed the few droplets. I then noticed that my neighbors across the street who are sort of above us hill-wise were looking down at me! We all laughed and yelled, "It's raining!" I saw another neighbor outside, too. We get pretty excited her for rain! I snapped this pic of the sky. It was spectacular.







In other news, Miss Kate has been loving her new perch, which is right next to my desk. She inherited it from her cousin, Bogie, who bequeathed it to her in his kitty will.

She's my office assistant. And as you can see, I am always having to get her back on track with those overdue reports. She'd rather make that k-k-k-k-k-i-k-k-k-kik sound at birds and take naps. So cute.








And, then, this bunny! Just in this person's front yard, happily hanging out. I can only hope and imagine that it is their bun. I thought about going up to the door, but we were riding bikes and just kept going. This portly bun looks very well fed, don't you think? So I just got the feeling all was well. How cute is she/he? I think, very...

Could You Nap Here?

I could. Is this bed lovely or what? I love the pillow and the light sheet. The amazing curved wood canopy - wow! I might have to drape something over that! And I also love the distressed, plastered walls. So pretty.

So, sweet blogger friends, I know I've been absent of late. But, it's for a good reason. A while back I posted a shameless "ad" for work, to fill my work-lacking days with a freelance project or two. Well, my days are now very full! I am working with two other folks in a joint venture of sorts, to do marketing consulting for green technology companies. We have our first client, and boy do they have us busy!

But, as I was searching for an older issue of Martha Stewart Living, I came across this picture and had to post it and say "hello." So, hello all! I hope you are doing great and surviving this hot, hot summer. We are turning the corner here in San Diego. It was supposed to be 100 today, but it was nowhere near that. Our weather folks must have had their weather balloons caught in a tree somewhere. :o)

Oh, and if you want to see some amazing photographs, check out this site.

P.S. The source for this photo is this link, though I could not get to the actual site to say exactly who did it or where it is truly from. This is my attempt at a citation. :\

Basket o' Kate

Basket kitty snuggled upon, two, count 'em, two, vintage fabrics. I'm getting her hooked early. Before I know it, she'll have an email address and an Etsy shop.

Bad Bread, Good Bread

Recently, I wrote to a friend about a banana bread I baked that turned out like a brick. I made it on a Thursday afternoon, then brought some to another friend Friday morning thinking it would be a nice snack on our way to an estate sale. I kind of knew it was not right, but I hadn't tried it yet. She politely evaded the task of sampling it without even saying a word. Or maybe she said, "Oh. It didn't rise," as I uncovered the dense, greyish block. It was actually funny in a not-laughing-out-loud sort of way. There it sat in the back seat of the car, ensconced in paper toweling, behind us, heavy, getting denser every second. A little bit later that morning I wondered aloud if maybe I should cut it into planks and bake it a second time, like you do with biscotti? A day later? I think it's this economy that has me thinking wildly frugal thoughts. After I got home I looked down the list of ingredients and realized I had forgotten the baking soda -- a crucial ingredient. No baking soda doth a hard bread make. Amazing how one little half teaspoon of something can really foul up a bread. However, here we have the lovely, fully risen, wonderfully good banana bread that I made a few days after the dreadful one. Baking soda included.

Barn Sale Fun in the Sun

I've been away a while, but not idle! There's a lot going on here in very warm San Diego. Lots of estate sale foraging (with my good friend who sells her treasures at her Etsy Shop called Betty and Dot!), and barn sale exploring. This is a picture of the barn sale I sifted through a couple weeks ago in Valley Center, CA. Boy was it hot, but boy was it worth it. This barn was chock full of good stuff, and at great prices. I went with my belle mere, Mary. We had such fun...

The sweet wire hair fox terrier, who rules the roost, is named Matilda. She has her own blog here, and from this blog there are tons of great links to other vintagey-wonderful places.



And how about this awesome old truck?





























Also in junk news, I watched this video the other day by the family who does The Junk Gypsy Company. Their life is truly an inspiration. Check out this fun video of their story. I love that it's a Mom and her two girls and they just do what they love and make some money along the way, as a family. What could be more idyllic.