Paris Visits SF

Have you been to the Impressionist exhibit at the DeYoung yet?

I am talking about the exhibit of paintings on loan from the Musee d'Orsay.

This is a once in a lifetime event and not to be missed!

Somehow, I let the King Tut exhibit slip by (and frankly, tears did not fall)

But THIS one...I've already been four times...

loved it each time...

and will probably go once more before the week is out.

So, if you haven't seen the exhibit yet...

I'd highly recommend you try and carve out some time.

Go look and marvel...

Go even if you've seen it all before in Paris..

(just think of the $ you'd save on plane fare!)

I guarantee you will not be disappointed

Here are a few of my faves:

The Bather (not sure if this is the correct title and I don't know the artist, but I just LOVE this painting. I love the glimmering brass bracelet. And the sheen of the tub. Also the woman's translucent slip in the water and her fixated stare. And the duck water spigot. And the watch in the soap dish. Does it sound like this is my favorite?).

The Moonlight ( again, don't remember the artist and I am really not sure of the title of the painting but I love the deep blue color of the night sky and how the moon shines over the women on the dock)

Turkeys (Monet)(this is a huge painting and there is something so refreshing about those white turkeys and those translucent tail feathers!)

The Cradle (Berthe Morisot) I have purchased many postcards of this painting several times and have given many cards with baby gifts (by the way, prints never do a painting justice). I love the sweetness in the way the mother stares at the precious little one)

The Dancing Lesson (Degas) (it is fun to examine the color each dancer's bow, their positions, ,their relationship to the instructor, their actions i.e. the dancer scratching her back, the colors, the room itself...lots of things happening here!

The Floor Scrapers (Caillebotte) (those bare, brawny backs...need I say more?)

I encourage you to go...for really, it is not to be missed...

And the Heat Goes On

Did you hear it?

The complaining about how hot it was the other day?

One day of 95 plus heat...you'd think we melted!

I admit it, one of those voices belonged to me.

And who am I? I sit in an air conditioned office all day.

We've become quite spoiled haven't we...

a summer of very pleasant temperatures.

Best summer yet in my book.

And we have one day of heat and what do we do?

w.h.i.n.e.

c.o.m.p.l.a.i.n.

Boy, was I glad when the bay area's air conditioner kicked in...

and I saw that fog roll in.

My Baby

Look at sweet Adeline....

with her brother and sister ...

Fast forward twenty three years....

I am so proud of this gal.

She is...

smart (was accepted to 5 out of 6 graduate schools)...

pretty (no explanation here)

kind (keeps in contact with many friends including those from her past)...

friendly (doesn't hesitate to call for a party)...

caring (looks out for her family and friends)

talented (sings, dances, plays piano)..

athletic (swims, bikes and hikes)

(such as hiking Half Dome in one day, including driving )...

adventurous ( sky diving and cave exploring)...

a traveler (Peru, Dominican Republic, Spain, Italy)...

a leader (senior class pres in high school, BYUSA in college)

and spiritual (loves the gospel in our church)

She packed her earthly possessions (mostly clothes) in these two suitcases

(there is an additional carry-on duffel bag and backpack in the other room)

and took off on a plane to Washington D.C. to attend graduate school at Georgetown University.

How did time fly by so quickly?

I will miss my "baby".

That First Day of School

Can you feel it in the air?

Can you smell it too?

Can you believe the first day of school is already here...

or will come shortly?

How can that be? We are still in the middle of August!

what happened to school starting the day after Labor Day?)

Somehow, the summer of 2010 slipped on by...

(what summer? did you feel any hot, sizzling days?)

Well, I've been dusting off the memories...

taking a rag to those tradition cobwebs of years gone by...

and reflecting upon that first day of school:

Do you...

Remember that new clothes smell...

and picking out the outfit the night before?

Remember going out the front door...

and hearing what sounded like "Whahoo!!" coming from the kitchen?

Remember buying new binders, paper, pens, pencils, lunch pails and backpacks...

even though you have perfectly good ones in your closet?

Remember that nervous anticipation....
because school was something new to you?

Remember meeting your teacher...

and checking the list to find out which friends are in your class?

Remember the joy of seeing your friends...

some of which you hadn't seen since the last day of school in June?

Remember your mother snapping embarrassing photos

in front of the school sign..

hoping none of your friends will notice?

And remember finding your desk...

the one you will sit at for the next 9 months?

Oh, how it seems like yesterday...

oh me, oh my...

time sure does fly.

What do you remember of that first day of school?

Pins and Lace

Don't you just love it when you come across fun organization ideas?

Check out this storage idea that my niece sent me.

Instead of storing my beautiful collection of antique laces

wrapped around squares of cardboard...

in an ordinary white plastic shoe box from Target...

I scoured my house for a neat vintage jar...

(given to me by my elderly neighbor years ago)...

picked out the oldest and coolest pins from

the vintage clothespin bag hanging in my laundry room

(yes, another estate sale purchase many moons ago)

and voila...

I now have a very chic way to store and display my lace,

because this lace should be seen!

And I didn't spend a penny.

Claps to N. and Sherbet Blossom.

Fruit/Vegetable/Nut Basket

My respect for our our farmers was renewed as we drove through the Central Valley, our nation's fruit/nut basket, this past weekend. We passed by thousands of acres of orchards filled with trees in perfect rows, laden with fruit, such as pistachio, pomegranate, pecan, walnut, peach, pear, apricot, and plum (the citrus i.e. orange, tangerine and lemons had all been harvested ).

Interspersed between the orchards were acres and acres of tomato, pepper, potato, and corn.

Along the road, we passed by dozens of huge trucks filled to the brim with bright red tomatoes (heading at the canneries to be packed into cans), garlic and onions.

Thinking what the farmers must do to get that peach or nut or tomato to our kitchen table caused me to pause for a moment. All I could think of was the work involved... the planting, the weeding, the trimming, the tilling, the pollinating (oh we need our bees!), the irrigating, the harvesting, and the shipping. On top of all that, our farmer must rely upon mother nature's grace... for some years are good and some are not so good.

And then I thought of my attempts to create a mini fruit basket in my back yard.

I have planted a gravenstein apple (died last year), peach (always had peach leaf curl and died after 3-4 years), apricot (never got any fruit and eventually died)...

I have three surviving cherry trees (one has only produced cherries one season..that is over twenty years), and between the other two, we have very meager crops. The birds devour the cherries before I have a chance to pick. Check out my pathetic harvest this year:


I have a pear but count only 6 pears on the tree at this time:

and an Asian pear which always produces a bounteous crop...



that is if I can harvest the fruit before the ravenous squirrels get to it.

I don't know how those farmers do it....

All I know is I am so glad I don't have to rely upon my harvest to eat ...if I did, I would surely starve.

Top Ten Joys - First Week of August

1. Finding out that I am going to be a grandma to a baby boy...his name will be "Max".


2. Finished repainting four of these chairs and sewing four new pads for them.




3. Eating fresh picked tomatoes from the three tomato plants I have growing in my backyard.


4. Ordering a book about beekeeping...and planning to install a beehive in the back corner of my yard instead of a "secret garden".


5. Taking a road trip with two of my sisters to visit our sister who lives up in the Sierras outside Fresno and stopping at a donut shop on our way for a sweet delight.

Notice they are open 24 hours a day...

and you don't even have to get out of your car!

6. Smelling the pine infused air...and relaxing...and swimming with my sisters.

Photo courtesy of Martha

7. Eating deelish food, including fresh fish caught the day before by my brother in law,

Photo courtesy of Gwen

.... freshly picked sweet corn, and green salad...yum.



8. Waking up to a most scrumptious breakfast..the waffles are the best I've ever tasted.

9. Visiting the mountain nursery where my sister works. I am in awe of the work it takes to plant, nurture, and sell the trees.

Photo courtesy of Martha

10. Harvesting manzanita branches for the fence I will build around my future beehives.

We make a great team, don't we?

and singing a parting song before we left this mountain paradise.

I must say, this has been one M.A.R.V.E.L.O.U.S. week.

August AM Temperature

What a cool summer we've had...I mean the temperature cool.

For example...look at the thermometer this am:

And I hear it is supposed to be this way for the next week.

Awesome.

I am in heaven and...I absolutely dig this cool summer...

(although my tomato plants aren't doing that great)

Stitchin' Kitchen Chairs

Check out the chairs I refurbished.

With the purchase of a few cans of spray paint (oh, what I would do if I had an airless sprayer!), I've turned these chairs into cheery yellow.

Last night I got my machine humming and sewed the chair pads.

Which do you prefer, the floral side...

Or the dot side?

Now Mr. and Mrs. Shoe will have something to sit on in while they eat their morning cereal...

The Renegade Craft Fair

It was a gorgeous day in San Francisco on Saturday at the Renegade Craft Fair in Fort Mason. My two sisters and I, along with my sister's friend, went to see the creations made by 250 vendors who sell their goods on Etsy. So much creativity...by so many young people (I felt very old in that crowd). It is wonderful to see that creating things by hand is in style..is in vogue...and is hip.

There were vendors who made cards, jewelry, posters, succulent gardens, toys, clothes, soaps/lotions, books, stitchery, hair ornaments, yarn for knitting....you name it, the craft was probably there.

I gravitated toward those who were selling textiles...especially those geared toward children. Some of my faves are here and here. I liked the children's dresses made from sweaters. (I don't recall her name).

So much fun...

Inspired me to get home and get my sewing machines humming.