90th Birthday

Today is a very special day....my dad turns....

To celebrate, we decorated the backyard with flags, an antenna, a POPS chair ....

one master sailboat ....

and eight smaller ones (representing his children).

We hung his ham radio call letters....

 nautical flags (VGP, his initials)

and prepared deelish food.

We donned party hats, waved flags and swirled noise makers and waited in anticipation.

Upon his arrival, our "king" was adorned with a crown and cape...

and led to the backyard to where a feast was awaiting.

We chatted and we ate.

 

 And then we presented his presents, including a silver

tray filled with birthday memory letters and cards sent from family and friends,

near and far and from times past and present. 

Oh the joy of reading of the love our dear pop 

has spread over those nine decades.

Finally, the firepit was lit and the marshmallows placed on sticks.

We filled the air with a heartfelt song....

 

 

 

 and ate cupcakes and ice cream.

to our dear dad, pop, opa, great opa, uncle, brother, brother-in-law, and friend...

You are loved by so many.

PS.  Please note that all pictures were taken by our in house photographer, Matt Lambert.

A Repurposed Metal Stool

I picked up this seatless stool for a couple of dollars at an estate sale a few months back. The minute I saw it, I thought, wow, that would make either a great plant stand or a fantastic bird feeder!  I just needed to purchase some new nuts and bolts, reattach the legs, and squirt some rust colored spray paint on the shiny bolts.

Love the patina of the multi layered paint

I happened to have an old rusty "bowl-dish" and which fit perfectly in the seat...


I threw in some seed and  whaalaa...


I now have repurposed an old stool into one very cool bird feeder.

This is placed right outside my family room window.

Love watching the birds feast upon the seeds.

My Dad

My dad became a father for the very first time when my oldest sister Gayle was born.

He became a father for the second time with the birth of my brother Steven. Sadly, Steven passed away three days later.

He became a father for the third time with my sister Mary.



And the fourth time was me!
  

My sister Judy came fifth....
 

My brother Paul came sixth...
  
And then came Martha.


And finally his caboose is my youngest sister Gwen.


My dad is one terrific, fabulous, smart, encouraging, patient,  curious, sensitive, "best friend", handsome, selfless, supportive, loving, kind, and perfect father.

Happy Father's Day!

Z Hands

I was out watering this morning when a wave of nostalgia overcame me. It seems like only yesterday when we poured the base for the basketball hoop and had our kids imprint their little hands in the wet cement. Where did the time go?

For those with little kiddos....I know the daily grind of raising kids is hard, tiring and tough at times. Just remember to give your munchkin's little hand a tight squeeze each night...it flies by quicker than you think. 

Chandelier In the Garden

It all started when I found two of these barrel hoops ($4 each) at Building REsources in San Francisco: 

What would you do with a barrel hoop?. 

I know there are some people who think I am bit crazy using this "stuff" but I love the patina and rustic charm.   My creative juices started to flow.  What if I made a chandelier by attaching canning jars to the hoop, putting some candles in those canning jars and hanging it above my table outside under the pergola?
I had to make a trip to Orchard Supply and I splurged $18 on some galvanized chain and some nuts and bolts (wishing I had picked up that rusty chain I saw at an estate sale not long ago...oh well).
My dad came to my rescue by helping me punch holes in the hoop with his drill press. Dads with tools are wonderful. Couldn't have done it without him. That was slick.

My dad with his drill press helping me in his garage.

I wrapped some rusty wire (had it in my stash) to six canning jars in my signature aqua blue color (also had them in my collection). Found out how to date the jars via Minnetrista and discovered most of my jars were produced between 1923 - 1933 with one produced between 1910 - 1923.   How cool is that? They will now live out the rest of their lives as candle holders. Whalaa.. here is my chandelier in the daytime:

and here it is at night:

This simple addition brings such a nice ambiance to our outdoor meals and I love that I only spent $22 on the whole thing. 

The Vancouver Marathon

I am not sure if Adeline decided to run  the Vancouver marathon when she was still pregnant or after she gave birth. But in any case she proposed that we come up to cheer her on and make it a mini family vacation. And that is what we did. 

That's my girl...running her second marathon six months after giving birth. Amazing.

I couldn't be more proud. Misty tears of joy filled my eyes as I clasped the umbrella which protected her 6 month old baby from the sprinkling rain. 

Flowers were blooming everywhere

I don't think the Runners noticed the city bursting with colorful flowers.  But I did.
.

Everything was in its prime.

April Blooms

I know we are into May now, but I wanted to share some pictures of April blooms in my garden



I  love spring ...the fresh new growth...the warm sunshine...the cool temperatures....
California has the best climate.

"Golden Spirit" In The Garden

A few years ago, I helped the Shoes with planting their front yard.  The Shoe's cleared the space, installed the irrigation, planted a couple of trees, and had a brick path installed using some cool bricks from San Jose.

It was fun to start with a clean slate.  The yard faces west so it gets full afternoon sun.  It was not only important to choose sun loving plants but they also needed to be drought tolerant too.   You can see my faves are yellow, green and purple with splashes of bronze spattered about.   I love the combination of lavender, blood stonecrop, crape myrtle, Jerusalem sage and echiveria succulents. The garden is in its primo state right now.

     

Most stunning is the Golden Spirit Smoke Bush though.....every garden should have one.  It is quite spectacular all year round...puffs of "smoke" (the flower) will bloom later in the spring and then the bright yellow leaves will turn orange red in the fall.

Bottom photos:  Left is a close up of Jerusalem Sage and Right is Verbena (I think)

The garden has been mulched which will not only help with retaining moisture but also cut down on weeds.

A lot of punch is happening in this small front garden...and it makes me smile every time I visit.

My Creative Aunt Marcine

The internet has made it possible to connect with some incredible and creative people through  blogs, and Facebook.  Instagram and Pinterest has made it possible to share the results of those crafty, artistic and talented people through their photos. It is wonderful  that it has become "hip" and  "cool" to be crafty, to  sew, to cook, to create, to knit/crochet, to upcycle, to garden, to share ideas on raising children, to farm, and to photograph.  Believe it or not, being crafty hasn't always been so "in".




I have an aunt who has been creating, sewing, crocheting, cooking, serving others her entire life....eight full decades. .... let me introduce you to  (drum roll please)...

my AUNT MARCINE.

I can imagine her as a little girl planted at her mother's feet and learning all she could to soak in all the instructions her mother could deliver.  You would most likely find her hands  filled with a project...sometimes sewing, other times embroidering, and then it could be something she is crocheting.  Here she is on a picnic with my parents as young married embroidering what looks to be a tablecloth:

Love the little box by her side holding her sewing supplies.

She sewed all her clothes, even her coats.  She even sewed her own wedding dress.  Oh, doesn't she look so radiant! My uncle is looking pretty dapper himself.




She sewed clothes for her nine children (including underwear for her boys) and my uncle.
Aren't those handmade pjs adorable?

One year for Christmas, she sent my three sisters and I little clowns to put our PJ's inside.
My sister still has hers...I only wish I had mine.

When I was in college, my sister and I went to her house and she showed us how to bottle strawberry jam. And on one of my recent visits to her house, I walked in the door and found her in the kitchen finishing up bottling some peaches....she made it look so easy.  I wonder how many bottles she has filled (and "canned") over the years...I suspect it is many thousands.
She crocheted this wonderful blanket for me, using her leftover yarns from previous projects.  You see, she does not let anything go to waste.  I love to wrap up in this treasure while watching TV.

Several years ago she made fabric bags to cook potatoes in the microwave oven for each of us in my family.



And then couple of years ago for Christmas, she crocheted a eight beautiful doilies, one for each of my siblings.

Love the color of this beautiful  vase
 which was given to me from a dear friend who
 was downsizing from her large home.

If you come to her house for a meal, she will serve you her infamous "love buns".  Oh...they just melt in your mouth, especially when slathered with melted butter and homemade jam.
The best buns on the planet.  

This past Christmas, she made each of my sisters, brother and I a table runner. Each one  was made from a different fabric.  I put my runner underneath the Lazy Susan in the middle of my island.

Button detail

She is continues to serve and create things for her bazillion children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and friends .  Check out this pile of sweet Valentines she had on her sewing table recently:

I think they were headed into the hands of some 10 and ll year old girls in her church.


I don't know of a more giving or talented woman....her hands have been in constant motion her entire life.  My hat is off to you dear Aunt Marcine.