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.