As promised, here is a recap of the exciting adventures I enjoyed with Paul & Craig in California last month.

Paul took time off work to show me around… in his ‘baby’. She was a very comfortable ride

First stop, Armstrong Woods – a redwood forest just 3 miles up the road. Very peaceful and beautiful. Except for the two mosquitoes that dined on my arm….

A giant tree stump with markers showing it’s age – was around long before the Aztecs in 1300.

We stopped at the beach (it was a bit chilly)…

And saw beautiful wildflowers on the hillside…

Paused to marvel at the misty trees…

We stopped in Bodega Bay to get up close and personal with stars of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Tippy Hedron wasn’t there that day to sign autographs, but someone recorded her July 4th visit. Enjoy.

Drove past many vineyards (it was Sonoma County, after all).   Sometimes I wish I liked wine.

We stopped by Powell’s Sweet Shop in Windsor where Craig gave me run of the candy store – anything I wanted. I highly recommend the Amaretto Truffles.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t like chocolate.

I was well fed.

Very well fed.

I gained over 5 lbs, but it was worth it.

Paul fixed several gourmet meals. My offering was a turkey havarti sandwich on sourdough (delicious, but not gourmet!).

And Craig treated me to the best ribs I’ve ever had. I also loved sharing in the traditional Sunday cheese/cracker and prociutto lunch. Yum.

We played a little Cribbage.

Craig and I tortured Paul by making him sit through the entire movie Avatar. We all agreed we want our gardens to glow like that at night.

Paul (the best blogger ever) worked on his blog.

We planted a few flowers, watched a little Design Star and RuPaul’s Drag Race, and all in all had a lovely time.

Thanks, guys, for being such gracious and entertaining hosts. It was so fun to spend time with you! Now, when are you coming to the northwest?

Paul and Craig have invited me to come for a visit several times the past couple of years. Apparently they had ulterior motives for the invitation. Even so, if you are fortunate enough to receive an invitation, I urge you to accept – it’s an experience to remember.

After a drive through Sonoma wine country, I found myself amidst a redwood forest and, following the instructions of my handy gps, arrived safely at Craig and Paul’s home on the hill. I was greeted by Paul at the top of the long staircase that leads to their home and introduced to fish that let me pet them. Well, one of the fish lets me pet her. She seems to like it.

Paul showed me to my private suite – dubbed “Miss Kitty’s Boudoir.” The bathroom was decked out with everything a traveler could want – built in hair dryer, soft bathrobe and slippers, bath/hair supplies, toothbrush, etc. Paul had called prior to my visit to ask about any dietary requirements, and the fridge was filled with bottled water, fresh fruit and yogurt. More fruit – and hand dipped strawberries graced my private table. What a treat!

Then I got the tour of their home – which was originally a little cabin (now remodeled into the guest suite). They built their existing home, which connects to the suite through a laundry room. Paul has always been very ‘handy’ and he’s done a beautiful job with the design and construction.

I especially love the tile with copper flecks in the kitchen – and the unique wall treatments and custom railing Paul designed. Their space is so inviting – and he and Craig are delightful hosts.

Look at what a beautiful and comfortable home they’ve created for themselves. Those glass windows look out onto sun dappled, vine covered redwoods and douglas firs. Breathtaking.

We’ve been having a wonderful time together, and my next post will feature how we’ve been spending our time (if I survive the night). For now, I must go enjoy what promises to be a fabulous meal that Paul is just placing on the table…..

I’ve been such a slacker. I’ve taken tons of photos and have lots of things I could be writing about but I just haven’t. No excuses. Just haven’t done it.

No promises, but I will try to rectify that – starting with this entry about a wonderful visit from Ashley & Kennedy in April.

Since their flight arrived at 7pm, our first stop was dinner at Machiavelli’s, where Kennedy ate a huge plate of pasta..

The next day, Kristin joined us as we made the short trek to Mt. Vernon for the tulip festival.

The tulips were beautiful, as usual, but it the weather wasn’t. We faced what felt like freezing cold gale force winds.

Kennedy tried to be brave.

She managed a smile while cuddling with mom.

More soon. Or at least sometime…

Two of my granddaughters are currently living in Costa Rica (with their parents, of course) and have started blogs to share their adventures.

This is Emily, age 6…  and this is her blog, Emily in the Jungle.

This is Marie, age 4… and her blog, Riding A Butterfly.

I’m loving reading what they have to say and hope you will too. Stop by and say hi!

I asked Kennedy to be my valentine this year.

She said yes.

Her mom set up an email address for her so she can send me messages. This is her first email to me:

“hi grandma. this is my e-mail. I wanted to say hi and I love you for as long as you’re alive.

And I’ll love you still and you’ll still love me after you’re dead.”

Now that’s love.

My daughter can sing.

No, I mean she can REALLY sing.

She performed in musicals in Jr. & High School – but since getting married hasn’t had a lot of opportunity to do so.

Her husband, Justin, is very passionate about music – plays bass and has been in several bands. He and Austin (along with other players who seem to come and go) are talented musicians who formed a band named Vicious Starfish a couple of years ago.  **They have recently renamed themselves The Black Arrows

Last summer they were listening to their recordings and realized they needed a new vocalist if they were going to take their music to the next level – leaving Austin to focus on songwriting rather than singing.

Ashley had done a little back up singing on some of their recordings in the past, so they asked her to audition… and were blown away, of course. (I’m her mother, I can brag)

So Ashley Rae is the new frontwoman for The Black Arrows.

They’ve been rehearsing and in the studio for months – and finally have a couple of tracks for their new album ready to be heard.

I think Austin is a very talented songwriter and I’m really enjoying their music.

Their first gig with Ashley as vocalist will be April 23rd at Liquid Joe’s in Salt Lake City. I wish I could be there!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN to HYPNOSIS and PANDEMONIUM

(A new window will open)

You can also listen and follow Vicious Starfish (now The Black Arrows) on FaceBook and MySpace

So what do you think?

Santa delivered me to Salt Lake on his sleigh this year.

At least I think that’s what happened – I went to bed in Seattle and woke up Christmas morning in Salt Lake.

A bow on the door led Emily and Marie to open it and see what Santa had brought. It made for a fun surprise.

The camera is not my friend first thing in the morning.

Jennifer prepared a fabulous meal (I have no idea how she keeps the kitchen totally clean the entire time she prepares the meal… I’m thinking it must be magic.)

Brandon expressed his anticipation for his move to Costa Rica by donning a tropical shirt. They are becoming ‘Location Independent‘ and moving there in less than a week – you can read about why and how they are doing it on his blog.

Ashley and family joined us for dinner and visiting for the rest of the day (and I didn’t take any pics!). But the girls had a blast together. And I got nauseous when I attempted to play Mario Cart with them.

I joined Ashley and family for the next couple of days. Kennedy opened her gifts from me on Christmas night. Justin had to work a graveyard shift at the hospital, so after Kennedy went to bed, Ashley and I stayed up for hours and played on their new Wii. I suck at Super Mario Brothers, but at least I didn’t get nauseous. And I bowled pretty good…. Wii is fun.

Oh – did I mention that it’s been FREEZING here? Not as cold as forecast (3 degrees at night) but still pretty damn cold. These are the frost crystals that form on Ashley’s kitchen window. Cool, huh?

It snowed a bit and I slid all over the road – even in a 4 wheel drive Tahoe. OK, not all over the road – just down the hill, but even so I did NOT enjoy it. But I had to venture out to have a meal at Cafe Rio…

And the Salt Lake Valley inversion has been horrible. I am finally seeing a little sunshine today! I hope it lasts…

But the frost crystals – very cool.

And to finish up, a few more pics of the granddaughters….

Tonight, I’ll be helping out with Ashley and Justin’s New Years Eve party.

How was your Christmas? What are you doing for New years?

Hey dad -

Don’t know if you have internet access wherever you are, or if you ever check my blog if you do have internet access. But on the chance you stop by for a visit I want to say hi, wish you a happy holiday and that I hope you’re safe, healthy and happy.

I put up my tree this week and keep wishing it were flocked a little bit. If you were here I’d ask you to help me figure out how to flock an artificial tree – you always did such a great job with our live noble firs every year on Rodeo Lane.

Ah… memories of the cold garage and the smell of wet flocking just came rushing back.

If you see this, drop me a line, send me an email, give me a call sometime, or even just leave a comment here. Let me know how you’re doing and where you’re spending your days.

Love,
Your eldest

I know I’m a little late – but here is how I spent my Halloween.

Traveled to Salt Lake on Thursday, where I indulged in 1/2 of a Judge Brownie, a Chicken Tostada Salad at Cafe Rio, and made a Halloween cake with Ashley.

Turned out cute, didn’t it?

Friday afternoon we headed to my mom’s “cabin” near Fairview, UT to spend the next 24 hours with my mom & Bart, and my kids/their families. The cabin is actually a very beautiful and spacious log home built almost entirely by Bart. He’s a manly man.

I think my entire condo would probably fit in the upstairs loft. It’s really lovely. And my mom had decorated the loft so cute for the party.

We saw several of these deer. They’re beautiful animals, but we’re not happy that they devour every plant my mother tries to grow (except the lavender).

After the mandatory family photo shoot (those pics will be in another post) we got into costume and started the party.

Three of us were witches, but my mother costume was, by far, the best. The teeth made her talk funny

Kennedy was a vampiress.

Emily was the Little Mermaid… here, wrapped as a mummy by her Japanese dad.

The “mummy wrapping” contest was the big hit of the night. Each team had to wrap each other fully and quickly.

Emily and Brandon won – but Marie & Jennifer, Kennedy & Bart made valiant effort.

After a game of pumpkin bowling, costume parade, dancing to the Monster Mash, and distribution of prizes, we were ready for cake. But first, a group picture.

After cake, it was story time. I read the girls a really cute book called Room on the Broom. Then we tucked the girls in their sleeping bags for the night…

Next morning we were greeted with a wonderful hot breakfast. The guys did guy stuff (I don’t know what it was) but the girls decorated pumpkins with felt eyes, noses and mouths that Ashley and I had created, and the women crafted decorations out of wood, glitter glue, paint and glass beads.

Then it was back to Salt Lake for trick or treating!

How did you spend your Halloween?

Michelle arrived on Thursday. Yeah!

There’s just nothing like spending time with a friend of 30 years. It’s been pretty much non-stop giggling, intermingled with some tears and a lot of oohing and aaahing over the beauty of the northwest.   Here are some highlights from Friday.

We toured Chateau Ste. Michelle winery and explored the lovely grounds.   Michelle found herself moved by some of the local art and attempted to become one with the art. How do you think she did?

She also fondled any hydrangea shrub in her path.   She mentioned she wished she’d named Erica Hydrangea, and I suggested she begin calling her that right away. Maybe it will stick as her new name.

As we wandered the grounds, we were serenaded by John Legend’s band – they were warming up for the concert being held at the winery that night.   We also observed an interesting fashion trend, which I’m hoping Michelle will blog about soon.

We spent a little time at the Farmers Market at Country Village, where I picked up another fabulous $5 bouquet of fresh flowers.

We enjoyed some good Chinese food at the Zen Garden restaurant in Mill Creek.

Then returned home, hung up my cool orange lights, lit a few candles and spent a couple of hours on the patio listening to 70’s music, reminiscing, laughing, crying and sharing a bottle of 2007 Muscat Canelli we picked up from the winery.   

Of course, the spent the first 30 minutes  setting up the tripod and posing in attempt to capture the mood of the evening….  LOL…

All in all, a fabulous day. So glad you’re here Michelle!