A Perfect Picnic

Chris, Excited About Lunch

I suppose the day could have been a little bit warmer, but my picnic in Sonoma Plaza with Jane, John, Chris and Alex was perfect in my book: plenty to eat and lots of fun equipment to play on and enjoy.

Jane With John and Alex

In the Mission's Church

 

Before lunch, however, we put on our sightseer hats and joined the rest of the tourists to check out the Sonoma mission, San Francisco de Solano. John, having just completed 4th grade which includes the study of California's missions, requested a visit and seemed to enjoy himself. Chris busied himself with picture taking using, as a special treat, his mom's camera.

The price of admission included General Vallejo's home, so we continued playing our traveler roles and toured there, too.

I loved this old fountain gaily spashing water in the back of the old home.

 

After all of these activities, we headed to Santa Rosa where we visited another park with even more wonderful play equipment and super soft sand, perfect for rolling in and going barefoot. The boys' energy seemed to have no end!

Our final stop was my house, where quieter activities and pizza were on the agenda.

Yes, perfect.

A Gardener's Lament

Theme Thursday ~ All Good Things...

Seeds

growing,

seeking out

the summer's warmth

to parade their lovely, new-found beauty

for all of us to treasure and enjoy

until fall comes

ending this

blissful

time.

janice

2012

See what else is happening at Theme Thursday.

The Pirates of Lincoln,CA

John

Ah, those end of the school year plays...such fun! And my grandsons were very into the pirate theme, celebrating the year's end and bringing on the lazy days of summer .



Chris



John, being a 4th grader, was onstage with his class; but Chris, not yet into grammar school, could not resist getting with the pirate theme and strutting his stuff as an audience member. It's pretty contagious.

As for Grandma...I had a good time, too, reliving those final school days when, as a teacher, the lesson plans got put aside  (well, sort of) and we just had fun, celebrating our year together. Nicer yet was the experience-on this occasion-of being an audience member, there to just enjoy, not being responsible for anyone other than myself.

Yay to the end of the school year and summer vacation! I can't help but celebrate; it's still in my blood, even though -being retired- every day is a holiday.

The Continuing Saga of 2Cuz

I have written before of my escapades with my adventuresome, elderly cousin affectionately  nick-named 2Cuz. We see each other on a regular basis every couple of months. I am happy to report that I have survived another outing.

Since I am always the driver, I have learned to have our excursions mapped out in advance in order to not repeat some of the disasters we have had when I naively believed her declaration that she could easily direct me to our destination, a task my GPS helps me to accomplish with ease.  However, 2Cuz does not trust "new-fangled gadgets" and always knows a better, shorter (fill in the adjective) route which she suggests insists we take  instead of the road I have chosen. I got us there and back home in one piece by politely ignoring the sputtering from the passenger seat. I have learned that I need to be very firm, as with an unruly child, when dealing with 2Cuz. I calmly repeat, broken record  style, "No, we are going to go this way." Exhausting. My years as a kindergarten teacher trained me well.

Our destination this time was a Muslim art exhibit at Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato. I pretended to be excited , but I was secretly fearing that it would turn out like our visits to the fan museum in Healdsburg and the sticker factory in Petaluma. But, wow! I was pleasantly surprised by both the quality and quantity of the art. There were some really lovely and very expensive pieces. 

Just as delightful as the art was the building in which the exhibit was held, an old hangar that has been the recipient of a state-of-the-art remodeling job. I loved that, looking up to the high ceiling, I could see the lattice work so familiar in a hangar, perfectly preserved, with the rest of the remodel keying from that with lots of iron and steel. It totally had the feel of a hangar, even though it is now filled with beautiful furniture and elegant, gray flooring throughout. I was totally impressed!

I've got to admit, 2Cuz picked a winner this time!

I'm Floored!

At last. The ugly  wall-to-wall carpet that has been hanging around the hallway and bedrooms for way too long is history. Gone.

Before

After

I am so glad to have the job finished; it was two days of heavy sawing and hammering, with pugs and cats freaking out. We're back to normal, and I love the new look.

Whew!

Z is for Zorro

I long ago gave up on the A-Z challenge, finding that I could not keep up with the pace. However, I cannot resist the opportunity to contribute to Z Day with a photo of my adorable and elusive Zorro. Immediately after this photo was taken, he scampered away to some quieter part of the house to resume his solitude. Getting a picture of him is always a challenge; he moves quickly, clearly not a kitty who enjoys the camera.

 Occasionally, I do catch him napping...as in this picture with his more social sibling, Ruby. Of course, he was up and away right after this sweet, lucky capture. You can see it in his eyes: I'm outta here.

So, farewell A to Z challenge. I wish I had been up to making a daily contribution. Maybe next year...

The Symphony of Spring

 Today is my first day of spring! I made it official: I raised the umbrella on the patio. 

 Though this season of renewal has been on the calendar for quite some time, it hasn't felt like spring to me due to the gray skies, heavy rain, and even hail. Today the sun is shining and the forecast is for 80s by the weekend. I say YES to that!

I love walking around the garden, checking out all the colorful buds and delicate new leaves, so marvelous this time of year.



A Fern Unfolds

Lemons-to-Be



Fuchsia



Hydrangea Buds



I think it is almost time to get the shorts out of the back of my closet.