the remaking of a kitchen

our drive to st george took quite a bit longer than we'd planned, in fact our real destination was on down the road, but we were pooped and it was too hot, so we stopped. it was a new motel and quite nice, quiet and comfortable. from there we headed on to rawlins, wy, and enjoyed that place as much as we did on the trip out. we ate at the same place and it was still a delight and plan to stay in the victorian b and b there next time. from there it was on to lincoln and then home the day after.
the photos are of the clouds that greeted us the closer we drove north to home.

Labels: lincoln and home, rawlins, st george, storm clouds

as we began our way home, we traveled down hwy 101 to san luis obispo to see our dear friends john and julie and their puppies tako and gromit. we had a wonderful time with them, but of course it was way way too short. john took as on the grand tour of the history museum where he is deeply involved and i think he has entice julie to be another volunteer on that list. there was a wonderful display of wedding gowns and photos etc that was very impressive. i took a photo of one saying that seemed to fit david's interests of late.
we got to tour the barn that julie has mentioned so often....the wondrous place with lovely people who spin, knit, dye, felt, quilt and whatever else is possible with textiles and they get to visit and enjoy eachother as they do! i am so jealous!
their friends steve and eleanor invited all of us for hors d'oeuvres one afternoon and we finally delightfully were able to meet them in person! we had a great visit and talked about all the weird connections.
julie and john took as to a river side restaurant on our last night and we enjoyed a wonderful meal there. we also met for breakfast the next day just to prolong our visit a little bit longer! and of course it still wasn't long enough....it never is!

Labels: eleanor and steve, gromit and tako, john and julie

The actual party had two parts....before and after the nap. one of the photos shows the wonder of a fan with attachments as decoration. siena has always always been fascinated with ceiling fans and this has got to be the ultimate eye catcher. she loved it! one more reason baba's house was perfect.....ceiling fan in the living room!
the boys helped siena open her presents and they all enjoyed that part. it's so fun to see how they enjoy each other even thought there is quite a spread in ages. the boys are so dear as they play with her and entertain her!
sarah made the sweet birthday crown for siena and she will be able to wear it for many birthdays to come. the doll was made by me and i had such fun doing it. i think patrick and sarah had similar dolls as little kids.

Labels: birthday party, boys and siena, naps

it's hard to believe that it's been a whole year since siena's birth. after a bit of a rocky start she has turned into the most charming of little girls. she scoots, she jabbers, she points and smiles and just engages everyone around her into her world. we do love her so much!
her birthday party was in santa cruz at her baba sandy's home. her living in a condo with a swimming pool gets high marks as a party place! sarah and david planned ahead and decided on a pizza and pie party so no one was tied to the stove and oven preparing food and entertainment. siena was able to take her needed naps and be up and ready to go for the assorted festivities. one special occasion was siena's first experience in a swimming pool. she loves to take baths, but at first she was not impressed with the big bathtub of a pool. eventually she warmed to the idea, and jewlee was able to get her to do her kickies thing the perimeter of the pool, smiling and laughing all the way. she appears to be part fish!

Labels: baba's house, birthday party, swimming pool

by some amazing karmic occurrence, i was accepted into a gallery's national juried exhibition, and it was in berkeley, and the opening was when we were in oakland for siena's birthday, and patrick happened to be there too because he attended steve's wedding in reno the past weekend. so, we all attended, plus sandy and cara came, and chris and heather, s and d's upstairs neighbors, friend louise and her friend nancy, jewlee's friend kate and her husband, pat our b and b hostess and her friend sima, my friend maureen's sister kathleen, sandy and dave our friends from rossmoor, kyra and heidi, jewlee's first housemate and the new person living with kyra, sarah's work mates, franziska and chris. it was great fun and truly amazing to have so many friends and family there. it was surely a rare treat!!

Labels: acci gallery, friends and family