Sizzles

It. Is. So. Very. Hot.

Even the pool is hot....but the best place to be late afternoons and early evenings!

Ummm, not really relaxing here, but thinking and planning, (what to pack, what to make for dinner, what will I eat in China?, I should be doing laundry, I should be doing office paperwork, is daughter going to splash me AGAIN?, it's hotter than 105 degrees).

Creative bend: Father's day flag/chaise lounge and a ruffle.

Daughter was born on Father's Day, so every year it's the same thing: how could I ever top that present? Yup, it's the best one......but still, I try to find something special and fun. This year, I came up with a real treat.

Materials: wrought iron chaise lounge, pretty striped pad, pvc pipe (with one cap for the bottom of the "flag pole") a wooden dowel, brass upholstery tacks, black sunbrella fabric, small amount of outdoor quality rope, and a can of black spray paint.

Assembly: Spray dowel and pvc pipe black. Attach to chaise with thin, outdoor quality black rope, cut fabric into a flag shape, tack to dowel with tacks.

End result: Lots of smiles and appreciation. See the flag? Whenever husband wants something he puts up the flag.

Ruffles: daughter just keeps getting taller, so the ruffles need to get longer. This one is real cute.

Next post will likely be from Hong Kong. I'm learning some key phrases in Chinese...let's hope it pays off!

Postcards from Santa Barbara

I'm in LAX waiting for a flight to PDX. Just traveled across the tarmac on a clutch challenged bus.....loved (and laughed) at the signs that read "Stop for Aircraft." Anyhow, just coming home from 4 days of extreme (and lovely!) good living. Santa Barbara calls itself the "American Riviera." Take a peek at the photos below. (not sure why this looks like a link????)

We rented bikes and rode them for hours on the boardwalk. I think that is the highlight of my year (really!) so far. I know.... so simple, but that's how I like things simple and uncomplicated (makes time for more lovely in your life). The views were amazing!

This is a pic I took when I decided to walk along the beach to Montecito. It's about a mile and a half walk from our hotel, but I didn't take into consideration the cliffs and rocks I had to pass to get there (shoulda got a pic of them!) I turned around when I came to the cliff and saw this pretty sailboat.

Yes, that's a real, live sea gull on top of the fountain. It didn't fly away when I took its picture!

This is outside the courthouse. Downtown SB.

A courtyard photo off of State Street (above) and a door/window photo from the courthouse (below). What trip of mine would be complete without pictures of courtyards and doors?

I took lots more lovely photos. I'll post them on flickr under (hopefully) an album called Santa Barbara. See flickr post a few days ago for the link.

Ooh, and before I forget.... I must mention the amazing restaurant Olio e Limone. If you go to SB make sure to eat there. You won't be disappointed. I promise.

This is NOT lovely

My dog just ate my eyeglasses. Yup, "The Glasses" the pair from Paris, the Francis Klein's. He literally chewed off part of one side and popped out the left lens (I caught him eating the lens...if I wasn't so attached to him I just might have let him eat the whole thing!). Fenway has a penchant for glasses. Why can't he just go for socks or unmentionables? This isn't the first time he tried to get them...previously I saved them in just the nick of time. Husband used his dental tools to smooth out the part he chewed.....I was so relieved. Thank goodness I'll be back in Paris this fall to visit the boutique for a replacement pair. Double dang. I just checked their web site and they don't have my frames anymore. But hey, it's OK, we're getting a super good laugh out of me just popping in a left contact lens and acting like all's good. Hmmmm....incredibly funny for now, but a new pair is in my future.

Flickr test run

Thinking, hoping, crossing my fingers this will work. http://www.flickr.com/photos/30611376@N07/

If it doesn't, disregard and I'll try again.

If it does, then click on the link to see photos of Amsterdam and Cologne, general Summer fun, and DisneyWorld, and maybe (? photos keep popping up from iphoto onto flickr) Boston May 09. They're all a jumble (still working that part out), but I am sure you can decode what photos are from where.

Lots to share in our lovely world. I hope everyone is enjoying their Summer days as much as we are.

Our little jewel box is for sale!

It's a bittersweet moment.   My little jewel box is on the market.  While I never thought this day would happen, and all this change came out of nowhere like a train wreck (although, maybe I should use a better metaphor because it's all good).  This is the place where I walked in 11 years ago and "got the feeling."  You know, the one you can't explain, but hangs on and you know it's right?  We lived here, made it lovely, had our child, moved out, gutted it, and made it into the lovely jewel box it is.  I only hope whoever is lucky enough to get it knows the joy this place holds for them.  Dang!  I finally got the kitchen garden out front and my front door......oh, it's so beautiful (people ask about it all the time).  If no one buys it this summer, then I get to keep it!  At least while we gut and remodel the beast we bought 2 doors down.  It'll be a masterpiece: I think I'll coin it "magnum opus."  Gosh, we have vision to take it on.  It's stucco (the good kind!) has a backyard that will drop jaws once we get our hands on it, what husband affectionately calls a "man cave" (not to mention a two car garage!) and hooray for me....a fireplace in the dining room/library (so cozy).

Yeah, I know, those pictures are not my finest, but I felt compelled to post a front door and kitchen garden photo since I mentioned them.

Countdown to Hong Kong:  3 more weeks.  Fun HK fact:  we'll get our temperatures taken upon arrival!   This is going to be a fascinating trip.....especially after all I've been reading.