All cleaned up and ready for trees!

This is the west side of our house. The vinyl fence belongs to the house next door. It has just been sold to a couple from Santa Barbara. I SO hope they will tear down that fence and replace it with a wood one!



Pretty new trees planted and growing.

garden and flowers update

Our garden is growing! And yes that is large size hail on the edge of the deck to the right of the garden. That was our weather this morning.

Our first pepper!

Our first strawberry!

Beautiful flowers are growing all over our backyard.

Main Floor Bathroom - before

Only 1 picture. The room is too small for more. I'm having a difficult time deciding what the best plan is for this room. I do know that I want to use the hardwood flooring that we bought for the kitchen (and didn't use because we found original wood floors). Travertine or tile around the bath? I want to keep the original tub. Granite or tile on the countertop? We'd love to replace the entire cabinet but there isn't much room for improvement. Literally, not much room! We may just reface the cabinet. What do you think?

Kitchen-before and almost finished

Almost finished -just some trim work to complete. Oh, and a cabinet that goes above the refrigerator. Notice our beautiful new counter-depth refrigerator. Not easy to find bisque color anymore. And finding a refrigerator that would fit in our space was also a struggle. We did it!

And a couple of doors still to be put up (in the middle, up top) after I finish painting them. Guess it's not exactly "almost finished"!

Our beautiful original douglas fir floor! It was quite a surprise to find underneath a few layers of flooring. The rug is temporary, just until I find the perfect one. And we're still finishing some of the molding around the floor. Our challenge is trying to match the original molding in the house.


Before

Before

Thanks Ryan & Kevin! I love my Mother's Day garden

Mama does Manhattan

Who has more fun than we do?!


Here are just a few pictures to tease.


Amtrak between Union Station (Chicago) and Penn Station (NYC)



A warm and beautiful stroll through Central Park with the girls



Tulips everywhere!



Billy took Mom around and shared the World Trade Center experience with her. Thank you Bill.

Spring Break at the Ranch '08

This spring break visit started on Saturday evening with a puzzle. It was a reckless decision. This puzzle was in the house. What if pieces were missing? It was a crazy difficult puzzle that took us until the last evening to complete. No missing pieces!


And the first walk on the bluffs. I am happy here!


The perfect spot.



Ry, bring your bicycle!


Is it possible that this is our first and only picture of the white barn? It is.


My handsome man


Where's Waldo? Oh, I mean Leilani. You'll have to ask her about the deer trails! Thank you for coming up to see us, and the deer.


Thanks Julie and Phil it was so nice to see you.


Our house


the hillbilly hammock


playing with my camera to get a sunset shot


The prince and princess in their spots. And Shannon in his.


It's time for puzzle # 2. Because one at a time is just not enough for these two crazy kids! Thanks Tara for riding your bicycle on the hills with one arm holding this very large puzzle so that we could have such fun. Where is that dancing cowboy?


Leilani, hoping that her new knee does the job.


These are my favorite pictures. My family climbing around tide pooling. I love you all so much!


Another creative effort.


Kev, and his cat Claire.


a boy and his dog


caught in the act


our neighbors - Taxi loves when they visit.


Keath and Bianca. Thanks for letting me take the second shot. This one is great and I love your smiles. Thanks for making the drive up. We loved having time with you.


Queen of the world!


Ryan's artistic effort with the camera.


Another puzzle completed.


Boys...


Our daredevil...you'll have to ask him for the details.

Chris' doll

I'm very proud of this doll.

for Tara, Ryan & Shannon

How cute are they? But they miss their kids!