Carmel

 

I went to Carmel for a few days last week

to drop off some of my painted furniture at a gallery in Carmel Valley Village--

 

 

a table full of color,

a child's chair, 

and a chest

 

 

with octopus.

 

Lea met me there.  So comfy on this wicker furniture that she bought the whole set and will (somehow) send it all to their Maine summer house.

.

 

 

Then on to the mid-Eastern boot store

 

 

 

and a late afternoon walk on the beach.

Carmel is lovely--and fun for Lea and I to explore it together.

 

 

 

 

 

Birthdays:

Maddie's 9th!

Simon's 6th!

Maddie's:

 

celebrated on the 22nd--by a visit to Chuck E Cheese 

where the kids amassed a huge number of tickets playing the arcade games

that Sam fed into a machine which gave out a receipt for some kind of (very) small gift at the end.

 

Then the making of a minty-chocolatey cake which was yummy.

And, finally--the celebration!

And, on the other side of the world, our Simon celebrated his 6th birthday four days earlier (well--three days earlier in their time) .

 

a few toys

 

and a birthday lunch.

 

Green?  Maybe because it was St. Patrick's Day here. 

Congrats to my getting-older grand kids!

Spring Cleaning

 

Here's the tedious cleaning part--plus income tax prep:

 

Here's the gorgeous spring part:

 

 

 

Poppies and Lavender,

 

 

 

 

Lemon Blossoms,

 

 

 

 

Jasmine!

Museums and Visitors

 Visitors first...

  

Wyatt Berrier and his co-workers who are participating in a Chain Saw Internship in the forests outside of Santa Barbara came to LA for the International Women's March.

They pitched their tents and camped out in our back yard. 

Hardy (and very sweet) crew!

Next, a visit to LACMA (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art) with Jess' mom Amelia and Suzanne Siegel.  Fun get-together and fabulous museum.

An Indian chest I particularly like there--that orangy-rose color!

Toby still has that twinkle in his eye

 

as he had a few years ago:

 

And, for those wondering about our New Zealand crew,

it's getting into winter there and the Panama contingent are feeling the cold!

Georgia!!

 

Great trip to the Atlanta area to visit Chris and Francie, meet up with Linda and Jeff.

 

This lovely Gibbs Garden--

 

 

filled with millions of blooming daffodils.

 

 

 

Riding the tram,

 

 

 

mugging for the camera.

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous branches.

 

 

 

Dinner that night with the Peakes:  Caroline, Emily, Sara Cate and Whitney with Auntie Lou.

 

 

 

Rings on Sara Cate's fingers. 

 

 

 

At the Speers' cozy cabin in the mountains.

 

 

 

 

Better than brownies?  Licking the spoons.

Fun, fun visit. Thank you all!

 

Last Week

 

Lea came to visit--

 

 

 

Very silly selfie.

 

 

 

Walking back from Maddie and Max's school.

 

Toby in van on the way to a neurology appointment.  He loves these rides--the bumpier, the better!

 

Showing Toby domino tricks at his board and care.  Sam videoed the chain reaction when they all fell down.

 

A cool mural sent by the folks in New Zealand.

Taking Maddie Shopping...

 

to Michael's, the candy store for crafters.

 

 

Things that were enticing

 

 

 

 

but beyond her budget.

 

 

 

Maybe for her birthday?

 

 

 

 

So we took photos

 

 

 

 

of everything she liked

 

 

 

which was a lot. 

 

 

 

 

After that, we went to Planned Parenthood to volunteer making posters for their upcoming demonstration.  Maddie's was, well, quite pointed.

 

 

And two days later, Maddie was awarded "Student of the Month" for her class.  

Congrats to a busy lady! 

 

And a whole bunch of smiles from our New Zealand clan!