Willow Grace

today's giggle

2009-07-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

Album for an Anniversary

2009-07-01T23:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, I mentioned that my local paper arts store hosts a monthly challenge where they give you a starting piece and you bring it back on the 1st Wednesday of the month completed and you get the next month's project free.

Our June project started with 2 red "bracket" covers:My SIL and BIL have been heavy on my mind lately so I decided to make this album for them.

My SIL has been in ICU since the end of May. She's getting better, but it's a very slow and long road. They were suppose to come to California this month to celebrate their 2rd anniversary. They got married on 7/07/07 at 7pm. It was a beautiful wedding and Jimmy and I were honored to attend. If you wouldn't mind adding a little prayer in your daily routine for her, I'd greatly appreciate it. And go ahead and give your loved ones an extra kissy-kissy while you're at it, too. <3
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Front Bedroom update

2009-06-26T01:52:00.000-07:00

The front bedroom remodel is nearly done! We're excited and happy with how it turned out. Please ignore the carpet, we're putting new carpet throughout the bottom floor once all the construction work is done. So it'll have to look like this for several more months. But as you'll see, once we put the beds in there, it'll barely be noticeable.

It wasn't that long ago, so you probably remember that before destruction, it looked like this:

and during the process, it looked like this:
It used to be our bedroom. But it'll be the new guest bedroom.Removing the closets made room for the 2 queen beds. The walls have been textured and primered, but we still need to paint. That's why the beds are in the middle of the room. You can't see the texture in the photos, but we're happy with how it turned out. We went with B since it was the one we both liked.

We're heading up again this weekend, hoping to meet with the engineer regarding permits for the deck. That's the next project on the list.

I'm sure we'll be able to get a bit of riding in, too. :)
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Jimmy got a new toy

2009-06-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

and by Jimmy, i really kinda mean we. Because I'll enjoy the heck out of it just as much as he will.
Here's Jimmy backing it off the trailer for the 1st time. We headed up the mountain for our first ride, near Eagle Meadow. We've been up there before in the car and knew the dirt road would be more suitable in the Rhino.

Our 1st water crossing at Long Valley Creek. and my fist youtube vid.

A stop to enjoy the view of Three Chimneys in the far background.

He went out again on Monday with the neighbors. I wasn't feeling well, so I decided to sit this one out.The cool thing is that one of the neighbors is a retired Forest Service employee so he knows the forest like the back of his hand. He took them by a grove of pine trees that he had planted over 40 years ago when the area was burned in a forest fire in the early 60s. They also rode on a trail that was covered with wild lilacs.
I hope Jimmy can remember how to get back there so he can show me, too.
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I Made My 1st Quilt!

2009-06-19T01:27:00.000-07:00

Last fall, I was browsing in a quilt store near our hideaway and saw a super cute baby quilt made of flannel. I asked about it and they said it was a rag edge quilt.

I was intimidated because all I'd even sewn were a couple of pillow cases and some pot holders. But I have a friend who is an advanced quilter extraordinaire and I asked her about it.

Turns out that she's known for her hand-dyed rag edge quilts, (JB, sorry if i got all the terminology wrong, newbie sewer/quilter here bound to make major faux pas). In fact, several years ago she had made a quilt for a mutual friend at the time, but I had no idea it was a rag edge quilt. I'm oblivious like that till I become obsessed with the craft myself. Kinda like wall texture.

Anyhoo, in January or February I told JB that I'd try a rag edge quilt in the spring. I thought that if I said it out loud and someone was listening, I might actually keep my resolution. I donno why I thought this because it's never worked in the past. But this time it did! She helped me every step of the way and I got so excited about it, I finished it within 2 nights. I just need to wash it so the rag edges become more raggy and not look so stiff.

The finished size is for a baby's blanket. Here it is on our king sized bed.

This is the back of the quilt. No rag edges. For those not familiar with rag edge quilts, the rags are just on one side.

I'm officially obsessed. I'll be making a lot more of these. I just need occasions to make them.
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A Better View

2009-06-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

So after watching the sunset at the San Leandro Marina, Jimmy surprised me by actually going into the city. We got ice cream at Ghirardelli Square, got it to-go and watched the cable cars line up at Hyde Street, listened to the street performer play Pearl Jam and Pink Floyd songs and watched the people enjoying their drinks at the Buena Vista. Then we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge to Fort Baker get this cool view of one of the most photographed structures in the world.
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How 'bout now?

2009-06-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

Maybe that other photo was too dark...can you find the Golden Gate Bridge in this one?
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Flying off into the sunset

2009-06-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight for dinner, I made some sandwiches and we headed to the San Leandro Marina to watch the sunset. Stunning views of the San Francisco Bay, planes leaving Oakland airport, and the San Francisco skyline.

Can you spot the Golden Gate Bridge?
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I needed this day!

2009-06-11T23:43:00.000-07:00

Zonkers! What a great day today was. Needed uplifting and I couldn't have asked for a better day. I love my family and friends.This morning I went to the Chancey Twins year-end kindergarten performance. I love these things. I'm like this crazy stalker Auntie. Now now, don't get all freaked that I'm showing up uninvited to random events, camera in tow...I am invited! So stalker probably doesn't apply. And wow, if you saw how many cameras and video recorders there were, I certainly did not look out of place with my stalker camera around my neck. It was a lot of fun and I can't believe they are going into the 1st grade.

I left a little early because I had to buy some fresh eggs for some zucchini bread I meant to bake the night before. But when I pulled the carton of eggs out of the fridge, the date on it was April 10th. I'm taking a poll...the date is a "sell by date". Would you have used them?

My mom was famous (as famous as you can get in that hick desert town) for her zucchini bread. And my cousin from Washington arrived today for a long weekend visit! So I wanted to make some for her and her family. I remembered the vanilla this time.

While I was baking, my brother-in-law Eric, who just moved back to Southern California from NYC, came over for a few minutes after having lunch with Jimmy. We chatted for just a few minutes before he had to hit the road to Morro Bay to have dinner w/ his and Jimmy's sister. Whirlwind.

Cousin and family are staying in a hotel about 1/2 a hour away. So after Eric left and Jimmy wrapped up some stuff for work, we hit the road, warm zucchini bread in hand, and headed up the peninsula to meet them for dinner. I'm just thrilled that I get to see them again and so soon since I just visited them in Seattle 5 weeks ago.

Today just filled my heart. I'm so blessed to have wonderful people who surround me. There's still big concerns gnawing at us, so it makes me that much more grateful for today's events w/ my friends and family.
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Wall Texture?

2009-06-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

Have any of you spent 2 seconds thinking about the texture on your walls? I haven't till recently. Take a look at your walls...do you like the texture?

We're in San Jose now and yes, I like the texture of the walls in our duplex. But that doesn't help us, because it isn't one of our 4 choices.
Which would you chose?

Jimmy likes B or C.
I like A or B.

We would greatly appreciate your opinion. Please, even lurking friends or family?
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A Desert Tour

2009-06-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

If you watched the video in my previous post, you might need a more in depth and personal tour of the desert to understand what the high desert could have brought the Olympic community. Oh no, it's not the glorious golf courses, fine dining and mega bucks shopping of Palm Springs. It's that vast, endless desert between San Bernardino and Las Vegas.

So I thought I'd share with you some of my "favorite" sights of the Southern California Desert.

This is Zuni Road. See that small cluster of homes on the left? There are 3 houses there. Until I left for college, I lived in 2 of those 3 homes. Isolation is a part of desert living and I certainly got my credentials in it.

The desert landscape and those who inhibit it tend to have a certain persona.As strange as these dinosaur sculptures are, they seem to fit in this environment.

Or maybe I just watched too much Land of the Lost when I was little so I've convinced myself that it's acceptable.

Every now and then, you'll actually catch sight of a pretty cool looking Joshua Tree. But they're few and far between.

More often than not, you get amazing junkyard views.

Or homes ready to be remodeled.

Sometimes I wonder why we ever left. I mean...why would we choose this:

Over this?

Riddle me that, Batman.
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I joke about the desert a lot. Really, it's very easy to mock. As you can see. But if it weren't for that small desert town I grew up in, I wouldn't have some of the most important people who stand by my side.

Barstow so easily mockable

2009-06-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'm shocked that beautiful Barstow didn't win the Olympic approval. I grew up just 1/2 a hour from here and can understand the attraction.
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Peelings

2009-06-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

posting this because it cracks me up and i need to be cracked up right now.

There's a funny relatable story about this video. Aside from the comedy regarding the Filipino accents. But about Vicks. I swear to you, my mom thought it was the cure all for everything. I didn't realize it was cultural till I saw this video. I wonder why Filipinos think that Vicks is the magic cure? Anyhoo...this one time...at band camp...(sorry, i couldn't resist)...jimmy and I were having dinner with my mom at her house. He had a scratch on his leg and my mom INSISTED that we put Vicks on it. At first, Jimmy and I were saying, "no no, it's ok. it'll be fine." But she wouldn't let up on the Vicks. So I finally said "ok" and pretended to put Vicks on his wound. Now, jimmy and I use that as our secret code to "Vicks it" whenever we're in a losing battle and we just need to stop the madness.
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discombobulated

2009-06-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

the video card in my mac died. it's getting fixed, but I've already gone w/o it for 5 days. thankfully, jimmy still has his old dell laptop for me to use, but i'm lost w/o my photos and photoshop and the programs i use. at least i have internet connection and can check my email. but i still feel discombobulated w/o my computer w/ my settings. I haven't been very present on the internets lately because of this. But this is the least of my concerns tonight.

I've been in limbo all week because I'm assigned for jury duty. I had to call in every day at 11a and 5p and finally got picked to appear today. I have to go back tomorrow for final jury selections. But it's been kinda interesting, actually.

other than that, i'm feeling sad tonight. Some very un-good health news coming from family. Also, a long-time close friend of ours got his pink slip. I'm on the verge of bawling.

This is not my typical post.
I may find myself living with an inferior computer.
I may find myself behind the desk in a judgment chair.
I may find myself praying for my beautiful family and my beautiful friends.
And I may ask myself-
Well. How did I get here?
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Play Day

2009-05-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

Jimmy rarely takes control of the camera, but when he does, he so easily captures great, creative shots.

These were all shot by him today:

I stayed in the car. It was freezing out there. But don't you worry, I had my little camera ready, too:

How could I resist. :)

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Storm Chasers

2009-05-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

When the weather is hot in the central valley and cool up in the mountain tops, sometimes it creates volatile weather patterns. Which we happen to love. We love listening to and watching thunder storms. So when we heard the thunder at our hideaway, we drove up the mountain to find more...or as Jimmy put it "Wash the car".We only found a bit of rain but no thunder or lightning. But this lake, which is normally over flowing with people in the summertime, was deserted aside from another couple walking along the lake shore.

The rivers were raging, full from the snowmelt. That's what fills the lake. Even in the middle of the summer, the water is chilly.

Purple lilacs near the river.

Do you like thunder storms or do they freak you out?
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we have liftoff

2009-05-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

We got to the cabin last night and were happy to see that work has started on the remodel.
This is the easiest part of what we are having done, just tearing out a closet and bookshelves in the front bedroom.It will become the guest bedroom and the closet space would be better used for beds. There will also be enough room for a couch or recliner near the window.
There'll still be enough floor place to throw bags and belongings.Plus we're gonna put a little hatch that goes down to the crawlspace under the carpeting in this corner.

We're here for the week, our staycation. We have to meet with the powers-that-be regarding permits for the deck and such. This will be the longest we've spent here w/o company. Jimmy's got a lot of electrical projects that'll keep him busy, but I stay clear of those unless he needs an extra pair of hands. If I get restless, I might go down the hill into Jamestown for some window and antique shopping. I also brought my scanner and old photos to work on. Plus I'm reading 2 books, "Marley and Me" and "It Sucked and Then I Cried". Hopefully we'll get a couple of play days together - boating if it's warm enough, or a trip into Yosemite.
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Nom 4 fud

2009-05-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

got a couple of minutes to waste completely?

see more Lolcats and funny pictures
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Spring cleaning? I'm not sure about that.

2009-05-20T00:28:00.000-07:00

My blog posts have been lacking content lately. Sure, I can take a good photo of flowers, but there's more going on than snapping spring pretty.

But what's been keeping us busy would probably be considered the top 10 most boring things to blog about. So I've tried to spare you till now. Because lack of content has to be more boring that blogging about home improvement. So onward to the home improvement snorage. You've been warned, and I won't be offended if you chose to leave now.Sir James has been the master of little miscellaneous home improvements. It's awesome. He's replaced a bunch of broken things, changing the flood lights and more to compact florescent, wacked weeds and burned pine needles. Me? I'm allergic to everything in the forest so I eat bonbons and watch Maury Povich. I kid. Maybe. You decide.

This winter, we noticed this little guy hanging out on our bathroom window screen a lot. We assumed that he could feel the heat of the house through the window so that's why he was there so often. Last weekend when we saw him again, I ran outside w/ my camera to capture another photo of him.
Except I scared him and he ran into a little hole in the side of our home:
Can't see it very well? Here's a closer view:
JOY.
We have a tenant living in our walls.
Our very own little squatter.
Who will be evicted next week.
Too bad. So sad. Find a nearby tree that'll be suitable. There are hundreds of them.
Actually, we think he might have taken residence within our walls when we had to chop down 8 trees last fall. He was probably thinking, "take down my home, I'll take over yours." Touche Mr. Squirrel, but we do not want to cohabitate.

The motivation behind Jimmy's small home improvements is a much grander project where we're actually tearing down walls, adding a new bathroom, rebuilding the deck and moving the staircase. Our contractor should be able to start working on it "soon". BTW, "soon" by contractor language is different from "soon" by regular language. Luckily, we are patient and we don't live here full-time. The 1st thing he's going to do is tear out the closets in the master bedroom.So we spent this past weekend moving out of that bedroom...

and into the other:which will also take a transformation during the remodel and will become the new master bedroom when all is said and done. Yes, that is my Powerpuff Girls pillow. No, I didn't wallpaper this room, it was like that when we bought it. Yes, I'm looking forward to the removal of it.

Lastly, we have helmets:Not for home improvement safety. Oh no. Something much more exciting. We have helmets to protect our skulls from injury, but we don't have anything to cause the injury...yet. We are hoping to acquire a new 'vehicle' in the very near future.
Here are a couple of hints:

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I am the Moon

2009-05-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

No Doubt About It

2009-05-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

spring is here.
and the brown grass means summer isn't far behind.
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Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T00:08:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the women who have touched the hearts of children.
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Azaleas

2009-05-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

Ya know the most ironic thing about my trip to Seattle? The weather was beautiful except for 1 day when it rained for just a couple of hours. At home in the Bay Area, it rained 3 days. Funny, huh?

I took these photos at the beautiful Bellevue Botanical Garden, just east of Seattle.
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I hope she will forgive me

2009-05-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

My cousin is shy. So I hope she doesn't mind me posting this pic of her when she was little. She's probably not quite 2 years old in this pic, which means I'm 9 in this pic.

But the reason I'm posting this pic, is that I'm just so happy that she's my family. Because aside from Jimmy's family, she is my FAMILY. We're not even true cousins, but it doesn't matter because she is much more like my sister than a cousin. And seeing how she's raising her own family now with her amazing husband who I also love to pieces, just makes me swell with pride that I can't keep it to myself. I love the girl. I love the woman and mother she's become.

And I loved that horse sweater so very very much.
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MIA and how can it already be May?

2009-05-04T23:44:00.000-07:00

I was in Seattle for 5 days. I went to visit my cousin, her newest baby girl and spend some quality time w/ her 3 year old son. I had such an amazing time. While it was so amazing meeting my newest niece, hanging out w/ that boy was the best thing ever. He is so full of personality and spirit, he just melted my heart to a great big puddle of goo.
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