LIFE'S CELEBRATIONS

I wonder if I'm ever gong to keep up with real time around here!  Every time I'm away or take photos at an event I think, I've got to put this on my blog and I'm going to do it immediately…and then a month or more goes by….geez!

So here we are catching up again.

We went off and had our first anniversary a couple weeks ago..as you are aware.  We drove up to Tahoe and followed the backroads…it took double the time, but was well worth it.  We stopped in the little old mining town of Jackson and ate lunch in a park.  We sat under a big tree next to an old school house, then drove the backroads through the high sierra's past several lakes…it was a spectacular drive.

Then we arrived at our destination…Tahoe!!  It's like home away from home to us…and we CHILLED in a really big way.  Did basically nothing but sit and stare at the lake…three of them to be exact.  And yes, there is a black smudge on the lens…could not remove it for my life!  In the meantime I'm working on perfecting the "selfie"…as you can see, I haven't gotten very far with that yet!

Dinner with friends with a perfect sky and the afternoon at Fallen Leaf Lake, which is my favorite place in the world…although Ray has turned me on to Meeks Bay, which is where we spent our last afternoon and I almost began to cry when we had to leave…odd looking ducks swimming by and of course the little critters aren't afraid of any of us anymore…one walked right up to me assuming I'd feed him, which I wouldn't…wild animals aren't meant to eat salty human food…..and then there's my sexy husband…not bad for an old man, ha!…..we had just magnificent days!

This is the general store that was used by
Meg Ryan in the movie City of Angels…
still a very cool spot to hang.

                       

                            

Too bad for these folks..huh?!

Then we drove off the northern route towards Grass Valley and Nevada City to Yuba City where my brother and his wife live and spent the weekend with them….had a BLAST!  They have a super lovely home and an amazing guest bed by the way…beyond comfortable.  We tooled around Nevada City and took in the unique sites.  An old mining town again, this one is where the gold rush hung…so loads of crystals and gems and a little museum to check out just how involved the mining went…and deep, holy cow!  They had a model set up to show the depths…no thx!  One store had black rocks as the floor, it was incredible, really, you needed to see it in person, so unique and cool.  We ate and had fun.  Went to a party at a neighbors and everyone had their vintage cars….my brother is in the process of restoring his new little beauty, a 70 something Spitfire.

Solid loose black rocks floor…awesome!

I simply love traveling with this guy..
we are so good together!

Someone took Barbie for a ride on the back
of their motorcycle…
looks like she had a good time!

thats my tribe ahead..my brother Justin,
his wife Holly and of course my guy
and it was….good times! (couldn't resist!)

my kind of sofa…loved it!

beautiful country side

I came home to a load of tomatoes from my garden and got right to work…here's the harvest and the results! (actually I just realized I haven't taken any photos of the results yet, so there, something else to share in a couple of days…don't hold me to it!) And the other photos are of our Labor Day lunch here with a couple friends…forgot to share in the beginning…and the last photo is from my day bed in my den/library where I work everyday…it looked so inviting and beautiful I had to snap a photo and share….hope you enjoyed our celebrations of life and that you had plenty of your own this past summer season.

Several different varieties…Yellow Voi,
Yellow Brandywine, Purple Cherokee,
Paul Calabash, Juliet, Beefsteak.  I canned
them all…made some tomato soup
last night that was out of this world!

My fig tree is Rockin!!
Can't wait to make some jam!

Tomatillo's

my cute sweet son!

this was the BEST lemon meringue pie
 I have EVER made, bar none!!

my first time actually having pumpkins
show up..yay!!

                                   

also my first meyer lemons ever!!

   

Mucho love to all my besties and I do hope you all had a terrific summer…it's officially Autumn now, my favorite season…yay!  Loving the cooler days already.  Canning, making jams, and dog food, getting ready to dehydrate some treats for them as well.  Making my sourdough starter to gear up to bake breads and continue with my monthly sauerkraut and kombucha….simply enjoying being a farm to table kind of gal…fresh chicken eggs, etc…am loving life here in the foothills of Santa Cruz…love to you all..xoxo juner

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY...

One year ago today….it was a Spectacular day then…it's a Spectacular day today!!  We're wishing each other happy anniversary every hour on the hour…we're off to celebrate..YAY for us!!

Here's to all my besties who are in love and know what this means…and to those who are finding themselves single at the moment…you're time is going to come…look at me, I'm the perfect example that love can find you at any age…yay!  xoxo  juner

DAHLIAS, A 70th, A 95th, A PAINTED HOUSE AND BEGONIAS

So once again we're here to play catch up.  If your summer has been anything like mine than you will excuse my tardiness at getting things out to you.  So here's where we will begin.  A garden….

My Dahlias went off again.  The Roses, the Succulents…all of it, beautiful…oh, and the Begonias!!  But let's just start with the Dahlias...

This is ten inches across!!

Next we have a 70th Birthday for my dear friend Harold…yes, he had dancing girls…the band was rockin, the pool was green but the volley ball game marched on….we had a perfect day!

And biggest of all…Julius Schneider turned 95!!  Family from Colorado, San Diego, Elks Grove and Santa Clara…all here at the house…horseshoes, old friends, food, beer, cake...fun, fun, fun!

Three Brothers Together!

The Birthday Boy!

preview of house paint…look how all the colors
stand out around it…yay!

Now comes House…in case you didn't notice in one of the above photos..I'm painting the house…all by hand…yes, by hand.  I'm doing a washed out terra cotta and changing the green windows to black, keeping the dark grey/green casings, only because the wood beneath is pine or I would have striped them all and left them raw wood…bummer on that because the raw wood is what really made the French feeling even more authentic (there's some in the railings and the bottom sash of the windows)..although it saves me time in work.  The black with the dark gr/grey really lend to the old French look, keeping it out of the Mediterranean feel…it looks brighter in these photos, it's really not so saturated in color, very subtle and soothing, definitely not so orange.  It will take me a year to finish, but who cares, I'll just work my way around the house till it's done.  You can see the faded grey stucco on the upper level for reference…BIG change…we're so excited!  It makes all the green plants and colors of the flowers just pop!  And I took down the big long drapes in the living room, I needed a change…more importantly I needed the light to come in.  I  decided to hang some vintage lace table clothes that I dyed, again, keeping with the old French feel…it's lovely.

Can't wait to paint this ceiling some day…so bright!

And last but not least…the Begonias…Damn, they're simply magnificent!!

Actually, this background of the house color looks
more accurate color wise.  Everything just shows
up against it…it's awesome!

So hope your summer isn't breezing by too quickly and you're enjoying your time with your family and friends...we are.  Mucho love to all my besties!!  xo juner