May - 2021

May 31, 2021
2 min

Our Mountain Cabin Kitchen! ( And a Rotary Dial Phone! )

What a weekend! We drove up to our Sequoia Mountain Cabin (a 6 hour drive!) and then spent the weekend cleaning both inside and out! Moving into the cabin for any visit (not just opening weekend) always includes unpacking the truck, which is no small feat. We have to bring all of our food up, all the linen we will use, clothing, and lots of tools for any exigencies that might arise. Just on day one, Robert fixed the propane problem, opened the water system, started the water

May 27, 2021
1 min

Adirondack Chairs for the Wee Ones!

The week after I ordered these darling chairs online, I went to Target for the first time since we have been vaccinated and felt comfortable shopping. Of course, Target had red kiddie patio chairs. Now, they're not quite as cute, or as red, or as little. BUT they were WAAAAY cheaper. I'm trying to make myself feel better because the two chairs came with a little table (that I have to put together!) So that's a plus but still... I'm not going to worry about it, though. It's ex

May 26, 2021
1 min

Almost There! Bounty in the Veg Garden!

My veg garden this year is making me feel like I don't have enough of a veg garden. What's the point of ONE kale plant? Or a few onions? Or ONE potato plant? Or even a half dozen corn stalks? It's a lot of fun, and a terrific hobby. BUT there's no way to truly feed the family off the meager haul from a veg garden as small as mine. I would have to do something drastic to make the backyard a true victory garden. Here's my idea. Fill in the pool. Fill in the pool and have a the

May 25, 2021
1 min

Babysitting Abby!

Phew. What a day! The morning was final cleaning of Jackie and Matt's apartment while I babysat Abby, then a quick clean of our lodgings in Berkeley (such a beautiful Airbnb), and then packing the cars and driving the 6+ hours south to Los Angeles! Abby was a trooper. She was dear throughout the day, even though everything was unfamiliar, even her babysitter! She's a pandemic baby, so because of quarantine, she really hasn't been out much, and has interacted with very few pe

May 24, 2021
1 min

Unusual Beauties in My Garden

It's a late night - so this will be short! We are wrapping up the packing for Jackie and Matt, and it's been a long day! The things that I am showing in my garden today make me particularly happy because they surprised me! Several of them were quarantine purchases that I just kept planting in the ground in the hopes that they would grow, despite their penchant for trying to head out! I'm particularly excited about the Bonfire Euphorbia. I think I mentioned before that I purch

May 23, 2021
2 min

A Tour of My Linen Collection!

I really enjoy setting a beautiful table. And I think that lovely linens are always a part of that. But I don't think that many young people these days agree with me. This week I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and there were almost no tablecloths to be found, absolutely no cloth napkins, and very few placemats. I think that entertaining is evolving and that's ok. New generations prefer their own style, and practicality these days often wins out over ornament. Also ok. But for m

May 20, 2021
1 min

Abby's Coming!

It's really exciting to be anticipating the arrival of my daughter Jackie and her little family. But it's exhausting! We want their stay with us to be comfortable and happy -- and to feel like home. So, we've spent the last month working on the guest house...and it's ready! We could always do more...but Jackie and Matt won't be living with us permanently -- and it will eventually turn back into a guest house! Our guest house is a very snug little place, and just steps away fr

May 19, 2021
1 min

Strawberries in the Tower Garden!!

This is a crazy pants picture of me. I should be able to change these thumbnails. But oh well. I'll figure it out eventually. It's been pretty mild weather here in SoCal, June gloom a little early. So the Tower Garden is doing quite well. There's only one little plant that's still a little droopy . The strawberries that I planted yesterday actually have not had any trouble at all. They are thriving today and haven't wilted. Could be first timer's success! I've been gardening

May 18, 2021
2 min

Hollyhocks and Sunflowers!

Spring is busting out all over! My random planting is going to catch up with me. Meaning, that I plant whoever I feel like it in the garden without much of a plan! I try to leave space for plants when they are little, knowing that they will grow bigger -- but sometimes I just don't calculate properly. Hollyhocks are a case in point. Last year the Hollyhocks were much more tame. There were fewer branches, fewer flowers, just less all around. This year, yikes! But honestly I do

May 17, 2021
1 min

Summer Tower Garden!

The Tower Garden was a resounding success last fall/winter. Every single plant in the little pockets thrived. Not one died. And I was able to use all of them, all the time. I used the lettuce for salads, & the chives for seasoning and toppings. I sautéed the spinach, and was amazed by the celery! There was great abundance, and we enjoyed it all season. Perhaps the greatest boon, however, was just how the Tower Garden looked! It was a lush, green forest of veg, required almost

May 16, 2021
1 min

Out of Quarantine...and Mall-ing it!

Big weekend! I know it may sound shallow of me. And I'm a little hesitant to admit it. But my girls grew up at malls. I know that some people are shopping averse. And, in fact, not all of my girls uniformly appreciate shopping the way I do -- but nonetheless, I know that they would agree -- we've had some of our favorite times shopping at the mall. We were off to the mall for lots of reasons...graduation dresses, prom dresses, hiking boots, school shopping...and of course Chr

May 13, 2021
1 min

Liberation! (Or Jill Cries at Gelson's!)

I didn't expect to be so emotional! I don't know exactly why that happened. I think my grocery store experience reminded me so clearly of all that we had been through, all that we had overcome, and all that we had missed. Or maybe I really do feel that strongly about choosing my own produce! Whatever the case, they were happy tears. We walked down every aisle to take stock of what was the same and what was different. There were still some surprising bare shelves, in the paper

May 12, 2021
2 min

A New Life

Tomorrow begins a new life for Robert and me. We are double vaccinated, and it will be two weeks since our second vaccination - so we're fully cooked. While we will still be very careful, wear masks, and avoid large, close crowds -- we do plan to change our behavior -- and enjoy a little more freedom. It feels hard to believe. Over a year in our home, without grocery shopping, drugstore visits, or restaurant dinners at swanky eateries, or neighborhood diners. And so it begins

May 10, 2021
1 min

Late Spring Garden Tour...Before the First Blush Fades

So lucious. The colors, the tall spires, the sprawling green leaves. Just everything about my spring garden makes me happy. It does require lots of tending. I probably spend about an hour or two each day in the garden, pruning off dead growth, weeding, and watering the dry spots. However, the plant I want to focus on today is the lupine. I have two kinds of lupine in my yard this year - and last year I had none! As I planted the bulbs last fall, there were lots of bare spots,

May 9, 2021
1 min

A Celebratory Weekend!

It was the first Mother's Day for my two oldest daughters...and my 36th! We started out the day with a Family Zoom party! It was lovely to be with all my daughters and granddaughters, such a blessing. Robert bought me two glass frames from Shutterfly of my two new granddaughters, and I put them on the credenza straight away! Our movie game was fun, created by my youngest daughter, Julia. We had serious discussions about the movie choices in each bracket! Some of them were re

May 6, 2021
1 min

Thank You Albert Pujols!

I'm writing this as I watch the game tonight. Hoping that we don't get swept by the Rays. It's been a rough patch for the Angels. But I'm not a fair weather fan. However, I must say that the way the Angels organization handled Albert's departure makes me question them. But you know, disappointments like this make me reevaluate what's important in life. This is baseball. This is just baseball. It's a game. There are so many more important things in life that matter to me. None

May 5, 2021
1 min

Tower Garden Refresh OR Jill Uses a Drill!

Busy day in the garden! Lots of hilarity. But ultimately a successful enterprise! I'm heading online to Atlantic Beach Urban Farms to buy my spring/summer tower garden seedlings. I'll need new rook wool, and maybe a few plastic pots too. That's the great thing about gardening. There's always something new on the horizon! Tomorrow I'm dashing to Armstrong's Nursery for some frontyard border plants! ( Have to put something in place of all those early spring bulb blooms!) Life i

May 4, 2021
2 min

Rose Review Part 2 !!

When I was 16, I decided I wanted to be a rose gardener. Perhaps a little odd, but my parents indulged me in most anything...and so, my dad took up the lawn in one corner of our tiny backyard, and prepared the soil for planting. I headed to the Jackson and Perkins rose catalogue (still fabulous today!) and mail ordered (no internet ordering then!) a half dozen bare root roses. I remember a few: Sterling Silver (a beautiful light lavender bloom), Mr. Lincoln, (a gorgeous, hard

May 3, 2021
2 min

Making Lemonade out of Lemons! (Or how to deal with an errant rose tree!)

Before I talk about my roses today (which I could talk about every day!) a few readers have asked for an update about my eye situation. Ergh. Here it is. Not last Thursday but the Thursday before I began having significant floaters in my eyes that I hadn't had before, and sort of grey spots in my field of vision in my right eye. I got nervous, so I went to the opthamologist. I was grateful that he squeezed me in at the very end of the day. They dilated my eyes, and gave me a

May 2, 2021
2 min

A Tour of the Berkeley City Club

We normally stay at an Airbnb when we visit Berkeley to see our granddaughter Abby and my daughter Jackie, and her husband. But this visit, our regular domicile was booked because it is graduation season! So, we opted for a hotel near the University, the Berkeley City Club, formerly, the Berkeley Women's City Club. What a lovely adventure this was. While the accommodations may have been plush for the 1920's, they were definitely quaint for the 21st century. But we didn't mind

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