You can fool the fans - but not the players.... John Cage

Hot days are project days around here

Yesterday I woke up grumpy and slightly depressed. The events of the last week at work and missing my family took its toll and I haven't been riding, my mare is lame.... its all too much. So I did what I do when faced with a weekend and not in the best frame of mind. I started hauling out the projects.

At least then, even if you stay grumpy all weekend, you've gotten some stuff out of the way and who knows? It might even turn things around.

But first things first - I had to go care for the mare.

I expected to see her doing better. Thursday she had been ridden and in the round pen prior to her ride, she's had an episode of high spirits and kicked out at the wall of the round pen. At least, that's the story I'm getting. I wasn't there but I don't have any reason to think that it didn't happen just like that. I've watched the team training Rhea right now and they are both great at handling horses, and they both really enjoy Rhea. Anyway, she nicked the outside of her left hind at the coronet band. She didn't show any sign of lameness, was ridden and was fine... then when I arrived several hours later she was obviously, definitely lame.

She got some Bute and a cold water soaking of that leg and I fully expected to be back on her in a couple of days. Friday she looked a little better, still lame but better. Cold water, no Bute. Saturday... swelling was back up, lame again.

 

Bute, more cold water, and,

 

an ice pack bandage. She took it very well, cracking us up as she spent a little time trying to kick it off, then settled down to eating, resigned. She took her bute very well yesterday too - as if she realized we were trying to help.

I'm heading there this morning to repeat everything and I hope to see some improvement, otherwise I'm going to take her in and make sure there's no splinter or infection going on tomorrow. She's my baby, she's my girl and she's got to be sound.

Back home as it started to heat up for the day I pulled out the rocking chair I've been working on forever - with the stuck-on blue paint that has resisted me each time I've tried to finish this project. I found the dremel with the brass brush worked well, but it wears the brush down very quickly. The whole thing is still a work in progress and it was too hot for sanding. I also pulled out the black wicker loveseat and table / footstool we bought at our neighbor's yardsale last summer. JC had done some necessary structural repair on the loveseat and it was ready for color.

 

I glued down loose wicker around the legs and a couple of other places before I started painting,

 

and set up my painting shop on a tarp in the shade. It was hot. The paint dried very quickly.

 

I just dry-brushed the wicker down first, to remove any debris or flaking paint, and used this Rust-oleum Ultra Cover spray paint, in slate blue, from our local Ace Hardware store.

 

It covered quickly and smoothly. I think I could use one more can to finish both pieces, but I was very happy with how easily and evenly it sprayed on.

 

You can see on the right side I didn't cover it as thickly - that's where the one more can would come in - to sweep across the whole back and tie it in. I wanted to get that shot of half painted, half original so this is all on me. These two pieces and this amount of coverage was 2 cans. 3 cans would be perfect,

 

but the whole thing is lookin' pretty good. A vast improvement.

 

On a roll, I looked over at our cocktail corner and spied the other black wicker chair. I had one more can of Ultra-cover - this one in aubergine. It looked good on the can.

 

Same thing, some gluing first, a good sweeping second and then the painting.

 

Hmmmmm, still not sure about this color. I'm going to live with it for a few days but it stands out now as the only piece of color in our cocktail corner. Either I need to paint another piece and introduce some more color, or I need to tone this one down. And find a new cushion.

 

What do YOU think?

A fish story - the beginning

The house came with a "water feature" and those of you who have been reading this blog for a while have already seen photos of what we started with and where we are now. It has ben an element of the back yard that's grown on me and, while still not without issues, has come a long way.

We started, three summers ago, with this:

 

Poured cement, pink tufa rock, a couple of planters... two pumps to circulate the water.

 

I got it going the first spring we were here and it leaked badly. The advice we got was to fill it in with dirt and plant things, but never one to back off from a challenge (and loving the idea of having the sound of water in our back yard) we - well, okay, mostly I - started puttering with it.

I drained it, cleaned it and painted it with pool paint.

 

 

That was definitely an improvement, especially once the blue had a chance to mellow and a little algae was allowed to grow to tone it down a bit. I've struggled between wanting to keep the water crystalline clear and wanting a more natural environment - then last summer that pendulum pretty much went to the natural side and stayed there when my neighbor gave me some water plants.

 

Three different kinds and first they were spindly little things and I threw them in thinking that if they lived, great - that was the direction we'd go - and if they didn't, out would come the chlorine tabs again.

 

They thrived. They lived through the winter and this year they are all healthy, big, beautiful plants (although they didn't bloom this year - yet, anyway). While we were in San Diego last spring we picked up a water hyacinth and threw it in. It lived.

The pool paint has chipped a bit, the whole thing still loses water (slowly) and it all takes continual maintenance. But I really like it. Over the past couple of years it has been the repository of bits of rusty metal we find, old pottery and other "things" that come along... and the sound of it's gentle splashing is so cooling on a hot summer evening.

We hosted a frog this spring - and loved the sound of it croaking through the evenings. Once in a while I would catch sight of it on the rocks or on the water hyacinth and it was a tiny little thing with a big, big voice. I was thrilled that a frog wanted to live in our water feature!

Then, joy of joys - pollywogs appeared. Right now the pools have pollywogs, soon to be frogs. Right before my eyes this was turning into an animal-friendly environment. I'd see birds at the water's edge, our cat and dogs drink out of it, it was time for the next step - to try and get it balanced.

There were issues. Our well water is very alkaline and the water hyacinth were living but not thriving. The algae was a little out of control - although the pollywogs seem to be taking care of some of that. I needed fish.

I decided to start with goldfish. If they make it we'll move on to koi. I bought eight goldfish at the local pet store and brought them home in their little bag - so excited!

 

I put them all in the upper pool, which is a little deeper and cooler than the lower pool, although with the water circulating all the time it might actually be about the same. There are more plants and more shelter in the upper pool - for now that's where they are.

 

I adjusted the pH, gave 'em some food and now we wait and see.....

Wedding update - six and a half months to go

Perhaps it would be useful for someone planning a wedding to know what I did six months out... or perhaps not. Maybe this is just a way to keep myself accountable. Anyway, I'm going to keep track because I know it just gets more hectic and more hectic from here on out.

First, and probably the most successful so far, is the ordering of the 'save the date' postcards. I've been moodling around with the design and wording for awhile now, thinking I had plenty of time, but it is high time to get them out.

 

I ended up with this. The little cream-colored shape at the bottom has our names, the date and the place - but I took that out for broadcasting to the web. This started out as a General Tire ad and it is just perfect for us - we like to ice skate, we like the vintage look of the ad - and it looks good as a postcard.

My original idea was to print these myself and last night I started looking for nice, heavy paper to order when my search suddenly lead me to the Vistaprint website. I've done business with Vistaprint in the past, probably when I was designing art exhibition postcards, and I had the big ah-ha moment. Yes, I should have these professionally printed.

It was a piece of cake to go through the steps - to upload the right size, to design the flip side with a small photo of us and our return address, to download a printable pdf to check the design. I chose the heavier matte paper stock, an upgrade, chose color for the flip side printing, and ordered one hundred of them - all for less than $50. I'm so happy it is done.

Not going quite so quickly are pulling together decorations for the reception and the ceremony itself.

 

I have made three of these flowers. I think I just have to start carrying the materials with me wherever I go - cause the first part can be mindless - the strips are cut, and it is just a matter of snipping the strips, rolling them, and stitching them. Then, once you have 5 or 6 of the smaller "rosettes", you take a needle and heavy thread and attach them all to a stem. That part takes a little more paying attention so that the rosettes are pulled tight together and form this pompom look.

 

I'm really going to have to kick it in the rear with these - I'd like to have them all done well before the end of the year. And I need at least thirty five of them. Three down, thirty three to go.

 

This month I'll order these

 

and these to contain them:

 

And really, it is only the tip of the iceberg. I will have drinks tonight with the woman I'd like to have marry us, I'll call the potential DJ this weekend - a long time family friend (oh please, oh please, oh please!), I'll compose the text for the custom-made stamp I am ordering for the backside of the invitation. Which is so perfectly designed by one of my very favorite artists and friends, Lori Michelon. It is starting to snowball, really, even with triple digit heat in the middle of summer.

And the more I write and think the more freaked-out I'm starting to get - I've got to get busy!

East side / West side

I am back on the east side after a lovely long time at the lake and re-adjusting to the heat of the the valley and the solitude of our house sans man and dogs.  The cat was happy to see me as our cat-sitter did not show up for a few days - what can I say? Youth. JC came home and varied my routine of door locking.... she came over and found the dead bolt locked and did not realize (and indeed, I guess, never even thought to try) that the same key unlocks both the door knob lock AND the dead bolt. I haven't seen her yet - I'm sure she feels bad - and poor Mel. He depends on her for his routine of being out during the day, inside at night, petting and attention, canned food to supplement his dry..... his whole world was turned upside down for a few days. So he's being extra-special affectionate and I am being extra-special attentive.

He's spent a summer at the cabin and he loved it but it is a long drive getting him there and neither of us enjoy that much. Frankly, if I can find good cat care I'd rather pay someone to help maintain his normal life here than to try and pack him up again and drive with him for 10 hours. No, thanks. I'm on the hunt for a really good house and cat sitter - one who'll keep and eye out on the plants (and water when needed), pet and feed the cat, and keep the place lived in while I'm gone.

The Fourth of July weekend wiped us out in the store and I spent much of Tuesday helping JC shop before heading home. Fresno was muggy and hot but the shopping was surprisingly painless, maybe because we split up instead of trying to do it together. Keeping the store stocked is a major effort and I'm always keeping my eye out for interesting things we might try selling there.

Somehow I squeezed in a visit to Anthropologie. (How'd I manage that? Lunch at BJ's Brewhouse!) The display was light but there were two areas of the store I liked. This one was fabulous - this pale blue fabric with the bottoms of plastic soda bottles attached. It had a real beachy feel to it.

 

I like the Fresno store - it is airy, spacious, and the staff is friendly. Of course I didn't have much time to spend in there but I did a quick tour and managed to find a couple of things to spend my money on... there was a LARGE sale area that drew me in like a fish on a line.

 

Handbag - mine. This photo, taken with an Instagram filter, doesn't do the color justice. It is a beautiful dusty blue canvas with bluish gray chiffon and bluish cream leather straps. Love it, love it, love it. I'm not that much of a handbag purchaser - I prefer to find vintage Coach and other classic leather bags in thrift stores - but this one was my color, my style, and on sale, my price point. It came home with me along with a new apron and some solid perfume.

 

The other display I liked was one I could easily duplicate at home - I have plenty of empty wine bottles out in the recycling bins. It has a great nautical feel that complements that soda bottom display, and would look great out on the fence by the spa.

 

Dip the green bottles in white paint and hang them from twine. It looks great. I'll file it along with the fifty other great ideas Anthropologie has given me over the last few years. And someday, someday I might have the time to take some of them on.

Home to July thunderstorms, my horses, the tomatoes coming up strong, and pollywogs in the water feature. I think I'm even going to add some fish this year. Just to see how it goes. I picked off six tomato worms (little ones, not those monsters from last year) and placed them out for the birds to find.... hoping that the birds will be lured into checking more often and I won't have to do so much picking....

The fridge is stocked with fresh veggies from the CSA and my carry-home from Trader Joes and I'm here for at least a week. It's good to be home.

Happy Independence Day

From the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Pacific Crest Trail and John Muir hikers at the VVR

Edison Lake is positioned convenient to the PCT and JMT trails and a large part of the business here is resupplying, laundering, and feeding those hikers. An amazing variety of people pass through here on their way to Canada, or Tuolumne Meadow in Yosemite, or south to Mt. Whitney. They arrive dirty, hungry, tired and we like to think they leave cleaner, rejuvenated by the rest and the company, and not at all hungry. Feeding is much of what we do here - along with supplying some of the best micro-brews you can find on the trail.

 

Into these mouths disappear the many pies we bake and from these mouths we hear tales of the trail, tales of home (wherever that might be), and tales of friendships forged during the many days and weeks of being on the trail.

 

Families show up to camp and wait for the thru-hikers, spend a day or so with them before they are off to the next resupply, and it means a lot to the staff at the VVR to be able to support these hikers and families. In our hyper-connected world, these hikers choose NOT to be connected for days on end - instead to connect to their own rhythms, the passing of a day, a life spent outside. It is a very cool thing and a huge part of why we are here.

 

Once showered, satiated, and with beer in hand, many spend the evening around the nightly campfire. I've been planning for years to do a PCT fashion blog and the first summer I can be here consistently you'll see that appear. It is fascinating to watch them arrive with big packs, then re-appear in some completely unique combination of clothing and shoes (Crocs have been big for a couple of years - lightweight, practically indestructable, colorful) for relaxing in.

 

PCT hikers can put away an amazing amount of food at one sitting. I don't know what they live on out there on the trail but they are ravenous once they arrive here.

 

And, they like their pie. With beer, even.

The pies of Vermilion

For as long as anyone can remember, the VVR has been known for the pies. We make fruit pies here, almost everyday, and they go like hotcakes. PCT hikers have been known to devour an entire pie at one sitting - and these are no lightweight pies.

I make a lot of pies, CL makes even more, and even the cooks and the wait staff are pulled into making pies when we aren't around. Yesterday fifteen pies came out of the oven - apple, apricot-berry, cherry, and peach. PCT hikers alone consumed all the apricot-berry pies and the rest will be gone tonight.

Last year I made an apron just for this purpose - I wanted a full-coverage apron that looked cute enough to run out to the store if need be. I had a set of dish towels purchased from the now defunct but much loved "La Florista" in Lone Pine and I fashioned those towels into this apron:

 

This apron has it all - pockets, ruffles, full coverage and a retro vibe.

 

And it is being put to work this week.

 

We buy our fruit from a family-owned business in Fresno and they buy fruit from the central valley. You have not had an apricot or a peach until you taste the culls that the farmers will bring up here for the staff. Tree-ripened, so juicy there's no way they'd ever make it to market, sweet and full of flavor. California still kicks some serious butt when it comes to producing good fruit. Let's hope it stays that way and doesn't turn into one huge megalopolis.

The campgrounds are full, the resort is full, and summer is officially underway. From now until Labor Day it will be non-stop and there will be plenty of pies to be baked. We're soon to have our own baking ovens and I can't wait to start churning out apricot oat bars, brownies, coffee cakes, scones, cookies...... my new apron might be worn out by fall!

Blog, what blog?

Yes, it has been awhile. I have no excuses, dear blog, but busy-ness. Not business, but busy-ness.

 

I've been up at the resort and there is always something to be done here. While also keeping up on my own work. And trying to get in a little outside time (hiking, daydreaming, hammock time). The days fly by so quickly.

I've let my journaling slip by the wayside over this past year and I think it is just another indication that I've become too busy, too scattered. An introvert needs a journal. Before I left home I dusted off the moleskine, fired up the fountain pen (because you have to have the right tools for a journal) and brought it with me. And one morning, out of five, I've written. It's a start, right?

 

I went for a hike the other day and there is more water flowing into this lake than I've seen in the five years I've been coming up. That is what 600 inches of snow will do for a lake. It is beautiful to see and I've watched the water rising every day, closer and closer to the cabin. Lovely sight. The hikers coming in are not so enthusiastic about it as the creek crossings have been deep, fast, and dangerous and all the water has brought a bumper crop of mosquitoes out - but on the flip side the flowers are spectacular and will be well into August, heck, maybe even September.

 

Right now we've got penstemon and paintbrush,

 

lots of phlox,

 

and the strangely beautiful snow flower is coming up - just for starters. This mysterious plant is common in the Sierra during the early summer when the ground is still moist from melting snow. Here's a link to an interesting website with information on the snow flower: http://www.snowflowerinc.org/sfplant.html

 

The water coming down Cold Creek is a gorgeous thing to see and there is still plenty of snow up in the higher elevations to keep this flowing hard and fast for a while yet. I can't tell you how grateful we are for this water - you just never know year to year what the winter will bring.

It is a holiday weekend, so most likely there won't be much more hiking for me this trip, and I'm heading back to the east side for a week or so on Tuesday... but I'll post again and keep my camera at the ready because there are always photo opportunities at a resort.

 

Like this - hikes make for tired, dirty, happy dogs. What a life they lead here.