Honest Neighbors

A few weeks back we cleaned out the garage.  By cleaning out the garage, I mean we put a LOT of stuff on the curb, posted to Freecycle.org, and let everyone come n' get it.  About 500 books, some random kids toys.   We had a sign saying "Free Stuff" and in small letters, "If you find something you really like feel free to throw a buck or two into the mailbox."  Just about everything was taken. And, amazingly, there was $16 in our mailbox!

Then today, when getting the mail, there was this in the mailbox:

Horse walks

In the evenings lately we've been taking "Horse Walks".

Erin and friends preparing for feeding time:

Robin asleep in the stroller (dude, you're missing all the horses!):

The field (check the deer in the background)

Friday's bedtime walk

We've been taking the girls out in the stroller on "chicken walks" in the evening the past few clear nights to go see some chickens up the hill from us. They love being out and they'll fall asleep while we're walking.

Friday night we went to go see the horse barn near us. I think it went well.

Kitchen remodel week 2

Completed last week: demo and cleaning

Scheduled work this week: electrical (done), plumbing, insulation, inspection.

A tree cutting story, part 1

We had two Monterrey pines in on our property listing to the side, threatening to topple our neighbor's house.  Apparently, in the 50's, people planted these trees in Orinda, at a cost of about $0.19 apiece, to make it more scenic.  What they didn't think about was the soil here was poor for these type of trees. So, 60 years later, and about 1,200x the cost, these trees must be taken down.

We hired a local crew who said it could be done in two days without cranes.

Indeed, the men on this crew were acrobats and could easily climb up, chainsaw dragging behind them, and use only ropes and a pulley to fell even the largest of branches.  Many of these "branches" could be classified as trees in their own rights. 

Here you see the observation crew.  Grandpa couldn't pass up a chance to see this kind of arborist engineering at play. 

The results of 1 days work.  Astonishing.

Garden miscellany

We planted a few veggie starts late this spring.  So far, the crop has been pathetic.  Erin's showing our first (and only so far) squash. 

I think she's singing to it.  We made a small batch of squash pancakes which were delicious.  We also harvested 3 barely ripe cherry tomatoes.  Slim pickings here, folks.  Good thing there's an awesome farmers market here. 

We also set the girls digging in the back yard.  Never too early to start on chores, right? I have this idea we'll plant some fruit trees back there - one apple, one pear, one cherry, one orange.  Then the birds will have plenty to eat. 

Of course, there are always work breaks for silliness. 

A very DIY Saturday

Nothing new in this post, only today was a very PDX kinda day, Orinda style.

One new skirt made (yes, it is addictive).

Homemade pizza & calzones made. 

Plus it rained and rained and rained (hence the PDX).  But we had to drive everywhere (hence the Orinda).

A real weenie shrinker!

A direct quote from a local weatherperson on tonight's news:

"It's cold out there!  Many of you know it.  Had to get a jacket.  Had to even find some gloves in some cases. Up in the north bay, 47 right now.  Temperatures in the mid-50s in the south bay."

It's the middle of November, people!

Reminds me exactly of the following.  Yes, we have officially arrived in California.

Warning

I love that we live in a place that finds it necessary to post such a warning.

Can you be more specific, please?

Overheard on NPR this morning:
"Bay area high temperatures today will range between the mid 50's to the upper 90's".

Thanks.  That was helpful.

4th of July Recap

After burying our cat, we headed to downtown Orinda to watch the parade!

There was also a baby farm animal petting zoo, which was a big hit with Erin.

We then went to a fun 4th party hosted by a family Brian grew up with. Excellent hosts, lots of fun, and a ton of little girls everywhere. Here's Erin with Grandma and the hostess with the mostess:

Robin was a little overwhelmed (maybe it was the heat too) and took a monster nap upstairs. On a sweet fuzzy bedspread:

We then headed back home to watch the fireworks! We walked down to the local highschool and had a perfect view, and were surrounded on the football field by other cheerful Orindians. Erin was brave and did not use the earphones we brought.

A super fun 4th (except for the very beginning) but we are all a little tired today. Hooray for federal holidays!

Garage Sale

When we moved from PDX it was in stages.  There was the junk cherished unused items in the basement that quickly was boxed and put into storage.  Later, to stage the house, there were the rarely used items that were, again, boxed and stored.  Then, just before the move, we frantically boxed and moved the daily, always used items.

Then we got here we unpacked.  And unpacked.  And unpacked.  And still we had a garage full of boxes.

Guess which pile they came from. Yup, all that stuff that gets carted around from house to house, sometimes without ever opening the box.  So, today we unpacked them, made snap decisions stay or go, and voila!  Garage sale!

Needless to say, we didn't make all that much money on the sale.  Turns out everyone else has the same flotsam already in their garages.  But it was a lovely, calm way to spend the day and meet some of the neighbors.

And our garage... well, it's still full of junk.  But a lot less junk.

Now I believe we live in California

Gonna need a lot more popsicles.

California Living

BBQ pollo asada tacos. With mango salsa. Eaten on our patio furniture. On our deck. Without wearing sweaters.  In March.

(Note: this was not the taco we ate. Ours was better.)

Owls

The owls are back after a three-month absence.  There's two out back right now, maybe fifty feet up in separate trees, loudly calling our their hoo-hoos in the dark.

Snow in Orinda!

Apparently this happens every eon or so.