Chicago: Arrival

Stace and I were blessed to take a long-weekend away in Chicago, as I tagged along on a work trip for him to his company's Rockford, Ill., plant.

On Thursday morning, we took a Lyft ride to the airport - a first for us - and had our final experience walking out to the tarmac and up the ramp to the plane. Burbank Airport is completing a big renovation, with a modern terminal set to open in a few weeks. 

Our flights were uneventful (we had a brief layover in Salt Lake City). When we arrived, Stace rented a car and drove to Rockford, while my cousin Elizabeth picked me up and took me to her home. We saw several deer along the way home! So cool.

It was wonderful catching up with Elizabeth, and her daughter Emma. I hadn't seen them in years!

Elizabeth and Emma live in a magical 100-year-old apartment building, with loads of period details.

The windows! The molding! The arched entries! The hardwood floors!

I bonded with their lovely dog, Josie. Would you believe this beautiful (large) girl is half corgie? Neither would I! But as a tiny puppy, that's what the rescue said, and it made sense, at the time. Clearly that was false information. She's a lovely girl just the same.

We had a nice night and morning of catching up, before embarking on a Chicago adventure in the morning. 

Tidbits

While Stace went to work Saturday morning to get a handle on the employee reviews he needs to complete, I met Tiffany at a grand opening for a new coffee place. We got discounted beverages and a coupon for a free drink on a return trip. We enjoyed catching up on a beautiful weekend morning.

After, I met Stace at the SC Auto Fair and we had a look around. Later, we went to see The Lightning Thief at the Canyon Theatre Guild - it was fun to see a show we knew so well, from when Cora played Percy a year ago. We watched Ferris Bueller's Day off as a family before bed.

On Sunday, Stace bought a paint sprayer and painted the cabinet doors he'd ordered for our bathroom. Lots of progress happening here!

Meanwhile, Cora went to MB2 for Mackenzie's birthday, and as a last hurrah before Rowan and Lucas head off to college. 
 

We've been visiting Quigley Canyon frequently, in the evenings when it cools off. We're always looking for wildlife, and sometimes spot deer, coyotes, rabbits, and interesting birds (along with the neighbor's horses).

We've been seeing - and hearing - this pair of great horned owls frequently. We love them!

We woke up to horrible news Monday: nearly an entire block of Old Town Newhall went up in flame. The Main Theater, where Cora performed in The Wolves, along with The Newhall Refinery (where we had a drink last week) were among the businesses completely destroyed.  

My heart breaks looking at these photos, courtesy of the city and the Signal. It doesn't seem like it can be real.

Stace and I went to a goodbye party for one of his coworkers, at one of our local breweries. Some guy parked this close to my car... couldn't even open my door!

Darn good thing I was able to get his keys and take his car home!

Lots of News

 It was an eventful week with cars, but I'll save that news for later. But we were short a car, so I was getting out at 6 to take Stace to work a couple of days. Cora went to stunt workout classes in Burbank several days - she's loving it! 

It was also a cooler week, so the girls were able to have their first riding lesson in a while. 

Violet is riding Bandit, and Cora is on Rocky. 

After working on the bathroom a lot on Saturday, and searching for a new car, we took a family trip to Carpinteria on Sunday. Even Cora came with us! 

We enjoyed lunch and teas/coffees at our favorite Thai place there...

And we also took the walk along the bluffs to see the seals. 

Stace and I went to the Main theater to see a play called The Dresser, which was very well done. We got a drink afterwards at the Refinery. 

The girls went to a friend's house to watch Treasure Island, since that is what Cora's old school is performing this fall. Cora is planning to help with stagecraft and stage managing again, and this year they want Violet to be a paid tech employee, working in the booth.

Violet started her junior year of high school this week! She's taking one class in person, another AP art class, this time focusing on 3D art. Her plan is to make a stained glass lamp shade.

I picked up and packaged/froze my order of 30 pounds of organic peanuts from Azure Standard - it looks like an insane amount - and maybe it is. 

But we actually went through a full order of 30 pounds in exactly one year, and were about to run out. (We eat a lot of peanut butter, and Stace likes snacking on peanuts or homemade trail mix after dinner.)

I got an email that the county was holding free music and dinner events at various parks, and this week one would be at Val Verde Park. Since Colleen and Rigo were free, we made a night out of it. We enjoyed our free tacos and salsa music.

Meanwhile, Cora went to an orientation for Fright Fest, and found out she will be on the slider team! Very exciting; she's worked so hard.

Books, Seals and Birds

 It's early August, so that means it's time for SClarita's high schoolers to register for school. Vi attended registration at both of her schools, and I helped in the library on Tuesday.

On Monday, Ellie came over to hang for a few hours, and I got my tooth fixed after the filling fell out. Stace played pickleball after work, Cora went sliding, and Violet's friend Sofia came over and they watched a movie.

Stace had a car part for me to pick up at the Audi dealership in Calabasas, so Vi and I carried on northwest, and went to Carpinteria. We took a walk out to see the harbor seals, in their beach sanctuary. 

We then stopped at a sourdough bakery that sells honey products, to get a snack and a coffee. Violet made friends with a hungry, brave sparrow. 

Meanwhile, Cora went to a stunt training gym in Los Angeles and did two classes, and later played D&D online.

On Wednesday, Stace came home early and we went to a celebration of life for our neighbor, John, who passed a couple of months ago. In the evening, I went out to dinner with West Ranch theater mom friends, while Cora and Violet had a cooking adventure. We had fresh corn and potatoes, and they decided to make corn chowder from scratch.

It was delicious!

On Friday, Vi and I went to the home of a woman who operates a sanctuary for toucans on the outskirts of town. Yes, a toucan sanctuary! She'd posted online about her need for newspapers, for the cages, and I'd been faithfully collecting ours for months to have enough to make it worth the trip. 

The woman was so friendly, and we learned a lot about these interesting and beautiful birds. Violet even got to hold one!

One last bird snippet - this adorable little sparrow was taking a bath in the sprinklers, as it came through the red gate from the front yard. The cats were very intrigued!

Carp with the Ladies

 I had a weekend away with the ladies - Dinorah, Sue, Nicole and Jen. We'd set this weekend up long before our bathroom pipe exploded, so I felt bad about leaving Stace while he was working, but I was committed!

We went to Carpinteria - we had a full beach day, with lunch, snacks and drinks. We then checked into the hotel room we were sharing, to get ready for dinner.

The next morning, Jen and I checked out this Torrey pine tree, which was planted in 1888, according to the sign. The tree was in the field next to our coffee stop - the Lucky Llama.

We returned to the beach for a long walk, before heading to a cafe at Padaro beach for lunch.

Catching up with these dear friends was so good. Our lunch was fabulous, too.

Bathroom Update

So much progress the last two weeks!

Tony and his son finished the shower and floor and did a wonderful job. I'm very pleased with our choice of tile, too, thankfully.

We have a niche with a shelf, and a corner shelf (not quite wide enough to be a seat, but great for shaving legs or drying off). 

The drain is so fancy! There's a key to lift off the tiled cover, and underneath is a cup to catch stray hair.

We had the plumber investigate why we've had trouble with our toilet blocking up, and it turns out the pipe was angled incorrectly. While we had no flooring, he drilled out the cement and put in a new pipe. Later, he installed a new toilet, as well. All works so much better now.

We then had our new shower door installed; I love the rain glass, since we have such hard water that stains clear glass so easily.

We absolutely love our new shower, and after a month of not having one at home, we deeply appreciate it again!

I painted the shiplap boards we'll install vertically on the lower half of the bathroom. Figuring out the right creamy white for the top half of the room took a little trial and error, but we got it done.

Stace built our new vanity cabinet, and you can see the hole for the tall cabinet he's building.

Also, the girls' bathroom is coming along - vanity back in, plumbing hooked up, mirror and light fixture back in. Seb can again demand water from the sink.

Summer Tidbits

 We attended a bingo night fundraiser for Finally Family Homes, with Colleen and Rigo. It was fun, though we didn't win.  Earlier in the day, Stace and I went to a party at Liz and Max's house, where we watched England beat France in the third-place WC match.

On Sunday, we watched the Argentina-Spain World Cup final, and enjoyed watching Argentina lose. I mean, Spain win. Stace also worked on the hall bath plumbing and moved the electrical fittings for the master bath fan.

I took advantage of a deal at San Fernando Coffee Co. - wear a soccer shirt and get a cheaper drink! I took Violet with me, so we mazimized the savings.

We've had Ellie over a few times lately, so I took her to the pool and to the playground.

Violet and I escaped the heat again - this time we went to Ventura, to the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center at the harbor. We hadn't been in a few years, so we enjoyed seeing it with fresh eyes.

This stairway takes you through the various levels of the ocean, from the beach to the ocean floor.

Channel Islands National Park is a boat ride away, but the visitor center is much more freely accessible. 

We then walked along the beach, which thankfully had much less tar than Rincon the prior week! We are so blessed to have this beauty so close by.

While in Ventura, we picked up some storage baskets I'd ordered for our new tall bathroom cabinet Stace is creating. The baskets weren't available at our Target, but were in stock in Ventura, so it was a good excuse to go there. Every day still involves bathroom work and frequent trips to Lowes and Home Depot!

Violet has been creating a lot of art this month, as she's taking part in an international online event called Art Fight, where artists draw each others original characters. She's also decorated her bedroom wall with maps from the national parks she's visited lately.

And in addition, she's taking a summer class through the community college on dinosaurs, to get geology/science credit. She's actually really enjoying it!

We've enjoyed our warm evening walks at Quigley Canyon, where we love seeing the horses (and occasional deer, owls, coyotes and rabbits).

Also this week, the girls stayed at my parents' to watch the dogs while they were out of town, and I had lunch with friends and walked at the mall with other friends to get exercise and escape the heat.