Week in Review

 

Violet and I checked out an equestrian center in Newhall on Tuesday, and were very impressed. It was huge! Some 60 horses, spread out in lots of areas, including the barn above. 

One of the instructors, Becky, gave us a tour. Some of the horses are boarded there, while many are owned by the ranch owners.

The mini horses were so cute! We will plan to start lessons soon.

While on a nature walk with Violet's school, near the Iron Horse Bridge, we saw a dead King snake. These snakes, with their distinctive black and white bands, are called that because they can eat rattlenakes. 

Cora and Violet stopped at the bridge at sunset one night this week after the Mean Girls rehearsal.

It was a long week for Cora, between her college classes, set strike for Once Upon a Mattress and Mean Girls work. At least she'll be making some good money with the last one!

Our blueberries are ripening! So many!

And we always have monarch butterflies in our yard. One is here on the milkweed, circled in blue.

I revived my sourdough starter and made a loaf this week.

Not too shabby.

Also this week, I woke up Friday to find the screen popped out of the dining room window, Evie in the yard, and Winston gone. Thank God, he was in the yard behind ours, and I was able to go grab him, though I don't love the thought of him knowing how to jump onto/over the wall.

And also Friday, Nick's car broke down, and he was towed to their mechanic near us. I picked him up, and picked Ellie up from school with him, and dropped them both off at their home.

Gardening

We spent part of the weekend working on the garden, putting in some new vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Violet worked very hard, raking into the veggie plot the fallen leaves we'd saved, as compost.

We let the littles out, on their leashes.

This guy likes to run straight under the giant lavender bush. He can smell the rats who used to eat our oranges underneath, and it's hard for us to get him out when he's hiding there.
 

We gave Melanie back her snake plants now that they've moved to a bigger place, but they've grown so much that we were able to divide them and keep some.

We bought this lovely green pot from the nursery.

Our blueberry bush is going wild! Every white flower will be a berry.

I decided to try again with the area near our bedroom slider. It gets a lot of shade, but of course plenty of heat in the summer. This time I finally looked for shade loving flowers.

Violet asked for the barrel planter, and put in herbs.

Tidbits

On Sunday, we watched church online at home, and then went to Mel and Nick's new apartment to help them. Stace put up lots of curtain rods, while Violet put up a stick-on tile backsplash in the kitchen, and wallpaper in the bathroom. I did lots of moving of boxes. 

Monday was Cora's 19th birthday! We decorated the house, had gifts laid out, and sent her off to college for her first day of the spring semester. 

Then, I met my Dad at Costco and was very excited to find these Heinz "British Recipe" baked beans. I've never seen these here - usually we have to buy English style Heinz beans at import stores, at import prices. These cases were $8 for six cans, a steal!

Violet and I got Teacision, and the gal behind the counter wrote a special note to Cora. Ha!! 

We got Stone Fire for dinner and she opened her gifts, and then went to college theatre rehearsal.

The American College Theatre Festival began the next day, so Cora didn't feel great on Monday, with all the nerves. We'll celebrate later, when she can relax and enjoy it more.

In the photo, she opened Violet's gift - a stained glass piece representing her character in D&D. They hugged, but I wasn't ready with the camera, and they refused to recreate the moment. Cora isn't much for hugs, so it's a real treasure to get one.

Later Monday, Violet began working on an oil pastel portrait.

I was in awe Tuesday when I saw it. 

She also has been busy on her lino cuts. Here's a javelina, and below we have a prairie chicken. Also, a desert scene in glass.

We have been on an "All Creatures Great & Small" kick since Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty introduced it to us. And, our library has it!

This little guy planted itself by the nectarine tree, and I just have to let it stay! So bright and cheeful.

Cats, Cows and Cupcakes

 Our neighborhood kitty friend has been coming back around this week. I've taken to calling him Stripes.

He was about in the summer, driving Winston crazy, but then we didn't see him for months. This week, one afternoon I'd left the big garage door open, and when I went into the garage from the house, I saw a scurrying out of an animal. I guess he was nosing around the cat food? He's super friendly, but we must try to keep him out of sight of our resident kitties.

Winter is a short season here for some of our plants and trees. It's January, and the mock pear is already all abloom.

Exciting times here - the home and field bordering our favorite nearby walking trail has new owners, and they've acquired cows! Or, young steers or bulls. Not entirely sure on the right word; they are young and male. 

Violet would go several times a week to walk and visit them, if she could.

On Wednesday, after youth group, Vi and I took a walk at Bridgeport and then went to Lowes to look at solder. We came upon a VW meetup! 

On Saturday, we had Eloise with us for a half-day, and Violet was in charge for a few hours. She did a great job with her - they played the Cupcake Game and then made chocolate cupcakes from scratch!

Yum!

Also this week, I dropped Violet off with her school hiking club for a walk at Vasquez Rocks. I wasn't able to stay, as Stace wanted me to go with him to an appointment. But, the advantage of having another driver in the house - Cora went to pick her up. More solid freeway practice!

Tidbits

 We start this week's Tidbits with sad news - our beloved Honu Coffee in Newhall announced they will be closing in early February, after 11 years. This isn't the closure of a place that couldn't make it - they have lots of fans and (seemingly) plenty of business. But the owners are ready to move on.

Violet and I went in the day we heard the news, to get drinks and spend my Christmas gift card. We got syrups, so I'll have a taste of Honu for the next few months at home.

For posterity's sake - the sweet "dogs of Honu" photo string.

Violet and I actually went a few times...

We've had funny weather - tons of rain, then a heat spell. Our last tomato bush was covered in flowers so I made Stace leave it when he cleared out the rest of the garden. We returned from Washington to a ton of ripe cherry tomatoes!

Also this week, my parents took Violet with them to the Ronald Reagan Library to see an exhibit on Cowboys in Hollywood. And, my debit card was compromised, so I had to replace it. Now for the hassle of redoing all the recurring expenses that are hooked to it! And, speaking of expenses, we had the Audi in for some work. Ugh, as they say, you might be able to afford the higher-end car, but can you afford the maintenance and repairs?

Over the weekend, Stace helped Christina finish some bigger projects, while Colleen and I helped as well, as she got the Oasis Resource Center ready for company. On Tuesday afternoon, Finally Family Homes hosted a grand opening of the resource center, with media and local dignitaries. It was well-attended, and a tribute to all our friend has done to assist former foster youth  in our area.

Our friend Brad was in town for work, and it happened to be his birthday. So, we took him out to the Local, and caught up on life for him, Emily and the kids in Texas.

Friends!

Winston tried to jump up onto the kitchen counter, tripped on a plate that was too near the edge, and brought down the plate, fruit bowl, and himself. It was very loud. 

Bits of plate spread far and wide - against the far bookcase, into the playroom, etc. 

Also that day, I got to clear up cat vomit because someone likes to eat plastic bags. Sigh!

Week in Review

I don't know what Winston has against Father Christmas, other than that he was taking up too much room on the mantel.

Stace and I met up at lunch on Monday and shared a coffee and one doughnut hole.

We went to Cora's old high school to watch the theatre improv team perform. Cora ended up working on the tech side. We tried to get Handels ice cream after, but they were closed, so we went across the parking lot to Chilis to share a cookie with ice cream.

Cora helped me with cleaning up the leaves - we nearly filled the bin! 

Later, Vi and I went to see our optometrist for our annual exams. 

I fed my sourdough starter a little too much! But I ended up making two decent loaves this week. I also processed two more pumpkins, and the girls made chocolate crinkle cookie dough. 

Stace and I joined my parents to look at Christmas lights. We hadn't walked Wakefield for a few years, so it was nice to see our Candycane Lane again. 

Violet had a Christmas activity as well, with her youth group's annual progressive dinner/scavenger hunt party Wednesday night.

Stace and I went out for dinner Friday at a nice sushi place.

Everything was amazing - light, fresh and flavorful.