chelsea

another great day today, i keep thinking that each day is better than the last. we walked through battersea park over chelsea bridge to chelsea. the neighborhood is gorgeous. we go on lots of amazing strolls every day, but the destination today was the chelsea physic garden which was on my list of things to do and on leigh's as well. we were lucky to get another sunny morning and soon stripped off our jackets and sweaters and we were still really warm.



the homes surrounding the garden are so beautiful, you can tell this neighborhood is ritzy.

lots of lavender in this section, lots of bees, too!




the dark brown building behind the greenhouse above is so stunning, i want to go inside.


old greenhouses, filled with botanicals from different parts of the world.


so many lovely poppies and aliums all over.



after a long stroll around the paths and lots of photos we were ready for lunch. we stopped at daylesford organic and had a two wine lunch - lois was a handful and we needed the juice.

bye bye spring break

mr apple tree

the cabin was so fun this weekend, even though it rained most of the time. we tried a new method of departure. i hopped on the bus at 3 and al picked me up on the corner with a huge, heavy back of all we'd forgotten to put in his car the night before. we got up north before 6 and it was still light outside. i had gotten all my homework done so i didn't even take a text book with me. we both took friday off and it felt like more than a long weekend.

$3 gardening supply carrier (estate sale)

i turned the garden bed, added some new compost, and replanted the stragglers from last year. not sure they will hold out, but i didn't want to toss them. we want to put another bed in as this one doesn't get much sun. we've planted some blueberry bushes but they won't fruit for a few years.

caroline's chair

al's chair

we didn't sit outside much, it was pretty cold and windy.



i got some nice shots of the forget-me-nots and my rain boots. as usual, i was sad to come home. back to school and work!

fall at the river

i haven't been up to the cabin in a long time, it feels like two months, but it might be less than that. the light is gorgeous up there now, and the weather was really great this weekend. i didn't work on my paper as i had planned, but there's always tomorrow. i actually relaxed and enjoyed it. i made this bouquet out of our winter yard, complete with figs and mushrooms.




we finally went wine tasting for the first time and found two great wineries; lambert bridge and hop kiln, then stumbled onto the dry creek general store. got some great photos down on mother's beach.





i'm planning our next trip, post holidays and school, when i have absolutely nothing to do but read, drink wine, and walk around the woods.

redd zinn

it's been very gray and cold in sf the last few days. 56 degrees here right now, i wonder if it's warmer where leigh is. the npr morning weather forecast threatens sun, but it never comes out. i've been busy at home, but a few times a day i walk to the front porch to gaze upon my freshly planted containers full of zinnias. then i smile and go back to work. i need to get out more.

pacific blues

last week at the cabin it really felt like all we did was tile. the area was a total of 32" x 92" and took 4 of our 5 days. various factors for this session of torture include:

1. never tiling anything before

2. tiling an area behind a non-movable object

3. using hand-made heath tiles that are not square or flat

4. never tiling anything before

we never imagined this would take us so long, but for the most part it's done. we just need to remove the tape around the edges when we go back (the grout really needed to dry) and wash off the grout haze. i'll be doing that next weekend when i head back up without al. it really looks gorgeous and adds a nice bit of color and texture to the living room.


we did get to spend a lot of time at mother's beach, which is basically across the street. we packed up one of my new baskets with towels and books, packed a cooler with snacks and booze, and hauled over a lounge chair, umbrella and inner-tube for a few hours of lounging and cooling off in the 90 degree sun. we only saw one beer induced fight.

next projects include harvesting from the garden bed (me) and finishing the workroom downstairs (al).

greening

we had a great weekend at the cabin and a lot of green things passed through our fingers. money, herbs, plants, pots, wine bottles..... we found some estate sales and ended up with a few odds and ends. we even lot a lamp (a very tiny one) for $4. we need more light in the kitchen, specifically under the cabinets, so this little lamps works fine for that. albert really wants to get a ceiling fixture and shade from schoolhouse electric to replace the fluorescent box light that we can't stand. i just hate overhead lighting in general, so my goal is lamps lamps and more lamps. we still haven't gotten to the tiling job. we need to lay out the tiles to decide on the pattern and borrow a tile saw. we got home late last night and i was up way past my normal bed time. i dreamt of someone stealing out water from the cabin hose (our first water bill for the cabin was very high) and woke up feeling fuzzy. then i sat down at my computer to read my cell phone bill was $440.43! i got that straightened out and my blood pressure is back to normal now. my day is off from waking up an hour later than usual. i just finished 2nd breakfast.

the moss room

i've been trying to clean up the yard at the cabin since we moved in a month ago, but it's an overwhelming task. it's pretty "natural" as my parents would call it, with lots of random and overgrown things throughout. the back yard is covered in weeds and much of the yard is shaded from the amazing redwoods we are lucky to own. i've spent several hours pulling weeds, knowing with each pull more weeds are to come. while i don't mind weeding, i don't want it to be an endless project every time i escape to the cabin. enter the moss lawn. david benner had a similar problem in his huge yard and decided to experiment with moss. grass hates acid so he covered it with a combination sulfur dust and ammonium sulphate, and a year later the grass was gone and his yard was covered in moss! with the abundance of shade up at the cabin i think this could work. no mowing, no watering, no fertilizing, but a beautiful green lawn! we've already got moss around the yard, so it's just a matter of letting the spores spread with he help of acid and mother nature.