A new blog

Such a ham!!

Pretty Tina!
I'm sure we'll know what to do with this once we get started.

Our really good friend Becca has just started her own blog. You can see some great pictures of our San Simeon trip in August. Careful you might just laugh so hard you'll hurt yourself. Personally I want to burn the pictures of the Arabian princess if for no other reason than my hubby about hurt himself laughing so hard. Becca's blog is here.

Off to Ireland

If you've been visiting long then you've probably wondered why I've got a clock with Dublin time on the blog. On Wednesday, August 27 Seth and his Nana (Neil's mom) took off for a two week trip to Ireland. It's her graduation gift to Seth. We haven't heard from them, but we hope they're having a wonderful time, getting to see a lot of neat stuff, meet a lot of new people and taste a lot of new food. Have a great time Seth!

Garden Shots

Our garden has been coming along nicely this summer. It still has a long way to go, but I've been pleased with what we accomplished before the triple digit days struck. Now it's been so hot nobody wants to do anything except swim. School starts Monday and I've been busy getting ready besides going back to work this week. Everyone have a great weekend and enjoy the end of summer. I thought I would share a couple of pictures from the backyard. Enjoy.

Summer's end

My summer is slipping away. I had so much I wanted to do this summer, but somehow the time has gotten away from me. Two more weeks and it's back to work and back to homeschooling. This is essentially my last year homeschooling. Bittersweet in so many ways. Tina will be a senior the following year but I'll only be teaching her English. She's taking the majority of the rest of her requirements this year. Seth is a senior this year. Where have the years gone? They've flown away. I know that for many of you who don't homeschool you're probably thinking I'm crazy, but this has been a huge time investment for me for the last 10 years or so. I'll miss it. I'll still have my little job, but I'll miss the homeschooling. It's been such an adventure and I've enjoyed it tremendously. So many times I've learned right along with my kids. I should be lesson planning, but I'm not. I'm getting the camping gear ready to go to the beach. Have a great weekend!

Cayucos, here we come!

Best Friends!

How many states have you visited or lived in?

Make

I love to travel. Especially if it involves driving. I really don't like to fly. I'm terrified of heights. When we go to Las Vegas we always have to stay on the third floor or lower. I get dizzy. We went to Sacramento and visited the old governor's mansion. I got dizzy on the top floor. It was only three stories. Sheesh!! I even have nightmares about being up high and the floor falling out from under me. But I digress. I found this neat little map at Big Huge Labs. Still don't know how to do those little link thingies. But thought you'd find it a cool website to visit. I've colored all the states I've visited and lived in. Before I die I'd like to visit all of them. I guess I'll have to fly to get Hawaii. Not sure how I'd do on a cruise. Have a great week!

Slide Show

The slide show you're seeing is from Seth's recent hiking trip into the high Sierras. The wildflowers were gorgeous and he just couldn't wait to share them with everyone. Seth, his uncle and a couple of his uncle's friends took a 5 day hike to Devil's Post Pile and high Sierra lakes on the Pacific Crest Trail.

How to make your living room into a dining room

I thought I would post pictures of our living room turned dining room. Our dining room is really small and though conveniently located next to the kitchen it left much to be desired for entertaining let alone the 5 of us. So when we turned the largest room in the guest house into our family room I decided we didn't need a lone sofa sitting in this huge room. So we turned it into the dining room! It's not far from the kitchen. Just a few more steps. We really like it. These pictures were taken when we were just "living" with the idea. I don't want anything permanent because eventually it will be just hubby and I. So I'm looking for a chandelier that I can electrify and plug in like a lamp. I'll hang it over the table. We've decided we really like it and believe it or not I'm in the process of moving things around again. We lost our school room (not that we needed it any longer now that the kids are older) when father-in-law moved in. So I'm adding a bookcase for necessary school books and accommodating the 1890 treadle machine we inherited from the family. I'll share pictures of the "new" room when I get it done. Enjoy!!

This hutch sits behind the table. That's the front door we can kinda see.







I really enjoy getting around to everyone else's blogs and seeing what you all are doing in your homes. You are such an inspiration to me to keep working towards a lovely home for my family.
Oh, in case you were wondering what became of the old dining room? It's now a sitting room and very lovely. It's nice to have someone to sit on the couch and talk to while cooking dinner. I'll post about that at a later date. Have a great day!