Lots of catching up to do here... First off, many thanks to all of you for your sympathetic and supportive comments on our driveway. We've decided to go ahead and do the driveway replacement, not just because our insurance company is demanding it, but because we were planning on doing it down the road anyway. Our current driveway is hideous asphalt, with the quick fix tar slurry painted over the top. So, although we could just reapply the slurry, that stuff is horrible - it stinks, gets tracked into the house (destroying the floors), and will just end up cracking and flaking again. Since we replaced all our flooring (with beautiful tile and hardwood) in the past 2 years, I don't want to destroy the flooring with a fresh coat of tar on the driveway. We're going to do this the way we really want it done, and it will make a big difference to the curb appeal of our home... If you all are interested, I can post before, during, and after photos once we get underway. I'm sure it will be a bit disruptive to our lives!
This past weekend my in-laws came to visit with the promise of taking care of Brynne and letting Jerry and I get to know each other again. Since we have no family nearby, this was a rare opportunity for us to get some alone time. Friday night we went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the 4th movie we've seen in the theater since Brynne was born!) - it was great... squirrels!!!
On Saturday we did something we'd been wanting to do since we moved to California six years ago - visit the Channel Islands. For those of you who don't know, the Channel Islands are a chain of 8 islands off the southern California coast from Santa Barbara down to a bit beyond Long Beach. Five of the islands (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara) are located quite close to us and can be accessed from the Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Oxnard harbors. Most of the land on the islands is protected and owned by the National Park Service or the Nature Conservancy, and the waters around the islands are marine sanctuaries. Needless to say, this is an incredible resource for us, and we were very late in taking advantage. We took a boat from the Ventura harbor to Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the Channel Islands, and spent the day hiking pretty challenging trails on one end of the island. Here is a photo of the island emerging from the fog early Saturday morning as we approached on our boat:
There are many reasons to visit the islands: natural beauty, archaeological finds, amazing kayaking, snorkeling, and diving, and a rather bizarre history. What we found really interesting is the entire history of occupation - from the Native Americans to the Spanish in the fourteenth century (feral pigs descended from the original Spanish pigs still roam the island!) to the eccentric private ownership and ranching to the current protected park status! Here's a typical image from the amazing coastline (lots of cool caves and rock formations that can be explored by kayak):
I know I've gone on about this day trip, but I highly recommend it to anyone who lives or visits southern California. It's a little pricey to get out there ($48 per person round trip for a day), but definitely worth it.
On Sunday we woke to find ourselves rather sore (who knew climbing mountains used so many muscles?!?), but ready to tackle the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market. This happens the second Sunday of every month and is quite an amazing experience. There are plenty of vendors with new merchandise, but the true wonders are to be found with the vintage and antique dealers. It's really quite overwhelming in size, variety, and quality of goods to be found. I'm not sure there are any amazing bargains to be found (this is southern California, after all!), but lots of great vintage clothing, textiles, buttons, glassware, furniture, toys, etc. to browse. We wandered through it all pretty quickly, but I did snatch up some vintage buttons for $1 per card:
Phew, that might be my longest post yet! With all the family visits and driveway madness, I'm rather behind in crafting. But, I do start my next quilting class on Thursday, so I should be getting some quilt projects worked on (finally!). I'll do my best to have some more fun stuff to show you this week!
I, for one, would love to see before and after pictures. There's nothing quite like the vicarious pleasure of someone else's fix-it project! We just have a gravel drive which we recently augmented. Talk about dusty and dirty. Oh, guess I should introduce myself as this is my first comment - I've read for awhile but haven't had anything very scintillating to add to the discussion. I live in Bend, Oregon and have 3 yo and 9 month old sons whom I love to craft for - though the results are spotty at best. Glad you and the hubby got a chance to do some exploring on your own. It's nice to remember that your partner is someone you really like spending time with, isn't it?
Sara
Posted by: Sara Henson | August 17, 2005 at 09:33 AM
Oh, those bird buttons are to die for! They would look so sweet on a little dress!
I, too, would love to see before, during & after pics. I'm always fascinated by the "process". Next year we'll be adding a garage to our land (which has no parking). It'll have to be cut in to the side of the hill next to our home. I envision some cool San Fransisco-style thing but don't know how the neighbors will take it!
Posted by: bellablue | August 17, 2005 at 10:59 AM
Glad you had fun out there! I would like to go out to Santa Cruz Island one of these days. I think we told you that we went to Anacapa once, and I threw up off the side of the boat after we snorkeled (there's something so wrong about floating in freezing cold water with only some rubber to protect you). Actually, snorkeling usually makes me seasick. BUT ANYWAY, I am so glad you guys had a nice weekend, and those birdie buttons are fabuloso!
Posted by: Mariko | August 17, 2005 at 11:43 AM
I too was completely amazed at Santa Cruz Island- One of the best places I have ever visited. You said that you went to Rose Bowl Swapmeet, I live in Pasadena... do you ever go to the PCC swapmeet? I have just become a regular there, it is the first Sunday of each month and it is free. I have found a vender that sells vintage table cloths and hankies and aprons REALLY cheap ( shhh ).
Posted by: tyn | August 18, 2005 at 12:06 AM