Papa's memorial get-together in Ohio

Garage update!

Awhile back CD wired, insulated and drywalled the garage. His latest project has been mudding and taping, although I think it originally was supposed to be my job. He loves doing it and I think it relaxes him to spend time in his future "manroom".

The Mud:



The first wall aka the dartboard wall, primed:



After a couple of layers of paint:



Mudding and taping, moving around the garage:

Visitors

MidMay brought along some visitors. Jason came during Mother's day weekend and the following weekend it was Dave's turn. They were both very lucky with the weather: sunny and mostly warm.

Jason has visited a few times before, so we spent a lot of time cooking and hanging out in the house. Jason enjoying a refreshment on the deck:

Dave's arrival coincided with the last day of finals, so he accompanied us out for beers with the students followed by a lovely walk down the jetty:

On Saturday, we headed to that hippie fest known as the Arcata Farmers' Market. There were lots of people since it was commencement weekend and it always helps when the sun is out.

After a stop to enjoy lunch with the physics department graduates, CD had to attend the commencement ceremonies, so Dave and I headed to the beach.

We went to Moonstone beach which is one of my favorite spots. We climbed up on the rocks and watched the water rising as the tide came in, we saw some crazy people swimming, and we loved watching the surfers and the climbers. We spent a good while just chilling on the beach talking and surprisingly getting sunburned (yikes!)

The next day, we drove down Avenue of the Giants to see the big redwoods. It was pretty warm, but it felt cool in their shade. While there, Dave picked up a live burl to take home to Wisconsin. I'm excited to follow it's progress because the saleswoman assured us that redwood trees can grow anywhere... we'll see!

Mother's Day

Happy mother's day to all the wonderful mothers I know.

Sometimes mother's day is hard for me to think about without getting a bit sad and I really miss my mom. (Other times, I feel liberated because even if I forgot to send a card or flowers, it's not the end of the world.) 2009 marks the 10th year anniversary of her passing, I'm currently taking ideas about how to honor her, so feel free to send your suggestions.

My aunt (who's always been like a mother to me) and my mom, way back in the day:

Wristwarmers: part two

I made these for my friend Molly and she loves them. I'm glad!

Today is Stephie's birthday as well. Happy Birthday!!!