I have assembled every possible configuration of storage unit made of particle board. Could there possibly be another kind of white, melamine cupboard or shelving arrangement, out there, that I haven't, yet, put together? It would be hard to imagine. I've practically got a PhD in "PB" Studies. I'm pretty sure I could prevail against ANYone in a speed-challenge to assemble ANY type of furniture, from flat pack to fully-functional unit, no question! Ha! Blindfolded! Ha! No instructions! I am Queen of Particle Board! All I need is that amazing little allen wrench! BOY, I love that genius hardware-probably-designed-by-Swedes! It's SO cool! 
So, by now, after, yes, one more trip to IKEA (particle board mecca!), I have almost all the storage pieces in place, in the studio. Gotta work some magic with shelves-into-concrete-walls and a vertical file. But we're getting close! Blue-Tarp Mountain, out back, is beginning to shrink a little. I'm working as fast as I can to get my supplies inside, since it's, now, regularly dipping down to around 30 degrees at night, and there might just be an issue with some of the inks outgrowing their bottles...
Here are a couple of shots of the studio, so far. Not many more gaps to fill! I won't be too unhappy to lay down my allen wrenches. Plus, if I didn't know better, I'd swear "particle board" is just another name for "lead"! It's heavier than any other earthly material I know about! Gotta be loaded up with some sort of extra protons, or something. Easily lifted on the moon, maybe. Anyway, I'll probably languish in some kind special environmentally-mandated purgatory for using so much of it. I'll try to work my way out by using soy inks, and such...
I had a chat with Rachel on Thanksgiving Day! She called from Zurich, Switzerland. She's staying with a friend, who lives there, for the long weekend. They needed a bit of advice about making a pumpkin pie for a T-Day party with some Americans, friends of her friend, on Friday. It's quite a lovely place, there, right on a beautiful lake. The four of us had passed by it on the train ride to Innsbruck, when we were there, a number of weeks ago, but we didn't stop to get to know it, at all.
On Monday, she'll be off to Ljubljana, Slovenia, where another friend from college lives. She's planning to be in that area for a week, or so, before she heads for Dublin, where she'll hang out for several days. From there, it's back to Boston.
If you haven't checked her blog, in awhile, she's written up her ceramics course (in Italy) including a bunch of pictures. Very entertaining! The link is in the upper left of this page.
Meanwhile, we can only imagine what's up with Dylan, these days. We're guessing Thanksgiving wasn't even on the radar, this year. I've read that there's some ritual called "Enkang oo-nkiri", which is translated "meat-eating ceremony", but it probably doesn't include turkey...
What has four legs, three ears, and walks in two different directions at once? How did you KNOW?! Yes, it's the Houstons! John and Gwen came to our house for Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful, hilarious time with them! (Actually, they seem to have the usual four ears, but John doesn't hear so good out of one of them--though it COULD be a very convenient little, um, device he uses to, well, pick and choose when he listens to, uh,... we'll probably never know, for sure)
We were SO pleased and honored that they chose to come the 600 miles, or so, to Grass Valley to be with us! All of the kids in each of our families were either very far away or otherwise occupied, so it was an intimate affair with just the four of us. Gwen had not, yet, had a chance to see where we'd landed after leaving San Diego (John had been here for the backpacking adventure) and the curiosity was palpable from here. 
The best flights they could find, dropped them into the San Francisco airport, so they rented a car, drove the 150 miles from there, and, several phone queries later, arrived late Wed.eve. at our humble abode, looking mahvelous, Gwen's bird-of-paradise next to John's dusky warbler.
Somehow, I had uncharacteristically managed to have the Big Feast organized well enough to allow us all to enjoy conversations and even a pre-meal walk together, without having to divide into the traditional cooking team and TV team. Gwen was able to begin her survey of our entire library, magazine collection, and the cherry-picking of interesting recipes from the cookbook shelves (so much to do! so little time!). She scored big points with me for actually ASKING for, and wallowing in my Andy Goldsworthy book collection. And she only rearranged a few of my decorative elements--I'm so glad she caught them! They disappeared, briefly (together), into town and returned with the most gorgeous orchid centerpiece for the table! Wow! So perfect! It might even last until Christmas! We laughed (mostly at Gwen) and caught up on each other's kids and ate up a storm! There was time, after, for a DVD they had brought with them (Painted Veil) about which there were more opinions than movie-watchers, at the end.
Friday, Gwen, John and I journeyed to Sacramento (Tom a bit of work to catch up on) to be tourists for a day. Which destinations? In what order? Where to park? How much time at each location? How to experience each destination? Where and when to eat? All I know is, that without my uttering more than just a few words the whole time (it was like stepping out to cross a very busy street), every question posing many sides, a tentative compromise was eventually reached (often with great drama) on each one, and that, almost never, was the strategy eventually implemented.
Somehow, we all saw 1. The Crocker Art Museum (location of beautiful Christmas tree), 2. The State Capitol, and, 3., The Railroad Museum, and ate lunch in between. Typically, we would walk in together, John would (very generously) get the tickets, and in the next blink, I would be standing there, ready to follow the Plan, alone. Example: Gwen finds the gift shop as though it releases pheromones. I eventually find Gwen, and, by the time John finds us, he's seen the whole place. Basically, we each experienced each location as single entities, somehow linking up at the end. But it was fun! And funny! Lunch was a scream. Walking to a shopping Mall (are they ALL Westfield Shoppingtowns, now?), John stated a strong desire for soup (to soothe a jumpy stomach). Inside, while he and I are looking at the directory for the food court, Gwen has disappeared. A few feet behind us, she had bought her lunch, already. John and I head upstairs, looking for soup. I look away. Next I see him, he's eating Korean barbeque. Eventually, we sat together for a minute, as I arrived with my lunch (I chose the same as Gwen--just not at the same time). It works! We had a blast!
More turkey and A Bug's Life in the evening (plus some quick nature-video to show off our HD), and we were ready to turn in. 
After breakfast, Saturday morning, they moved on, wanting to see a bit of San Francisco before hopping the plane pre-6am Sun.morn--but, WHICH bit was still in question (no kidding, though, in one of several quick phone conversations we had with them in transit, the DeYoung Museum had been the "final" decision--but, well, let's just say, I wouldn't stake my life on their having gotten near the place). Our house, meanwhile, had become way too quiet and boring after their departure. We're still adjusting.
So, for us, at least, it was a wonderful and memorable Thanksgiving! Like having a houseful, somehow! Thank you, John and Gwen, for your visit and your friendship (and the fun along the way)! Gobble gobble!
Sunday, on our way back home from Dad's party, Terry and I thought we'd drop by Fallbrook to see how much fire damage there was to a certain house our mom used to live in.
Toward the end of the recent, terrible firestorms, last month, I was able to pull up lists of the addresses of homes/structures that had been burned.
I knew that the fire had come very near some of the four different homes in the area that mom and her used-to-be husband, Ken, had lived in, and was curious to know if any of them had been affected. The first home they lived in, around the Fallbrook Golf Course (as they all were), was a lovely custom-built house (by the architect who lived there, originally) to which Ken had added his classic artistic touches (decks, river rock walls, etc.). It was nestled in the old oaks, with a creek running by. 
After that, they lived in two other beautiful houses, which Ken designed and built, himself, plus a condo near I-15, where they lived during the construction of one of them. We had memories associated with them all, of course.
On the computer list of damaged homes, was the address of the first house they occupied, the one on Nuestra. I mentioned it to Mom, and she, of course, was quite interested to know if it was gone, or just slightly damaged. She still has friends in the area, but none could tell her. So, Terry and I thought we'd stop by to check it out. 
We found very little of it left. We hoped that the occupants had been able to get all their pets and valuables out in time. But the house, itself, was well and truly burned to the ground. Beyond the concern for the current owners, we were, of course, trying to coax up memories of our own from that place, as we walked carefully through the ashes. Mom and Ken had lived there for several years in the eighties, and we'd spent many days with our young kids and extended family in that beautiful, tree-covered house and yard. 
The house was unique: large, warm and rustic and contemporary. Big windows. Ken (never one to sit around) had built his huge, signature decks and benches all around the house. And beautiful river rock walls. There was spa set into the deck. And a pickle ball court lined out in the driveway (I forget how it's played, but I think it's like big ping-pong, with paddles and a rubber ball). It was there, once, that Terry could get a break from carrying tiny Lily (recently adopted from Korea), because Terry and I looked so much alike, that Lily couldn't always tell the difference.
The stone fences are still there, along with the fireplace and a few walls of that long, 70s-style brick. And the pot-bellied stove in the guest wing. I thought of the current owners picking though the rubble for any possessions. We were picking through it for memories, trying to remember the rooms and activities. The huge, old oak that we all loved to look at and even climb, was unscathed. Many of the other trees were damaged, but, perhaps, still viable. Given the burn pattern we saw, it must have been the very last house in that area to go up in flames. The creek was running. I hope the owners can rebuild. It's still a lovely setting.
It was a sobering stop. Very quiet and ghostly. I took a few pics, Terry picked up a piece of flagstone from the fireplace, and we left. We didn't lose anything, there, of course. But there's something strange about walking around a place that once was filled with a piece of one's life and seeing it so utterly changed by sudden catastrophe. Happens every day, for someone.
We zoomed on our way, and had lunch at El Torito, near Magic Mountain. We decided that we needed to make some definite plans to ride all the roller coasters, there, together, sometime soon, while our bones will still hold together under the Gs. We talked our way back to Fresno, getting Terry home around 4 (saw Mom, H, Andrea, Lily, Corrie, Jeff, and their kids, Ella, Tabor, Quinn and Gigi), and I made it back to GV by 8. A quick, but memorable weekend!
Well, the excitement just never lets up, around here. Actually, around here, it does. All the time. So, I had to go on a road trip to find some. And I did!
Dad turned 80, last Tuesday! Eighty! Four score, exactly! Unbelievable! Especially, because he doesn't look or act a day over, uh, something a lot younger. So, Jean planned a surprise party for Saturday, at Fran and Don's amazing home in Carlsbad. Tom wasn't able to come along, so, I drove to Fresno Friday evening, hung out with Mom, for a night, then picked my sister, Terry, up the next morning for the rest of the journey to North SD County. So much fun! 
There aren't that many opportunities for us to be together by ourselves, so we talked ourselves silly the whole way.
We made pretty good time, arriving early afternoon. I made a quick birthday banner, and Terry took charge of the balloons, popping every other one, or so, for dramatic effect. Jean and Fran are a mean cooking machine, and the food was fabulous! 
At around 4 o'clock, Jean brought Dad over under the ruse of an informal barbeque at the Diehl's. Totally clueless! It was way fun to see how shocked he was to walk through the house and discover all the folks, including us, who were milling around, munching hors d'oeuvres, chugging Arnold Palmers (or wine, as the case may have been) and admiring all the art displayed throughout. In reality, he actually sneaked up on US, since we were all still waiting for the word that he was coming. Anyway, it was a great party! Lots of laughing! Fran and Don travel quite a bit and bring home beautiful and interesting artifacts, art and photos. So, the setting was almost like a museum! Quite wonderful!
Everybody loves Dad! He has friends of all ages, from the youngest to the oldest!
We enjoyed watching how easily everyone relates to him. And, at 80, he's beginning a new hobby! Fran and Don gave him an electronic keyboard, and he's going to learn how to play the piano! How cool is that? We're so glad you're our dad and we love you,! At your 90th, we'll be listening to all the songs you've learned to play, by then. Please, no Frank Sinatra!
After the party, we had time to hang out at Dad and Jean's for awhile before crashing. 
Tom and I had bought a Bavarian hat for Dad in Germany, which I gave to him. I don't know if he slept in it, or what, because it was still on his head the next morning. Looked good, though, even with PJs and bathrobe. Terry and I Ieft mid-morning (after a bit of Jean's killer chocolate cake), for the long ride back home. I had left my glasses at their house, so, as we were filling up at the corner gas station, here comes Dad, driving up in his robe and new hat! Then, off we went!
In the fires, one of the houses burned in Fallbrook, was one Mom had lived in. So, we thought we'd stop and check it out on the way home. More about that, next time...
These are some quickie updates:
Rachel called Tues. morning and chatted with Tom (I was on a mission to the Valley). She's in Madrid, and planning to spend the weekend somewhere near Gibralter, where her high school volleyball team mate lives. Que vida!
The rain has activated some of the smaller wildlife, I guess (kinda like those little sponges, maybe?).
I don't know where they hang out when it's dry, but suddenly, the teensy frogs we have around here are making lots of noise. It's crazy loud, for such tiny creatures! The other critter we haven't seen all summer is the California Newt--a painfully slow lizardish-sort of animal, which is a very interesting brownish color on top and bright orange underneath. Curls up backwards into a circle (showing the red belly), when disturbed, which I try not to do EVERY time I see one.
Two of our neighbors have told us that they've seen bears in their yards. One reads about sightings and some folks have submitted photos to the Union. My "Bears Welcome!" sign has born no fruit, to date.
Another trip to Home Depot/IKEA down near Sacramento yielded more progress in the studio. 
It's not my favorite kind of day, to spend most of it driving and hopping from big box store to big box store. But it's the fastest and least expensive way to get what we need, sometimes, even with the price of gas. I mentally apologize to Nevada County every time I cross over into Placer County to buy stuff, though. The "Shop Local" campaign, here, is in full swing, now, and I'm a BIG supporter--really!...until I can't find what I need, up here, and I hit the road. Anyway, here's a picture of the upper cabinets we installed this week. My furniture and supplies are slowly starting to find their way into the room from the exile of the patio. I need to step it up to keep my inks from colorful ice sculpture...
And, from the Police Blotter, last week:
"11:25 a.m.--A caller from the 14500 block of Storm Ridge Road reported she couldn't get out because a huge storage container was being moved down her road. She was advised to wait 15 minutes." [She wasn't arrested for felony impatience??]
"2:04 p.m.--A caller from the 13900 block of Pierite Road reported that his wife assaulted him. Responding deputies go an ambulance toe take her to the emergency room." [Either the dispatcher got the pronouns confused, or there was more to that story...]
"2:03 p.m.--A caller from the 10400 block of Broken Oak Court reported hearing someone in the neighborhood banging around on something. Responding deputies discovered the neighbor was setting a crib up for a baby." ["Responding deputies"?? They respond to someone "banging around on something"?]
"9:27 p.m.--A caller from the 10000 block of Broken Oak Court reported an X-Box had been stolen and switched with the neighbor's broken X-Box video game system. Deputies contacted both parties and determined the accusation was unfounded. Neither X-Box was working." [beginning to wonder about something in the water on Broken Oak Court]
More, later...
Are we there, yet? No. Shut up! But we are getting closer! Yes, we are!
Tom got the sink connected. Twice. Because who wants to do anything so fun only once?! And, now, there's hot 'n' cold running water in my little studio room! Big step! Simultaneously, I was doggedly assembling the three drawer units I had bought at Home Depot. That little task was so fascinating, that on the third one, I must have been dozing, since I installed the drawer glides upside down, at first. 
All that said, I am very happy with the results! The nice counter area next to the sink will be so useful for, uh, setting things on, and such. Since I do not have the big storage closet in this studio, as I did in the last one, I'm very mindful of all the ways I'll need to maximize use of the space, here. All those drawers will help a ton.
Today, we uncovered most the furniture and supplies, etc., that have been sitting under several large tarps in the patio behind the house. It's a covered area, but I still discovered a bit of moisture damage.
Quite minor, however, and, so far, fewer critters have taken up lodging in the nooks and crannies than I had feared. Somehow, I had imagined it all just magically being transported into the room, all ready to go, in one day. That's my La-la-brain, again. We did bring a few of the biggest pieces in, today, as I tried to get a floor plan to work with my existing stuff. 
As with the rest of the house, it appears as though I'll be able to use about half of it, and supplement with some new things, like the cabinets. Also, as with the rest of the house, I did precious little weeding-out of useless nonsense, so there's a lot of that to do, in the process. The cast-off furniture will, no doubt, have another useful existence in the shop, later.
So, I'm pretty jazzed about getting to this point! I can almost smell it, from here. Yes! No, that's the pizza, we're about to munch...
We hit pay dirt at our house, this morning, and we were giddy with glee! It wasn't gold we were mining, though (quite the big deal around here, for the last 160 years--you might have heard about it). Far better! At the end of OUR tunnel, we found GRAY stuff!
Our house has two waste water systems: One from the toilets/bidets/urinal to the the septic tank; the other, for all the other waste water--the "gray" water. In the few months of our living in this lovely home, we've had quite a number of extraordinarily unlovely experiences with the outflows of both systems. I'll spare you the indelicate details, but, lets just say, that several of those failures happened when we had guests staying here, magnifying the urgency (and the exasperation!). 
After much time and treasure spent and a huge crater dug near the side of our house, involving an entire column in the Yellow Pages under "People Who Can't Seem To Find The Septic Tank", we discovered the issue with System One (we'll call it). The backflow valve was stuck closed, completely blocking the pipe. The absolutely unnecessary backflow valve, as we were informed. Great. The plumbers removed the offending circular flap, and filled in the hole. Ah! Nasty Problem, vanquished! Worth every penny (I guess)!
Then, System Two--the gray water--began to act up. Same symptoms (only, in different fixtures). What the---?!! We were beginning to fear going Downstairs!
What terrible, malodorous, watery disaster would be lurking, there? And, because it would be too simple for it to happen only to us, our friends were also staying here, and desperately in need of showers (you know who you are)! After several more visits from our, now, close, personal (and wealthier) friends, the Plumbers, the same diagnosis was reached. Another stuck (and apparently just as unnecessary) backflow valve! Naturally, and why not?! But this time, to save a bit of cash, we decided to dig for the pipe, ourselves. 5-6 feet down. And, unfortunately, in a slightly different location from the first hole. All new dirt. And rocks and roots.
Tom and I shared the chore. Over several weeks. Seems there's always something more important to do, when a big deep hole is waiting to be dug. 
The Job was hanging over our heads like Pooh's little black raincloud. We could never quite relax. "It" was out there; inevitable as the weigh-in at the doctor's office. Gradually, though, the hole grew larger, and deeper. Then, today, we both just gave it all we had for a couple of hours, and--WOO HOO!--we found the Source of the Problem! We had tunneled down and under the stairs a bit (a lot like real miners, actually), finding the septic pipe, then the gray water pipe, and, finally, the valve, itself. Looked so benign. Tom got it open, and found that the flap had been dislodged, somehow, from its original position. 
We decided it had to come out. And out it came! An hour later, the hole was covered up, and I had taken a picture of the two little bad valve-discs that had caused so much grief! Two small, innocent-looking, cheap-o pieces of plastic.
So, now we live, free of fear, once again! Happy Day!! Feel the joy!! We flush and shower with confidence! And, when you come to visit us, so can YOU!
Que bueno! We had a long chat with Rachel, this morning! She and her friend, Buffy, rented a car in Barcelona, and have been exploring mostly the northern areas of Spain for the last week! So far, she reports it to be her favorite destination, especially the coastal town of San Sebastian, next to the border with France. When we spoke, they were hanging out in Santander, to the west along the shore. She went on and on about how green and beautiful the Basque region is, with a gorgeous coastline, dotted with, yet, even more charming cities and villages (seems everywhere you look in Europe, there they are!). Loves the culture. Loves the food--mostly fresh fish and veggies. Building on her Spanish skills. They visited the Guggenheim in Bilbao, which is one of the amazing signature buildings by Frank Gehry, who designed Disney Hall in LA. Here's a link to some pictures: http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/ingles/edificio/el_edificio.htm She's connected with some folks from a couple of business schools in Barcelona (went to a Halloween party with them, of all things!), and is seriously considering those schools in the lineup of possibilities. Tomorrow, they'll move south, again, working their way over to Madrid and then, back toward Barcelona. She and Buffy will travel together for another week. After Buffy heads back to Boston, Rachel will go to visit a high school volleyball teammate who has been living near Gibralter for the last four years.
While we were talking, I was busy finding her locations on Google Earth, where it's possible to "fly" in close and look at the satellite photos, as well as pictures uploaded by other travelers. So cool! Of course, having Google Earth on my desktop screen, is constant temptation to spend untold hours zooming all over the world. I have to limit myself to pertinent searches! Mostly, I can control my curiosity, but sometimes, well, Mt. Fuji or Machu Picchu beckons...
So, I must say that I've been just a bit discouraged about the forward motion on my little studio, of late. I never imagined it would be close to seven months after moving in, before I could get a work space up and running. Lots of moving parts, I know, but it also seems like I plan in LaLa Land, then work in Gremlin Gulch! I figure on one day to do a job, and it takes me all week! Putting in the door trim and baseboard seemed to take an inordinate amount of time, trouble and trips to the hardware store. 
I finally gave up on the wide baseboard idea (like we have in the rest of the house). Crooked boards, crooked walls, glue that won't stick (half the room is concrete and the base needed to be glued). Liquid Nails is neither liquid nor nails, I discovered. Should be called "Pasty-Gray-Stuff-That-Takes-Forever-To-Dry". I went back to the lumberyard and got quarter round, instead. I work messy, too (if you look closely, you might be able to see some, uh, clutter). Looks bad in the picture and it got worse before it got better. Doesn't help the sense of progress.
Finally, this afternoon, after after all the nail-setting, filling, sanding, more filling, and more sanding, I cleared the room (took awhile), took the shavings to the garden, and vacuumed and vacuumed and vacuumed! SO cathartic! It's pristine! With a mirror wall and a barre, it would make a lovely little dance studio!
Meanwhile, all my supplies and furniture are still outside, covered by tarps, held down by rocks,
probably long-since having become luxury condos for giant centipedes and scorpions. So, next, I'll put urethane on the floor and all the wooden parts of the doors and on the base trim--two coats on everything--and paint the two solid doors. Should be a snap! I'll be moving in by Monday! La lala lala...
It's been a few weeks since we've heard from Dylan, which is what we expected. But, as promised, it's being November, now, he was able to send us a quick email that we received this morning. Sounds like he's having a wonderful time of it!
back in arusha again, but I only have time for a quick update... things a have been going great, I have been essentially camping for the last 3 weeks and will continue for the next 6 or so, pretty wild in the wilderness sense, very dirty, hot, but VERY cool... I cant even go into it but everything is fine, everyone is very healthy, albeit skinnier, and the group dynamic is great. We've grown accustomed to speaking masaii, seeing giraffe, zebra, etc daily, and living without most things we're used to... the landscape is breathtaking and the days go quickly...we are on a 'break' currently and heading to ngorongoro crater tomoorow for a mini safari, hopefully we'll see the big cats there that have eluded us so far...
If you have Google Earth, there are some beautiful photos from Ngorongoro Crater, and here is the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngorongoro_Conservation_Area
It's a giant, 3 million-year-old volcanic crater, which has become a protected area for the incredible variety of wildlife in the area. A very popular photo-safari destination.
Anyway, we're happy to hear that everything's going great! It'll be fun to hear Dylan speak a bit of Maasai at Christmas!
I have assembled every possible configuration of storage unit made of particle board. Could there possibly be another kind of white, melamine cupboard or shelving arrangement, out there, that I haven't, yet, put together? It would be hard to imagine. I've practically got a PhD in "PB" Studies. I'm pretty sure I could prevail against ANYone in a speed-challenge to assemble ANY type of furniture, from flat pack to fully-functional unit, no question! Ha! Blindfolded! Ha! No instructions! I am Queen of Particle Board! All I need is that amazing little allen wrench! BOY, I love that genius hardware-probably-designed-by-Swedes! It's SO cool! 
