my homemade goods

I just started an Etsy site where I will post the jewelry, friendship bracelets, quilts and fabric satchels that I have made (and those I have yet to make). Go to the Etsy site and see "henrysgarden" (http://henrysgarden.etsy.com). But not yet! - haven't posted anything yet. Need to take photos and get it up and running. Make sure to look for goodies for the holidays!

...and remember to enjoy this incredible (almost) fall day!

bringing summer to a close

Just returned from a wonderful family vacation in Lake Tahoe - perfect way to wrap up summer! We got a week at a lakefront house in Kings Beach, north shore Tahoe, at a Growing Gardens auction almost two years ago. Growing Gardens is a wonderful local non-profit that works to alleviate hunger by helping families and schools grow and preserve their own food. We delayed staying at the house because of scheduling challenges - it was definitely worth the wait!

We drove down and back different routes - seeing parts of Oregon and California that I've never seen. It was fun to make the drive part of the journey - then you're not rushed. My wonderful niece, Ariane (pictured above sitting in my kayak), rode with me the whole way down - lots of fun. We all had such a relaxing time - makes you remember to spend time doing the important things: being with family and friends. We played peewee golf (where I won - yes!) and ping pong, rode bikes, kayaked from the beach at the house, took walks, went to Sand Harbor (beautiful sandy beach with huge rocks on the Nevada side), ate wonderful food, drank great wine, read lots, watched movies, sunned ourselves like lizards and relaaaxxxxed.

The trip was even more special because we spent the summers of our youth at our family cabin on the lake in Kings Beach. Our father, with his father and brothers, built two houses on the lake. Right after the last day of school, our mother would put the four of us in the station wagon - my brother Pat, sister Ann and our dog Chris (short for Chris Cringle - a beagle we got at Christmas) - and go up to the cabin. We spent the whole summer there - family and friends would come up to stay. Great memories.

And this house was right down the street from our cabin! All week, my sister and I reminisced about summers on the lake. Interesting how memories come back. The only missing piece was having my brother and his family - Pat, Cathleen, Emily, Jensen and Marin - there. We would love to go again next summer and have the whole family there. Hope to make it happen!

...time to get ready for fall!