...since I'm finally posting again

Never wrote about my trip to Carmel!  Last October, my sister, Ann, and I stayed in Carmel for a few days.  The purpose of the trip was to walk the Big Sur Half-Marathon in Monterey.   Stayed in a wonderful little hotel with a kitchen - walking distance to everything in town.  Great food, long walks on the beach and along the coast, and toured down the coast to Big Sur.  Our cousin, Kitty, came down from Emerald Hills to stay with us one night - fun evening, of course!!  The walk was fabulous - can't believe we went that far - 13.1 beautiful miles along the Pacific Coast.  We finished right under the 4 hour deadline with 12 minutes to spare.  Boy, we were sore - could hardly walk.  Everything hurt but it was fabulous!  Plan to go again next year.  Great part of California.  Kind of old home week as I'm from northern California.  Great to go back for a visit.  Looking forward to the next one!

home from Maui

Well, I just returned from a wonderful trip to Maui.  Getting to the sun is food for the soul.  The air and water feel like satin on your skin.  The sand beneath your toes in the clear blue water is sensual.  The turtles are cute; the whales are amazing.  I am so grateful to have been able to take this last minute trip.  Stayed on Wailea Beach in southwest Maui.  The photo above is of the beach - great swimming, snorkeling and playing on water toys (kayak, paddle board).  Weather was in the 80's every day.  My room was an ocean-view room just above the Serenity infinity pool - just nice to sit on the lanai and take in the scenery and warm air.  Long walks, good food (and mai tais!), lots of swimming in the ocean and pools, great reading, lovely island music, fun touring - what more can a girl ask for??!!  Can't wait to go back.

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!

Lake Tahoe

Early Monday morning, we leave for Lake Tahoe! Can't wait - it's going to be a great vacation.

A little over a year ago, we were at an auction for Growing Gardens. Growing Gardens is a local, non-profit organization that helps low income people grow their own food - great group of people. My friends know to invite me to these auctions. Put a paddle in one hand and a glass of wine in the other and I'm a danger to myself ! - but it always benefits the organization.

At this auction, we got a week at a huge beautiful house on the lake in Kings Beach. Kings Beach is on the north shore near the Nevada border. It is going to be so special because growing up, we spent our summers at our cabin in Kings Beach. Our father, with his father and brothers, built two cabins right on the lake. There was a big house and a little house, with our own beach and pier. At the beginning of summer when school was out, mom would throw my brother, sister, our beagle Chris and me in the car and away we'd go. We'd spend the whole summer there - family and friends would come up throughout the summer. Incredible memories. This trip will definitely be a trip down memory lane. The vacation house is on the same street as our house - Brockway Vista Avenue.

So, have to get my bike rack on top of my car. Will take my kayak and bike. Can put the kayak in right at the house. There are bike trails all around the lake and along the Truckee River. It's going to be fun!!

... remember to make the most of your day!

fit again!

A good friend, Rick, sent a disc of photos and a video to me. I received them yesterday. The photos were taken in 1997 at this time of year. The photos were taken on trips that Rick and I took when we were dating. The video was taken on a trip to Northern California to see my family. I've only looked at a short portion of the video - look forward to finishing it today.

The photos arrived at my doorstep at an opportune time. Right now, I'm focusing on eating mostly protein and vegetables with a little fruit and starch, and exercising more - the goal is to be healthier and more fit. So, getting the photos of me when I was more fit really help. They were taken only 12 years ago but I look different. More importantly, I know I felt different - better.

At the time, I had just returned from a week's vacation at a Club Mediterranean at Sonora Bay, Mexico. Club Med's were big back then - the first all-inclusive vacation spots. They all had a different focus - some for families, some for singles - focusing on particular outdoor activities (golf, tennis, aquatics). Since I had played tennis over the years and thought I would enjoy and benefit from a week of tennis instruction and play, I decided on the Sonora Bay club. It was a blast! I had lessons all week and at the end of the week (and on my 40th birthday), I played in a tournament. I won my first match! I was thrilled - what a great birthday present. I remember it was so hot my face was like a tomato (when I got off the plane, it was 118 degrees; the next day it was 120 and I stopped paying attention to the temperature. It was dry so it was tolerable). And I got creamed in the second match. I didn't feel so bad because I was beat by a woman who's work it was to play tennis.

So, this is my target mental image of myself. I'm signing up for tennis classes at PCC for the fall. Let's see if I can get my game back! Oh, and that's Clo, the Clover Dairy Cow, at the Sausalito Arts Festival. A good buddy of mine!

... enjoy the cooler day!

happy dog!

Now that's a happy dog! Took Henry to Thousand Acres today. A fabulous park at the confluence of the Columbia and Sandy Rivers. You can have dogs off leash legally, which is a treat. I walk Henry to the Sandy then to the confluence. He loves to swim, retrieve sticks and balls from the river and just hang out in the water. And it's a nice walk for me. People are very friendly there and you run into nice dogs.

...great way to spend the morning!