the national weather services thermometer (in los angeles) broke
when it reached 113 degrees.
the hottest day ever.
as soon as i got out of work
i ran to the beach
and jumped in the ocean! then i made some popsicles.
summer has finally arrived.
p.s. owen got his own little swimming pool in the backyard where he's been splashing happily and bobbing for his toys. he's terribly cute when he's all wet. oh owen.
the first green sleeves are ready for my shop, but they'll have to wait till tomorrow, this morning i was playing here and tonight we're going here!
each sleeve has been named for a tree. and along with a name, a meaning. i had fun researching these and i learned something too.
i realize that not taking a paper cup is the best policy, and hopefully that will be something that will happen in the not too distant future. i try to bring my own, but it's not always possible. i guess it's still best to do what we can!
mine
(hee hee, i keep changing my mind which colorway i like best)
if you'd like one too, please go here (i'll do my best to get them up tomorrow)
She's here in California for family and came out of her way to meet me!
it truly was like greeting an old friend, we couldn't stop talking and smiling.
I was lucky enough to meet her husband and sister as well. So wonderful.
I hesitated putting up this photo (aggg! here we are! ha ha), but then i thought how better to show the genuine kindness written all over her face. blog friend meetings are like the next frontier heh?
I asked my daughter for suggestions, what would be helpful or needed in the care packages that I'd like to send her, while she's at school in NYC. Here is her (unedited by me) response. I think she really would like her bike. :)
in other news, THE SUN CAME OUT. living under a blanket of fog for months, made seeing the sun today SO sweet. i walked down to the beach after work and felt like a person seeing for the first time, shadows, sunlight glinting off the water, color. i waved hello to the horizon my husband is out there for three days working. if you look closely at the video, you might see them. the islands he's on.
this day was like a care package for me :) thank you so much for all your kind (super nice!) comments on my last post, i so appreciate every single one. i think i'll have a shop update coming soon!
:: he called breathless "i was on a paddleboard two miles off the coast, we were surrounded by at least twenty migrating blue whales!"
:: my youngest girl called " i got a job!"
:: my youngest boy called also "i got in! "(the school he was hoping for)
:: my middle son sent to me in the mail a letter and an apple gift card! he said have fun!
:: my oldest child made a commercial for lexus
:: my husband was offered a job as editor of a (big) magazine (he had to turn it down though)
:: my sister heard my mom sing the words to a james taylor song
i felt immense joy and pleasure at all these things (* so i won't ever forget)
then i took a hike visited a gallery where my friend has a showing spent four days with my dear friends here from germany went on a date with my husband showed a friend how to knit cables and she gave me some of her handmade beeswax candles and then, after work, i started working on these...
i am going to call them green sleeves. the embroidered patch is my own design, the knitted pattern is found here. instead of wasteful paper cardboard sleeves, i hope others will want to try these reusable cozies. they keep your tea or coffee warm and keep your hand comfortable. because a comfortable hand is important indeed!
little friends approve of the soft wool
and now for the winner of the give~a~way
nice to have helpers
3 years housewife and bhavana! congratulations! yes, it seems i couldn't help myself and chose two, please email me with your addresses, thank you everyone.
♥ lori
p.s. thank you so much from Chuck (and me too!) for all your kind words on my previous post, i love that photo of him!
We woke this morning to a friends phone call : the mag is out. My humble husband is not too very excited to have his photo in the new Men's Journal magazine, but I am.
this post marks number two hundred. and at the same time the two year anniversary of this blog. hip hip hooray! of course a give~a~way is in order, but first a tiny explanation about the header photo at the top of lori times five...
it is not at the desert this image was taken. it's at the sea! see? here is another view. there is the pacific ocean in the distance of this (above) photo. both taken by my husband, Chuck Graham. we love the dunes and go there often to explore, enjoy the solitude and take pictures. and sometimes there is even some hopping about (see header photo. :)
i googled guadalupe dune images and found a few of his published photos.
but wait! look what i found! here is a really truly pirated photo of his! hahahaha! someone took chuck's photo and put johnny depp on it. i understand why, Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed here. we had to laugh (even though chuck said damn) this happened three years ago and i only just found it now.
over twenty three movies have been filmed at the dunes, although we've never seen anyone here, other than the lone fisherman. here is hannah doing the most fun thing you can do, run around! this is a photo chuck made and gave to her ♥ (when i took it out of the frame to scan, a piece of it stayed on the glass, as evidenced by the small white spot in the sky) :(
and here are my lazy mobile phone photos. i used to have better ones, but they are in photo heaven now (computer crashing, failure to back up). i can see it's time to go back for more!
thank you for reading, sharing, adding so much joy, happiness and love in my life these past two years. wishing i could hug you all. instead i'll celebrate by sending one of you a handmade celebration banner.
here is an example, one i made for hannah (it's actually one long strand which i've doubled here). your's will be similar but will not say good luck, unless of course that's what you'd like. i'll choose a name from the comments at the end of the week, sunday i think. yes, that sounds just right. have a wonderful week!
ahh
we took a walk and found a pond on the property, and frogs, hawks,
we ate oysters on the half shell
and then sat down to a candlelit dinner
next morning
alpacas!
the owner of the alpaca farm is south african, some of the alpacas have african names
mine
