Oliver Lee

After the wonderful Thai dinner we went inside and watched the kids play. Oliver spent some time on the blanket...of course we took the video after he had been having his head up off the ground.

More Fun in the Wind

Pinwheel Fun

We had a picnic at Caitlin's house for dinner one evening last week. Caitlin made Thai food that was quite delicious. Brooke has been enjoying this pinwheel Caitlin picked up at the dollar store.

Grandchildren

Annie found the sidewalk chalk today and Brooke played with it before and after napping. She has been quite interested in coloring books and has crayons at Auntie Caitlin's as well as at home. She used the chalk to color in some of the books too. 

 

I spent the afternoon pulling weeds in their garden. While I was working outside, Annie was in the basement sorting childrens clothing into tubs by size. Brooke was napping inside so we tried Oliver Lee outside under the cherry tree in the little carrier we used when Annie was a baby. He loved to snooze in the basket! After waking and a clean diaper he was full of smiles and oohs for me.

Projects at Caitlin's House

Well, we have the tubs of geraniums planted and the hanging basket watered. It's looking up in Caitlin's front yard.

Caitlin had transplanted one tub of geraniums before I arrived and then the second one sat for lack of time. The plants were from Costco in square containers with three plants in each~they could have stayed in their original containers but she had these nice barrels from last year. Of course the dirt was super hard and dry so it took lots of watering and chipping away before they were ready. The front hose wasn't operational since the watering company kept putting her off, so the kitchen sink (which has low pressure) was the fill up zone.

My next project was to weed the future site of the patio. These are before and after shots...three black bags and one garbage can later it was looking better!

I finished three quarters of the job one afternoon and then procrastinated...Today I finished the job with a major allergy attack!

 

Odds and Ends

Heading home from Colleen and Wally's house, I spotted a nest that had fallen onto palm leaves...it was light and fluffy. I thought the contrast of elements in this setting was unusual.

We had the master bathroom tiled. John snapped this photo of the grout being applied. Luckily I was in Cashmere while all the disruption took place so I only had to help with the final steps.

We had carpet in the closet and shower area that was pulled out. Our painters didn't paint the entire baseboard so we had some touching up to do. John was delegated to the closet and I had the bathroom. It took 3 coats to match the yellow top coat.

Actually I was satisfied with 3 coats...John came along the next day and added a fourth!

I felt strongly about tiling the entryway and John went along with my wishes. It has improved the front of the house.

Spring Break and Garden Video

Our niece Leah, and her girlfriend Hannah, are visiting the desert during part of spring break. The day they arrived the wind was blowing clouds in from the coast with gusts up to 45mph. They were good sports and didn't complain! Arriving on an early plane in Palm Springs means an early wake-up in Seattle ~ they had a very good sleep the first evening here.

  Picking lemons for lemonade 

Yesterday we enjoyed strolling up and down El Paseo, venturing into a few shops along the way. Leah found a great scarf in one boutique, I picked up lotion at Harry & David's, and Colleen picked up pear chips there. The weather was perfect...warm but not too hot. It is always fun to people watch and the one that made an impression on me was just outside Sak's! The gentleman was wearing leather shoes with turned up toes, long pony tail, and some gold on the hands. Of course it was fun to stroll through the store and browse. I thought it a bit steep when I looked at a leather belt for $350. From there we went into the shoe section (Leah was looking for prom shoes)...buttery leather again...with prices up in the $600 range. Then I had to check out the bags. I found one I would love to have if I led that kind of lifestyle. It was a deep red leather with a huge red leather flower on one side. That little bag went for $995. Ugh. Think of all the good you could do with that amount of cash.

   Hanging out in the sun

Today I worked in the roses spraying for mildew. Our summertime gardener stopped by to make sure we hadn't forgotten him. I think he wants to keep his clients~the Canadians are all beginning to leave the desert and I'm sure he thought we were leaving as well. Our plan is to drive up to Cashmere around May 10-15th depending on Annie and the new baby boy. John will spend time visiting there before driving back to Thousand Palms for his dental appointment. We should have the house kinda packed away for the summer before driving up. John will have to do the "last minute things" before flying north for the summer.

   Lillian Austin

   All That Jazz

Golfing

I went out with John on the golf course to watch him practice. He did quite well that evening, only one slice to the right and one goofy hit. I kept wondering about all the complaining I've been hearing after he golfs...

This photo shows the orchid tree in front of Jim & Donna Martinsen's house in full bloom. Also notice the jug on the green...John has two of these dandies that he fills with sand/seed. He fills the divots as he practices...probably fills 3 divots on each shot. He dug only one of his own!

As we were traveling around on the course he came to the filling station...I was sitting in the cart waiting for him to fill the jugs, the wind was blowing the dirt my way, there was a party on the patio next to me (must have been a green's party...the patio was filled to the brim) and I was feeling conspicuous. Grrr~ hurry up John! He was able to hit a nice shot close to the green. This is the hole Rob and Terri lived on (their home was the middle one in the photo).

Whew!

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake centered 16 miles southwest of Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California just rocked the Coachella Valley.

I was bending down collecting sow bugs and thought I was passing out as the world was bucking around. My first thought was to get out of the garden. Trying to step carefully out of the garden was a problem~nothing was standing still. Heading for the house I thought I was really nuts...it looked like the blinds were swaying. When I reached the sink to wash up, the medicine cabinet door was swaying too...that was when I figured it wasn't me!!

Out I went...thinking about what I had learned about earthquakes. Whew!

What an Easter surprise...hope it's the last!

John's Rack

We decided that a bike rack was needed for the Pilot...John found one that would fit into the trailer hitch. It is quite the bruiser! 

 

 Actually it looks quite easy to install...now to get the bikes to the bike shop for new tires and a checkup.