Praise

Life has been fairly routine here, since I last blogged 6 days ago -- (has it really been that long? I guess.)  So what does "routine" mean, in my life now?

At night I often wake a couple of times to gaze at the myriad stars and planets cruising across our patch of sky between the trees; going back to sleep, I praise God for such glory.

This morning we woke just before the sun came over the tips of the redwoods; John started the coffee while I looked at my new emails.  Then I realized I'd not posted a new blog for a long few days, and so here I am.

So last Saturday, Julie came up for the annual picnic at Bracken Brae, bringing pasta salad, guacamole and chips to contribute -- and also bringing Danny D. (who made the guac) and his friend Kassandra, who made and brought me a Dragon's Egg. Kass is great, very intelligent and polite; we really like her, we think.  She makes the eggs out of different colors and shades of clay, and bakes them in an oven; and they are just beautiful.  Each one has a "charm" attached to it, so to speak; there's a handwritten little scroll about it, included in the colored mesh bag that holds the egg, and also a matching handmade bracelet.  My charmed egg was for Friendship; I put it right in my pocket, to bring me new friends, and put on the bracelet -- and off we went to the community BBQ.  I took my Italian potato salad; everyone brought something, and the Committee grilled burgers and hot dogs and provided the accoutrements thereof; and the irrepressible Peter, still a bit jetlagged but game, went out and bought a kids' wading pool and filled it with about enough ice to sink the Titanic, and a great deal of beer, soda, and wine. It was a great time had by all, with some little kids and some codgers like us, and everything in between -- about 25-30 people, and I liked them all.

Sunday and Monday were stay-at-home days; Tuesday was Market Day in downtown Felton, about 6 miles south, and we went down to check it out.  Great food stands abounded (Indian, Mexican, kettle corn, spiced nuts) -- and wonderful fresh produce.  We loaded up -- the white peaches were superb, folks!

Wednesday and (so far, Thursday) have just been organizing days; our offices are up and running well, the kitchen is really almost done -- filing the spices away this morning was exhausting, I think we have too many, maybe?

And throughout all six days, the weather has been salubrious; cool, even chilly, at night, very fresh and bright every morning, warm and breezy during the day -- and cooling down slowly at eventide, as we sit on our redwood deck and toast another beautiful day gone by.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Cruz-in'

Friday off: 

every moving person has to have a free day, and this was it for us.  We drove down from the hills to the sea, and spent an afternoon in Santa Cruz, hippie capital of the world.  After much cruising around, trying to find the lunch bistro that Julie had highly recommended, we finally found a good parking place right across the street from "Cafe Limelight" -- the best doggone dog-friendly bistro I've encountered.  It's small and cute, and the little patio is filled with people towing dogs or children or both, but all well behaved, thank God.  We had a superb hummus appetizer designed by Farouk (who was also our waiter); and we split a panino/salad plate and a bottle of 'Flying Dog' ale.  Although dessert was superfluous, it was superb: again, we split a tall dessert glass filled with espresso, vanilla ice cream, and a bit of whipped cream on top, called "Affogatto" (I call it "Heaven and Hell" -- it's hot and icy-cold at the same time, and simply delicious).

After dawdling on the breezy, sunny patio, we had no time to go to see the film we'd thought to try, "Mamma Mia;" so we drove around and around again trying to find stores we wanted to check out; that's tiring, folks.  So we hit Trader Joe's for a stock-up shopping and then headed thankfully back up the mountain.  East or west, home is best, as they say.

Jan and Peter, in one day (Thurs., July 24)

At noon we picked up Ms. Realtor Jan O'Neill,  of the County Kerry O'Neill's, and drove down to meet Julie for an our-treat lunch at a small Italian bistro in Scotts Valley, "In Vino Veritas."  We didn't have any vino, but we had some nice pasta and a delicious baby-beet and egg salad (better than it sounds).  Jan and Julie have done so much, together and separately, to facilitate our moving-in up here, and they enjoy each other's company a lot.

In the evening while we were fixing our supper just after dark, a weird apparition came into view outside our new kitchen window: a ghostly figure, waving cheerily.  "John!" I yelled, "there's something out there trying to get in!"  Brave husband went to the front door, and lo: it was Peter the Hermit, home already from Merrie England and stopping over to say "I'm baaack."  After just a bit over a week, he'd had enough -- "It's 40 pence to the dollar there, dammit!" he moaned, and "Worst mistake I've ever made in my life!" he groaned (frankly, I doubt that, from the look of him).

But his mistake is our gain; we're delighted to have him back.  Little Ashley was having a bit too much of a good time in Daddy's cottage after he left, and we were a bit worried that things would be getting louder and louder as summer wore on (you know how kids are when the parents are away, I assume?)  That worry is now over; and Peter, who gave me the Clavinova piano before he left, you'll remember, is a great neighbor -- and I think he'll become a very good friend.

Going To Town (Tues., July 22)

Alas, there comes a time in every NoCal resident's life when it is necessary to descend to Silicon Valley to worship at the shrine of Fry's Temple of Doom; this was our day.

We started out in good cheer, as the sun was lighting the treetops; on the way down through Bracken Brae's trails and vales, we passed a denizen of the woods who was walking her dog -- and her bird, in a cage strapped to her back (Bird Dog Walk, I guess).

We assailed the tortuously winding Bear Creek Road route to the Valley, and came dizzyingly down into Los Gatos -- the other Capital of Cute, sister city to Capitola on the Coast, I guess -- where we repaired to The Great Bear Coffee House for a shot of courage to face the day (cappuccino, that is).

Our first foray was to a mall in the area that had the biggest damn' Target Store I've ever seen; I was too overwhelmed to buy anything but a couple of boxes of Kleenex, but John bravely purchased a few things we needed.  Then it was on to the glorious Bed, Bath, and Beyond store, a few paces further along our road -- I could probably lose all of our fortune in a place like that, but we restrained ourselves to a few necessities.  (Leenie, I'm going to use your gift certificate there for a real duvet before winter strikes our hills.)  

At last, we reached the goal of the pilgrimage:  Fry's Electronics, the Church of the Silicon.  If it looks like an Egyptian temple on the outside -- and it does -- the theme is carried through with verve as you ride up the outdoor people-mover and into the darkened entryway, where spiffy uniformed  and well-informed lackeys await your every question.  I don't need to tell you that John really worshipped well there -- and on the way out, we passed a huge (plastic) statue of the Pharaoh Dog -- seriously, he was canine of features and all golden -- but not a Retriever, I thought -- unless he was meant to symbolize the retrieval of our funds into his vault.

Sated and pooped, we headed home, up out of the Valley of the Mammon and back to our etherial mountain aerie, thanking our Creator for bringing us safely back to Heaven.

A Day With My Baby Daughter

(Don't sniff, Julie dear; I can still remember you toddling about the yard on Pintura Drive, clutching your stuffed rabbit, your little ponytail bobbing and your laugh ringing; sorry, kid!)

So Julie came up to the mountains yesterday morning, bringing Farm Market treasures (blackberries to die for, oh yum!) and we had coffee and cinnamon loaf, and took a lot of photos of our work-in-progress here at the cottage -- and for Teri, lots of horticultural shots which I will leave her to label for us.  It was a glorious, bright day, with a cool breeze; and we girls went to lunch at Rocky's Cafe, one of the many little munch-out spots tucked away under the redwoods up here, before she returned to foggy Seascape.

This may not sound like a big deal to you, dear readers: but all I can say is that it was, for me. The sheer luxury of having leisure time to spend with one of my beloved kids is so far the Number One benefit of being retired at last.

from Country Club to Cathedral

This morning at 9 AM we walked down a trail to a lovely picnic grove, where the Bracken Brae organization holds its community meetings.  This one was called to discuss the advisability of installing water meters -- presumably to monitor water leaks in the lines, but we suspect it is really to start charging each homeowner for water based on actual usage -- and perhaps even to link our area up to the San Lorenzo Valley water system, as drought continues to ravage our private water supplies here.  I'd hate to see that latter thing happen, as the water here now is ambrosial and the "city" water is just OK -- anything's better than Goleta water, of course.

Anyway, the various discussions ensued with good will, and we really liked the neighbors -- they are of a sort you can imagine meeting at a town-hall gathering in pioneer days; strong, enthusiastic and intelligent pioneers of the redwood forest, in sum.  I'm glad they are so fine, as we all depend on one another up here for emergencies small and large, and we have to be able to cooperate.  There was a lot of discussion about the necessity to maintain the cohesiveness and rapport that has always been part of living in B.B. -- there was some fear that individual meters might create individuality!  But I don't see that being a problem.

Anyway, when the discussion got too much for me, I just sat back on the picnic bench and watched everyone to see how the interactions were, and looked up, up, up into the spires of the redwoods and thought, "I've never been to a community meeting in a cathedral before!  This is glorious!"

I came home and baked a bunch of chocolate-chip-oatmeal cookies for all of them: they went off to do some minor repairs about the property, and John took the cookies down to the grove and joined the workers at their planned lunch, and is now off helping dig a water trench or something.

Retail Therapy 2 (July 18, 2008)

Before I get to the retail part, let me remind you all that it will be very good therapy for all of us to get outside this evening just at dark, and have a look at the Full Moon!  (howwwl!)

So yesterday we did two kinds of shopping, one hated and the other loved.  First the bad part: we had to stock up on some boring household necessities like nails and pails at Ace Hardware, and tiskets, taskets and wastebaskets at K-Mart.  This chore was eased mightily by a fine outdoor patio lunch at a little Heavenly Cafe on the road to the shopping center.

But after lunch, we went to our local antiques/used-stuff store, and this part I loved!  I found a Perfect Chair for my Victorian escritoire -- a copy of a 19th century style that matches the desk almost exactly but is much sturdier than a real Victorian piece could be by now.  It's got lovely silvery-green patterned upholstery on the back and seat, in very good condition -- and the sight of desk and chair sitting near the French doors leading out to our back deck makes me just long to sit down and write a modern Jane Austen novel.....  We also found a fine small dropleaf table that will be just right in our breakfast area of the big kitchen; now just need two chairs for it; and for $1.00 each, I completed our happy shopping experience with two lovely floral-printed bone-china tea mugs.

Yes: it's time for "elevenses" -- and I'm going to make some tea now and get John to stop building the two new bookcases -- workers must rest!

Old Deutsch Cleanser

Most of you are too young to remember Old Dutch Cleanser, the scouring-powder that was popular in my mother's day -- but I thought of it, as I tackled my first housecleaning day, with my little Bavarian apron on and my Putz-Traeger (cleaning caddy, kids) in hand.  Yikes!  I haven't cleaned house in too many years, I guess: I'd forgotten how tired a little Putz-Frau can get.  Well, the place was scoured out thoroughly before we moved in, by Realtor Jan's daughter, so it really wasn't too dirty -- except the stuff the movers tracked in as they unloaded the truck.

I actually enjoyed using Murphy's Oil Soap and giving my lovely old Victorian escritoire a good going-over, such as it has not had in many a long year; that kind of work is very satisfying.

But I'm thinkin' -- my next cleaning job will be to call a local lead on a housecleaner gal and sign her up! 

Anyway, after a nice German lunch of lentil soup from the local "New Leaf" health-food market, I collapsed on the freshly made-up bed and had a nice nap; feelin' pretty good now (but dinner will be quite elementary this evening).  

So, another beautiful day passes.

Allons, Enfants, #2 (Monday, July 14)

Joe came up last evening and we went for a pasta feed at Scopazzi's, down the road; and it was too rich for my blood -- I didn't sleep well at all last night.  But every light needs a dark to stick it in, as Arlo hath said.  And in the dark, the most beautiful moon (almost full) arose and wandered across our night skyview beyond our windowed bedroom; and when the moon went over the distant mountain, Jupiter arose and followed her.  This is a wakeful night to be thankful for.

In fact, all of life is a blessing for which I am extremely grateful.  So I'll just leave you for now with my favorite morning meditation-prayer, which I'd like to share with all of you:

-------

I arise today

In the name of Silence

Womb of the Word;

In the name of Stillness

Home of Belonging,

In the name of the Solitude

Of the Soul and the Earth.

I arise today

Blessed by all things,

Wings of breath,

Delight of eyes,

Wonder of whisper,

Intimacy of touch,

Eternity of soul,

Urgency of thought,

Miracle of health,

Embrace of God.

May I live this day

Compassionate of heart,

Clear in word,

Gracious in awareness,

Courageous in thought,

Generous in love.

Gifts From Above (Sunday, July 13)

In another spate of serendipity, I received the most wonderful gift, today.  

Let me tell you about our nearest neighbor, who has lived just across the little easement roadway from our cottage for many years.  Peter had a reputation as somewhat of a recluse, living behind an old bamboo-screen fence in a very run-down and ramshackle shack that was once a bunkhouse for the logging workers, in the bad old logging days in these hills.  But just before we moved up here, Peter's father in England died, leaving the former Hermit Guy a castle in the south of Britain and a veritable fortune!  Our neighbor, who used to crew on nuclear subs ("boomers" as John calls them), has always dreamed of taking his old sailboat to the paternal homeland and messing about in boats on the waterways there; now, he could.  But first, he decided to renovate his old shack completely, inside and out, for his 20-something daughter Ashley to live in and caretake for him; and when he's finished, we will have a very nice housing addition to this neighborhood.....  Peter leaves for his big adventure at the end of this month -- and he's feeling very flush, apparently; because he came over today to chat for a bit, and saw our little electronic piano -- and asked if we'd like another one.  Well: it's his dad's Clavinova, a beautiful wood-encased older model with a leather-topped wood bench.  Yes, we would like to have it, very much indeed, thank you!  

Pianos dropping from the trees:  who knew????!!!!

Retail Therapy (Thurs., July 10)

We went to the city today:  no, not SF -- Capitola/Santa Cruz.  They got a Mall there, folks!  We bought a washer/dryer set at Best Buy; did a bit of obligatory Trader Joe's stock-up; had a lovely lunch courtesy of Julie, who joined us with Steffie at noon; and stopped on our way home at a fine SF market called Nob Hill, to get some provender to replenish our larder.  It was quite hot, and we were glad to get home to a cool shower and a rest on our shady deck at sunset.

I am feeling a loss of control of our household operations and finances; we really need to get wired up here and set up useable office space, soon.  

But we are also trying very hard not to push ourselves or let ourselves be pushed -- the six weeks or so when the heat wave was so intense in SB, and we were getting packed up and handling all the administration of moving from our long-term base, were really very wearing for both of us; I didn't feel like I was retired, until we got up here.

Connections (Tues., July 8)

Like the Giove/Boulder Creek connection I hit on a few days ago, I keep seeing more things about this cottage and garden that remind me of other loved places.  When Melissa and Frank were here, she pointed out that there is a lot of our mother here -- lots of iris, which she loved, are planted everywhere around; and the gardens are basically pretty much rock-gardens, which Mom also loved, and built in our yard in Michigan.

Yesterday, I made a connection with a great laundromat in the village: it has free wi-fi, coffee and popcorn, and a collection of characters right out of the old cracker-barrel live-chat days, who hang out there. I was able to do a bit of live-chat with my Leenie, and with Frankie -- but my time online is very limited.  Can't wait to get wired up at home.  It's nice to come into the village for a bit, but to tell the truth, I hate leaving our little forest clearing for very long; I'm so content to be there!

Sunday Morning Gardener (July 6)

As you all know, we are not gardeners.  But I had a lovely experience, this morning, as we watered the property before going to church.  John did the back garden areas; and I took on the front patio and surrounding plantings.  As the sun was just coming through the pine spires of this cathedral forest, and I was wetting down the lovely flower and herbal plantings around the rock gardens and ledges, I remembered the old bit of poetry my mother loved: "The kiss of the sun for pardon/the song of the birds for mirth/we are nearer God's heart in a garden/than anywhere else on earth."

I Have A Dream, Explained

Leenie thought that perhaps my dream, mentioned in an earlier post, might have something to do with a RU in Boulder Creek: don't panic, Lee, it ain't so.

My dream (our dream, actually, for we see eye to eye on it) is this:

• to instill an atmosphere of light, space, and serenity in this corner of the world;

• to build in private areas for each of us, where we can have a modicum of solitude; and working together, to make our common areas beautiful and restful, as well as useful for us;

• to establish a "pilgrims' inn" of sorts, or a retreat house if you like -- where, during our occupation, we can offer a place for anyone who is weary of the world below to come and rest in quiet peace for a time;

• to create a legacy for our children and grandchildren for the future -- when we are bound for glory (or whatever), we'd like to leave a place that will be available to all of you when you need surcease from your labors.

I'd like to say more about the last two points, in the next post.

Sunday Meditation

Over coffee at dawn, we talked about our different approaches to seeing spaces.  John presented this dichotomy:  he is a top-down, whole-picture kinda guy; I focus on minutae.  His analogy, as ever, was apt:  he walks into a certain room, sees a yellow cup on a table, and sees the room in a certain way; if later the cup is removed, he will enter the room and see it in a slightly different way.  I can walk into a room, and there could be a yellow elephant standing in one corner -- but I might only see that I like the color of the curtain on one window.  (One of my former bosses, Ruben Patino, used to call this the Fran Syndrome; he knew it well.)

So when John wants to get the book boxes unpacked right away, because they fill one wall of what will be the Library eventually -- I don't understand; I just don't see the boxes, if I'm looking for a scissors I may need at the moment.

Neither of us like clutter, but John dislikes it more intensely than I do.  We both long to create an atmosphere of serenity in this house, but I'm willing to do it slowly.  John is trying to be patient, though, and I give him great credit for that.

Fifth of July ("feelin' independent")

We have left the weather-beaten old flag flying in front of the house, only because neither of us is tall enough to haul it down -- but it will be retired as soon as possible.  I love America the Beautiful very much, but I don't have to fly a flag to prove it.

It's a gorgeous, clear morning, headed toward very warm later; we have slept well.  I saw a giant planet (Jupiter, says John), walking across our night sky: Jove, the Capo di Capi .... and in Italian, now that we're into that, his name is Giove!  How about that connection, Leenie?  We've both found our hearts' home.

As I write, there is a sound of a siren, out on Big Basin Highway -- a sound we don't like to hear. This seems to be Chips, however, nabbing a speeding cyclist -- Harleys are much in evidence up here on weekends.

Allons, Enfants!

Yes!  It's Bastille Day!  And we, having stormed the battlements and begun the New Regime (On Line Version) are ready to roll .... I missed over a week of "Trailer Park to Country Club" posts, so read up (or down, depending on how you connect to the blogs in time sequence).

I HAVE A DREAM

No, Leenie, there is no RU in our immediate future, don't panic!

Right now we are just trying to find a path through the packing boxes.

We are unpacking slowly; and we're adjusting to the NR (New Regime, you know).  In fact, we were asleep by 9:30 PM last evening; and during the quiet night in our lovely bed I woke a few times briefly -- to watch a gorgeous, huge planet travel across the sky above our property clearing.  We woke at dawn (that's 5:30 AM up here), and had coffee while we watched the sunlight touch the tops of the pines on the distant hills.

Today I've unpacked most of the kitchen things; they are probably not stashed in the right places to suit both of us -- I was just trying to clear out the cartons and paper wrappings.  But at least tonight I think I can cook up a simple pasta and have a hot meal for the first time in many days.

As soon as we are online at home (by early next week) I will write a longer blog, describing my dream for the future of our cottage.

Love to all, and Happy Independence Day weekend to all!  Obama Rules (we hope)!

Home Sweet Home

This noon we checked out of Merrybrook and drove up and into Bracken Brae to stay for good.  We have spent a large part of the afternoon getting set up and forging a path through the moving cartons -- from the kitchen to the bedroom.  The bed is made up with fresh linens and new pillows, and a soft breeze blows through the big windows of that lovely master suite.  The telephone is on and working; and the kitchen ledge is cleared off in part -- enough room for Julie's famous dinner plan to take place (i.e., there's the phone, with the number of the pizza delivery; there's the space on the kitchen ledge, cleared enough to set the pizza down.)  

Right now, John is running errands -- to get the propane gas turned on so we can really cook -- and to pick up a card table, so we can sit down to eat -- and to buy some rubber "feet" for our bed so it won't send us sailing right out the French doors onto the deck, with those slick wood floors under its caster wheels!

We'll do a lot more unpacking tomorrow; and then we're going to take the Independence Day weekend off to rest.  Boulder Creek village shuts down for the 4th, the highway is closed to traffic, and we have an all-day community party, with the firemen putting on a pancake breakfast, a Big Parade down the highway, a BBQ in the local park, and lord knows what-all else!  On Saturday, Joe and KB and Josh are coming up for lunch with us at Scopazzi's and an afternoon checkin out our house.  Sunday, Marie and Robert are driving through, going home to Pasadena after a visit to M's friend Rose in Berkeley; they'll get their grand tour of our new home, and stay over at the local motel that night.

I bought a notebook/Guestbook, and everyone who comes to see the house must write in it their impressions and their suggestions for how to proceed with the settling in and decorating. We may not use any or all of the ideas -- but we may use some -- and it's always good to get a look at a place through others' eyes.  

We are also going to get out our camera and start recording the proceedings as we unpack and set up; that will give those of you who are not yet able to see the place a chance to put in your own suggestions and comments.

I have a dream, about this Redwood Cottage: and I will relate that to you all in the next blog installment.

Boulder Creek: Home At Last

Santa Barbara, I waved thee farewell yesterday.  Boulder Creek, today I am home.  Well, almost; our humble possessions are in the cottage -- the Big Old Truck pulled up to the stop sign in this village just as we arrived in our Honda; we are grateful to Aussie Movers for the transport.  After the moving van left, we came down to Merrybrook Lodge and checked in with Raj, our Annex Manager.  He loves us; he knows he'll have a continuous font of business at this hostelry now that we've moved in, practically next door.  My sibs drove up behind us, arriving right on time at cocktail hour.  They have the two cottages next door to ours on the creek.  We went to the village for a nice little supper at one of the funkier establishments available; our fave ristorante, Scopazzi's, is closed on Monday/Tuesday, unfortunately.  We slept peacefully and deeply to the lullaby of the creek waters -- after all the pushing we have done over the past several weeks to get packed up and checked out of Santa Barbara.  This morning, we are rejoicing in just being here in our mountain greenery, with the sun filtering through the cool branches of the redwoods; and we've decided to declare a victory in the Moving Anschluss; we're going to book this cabin for another night, and put off the unpacking and moving-in for a couple of days of rest.  Today is my brother's 70th birthday: reason to blow the shofar and proclaim a feast.  We'll take a picnic lunch up to Big Basin, the first California State Park -- where the deer and the antelope play (well, at least does and fawns come up to your table and beg a sandwich!)  We'll hug a few trees, in Teri's honor -- and maybe a fawn or two -- and soak up the beauty.  Love to all of you -- you have made this possible.