I'm Back From Reno - A Small Peak...

My first out-of-town excursion since moving to CA just two months ago.  Thus, I also experienced my first coming "home" to the new Boston Manor... returning today, with The Maven picking me up from the airport,  driving home through the mountains from her place with highway traffic (hey, it's LA!), running to the grocery store on the way home, and getting an enthusiastic greeting from the Bostons and Bumby, well, I really did feel like I was coming home.

But I digress. 

One picture is all you get this post because I have to absorb it all and think about it.

Okay, two pictures because there are two babies.

Boston Lady and her grand-nephew, the big brother, Sebastian.

He was a much better crawler than I am and just on the cusp of walking - one finger tip away!

Adorable little boys who took me back in time to when my kids were that little and cuddly.

Two and half-week old Theodore. Happy, healthy baby.

A long weekend well spent and hopefully I gave mom and dad some time to refresh and prepare for....

a move! 

Yes, they are moving across town and that was one of the reasons I was there.

Ah, to be young, and handle so many things at once with such composure.

Don't think I ever had that...

AND, they are cat people! More about that later too. (ok, three pictures...)

Veer, loyal house cat and not one bit phased by two little ones.

Another post will follow soon with lots of baby shots and some pretty scenery from the area of Reno where I stayed with my niece and her husband (and of course, THEM!)

P.S. All those good bloggy thoughts and grandma prayers worked!  The Maven has landed a job in LA!  So happy for her and proud. Life's going to get interesting for her now...

Prayers and positive thoughts for those dealing with Hurricane Sandy and her aftermath.

"French Bulldog? Looks Like a Boston to Me.

I had to get this when I saw it. 

$2 is a small price to pay for a smile and to distinguish two different keys in varied shades of green.

Got home and on the back it said "French Bulldog".

Hmmmpppphhhh!

No way.

Boston Terrier.

I said so.

I will be doing my not so favorite thing tomorrow:

Flying.  But I will be flying towards cuteness. Two of them actually.  

A newborn and a 15 month old - my grandnephews!

So I will be AWOL from posting while I'm gone, but I hope to have some pretty good pictures of these handsome boys to share.  Want to make sure it's okay with their mom first.

I am leaving behind the most beautiful weather.

Deep blue clear skies, a bit windy and temps in the low 70s by day,

50s at night.

Perfect open window weather!

The Maven will journey up to The Hills (yes, of course we call our area that!) after her interview on Friday and help Mr. T cheer on the Gators and make sure the Bostons get walks and sustenance.

I wish the picture was better, but I had no idea Bird's of Paradise would be growing here, much less in the backyard of this house!

Unbeknownst to Bumby, she will have company - Darcy - for the weekend. 

 I think she's getting used to that.

Bumby-"Ah, yes, Darcy. I await your arrival with great happiness. Not!"

Talk to you next week and have a great weekend!

P.S. And here's the proof!

Almost a Californian!

News From the Old Neighborhood!

I've been AWOL on the blog this past week for no reason in particular.

I got my license plates and today I passed the test for my license and will receive it in the mail soon, I hope.  At the end of this week I will be travelling to Reno, NV, to visit and help my niece with her newborn, Theodore and his older brother, Sebastian.  Not sure how much help I will be, but I'm looking forward to seeing those babies, visiting with my niece and seeing what Reno looks like.

NEWS FROM ORLANDO

Courtesy of Center of Gravity, or CG, my good friend.

CG had an unexpected visitor this weekend in her house and managed to capture him on camera.  She's given me permission to share the pictures and her account of her time with the visitor.  Mostly her words:

Okay, about the picture.

Me:  Can you see him up there with the red eyes? 

Not a decoration!

  I was watching TV this morning about 7:15. T (her husband) had just left a few minutes before, when I heard a Styrofoam cup fall off my counter.  I thought that was odd.  Then I heard a metallic noise and I thought “oh no, I have a rodent in the house.”  I looked up and there on my curtain rod was a Screech Owl.  I was a bit surprised to say the least.  It was a really cute little bird only about 8 inches tall and very quiet.  Bird flew all over the house and kept landing on things like my living room chairs, the top support of the shower doors, the top of my kitchen door, top of my bulletin board, in some fake plants on top of my shelves in the family room and this branch on the wall above the fireplace. 

 I called T who was quite surprised by the news.  He came over with the camera and took pictures.  By that time the bird had pretty much settled in the family room.  So we closed that room off from the rest of the house and opened the outside doors.  The owl would not leave and even settled on a shelf next to the fireplace.  I tapped on the side of the shelf and bird looked that way to see what was going on but didn’t leave.  I was within inches of it and it didn’t seem frightened.  T finally decided to go back to work.  I closed the door closest to the driveway and kept the patio door open.  I went and sat outside and finally the owl flew out.  What was so funny was that Strider (family dog) didn’t get excited about it at all.  He goes nuts when there is a crazy fly in the house but not the owl probably because the owl was so quiet when it flew.  

It was a bit unnerving to have it fly so close to my head even when I was sitting on the sofa.  I would catch sight of it out of the corner of my eye and I could feel the air move around me but couldn’t hear it.  Anyway it was a fun morning.

Thanks CG for giving me a taste of home and letting me share it with my blogging buddies!

Let's all have a great week this week!

Keep your fingers crossed for The Maven!  She goes back for a followup interview later this week: employment seems possible!

Rose Bowl Flea!

Well, I finally got there after many years of wanting to go and it was.....

...huge!

...crowded!

...diverse!

...fun!

...hot!

...overwhelming!

...wonderful!

Did I mention huge?

So much to see, not enough time, will go back, will look more than gawk.

There is literally something there for everyone.  From electronics, to fabrics, to antiques and collectibles, to art, to food!

Did I mention I didn't get to see it all?

Here's some things I did see and took pictures of when I remembered to take out my camera.

Now THAT'S a camera!

Loved this booth and those chairs.  They also had some really nicely restored vintage Vespas.

This is actually a booth from Country Road Antiques, mentioned in my previous post.

Sue's son goes around the state with his industrial creations and acquisitions. I WANT that light on the tripod!

Bought something here! Beautiful fabrics designed by the booth owner who was on site.

Bought something here! These folks had nothing over $10! And good stuff!

Oh my. My weakness...

I will have you know I did not buy any Ball jars. 

Saw lots, but prices were way too high!  That doesn't mean I haven't found them elsewhere since I've moved here - I have and for that "around $5" price.  So I can't bring myself to pay much more.

  I saw some for $27 at the Rose Bowl! But they all look beautiful in the sun, don't they?

But this doesn't mean that other things were not priced reasonably.  And I did find some fun buys. (I almost bought another fan because it was in such good shape and was a great price, but I restrained myself)

So, here is what I got:

The jars I had. The old milk bottle carrier I didn't and I have been looking for one to put some of the Ball jars in.  Flowers compliments of our landlord. The large rose was on a bush I hadn't even seen out front until today!

Fire King little bowls in an old condiment holder.  Something just said, "get it".  I've seen people put these on their desks to hold little things like paperclips, thumbtacks - candy (?)!

Picture does not do these placemats justice, but I bought them from the bargain bin at that fabric booth.  Need to get a close up at some point.  They are machine washable, line dry she told me.  She had pillow covers, runners, tablecloths, raw fabric, you name it.  All original prints.

And yes, I need to iron that white linen table cloth underneath. No soft focus on my camera!

A fun day that will definitely be repeated in cooler weather.

And we will be returning to lovely Pasadena to explore their downtown area which is very nice, with shops and restaurants to see while walking about.

The drive from our area of "the valley" to Pasadena is some of the most scenic roadway we have seen since moving here.  Want to explore the canyons and green hills we saw along the way.

Our new state is treating us very well and it's so fun to discover new areas to venture to on the weekends.

Tuesday I take the first step towards becoming a Californian.

  The Maven and I head back to the DMV to turn in our Florida plates for California ones. But I will always be part Floridian, just like I have always been part Canadian.  You never forget where you come from!

Here's to a good week!

Blooper Picture:

Bumby couldn't resist the flowers and those feathery plants on the table.

Down!

Hope to catch up with everyone else tomorrow as I "recover" from the DMV in the afternoon.
What a drama queen!

Because I Share (just about) Everything With You...

There will be no more whining!

I have my computer glasses.

No, didn't find them.

Gave up and got new ones as computer viewing and reading was becoming a pain in the neck, literally.

So, now I can blog, email, read, perhaps even work some without headaches and eyestrain.

I know you all were just burning with curiosity about if I had found them.

The last straw was the other night when I dreamed I had found them under the bed.

Of course I looked the next day.

Enough.

Off to Lenscrafters!

I've had some fun getting a few "new" things for the Cali place here.

It was hot when we first arrived and none of the store had fans!  It's a seasonal item here and I was told once they sold out, that was it!  No ceiling fans in this house and fortunately there is air, but it needed the boost of a couple of fans.

Found this one:

at Country Roads Antiques in Olde Towne Orange, owned by my blogging friend, Sue.  It was the perfect excuse to buy an old fan, which I've been on the look out for.

Price was right, it works, so I snapped it up.  Just need to figure out the little contraption in the back to make it oscillate. Take a look at Sue's blog, she always has lots of pictures of the good stuff at Country Roads.

I found this really nice wooden chair at a very small thrift shop.  I love it's lines and I'm contemplating how to give it a little facelift.

Favorite find so far?

Love these lights with aluminum "bonnets". 

 They look great at night lighting the back patio. 

 I  picture them in their prime on the outside of an old Airstream.  

So, just had to try the new glasses out and thought I'd put up a quick post.

Tomorrow we head for Pasadena to take a look at the Rose Bowl Flea Market!

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

It's true!

Different state. Different house.

Same bed.

Same bed freeloaders.

Notice the open windows. Finally! And they are talking about "thunderstorms" today.  Wonder what THOSE are like here.  

Ah, yes, the drive across the country is a faded memory, if any memory, for some.

Although I think if Panda saw a big yellow truck she would freeze in her tracks.

The flight is washed from Bumby's brain - probably because of the "tranks" she took.

Nonetheless, all is right in the Boston Manor world.

Now, if only I could figure out what day it is, which direction is North, finally get my license plates and driver's license, maybe then I will feel as settled as these three seem to feel... 

I'm getting there. 

And sometimes without the GPS lady.

Fun with Alpacas, or, Wash Your Hands

The family was together this weekend for some Gator football, food and a trip out to the coast around Ventura.

The Gators won. Check.

We ate at a fantastic Mexican place and were treated to a beautiful sunset. Check

Drove towards Ventura and stopped along the way to see an Alpaca farm. Check???? Whaaa?

For some reason our family including the new one, Sammy, all have a fascination with these animals, so it was a given that we would stop.

Alpaca's are raised for their very soft coats which is sheared once a year and made into various products including yarn, blankets, stuffed animals.

We had a very "laid back" tour guide who actually took us up the hills and into the Alpaca pasture.

Where we were surrounded immediately by curious and hungry Alpacas.

Fortunately our guide, Bernadette, provided us with food we could feed to them, ala horse style - palm out flat, do not bend fingers.

And don't look them in the eye!  Apparently they don't like that, but we didn't notice any odd behavior when we did look at their eyes.  

They're kind of hard to miss they are so big.

Supposedly they don't spit like Llamas and Camels

.  Let's clarify that, they don't spit on The Boston Lady.  They know better.  Everyone else got a little Alapaca spray.

Baby Alpaca!  Less than a week old.

They also like to eat Mulberry leaves right off the tree and when Mr. T held a branch down he became quite popular.

After about an hour with these pretty creatures we got back in the car and headed for Ventura Harbor.

\

  We had a great lunch there overlooking the marina and then checked out the harbor areas part of the beach.  

Not as nice a further up the coast where we were the previous Sunday, but still exhilirating.

All in all a good weekend.  Make that a great weekend!