Celebrating Tasha Today

Today is Tasha Tudor's birthday - her first since she went back to her beloved 1800s. Last night before going to sleep I read the August section of Tasha's GARDEN book. The August title is "Lilies and Berries to Spare." I hoped before I dozed off that I'd dream about stopping by one day, like one of her regular visitors, and that I would say inside her doorway, "Gee, something smells good in here!" and she would invite me in for one of her wonderful pies. Perhaps a corgi or two would run to the door (making that little paddle step they make when they walk). What a blessed life she lead in her Vermont haven (the 1740 farmhouse look-alike). 250 acres of plants, fruit trees, and so many other delights that were part of the way she made her life. I unfortunately didn't dream of this idyllic scene, but instead it was filled with work scenes, but, what a wonderful surprise today when I woke up to the email that I'd won the Tasha Tudor's Dollhouse book giveaway at The Pink Gate!! I'm so looking forward to reading more, learning more, and pouring over the wonderful pictures. Thanks so much to Louise!

Tasha loved primrose. Isn't this one beautiful? She probably grew this kind! It's a barnhaven primrose, called Eugenie. You can read more about it here.

Bugs Beware

Kate. Killer of many-legged things. I can barely admit this in writing, and have since scoured every inch of the counter tops, however...last night a roach made its way in under the kitchen door. They are so vile, and being from Florida, I am no stranger to roaches. Let me just say that NOTHING creepy crawly has a chance once it darkens our door. Kate can hear a spider tap its finger from 50 paces and is ON IT like Zena - Tabby warrior princess. She may look sweet and timid, but she is re-lent-less when it comes to bugs -- okay, and flies. :-) By now my housekeeping skills are in serious question.

Tasha Tudor's Birthday

On August 28th, various folks in blog-land will take some time to celebrate the one and only Tasha Tudor. I bought her book, Tasha Tudor's Garden, and have been loving every page. The photography is beautiful and immersing yourself in the writings on her life is a complete escape from life's hustle and bustle. It's refreshing to read how she dedicated her life to living the 'older ways.' And when you read that she said she would go back to that time when she passed away, you believe her! I know her afterlife is exactly that! It has to be. She's tending her garden, caring for her 'corgyn' (her plural for Corgi), and probably still placing orders for unique plant varieties. Hm? Wonder about that mailing address! :-)
In short, I love the woman. She lived such a simple, busy, beautiful life. Happy early birthday Tasha, and I'll be celebrating you on the 28th.

A detailed obituary that appeared in the NY Times is here. The book pictured here is available still on Amazon.

A Walk at Liberty Station

I am a total Liberty Station fan. The old Naval Training Center was sold to the Corky McMillan Company (I hear for $1 if he spent the money to develop it) by the City of San Diego, and what has sprung up, I think, is a perfect little community. Great homes, beautiful trees and green spaces, stores, shops, restaurants - even the most fantastic Ace Hardware store. I could almost live there, if we were condo-dwellers which I'm not sure I could do but I don't rule out - they're that nice.

We take Saylor down to the path along the water. And of course, there's plenty of grass napping.
















She meets various dog friends...














...and on this day we saw some guys jump off the bridge. I of course had the camera at the ready.















Behind the guys, a couple of dogs and their owner sailed slowly by on their catamaran. Such a nice day.
















Here they are preparing to jump!

To Florida and Back

I'm baaaa-aaaaack. I was in Florida attending a couple of wedding showers for my niece, Erin! Another wedding is on the horizon! Pictures on this event to follow, once my camera is mailed back! This makes the second time I've left it there. We may have a trend going. Oops.

So, I got back last Wednesday. Sometimes going away throws me for a loop in terms of blogging. Takes me a minute to get back into the routine. But when I do, I feel like I need to chronicle events in the order they happened. So... on Aug. 2nd Alana and Danny got married.

It was a really pretty wedding - the colors, I thought, were very nostalgic, almost Victorian. Alana was a beautiful bride and Danny was dashing in his black tux. The wedding was held at the Rancho Santa Fe Country Club. A really nice space, indoors and out. There were about 200 people, but it didn't feel crowded because there was plenty of room to spread out. The weather was really nice, after the initial warm spell during the ceremony. The happy couple left the next day for Cozumel. Sweet. :-)

Tuesday's Tabby Cooking School

So, really Mom, I can read upside down. First, put the olive oil on the sprouted wheat tortillas. Doesn't Real Simple have the best recipes?













These individual pizzas turned out smashingly, and they took no time at all. The recipe is in the Aug. '08 issue of Real Simple - the section is full of easy 20-minute meals. Some people may see this and think, oh gross! a cat near food! I just say, oh well, and . . . you're really going to hate the last picture where Miss Kate is sitting on the table staring at me while I ate! We're very cat-friendly to say the least. It makes Saylor so jealous because Kate can get an obvious 'begging advantage' by actually being ON the table. Ha! Of course, she never wants to eat anything (um, I've tried to give her food and she refuses it). Oh, the whacky dinner time tales at the Hardy residence.

The little pizzas have raw artichokes, red pepper, and tomatoes on them and are then topped with grated cheddar and browned under the broiler. You start by broiling just the tortillas (it called for pita bread, but I used tortillas) with a tablespoon of olive oil on them until they crisp up slightly. Then you add the toppings and put them under the broiler for 5 minutes. The broiling is just enough to make the veggies tender. The artichokes were canned and already soft.

The green bean salad has lemon juice and olive oil, and salt and pepper. The avocado is just plain.















Then, there's this face watching my every bite!

A Bird in the Hand, and One in the House!

We came home the other day after being out for a few hours to find Kate lounging by the sliding glass door, in the sun, looking innocent, NEXT TO A BABY SPARROW! I was slightly panicked thinking she may have injured it beyond repair, because the little sparrow looked so pekid at first. But apparently birdy was just tired. James figured out, the sparrow came down the chimney (thankfully it was alive because for all you superstitious folks: a bird coming down the chimney dead is not the best omen. So! Maybe this was the good-luck bird!?)

We did find a stray feather back in the office (other side of the house) so there was undoubtedly some sort of flapping and shenanigans going on. Meanwhile, Saylor was...sleeping! :-)








James carefully picked birdy up and we put her/him outside on the bench, then in the corner of the courtyard out of sight because we were leaving again. I covered the little corner with a towel so little sparrow could chill for a bit and get its bearings. When we returned, birdy was gone and hopefully just fine!
































Saylor says, who needs a live bird? I have my stuffed one! And it squeaks when I bite it! (Let's hope none of that was going on with the sparrow and Kate!)
















Miss Kate was SO MAD at us for the rest of the day. This is mad face. I think she had other ideas for her and birdy!

It's Tuesday! Dads and Tabs!

So, is it obvious that we don't have human children? We throw the "Dad" term around like it's water. And of course, I'm the Mom. Yet more pictures of our furchild, Kate:



She flies through the air with the greatest of ease!

Saylor Sez Happy Birthday Dad!

Saylor honkers down under the covers for a birthday nap!

Birthday Festivities Are Underway

The birthday is in progress. On Friday night we went for sushi, just the two of us, to Sushi Ota. They have the best sushi in San Diego, I think. We did a little shopping Friday to work up an appetite.














Then, Saturday night Fred and Fi joined us for dinner at the Palm. Perhaps it could be renamed Carnivore's Heaven. They had a steak on the menu that cost $87. I was kind of amazed. I'm not sure I've ever seen that high of an amount for a food item. Did the cow go to Harvard? Yikes. As is probably quite clear, we're eating our way through our staycation / birthday week.





After dinner, we walked to La Gran Tapa, which was recently re-opened by the same person who owns The Turquoise (Cafe Europa) where Fred, J's brother, plays with his jazz band on Friday nights. This pic is at the corner by Buca di Beppo. We kept considering one of the petit cabs (sp?) but ended up walking. And walk we did - until I grew a pre-blister on each foot. Ouch! You know, the ones that are red and raised, but not fully a blister...


So tomorrow is the official birthday day. Tomorrow night we're having dinner at J's parents. We requested no meat. Ha! And Weds. night we are having dinner with Jeff and Steve. On Thursday I'll be checking into a fat farm.

Oh, and I mustn't omit mentioning our brush with culture - on Sunday we spent a couple hours at the San Diego museum of art. It was really fun and relaxing. I joined a couple months ago, but we had not gone. It felt good to be able to just show our ID card and get in seemingly free.

Prelude to a Birthday

While James' b-day is not until Tuesday the 22nd, the festivities will get an early start - and why not? We went to Old Town Mexican Cafe last night to get the Mexican food-fest going. I had rotisserie chicken and an ice cold Tecate draft. James had what I call 'a plate of cheesy goo' - he always gets this combination that has a taco, cheese enchilada, and rice and beans. But it's all melted together with cheese! He loves it. This weekend we're taking a stay-cation (the vacation that occurs in your own town) with lots of moseying around San Diego in birthday style.

Early evening sky over our roof.















The view across from Shelter Island. The sun was ablaze on one of the buildings.

Around the Yard

I moved a couple rose bushes closer to the front door where I can spend more time trying to revive them. They were languishing in a couple of terracotta pots (outdoor tandoori ovens that can sometimes cook your plants), poor dears. We'll see how they do with some regular conversation, water, and general doting. The leaves are not in good shape, and this bloom is past its prime. But, such a pretty color.















I love the way Lantana forms these little bouquets. I've seen them grow as tall as small trees. I'm hoping these continue doing well. I just love them.
















And here we have a row of empty pots (ovens? ha!) ready for something hearty and heat-resistant!
















This little dude was sitting on one of the three rose bushes that are in the ground along the fence. He's pretty cute in his orangey-golden splendor.
















And, last but certainly not least, the vintage camp cot I picked up at an estate sale for 25 cents (!). It's made of hickory or some hard wood, I was told. The fabric definitely needs to be replaced, but can't you see it with a new cover? Maybe a heavy duck fabric in red? Perhaps a big monogram sewn into the center? Even if it isn't used for sitting, I could see it holding linens or books or something along a wall in a house. Who knows what purpose it will find. I couldn't resist though. Sitting there in the backyard of this house, I was transported to explorations along the Nile, wearing vintage Banana Republic safari wear, and sipping a smoky sherry. Ah, imagination.

Mid-Week Tabularness: Sun Lover

Hanging out by the back sliding glass door in the sun is super fun for Miss Kate. Lots of lolly-gaggin' and yawin' and rollin' around. I'm coming back as a cat - well, one that lives with someone like me. She's such a busy little girl - keeps herself occupied all day. When she's not napping, she's finding a new hiding place, having a snack, batting around her many mice (I think she has about 15 of those little furry mice thingies), or just laying in the sun. She's very independent and well-adjusted. I think she knows she lucked out that day on Grape Street when she went for the sardines on the plate way at the back of the make-shift trap/laundry basket with painting canvas and duct tape (where Sherri and I stood waiting!). Boom! Caught they were and in the car on the way home (we caught the remaining two that day - Kate and her Siamese brother). I remember thinking, now what? :-) Well, here we are.