time warp

having a few more days off, i was ablet to FINALLY go through my iphotos and fix many of the goof ups that happened when i tried to put all of my photos from my old comuter onto the new. for some reason i had random duplicates all over the place, probably 1/3 of my storage taken up by this goof. i still haven't finished, but i have put a dent into it. along the way i came across lots of fun photos so i thought i'd do a little time warp for 2013:

photos of the mountains and our catalina trip from several years ago (that was a pet cemetery we stumbled on during a hike)...plus one of maggie as a puppy.
healing up and getting ready to get back to it!

gvl movie time

one thing i really look forward to is time spent at the cabin watching old and really bad movies. this year we watched the documentary about the worst movie ever made and were so inspired, we watched the actual "bad movie" called "troll 2"... 

if you plan on watching troll 2, you must watch the documentary first because it is soooooo bad the only way to stomach it is to know that back story. it is a major 80's flashback too, egad!
Happy New Years!!

camp gvl

 few more snow pix of green valley lake... our drive up was so pretty!

bright sun and a fresh layer of snow, perfect photo op. hoping to head up again this weekend. :)

first snow of the season

i love snow!!

camp gvl

just a few snaps of our labor day weekend at camp gvl...

3 or 4 times a year we have an "artisan tour" where artists show off their wares and with newly pierced ears, we went a little nuts on new earrings. i do love to support local artists though so i feel ok with breaking the bank a bit. i managed to get an order in for christmas presents for the girls as well. christmas? egad this year is going by fast!

summer flies by

finally some r and r at the cabin!
special time with grandparents at the children's forest






we supersized our pool this year, my biggest dream is to have a REAL pool but for now this makes the heat waves manageable...




happy summer!!

peaceful

finding a quiet moment during a weekend with a mile long "to do" list

snow

We are finally getting a bit of vacation in this holiday season. four days at the cabin with lots of snow and chilly weather. unfortunately we had a major leak during the weeks of rain (that came just prior to the snow) and flooded out our bedroom. what a mess! it actually soaked the BED!!! we cranked up the heat and after two days everything seems to be dried out pretty well. today is our last day and then its back to work and back to lots of camp fire events. focusing this day on relaxing as much as possible, wish i could stay a few more days but of course it's back to reality i go. hoping the leaks are something minor and we don't start the year off on the wrong financial foot!

liz with helmet and chapped lips



happy new year!!

quick gvl trip

i havent been to the cabin in months and months, all this new work has had an impact on my weekends. we had to drive up late saturday and come back sunday afternoon, not enough time for me to really settle in but gets me excited for the next visit over new years. four whole days in the mountains, hoping for snow!

we drove over to big bear for a run on the alpine sleds, the view of the lake was amazing.




the road between gvl and big bear is the most nauseous road ever, really takes effort to not get sick so after lunch we spent some time hanging out at the lake before heading back to the cabin. this little park was a nice pit stop for us.



back at the cabin the girls hung out with a few friends from school and we made a few christmas gifts...





heading in to 12 days of work in a row, what was i thinking taking on this much work? january looks pretty bad as well, guess i need to pace myself and hope for the best!

autumn in the air

so this summer was odd indeed... i never thought i would complain we didnt have enough hot weather, never ever! my biggest fear is we will get a scorching october to christmas, i remember getting new warm clothes that i couldn't wear until january or february because of the "indian summers" in december. anyways, we'll take it as it comes. 

 
the weather has been great up at the cabin, warm and breezy. i actually read a bit in our hammock for once, it was so nice out on the deck.



fishing



and lots of movie watching. something about the altitude puts us all in a stupor. not sure if i could live here year round, i fear i would never get out of bed!
coming up on the calendar is a wetlands fundraiser (i am hosting the arts and crafts table), camp fire meetings start and we are off to england for about 12 days with my mom. we will be staying in the "isle of wight" for a week, i will post lots of pictures. this will be my first time there, so excited!

survived camp shiwaka

spent the weekend recovering at camp gvl...

 

lost another tree to the bark beetle...



this tree hugger is bummed at the loss...



but we carry on.
loving this artist and this at the moment (special note, the marcy playground is of amazing importance because i LOVED their breakthrough album and thought they were a one hit wonder. oh was i wrong!! all their albums are insanely good... just like the dandy warhols are so yummy... check them out and enjoy!)

summertime at camp gvl

 
we continue to focus on training miss maggie, turns out the cabin is a great place to do this. at home we have cats (who are pretty freaked out about sharing the backyard with a new puppy) so we have to limit the in and out activity which has been a bit confusing. we dont always know is she is asking to go out because she has to "go" or if she wants to chase the cats (or raccoons, possums, skunks etc). here at the cabin the door is always open to the deck and both dogs have relaxed and become part of our natural rhythm.



i was really looking forward to a few days of vacation, even though i had many "projects" to work on. it feels more fun and relaxing at this altitude, makes me sleepy and spacey in a good way.



i volunteered my two camp fire groups to host a craft table at the upcoming "tidal artwalk" at the colorado lagoon, two nights of crafts and games in a gorgeous location. the colorado lagoon is a part of the wetlands we are trying to save, it is just lucky enough to be right in the middle of a wealthy neighborhood so it's restoration has been less of a battle. the same people trying to save los cerritos, have been working on the lagoon restoration and we are all hoping to transfer the momentum for saving the lagoon on to the 400 acres of wetlands just a mile away.



we took a tour of the "childrens forest" up near our cabin between lots of sewing, painting and organizing of crafts. it really is a glorious place and i collected a whole bag of manzanita seeds, hope i can get some to sprout so i can plant them around the cabin.



i have been experimenting with a few photo apps on my iphone (since obviously i rely mostly on my phone as a camera now) i took a few last night while waiting for the fireworks to start and i think the results were interesting. here's one i liked:



i know its dark and weird...here is one of olive i like:



and the girls crafting



i use the "camera bag" app the most but the "hipstamatic" is growing on me!
last on my "what am i up to" list is something inspired by this amazing chick who has got me adding even more to my plate. so excited to finally see a green movement starting up at my kids school and i hope to get an edible kitchen garden on the map... i can't get enough of all the books and resources on urban farms. finding some good out of this current economic mess we are in.