Making Grandparent Memories

After a week of hugs, kisses, more fun than we can recount, plus the occasional mini-tantrums, our younger daughter, hubby, and three year old granddaughter have departed. I'll likely spend the next couple of days attempting to put the house back in order, and we are both exhausted and sick (we can never seem to escape getting sick around our granddaughter!), plus hubby has a gorgeous black eye, the result of an accidental head bump with our granddaughter while playing hide n seek.

We wouldn't have missed any of it for the world.

So, so many memories were made, and we feel a renewed sense of thankfulness that we'd decided to relocate closer to the coast earlier this year in that we were at the ocean almost daily during their visit. On their last night here yesterday, we zipped over to the harbor, which was resplendent with Christmas lights, and which tickled my granddaughter to her toes.

What was hard
- Watching my pristine home look more ragged by the day.
- Crumbs constantly underfoot in that my daughter is very relaxed about where our granddaughter eats.
- No down time in that our granddaughter has seemingly endless energy, and at newly three is of the age where absolutely everything in the world excites her.

What was wonderful
- More hugs, kisses, and 'I Love You's' than I could possibly count.
- Decorating cookies together.
- Teaching her how to slide along our wood floors while wearing socks.
- Going from clinging firmly to Nana upon encountering the ocean for the first time to shouting, 'Ready, Set, Go!!!' by the end as we would race toward, then away from the waves.
- Learning to climb rocks, bravely jumping high in the air off of them by the end of the week.
- Playing 'fishy' in our HOA swimming pool.
- Running to the hot water (i.e., hot tub) to warm up before racing back to the 'cold pool' (see above) for more fishy play.
- Finding every single thing at our nighttime visit to our county's unofficial outdoor shopping and fun center, the Irvine Spectrum Center, to be unbearably exciting; 'Nana, a carousel!, Nana, a fountain!, Nana, twinkle lights!, Nana, la luna!, Nana, pizza!, Nana, cat cookies (at the Hello Kitty Cafe)!'
- Endless play in our backyard fountain.
- Watching the tide and fog roll in together one memorable afternoon at the harbor.
- Absolute enchantment with every Christmas light she encountered.
- Absolute enchantment with our Christmas tree, which we put up the day after Thanksgiving.
- Helping me unpack our ornaments after I explained how to do so gently, mesmerized by each and every one as she handled them.
- Watching her excitement the night we built a fire in the backyard.
- Watching her excitedly pick out a mermaid doll the afternoon we took her to the Ocean Institute, which she then lugged around everywhere we went for the remainder of the week.
- Working on small puzzles together.
- Listening to her tell me that, 'Mama has a baby in her belly,' and that she hoped it was a baby sister.
- Singing 'Happy Birthday' together every time we encountered balloons.
- Pushing her on the swing at the beach one day, watching her lean back and close her eyes in ecstasy.
- Her joy each time she encountered a surfer; watching intently after each wipeout to ensure they emerged safely from the water.
- Total bliss on her face as Nana poured some colored sprinkles on top of her strawberry frozen yogurt.
- The joy on her face each time a train passed during a walk along the beach in San Clemente one day, where the train tracks run close along the ocean. 'Trains go Choo Choo, Nana,' she would solemnly announce afterward.
- A car! A truck! A fire engine! A plane! A boat! Each sound she heard produced an absolutely thrill of delight.
- Listening to a Christmas caroler at the harbor, who upon seeing all the children gathered round broke into a rousing chorus of How Far I'll Go from Disney's Moana.

So as they depart today for home, and the house falls silent, my heart is beyond sad in spite of the work and chaos of this past week. We have lots of fun events to look forward to over the coming holiday season, but I think my husband and I would both happily trade them all in were we given the opportunity to spend more time with our girl instead.

Come tomorrow I'm sure we'll be back to our old selves, but today our sweet girl will be lingering in our minds as we slowly put the house back together, and sadly adjust to her energetic presence no longer being here.

See you soon our little one.

October In A Sentence A Day

October was a good month overall! I got lots of granddaughter time, we settled even further into our new home, we became increasingly connected with our new community, and we finally found time to start branching out and exploring new activities and restaurants. 

1. First non-family entertaining event, a dinner party for our book club that included these Chipotle chicken kebobs with cilantro lime dipping sauce, this Southwest black bean and corn salad and this delicious Trader Joe's ready-made pumpkin cheesecake (I cheated and bought dessert because I ran out of time!).
   
2. Cleared out 70 emails ( yep, even in retirement!), plus packed and prepped house for our trip tomorrow.
3. Flew to Metro-DC to visit our granddaughter, arriving after her bedtime, boo hoo.
4. Speaking of 'boo's' had a marvelous day with our girl visiting Burke Nursery Farm & Pumpkin Patch, taking their spooky hay wagon ride not once, but two times (our girl is so brave! 😊 ) 
   
   
   
5. Our girl went to preschool today, so we snagged same day tickets to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC,
   
   followed by lunch with some visiting friends, Peter and Kathy, at one of Jose Andres' DC restaurants, Oyamel, where we enjoyed great food, but, unfortunately not great service.
6. Took our girl to two more play parks, plus another pumpkin farm, because a tired-out toddler is a happy toddler!
   
7. Apple picking at Great Country Farms in Bluemont, Virginia,
   
   
   
   plus a little wine tasting for the adults at adjacent Bluemont Winery. 
   
   
   
8. Spiritual services in Mount Vernon which included lunch and a seminar on working to improve race relations, an unplanned, impossible-to-resist stop for new toys, then we watched our girl for the evening while mom and dad enjoyed a night out on the town in DC.
9. Our girl again went to preschool, so we sat around all day and read on a rainy Autumn day.
10. Took our girl to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD and had a BLAST!
    
11. Our girl is 3 years old!!!
    
12. Flew home, talking about our girl during the entire flight (😊), did grocery shopping, enjoyed wine in our backyard, then fell into bed exhausted at the ripe ole hour of 7:30 PM!
13. Unpacked, did laundry, repacked, then left for a weekend couples retreat, nicely nearby at least.
14. Wonderful day listening and learning about all things pertaining to coupleness.
15. Home just in time to prepare slow cook pork ribs for an at-home dinner date with our oldest daughter, who sweetly brought cupcakes to celebrate my birthday, which occurred earlier this month while we were visiting the East Coast.
    
16. Had custom roller shades installed on our view facing windows,

    

    Now you see them . . .

    

    . . . now you don't!

    then a very robust discussion with our non-fiction book club about this month's read,  The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria.
17. Early morning four mile race walk with hubby, lunch with my monthly ladies group, then a rockin' Halloween celebration with our fellow Ocean Institute volunteers .
    
    
    
18. Gym and grocery shopping in the AM, then, woo hoo, a VIP reception at a yacht club to kick off the 2017/2018 season of the Dana Point Philharmonic - our season tickets were a modest $60, but if that gets us a VIP invite we'll take it!

    

    I don't think I really realized how many boats are moored here!
19. New hairdo!
    
    
    
20. Spanish class in the AM, then an afternoon shift at the Ocean Institute, where I discovered this enormous guy near one of our sailing ships.
    
21. A pain-free four mile run in the morning, then I cooked myself silly getting ready for a dinner party we were hosting in the evening, including this brag-worthy lemon tart!
    
    
    
22. A gorgeous coastal fall afternoon spent shadowing a docent at several Laguna and Newport Beach tidepools, which including some actual docent work myself, as my instructor gently handed over the ropes about midway through . . . scary!
23. Puttered around the house sweeping, doing laundry and going through files, then off to a tidepool volunteer appreciation event in this gorgeous backyard on a balmy fall evening.
    
24. Attended a class on Chinese Culture via my Lifelong Learning program, then an Oktoberfest event that involved pairing traditional German food with a variety of wines.
    
25. Spent the morning practicing how to put together our new inflatable kayak - success!
    
    - then  a stimulating lecture at Soka University titled 'Journalism Under Fire.'
    
26. We took our kayak over to Dana Point Harbor, and yeah, it didn't sink!
    
27. So, so tired and no clue why!
28. A very foggy morning, late morning walk under blue skies, and then a Fall Harvest Festival at our spiritual congregation, featuring chili, baked potatoes and three kinds of corn muffins.
    
29. Hiked the San Clemente Beach Trail with my girlfriend Mary under cloudy skies,
    
    followed by a farewell lunch (she's moving to Singapore!) at the fun and casual Ellie's Table , then a relaxing rest of the day at home before getting cleaned up for date night with my hubby at Tortilla Republic in Laguna Beach, including, yum, Passion Chipotle Sangria!
30. New bed delivery for our second master bedroom, meaning we are officially open for overnight guests!

    

    Lots of decorating still needs to be done, including sheets!

31. Second class on Chinese Culture at our Lifelong Learning program, a docent shift at one of our local tidepools where I discovered and happily watched a two spotted octopus for hours, then a Happy Halloween to the paltry two kiddos that came by the house!

    

    The little slice of paradise where I volunteer!

August In A Sentence A Day

August was the month that finally felt like 'Hello Summer!' We balanced our never ending home remodeling to-do list with equal doses of fun in the sun. We hiked, backpacked and ran to and at the beach, we attended concerts in the park, enjoyed dining al fresco almost daily, slept under the stars, awoke to the sound of waves crashing, experienced the solar eclipse event, heard elk bugle and a mountain lion roar (!!!), BBQ'd, wine tasted, and simply immersed ourselves in the still new-to-us fabulousness of living near the coast.

So if my sentences appear to be a bit more upbeat this month, it's not your imagination!

(And P.S. - Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see who else is participating,

and to visit their blogs for additional August In A Sentence A Day inspiration!)

1. Backpack training hike #3 (eight miles, 22 pounds), followed by a loooong nap, then dinner at Ivory in Laguna Beach before enjoying Pageant of the Masters, a longtime summer tradition.

   

   Those be real people up there!

2. Woke up to ants in the kitchen, eek, and quickly called our pest control service, after which I left the house and shopped till I dropped - groceries, more home decor items, and lots of ant killer spray to use while we await our pest control service.
3. Long, tiring day helping watching my electrician friend install ten new lighting fixtures, three new ceiling fans, remove oodles of useless wiring for a now-dead security system, remove more useless wire for an also-dead outdoor lighting system, and re-position several outlets away from three soon-to-be installed replacement sliding glass doors.
4. Sleepless night due to a helicopter loudly circling above our neighborhood for two hours in the middle of the night, a highly unusual event that literally blew-up our Facebook neighborhood page, then five hours of volunteer training at the Dana Point Ocean Institute followed by an evening in the park trying to stay awake enjoying a No Doubt tribute band.

   

   It's Gwen Stefani!
   OK, maybe not, but she did sound pretty darn close.

5. Ran around the harbor in the AM with my running club, bought massive peaches at the Dana Point Farmers Market, then joined friends Ed and Susan for a truly unforgettable Burmese meal at the wonderful Irawaddy.

   

   One of the best items we ordered was this divine Tea Leaf Salad.
   Unlike anything we've ever eaten before.

6. Fun potluck after Sunday services, with my contribution being another sinful Ina Garten recipe, this amazing Sour Cream Coffee Cake.
7. Bribed a friend with lunch to pretty please come over and patch a couple of small drywall holes before getting our new glass sliders installed, plus met with our designer to create a new office for hubby that will look an awful lot like the one we had installed just before selling our prior house.

   

   The office hubby barely got to use. 
   So happy we are making this a priority in the new house!

8. Moved six boxes of packed dishes and glassware into garage to await upcoming replacement of flooring, and couldn't believe I really had that much stuff stored in my dining room hutch!

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   Hello, my name is Tamara and I have a dishware problem!

9. Glorious morning run, then onto my second orientation at the Ocean Institute on a gorgeous summer day.
10. Backpack training hike #4 at Carlsbad State Beach, eight miles with 24 pounds in packs, followed by breakfast at Daily News Cafe.
    
11. Morning run, then off to a yoga retreat in Ojai with my oldest daughter.
12. Yoga, it does a body good!
    

    

    My daughter demonstrating the perfect post-yoga activity.
13. Started the day early with meditation, then enjoyed a lovely hike with my daughter before packing up and leaving for home.
14. The first set of replacement windows started going in, and when we opened our new casement window in the ocean-facing upstairs guest bedroom it was instant paradise as a strong ocean breeze immediately came flowing in.
15. A lovely lunch with my spiritual ladies group, then home to await the delivery of new living room furniture, which eventually arrived just before midnight, grrr.

    

    New wood flooring sample in lower right corner . . . can't wait!
16. Eight mile training hike, stopping halfway at the beach for lunch, then home to check out how things were progressing on tile installation in our, blech,  previously carpeted bathrooms.

    

    So glad to see this carpeting go bye-bye!

17. Long day hanging around the house to be available for the million little decisions any home upgrade requires (where to stop tile, where to place baseboards, what to do with closet organizers, what to do with closet doors), plus a big design decision to attempt to emulate this sample staircase:
    
18. Met with our window treatment guy for a second time in order to measure for shades, instead of shutters, for all of our view-facing windows, a much better option for preserving our view without sacrificing privacy.
19. Morning race walk, then spent the rest of the day getting ready for your upcoming two week backpacking/wine tasting/hiking/RV'ing trip, yeah!
20. Departed home bright and early at 4:30 AM to get a head start on our 470 mile drive to Point Reyes National Seashore, oof!

    

    Last scenic few miles of a very long day of driving.

21. Solar eclipse fail in that the skies were too overcast to really see anything, then off onto day one of our four day backpack through Point Reyes National Seashore.
    
22. So many animal sightings as we hiked - whale, weasel, coyote, quail, rabbit, deer, seal, hawks, turkey vultures and osprey.
23. A VERY memorable warning growl from a just out-of-sight mountain lion when we accidentally lingered near where it was apparently guarding or ingesting the body of the weasel head we briefly stopped to look at along the trail.
24. An absolutely gorgeous hike out of the park, then lunch back at our RV's, followed by looong hot showers.
    
25. Point Reyes Lighthouse, elephant seals and French Marin Cheese, yum!
    
26. The sights and sounds of Tule elk, males loudly bugling, as we hiked to Tomales Point in the northern end of the park.
    
27. Fascinating discussion with our newly arrived wildlife naturalist RV site neighbor about how Tule elk came to be resettled in Point Reyes, and then onward to Petaluma for the next leg of our trip.
28. Funnest wine tasting experience ever at Williamson Wines in Healdsburg!
    
29. To Cline Cellars in Sonoma for more wine tasting, followed by a gluttony of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cheese, jam and sauce tasting (hello bacon jam!), then dinner at Mustards Grill in Napa that ended with this amazing dessert - Mile High Lemon-Lime Meringue Pie.
    
30. Nerve wracking drive towing our travel trailer over San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, then south along scenic Highway 1 to our last stop in Pescadero/Santa Cruz.
    
31. Immersed ourselves in elephant seal biology at beautiful Ano Nuevo State Park, and let's just say that being an alpha male elephant seal may not be all it's cracked up to be!
    

And so went the month of August! We are still RV'ing with our friends, with just a couple more days to go before we return home and embark on an almost solid, non-stop month of remodeling.