March madness on Crossridge Road

Don't be disappointed, but I'm not going to write about basketball!  

We've had a busy month and spent the first part of the month getting over colds/allergies - we're still not really sure which we had!  However, the good news is we're fully recovered!

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a traditional corned beef dinner.  John was master chef and the photos, while gorgeous, don't do justice to the amazing aromas, colors, and savory taste!  Yummy!!!

 The other "madness" going on here is my continued love of creating treasures from paper and fabric.  I've been making the neighbor kids pillow covers and today I was inspired to make a cover for my Cricut Expressions machine....actually an easy "free" pattern I found on the internet made this a super fast project for today.  Here's my handiwork:  

 Personal note:  my Uncle Olin (my mom's oldest brother) passed away last week.  His memorial service is tomorrow in Missouri and I'm not able to attend.  However, I will be there in spirit.  In a few months, I'll make up some jars of his recipe for Strawberry/Rhubarb jam.....it's yummy and I know he'll be smiling down on me! 

Wall of Art

Welcome to our home and John's newest design brilliance!  Seriously, it's been in the works for about 6 months and has been through a few revisions.  We had to do something with the art that was displaced by the bookcases and this wall was identified as the new home for many of the pieces.  

Last weekend was spent trying to figure out the ladder system for getting up to the top to measure and hang the top row.  We did two pieces last weekend and finished the rest yesterday/today!  Here are a few "in process" photos: 

John describes this project as a case study in applied mathematics...I think it's just amazing and I'm so thrilled this is my view from where I normally sit in the living room!  We are so pleased!!!  Here's my new view......

New "baby" in the house!

Little did I know we'd have a new "baby in the house this weekend!  Here she is and her name is Melody.  Yes, John bought me an early birthday present!  We'll actually be celebrating my birthday all year (why not???) since it isn't until July!  We bought her at the Dublin Sewing Center....amazing store with excellent service.  Melody comes with free "owners" classes at the sewing center....I have lots to learn, but did manage to complete a few projects this weekend.  

The first project was inspired by the owner of my favorite shop in Carmel, "Findings"!  The owner had turned an old lace handkerchief in to a sachet for lavender seeds....so, I bought some lavender and whipped up a creation of my own.....here are a couple of shots: 














My final project of the day was a fabric clutch for Melody's manuals....I wanted to make a clutch so that the manuals are easy to find in my study!  This was inspired by a Kindle clutch made by Angie Juda on her "Chic n Scratch" blog (http://www.chicnscratchlive.com/2009/12/kindle-clutch.html)!  

Wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day!  Stay tuned for our next post.....our new wall of art!  It's John's latest creation and it's going to be amazing!!! 

Bunco with friends at Ron and Susan's

Well, I shared the "biggest loser" title with Stella, fellow Bunco player and friend.  We both won $5 for having lost the most rounds.....18!!! 

I did chuckle a bit this morning when putting the pictures together......of all the pictures taken at "Bunco" night, I didn't take one picture of us actually playing the game.  Here are some pictures of the food and people of Bunco......everything was as wonderful as it looks.....glad I took the before/after picture of the salmon so John can replicate!

By looks of it, all we did was chat, have fun, and eat great food!  Well, that's sort of why we do this.....what a great evening with friends!  In the picture above, Ron and Susan are featured in the center....John is standing with Fawaz and Ron in upper left.  Carolyn is with Mary, Steve, and Lou in upper right.  Mary Ann, Stella, Lou, Susan, and Steve are grouped together on the left.....Jeff, Carolyn, and Connie are grouped on the right.....lower right features Dina, Stella, me, and Mary Ann.  John and Lou grew up together and that's how we met all of these wonderful people!  Thank you, Lou and Mary!!!

Thank you, Ron and Susan, for hosting us!  

Weekend in Monterey

Just returned from a fun weekend in Monterey.  Spent Saturday and the night with friends, Becky and Paul Tag.  After lunch in Salinas and a visit to the Steinbeck Center, we enjoyed the remainder of the day/evening at their lovely home in Monterey.  While we don't see Becky and Paul often, when we do see them, it's like we just spoke yesterday!  I LOVE that about great friends.  

In addition to a yummy salmon dinner with salad and roasted vegetables, Paul set up a fun taste test with 2 Malbec wines.  We tasted Wine "A" and Wine "B" without food and then with our meal.....3 of the 4 of us selected "B", which was the $15.00 90 point Wine Spectator wine, while "A" was the $8.00 Kirkland brand.  Both were good, but "B" really was a bit smoother.  After we enjoyed blackberry shortcake, we retired to the "theater" room to watch "The A-Team"!  Fun action movie.  Here are some pics from the evening....

Today, we enjoyed a scenic (and a bit strenuous) walk around the neighborhood.  After our walk, we drove in to Pacific Grove for breakfast at The Victorian Corner (http://victoriancornerpg.com/aboutus.htm) .  Delicious!!!  We said "goodbye" to Paul and Becky and scooted over to see Susan and Eddie (Wilson) for a bit.  They were both under the weather from a nasty cold, so we didn't stay long.  Brinton's, The Travel Bag, and Carmel Hat Company were next on our agenda....then we finished up the day with dinner at Phil's Fish Market in Moss Landing.  So delicious!!!  We are back home and thrilled that we still have tomorrow (MLK day) as a vacation day!!!

Oh, I'd like to include a plug for our friend Paul.  He's an author of some great action/thriller novels.  Check him out at http://www.paulmarktag.com/

Women on the Way Fundraiser

What an evening!!!  Last night John and I attended a fundraiser for Women on the Way - a faith-based recovery center.  Here's the link:  http://www.wotwrc.org/.  The event was organized by Diane Oliver (sister of Curt Hinrichs brother-in-law).  Her daughter struggled with meth addiction, had been through several programs, and "Women on the Way Recovery Center" is the one that worked. Women on the Way is an effective, faith based program based in San Leandro that helps women turn their life around and recover from addiction.
Diane has been organizing fundraisers to give back to the place that saved her daughter's life.  We were so honored to be a part of this amazing outpouring of love and support by family and friends.  Here are some pics of Curt and Christine, Steve and Patty, us, and Carl Hinrichs and friends.