Borders Book Evening

Before I went away I decided it was time to buy some books.  Sarah and I trundled off to Borders.  As a rule I do not buy books from big chain stores. The prices are too high and Id rather support independent sellers or second hand books stores. I love second hand book stores, I love books that have the read feel about them, in  my humble opinon a book should look like it has been read, or loved as I like to put it. A fingered, bent cornered book tells me it has been read with a passion and the story that lies within calls to me. 

A large book store as Borders also gives me the luxury of being in a library, everything has its place, the best sellers are there, the recommendations are calling out me to.. Its a little easier to walk in having no idea what you want and not be totally overwhelmed. Borders to me is like a luxury library, with coffee and chatting.

This visit I went to find a new Author. I found Jane Green, I wanted to read the Beach House which sounded light hearted. I have yet to find it out side or Borders. Sigh...

I also purchased not from Borders but from my local second hand book shop and rather nice copy of Jane Austins Pride and Prejudice. I love Austen on screen, the language and the relationships, yes I confess it is a rather dulled down version, but I have never the mind nor the patience to actually read her.. Well thats changed, Ive started reading it and its very enjoyable.. Im finding lack of time being a issue but Im ill at the moment so maybe I should  take my leisure and read a bit.

I went with my friend Sarah.. it was a very pleasant evening.  We found a great little Indian right next to Borders I highly recommend it to anyone.. Very Cheap and  Great Food.

MEHRAN INDIAN RESTURANT - Excellent A+

Mendocino a funny tummy and napalese man.

Aaron and I went to Mendocino early Friday morning we planned to stay 1 night and 2days.  Our camping trip to the redwoods ended up being reduced to 1 night in a nice hotel.  The weather promised to be stormy and wet.. you,d think camping would be the cheaper option, but with petrol and equipment and then food.. it was up there. We found a great deal in a Hotel Aaron has always wanted to stay at.

Misty Drive to Mendocino                                          Green moss growing on trees very spooky

It took about 4 hours to get to Mendocino, through the most wonderful scenery from flat farmlands, mountains to redwood forests. unfortunately I was was unable to appreciate the most spectacular of it.    We had reached Ukiah, and for some reason we decided to have Mc Donalds.. As a rule we dont eat Mc Donalds,yes they have the best fries in exixtance but as a whole its crap food and you use your daily in calorie intake on one meal.. The horror. Today we were in a good mood in a dead end town and wanted something we could eat and move on.. I had a mini meal and Aaron had  angus burger meal. 

 Redwoods                                                              Redwoods

About half an hour later in the middle of the red wood forest my stomache was doing filps and my bowls were making some funny noices.. I was feeling sick. cold sweats and I felt the blood had drained from my body.. Did i mention we were in the middle of a Red wood forest!!! Beautiful!!! stunning like slicent giants they stand towering above you.. but all i could think of was the loo...
We pulled into a campsite and the normal toilets were locked as is out of season.  

                                    The redwoods and the famous toilet I used. Yes it                                                                             Looks more like a shed I agree.       

                                    View driving thro the mountains see the mist in the back ground

The pit toilets were open however.    Pit toilets are just that, a hole on the floor.. with a metal can over it so you dont have to squat. It was like going in an outside shower not any privacy the toilet paper was all wet as it was misty and wet... it had a roof so that was good. I was traumatized to say the least. I felt like i needed a shower when i came out.  Even then it wasnt over, 10 mins later i was feeling ill all over again.. Aaron made it to the hotel in record time, I ran in and promptly released all.. ahhhhhhh... 


The hotel was charming very victorian,  our room was a garden view, it was small as this was an old building.  We went and walked around the town. Saw the Ocean views and took in all the little shops.  We went back to the hotel for a drink and I had the appifiany to go and ask if they did complentary upgrades.. To my surprise they did.. we where upgraded to a Ocean view king with four poster bed it was perfect. I smiled from ear to ear. My motto if you dont ask you dont get! 




First room                                                   Upgraded room

The food at the hotel was expensive but exquisite.  I highly recommend the breakfast .. WOW! We had had eggs Benedict and french toast and we split it. we had mimosas and Aaron had coffee. It set us back $50 but it was worth every cent it was that good.

We walked along the coast, hiked a 1mile to the light house and back.  Found a great brewery. Looking in some shops, then headed back toward Ukiah. We took a rd that we had been looking for on the way here.. It was so long so twisty and lasted forever it was like being in the back of beyond and people still lived out there.. I started to think we were on the road to nowhere.. All the while the mist lay below us like lakes it was stunning.

 

We got back to Ukiah and decided to go to a restaurant that had been recommenced in Mendocino at a natural food store we went in and found patax. Needless to say the restaurant was a Indian restaurant, it really is hard to find good Indian food outside the citys. This one was called the Himalayas, it was Nepalese and Indian. We ordered Korma and a Vindaloo.. The Korma was good.. The vindaloo was bright red and wasn't what I was used to.  The owner was a small Nepalese man that would come to the table and try and talk to you but his English was so bad that it made having a convocation with him impossible , so he would stand there and nod his head and smile and then walk off at the most weird time.  The waitress wasnt very helpful, so she got a small tip lol..   The result of this meal was a car full of inoxious gases!  


We arrived home glad to be back. There is always something comforting about coming home.. 




Here are few pics of the area


Clift top nr where we were staying

                                                               Beach In Mendocino

 Beach at Mendocino below

Light house and area

Ruffles and Stuff Giveaway

Go see Disney's cute designs and ideas. I love this blog, she is so creative and sweet. At the moment she is giving away some awesome creations from her shop, go leave a comment and be in for a chance to win

Snow in Placerville

We have had the most snow Placerville has seen in 20yrs..  Nearly 2ft of snow. Our power was off most of the day yesterday and the stores where out of supplyes everyone was stocking up.. We had to dig our steep driveway so we could get to the store and help other brothers and sister who were running out of fire wood. 24 hours later some are still without heating and power. As we are in town we have our power on first. Lots of trees and power lines come down. In fact walking back from a neighbours last night one snaped and came down in front of me..

Here are some news reports.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfOw2IFkZhE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luo2u2BJqj0

Work !,,but oh how much fun.

I have finally started to find paying work. Its sporadic but here's hoping it will build up in time and with Jehovah's blessing.


My first source of income is teaching Art to adults and Children privately. I have one student called Braden who is 9 and a very good drawer.. Im loving it. I have another potental student who is a lady in her 50s I just need to set a date.

The project im very excited about is Shabby Chic Furniture. A sister rents a room in a Shabby Chic shop and has her furniture in it.. She has asked me to team up with her and she will put my furniture in there too.. Last night we went to the shop and re decorated the room.. We added my furniture and had a blast. Im loving this process. In fact I found a set of drawers for $5 did my magic to them and love them so much they are now my first piece of bedroom furniture..(below)


This part of her room in the shop below you can see a Jewelry box I made Shabby chic its on the left of the table.

A close up of the Jewelry box

This is the center of the room which I helped design. On the wall behind the light are my Headboard and Mirror set.



This is by the enterence the love heart sign is mine i found it cleaned it up and did the writing on it


This is a better view of the Headboard and mirror I did the designs on them.

Below on the desk is a small set of drawers I did all the detailing including the knobs

A close up of the small drawers

A close picture of the Jewelry box on the desk

Sick Day and Watching the Storm

Today I woke up with the beginings of a sore throat and a head cold so I decided to stay at home rest and cook good food. This sick day is much needed.

Another cool thing about today is its stormy.. Coming live from my porch amidst the down pour.. yes pple my first live blog... The rain is pouring the wind is....... well not so bad but the rains never stops.. We are at the bottom of a hill so all the rain water runs down the hill and into our little stream outside our house I have pics .. see below.. The cold air has penitrated my hoodie and I feel damp. But thats partly because I ran around taking pics for you guys and got wet.. Tootsie is under my blanket keeping warm..

I love this weather it reminds me of home. Which I miss very much folks, but ill be back before I know it and pining for the Californian mountains..


Back inside now.. my nose is running and the warmth is welcoming..



Above is the footbridge outside our house covered in ivy... and rain.


Rain coming down the hill pouring into little stream

Me keeping warm outside watching the storm.

Tuesday Blues

Sherman had surgery yesterday so I have canceled today. He had a big blood sack on the floppy part of ear due to scratching and bursting a blood vessel. His ear is full of stitches and im not sure if your aware but Boxers ears are really floppy and Sherman shakes his head around alot, and scratches at his ears alot. At the moment he is wearing a sock on his head to keep his ear in place. Now its Tuesday and its time to take the dressing off and clean the ear.. OH yes thats my job..

So I remove the dressing which is caked with dry blood and have to soak his ear in wit hot towels. Sherman is skittish esp as his ear is tender, so getting him to just sit still and not shake his head is a huge ordeal, finally he does. I soak the ear for about 5 mins and gently clean it. I allow Sherman to get up and the first thing he does is shake his head vigoursly. Blood splatters the walls and me. I scream "Sherman, STOP" but he doesnt understand what he is supposed to stop doing, shaking his head is normal for him.

Now i have to repeat the proceedure and find a way of stableing the ear.. I have tube socks Ihave had to wear for a sprained ankle and we have non sticky pads for large cuts and bruises. A ha! brilliant. See photo for finishes product. It works as long as he doesnt shake his head too much. It has fallen out twice but I think ive secured it enough.. Poor Sherman looks so sad.

We think we have new home for him, some people are coming tomorrow, she has run a rescue shelter for dogs in the past and was looking for a adult boxer as a companion and guard dog. She knows sherman has had surgry but still wants him now. It cost us $391 to have his ear taken care of. London seems very far off right now.

Im home playing doctor, I have laundry up to my eyes and the housework to do.. Pants day blah. Yesterday I played tennis and got on with a Shabby Chic project, Im involved with a sister who has a spot in a Shabby Chic shop. Ill post some photos of what im doing. Im really excited, we basicly take furniture strip it down and paint it white and distress it so it looks Shabby. Or we take found objects as the bed head and mirror below and we make it unique and sell it for BUCKS. lol
Above is our first finished piece. We took a bedhead and mirror and added our design to make it one of a kind . Cost $2.50 Sell $150 -200

Above is an old jewllery box that we are spraying white then we are going to distress it and sell it for lots of money. Cost $8 Sell for $45-50


Above is a small chest of drawers ive sprayed white. Im gonna add cute knobs like crystal ones and the red love heart ive re sprayed as it was really water damaged and im going to add scroll writing.. Like "home is where the heart is" or somthing like that.. Cost $4 for both sell for $20 -25 each

This is what im working on now. Found this cool lamp for $5 its heavy, solid and it works. Im making Ruffles with the materail below and im going to glue them on the lamp see image below for how it will look.
This is how the ruffles will look. Got this project off a blog on here called "ruffles and stuff" very cool blog.


Im also being hounded by Tootsie today she has an obsession with my Tennis balls. She love to go fetch and wines like a kid if i do not throw it for her. She follows me all around the house and drops it my feet making a whineing sound..
These dogs are like having kid the good part we can leave them in the house alone and wont get arrested. However they do trash it occasionly.


So time to start house work... Ugh!