City Hall, Please

Eli absolutely loves the Pasadena City Hall. I can't blame him - the italianate architectural touches with tall bell towers and tiled roof tops, the rose garden with packed DG walk ways, and of course - the fountain!

This time we went to file for Router's license. Unfortunately, we will have to apply to the County of Los Angeles instead of the city because of zoning laws. Sheesh. Oh well, the trip wasn't totally in vain... Eli got to play in the fountain!

Almost Home...

Shaun and I (and Uncle Bear on his free afternoons) have been trying to get the last of the repairs, unpacking, hardware installation, patching and cleaning done. It's never ending, but we are almost there to the point of being able to say we have actually finished moving in!

Now, when will be ready to throw a house warming party? That's another question...

As you can see, we still need another bookcase and an end table or something in the living room, and there is still a long way to go to get the office/side room done.

But it is finally starting to be 'home'!

Dyeing with Moscato - I mean, Dyeing AND Moscato!

My mom came down to help with the lambing - though it doesn't look like there will be any after all. So we had an impromptu dye party at the farm today, featuring a Moscato tasting party!

We sampled Californian and Australian varieties, but our favorite is still Trader Joe's $5-a-bottle Villa Alena Moscato.

Dinner is Served

 The first official dinner at our new house - Pat & Bear & Carlean came over and we had a nice spread. I made Spanish-style fish with tomatoes and herbs baked on them and pasta. They brought salad and veggies and the sweets - chocoaltes and moscato!

Progress!

I started work this week. And, now that it's the day before the kids are supposed to be starting school, we finally got their rooms in order enough for them to join us at the new house!

Amazingly enough, the major construction in the main bath also got nearly completed! There are still lights and electrical outlets that need to be put in, but for now, we have solid walls, floors and windows, and we are ready to actually *live* here!

Shaun was so nice to put in my pendant lights and curtain rods :) And he got to practice his balancing act at the same time!

The first weekend promised no rain, but did deliver it - mostly on the mountain side. But there was also an amazing full-arch rainbow shining through the mist.

Fruit on the Vine

 There are half a dozen little fruit trees squeezed into the aisle along the side of the house. We also have a lemon and a lime in the back yard. I am hoping to add an apricot as well as we do our planting. But for now, the promise of the fruit on the vine, er, in the branches, is wonderful - lemons, limes, oranges, apples, kumquats, pomegranites, and even green figs!

Unsafe Speeds

One of my favorite quotes from Star Trek is, "I will never understand the proclivity of humans to pilot vehicles at unsafe speeds." Abi and Eli's new favoite game involves exactly that: Shaun, a wheelbarrow, and unsafe speeds...

Now that everything is finally moved over (as of exactly 11:30 pm on the 27th), Shaun is very happy to have a chance to use his BBQ.

Return to Angelus' Cafe

It was pretty cool to walk back into Angelus' and get instant recognition and service! They even remembered what Eli had before. Aunt Pat and Carlean split the salad and Kobe burger, and I ventured to try something new, a wilted arugula salad with seared beef. It was just as delicious as the first time. This is definitely one of OUR places.

Tree, No More

 The big old Chinese Elm in the backyard had to be taken out. John, the Tree Guy - as he is called - said that it had gotten root damage and that's why it had died... probably from installing the concrete pad right next to it. Now that it's down, the backyard looks pretty baren. But Uncle Bear will have really nice firewood come December!

Happy Birthday!

 Abi turned 12 this year, and Eli turned 13! I can't believe how the time has flown. Uncle Bear indulged Abi and let her get one of the "big" Costco cakes. She was actually able to manage blowing out all the candles!

For Eli, Aunt Pat found a bakery called Breakaway Bakery that specialized in Gluten-Free cakes and pastries. The lady recommended a spice cake with 'chocolate' frosting, and it was in fact pretty good! Eli really liked the fact that he got a cake from a bakery, just like Abi.