The Berkeley House

 

I went down to the Berkeley Hills to help Debbie and Steve gets things together for the big move.  Debbie inherited the home from her Mom several years ago. She and Steve have been putting it back together for two years and are now ready to put it on the market. 

Great views of the Bay and the city from the sun room on top of the home. Two huge cork trees in the front patio. Lots of nooks and crannies for a secluded read or gin and tonic. 

Loads of original drawings and renderings from her step dad's 1963 renovation. Original wooden gutters. Never seen them before.

Princess Torte

I've been a little obsessed over this cake since seeing it made on GBBO. I went online to see if I could purchase one.  Of the three bakeries in the States that would deliver, one was in Oakland, CA.  So on my recent trip, I ordered one.  Steve, Debbie and I dove in and loved it.

Saying Goobye for Awhile

I'm letting my membership lapse until some sanity returns to Washington
 

Poppy in Berkeley

Lovely to hang out with Poppy for a few days....go for some walks and annoy everyone with her squeaky toys
 

Stuck

A recent X-ray confirmed I have an arthritic thumb. Very common with the work I did. I was told by friends that ice packs and acupuncture would help. The ice packs have been working great. Yesterday I was back at the acupuncturist for a session.

Lavender Harvest

The bees have finished with the lavender.  That's my cue to start harvesting. The bees have migrated across the pool to the hot lips salvia.

Applegate Lake

We normally paddle the southern part of Applegate Lake but this week we did the midsection.  A new put in point meant a bit of a walk with the gear.  The recent higher humidity gave us some nice clouds. Like kayaking a completely different lake.
 

Operation Tow

M&K forgot one of their paddles yesterday at Galesville reservoir. They were able to each motor along with a half paddle each but after 90 minutes, Mark's knees gave out. He couldn't stand with only half a paddle.  Luckily I has some rope and we took turns towing the paddle board back to dock.  It made for a very good upper body workout.

Afterwards, we hung out with the aliens in Merlin at Area 61 for a drink and some food.

Spring Creek

We went to Spring Creek this week. It's fed underground from Crater Lake and the water stays at 42 degrees all year round.  The water was crystal clear. When we got to the headwaters, the water was bubbling up through the ground everywhere. It was very impressive.  We saw Sasquatch too!

Bay Leaf Harvest

 

With some deck work happening soon, it was necessary to prune back the bay leaf tree. We saved a lot of the branches and are now drying it. Every room downstairs has a hanging bunch. Smells wonderful.

Lake Armada

We had nearly everyone out on the water last week at Lake of the Woods.  Our two new paddle boarding compatriots kept up the pace. In an unusual twist, there was no wind.  Eerything was placid and calm.

Driving up the mountain, there were several fires burning.  The night before, a massive storm and over a thousand lightning strikes started 75 fires in the area.

Donated

As we were moving back into the downstairs rooms, a lot of stuff got culled for donation. I gave the last of my theatrical gels to the local theater group. The vestiges of my former life are gone.