Wreath Project

G and I went to Dig today in Santa Cruz for a wreath making project.  We used fresh pine boughs and other greens and topped with air plants and succulents.  It was such a fun project and we love having them hanging on the front doors!

Wood floors

Apparently we are really hard on our wood floors.  We have been talking about getting the floors refinished but were always hesitant because of the dogs.  The dog scratches didn't bother me that much but the gray spots did.    So we finally decided to just do it.  These are "before" pics.

Below are "after" pics.  It looks brand new and sooooo much better! It makes me wonder why we waited so long.  It also made me realize that its time to paint all the walls.

Below are pics of the area while the work was being done. What a mess it was and it took all week to get it done.

Crab Season

Commercial crab season opens on November 14 and although Jim is not crabbing anymore, he does help Captain Dan out.  This year he has been working on this crab table.  I am not exactly sure what he has done, but it involved welding!  And was moved in and out of my garage.

Frisbee Injury

Grace is loving playing on an Ultimate Frisbee team....except for this weekend when she ended up with a knee injury!  Hopefully it is nothing serious - she is giving it a few days to heal.

Sick Time

Last week my Dad spent 5 days in the hospital fighting what we believe was a nasty virus.  My mom and I took turns staying with him because he was so sick we didn't want him alone.   He spent the whole time in isolation so we had to wear smocks and gloves and even had to wear masks at first.  Thank goodness he finally feels better.

Steep Ravine

At the end of last week, Jim and I took some time to de-compress from the stress of life and stayed a couple nights at Steep Ravine Cabins, which is just south of Stinson Beach.  There are 8 rustic cabins and 8 camping sites.  We were in cabin #7 which is the closest one to the private beach.

Not only was it a very cool location but we got unbelievable weather - it was mid-70's at the beginning of November.

We hiked all around the park and the beach and checked out the birds, the deer and the bunnies.  And one night when we came back from a trip to the bathroom we found a raccoon IN our cabin!

Our cabin

Our dinner was cheese, cracker and fruit eaten by lantern light!

On our second day, we hiked into Stinson Beach and had a delicious lunch at Siren Cantina while enjoying the sun.  The problem was the hike back up hill after eating a giant lunch!  Our legs felt like they weighed 400 pounds each!

True to vacation tradition and outdoorsy afternoon tradition, we had tea time complete with pastries.

BAM!

As you have heard a number of times, I am incredibly proud of my ability to do the crow position in my yoga practice.  I had tried and tried and figured it was just one of those things I would never be able to do but would try anyway since just trying is good for your muscles.  THEN - one time - it worked - BAM!

HTCG

I don't talk much about work here but I think this was worthy of a mention.  Over 4 years ago I started an industry group for compliance professionals in the high tech field.  I saw a need and started setting up quarterly meetings for the over 100 people who have joined the group.  Last quarter, Sophia (my partner in crime from EA) and I handed over the leadership to two new folks.  Today was the first meeting that we were not in charge of and the host got this cake to celebrate the "out with the old in with the new"!  It was so thoughtful.

Pumpkin Patch

Drew and Amanda went to the pumpkin patch this weekend and took some super cute pics.  This one is my fav.

Googly Eyes

Just sitting at work and this beauty comes over my phone!  It may be the most favorite pic I have ever received!

G is in Kentucky visiting Jess and Fam and they appear to be having a wonderful time!

Ultimate Frisbee

Grace joined an ultimate frisbee team at school and had the first tournament last weekend.  They played four games and won them all which meant they won the tournament!

The grand prize was a cooler of beer - perfect for college students!

Pilot Peak

After our hike to Crane Flat, we ventured out to Pilot Peak, a place we have tried to find for years and years and have never made it to.  We have always run into closed roads or just didn't know which dirt road to drive down.

This time we made it!  But only after first finding a closed road due to a collapsed road.  This was good to know because this is a road we like to travel down in the winter to snow shoe.

It was a beautiful spot at about 6000 foot elevation.  It felt like we were on the top of the world.  We could see a bunch of the damage from the Ferguson Fire - which is sad to see.

Crane Flat Lookout

Last weekend Jim and I took a last minute trip to the cabin with no real plans.  On Saturday morning I saw that a friend of mine, Ann, was in Yosemite with her service dogs.  I told her we had a favorite hike that we could take dogs on so she agreed to meet us there.

We took the hike to the Crane Flat Lookout which we never do in the summer so it was cool to see it actually in working order.   We talked to a rescue worker who told us all about the work he has been doing all summer - including 5 rescues a week in the helicopter.

Here are our hiking partners:  Lieutenant, a working service dog, Nicole, a breeder dog and our two dopes!

While waiting for Ann, I took these pics of Oak and Hops.  They are so pretty!