Bench Seat Renovation

AFTER:

BEFORE:

DURING:

Unscrew the seat. Sand the wood so that the paint adheres properly.

Pick sunny day. Paint with semi-gloss white. Flip over. Repeat.

Use flat head screwdriver and needle-nose pliers to remove
bazillion furniture staples. Save padding.

JUST SHOWING OFF:

Just after DURING and before SHOWING OFF, there was a mad hunt for the heavy-duty staple gun and staples, a trip to the local fabric store, mild horror at the price of fabric that would look best, calming moment after realization of how little material was actually needed, massive stapling to attach new fabric to old seat, screwing of the seat to the bench after misplacing the original screws and searching for four new screws that were long enough.

Voila!

A new bench seat in three easy steps...I think I need to sit down.

Walkabout in South Park

Last night was the Spring Walkabout in South Park, an evening festival.

A chance to enjoy live music, taste a bite of chocolate from Eclipse, sip a glass of wine while shopping at a vintage boutique and meander through a charming San Diego neighborhood.

If you missed it, there is still the Summer (July 19), Fall (October 4) and Holiday Walkabout (December 6) to enjoy in 2014.

This gym is located in Fire Station No. 9, San Diego's oldest fire station.

The Grove sells books, yarn, clothing and home furnishings.

Scored a pair of bamboo sunglasses at Graffiti Beach.

So Childish - stylish gifts for infants and toddlers.

Totally motivated for another walkabout, in the daylight, to enjoy the architecture in South Park.

Crab Cooker in Newport Beach

It used to be a bank.

Now they keep fish in the vault.

This is just one of the fun reasons why you should have a meal at the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach, California.

Printed on the paper placemat:

These walls once housed treasures of the Bank of America but now they house the treasure of our fish. Yes, right where the vault of the bank was we have our fish in refrigeration. We are the only seafood joint that keeps its fish in a vault.

This building was constructed in 1936 for the Bank of America. The insignia of the Bank of America can still be seen on the outside corners of this building about 16 feet above the ground. Ain't we lucky to be fishermen and also own a bank?

Eating at the Crab Cooker is a bit like having an indoor picnic - plastic fork, paper plate, even little plastic cups for the wine.

And you can shake out bread balls and breadsticks till you get full.

The seafood, oh the seafood.

It is prepared simply.

No fuss, no muss, just tasty and fresh.

And if you ask your server nicely, she will take your camera back to the kitchen and take snaps of the outside and inside of the vault!

Order the swordfish.

With a cup of chowder or a shrimp cocktail...

Pre-Surf Huddle

Venice Beach, a week ago.

Downward dog pose?

Morning meditation?

Looking for something in the sand?

Griffith Observatory

The mission of the Griffith Observatory is to inspire everyone to observe, ponder and understand the sky.

Trails and trails and trails all around and above and beside the Observatory.

The pendulum demonstrates the Earth's rotation.

The mural on the ceiling directly above the pendulum celebrates celestial mythology,
with images of Atlas, the four winds, the planets as gods and the twelve constellations of zodiac.

An eight-foot high periodic table includes individual boxes and samples and allows
visitors to understand how all the elements we know, and which compose us, are made
through the birth, life and death of stars. We are all literally made of material from stars.

A view of the Hollywood sign.

The majesty of the building, the grounds, sitting inside the dome for a show all served to remind me of our smallness.

The very little bit of space we take up on this Earth.

And yet, our creativity and inventiveness know no bounds, just ask my Pop, who built his very own telescope and admires the stars and moon from his backyard.

SUGARFISH in Santa Monica

Thank you car wash lady!

The sushi was so fresh and beautifully prepared.

From the menu, we ordered Trust Me and Trust Me Lite.

Dish after dish was brought out - sashimi, a hand roll and raw fish wrapped in warm rice.

No need to dip anything in soy sauce-wasabi mixture.

The flavor and delicate sauce on each plate was perfection.

On the Friday afternoon before our trip, I washed the car at the Mohawk in Solana Beach.

While I Armor All'ed the dash and Windex'ed the windows and dried my car, I struck up a conversation with a woman sitting nearby waiting for her Mercedes to get detailed.

We got to talking about our weekend plans and I mentioned that I hadn't decided on a restaurant for my husband's birthday dinner and we loved sushi.

She offered to text her friends and find out the best place in Venice/Santa Monica/LA and I gladly let her.

Later she emailed a 'results' list with SUGARFISH at the top.

It was a winner!

Canal Reflections

This has turned into an annual event.

A weekend stay in Venice Beach.

A morning walk through the canals, admiring the architecture and the landscaping and for some reason it was the reflection in the water that caught my attention this year.....the reflection of bridges and houses and boats.

Couldn't keep my eyes off the water as we walked up and down and around and thru the maze of the Venice Canals Walkway.

Back at the hotel, this piece of art in the lobby gave me a chuckle.