Follow The Blue Bucket Hat!

Our dear friends are here from Finland for the summer and their little boy is just the right age to experience the San Diego County Fair.

Imagine being three years old and the first thing you see after having your ticket scanned is a walking talking taller-than-tall Transformer….it was rather difficult to tear him away (it occurred to me that our entire fair experience might take place only feet away from the main entrance!).

Luckily he was tempted by a visit to the animal barns. Moooooo. There were sheep to touch and bulls to admire. With the double fencing, we were too far back to even attempt to 'grab horns' (no sign needed).

Every once in awhile it was time to check in with baby sis and adjust her hat.

But the rides, oh the rides, they were the highlight.

Thank goodness he is a very tall boy so he was allowed to ride alone (and he did).

Although he shared the ferris wheel with his mom.

What a day! All smiles!

Watching his pastel blue bucket hat all afternoon as he lead us to the next adventure…

Fake Butterfly

If this pink and brown butterfly was REAL it would have gone through four stages of metamorphosis - egg to larva to pupa to adult.

But this one started in a factory and then ended up at Armstrong Garden Center.

Seriously, who would buy this?

There are plenty of butterflies in nature.

Spend $12.99 to grow some flowers and attract them!

Weekend Plans

Figuring out how to make a flagstone patio.

That is level.

Mostly.

Except for the gradual grade that will allow water to head toward the yard and not the house.

Stack of Pennsylvania bluestone and a sack of
decomposed granite were delivered this week.

Pulling out the ice cream maker, that has been stored away since last summer, to churn this vegan coconut pistachio ice cream from Joy the Baker.

Because I love toasted coconut.

And a vegan dessert will counter-balance the real beef tacos that we'll have for dinner!

And most importantly I will be wishing my Pops a very Happy Father's Day!

Here he is showing us how to properly assemble the telescope he built!

Have a fabulous weekend.

Finding and Searching for Documentaries

Every now and again there is a long list of movies worth seeing at the theatre.

This is how I feel about documentaries right now.

One I found on Netflix and the other at the Landmark Theatre in La Jolla.

Both about artists. A photographer and a musician. Both flew under the radar until a late in life discovery/resurgence.


Finding Vivian Maier is about a nanny that took thousands and thousands of photographs. Not for scrapbooks or posting on FaceBook, in fact hundreds of rolls of film were left undeveloped. An amateur historian bid on a storage unit that housed some of Maier's negatives and he later set off to find this extraordinary street photographer, piece together her life and promote her work. It is a fascinating story.

Searching for Sugar Man is about Sixto Rodriguez, a Detroit folksinger who never really took off  in the United States but unbeknownst to him became hugely popular in South Africa. Two Cape Town fans went in search of Rodriguez (rumored to have died by suicide) and found him working in construction, unaware of his cult status.

1. I was so intrigued by the documentary that I Google-searched Rodriguez (now 71 years old) and found out he was playing locally (two sold out nights in North Park). Saw him in concert last Thursday and it was evident by the level of excitement in the crowd and everyone singing along that he has gained quite a fan base here in the States!

   
   

   
   

   What documentaries have you seen lately?