I charged up my Bird Buddy AI feeder this past weekend. It hasn’t been outside since last Spring. It doesn’t survive the desert heat of summer, so I retired it for awhile.Then I started taking my own photos of birds and forgot about it. I hadn’t seen Red since our Christmas vacation, so I thought maybe he’d like the feeder, where I used to see Red and Mrs. all the time. So, the first day I put Bird Buddy outside, look who showed up?
I’m late posting the January reading list from my Daughter-In-Law’s AP English class. I got sidetracked earlier in January. After Christmas vacation, my husband and I both got sick. I was in bed for more than a week. Then I had other business to deal with that was a nightmare. Better late than never. Plus the reading can be done anytime. It’s fun to see what we’ve read and find new things to read.
Each month goes back in time periods. The syllabus started with today’s literature. In January, we’re reading 1865 to 1905.
Here’s the syllabus for January:
FYI, my surgery Monday went well. Tuesday I was up and walking wearing my boot. I even went outside for a short neighborhood walk with hubby.
Here’s a photo I took of Red since his first appearance at the Bird Buddy. It’s a little blurry because he wouldn’t sit still for me and he was clear across the yard. My photos of Mrs. weren’t worth sharing. She’s a flighty little thing.
What have you read on January’s Reading List?
Is there anything on the list you’ve wanted to read but never have?
I looked up at palm trees while on sandy beach near Hilo.
Here are a few photos and videos from our family vacation over Christmas week. We visited beaches, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and lastly, I posted a video of two daredevils on Rainbow Falls in our rental house’s backyard. All I can say is WOW!
Flying into Honolulu over Waikiki Beach. I can’t believe how much it’s grown. I was thankful we stayed on the Big Island in a rain forest!
Kīlauea before the rain started pouring. Our kids and DIL made a day hike out of view points and hiking down into and out of the caldera. My husband and I stuck to the crater rim trail to see views — until it was socked in and we couldn’t see a thing. Plus, it was wet and freezing cold. I wasn’t dressed for the weather. I was thinking Hawaii in my mind. Kudos for the kids hanging in there and seeing marvelous sites.
Looking down into the caldera.
This was a video I took of waves at a beach called Richardson Ocean Park. It was very busy on Christmas Day. My son and DIL traveled further away with our rental car and hiked to a Green Sand Beach (Papakōlea Beach). We took a Lyft to the beach and met the kindest man, Eddie Spaghetti, our driver who was in his 80s and has lived his life in Hawaii. Now that we’re home, Eddie calls and sends us videos and photos of his grandson and other family members. We made a friend!
Richardson Ocean Park was 20 minutes from our rental home.
Here’s the story of Aloha spirit and why the beach park was named after George Richardson.
A little critter hanging out inside a kitchen window.
AND NOW FOR SOME EXCITEMENT:
Was I surprised to see someone standing at the edge of the falls. I watched the guy walking back and forth, scoping it out. Then his friend in a pink boat showed up. They took a few practice runs before doing this! Watch it all.
FYI, I looked up Rainbow Falls and learned that swimming is not allowed because it’s extremely dangerous. Thanks for tagging along on our Hawaiian vacation!
I post Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you missed part one of our Hawaiian vacation with views of our unique rental home, designed by two architects from San Francisco for their own home, it’s posted HERE.
Would you attempt a daredevil move like the two guys above?
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Aloha to everyone! We spent the week under one roof with our grown kids and daughter in law. This was the backyard of where we stayed on the Big Island. It was a magical week together making memories and mostly enjoying the sights and sounds of staying in a rain forest with Rainbow Falls in the backyard. We were serenaded by the peaceful sound of the waterfall, birds and what I thought were the noisiest birds I’d ever heard — but they turned out to be an invasive species of frogs!
I kept thinking there was a sound machine on — the kind people use to fall asleep — with the waterfall and frog noises! Someone could make a fortune with those sounds.
This is the invasive species of frog I mentioned. It’s very tiny and we found a couple frogs inside the house. I found this photo from a website called Horizon Guest House:
About the coqui (frog)
Originally from Puerto Rico, the coqui arrived in nursery plants and quickly became established, in particular on the Big Island. The coqui makes a distinctive whistling sound at night that sounds almost identical to its name (‘ko-kee’). This sound can be quite loud, reaching up to 95 decibels.
I honestly didn’t need to leave the property, but we managed to explore beaches, the active volcano in Hawaii named Kīlauea, a farmer’s market and went out a few times out to eat.
Our daughter, DIL and my husband did a nighttime snorkel trip with manta rays. I should have gone but I was not excited about swimming in the ocean in the dark, so I missed what they called a most amazing experience. But I did get an evening one-on-one to hang out with our son. He’s the one who did the research and found this house to rent!
Our son and DIL viewing Rainbow Falls from the backyard.
Here are some photos of the unique house we stayed in:
A view of the house from halfway to the waterfall in the backyard. I love the lava stone walls used in landscaping the backyard and also lining the driveway. Below are a few interior shots.
Because the home is in a rain forest, the three main parts of the house (bedrooms, living room and kitchen) are connected with lanais.
The kitchen was gorgeous — as were the views from every single window.
Below is a waterfall video:
Here’s a video of Rainbow Falls with a person standing on the edge to give you perspective of size. Rainbow Falls State Park is above the falls, where this person must have come from. Turn on your volume to enjoy waterfall sounds. I’m posting a crazy video of the falls Wednesday with this guy and a friend!
My husband can be seen (photo below) going for a walk around the property. He’s a tiny dot in the background on the lawn.
Why did I call this post “Safe in My Garden?”
Because it’s one of my favorite songs from childhood. Also, I had several very stressful weeks before we went on vacation. I felt so safe and relaxed in our rain forest (and almost) treehouse with a waterfall!
What did you do this past week to celebrate holidays or spend time with family?
“Meet Me in St. Louis” is one of my favorite all time movies, especially at Christmas. Enjoy the beautiful voice of Judy Garland in “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
I remember my Aunt Linda visiting us in Palm Springs when my son was around four years old. He asked her to watch a movie with him. She was so surprised that it was “Meet Me in St. Louis” and thrilled it wasn’t Barney!
One of my favorite actresses passed away this weekend. I believe we are all mourning the loss of such a talented actress. (This image is free and may be used by anyone for any purpose. This file is licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.)
Diane Keaton was a resident of Southern California and she owned a home in Palm Springs, which she and her family used for vacations. Her daughter was a swimmer, like my kids, and we’d be surprised to see Keaton on our pool deck during holidays. Just like other swim families, kids often drop in on local teams while the family has vacation. There’s not many days of missing practice in the swim world.
One year at Summer Junior Olympics in Mission Viejo, I spotted Diane Keaton on the pool deck. She was dressed in her usual Annie Hall attire. I learned this weekend that Hall was her maiden name and Annie was her nickname. Also, that her personal wardrobe was used for the movie of the same name.
Other parents at the Mission Viejo pool spotted Diane Keaton that weekend, too. Within minutes there was a murmer around the pool deck that Diane Keaton was there!
One of the dad’s from our team was face to face with Diane Keaton. He said, “You look just like that actress…” He couldn’t remember her name.
“Diane Keaton,” she said.
“Yeah, that it’s it. Diane Keaton. You know you really look like her.”
“I am Diane Keaton,” she replied.
He didn’t believe her. Keaton asked him if he wanted a selfie with her. She took the selfie with his phone. That dad rushed back to our pop-up tent and blurted to the group of parents, “I just got a picture with a woman who looks just like Diane Keaton.”
We all answered in unison, “That IS Diane Keaton.”
What a special person she was who didn’t put on airs for being famous, but wanted to live a quiet private life in spite of being an iconic figure and major actor.
This is my office which has been taken over with stuff from our closets. The painting is of our Palm Springs backyard.
Yesterday, we were getting new carpet installed in our guest room and casita. We went through Costco because a neighbor recommended them. First, you have Costco’s backing if you aren’t satisfied or something goes wrong. Second, you get a percentage back from Costco on a gift card.
We had a salesperson come to the house with samples. We selected what we wanted, signed a contract and paid. The salesperson did measurements with an electronic device. He said I needed to empty out the closets and remove little things, but they would do the heavy lifting of beds and dressers.
We decided to replace the carpets after Christmas. My son is very allergic to cats and even though I raked the carpets to get rid of Olive’s hair (yes, there is such a thing as a pet rake) and I had the carpets professionally cleaned, my son couldn’t breathe. His doctor told him to leave or go to the ER. Not a great Christmas memory.
I’m sad to lose Olive and I miss her every day. She loved to hibernate in the daytime under the beds in the casita and guest room. Hence the cat dander.
We have a friend who is a retired pulmonary physician. He said cat dander can last in carpet up to three years. There’s no getting rid of it.
We had no carpet in our Palm Springs home. We replaced the carpet in our kids’ bedrooms with hardwood floors because of the allergy issue.
I can’t believe how much STUFF I had crammed into two closets. Now that it’s all out in public view in my office, I think it’s the perfect opportunity to go through it all. We are having guests for a week starting Sunday. What a great time to empty out the closets and have new carpet.
In those closets I had Christmas ornaments, gift wrap, and giant jugs to purify water from our pool in case of an emergency. Also, a sewing machine and fabric. And lots and lots of photo albums. Where will I put these things now? That’s the question.
What oddball things do you have stored in a spare closet?
The day after Christmas, I took my daughter to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Arizona home and work place called Taliesin West. This was my third visit to the magical place.
The photo above was on a bright sunny day when I visited Taliesin West with my son and daughter-in-law two years ago. Unfortunately, they had to leave early this Christmas vacation because we had unhealthy air quality alerts and my son couldn’t breathe. I was so sad to have them leave us, but the bright spot was spending one-on-one time with my daughter.
“The mission of an architect is to help people understand how to make life more beautiful, the world a better one for living in, and to give reason, rhyme, and meaning to life.”
– Frank Lloyd Wright, 1957
Each visit to Taliesin West, I feel like I am in the presence of genius — which of course I am. I love the use of space, materials, and the different feel from one building, room to outdoor spaces. This visit, I noticed so many more details than I had before.
“Taliesin West is a look over the rim of the world.”
We did an hour-long self-guided tour with our own phones and earbuds. I appreciated the detail of information including snippets of Frank Lloyd Wright speaking. I could picture the people living and working there.
The tour took us from outside to inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s office, around the property to various pools and patios to inside a gathering room, dining room, cabaret where they watched movies, inside the drafting room and inside a Kiva. The Kiva is a round dark room, that feels like it’s underground with phenomenal lighting in the ceiling and floor. They watched movies there and used it for storage when they returned to Wisconsin for the summer.
Here are some photos I took with my iphone during my trip with my daughter:
A view of Bougainvillea through the window in Wright’s office.
An outdoor space between buildings.
Wright was a collector of Asian Art. This eight-paneled screen featured ceramic faces.
The two mosaics, inspired by the moon and sun, were a gift from Clare Boothe Luce. She turned to mosaics as therapy in her grief of losing her daughter in a car accident. The Luces were friends with the Wrights. The mosaics are in the beautiful Garden Room.
Below: A Chinese statue which is one of around a dozen markers placed throughout Taliesin West. They are located when a theme or concept changes.
From the Taliesin website:
Wright’s beloved winter home and desert laboratory was established in 1937 and diligently handcrafted over many years into a world unto itself. Deeply connected to the desert from which it was forged, Taliesin West possesses an almost prehistoric grandeur. It was built and maintained almost entirely by Wright and his apprentices, making it among the most personal of the architect’s creations.
