It's been a while.....

...since our family has come together for a sibling picture.

But first;

 SQUIRREL!!

 In our backyard tree inside the birdhouse. Kinda funny. We've never seen them in there before...must be taking a break from the heat.

Back to the family photo:

This was taken at grandma Beth's funeral services and only 4 siblings are missing from the picture.

You know who you are......

Funerals are sad but yet a way for families to come together. Aren't those two boys pictured above handsome? Yep- the only boys out of a family of 7 girls. How lucky are they?  

Grandma Beth

Dear Grandma Tolman,

You are greatly missed.

Especially your smiles, laughs, warm spirit, birthday cards, generosity, letters and phone calls.

It's awesome that you finally get to meet Zoey and reunite with your husband, son and family who have gone before......

 Grandma drinking her favorite beverage: Chocolate Milk!

Grandma sure loved her chocolate (huh, must be hereditary...yep, that's where I get it!).

 Her favorite color was baby blue.....

 There was a celebration of your life with many family and friends- you were a special lady.

Thank you for sharing a bit of your life with me- how blessed I am to be your granddaughter!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandma passed away the morning I was away in California for work. The early morning phone call arrived and I knew....but unfortunately, it wasn't the time or place to think about it. It wasn't until after days end when sitting on the plane flying over the clouds that it dawned: grandma is really gone this time.

Quite embarrassingly, tears began to fall (I am sooo not a cryer, usually) which on a plane there is *zero* privacy. My poor seat companion must have thought I'd gone off the deep end....

Although it is sad and she will be missed I am grateful the trials of this earth are gone from her.

Lilies are in bloom at our house and for some reason, this picture reminded me of grandma:

Beth adored flowers.

Quick Peak: Pier 39

At times, working does have its 'side perks'...such as a brief (very brief) visit to Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

An impulsive, unique detour!

Myself along with two co-workers arrived at the Oakland airport late in the evening but couldn't pass the opportunity to take a quick drive across the bay.

After all, none of us had been to that part of California and being so close was temptation- though we were tired, weary and unfamiliar with the area we plugged in the Garmin and took off!

{excuse the poor quality pictures- they were taken with my cell phone}

The Golden Gate Bridge- an impressive sight! 

 Alcatraz

 It was windy and chilly

View from the Pier

 Pier 39 and their infamous Seals lounging about.....

While cruising Fisherman's Wharf we observed:

unique shops, singers, dancers, weird animal trickster-people, painters, beggars and an assortment of other amusing people and activities.

 The constant smell of fresh sourdough bread soon began to work on our empty stomachs and so we went in search of food and found:

Castagnola's!

The view from our table was gorgeous...watching the sun set over the bay.

 I splurged and ordered a fresh swordfish steak and grilled veggies....

the verdict: DELICIOUS!!

San Fran wouldn't be complete without a stop in front of the Hard Rock Cafe!

The sun had set, it was dark, cold, we were in a large city and decided it was probably best to leave as it was going to be an early morning work meeting....now, if only we could find the rental car!

Consequently, it was midnight before we made it out of the city, back across the bay and located our hotel!

What a brief, fun adventure!

Wooden Horses and Rocking Chair

Has it been mentioned that Ryan is very talented?
 Well, he is!

These are his latest, gorgeous creations:

which he built during his "spare" time.....

 A set of hand-crafted children's Rocking Horses made from Hickory Wood.

(Each horse required approximately 15 hours to complete)

 Pint-sized rocking chair made from Cherry wood with a red mahogany stain.

(This little chair required over 27 hours of work as all pieces were hand designed, manually sanded and custom-fitted)

 Beautiful pieces of work!

Ayla approves- and of course was testing the merchandise for stability and quality....

A question for you: what would be a fair-market value for such custom pieces? 

Rocking Horse = $70 in wood & materials

Rocking Chair = $65 in wood & materials

(Not including hours of labor)

In my opinion: P-R-I-C-E-L-E-S-S  

then again I am biased...just a little bit...

but what would YOU be willing to pay?

Although I must admit: it is rather nice to finally have my husband HOME again and not stuck in the shop....