Saturday, June 12, 2010

view of Mount Tamalpais at sunset from our deck

One of our pretty sunsets.

early morning over the bay


early morning over the bay, originally uploaded by beverlykaytw.

I was taken with this view at around 7 a.m. one morning because the bay was so still that it had full reflections - usually the bay is more stirred up than this. This is the view from my bed pretty much. (Except I went outside to snap the pic).

Mount Tam


Mount Tam, originally uploaded by beverlykaytw.

this is the view from near our side yard back along the back deck toward Mount Tamalpais to the east. Apparently "our" property heads on down the hill quite a way but we haven't explored it yet.

Happy Children's Day


Happy Children's Day, originally uploaded by beverlykaytw.

John & Kerri from downstairs had this up in our backyard on the day we moved - it was a great addition. They said it was in honor of us (the kids @ the Japanese school - big fish = dad, next = mom, 2 smallest the boys).

So much was going on that I've just been a bit busy to blog. May 2nd we moved into our new home in Marin. I just never believed that it would be easy to live there and commute to the city. Door to door on any day other than when there was an accident has been under 30 min at any time of day in either direction. I also didn't believe that the weather was really all that much better. It really is. Most days it was 10 degrees warmer - mid 70's instead of mid 60's (and w/out the gale forced winds in the city). So what did we do as soon as school's out? Head to Florida. Of course. But back to the house. It still needs some work and desperately needs some outdoor furnishings - but from day one the views - oh the views! We also now have 3 bedrooms instead of 2 and 2 baths instead of 1. And a nicely outfitted kitchen instead of cheapo rental kitchen. I have hopes the car(s) will one day soon fit in the garage. We had to invest in a couple of beds for the kids. Q had his room painted "maine lobster" (red) on one wall, a hunter green across from it and "pistacio ice cream" on the 2 walls in between. It works surprisingly well and you don't end up seeing much wall by the time you put in the bunk bed, dresser, shelves, and dresser. He is a happy boy (originally he didn't like the idea of sleeping in a room apart from his brother). He also gets a lot more sleep now. A had his room painted light blue. He is pleased with his room too and keeps it fairly tidy. Our room is big enough that our bedroom furniture actually fits inside it along w/ a recliner chair (yet to be used for other than storage). Our dressers used to be in the dining room. We've purchased a media cabinet, side board, storage ottoman, and shelving/dividers so far (in addition to beds for the kids). We still need a sofa(s). We've bought a couple of aiderondack chairs for outside. We've eaten dinner out most nights using our old fold up table and folding chairs. We'd like to get actual outdoor furniture for dining. We've also eaten on both back deck and side yard and have to decide where we want to eat. The side yard makes a lot of sense as it is off the kitchen and by the grill but back deck is easy enough too and perhaps a bit prettier. Did I mention the view? I am so captivated by it that I frequently have to grab my camera and snap yet another sunset. We look north toward San Quentin across part of the bay. The lights of the adjacent town twinkle in the distance in the evening. A ferry boat cruises by below every half hour or so. P's new commute. To our east is Mount Tam. Behind us (or across the street from the front door) is a bit of a rock face on the big hill. The kids are loving climbing it. Since there are only 2 more houses before the street ends they feel very comfortable playing in the street - a huge change from living on the fairly major city street in San Francisco.