Photos from a Saturday Drive

Matt and I spent about six hours driving east and north of San Diego last weekend. We were able to fit in a meal at Miner Diner in Julian, our favorite (somewhat local) unsuccessful mining town (where the temperature was a markedly chillier 50 degree), before heading north on route 79 and eventually winding our way back west around Cleveland National Forest. San Diego County has 10 climate zones, and I think we drove through at least half on our outing.

MASTERS OF MID-CENTURY CALIFORNIA MODERNISM — Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman

If you come to visit us in San Diego soon, we recommend stopping by the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park to see the exhibit MASTERS OF MID-CENTURY CALIFORNIA MODERNISM — Evelyn and Jerome Ackerman.

Anza Borrego

Last weekend we decided to catch the tail end of the desert wildflowers in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. After a stop in Julian for a bison burger at the Miner Diner, we headed southwest into the park. We didn't do much hiking, just a walk through a trail leading to a number of palm groves (we made it only to the second grove), but it was a lovely, mild day in the desert. Julian was actually chilly, as a storm was predicted to drop rain on the mountain town.

The desert wasn't in vibrant technicolor, as I'd hoped/imagined, but cacti and other plants were flowering. Here are a few images from our day.

Simple, Well Made, Modern, Functional Design

Two new additions to our household--one a bit easier to accommodate in 900 sq ft.

Russell Wright Sugar Bowl--now that I'm using sugar in my morning coffee, I felt a sugar bowl was warranted. For years, I've coveted the sugar bowls and creamers he designed. I'd go to eBay occasionally and see what was being offered. When my sister asked what I wanted for my birthday, this year there was no hesitation. Luckily, she and I share similar design sensibilities, so there was no explaining what I was looking for. The Russell Wright stamped, cream sugar bowl with loop handle arrived within a week.




Vintage Danish Modern Table and Chairs--we went to Klassik, a vintage modernist furniture store in downtown San Diego, to look for a desk. Once we sat in the chairs of this dining set, all thoughts of desks left our minds. Matt was sold immediately and felt territorial when others came into the store. He later told me that he wanted us to move away from the table so that others wouldn't be interested in it. One of the aspects that we both loved was that the two extensions were housed in the table--one just pulls them out from underneath. Smart design works well when lack of storage is an issue.

We took just about 24 hours to decide--which is lightening quick for us. It helped that we have guests coming and family moving to town, and we only had a small, high, retro soda shop table, which maxed out at three people, to dine upon. We were able to do some negotiating, so we felt that we got a deal and supported a local merchant. The owners are nice and didn't charge us for delivery. They said they would just rather have us come back and buy more. We'd prefer that as well.

Celebrating Presidents and Love in San Francisco

Blogger, Flickr, Facebook--so many place to upload photos. Will uploading them to only place work? We'll see.

Mariposa Bakery

Another reason to love the Bay Area is Mariposa Baking: "Our mission is simple -- create gluten-free baked goods that are indiscernible from the finest, high-caliber gluten-based products available."

I came across their gluten-free, sour cream coffee cake in a market in Mill Valley last weekend, and I was giddy at how good it was. It pretty much tasted like my grandma's recipe, which I've had great success at making gluten-free. Matt loved it, of course. But even our gluten-loving, Italian friend didn't miss the gluten. After taking a bite, which he clearly was not expecting to enjoy, he looked at me, eyebrow raised, and asked, "This is gluten-free?"

While Mariposa does sell some of their goods online, it's not going to be economically feasible to purchase many items. I just need to swing by their store in Oakland on our next visit to the area. In the meantime, I'll have to make Grandma Welling's sour cream coffee cake to fill the craving. The danger with that is neither Matt nor I can stop at just one piece. I made a batch last night, and we've devoured half the pan.

Low, Low Tide At Point Loma

Colorful barnacles revealed.

Matt had to take photos of the striations in the sandstone.


Life abounds in the tidepools! A tiny crab carries a shell and a hermit crab.



Matt traversing the slick stones. An egret waiting for a meal.

Things We Like

We recently bought a few things we love and have to share.

CB2 Link Side Table. Looks even better in situ.

CB2 Glass Trees. We bought them on sale, post Christmas in green and silver. I can't wait to put them out next winter. I might have to break them out for a 'Christmas in July' thing this summer. They are so stylish.


IKEA Dimpa Bags. We needed a disguise for the bag of recycling and bag of items to donate to charity that we keep by the front door. They never bothered me that much, but I could see Matt cringe every time he passed by. The solution was these über cheap IKEA bags. For some reason they are not showing up on the IKEA site--either too new or discontinued. I hope it's the former.


Our choices and other pattern/ color options.

Working Girl

I haven't been the great about postings since we arrived in San Diego. I must say that looking for work was not the most inspiring topic to write about. But now I have a job! I'm two weeks into a position with a company, Target Software (now owned by Blackbaud), that I knew from public radio days. The company is based in Cambridge, MA, but I'll be working from home--the cats are very pleased with this arrangement. I will get to visit Cambridge a few times a year, which is great. I really enjoyed the snow and cold weather when I was there last week for training. I also wouldn't have minded if the company was located in Cambridge, England. So either this job will mean the end of the postings altogether or more posts due to my increased productivity. We'll see...

One Day We'll Actually Make Friends in San Diego

until then, we'll rely on visitors and trips to Los Angeles to socialize with non-feline creatures. As the photos show, many of these gatherings revolve around food. We're not complaining.

In early January, over brunch at Jinky's Cafe in Studio City, I briefly caught-up with my friend, going back to UCLA graduate school days, Alicia and her son. They were in town from Paris and exhausted from running around visiting everyone--the standard experience when one returns home after extended absences. We never made it down to Paris to visit her while we were in England, but we did meet-up for dinner during one of Alicia's theatre-centric London getaways.


Two weekends ago, Dom came down to San Diego, and that certainly calls for putting some thought into where we were going to eat. I thought about trying somewhere new, but then I remembered Dom's love of mac n' cheese. Urban Solace is known for its reasonably priced, quasi-gourmet comfort food, and Dom loved it. He still raves about the cheese biscuits--which, sadly, neither Matt nor I can eat.

Me and Dom @ Urban Solace. Matt and Dom (and lavender lemonade) @ Cafe Chloe for brunch.


Then last weekend we were up in the greater Los Angeles area. This time our food stops including the Farmer's Market @ 3rd & Fairfax where we both ordered the Tuna Sambal at Banana Leaf--a little greaser than we remembered it, but still yummy. Matt went back to SD on Sunday, but I stayed around to catch "The Wrestler" at my favorite theatre (Arclight Hollywood), eat dinner at the 101 Cafe with Monique, eat brunch at Cafe Midi with Tyler and Shawn, and take a scenic drive along Mulholland in Shawn's new Mazda 3. Since it had recently rained, the views extended out farther and were clearer than, say, about 350 days of the year.


Matt sporting his warm weather gear at the Farmer's Market. I get ready for my first bit of brunch.


Tyler and I barely contain our enthusiasm. Shawn and I with the Hollywood sign in the background.

Yes We Did!

Matt and I hooked up my computer to our 19" monitor at 7am this morning to watch the build up to and the actual swearing in of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. We wish we were with more people to share the moment, but the great thing about this campaign has been the feeling of inclusiveness, no matter where one is. The only thing left to say is, "Woo hoo!"



Since we couldn't be there, here are some Getty Images of the morning. (I love Michelle's color choice--her gloves are simple and classy. And Sasha's pink and orange palette is one of my favorites.)


Inauguration Photo from South Pole Antarctica!!!
Originally uploaded by Huffington Post

I love this photo from the South Pole.

Daisy Louise Magnolia Hanapepe McGavock (aka the Princess, the Peepstar, Dee Dee)

My sister and brother-in-law's dog, Daisy, whom they adopted from a rescue group in late 2003, passed away on 9 January. She had been quite sick, but happy and pain free, for a year. Without Carolyn and Adam's constant nurturing, she would not have made it these additional months. Adam sent out a sob inducing email of remembrance, and it was nothing less than this sweet lady deserved. Here's a short excerpt.

"We will always remember Daisy as our gentle princess, our spoiled girl, our little star. She was a licker of faces, a cozy companion, a friend to all people and dogs, and a constant presence in the kitchen."

The Holidays: Nature

Matt captured a beautiful sunset moment at Primehook National Wildlife Refuge, Broadkill Beach, Delaware.

On a nature walk in Kent Island, Maryland we spotted the reclusive decaying pick-up truck, Matt and my mom smell the gin-making Juniper berry, and red berries are a small dot of color in the brown and green landscape.


Great Blue Herons brave the winter in Delaware; it was the first time I'd seen one in a tree.


Typical sight around the Delaware shore in winter: migrating Snow Geese, bales of hay and Canadian Geese (click for more detail).


Matt and I bundled up for a sunset nature walk with my (crazy-eyed) dad and stepmom near their shore home. More Primehook landscape shots below.

The Holidays: Christmas

The McGavock Christmas Tree

We arrived in Virgina on 26 Dec. at 6am and, after a brief nap at my sister's, we celebrated Christmas the rest of the day. Though we had agreed on not exchanging gifts of much monetary value, we still found some fun items to bestow upon each other. Prime example, Carolyn and Adam found some 'vintage' glasses: Lando Calrissian from "The Empire Strikes Back" for Matt and Miss Piggy for me. Unfortunately, Matt's glass wasn't robust, and it broke seconds after opening.


Matt sad, Amy happy.

A Split, Croatia football club scarf from my dad was a big hit, as Matt's grandma is Croatian.


Carolyn thought my homemade bird portraits were professional, and she really liked the smell of her new hand lotion.


Mom showing off her new slipper socks, and Adam with the big gift of the night: Wii Fit.

Nintendo's Brain Age captivated my grandmother, and Adam's step-niece liked her penguin stuffed animal. After receiving a stack of books, she made it clear that she would have preferred more toys. However, my mom, Matt and I all took turns reading to Skyler, and we felt better when we caught her reading on her own later in the day.


Carla explains Brain Age to my grandma, and Skyler, less than enthusiastically, opens another book.


Entertaining Skyler: Matt reads "Where the Wild Thing Are" and my mom sings (in a way) Christmas songs.

The rest of the day was filled with food and family time. I think we did a good job of looking like we like each other in the photos--except for one of them.


Carolyn and I are all hugs, until a second after the posed shot. I love my unintentional, please get away from me, look.


Nan, Mom, Carolyn and Matt sit down for dinner, and my dad poses with his girls.


The weary travelers--I changed for bed even before the second round of gift opening.