Quiet Saturday!

Liesie and I woke up to a gray, cloudy, cold day here on the Monterey Peninsula. I could not seem to get moving. It was just too darn cold. I got out my warmest blanket throw and snuggled onto the sofa. Liesl thought this was a splendid idea and jumped up onto the sofa and cuddled up to me. She promptly decided that this should be "Nap Day." I picked up a library book that I need to return by Tuesday. It was Louise Erdrich's new book. I read it cover to cover in about four hours. It was a total cry fest and now I have a crying headache. Oy!

I was able to accomplish a couple of things from my perch on the sofa. I was able to order my used textbook for my class that starts in late August. I am very excited about it. I have taken a class with this professor before, and his class was terrific. He really makes it easy to learn the difficult subject matter, so I am really looking forward to it. I was also able to register online for my fair entries. Today is the deadline and I had to decide if I felt I had done anything suitable for entry. I came up with three, but they are not the best things I have ever stitched. This year's entries are not in pursuit of ribbons, but rather because I do not like to see the number of cross stitch items dwindle every year. I feel an obligation to the art form to do my part to have cross stitch represented.

I finally got up and moving late in the afternoon. There was yard work to be done and by then the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds. I got the yard raked, the flowers watered and one of the beds semi-weeded. I shall have to do more tomorrow, but at least I got a good head start on it.

Here are a few more photos from my trip to visit my friends earlier this week. My friend is a very talented watercolor painter. Her paintings are amazing! She wanted to show me the grounds at a beautiful wine estate and take some photos to paint. The name of this winery is Chateau Montelena and it is built to look like a castle. It has the most beautiful grounds, complete with a small lake with swans. We were not interested in going inside to do wine tasting, choosing instead to admire the amazing grounds. I am eager to see my friend's paintings when she finishes.