29~ Birthday Wishes

Maria, Izzy, and their Tutu Ruth, at the Sundae Bar~

William, Max, Alex, and Nick~

Izzy and Maria~

An ice cream sundae birthday party was the special request Ruth made to celebrate her day. Holly put out a spectacular spread, ice cream, and all the toppings, plus a grilled dinner. And Ruth had her grandchildren around to share in the celebration.

Happy Birthday, Ruth! And thanks for making good wishes!
We hope more of your wishes come true, in your new year~
With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

28~ Local Outing

Bonsoir, Pierre~

A small cheat for A Picture a Day, because these pictures are not from today, but from last night. From a wonderful, local outing, last night. Yanina was our host, her home abloom and open, welcoming, as always. It was a dinner party that saw, nearly, all of us Mom's Night Out moms together, again, as we've done monthly, for nearly 21 years. When we began, at B's old house, the topics of conversation were preschools, potty training, and "finding time." We are still "looking for time" to do all the things we hope for, or dread, but now those "children" are getting married, in graduate school, moved across country, and still making us smile, laugh, and feel thankful. Moms will, it seems, always need a night out, no matter how "empty" the nests.

One more thought... Yanina brings her art and hospitality to everything she does, including gardening, cooking, and table setting. This time, she was inspired by a restaurant, and a corresponding cookbook... The Malibu Farm Cookbook must be worth ordering. Yanina certainly served us a delicious endorsement for it!

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

27~ Viridian

"Viridian," Alex declared, at the side of the road, where I pulled over just so we could smell the rain, listen to it fall on the car, our hands. It started raining on our drive to Idyllwild. As we made our way east and north, passing sights, familiar landmarks, new developments, we watched the thunderheads, mounting figures, in shades of blue, churning, compelling weather. We'd hoped it would rain. Summer rain, heavy and warm. Alex explained to Maria, "Viridian, it's a kind of green. It looks like that..." and he gestured to the trees, the hills, the view from our van. It's the kind of green that is washed in a summer rainfall, soothing to see, refreshing to inhale.















It's been a long time since our last visit to Idyllwild. Especially long, considering my last words on the subject were "We can't wait to go back." I feel the same way, again... wish it was a longer stay, not just overnight, wish we had everyone with us, and I can't wait to go back. Back to pine trees, and manzanita, fat acorns, viridian views, thunderhead clouds, or any kind of stormy weather, some hikes and exploring, cold nights, and the coziness of a mountain cabin, where we can talk all night, and plan our next adventure.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

26~ Heavy Metal

An enjoyable part of a ride along highway 79, east, through Aguanga, is sightings of horses, dinosaurs on the bluffs, vaqueros on horseback, all frozen in time. The metal sculptures stand out in the stark environments of the high dessert. They're whimsical, and the narrative they impress is intriguing, which is why I am so glad we had time to pull over and get a closer look at the work of Ricardo Breceda, the artist who designs, and MIG welds, these captivating creatures. Max happened to be wearing his metal shop shirt, from high school. There are four metal shop-welding enthusiasts in our home, and artists, makers, designers, tinkerers? Well, we definitely have an affinity for all of the above. Whether we're whizzing by, or stopping for a closer look, we think these heavy, metal sculptures are a sight to behold.


With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

25~ Role Playing

Role playing and roll playing. Dungeons and Dragons, dice, character sheets, dungeon masters, game strategy, and friends. Maria's character is a tiefling... "Somewhat related to humans," she explains, thoughtfully, "but with horns and red skin. And I've done some research: They also have tails." She's definitely got a gamer's mindset... creative, strategic, logical, diligent. I think creating a well-rounded character is one of Maria's favorite parts, including drawing the persona, with gear, and outfits, imagining a backstory. Or maybe it's her second favorite part, after hanging out with friends, like Leo and Adrien.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

24~ A *Little* Baking

When our club, Benevolent Order of Makers, (BOoMNerds on Instagram) was at the North County Mini Maker Faire, Maria and I taught crafting with paper clay. We love paper clay, because it's affordable, easy to use, and we can paint it, after it air dries. Making with the clay was a popular hands-on activity, so I ended up with a lot of loaves of bread from all the demonstrating we were doing.

Today I set up my paints, so I could paint all the miniature bread pieces. Baguettes, a bâtard, and a traditional slicing loaf... and bagels, and pancakes (not pictured.) Painting isn't just a fun, creative part of finishing the paper clay pieces, it's also a necessary step in protecting them, since any moisture could make them start to disintegrate. The acrylic craft paints seals the dried clay.

Maria brought out some pretty props from her doll house, so we could depict a picnic, featuring a crusty French baguette, still wrapped, and tied with bakery twine! The little bread knife is one of our miniature make creations, too. Today I will finish painting bagels/donuts, and a cake. And we want to create some syrup for the pancakes. We may open a cafe, soon! Would you like to try making with paper clay? We have basic directions and craft suggestions at our BOoM blog.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

23~ Wild Parties, Tired Unicorns... Where Will This Lead?

Our summer is going swimmingly. How about yours?

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.