before and after

The breakfast nook was one of our first house projects when I arrived a few years ago. This is the "after" shot.

We removed the built in benches (out of sight in this picture) and installed a breakfast counter overlooking the canyon. Our contractor discovered that the hardwood under the linoleum tiles was in great shape, so we had it restored. There is so much warm wood in this old Craftsman cottage, and the nook feels very cozy now.

The studio really took a lot of work. We started by shoring up the back corner against the fence which had been eroded by a neighbor's fence-building project years earlier. Not an easy thing to lift a building and create a partial foundation with local stone! Then there was an enormous amount of prep before painting, and the result (see last post) is pretty wonderful.

morning greens

Baby bok choy, plus cabbage, beets, onions, tatsoi, kale, spinach and peas are all loving the greenhouse conditions, as the sun returns after a couple of rainy days.


Doesn't the Sweet Orange Studio look great this morning in our new colors? I'll have to post a "before" picture soon, to give you the full impact of this change.


And speaking of oranges, how about this enthusiastic bunch of tangerines preparing themselves for winter?

here comes the sun

Solar panels are being installed next door! It's so fantastic to see people wanting to use easily available, truly renewable energy. I'm going to do a happy dance...

house of olive

My view from the Sweet Orange Studio is warming up. I have been thinking of these colors as green olive, espresso, and cherry tomato. They could also be picholine, kalamata, and pimiento... the House of Olive!

I removed the crusty old screens and washed those bedroom windows beyond the umbrella, vacuumed the sills, and cleaned the glass with vinegar/water inside and out. Our bedroom has gone from cave-like to surprisingly bright! I can see the figs and cosmos when I wake up in the morning.

The best thing about all this forward progress is that we're going slow, small and steady. Start with an idea, and work toward a solution without attachment to outcome.

For example, my husband loves color. We inherited a house that was aged white with oxidized teal trim, and not very inspiring to come home to. I tried to embrace the bright orange and turquoise I was sure he would want when we repainted. A Mexican villa could be very cheerful, right? The sun is strong here and subtle color gets lost in the brightness. Then we landed on these colors, which make us both very happy. It took time, and pranayama practice, breathing through the challenging places. This joyful outcome is not what either of us would have predicted.

We both feel much more invested in this shared dwelling. OUR house. He is being very patient with the difficult and long process of scraping away old paint and glazing...and getting really good at it! I love the way he honors his own body and works a little every day, taking breaks when his back says it needs a break. I also love that he's learning new skills and that it's his gift to me.

the solution comes up every day

One day Candy and Jeff went up on the roof to think about the best way to capture rainwater and to see if the solar panels were clean.

We have an array of 20 panels that my husband installed for $15,000. After a $4000 rebate and nearly 10 years of being fully solar-powered, we're feeling pretty happy about our return on investment. We wash them once in awhile and top up the water in the batteries, and send energy back to the grid every month.

On top of the usual computing, heating and lighting, the sun can do cool things like bake cornbread!

It keeps our NoGas electric scooter charged. And with a little bit of water and care, the sun converts solar energy into a garden full of fruit and vegetables. Our fuel.

I'm worried about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the long term fallout of this puncture in the Earth's skin. Solar, wind, water and so many clean energy sources are here for us. As heard at Solfest "The solution comes up every day".

Lucky Four

You know when people ask you to pick a number between one and whatever? I've always picked four. Honestly, as long as I can remember, I've always chosen four, or fourteen, or twenty-four. I'm one of four children in my family. The first and only move in my young life was at age four. The year I moved to San Diego I turned 44 (my husband was 55, and my mother-in-law 88...a bit of numerological synchronicity to consider another day) and it was one of the most blessed years of my life.

I was able to bring my job with me and work remotely for the first three years. I got married, enjoyed being a honeymooner, luxuriated in the sun and surf, and generally lived in gratitude for all the good food, and the love and support I have in this new place. But in many ways, I've been a tourist.

In April [the fourth month!], I'll begin my fourth year here and I'm noticing deepening roots and spreading branches. I'm launching house and garden projects to feather my nest, building spaces to nurture my creativity. I'm meditating and practicing yoga more often. We have a new website that wants to expand, and I started this blog...it's calling to the writer in me every day.

Year four is going to be excellent.

Just in time for the New Year...

All three colors are up on the garage! It's a milestone, and positive confirmation that we like the look. Our house will blend right into the canyon.

Now we carry on into the New Year, planning to invest our care into every inch of our dwelling.

May the coming New Year bring you joy, love and peace.

House Blessing

Don't you love the idea of blessing a place? I try to hold that intention for every room I enter, and sometimes for retail stores too, if my head is in the right place. I breathe deeply and send my wish for the space and the people in it to be filled with the energy of love, lightness, and creativity.

I picked up a mosaic "house charm" at the Seattle Flower and Garden Show about 10 years ago. The artist painted and fired the tiles herself, then strategically broke them to be reset into this richly colored design. I'm moved by the power of her intention. She knew just what colors and images (lively asparagus and a beautiful tulip) would be perfect for blessing a gardener's home. The handwritten tag says: Hang in an entryway, kitchen, bathroom... anywhere you want to bless or greet.

And now the house charm is blessing this space in the blogosphere. I'm glad you dropped by. Please visit often in the coming year and I'll try to share fresh ideas every few days.

Painting Begins

On the Eve of Christmas Eve...painting begins.

Clear View

The bars are coming off the windows. Between those iron bars and the nearly 100-year-old screens, it's a wonder we had any view of the canyon at all! Next week we'll be power washing the front and beginning to paint...




The light is streaming in. Already, it feels positively expansive.

gathering rainwater

Today there's a lot of hammering and jolting going on up on the roof. It's a necessary step to get to an excellent rainwater harvesting system. First was the termite treatment. We chose the least toxic method that would still give us pretty good longevity. I think having a wooden house in Southern California is a shaky proposition, but we love our site on the canyon, and will do what we can to preserve it and use it for highest good.

Once we get the spongy wooden parts replaced and the roofing secure, we'll install new gutters that channel water into the garden and some kind of cistern for water storage. Then the painting begins. After much deliberation, we found a color scheme we like. It's more saturated than a Palo Verde tree, but has the same range of colors. It will remind us of our Thanksgiving camping trip to Baja.

Here's the palette...