Stiehl Gathering

 This year Grandma Jo flew into LA for a visit with family.  Carl's cousins George and Brenda hosted a dinner at their home; Christian flew down from San Francisco.  Elena was a bit rambunctious and at the end did not want her picture taken (can you tell?).  It was really nice to see all the family, some we haven't since Elena was a baby.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

 This is our first quiet Christmas.  Every Christmas is different and though we didn't see extended family, we thought of everyone today.  We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

 Santa knows how much we love tangerines and provided each of us some in our stocking.  Elena's enjoying them while observing Daddy building with her knew toy.

 An owl kite was sent by Santa.  I'm not sure who the kite was for--Elena or Carl :)

 Carl loved flying the kite in the yard...

 ...while Elena was sneaking mandarins from our tree.

Oh, she does love her fruit!

Dinner with Pop and Grandma Lorraine

 Elena loves reading and spending time with grandparents.  

Perfect time to snap a couple of pics after dinner :)

Elena's 1st Musical - Peter Pan and Wendy, SDSU

 Today Elena and I have planned a mommy-daughter day.  First, off to get her hair cut off.  I love her hair but she refuses to let us brush it.  She was given the option to let us comb/brush her hair once a day or have it cut short to her chin.  Well, her decision was a cut.  Above is a before pic.

 And after...quite a few inches were cut off!

 Posing for a picture before we get in the car, on our way to see Peter Pan and Wendy; Elena's first musical experience.  We are super excited!

 Elena harnessing her powers.  She really does have magic powers; they are constantly changing.  Some powers include "green light power," "happiness," "jumping," and "sunshine" are among the most popular.  I do love green light power.  She sits in the back of the car with her hand out at the upcoming traffic light and a contorted face--most of the time the red light does turn green for her.  Never doubt this girl's powers :)

 One of the perks of living near a university with a drama department, there are reasonably priced performances.  The fall performance at SDSU was Peter Pan and Wendy.  Here we are giddy before the show.  Elena enjoyed the show tremendously.  Because she is 3 we had to purchase 2 tickets though she couldn't see so she sat on my lap the entire show.  The first 2 rows of the theatre (off to the sides) were open to young kids and their parents.  We checked it out but it was just too close to the stage for us so we sat in our assigned seats.  We're looking forward to another SDSU production in the near future!

 Walking back to the car, Elena couldn't resist running on the grass field.  She nearly ran into the group of college kids playing.

 The next few pictures are emotional pics of Elena.  

Above she's getting a little cold as the sun is beginning to set.

 Surprised!  I mentioned that I might have a cookie in my purse :)

 And to get it, she needed to give me a nice smile.  Amazing the efforts we go through to get a cute picture of her :)

All tuckered out.

We had a wonderful day together!

Landscape Project, Phase 1

We've been extremely busy since our trip to Illinois but somewhere, somehow I have been doing some research and landscape planning.  I should say decisions because we've had ideas and plans developing since we first put an offer on the house 5-1/2 years ago.  It really doesn't seem that we could be homeowners for so long...but that's a whole other story.

 Here is the sketch to give you an idea.  The plan is to add more fruit trees--apple, peach, nectarine, plum and pluots (plum-apricot).  We already have a mandarin, lime, lemon and struggling orange tree.  Eventually blueberries, raspberries, grapes and a whole plot of strawberries.  I also want to have more designated veggie beds, and chickens.  Yep, I said chickens.  Not so long ago, chickens were legalized; until then I didn't realize you couldn't have chickens.  I guess you could say I'm converting our postage stamp lot into an urban homestead.

 To accomplish this, we need to take out the fruitless mulberry tree (leaves falling because it is fall here too).  The tree provides us with awesome shade...something you need during the hot summer months but you can't grow too much under it.  It saddened me to have this 40 year old tree removed but it was planted too close to the house and the previous owner topped it every year (she cut it back so it was just a stick).

 Nearly demolished.  The guys said there was heart rot due to the maintenance the tree had received.  That did make me feel a little better.

 The back yard looks completely different, doesn't it?  It looks naked but not for long.  9 fruit trees have been ordered and will be planted soon.

 Now onto the front yard.  Several of our neighbors have commented about our "fro" tree.  It's actually a Chinese elm.  It's a beautiful tree but again was topped by the previous owner.  We've let this tree grow since purchasing the house.  It used to look like a green cotton ball on a stick.  It has grown beautifully but does need to be trimmed and molded now.

 I was happy the tree was salvageable--but whew, look at that hair cut.  It felt like there was nearly as much on the ground as there was still on the tree.

 The end result is a beautiful tree.  We feel a little exposed to our neighbors now, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I still call this tree the "fro tree" and it will need a trim every few years, but isn't this a beautiful tree?

Looking West from our driveway...you can see the mountains again :)

Stay tuned for more landscape/garden/homesteading updates.  I'm looking forward to this new chapter of the house!

Trip to Arizona, Thanksgiving

 Elena loves helping in the kitchen.  Actually, she really loves to help and it's good to keep her occupied.

 Baking with Grandmazona and Grandpa Pat, Thanksgiving morning.

 Once the turkey is underway, we usually go for a walk.  We've had many walks around Lynx Lake and today the weather was beautiful.

 During our stay we had drinks (warm apple cider for Elena) and snacks on the patio with a fire in the chimenea.

 One morning as the sun was coming up, javelina's began to stir under the "birthing tree."  These native, wild bores are quiet with occasional snorts.  You usually hear rustling as their hooves step on the rocks below.  There was an entire family including a couple of kids, mom, dad, even grandma and grandpa--per Elena.

 After walking through the yard, they walked across the street and behind the neighbor's house.

 Elena and Great Grandpa Grossi.

 Great Grandma Newman introducing her collection of Nutcrackers to Elena.  Elena loved them!

 You can hang Nutcrackers anywhere, even your toes!  :)

 Elena about to share a Nutcracker with Great Grandpa Newman.

 Sizing up one of the biggest Nutcrackers in Grandma's collection.

 Daddy lovingly looking at his daughter, eating dinner with her fingers in a fancy restaurant.

 We were out celebrating Great Grandma's 89th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Grandma!!

 Leaving the restaurant with Grandmazona and Grandpa Pat.  (Thanks Kerri and Maggie for handing down such a beautiful dress and coat.  Elena reworked it to be her own but removing the black sash.)

 After dinner, we went to the Festival of Lights.  You slowly drive through and get to look at so many beautiful displays.

There were several tunnels of lights.  The Festival is beautiful.

Pre-Thanksgiving

We had Pop and Grandma Lorraine over for dinner before Thanksgiving.  It wasn't an intentional Pre-Thanksgiving meal but it was delicious.  Love the slow cooker!

I snapped a quick picture of Grandma Lorraine reading to Elena.

Pool Time, Again!

 Of the two things I have ever splurged on, the climbing house/slide structure and pool have to be at the top of the good investment list.  Who knew you could play in the pool with water year round here?  Maybe not everyday, but Elena loves to get a pool fix at least once a month during winter