The last week was kind of eerie with the gray over-cast skies layering the Bay Area with a blanket of wildfire smoke.  I smelled smoke in the morning when I tip-toed outside.  We had a health advisory to stay indoors.  Lightning ignited fires all over Northern California, and the drought has increased the damage.

Block party. We were lucky on Saturday June 22 as that was the day of our block party and the weather was perfect.  This year we set up the table and chairs, on the street where I live, and my front bench was smack dab in the middle of the action.  It was fun. 

A Street of Trees. This Saturday was the big day for planting all the new trees we all ordered for the median strip in front of our houses.  Gunther (my son for those of you who don't already know!) who lives across the street with Eliza and Anders and Auggie, was the instigator of the idea.  Trees make a street, and our street only has two or three, so Gunther went around and talked to neighbors and people caught the spirit. 

He ordered a bunch of trees from a nursery up in Sonoma County, and they were delivered to my driveway space. Saturday everybody was out jack-hammering away old ugly cement and digging huge holes for the new maples.  I bought a Japanese maple for the side of my house. 

Last week, my friend Roy planed a Meyer Lemon  tree, an orange tree, and a small Japanese maple in my back garden.  That finishes the big planting, and now I have to get out there an do the succulents and salvia. 

Bee Friendly. I want to make my garden bee and bird friendly.  I am very worried about the plight of the bumble bee.  I was reading an article that says the bee population has decreased by about 30%.  If we lose bees and their pollination, it's scary how many fruits and nuts will disappear!

Maybe you can plan something this month in any kind of space available--even pots on a window sill with flowers will help.  Ask the people at a nursery what flowers bees like and help them out!  

My friend, Karla Nagel, was here yesterday and just left this morning.  She and her husband, Enrique live in Mexico City, and she was on business this time.

The weather was perfect (finally!) to sit outside.  Robert grilled some asparagus which we ate as an hors d'oevre with salt.  I made Paul Deen's Chicken Georgia (very easy--sauteed with mushrooms and sprinkeled with cheese)

Auggie and Anders had a chance to play with Karla and she made them laugh a lot.  Before dinner Robert, Karla and I went for a walk at the dog park and enjoyed the frest breeze off the bay and looked at all the frisky dogs enjoying their daily romp.

My manuscript has been sent off to Japan and I am enjoying a little summer break.

I finished Out by Natsuo Kirino (very unusualy story!!) and am now deeply involved in Eleanor Coppola's new book, Notes on a Life.  It's very well written, and I can see many of the scenes in my mind from years past.  She has an amazing ability to tell a story as if from a series of verbal snapshots.

It's time for a walk with my new pedometer.

Robert and I went to San Francisco yesterday--it was a beautiful day.  I did some shopping, of course.  Then we sat in Union Square and watched the people and listened to a rock band.  We went over to the St. Francis Hotel (they have a lovely ladies lounge) and then rode the outside elevators to the highest floor so we could see the fantastic view from up there.  Coit Tower on the left and the Oakland part of the Bay on the right, with lots of architecture in between.

Then we did our usual walk through Chinatown.  I bought some tea at Ten Ren Tea Shop.  We had seen a documentary called All in This Tea, about a man who went to China for years buying tea.  I'm sorry I forgot his name just now, but I really enjoyed seeing him trekking through the tea farming areas of Southeast China.  

Roy is coming today to continue working on the back garden.  The rock fountain is working, burbling away!  I love it. It is perfect, with layered rocks creating tiny waterfalls, and some pebbles and ledges.  The gray Buddha I bought a year ago at the Redding Target sits serenely on the ledge.  We are trying to finish the yard before Sigrid, Jim and Trevor and Chloe come on Thursday.  It's her birthday, and they will be here all weekend.

Roy put up my Target Gazebo last week, and I found a "chat set" --a loveseat, 2 chairs, and a coffee table, for the Gazebo.  It's like having a new room outside the family room.  I love it.  You can see that I shop at Target a lot.  I love Target for many reasons.

Back to work.  I'm just working on finishing my book on Aliveness for Shufunotomo, my publisher in Japan.  I'ts coming along, and I love including all the stories of exceptionally alive moments sent in by people.

Tonight Rainey and I will drive down to Kepler's Books in Menlo Park to hear Ellie Coppola discuss her new book, Notes on a Life.  I love her writing and everything she does.  She is so very, very talented, and so very modest about it all! 

Gunther completed his 100-mile ride for the Tour de Cure, the fund-raising event sponsored by the American Diabetes Association.  

Yesterday was a glorious day in the Napa Valley--where the ride took place.  Eliza drove us up to the event--with Robert in the back of the van building space ships out of Legos for Anders and Auggie. 

I think there were about five hundred riders and with all the families and friends, it was very lively and upbeat.  There were many sponsored teams, and Gunther was part of the Team Lanesplitter--a local Berkeley pub. It was really uplifiting for me to be a small part of it all.

Afterwards we had dinner at my house--Robert and I  made enchiladas with green sauce.

Tonight, leftovers. 

I just returned from a family trip to Joshua Tree National Park in southern California.  Gunther, Eliza, Anders, Auggie and I drove down to visit  Eliza's Uncle Louie and Aunt Marie in Chino Hills.  The next day we continued on to 29 Palms Inn (established in 1928!)  We each had separate cabins on the property--built on the Oasis of Mara many years ago, and recently refurbished.  It was really great.   The town of 29 Palms is right on the edge of the part, so we drove in several times and feasted our eyes on the bounty of wildflowers and blooming cactic.  It was utterly peaceful and quiet--perfect weather in the 70's and low 80's.

Gunther went on a 50 mile bike ride (in headwinds) to keep up his training for the 100 mile Tour de Cure he is doing in May to benefit the American Diabetes Association.

On Friday we drove through the park one last time, visited the General Patton museum (the kids wanted to see the tanks) and then on to Studio City to stay with Sigrid, Jim, Trevor, and Chloe.

On Saturday we took all the kids to the Skirball Center to the Noah's Ark exhibit--really a wild time for the kids--climbing around all these wonderful fantasy animals made of recycled materials (think of an alligator made out of a guitar case and a rubber tire for a tail.)

Home again, and catching up.