Bernese Mountain Dogs found in the garden

April 18 was the long awaited day that we received our new Bernese Mountain Dog puppy - Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis Robinson - known as "Jackie". Her breeder from Oregon was taking Jackie's sister to a family in Hollywood, so was able to bring Jackie to us and stay over night in Napa. Along for the ride were two of Jackie's half-siblings. They are puppies themselves, but the size difference is enormous.

We have been house training, crate training, getting up in the night like parents of a new infant, and struggling with sleep deprivation. There's a reason young people have children and grandparents get to go home at a reasonable hour.

Juliana and Jackie the Bernese puppy

John is so happy to have another dog "talking" in the family again.

John and Jackie the Bernese Mountain Dog

Along with the new puppy in the garden, we had a splendid but brief iris/peony/rose season. A heat wave in April taught us that even Bernese Mountain Dog puppies are very sensitive to the heat. Jackie enjoys "spritz baths" with a small sprayer to cool off on those 90+ degree days. Unfortunately, the flowers all bloomed out in record time.

Anna at the Fox Cottage

Anna came by to visit the puppy and see some of the roses. Spring was short, now summer is here!

garden tour

After another long afternoon in the garden, it seems an opportune time to share the early fruits of John's labor over the past few months. Along with John's cutting up and milling of a 70 year old redwood tree, we have been tending the peonies, bulbs, irises, roses and fruit trees in the yard. John is a collector. Now we even have a collection of Michelia - members of the Magnolia family.

Michelia sp.

We encountered a Michelia on our wedding trip. The large creamy flowers masked the possible "off odors" of a bathroom building at an arboretum. We were both captivated by the tree.

tree peony

Along with the Michelia, we have been planting herbaceous, Itoh hybrid and tree peonies. Our concerns about lack of sufficient winter chilling to support peonies may be unfounded. All the newly planted (fall) plants have sprouted, and almost all have buds. These three tree peonies have been in our yard for several years, and seem to be thriving.

tree peony

 

tree peony

We planted blueberries in wine barrels so that we could control the acidity of the soil. It looks like fruit is setting.

blueberries

Also in wine barrels are herbs.

variegated sage

basil in the herb garden

old camelia

tulips and lilacs

quince

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early rose, Joseph's coat

sour cherries in bloom

Queen Elizabeth

John feeding the peonies

John feeds the plants weird concoctions such as fish emulsion and epsom salts. It appears to be working.

Winery Architecture

We had a recent opportunity to go "over the hill" to Sonoma County to visit a new winery. A favorite architectural firm, Backen Gillam & Kroeger Architects designed the new facility located on the site of a previous unremarkable structure.

Ramsgate tasting room

The main Ramsgate tasting room features a soaring ceiling with exposed steel trusses and window walls that open for expansive views. To the east is Mount Diablo.

Mt. Diablo

Ramsgate courtyard

An inner courtyard with fireplace and seating areas is sheltered from the westerly prevailing winds.

















The eastern window/wall opens like a garage door in warm weather, but is closed during the winter chill.

Ramsgate window wall

Food and wine pairings are elegant and well balanced. We were attending a small birthday gathering for a friend who also lives in Napa.

Food and wine pairings

The ambiance is young, fresh and aesthetically appealing. We were perhaps a few years beyond the target age demographic!

Ramsgate Winery

Blueprints and slide talks

Architects have been making drawings for a long time. This is a drawing by Luther Turton for the E.R. Gifford House in Napa, CA; drawn in about 1890. My own house was also designed by Turton at about the same time, and built in 1892.

E. R. Gifford House, Luther Turton, 1890+/-

Just as my profession has changed the way buildings are drawn, there is an increasing interest in the ways we used to draw.

1905 photo, E. R. Gifford House, Napa, CA

Wilfred Ingalls House, Napa, CA, circa 1895

Here is a picture of our house, circa 1895. Turton was a neighbor of the original owner, Wilfred Ingalls. The similarities are quite striking, though ours is the "middle class" model. Mr. Ingalls owned a hardware store on Main Street, and supplied hardware for the construction of the Napa State Hospital. I assume the hardware in this group of houses was provided by Mr. Ingalls.

In 1895 several neighbors on First Street planted the palm trees visible in this photo and down the length of First Street. They asked the City Council to re-name the street after the palm trees (Palm Drive). Council did not agree with the plan, but several of the palm trees remain to this day.

In preparation for the Napa County Landmarks and Napa County Historical Society Holiday Candlelight Tour, we gave a slide talk at the Goodman Library (also designed by Luther Turton). Lauren Ackerman, current owner of the E.R. Gifford House; John Kasten - another architect who is currently working on the restoration; and I spoke about restoration techniques. Included was some interesting information about restoring stained glass.

Butter Bombs

John demonstrates the techniques for making "Butter Bombs" also known as "Lenora's Yeast Rolls" (cloverleaf style) as published in Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads, 1987.

After the dough has risen, the shaping of the rolls:

More on the shaping of the rolls:

Next, the ceremonial enrobing with butter:

And the final anointment with yet more butter:

This is why Thanksgiving dinner can be a mine field of calories. 

Julia Child would have been proud.

My Mom the Veteran

On Veterans Day in 2010 I changed my facebook picture to one of my mom during World War II. Each year since, I've changed my picture back to this one. Mom died in 2000 at age 81.

After finishing college and the beginning of the war, she enlisted in the Marines as a nurse's aid and was sent to New Guinea. These were huge life changes for a young woman from Kansas. She told tales of the South Pacific - good looking "fly boys" from Australia - and from America; rain forests and deluges; and tropical diseases to avoid. One of those brought her home where she mustered out and took a civilian job in the Manhattan Project.

As a traditional housewife of the 50's, her adventurous life during and after the war was not well known. She was much better known in my home town as the non-Catholic mother of six children.

She loved to dance, and the music of the 30's and 40's was an early soundtrack of my life. Our Dad also loved to dance. They met on a blind date early in 1947, quickly married, and produced my eldest brother before the end of the year.

Dad was one year older than Mom and finished engineering school right before the war. He enlisted as an officer in the Navy after Pearl Harbor and spent years as a drill instructor at Annapolis. He requested active duty and served on a destroyer in the Pacific theater. Before the end of the war he was ordered back to Annapolis. For decades after the war he commanded a US Navy Reserve Seabee unit in our town. Dad's booming voice was either a special talent or result of his years of Navy service.

I always think of the contributions of my parents as Veterans on days like today. The millions who mobilized in the armed forces and on the home front helped keep our nation secure. I'm not sure I understood what that meant as a child, but I'm glad they told their stories so that I would remember when I became an adult.

Architecture and Art

Recently my husband John and I made a family trip to his native southern California. A first question is always "which museum/site/activity/historic district would you like to see?" My answer this time was "the Getty!" Architecture and art.
 

Richard Meier's stone, steel and glass structure frames the exterior views of Los Angeles, creates courtyards decorated by visitors, and shelters interconnected galleries filled with art.

shelter

lavender steel

buildings as pavilions

down to the grotto

the grotto

a picnic in the shade

in the garden

in the gallery

people decorate the courtyard

view of Los Angeles from the cactus garden

cactus garden

time warp

cactus, stone and sky

 We need another trip to spend more time in the museum, though we did see the show on Gustav Klimt's drawings. The Getty is worth visiting over and over. I'm looking forward to our next visit.