curtains and a new project

In our house I am lucky enough to have a whole room for my art supplies. I can't wait to turn it into a beautiful place for me to sit and work on things... it's got two windows that look out onto our backyard, and I want to make curtains for them. I saw these - and decided to make some granny square curtains. But being who I am... I picked out the tiniest cotton yarn and a tiny hook and I think I have to make about 400 squares to cover the windows! So here goes...

mt. hollywood at night

Husband and I did a super intense hike up to the top of Mt. Hollywood -- we took the West Trail up to where it meets the road above the observatory  then up to the top of Mt. Hollywood. We then RAN down the entire thing, to our front door. It was about 1 hour, 40 minutes. I have never worked so hard in my life. I got home and my legs were doing that weird twitchy thing. I am going to be so sore.

I really loved running downhill, I have to say. It was a little terrifying -- not being able to see everything...and the ground is really packed, with a little sand on the top so some spots are slippery. But there were some points where I was running, and breathing in the deep dark chaparral smell - and I felt like I could do it forever.

There were other parts where it just hurt and I wanted to die. But you know. I'll try to remember the do-it-forever part.

go down to the dell

This is the plan, brought to you by new charcoal and my paper journal.

menagerie

Went to the LA Zoo with husband and friend. We saw EVERY ANIMAL and had shave ice and walked really fast to keep up with my husband...  It was a warm day. Lots of little kids. Glad to explore another piece of the park. Next on my list is Travel Town.

Walking the dog in the Dell

We live right next to a part of the park called "Fern Dell." It's a beautiful little oasis, very different from the rest of the park. It's full of exotic ferns and plants, with bridges and little islands in the middle of natural running water coming from underground springs.. lots of stone retainer walls. There is a lot of history, I'll dig some up later. One thing I know is that people used to come from far and wide to the Dell to drink the water from these underground springs -- they used to say that it was water from the fountain of youth. 

backyard yoga

Doing yoga in the backyard.

Peaceful, warm, sun-shiny day. I can hear cars drive up to the Trails Cafe and to the Observatory, people walking their dogs past our house. There are so many squirrels messing around on the trees behind our yard. 

I have never been huge into yoga, but spreading the yoga mat in the backyard and doing some deep out-side breathing seemed very right for today.

celestial jewelry

Awesome day with soon-to-be cousin-in-law. Hiked up to the observatory -- this bottom part of this picture is from a personal collection at the observatory. It's "celestial jewelry" that a woman collected over 50 years. It's one of my favorite things to look at there. We also watched the current movie, it's all about the reconstruction that they did a few years past -- it's crazy. They lifted the whole observatory up, to build underneath. Worth watching for sure.

After, we went to the Gene Autry farmer's market and had a picnic on the grass. Excellent day. 

fern dell

Sunny day in Fern Dell! I heard that the Friends of Griffith Park are working on getting it restored to it's former glory. They got a grant, and bought a bunch of new plants which are being grown at a nearby college. There have been some cleanup crews on weekends clearing the water of the plants that choke up the flow.

earrings

Lately I've been working on new earrings -- I like this new design. I crochet all the pieces then put them together with little bits of jewelry chain. They'll be up at my etsy site soon.

plantlife!

Another nature hike -- there is SO MUCH TO SEE in every step. I think what we have here is... sugar bush, lilac, wild sumac, and wild cucumber.

dog pilates

Went out to do some pilates in the backyard and the dog decided to join me. He is so happy we have grass.

vines

Another beautiful day in Fern Dell. The biggest photo shows one of my favorite spots, with the vines hanging down. It makes me think of Indiana Jones. The bottom left photo is a tree that has a hawk nest in it - I've seen one hawk fly in and bring food to the nest a couple of times.

gooseberry and wild cucumber

Had the best day today. Invited naturalist friend of mine up and she took my mom, dad and I on a "hundred inch hike." We went up to one of the little foot paths in the canyon below the observatory, and took the new plant ID books that she bought me, and I learned me some plant stuff!

This picture has.. (left to right, top to bottom) fuchsia gooseberry, sugarbush, lilac, and wild cucumber. 

Then my dad wandered off and we found him a little while later.....

Then BBQ and sitting around the firepit in the backyard. Deeeeeelightful.

neon pink

Had a hard time getting myself up and motivated today. Honestly the only thing that got me out of the house was getting to wear my neon pink shirt. I went for a jog through the Los Feliz estate area, and then up the West Observatory Trail and back down the East OBS trail. Reminds me of the meme going around.. "I totally regret that workout, said no one ever."

east obs trail

Today's hike. Up the East OBS trail. Can't believe I have this in my backyard.

dinner and a show

For my mama's birthday we trusted in Yelp and tried an Indian restaurant on Sunset we'd never been to before. It was an adventure - the outside is this terrible looking little hole in the wall - less than a hole in the wall. We almost didn't go in. But we were so glad we did -- the inside was beautiful. Every little detail was gorgeous, lush, rich... the food was southern Indian, and amazing. I have no idea the names of anything we ate -- we got appetizers and two platters, and tried a little bit of everything. It was so good. Can't wait to go back.

After going to dinner, I surprised her with tickets to Cavalia's Odysseo -- a beautiful show that's like Cirque de Soleil but with horses. The music was live, and haunting, the horses were amazing, the production value stunning. We had awesome seats, and I would very much recommend this show to anyone.

7 Wonders

Playing with mom, sister, and sister's boyfriend. We played awesome newly discovered table-top game "Seven Wonders." My new favorite. I love my house. We got some new furniture, some dark wood - and I love how it goes with our hardwood floors. Good game-playing house I think!