June, in review

June was a busy month! So let’s get to it.

It started with a trip to California for my niece Eleanor’s high school graduation. Just me, not the boys or George.

We went to UCLA (that’s where Ellie is going in the fall) and walked around (after having In and Out for lunch.)

Before the trip, my brother said, “bring hiking shoes.” I said, “do I look like the type of person to own hiking shoes?” so it was in my sneakers that he tried to kill me the next day. We hiked up to Echo Park on an extremely damp and foggy and misty day, on a very narrow trail, and I was 100% convinced that only one of us at most was going to make it down to the bottom in one piece. Thank god I was wrong. I wouldn’t have wanted to mess up Ellie’s graduation week.

I’m not kidding, it was grueling (at least to me, someone who lives in a very flat place) and even my brother said later that he was nervous for me. Sheesh. Here are a bunch of random pics, including none of the view because you couldn’t see anything! But, in spite of that, I felt very accomplished, and it was nice to spend time with my brother. (Don’t tell him I said that.)

I googled this hike to get some info about it, and if I’d read “The majority of the trail is along the side of the mountain with some narrow switchbacks – it may be difficult for those that have trouble with heights” (emphasis mine) then maybe I would have rethought this decision. This is a good post that has pictures of, wow, what it might have looked like had I been able to see anything! It’s fine, it’s fine. Probably best that I couldn’t see how far I would have plummeted to my death.

The rest of the trip was hanging out with family, eating, going to Paper Source, Ellie’s graduation, going back to UCLA, seeing Pawnee City Hall, shopping at Mood, and basically spending a lot of time in electric cars.

I was really excited to give Ellie her graduation gift, a quilt I made for her in UCLA colors. I hope it keeps her warm and cozy while she’s at college. Sniff, sniff. She was just a tiny baby, I can’t believe she’s off to college.

Okay, so then I went home, and the day after I got back, George left for his long-awaited trip to the UK. He was going to be gone for two weeks, and little did he know that I had big plans while he was gone. Kiki came to visit and while she was here, we redid his bathroom downstairs. It’s so much better! (Of course I posted a ton more pictures and details here.)

He came home last week, and since then, life has gotten significantly quieter (that’s good.) Oh, I made this (Selwyn by Cashmerette) shirt early in the month, but I haven’t been able to get a good picture of it, so after a few glasses of wine, my friends stuck me in a bathtub to get some.

hee hee

The boys are finishing up driver’s ed today, so expect the July recap to be full of danger and intrigue!

Back! (with more mountain pics)

I can’t believe it’s been ten days since I last posted. It’s been an extremely busy ten days, so I’m going to start trying to catch up with posts about our trip to Los Angeles (which was fantastic.)

First up, pics from our hike from the Griffith Observatory to get a good view of the Hollywood Sign, which the boys were fascinated by (mostly because of the sheer size of it.)

We went about a mile out (and then back), and I was impressed by how much the boys enjoyed it (and how little they complained.) We got pretty high up, and the nervous mom in me was freaking out only slightly. (Can’t you tell by the look on my face in this pic?)

This was steeper than it looks in the pics. They loved it.

Nice view of the Griffith Observatory as we made our way back.

Keswick: Castlehead walk

On Friday, our first full day in Keswick, George and I decided to try a walk. It wasn’t very far, so it seemed like a good one to start with. But we flatlanders forget that maps don’t always show elevation. So it was a little more challenging than we expected, but totally worth it.

Here’s how you tackle a stroll to the top of a ~~mountain~~ hill.

First, you start with a hearty breakfast. What you don’t see here is the sausage, bacon, egg, mushrooms, and hashbrown I ate before taking the picture. (I should mention here that we stayed at the very excellent Stonegarth B&B, recommended by my coworker Rachel. The breakfasts were beyond delicious and the proprietors kind and friendly.)

Next, you walk through town to get to the visitor’s centre so you can get a map so you can get lost before finding your way to the start of the walk. Admire the flowers along the way.

Finally, you arrive at the path in question. Oh look, there’s the lake! Our first glimpse since arriving in the Lake District. This one is Derwentwater.