It doesnt get any better than this

We are on our annual family vacation at the beach house here in California. This is not your typical beach house-we are not on the sand- but on a small cliff-overlooking the amazing ocean- our days are spent out on the deck- counting seagulls, watching Sea Otters playing and feeding their young, Seals playing, and if we're lucky spotting a pod of Dolphins touring up the coast. The living room of this house is wall to wall windows- so even on those foggy, chilly days-we can sit on the worn, soft, supple leather couches and watch the "show" from inside. It is amazing!!! It is a place where we can unwind, spend time with loved ones, and re-center ourselves and our life with our Creator. Here are some pictures from the deck. The kids each have their own pair of "nocculars" to watch the sea life- enjoy....

Rain-catching for my balcony and ingenious passive watering system

I showed my balcony garden passive watering design to a Melbourne greywater expert. Showing smart people average designs is a good thing to do, because he made it better. Then he made it... The whole thing.

Balcony water catching design suggestions by a Melbourne Greywater designer
Passive balcony water-catching design
Click on image to enlarge image, and see what I did wrong. Its worth it.
The Designers ideas give the fish a peaceful life in downpours. They make things sleek, and take out my overprecautiuons: any heavy pollutants will mostly accumulate in the outlet tap's pipe for me to clean out each year. I like how his re-positioning of the in-pipe, and moving way up of the overflow, allows the in-pipe to become water storage space, giving me many extra liters of capacity. That means I can take a 4 week Christmas holiday, instead of three and a half, and still come home to happy plants.


Cecilia's July balcony 'Before'




its in, and collecting water. The wetpot watering system and pond are still to come.
Its Practical, but you couldn't say its pretty.
Never fear, I have an idea. Something like this:

Crafty post #2

Ok so Im getting a little "crafty" again. I have seen these cute flip flops and have even tried them once before but ended up with a mess and jewels that fell off. Well I found the secret!!! It called E-6000 adhesive. WOW this stuff will stick to ANYTHING- I have even thought of gluing my children to the wall but since there is no "antidote" to remove them --I thought better. Anyway- you just buy the flip flops at your local craft store- get some gems, ribbon, shells, bows, fabric--whatever your little mind can think of and glue away- just make sure you are in a well ventilated room - this stuff stinks people. AND be sure to let it "cure" over night. The cute ones with the bows are for my daughter and the "bling" ones are mine. The pictures are kinda blurred because I took this with my phone- my hubby has the camera with him on his business trip to England. Stay tuned for more "crafty" projets- Im kinda liking this stuff. I found some cute fabric for my daughter that has beach umbrellas, sun screen, sunglasses, and shovel and pails on it- and it says "summer vacation" all over it. She wants me to make a picnic blanket and napkins out of it to take with us to the beach house in July. oooooo AND since my sister is getting married soon!!!!! YAY YAY YAY!!! Im doing the bridal shower- oooo I have such fun ideas- I'll post those too-- the theme: "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

Baby shower fun

I have meant to post these pics. for a while and I am just getting to it. My sister in law is having a baby girl in July and we had a shower for her a few weeks back. It was beautiful all done in pink & brown. I was in charge of the party favors and the wreath for the door. So I thought I would post a couple of pics of my craftiness. Im not usually a craft-y person. Dont get me wrong I L-O-V-E decorating and sewing- but "crafts" not so much- but I did have fun making these wonderful chocolate butterfly candy suckers - you would not believe all the cool candy molds they have out there and they're cheap.

To display them I filled a low basket with Styrofoam and covered it in pink-paper grass then stuck the sticks in it.

Then for the door wreath- (which I have seen at boutiques for $50 or more) I used a plain raffia/grass type wreath- wrapped it 1st in white ribbon - then bought a pink boa (on sale :-) ) and wrapped the boa around the wreath- then added cute embellishments and ribbon- all for under 20 bucks!! I love stuff like that!

Thought I would share

Since my dear friend at http://www.wearethatfamily.com/

mentioned a project she did in her bathroom- I thought I would share my pictures too. Like she said hubbys tend to run when you mention painting. But once you get started- they usually jump in and help. One out of fear you'll screw up or two that you'll end up in tears and he will have to break down and hire a professional. Check out my friends blog for the complete how to instructions- she's great at giving directions. http://www.wearethatfamily.com/

Here is my small downstairs closet size bathroom- I did it in a Taupe color. You can add a stamp of any kind if you like- or just the plain stripes are fun.




Here is my red, red, red dining room- an to acheive this deep color- I had to first paint it *gasp* with black!! I was soooo afraid- but once the red went on- I was all smiles.

become a water reclaiming designer

This image from 'Small Gardens' is the basis of the Permaculture water system we are about to make real

From July 14th, a gang and I will start constructing the Permaculture courtyard gardens I designed in the aftermath of the amazing APC9.


"Just get out there, start doing something nobody yet knows how to do, and you find out how its done."My teacher Geoff Lawton, the world's most prolific permaculture designer and teacher, said that what ignited him into action was a line from Bill Mollison: 'Its a very boring state, being afraid". So I ignored 'afraid', found some gardens to renovate, got experts to do what I can't. Now I'm searching for effective, creative people to work with me in making them real.

It really is fun, being not afraid. You meet the best people. And when things look like going wrong, you just find whats missing, and put it in.

Click here to see the design for a Water Reclaiming Courtyard for an Elwood home.


Keep scrolling down to see the Climate Control Permaculture Courtyard garden design, for Buoyany foundation (takes 3 minutes to download) or scroll down.


Grapevine and hops will create dapples, to keep down the summers heat, and keep a convivial courtyard atmosphere.



From where can I get suitable hops? What is the best kind of grapevine for small soil space?
Who can create a dome for the grapes to grow over?

I look forward to hearing from people who want to work on any of these projects, and find out how its all done.
I dearly need help in sourcing good things, and would love to hear from someone with good ideas and good ambitions.

Working together on the Permabliz at Grandma Monica's: synergy happens.

Busted

ummm well..... I wanted ice cream and couldnt decide which one I wanted- so I had em all!!!! But you know you can get away with things like this when your preggo. I had my tums handy to top it all off.