LUCKY US!

Even after fifteen years of living here in Santa Cruz, I still am in awe of the beauty of this tucked away little village.  It's truly an amazing place to live...we're a small town mountain community that sits on the ocean...how's that for charm!
So even through I moved down out of the mountains a few years ago, and I no longer have that Spectacular view or the deep redwood forest...what I do have is the convenient forest situation living in the foothills, so I'm surrounded by trees, yet five minutes to downtown...and better than that, we can be on the beach within minutes!

So today we took the pups and spent a perfect hour just taking in all the beauty of this marvelous Spring day!  We literally just shake our heads and feel extremely grateful and blessed to live where we do.  Hope your day was as perfect.

There's a paved path that goes for two miles
and on the back half of the lot is a beach camping
area that's always full.

Dolphins were just swimming by..so freaking cool!

The sweet perfect little beach town of Capitola behind me...it's just the best place to live!!

Have a terrific Spring!  Be happy where ever you live and enjoy the beauty around you...lucky us!  xox juner

TODAY'S UPDATE

So I'm going to keep it short and sweet.

Believe it or not I've been sick with the stomach flu the past three days....NOT my thing.  I just don't get sick, EVER.   I literally go years and years without a sniffle....however, after the whole kidney stone thing had worn me down and some super stressful stuff going on here, the kid's were scary sick and  I guess that was all I needed....my immune was shot and boom!  Sicker than a dog for one entire twenty four hours.  And now I'm attempting to get my energy back.  

In the meantime I'm working diligently on my computer, mainly on a HUGE marketing program for my book.  So at least the down time is being used for something important, other than the first day when I couldn't do a single thing but moan...I'm getting a lot done.

And now the update.

First we finally found someone with a duck.  Yes, a new duck to partner up with Vida.  In case you forgot, Dolce, our male duck was killed by a hawk in January, (or possibly Feb, I forget by now) and our girl Vida, has been very lonely.  Wasn't sure how she would take to having a baby boy around...well she took to it....well like a duck to water!

She started preening him instantly...it was the most amazing thing ever when I first introduced them, I wish I had it on film.  She was squawking when I brought him in and he stretched his neck up as far as he could to peek out of the box as if to say, "hey I recognize that voice, that's one of my own." She began pacing for me to let him out of the box, speaking the entire time.  They literally ran up to each other and had an entire conversation face to face, seriously, quacking back and forth almost bill to bill for a few minutes and that was it.  Vida protects him and won't hardly let me get near him...oh, his name is Doug by the way, and he's almost as big as she is, but he's a baby.  And she was heavily molting in these photos, so no judging!

He  seriously follows her around, everywhere....it's just the cutest thing ever. I'm so glad we found him.

Dougie!!

Then the question was brought up by Linnie..where's dad at the ball game and his Xmas jacket?  Well here he is!  Finally up and around, we made it to a game and it was a good one.  This is our ballpark seat neighbor Carmen.  And our mascot is an elephant, if you can believe it...Stompers, for god's sake!  

And last but not least...my roses are going off!!  This is just a teeny tiny sample and not at all a perfect depiction to real face to face...but close enough.  The orange one has a deep blood orange color with bright yellow innards, and then there is a coral one in the center and a red one on right...doesn't show up well, sorry...but the lavender in the middle is amazing!

So that's it for today...too exhausted to go further, seriously, this thing really takes it out of you...so be careful to stay clear of this bug...the headache that comes along with it is mind numbing!

Mucho love my dear sweet friends....xoxo juner

OPENING NIGHT AND WEIRD PAIN...I'LL EXPLAIN

Here we are at the opening night of the Oakland Athletic's...it was packed and fun!  They lost but we still had a great time...and after the opener and the next day,  they've won eight games in a row...so they are on fire!! YaY!

The Athletics and the Raiders still share a coliseum so I couldn't resist getting a photo with my Raiders...I'm even a bigger fan of NFL, so fun for me.  And they passed out the yellow fan rally towels, it was CRAZY to look out over the sea of yellow...it was GREAT FUN!

Fireworks and a big hoopla to begin the season...again, GREAT FUN!  Below is the older son, Cal, who came in from SF to enjoy the game with us, which meant we had to drive him back to the city and was a treat to be there at night, it's so beautiful, the bay.  

However, for as much fun as this night was, I was in pain for the entire event. Now comes the explanation.

I thought I was having a bladder infection and it was grim...however, two days later I ended up in the hospital, thinking I had something SEVERELY WRONG with my colon as that is where the pain was exploding on Wednesday afternoon...seriously had me on my knees and scared out of my mind.  All I could think about was, geez, what if I need surgery, this is crazy....I honestly thought my colon was in big trouble, especially since the pain came on so suddenly and I was running to the loo, (not to get too personal), but as it turned out, it was my old foe...the little demon that has not darkened my doorstep, or my kidneys as it were, in twelve years...stones!!

So that's where that's at...kidney stones, which I passed a tiny one on Saturday morning, but it's still not right, almost went back to the hospital today....we'll see what happens in a day or two, cause I'm pretty certain we got some residual gravel/sand floating around...caught a bit just a while ago and let me tell you, that sand can hurt almost as much as the stone!

So that's life around here...oh, I almost forgot to mention.  My maid of honor, Jamie, who has been working on a show in LA for the past month, and in from NYC, came up this weekend to hang and to perform some of her duties as my right hand gal...considering I was losing my mind Friday and Sat...I felt a bit up to par on Sunday/Monday, so off we went in search of the illusive wedding dress.  

What an ordeal.

Actually, it's a bit of a story, and since I'm beginning to fade I'll have to catch up on the drama another time...suffice it to say, we found the dress!  Super simple, age appropriate, and French country garden ready...so there you have it...now I can rest for a while!

Hope all is going well in your world...mucho love to my home girls...xoxox juner

PS. so good to see your jamers..I miss you so much...tons of love coming your way...thx for all the support, and helping my find my special dress...smooch!!

ART SALE FROM THE ART OF JUNE

Okay, it's that time again...I just posted to my face book and wanted to get my followers here  a head start as those folks over there really stay on top of things...geech!  I don't know how they do it.

A couple years ago I "Cleaned Up" my studio and put the call out that my work was on sale...the "Making Room Sale".  
Here's how it works...make me an offer....that's it!   Seriously, any offer on any piece, let's see if we can't get you and your friends an original large scale piece of Rock history!
Just as reference, I had a thousand dollar tag on a piece that I let go of for five hundred...to a VERY dear friend.  So no offers are wrong...I'll consider them all.

I really want to clear out the space for some new and exciting pieces I'm getting ready to start...here's the line up for the next four....Stevie Nicks, Bette Midler, Robert Plant and James Taylor...who is already in the works...Joni Mitchell didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, so back to the drawing board for her...but count her in. I just need to stir the pot...and create some open, clear space...so off with ya now...get on the horn to all your friends and offer away....yay!

Oh, and I have a 40 x 30 gi'clee of the Green Buddha that I would love to place somewhere, as well as a couple others...just go to my web site and view what I have, then we'll take it from there...wish me luck!!  And thx for all your tremendous support thus far....have a great one..oxo Rock On! juner

ps. if you go to my Etsy, it will more than likely cost you a bit more...maybe, maybe not...that sale starts on Friday at 400 off each piece...however, it works better for me through this venue...so just contact me with any requests/offers...thx.

TODAY....

This is one of my very favorite photos of my dad....I'll always, always picture him this way in my brain...and heart.

Gene Pace   

August 18, 1932   ~   March 18, 2012

EVERYTHING'S FINE

So Ray's dad, Julius, had open heart surgery on Monday....he is 93 just to remind you...anyway, all is perfection today...WHEW!!!   Wayyyy to emotional a day for me, as not only is this the same hospital I sat vigil in for almost two weeks when my best friend Pat died a year and a half ago...so the memories were brutal, as his death was extremely unexpected...this is also near enough to the anniversary of my own father's death on March 18 of last year.   The same worry, and the visual of the his father with same heart pillow he holds onto in recovery...too hard.  Here he is just going into surgery...he's now walking about and every one at the hospital can not believe he is 93...!!  So YAY for that.

Nice hat!

And here is the pretty close to finish remake of our breakfast nook...if you recall, when I first moved in the entire "clan" that lived here used this tiny little room to squish up around a large orchard table and eat every night...and the living room and dinning area was filled with a pool table, a set of drums, a grand piano and a large screen tv....yes, it looked like a frat house.

So of course I needed a dinning room and a real living space.  In the meantime I had no place to paint and set up my easel.  I remember crying, "I have no space of my own here, where am I going to paint...I need my own room."   And that's when Ray said, "Well, just use the nook."  So that's what I did for three years.

Not a clear photo, sorry, I actually took a photo from my website as I cannot find the original....but you get the idea...beyond yellow and white.  This was already after I moved out another cabinet in the opposite corner...everyone literally filled the room, you couldn't move.

The first incarnation was a sitting room...cuz that's what we needed!  But I at least had my green, blue and gold stripes and wood painted casings.

The last change led to being my complete studio..what you can't see is a book shelf on the right and a tall chest on the left with a little cabinet on the wall above it all holding every art supply I had...with exception to the ones in the laundry room...ha!  I had my easel in front of the chair to work.  So if I had a painting set up I could barely maneuver around the space to get in and out.  Not fun...but again, at least I did have a space.

Unfortunately this space is directly off of the kitchen and on it's way into the den...so everyone passed by constantly.  At parties we kinda kept the light off because it was an art studio....you know..a bit of a mess.

Finally right before the holidays I was talking to Lisa, who made the comment... "to bad about the giant pool table in your den...the room you could have would be awesome."  And I of course agreed with her immensely, as it had been my dream to turn this space into a library someday.  With walls filled with builtins and a huge desk to sit and write my book.  And a space on the other end to paint.  So I broached the topic with Ray...and before I could finish my point he said, "let's take out the pool table and move you in there."
What?
See, unfortunately as cool as it was, and is, to own a pool table...our family was changing and no one used it anymore...it literally sat empty for the past two years.  I played a couple of times by myself, as in the old day I was a pretty good player...and I really enjoyed it...however, the only time it was used was during the holidays...and the last one Ray, Mark and myself played one game.  So we decided to store the table for now and have the plan to add on a room off of the living room that will be the big family game room, big tv, pool table etc...room...and there you have it.

So, no pics of the almost finished library/studio...that needs a bit more time to say the least....but here is the new breakfast nook.

I really wanted turquoise in there, something brighter...so that's what I did...I changed up my green and blue stripes to more vibrant  green and blue and painted out the wood to my gold...which is still not aged down a bit..but still looks cool.  We had some seriously outrageous tooled leather chairs that I used and exchanged that thinner antique French orchard table for the big thick vintage wooden one that has that Spanish flavor to go along with the chairs and the turquoise.
Oh, and the chandelier needs to be lowered...enjoy!
Oh and ps. we haven't sat at the dinning table in a month..this is our cozy little nook and we love it!

So everything is fine at the moment...when I get a chance I'll get some photos of the library going...but still in the beginning stages.   
Hope everything in your life is fine today as well...mucho love to my besties...xoxo juners

ANNIVERSARY, PETS, AND WEDDING...OH MY!

So I'm catching up here.

Ray and I celebrated our three year anniversary two weeks ago.  Cal and his girlfriend Caroline were here for the weekend to celebrate Case's 20th...geez I can't believe I have a twenty year old kid...where did the time go! ha ha...(soon to be step son for reals..yay!), anyway, we decided to drive them back up to the city so we could spend the day and tool around and have lunch on the Haight..which was super lovely!

We ate in this super groovy grill/brewery...
they had organic food and great beer,
as you could imagine.
It felt like a New York eatery...
it was packed and perfect!

Looking out our window onto the color of the Height.

                            

you gotta look up close at this one
with the 67 mural painted across the top

They plant herbs around the street trees and
pay homage to the lost rock gods with photos collages...
can't see this one, sorry

Street art on a wall...it was tremendous in person

Spare me would ya!  How spectacular is this?
Now that's leaving your heart in San Francisco!

So now we're up to the simple pleasures.

Like looking out our kitchen window and seeing Bodhi and Louie just watching the yard...how freaking cute is this!  They literally sat there for quite some time, never blinked!

Or Frankie deciding to take a cat nap on my desk chair,

just plopped himself onto the top of the pillow and let loose his little kitty legs to dangle...he was snoring...it's the simple things like this that make my heart giggle...

And now we're up to wedding.

Here is just a sample shot of the colors I'm working with...at least some of them.  The one thing missing is some real pink.  The vases will all be flat blue and the flowers will be coral, pink and orange....with some green/blue antique hydrangeas for effects in urns and such.  
These are just some stand in silk flowers I had at the house.  Still gives you the idea of the vintage/chic with the bright gold filigree and candelabras.  I'm going to have little surprise touches of vintage green glass and pink salt and pepper shakers, and candy dishes, etc...to add to the color.  

All this will be laid upon a deep beige drape covered with an ivory sequined organza table cloth...and some kind of runner yet to be determined.  Should it be green to ground all the rest or blue, or simply remain ivory?  I really want the flowers to stand out, so no pink or orange..and probably not the blue so the pots really make a statement with the coral flowers...we'll see...All this to be decided as things progress...when I see it, I know it!

Some very cool old vases I found...
actually the cherub is new,
the doggie is old, very..
but I painted them anyway.
I know, I know...
but it really will be perfect when I'm finished,
 I promise...I have a vision...just hang on.

So I found a set of old tarnished brass candelabras
and I'm giving them a face lift with the bright gold
to really stand out among the blue pots and coral/pink flowers...it's really pretty in person.  I'm super excited!

Well, I believe that's enough for today...stay tuned...I'm getting back to some "real" work here this next week...Stevie Nicks on board...and thx to all my friends who are supporting my work...loads of feedback from the face book nation...first time I'm using fb this way and it's really causing quite the uproar...had no idea that's where everyone was!

Mucho love to my besties...have a glorious day! xox juners