Contrary to what I said yesterday... I didn't go to`IKEA today.
Just couldn't face it.
It was sunny and crisp, a perfect winter's day.
So we went for a walk...
.... with:
- a winging teenager.
- a cold pre-teen that didn't listen to his mother and didn't wear enough clothes
- cold hands, mine, because had to lend my glove to aforementioned cold pre-teen
- an excitable dog
(my parents)
(woolly cow)
(us)
We then went home and had hot chocolate and biscuits.
All's well in the world.
I'm back.
All the men in the household are watching the football. Boring.
(All bar one: No 1 is shooting insurgents in his bedrooms whilst skyping his mates and snap chatting girls. Who says men can't multitask when it's convenient to them?)
So.... nice Christmas? lots of food? snow?
yes, yes, and no.
Nice Christmas lunch out. No washing up. Genius idea.
Walking back home in the cold, through empty streets was strangely Christmassy...
No Downton Abbey Christmas Special... sadly, so we watched James Bond instead, because I'm sure it's illegal not to watch JB on Christmas Day.
On Boxing day we hit the shops... but I wasn't inspired and came back with nothing. Richard Attenborough after dinner, of course.
Today we hit the woods. My sister in law has a really lovely piece of woodland and we spent a lovely afternoon eating bacon sandwiches cooked on the fire and sat on logs whittling.
I made a crochet hook
!!
It's rather large. Tomorrow I'll test it on some chunky yarn... if it doesn't work... it's still pretty. And 30 minutes earlier was a stick... do you know what I mean?
They boys swung from rope swing
(I want you to notice his boots... they're mine. Sigh)
The men yielded a chain saw and filled the boot of the car with wood.
Tomorrow I'm having to get my sorry bottom into IKEA to buy lots of crockery for Mr M 50's dinner party... Wish me luck.
I finished the seed stitch cowl I was knitting. It's gorgeous. I'll try to take pictures tomorrow.
If I survive IKEA that is.
Merry Christmas to all of you wonderful people!
I'm going to go AWOL for a while and enjoy a quite (ha ha) time with family and knitting and inappropriate quantity of food. I'm looking forward to Christmas (now that the central heating has been fixed... doh...) and beginning a new year with my nearest and dearest.
This time of the year always goes by so fast, I really want to slow down and enjoy it.
You do that too ok? Promise?
Go go go.... turn your computer off and breath out...
It's better already right?
See you in 2017.
Last day.
(as much as I need to see my boys - after a week there's a tugging inside me that wants to bring me back home - I know I haven't finished with this place... I have to come back)
Mr M went off for another run and I cycled to a midcentury church a few miles away.
love the simple altar
The church was designed by the architect William F Cody in 1968. From an article by Robert Imber in Palm Springs Life:
Viewed from the street, its soaring pyramidal spire is an uplifting experience, beautiful in any given daylight towering in front of the daily drama of the distant western mountains.
Large, graceful sculptural forms are made of gunite, a sprayed concrete such as found in swimming pools and boats. The dramatic curved beams are Glulam – boards glued and laminated into a strong structural beam.
Inside, the encounter richly unfolds under a pagoda like structure embellished with Italian travertine forms, walnut pews, distinctive terrazzo, bronze fittings, remarkable lighting and an enriching sense of space that transcends the desert.
High, narrow clerestory windows draw the eye out to the mountain peaks, while along the floor below mirror-image windows “bring us back” to terra-firma placing the desert floor at our feet from within the building. I call them grounding windows, and am moved by the experience on every visit.
We then popped in the Palm Spring Art Museum, housed in a gorgeous building designed by E. Stewart Williams.
We saw a very interesting exhibition called 'Go West', a great look at the Weiner family collection of sculptures (how many 'Henry Moores' is too many 'Henry Moores'?) and had a fun mooch on the top floor amongst contemporary artists.
Brian Wills (Untitled, 2013)
Stanley Whitney (Blue meets yellow, 2011)
In the afternoon we visited Sunnyland, the house of Walter and Leonor Annenberg... incredible midcentury residence designed by E. Quincy Jones (surrounded by its own 9 hole golf course and the most amazing view I've ever seen). The Annenberg were philanthropist and art collectors and hosted many presidents and ministers and Royals ... their list of guests was quite incredible!
You're not allowed to take photos inside the house... but let me tell you... it's rather spectacular... not many of us have a fountain in the middle of our home with a Rodin statue in it... just saying.
Don't look at me... look at the view behind!
Still here... still loving it.
More than loving it, actually.
We took an architectural tour ran by a really nice chap called Robert Imber, so totally passionate about architecture and so in love with this city that it was a joy to listen to him. We spent the morning in his company and he was very knowledgeable, if you're ever in the neighbourhood I would highly recommend taking his tour.
(Palevski house, 1968, designed by Craig Ellwood)
(Edris house, 1954, designed by E Stewart Williams)
(Kaufmann house, 1954, designed by Richard Neutra)
(432 Hermosa - the Dinah Shore house, now owned by Leonardo di Caprio, 1964, designed by Donald Wexler)
These are just a few of the many many many houses we were told about and drove by. Truly amazing.
This morning while Mr M was on his daily run I borrowed a bike from the hotel and drove around the neighbourhoods of Indian Canyon and Twin Palms.
Oh boy.
I might never leave this place. It's just too beautiful.
(That was after working out how to ride a bike with no breaks, just some weird back-pedalling action... interesting few early manoeuvres... just saying)
Everywhere I looked there was something to photograph... I kept saying to myself... 'That one, that is the one'... and then I turned the corner and there was something else that caught my eyes...
... a detail.. or a whole house...
I can't wait to go out tomorrow morning and make sure I don't miss a thing.
Today we left the Parker hotel to try out some other place with a different atmosphere, but I can't just leave you with that... this place needs to be seen.
It could be in fact be called Instagram hotel... everywhere you look there's a photo that demands to be taken.
... gold finger... (did I tell you we bumped into Dame Shirley Bassey at the airport... not physically bumped into her, but you know what I mean... and we totally kick ourselves we didn't ask for a photo!)
(we're totalling stealing the glass coloured idea. Totally)
I love that head/vase thing.
And all that is just the lobby!
Our room was cool but I forgot to take a picture when it was all tidy so let's stick to the bathroom...
(Bonkers wallpaper and Richard Burton on the wall)
(those tiles.. oh those tiles..)
I'll show you the new place another time for now let me take you instead to the amazing house that Elvis the Pelvis used to rent and where him and Priscilla spent their honeymoon in... a.m.a.z.i.n.g.... and totally frozen in time.
... the King's actual bed... how mad is that?
Mike, the guide/Elvis man knew everything there was to know and we sat for ages in that room chatting.
Yes I sat on Elvis' bed.
No Mike was not dressed like Elvis Presley.
It's so sad the dude died at only 42yrs old. I mean he's was born the same year as my father in law.
Elvis could be my father in law. Now that would be cool.
And totally weird, right?
Today was exactly like I thought Palm Springs would be
Blue sky and palms.
Fabulous.
I went for a walk this morning whilst Mr M hit the gym...
The air was warm and clear
(I'm getting slightly obsessed with mail boxes...)
Then after a late breakfast we drove to the airport. My American sister and her husband had just flown in from San Diego and super kindly took us up in the air for an amazing view...
So so cool...
... and such a small plane!
Good day. Very good day.
... so you know the bit about 'sunny California'?
Well they lied.
About an hour after we landed this happened:
Ridiculous.
Anyway, the flight was great (annoying kid aside. not ours, we left ours behind with my parents), we exited passport control in record time, faffed about with the luggage a little and then lost an hour at the car rental place... there were 24 people in front of us.
And then rain.
Sigh.
We're staying for the first three nights at the Parker Hotel.
Very funky. Designed by Jonathan Adler and full of amazing vintage stuff.
This corridor is a little creepy though, don't you think?
Our room is lovely, and not creepy at all and full of things that I want to take home with me... including a gorgeous tapestry on the wall and this cute pillows
(do you think they'll notice if it disappears?)
Very comfortable bed.
And very cool bathroom covered in tiny round, white tiles and with a large photograph of Richard Burton above the toilette. (Sightly weird that).
This morning?
Yup, rain again.
What is going on?
Not a day to lazy around the pool, so we jumped in the car and explored.
After lots of shops full of midcentury furniture and 'stuff' that made Mr M very very happy we stumbled on this area full of really cool houses...
Indulge me please.
Can you see that sky???
Seriously? It was like being on a movie set!
I'm actually writing this sitting at the table in my own kitchen back in England. I'm waiting for No 1 son to finish his shower so we can go for a walk but I know the prospect of walking will slow him down somewhat so I can try to catch up with everything that's happened in the last week or so.
This year I drove to Italy. Don't ask me why... it seemed more of an adventure that jumping on a plane.
On the way there I had my brother with me instead of No 2 and it was fabulous spending time with him... he is a Franciscan missionary in South Sudan and it's not often we see him.
No it wasn't cheaper, but I was able to bring back three cases of wine, 30 kg of handmade tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese and lots of boxes of Barilla pasta on a crazy offer I couldn't not take advantage of. The boot of the car also contained four small cases, one large holdall, one penny board, one ripboard, one longboard and a fishing rod. Awesome, right?
Two kids and two small rucksacks on the back seat with a big bag of food and one in the front.
It worked.
We all had our moments (me when I got flashed by a speed camera in France - doh! and the boys in turn when boredom got too much for them.
I have to say food is THE key when travelling with boys. I'm sure that at any one point there was at least one person eating something. Also I owe huge debt of gratitude to Stephen Fry for his unbelievably good reading of the Harry Potter stories. Brilliant. So good in fact that even No 1 (who hates magic and stories and has always refused to even watch the movies) was hooked and totally absorbed.
Seriously life-saving stuff.
We only managed the first two books but I'll definitively download the rest for my personal enjoyment.
I also drank lots of coffee. LOTS.
If you're interested in the route, we did it as straight as possible.... we took the train from Folkestone (a quick 30 minutes and we were in France), then straight down the motorway all the way to the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Then South past Turin and Bologna and then into Tuscany. Easy peasy. Motorways aren't cheap in France or Italy but it's easy travelling. We stopped for the night on both journey, but simply because I was the only one driving... I've done it in one stint the time dad was with me and we could share the time behind the wheel.
(in the queue for the Mont Blanc Tunnel)
I have so much to show you... but I need to get No 1 out of the shower... geesh.... kids eh?
Enjoy your bank holiday!
Day 16 - Moraine Lake
And then... just like that we're on our last day.
WHAT???
Mr M still not on top of his game so whilst the two younger ones looked after him (... not... they used him as an excuse to stay behind), No 1 and I went on another expedition.
Takakkaw Falls. (Best name btw)
A short drive from Moraine Lake (short in Canadian terms... make it 50 minutes... which is huge in English terms, right?), it's really worth a visit. You can't actually see the top of the fall but it measures 387m. Seven times the height of Niagara falls. Bonkers.
And you can walk right near its bottom (treacherous and don't get too close... you get swept away by the fast river and next you know you're singing with the angels) and get totally sprayed by the mist.
Which, if you're sad like me, it's totally exciting.
And your fifteen yr old son will walk away embarrassed. We're at that stage in our relationship, obvs.
In the afternoon we mooched around Banff (nice place, although I'm totally kicking myself for not seeing the Hudson Bay Company store till we were driving home... doh!) and then ended our holiday at the hot springs.
Cool stuff.
(hot actually, but you know what I mean)
Bye bye Canada.
You've been amazing.
Miss you already.
Sigh.
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