Spring Cleaning Tips

     Around here, in  Santa Barbara, California, it never really felt like Winter because of our extremely mild weather this year, but as I look at the calendar I can see it's almost  Spring. Time to air-out, de-clutter and scrub the old homestead clean.  Here are 10 simple tips to help you...
1. Get a vintage enameled bucket, some hand milled french soap, and cleaning solution that looks more like honey than soap, so your mess looks darling even if you don't get around to cleaning.
2. Hire someone to clean your house for you, top to bottom, and don't let them cut any corners.  You go to a spa and get some much needed R&R.  Now that's what I call easy!!
3. or...throw everything out, furniture and all, vacuum, paint and totally redecorate...talk about fresh.

Just kidding, though it does sound tempting....

1. Strip the beds.  Wash the linens, including the duvet cover, pillows & pillow shams, mattress pad and blankets. (let your sheets line dry if you have a place to hang them.) Take comforters to the dry cleaners or launder them yourself at the launder mat.  Fresh linen is such a treat.




2. Vacuum and air out your mattress.  If it is too difficult to get the mattresses outside, as it is at our house, just open all the windows and let in good old-fashioned fresh air!

Ahhh...

3. Vacuum under the bed and other furniture.  Dust really accumulates over the course of a year.  Use that nozzle and really get into the corners.  Your allergies might be alleviated!




4. On a sunny day, shake out area rugs outdoors and let them air for a few hours.

5. Check the condition of your bathroom and kitchen towels and replace them if they are looking to shabby.  Hand towels and kitchen tea towels can be revived by washing, line drying and ironing.  Throw away those burned and food encrusted potholders and invest in new ones.




6. Use that setting on your oven : Self-clean.  It's really pretty darn easy, you just need to be reminded to do it (-:  If your oven racks are still shiny, take them out before turning on the self-clean or they'll get a dull finish. Wash them by hand.




7.  Bring a little of the outdoors in.  Buy a potted tree or flowering plant to add a little oxygen to any room.  I love fresh live greenery in the house, but must admit it will only be a short while before I kill them.  It won't stop me from optimistically trying again, but maybe this will be the year I sprout a green thumb.




8. Clean out that stinky old refrigerator! Don't be lazy, wash out those old bottles of marinade, salad dressing, bbq sauce, etc., and  recycle when you can, that includes putting old veggies and fruit into the compost bin, and scrub that thing until it sparkles.   It's amazing how much more motivated to cook I am when I know what I have and my surroundings are clean.  My refrigerator is 15+ years old and sometimes I want a new one, but like I've said in the past, I love the look of things that are well used and have a patina.  My refrigerator is so old it's almost cool.  One less thing in the landfill!

Maybe one day my frig will
seem as neat as this one.

9. Purge your pantry.  Take everything out and wash down the shelves.  Use or get rid of things you haven't used in 6 months.  The food pantries are in desparate need of food, so take your extras to them and do a good deed while you unclutter.   Buy a couple of new boxes of baking soda: one for your pantry and one to open in your nice clean frig to soak up odors.  Poor the old box down your garbage disposal drain to get rid of bad smells.  An added bonus is all the extra room, which is at a primeum at my house.  When everything is simplified and put back in an organized way, it is thrilling to have so much extra space.  I know I'm probably a little weird, but I can't stop looking at my clean refrigerator and pantry...fabulous!




10. Clean out your closet and dresser drawers.  Less is more.  One of the reasons doing laundry is such a pain, is because it is always so hard to put everything away.  I realized that I could never have all the laundry done at once because there isn't enough room to put everything away.  If there was room in the closet and dresser to easily put my clean clothes away, it would be no problem.  So like the pantry, if you haven't worn something in a year, bye bye.  Get rid of it.  Pull everything out, and only put back what you really need and love.  I try hanging the stuff in my closet, by color.  It's easier to find what your looking for that way and it looks good, too.  You can donate your unwanted clothes to the local shelter or sell them to a consignment shop.  If you're like me, it will seem like you have a whole new wardrobe because of all the old clothes you rediscover.

This list of chores may seem like an overwhelming hurdle to tackle.  Just pick a couple of things per weekend and before you know it, your house will be clean and organized...ship-shape and Bristol fashion.

Good luck and happy cleaning!

Oscar time

     Sunday night marked the 84th annual Academy Awards. I was so pleasantly pleased by the return of a classy affair, hosted by the delightful, and tasteful Billy Crystal.  The whole evening hearkened back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, from the sets, which shone with a technicolor brilliance, to the glamorous gowns, to the lack of bleeps blocking out bad language, to the types of pictures that walked away with the majority of Oscars.

     Having Billy Crystal back as the MC,  with his Bob Hopeian presence, felt like the return of an old friend.  I loved his movie montage at the start of the program, especially,for some reason, his rendition of Tin Tin. (He looked like one of the lollipop kids!)  Funny, clever and professional he was; disrespectful, crude and crass he wasn't.  What a breath of fresh air.  I'm tried of watching hosts make unbelievably rude, shocking and embarrassing jokes and  remarks about the guests we're trying to honor.  Leave that to the Grammy's and the MTV Music Awards, which are entertaining in their own right, but not the right tone for the Oscars.

 
     An old Hollywood feel was evident at every turn.  From the richly colored velvet curtain, to the sparkly crystal backdrop to the old style movie marquee, the Golden Age of Hollywood was ever present. Even the guests seemed to be in period attire.  No meat dresses here... just glamorous, dazzling and classy elegance.  There were a few moments of inelegance and awkwardness...while Angelina, Cameron and Jennifer are the personification of Hollywood glam,  their respective strange poses didn't come off well.  Angelina's emaciated leg sticking out of the slit in her dress was startling and a far cry from sexy.  Was it meant to be funny? and Jennifer and Cameron with their junior high antics of turning around to show off their posteriors was downright embarrassing.  I half expected them to pull out their Iphones and take a picture to post to instagram.  It was the kind of thing you would expect to see on those other shows...here it just seemed in bad taste.  But those scenes were the exception and out of place on this rare night of tasteful revelry.
    Even the pictures being honored were reminiscent of old Hollywood.  Black and white silent movie, The Artist, is obviously a tribute to the past, with the lead being played by the darling Gene Kelly protege, Jean Dujardin (George Valentin), who stole the night winning best actor.  Tap dancing Hollywood hunk? From Gene to Jean...it works for me.  Midnight in Paris, War Horse, The Iron Lady, The Help and Hugo all paid homage to the past and used very little or no vulgar language.  Is the pendulum swinging back a little a bit? I think so.

Gene Kelly

Jean Dujardin and Bereniece Bejo

Precious!

 



  The two best speeches of the night were given by Hollywood standbys,  Best Actress recipient, Meryl Streep and Best Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer, who represented the old guard and added more class and dignity to the whole affair.

     Some may criticize this year's Oscars as being a slow and staid event, but I would gladly trade the fast pace for this return to the decorum and "Grace" of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Penelope Cruz looking very Grace Kelly

LOVE and my steady date

      Remember when love was young and Valentine's Day was so anticipated.  'What will my love get for me or write to me in a romantic card?', I would muse.  Chocolates, roses, a negligee,  champagne or all of the above?  Those days were exciting with love burning hot and heavy, but after almost 26 years together, what I really appreciate is the constancy of my  husband, Dave, and his unending devotion to me and our children.
     Don't get me wrong, I still love a card filled with mushy sentiments, and a good and passionate tumble between the sheets, (sorry for my vulgarity, but it's the truth...I think I just heard my kids gagging...haha), but I know the real value of our relationship comes from the fact that we can count on each other, 100%, in good and stormy weather.  
     My husband and I come from a long line of people who stick together.  The first time I went to visit Dave's family in Iowa, back in 1986, they were celebrating his grandparents' 50th anniversary.  Both of my grandparents also celebrated their 50 year mark and so have both sets of our parents.  I'm sure we would all agree that that is pretty impressive in these times.  
      Love and passion are important ingredients to a successful marriage, but more essential is the mutual desire to have a lasting relationship, to be there for the big and the small things, the exciting and the mundane, where a common love of family is the tie that binds.
    How lucky am I, to have a man, the father of my 4 daughters, the love of my life, my friend and confidant, to travel through life with and grow old with, secure in our mutual love? Pretty damned lucky, I'd say.  

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
(I'll put down my top 10 out of a list of many more!)


1. Your physical appearance.  You are a handsome man.  I know that sounds shallow, but physical attraction is where it all begins....
 #'s 2-10 are the reasons I stuck.

Yow! See what I mean!

2.  The love and respect you show your family and mine.  You are a favorite to all your nieces and nephews, because you have always given them your undivided attention.  Both sides of our family hold you in high esteem because you are ever a loving, loyal and devoted son, son-in-law, brother and brother-in-law.


3. You are affectionate.  You still hold my hand, give me a kiss hello and goodbye daily, and give me a slap on the butt when you are feeling frisky. (I hear more groaning!!)

4. The way you looked at me when our first child was born.  I will never forget when we were in San Diego for Christmas Eve with our 3 day old first born daughter, Natalie.  We were resting in the bedroom with Natalie, the whole experience of becoming parents finally starting to sink in.  We were both looking at our child and crying and I knew then we could never part.


5. The way you listened to my daily ramblings when the kids were little.  Having someone to listen to all the little mundane nuances of my day helped me more then you can imagine.  To all of you fathers out there...doing this for your wife is a real life saver.  Just sit and listen and tell her she's doing an amazing job! She will feel validated and you will reap the benefits of "happy wife, happy life".

6. The way you embrace life with 4 daughters.  We've had people say, "Wow, four daughters.  What did you do to deserve such a punishment?" Even though you are a sports fanatic and would have loved to have a son, you have NEVER complained about having daughters.  One man in a house with 5 women (4  premenstrual/ menstrual girls and 1 premenopausal woman are a recipe for disaster) and 2 female dogs...not an enviable position for many men to be in...but you, my dear, have always made us feel there is no place you'd rather be than home with us.

7. I love that you always ask my opinion.  Being consulted on matters big and small, is a sign of respect and confidence in my judgement.  It makes me feel valued. 


8. The way you show your emotion.  Everyone who knows you, knows that you are a crier, just like your dad.  Whether it's a speech you're giving or a game we're winning or a touching moment you're witnessing...tears are sure to flow.  More than likely, everyone will be crying with you within seconds.  My brother Pat coined the term "blowfishing", to describe you in an emotional moment! Oh no, Dave's giving a speech...let me get some tissue first!


9.  How much you love to laugh.  Watching a funny movie or being in a humorous situation with you is the best! The more slapsick and vulgarity the better. You always laugh the hardest and the loudest!!


10. Your loyalty.  I love the way you've stuck with me through thick and thin.  You are my homebase, my comfort, my security...my steady date.

   

You are one hell of a catch, Divad Goose and I love you with 

all my heart!

Our wedding day, September 15, 1990

Happy Valentine's Day, my sweet.

Putting Some "Heart" Into Making Our Valentines

      Making your own valentines can be a creative and fun experience.  Every year that I rushed out at the last minute to by those ugly boxed cards they sell at CVS or Target, I vow that the next year I'm going to prepare early and make homemade cards with my kids.  A couple of times my endeavors turned into fiascos! Have you ever bought that horrible glitter gel glue, thinking it would be just perfect for decorating valentines? The kids thought it was great too, and they used it in abundance to make their cards extra colorful and sparkly.  The problem is, that damn stuff never dries!! So of course it smudges as you try to put the cards into the envelopes or write on the other side and at this point those boxed cards seem like Martha Stewart personified compared to the mess we've made.  But with trial and error and a good bit of experience, we have come up with a few a less painful methods.

      My first bit of advice is to keep it as simple as possible.  You can cut  construction paper into hearts, squares or rectangles or you can buy blank note cards in a variety of shapes and sizes at your local craft or stationary store.  Next you can purchase a few rubber stamps, ie, hearts, flowers, or any other valentiney motif, and a stamp pad or two (red, pink or purple).  Glitter is the next essential item needed because everything looks more dazzling with glitter and kids absolutely love it.  I also highly recommend a glue pen to more easily delineate where the glitter will be "stuck".  If you collect one or two items yearly, before you know it you'll have quite a collection and you can use this stuff for lots of occasions.  I keep a box of blank note cards, glitter, glue pens, rubber stamps and stamp pads.

     

My nine year old daughter Lizzie loves
doing art projects.  

     Once you have your supplies and you've decided if you are going to cut out your valentines or use pre-cut note cards, you can experiment with colors and stamps and come up with endless designs.  I'm always amazed at the things my kids come up with...it's obvious they got higher quality art intructucion in school because, they are far more likely than me, to think out of the box.  We usually stamp the cards, then go back and add glitter and let them dry.  After they dry (glitter and glue pen dry pretty fast...nothing like the dreaded gel!), we write our messages on them.  One downfall is that you will have glitter in your life for the next week at least...I have glitter permamently ground into both of my tables...I think it adds life and character!

After stamping the card, add glue with the glue pen.

Pour on some glitter and distribute it over the card so you
get some glitter on all of the glue.  I put a paper plate under the
card so the excess glitter can be reused.  A little glitter goes a long way .

Shake the glitter around....

...and voile'! You have a unique, homemade
card to give to someone dear.

Stamp, glitter, voile'!

Stamp, glitter, voile'!
Lizzie thought this one up...she added glitter to the
wings, tail feathers and trumpet flower.  Lovely, don't you think?

A small sampling of our creations.

   I hope you are inspired to try your hand at making your very own, custom, valentines.

Tiene mucha suerte! (Good luck!)

February, the Season of Love

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on Valentine
making and my steady date!

The Words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Have Lasting Meaning

Passionate man of wisdom

     For most people, the mention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. brings to mind his "I have a dream..." speech.  While not wishing to diminish this powerful speech, I think it is important to be reminded of some of the other things he said.  As I enjoy this 3 day weekend, I want to remember to think a little about what made Martin Luther King, Jr. such a  timeless and pivotal leader.
Here are 10 quotes you may not be familiar with, but are worthy of a little attention:


1. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.


2. We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.


3. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.


4.  If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry.  He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of Heaven and Earth will pause to say, 'here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well'.


5.  Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it.  Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it.  Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.


6.  The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.


7.  Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.


8.  That old law about "an eye for an eye" leaves everybody blind.  The time is always right to do the right thing.


9.  I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners, will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.


10.  Life most urgent question is:  What are you doing for others?


     On that note, I will endeavor to instill these worthy sentiments into the hearts of my children, discussing the importance of working hard, finding ways to help our fellow humans whenever we can (and even when we think we can't), and being brave enough to stand up for what is right no matter what the consequence.  I will try to incorporate these ideals into my own daily life as well.   Thought for today: Less relaxing...more doing!

Our 4 Days of Winter Wonderland

On the road to Big Bear

Michelle and Mustachio

    I can't believe we actually pulled it off! After my daughter, Michelle, made a birthday request to snowboard, we somehow got lucky enough to find a darling 1930's cabin that was available for the time we were asking for and at a reasonable price.   The kids got out of school for winter break on Friday, December 16, and Saturday we were planning on meeting up with our Smith relatives in the City of Carson for my nephew, Kacy's, high school State Championship game.  ( We won!! Yeah for Kacy and State Champs, Helix High School!) 

What a thrill to play under the big lights.

Can you say, "the Beast of the East"?

Gabrielle trying on borrowed ski clothes

So we borrowed ski pants, got our boots, gloves and snow hats together and packed for a three day trip to Big Bear.
    

    By the time the 4 o'clock game was over and we finished our post-game celebration at Starbucks, it was 9 PM.  Big Bear is about 2 1/2 hours from Carson, so we weren't too worried about our drive up until we heard Big Bear was in white-out conditions.  We decided to head to the bottom of the hill, on the side with the less treacherous route (hwy 38), to stop at Walmart for chains and to check out the conditions.  Worst case scenario we could stay the night in a hotel and head up in the morning.  Well, we got the chains (cables, actually), and decided to try to make it since the sky was clear, at least at the bottom of the hill.  My daughter Michelle's boyfriend and our honorary son, Anthony, was brilliant with the navigation, thanks to his can-do attitude and his prowess on his I-phone. After about 15 minutes of traveling up the hill, we were stopped at a "mandatory chains" checkpoint.  Anthony and I (mostly Anthony), got the cables on the tires pretty quickly, with only minor adjustments, and we were off again. (My husband Dave is not mechanical at all, for those who were wondering why he wasn't involved in the cable placement! But he is awesome at calculating distances, figuring out exactly what time we'll reach our destinations, to the minute, and at driving our brood whilst everyone else sleeps! Amongst other things.)  What would have taken 30 minutes, in good conditions, took just over an hour because we kept it under 30 mph because the road was so icy. 

 What an enchanted wonderland route 38 is at midnight.  We were practically the only ones on the road and the area had gotten a beautiful covering of snow, just that day, so everything was freshly covered in sparkling snow.  It really looked like the Christmas village I put up for Christmas, but better, with all the pine trees heavy with snow, and all the rooftops, hills and valleys blanketed in a crystallized white frosting.  It actually sparkled.    As we were going up, the mercury was going down and quickly!  We went from the low 50's down to the high teens.  Burrrr!  Thanks to Dave, Anthony and his I-phone, we found our cabin, Little Bear Lodge, pretty easily.  

     Outside the cabin, it was really dark and everything was covered in snow, so it was nearly impossible to make out paths to the door and parking spaces, but we somehow found our way in.  We were a little worried, because from the outside,  the cabin looked cute, but tiny.  You know how it is when you make reservations online, based on the pictures they provide.  What looks really spacious in a photo often looks minute in person.  We walked into a good-sized living room, covered in old, knotty pine with a fabulous original stone fireplace! I loved it! I was so happy to have found a place where the owners knew how to decorate with real antique country pieces, without going "country duck", if you know what I mean.  For me, it was very aesthetically pleasing.  I later found out from the owners, that the cabin had been built in 1937 and had been in their family a long time.  These people had a clue in how to keep the vintage feel of the cabin, while also having somewhat modern amenities.   There were 3 nice bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a big loft.  One thing I really loved was that the big flat-screened tv was in the loft, so downstairs in the living room, we were able to enjoy the lovely fire in the fireplace and Christmas music playing on our portable Bose, without the constant distraction of the tv, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

     After we got our stuff out of the car and into the cabin, we started to realize how bitterly cold the cabin was.  We quickly found the thermostat but were unable to get it to turn on.  We thought, no problem, we'll just make a fire.  Wrong.  There was no firewood and at 2 AM, I don't think any stores would be open to buy some.  To make matters worse, the smoke alarm/ carbon monoxide detector was going off and a voice was talking sporadically, but we couldn't figure out what it was saying or where it was coming from.
tv remote) and we decided to take our chances and go to sleep.  Luckily, we had brought our own down comforters, so we all had warm beds.  Well almost all of us.   Dave, Lizzie and I didn't have a down blanket, but we had each other and body heat. 

    Fortunately, we are somewhat used to a cold house at night.  We almost never turn on our heater at home, preferring cold nights with lots of blankets.  My parents never ran the heater when I was a kid, either, and I remember many a cold morning breathing frost in my bedroom.  No joke.  And now, many of my friends complain about how cold our house is.  I just tell them to remember their sweaters, next time.  We have lots of fires and good circulation.  It also gives us Southern Californians the chance to wear our wintry sweaters and scarves!!

       As you probably guessed, none of us perished in the night and we woke up to giant, wet, snowflakes, silently falling all around.  Breathtakingly, beautiful and incredibly cozy (once we got a fire started).  As soon as the stores opened, Dave got us a bunch of firewood and got a fire going.  Then, we got ahold of the rental agency who promptly came out and replaced the thermostat, so we had heat, glorious heat!  Warmth never felt so good.  I made a giant breakfast of bacon, sausage, fried potatoes and scrambled eggs, and we pretended to be stranded in our cabin. 

    Nobody skied on our first day.  It was a pretty big storm and we just wanted to enjoy the cabin and get deep into the Christmas spirit.  When the snow let up, Dave and Lizzie made a perfect snowman and the kids sledded around the cabin.   Gammy, Gampy and my niece, Emma, made it to the cabin in the afternoon and we were all so excited to actually be in the snow before Christmas and to have the time together.

Emma and Goobs 

Michelle and Anthony hit the slopes

     We stayed for a total of 4 nights, the last night on the house for our night with no heater.  Dave and the kids snowboarded, skied, and sledded a few times and my mom, Natalie and I went tiquing (antiquing) in Fawn Skin, (about 10 miles away), where I found a light-up Santa in a sleigh to add to my collection.  (It also gave the cabin a little extra Christmas ambiance!)  I'm proud to report I cooked every meal, we never ate out once and I loved every minute of it.  We played games, watched a few movies, drank lots of hot cocoa and coffee, got our Christmas cards ready to be mailed, enjoyed Gampy's funny sense of humor, Gabrielle's inspired dancing and each others company.  We left the morning of our oldest daughter, Natalie's 20th birthday, and headed home so we could be there in time to make 7 o'clock dinner reservations at my good friends new restaurant, Cielito, to celebrate.  It's a rough life.

Natty G

Some b-day bling

Natalie's 20th Birthday @ our new favorite restaurant, Cielito.

     I know some people around here, poo-poo Big Bear, preferring Mammoth, but I love Big Bear and it's close proximity.  What a charming town and lovely countryside.  We are already planning for our next trip there, as soon as we get a free three day weekend.  We'll definitely stay in Little Bear Lodge again and we won't forget to bring some firewood and our wool sweaters for our first night there.