My first attempt at a sketch using charcoal and pencil

Attending the Wild Wonder online conference class on “Drawing with Charcoal and Graphite” taught by Maggie Hurley

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Camping in the dunes!

I got stuck getting up here, but a kind 4×4 driver helped me let air out of the tires and towed me out of the rut I had gotten into

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Aurora borealis?

Aurora borealis last night was detectible (can’t really say “visible”) as far south as the San Francisco Bay area.

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Improved minivan bed platform

Did some repairs and improvements to the van bed platform in Gizmo, my minivancamper …

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Tidepools + low tide + sunset = magic

Took Rosa to the beach near Bolinas and explored the amazing marine life on Duxbury Reef. Go at low tide!

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Maker Faire is back!

The last Bay Area @makerfaire was in 2019 and it was announced at the time that was going to be the last one ever due to funding issues…

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Albany turkeys

Having dinner the other day on Solano Ave in Albany, California, saw a few turkeys that were a couple days late for the annual Solano Stroll.

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Noo shooz!

New shoes! Mardi shoes on sale and the last pair of Pan socks. John Fluevog brings delightful whimsy to our feet!

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East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park

One of my favorite local attractions is the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park above Berkeley. It features native plants from all around California.

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A gorgeous day at the Tilden Regional Parks Botanic Garden

So many lovely plants blooming all over the garden right now!

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Briones Park

Visited Briones Park the other day with Rosa . Not many wildflowers yet but it was a lovely spring day

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Baking cookbook from The Perfect Loaf / Focaccia update

Thanks The Perfect Loaf for the great cookbook

The focaccia turned out to be a bit stodgy and underbaked.

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This lunch was incredible!

I started off with some slightly stale bread from acme bread.

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Hiking meetup

I met up with some cool people this morning and took a nice two to three mile long hike up into the hills above where I live.

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Homemade poke bowl!

Rosa went to the amazing Tokyo Fish Market and brought back sashimi, and I roasted Japanese eggplant from the garden with ginger, garlic, herbs, pepper, etc., and cooked rice.

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Return to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

For the first time since the pandemic started Rosa and I went to a show!

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My first time making jam was a big success!

I used the Instant Pot to cook the fruit and that skipped a lot of the fussiness of jam making apparently.

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Yummy roasted vegetables and chicken thighs

Rosa and I had yummy roasted vegetables and chicken thighs last night!

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My latest sourdough triumphs

Focaccia from a recipe by The Perfect Loaf and cinnamon rolls from a recipe from King Arthur Baking! Yum!

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The CSA box overfloweth

You’d think after all this time I’d have some ability to guesstimate how much room I’d need in my fridge for everything I was ordering in the CSA box….

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