The Guest House Living Room

In the warmer months of spring and summer, we like to sleep in the "guest house" which the previous owner intended for guests.
We like it for ourselves though!


It was originally a two car garage.
The front half is a sitting room with four french doors, providing views all around.


The sofa is actually a sofa bed which is great in a pinch when we have lots of overnight guests.


The trunk is packed with quilts and pillows for those times.


Hanging on the wall over the sofa are a dozen photos of the Italian countryside.






The living room connects to the bedroom through the bathroom, creating a large, private suite.


It is so quiet and peaceful with the view from our bed overlooking the oak trees.

Beyond the fence we often see deer, especially this time of night.

 In the morning, we walk the gravel path to the main house for coffee.   Sometimes, it's cold and rainy, sometimes it's foggy, but sleeping in the guest cottage is worth the cold morning walk!

Our Spring Weekend in Asti

Last weekend in the wine country was absolutely gorgeous. The temperature was in the upper 80's and Spring was definitely in the air. We spent the day on Saturday cleaning and getting ready for the warm months to follow. Of course I had my camera at the ready, trying to capture the gloriousness of the day.

We ended up doing a lot of "spring cleaning." All the lanterns under the pool house, as well as the barbeque and sink area got a good scrubbing. During the winter, mice got in under the cabinets, so that was a job to clean up too. I guess that's a fact of life when living next to a field!

While Mr. A was scrubbing the barbeque, I wanted to do something fun, so I put a tablecloth on the table and staged it with lanterns and an old grain sack that I found in Texas.

Dexter and I felt like exploring, so we decided to walk down to the edge of our property and check out the new growth on the vines in the neighboring vineyard.

Just a month or so ago, there were no leaves on the vines. How beautiful are these Cabernet Sauvignon vines and the wildflowers growing below? They belong to Rodney Strong Vineyards.

Walking back, Dexter and I noticed how the fields are full of wild flowers like these wild sweetpeas.

Looking back up from the vineyard: the pool house....

.....And the pool and main house.

Time to get back to work! We harvested all the Spring garlic and planted some vegetables like these heirloom tomatoes. What a job! The soil needed to be amended, so there were a lot of wheel barrel trips back and forth with fresh soil.

I hope the squash grows. Last year, I planted too late and didn't get one squash!

Here is our raised bed garden outside the kitchen door. I found these bamboo teepees at Orchard Supply last year and they make great tomato cages. We ended up planting four heirloom tomatoes.

Looking from the pool house toward the raised bed garden is this flower bed. I planted about ten hollyhocks in here next to the existing roses and sweet alyssum.

Looking up, I see a parachuter gliding down over the oak tree. I can hear the screams of fear and exhilaration from above! There is no way I will ever do this! My feet are firmly planted "terra firma!"

This view is my exhilaration!

I'm joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.

This is a great place to be inspired by beautiful outdoor photography, so check it out!

Cote de Asti

Cote: A hillside or slope in France

Our hillside view in Sonoma has us longing for warmer days ahead.

Longing for the sweet smell of lavender. The sound of the birds at dusk.

And the vineyard view

It's Raining Cats and Dogs in California!

What a difference six months makes!

Above is the view from our Wine Country home on Monday morning. It rained so hard, the Russian River overflowed it's banks. Water was blowing in under the doors and the wind was incredible! We haven't seen a storm like this in California for two years.

The same view six months ago. Please, hurry up Spring!

I braved the weather to take a few pictures of the neighboring vineyard.

And saw that the wild turkeys are back!

Back in the house to dry off, warm up by the fire and sip more morning coffee.

We left around two for the two hour drive back home. It was very scary. We actually thought we were hit by lightening! But it was just static on the radio when the sky lit up. There were 65 mph winds on the Golden Gate Bridge. Apparently, the worst storm will hit tomorrow.

California is in for a very wet and stormy week!

I'm joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday. Please visit her for more outdoor photography.

"Red Sky at Night...."

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight! Red sky in morning, sailor take warning."

That's what my Dad always said, and he was a sailor! I captured this moody photo of the vineyards, sunset and fog creeping in on our way home in the Wine Country about 5:00 p.m.

And a few minutes later, the sky was on fire!

I'm joining Susan at "A Southern Daydreamer" for Outdoor Wednesday. Be sure to visit her blog and see more beautiful outdoor photography.

Antiquing on New Year's Day in the Wine Country

It was a dreary, rainy day in the wine country today. All the stores were closed, except the three antique collectives in Healdsburg. It just felt like the right thing to do - hunting and gathering. We started out with an old fashioned breakfast at a local diner, then on to exploring every nook and cranny at "Healdsburg Classics".

As soon as we walked in the door, we saw Mike, the owner. He is always good for a story or two. I love his Irish brogue.

The inside is enormous and filled with collectibles, antiques and just plain junk. But one man's junk is another man's treasure!

I especially loved these weathered columns. I passed them up though, but found a wonderful hanging lantern and eight dinner plates from the same dealer.

I love this crystal sconce.

On the way out, I admired this lovely old fountain. Wish I had a place for it.

Across the street is the Antique Harvest Antique Collective.

It was much warmer in here, thanks to this wonderful pot belly stove.

A little chicken wire cage filled with herbs from Ron Morgan Antiques. He has a space in this collective and is well known around the Bay Area.

He even has his own book!

Down the street is Myra Hoefer Design, a very upscale shop specializing in French antiques. Unfortunately, it was closed. Myra is the wife of Wade Hoefer, a very talented artist.

I'm crazy for these Anduze pots and have tried to buy them from her, but they're not for sale! The painting on the burlap chair is an original buy Wade.

Inside the store.

Over to Mill Street Antiques. It's more like a garage sale in here. Although, we have found some wonderful treasures here. Like a matching pair of cement columns we now have sitting outside our living room in Asti.

On our way back home we passed by lots of vineyards. The fog on the hills was so moody, I had to stop and take a picture.

This old sign is so retro!

Back home, we admired our finds. I bought these plates--perfect in the wine country with the grape pattern. As if I need another plate!

This lantern may go in our entry at home. Otherwise, I'll have to add it to my "collection" of light fixtures. Another weakness!

What a great way to spend New Year's Day.