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July 31, 2013

The Muffinhead in love

It wasn't much of a surprise that when Jake passed away, Maisie mourned. How long her sorrow lasted, and how deep it was, that was startling. And though at first she was loath to give up her "I am the puppy here" throne to little Walt, those days are gone.

Here's Maisie with her beloved Jake on the Hut Road in the Cove:

jake and maisie hut road



And here she is with Walt yesterday:

Look who fell in love

It's been a long, long time -- 18 months, to be exact -- since she has smiled like that. And look how Walt is smiling with her.


In other news, here's how they spent the better part of an hour yesterday:

She's letting him win

Maisie and Walt wrestle


And my personal favorite (it's the Tiny Labrador's back legs that get me) :

Maisie's tail is wagging so hard

July 30, 2013

Tiny horses on PCH

The annual Malibu Art Show was last weekend, which meant the annual influx of so many visitors that parking became (even more of) a blood sport. During one of my many loops around our downtown area in search of an empty spot, these miniature horses crossed PCH.

They stopped traffic -- literally -- as families slowed to get a better look. Just the sight of them, improbably small and adorably perfect, made everyone a bit less cranky.

miniature horses on pch


miniature horses



minis

July 29, 2013

Maisie and Walt

He's passing out after a long morning of running around like a maniac.

She's wondering if she still has PETA on her speed dial.


walt snuggles up to muffinhead



puppy love


walt and maisie at the barn

goofy boy

July 28, 2013

A remodeling update

Remember how this:

in kitchen toward br

Became this:

kitchen/3rd br during

And this:

kitchen


Became this?

the torn up kitchen


Well now it's this:

a little drywall helps so much


And this:

the drywall goes up

And to those of you not living on a barren subfloor with exposed plumbing and a single countertop made of a 1-by-12 balanced on a broken dishwasher, believe me, this is progress!

July 27, 2013

Signs of Saturday: Neener neener neener

I really wanted to meet the beagle who inspired this bumper sticker but alas, the car, which was parked at the local grocery store, was empty.

They were probably inside buying treats for with the brilliant little dog.

doggy insults

July 26, 2013

Just us kids

My brothers and me, a long (don't ask) long time ago.


just us kids

July 25, 2013

What does this mean?

It's not like we didn't know it was possible, or even inevitable, but the sight of a series of surveyor's stakes here in the mountains, where 500 untouched acres of oaks and sycamores are up for sale, makes your heart ache.

surveyor's stake


Because this:
oak light at dusk




And this:
path in the forest




And him:
hawk




And them:

wild parrots in the sycamore

And this:

oaks


And these:

wildflowers


sycamores


And, of course, these:

the oak room

July 24, 2013

Royal baby names

The Malibu Newsstand, ever ready to serve the community, offered up some royal baby names.

Sadly, Will and Kate didn't name him LeBron:

royal baby names

Or Lars:

royal baby names


And of course Walt is already taken:

happy boy

July 23, 2013

Picture perfect

Cove here this morning

Everything about the beach today, blue sea, blue sky, diving pelicans, wheeling gulls, barefoot children, briny scent, sandy sunscreen bottles, folding chairs, big, bright towels, every bit of it said summer.

oh so blue

July 22, 2013

Happy Monday

We've been introducing the puppy around, to the Cove, the beach, the lake, the oaks, the shade under the table at a nice cafe. So far, Walt has been a fan of it all, smiling and glad to be here.

Yesterday, though, he lost his little mind. Whether it was the promise of rain on the wind or the scent of deer on the trail, it's hard to say, but for the entire walk the little guy was a blur, racing ahead into the unknown, then racing back to make sure his humans were still there. (We were.)

Fleet is a word that kept popping into my head, the border collie part of him swift and sure-footed. He has such a sweet spirit, this little dog, such loyalty.

Walt in the woods


And a good dose of goofiness. A seriously great dog.

Little Walt after a roll in some hay.

July 21, 2013

Geese at the lake

You hear them before dawn, the flock of geese that passes low over the rooftops on the way to the lake. Their call has an autumn sound, and as the calendar rounds the bend past July and into August, summer suddenly doesn't seem so endless after all.

geese at the lake

July 20, 2013

Signs of Saturday: Antiques sale

One weekend each July a group of antiques and collectibles dealers hold a sale on Bonsall Drive:

the-last-Bonsall-lawn-sale-vdt.jpg


It's in the front yard of one of Bonsall's original houses, a modest ranch with a welcoming tree-studded lawn.

last bonsall sale


There's the tools corner:

old and new tools


With stuff like this wonderful hand-made toolbox:

toolbox


There are ducks:

quack


And linens:
vintage linens and rugs


Vintage kitchen things:

kitchen stuff

Like this:

kitchen things


Nutcracker, anyone?

meta nutcracker


How about some little green cows?

little green cows


I love this fluting iron:

crimping iron


And these toys!

The American Airlines prop plane:

vintage airplane toy


Cool trucks:

Tonka truck


And an Erector Set.

Erector set


This great stove was already sold. (And in the back you can see the furniture area.)

rats -- the stove is sold


I couldn't figure out what this is, even after reading the manual:

cool old stuff


And may I say how much willpower it took to leave this gem behind?

walt's TV


Of course there's always tomorrow.

The sale continues on Sunday, but then this hallmark of summer in Malibu, which has been held for the last 40 years, will be history.

So join in on what has been a unique and lovely ritual. The address on Bonsall is in the top photo. Gates open at 9:30. If you go, drive slowly -- Bonsall is a rural street. And please be neighborly when you park.

See you there!

July 19, 2013

Dusk in the Cove

sunset

I love the phrase "night fall", which isn't about the sun setting or the day ending (though of course it is, they are) but tells the advent of dusk, shadows growing, birds in a rush, sounds changing shape and meaning.

Secrets, that's night fall, wind shift, earth scent, dark on the move.

July 18, 2013

Here in Waltibu

You guys? Walt is now a fully-integrated member of society. He had his official physical check-up at Malibu Coast Animal Hospital today with none other than Dean Graulich, Max's (he preceded this blog) and Jake's and Maisie's vet, and who we've known for about a zillion years. (You should see the cool aquarium in the waiting room, filled with aurelia aurita, tiny moon jellyfish.)

Walt not only has all of his shots now, he has a rabies certificate with which we can get him his LA County license. See? Fully integrated.

Here's Walt at the start of what we hope will be a long friendship with Dr. Dean:

Walt meets Dr. Dean


And here's Walt last night, taking his neighbor, Bernie, for a little stroll. (I wish you could have seen the look of relief on Maisie's face that it was Bernie at the end of that leash.)

Oh Walt...

Walt takes Bernie for a run.

July 17, 2013

Some things never change


There are a couple of spots on PCH that still look (almost) like they did decades ago, which sometimes seems like a miracle. There's the Adamson House, of course, and the Malibu pier. And in the Castillamare area, there's the building that started out as this -- Thelma Todd's Roadside Cafe.

The bridge is gone, PCH is wider and there's development on all sides. The brightly-tiled building, though, as striking as ever, is still instantly recognizable.

Thelma Todd's cafe


The photo's from 1935, from the LAPL collection *. Todd's death at the cafe -- was it murder? -- remains a mystery, and from the five pages of related photos in the LA Public Library's collection, you get a sense of what a huge story it was.

*The link to the photos sometimes 'expires', but if you type "Thelma Todd" into the search box here, the story unfolds.

July 16, 2013

Warning: even more puppy pictures

It's all Walt, all the time here at the house, thanks to the perpetual motion machine known as a puppy. And for the Tiny Labrador, it has gone from trauma to drama to, well, just look:

He plopped down next to her and Maisie's ears went up in her classic wtf? pose:

she's starting to love him

This one's instructive for the glimpse you get of puppy shark teeth. (Believe me, they draw blood.)

and walt


That bit of blur is when Walt was wildly rolling around. Maisie, meanwhile, hasn't moved a muscle.

maisie and walt


This one's cute, plus there's the bonus view of the sub-floor we've been living on as this slow-motion remodel rolls ever-so-sedately along.

Maisie's bed


And this one's so I'm not tempted to post it tomorrow.

walt sees all

You're welcome.

July 15, 2013

Warming trend

It's been a busy week for Walter George 'Huck Finn' Clooney, what with learning to ride in a car:

the barn!


(And having arguments with his human about the wrong way to ride in a car:)

walt sees the world


...to play with the pack:

play date


...to follow Maisie everywhere she goes:

walt loves maisie


...only faster, way faster:

walt in motion


And at the end of a long day spent seeing the beach for the first time, misbehaving in the back seat, and driving the Tiny Labrador crazy with his puppy love, how does the evening begin?

With the Muffinhead letting Walt pass out next to her, even though he snores.

exhausted

July 14, 2013

Sunday morning

It'll burn off, of course, but for now here's the beach this morning, still and silent --


foggy sunday morning in malibu



...well, except for this:

rocky



...and this:

swell



...and oh, how good it smelled.

silent morning

July 13, 2013

Signs of Saturday: Voyces

I hear voyces

What the owner of this car does -- and doesn't do -- all in one license plate.

July 12, 2013

Oy

Say adios to another hillside:

there goes another hillside


As story poles--

Gulls Way estate gets subdivided



...show where another house--

story poles



...is going in.

more story poles


July 11, 2013

It rained here this morning

rainly lake morning

Of all the ducks that live at the lake, only this inseparable trio, known to locals as the Three Amigos, actually took to the water as the tiniest of sprinkles rained down.

Meanwhile, in puppy news, Walt saw his first rabbit:

walt sees his first rabbit


And Miss Crankypants Maisie introduced him to the mysteries of coyote poop.

walt and maisie

If it looks like Walt is always flying or leaping or jumping, it's only because he is. Seriously, have you seen his video?

July 10, 2013

Trying to see this as progress

Remember this?

the kitchen before


Well now it's this:

IMG_0002

It all started when we needed to know whether we could move the sink a few inches to the right so it would be centered under the window, so we (and yes, I do mean we, I'm good with a crowbar) pulled off the wall and it turns out that, in the beginning, the sink was never really under the window at all to begin with but was in the far corner of the kitchen, so the answer was yes, since we're going to fix the crazy jerry-rigged plumbing anyway, the sink can go anywhere at all.

And then, because men with crowbars (and now I do mean "them" and not me, because really, what person in their right mind wants to live with a kitchen that consists of a sink and a stove and a fridge and no countertops or cupboards) will not be denied, the existing kitchen is now in shards in the driveway.

MEANWHILE, the golden sliding glass doors and the golden window have been replaced, the dropped ceiling with the wooden shingles is gone, and that funny little green formica table that used to look so peculiar and 1970s is now the centerpiece of the kitchen.

Also, Walter George Huck Finn Clooney is making himself right at home.

Walter George Huck Finn Clooney

July 9, 2013

Sit, Walt. Stay.

So eighteen months (almost) to the day after our beloved Jake left us, there's a new boy in the house. His name is Walt, he feels like a Finn, but so far he thinks his name is Maisie.

(I really wanted to name him George Clooney, but that's a lot to live up to.) (For George, I mean.)


walt


He's half springer spaniel, half border collie, and because his family in Long Beach got a job transfer and can't take him along, he's giving life in Malibu a shot.

we washed the crate

At just 16 weeks he's a total puppy, all mouth and legs and unfiltered impulses. He dumps his water bowl as often as he drinks from it. He gets the hiccups when he's startled. He doesn't think anyone should ever be alone in the bathroom. He's incredibly sweet and really smart, and he's soft, really really puppy soft.

and walt...


Remember how Jake fell madly in love with baby Maisie and catered to her every wish?

jake and baby maisie


jake and baby maisie


baby maisie and jake

Well, she's not exactly paying it forward:

who's this guy and when is he leaving?


But Walt Finn George Clooney is patient as well as adorable and if you met him, you'd know Maisie's days as a cranky pants curmudgeon are numbered.

Walt moves to Malibu

July 8, 2013

Oh really, Monday?

sea gull reflection

Because the weather guys are saying it's going to be hot (again) today, and not just hot (again) but hotter than normal (oy) and because the roads are clogged and it's Monday AND there's no holiday in sight until the end of August (sorry) let's look at a lone seagull in a lovely spot that's neither hot nor crowded.

Sigh.

July 7, 2013

A sneak peek


July 6, 2013

Signs of Saturday: Morning Glory Coal *

great old truck in Malibu

Not sure what I like best about this truck -- the two-tone paint or the bullet hole in the windshield. All I can say for sure is that it's running on five (maybe even four) cylinders, a reverse carbon offset to that cute blue Prius next door.


morning glory coal

* From this YouTube video (thanks, Lynda!) we learn the following:

"This is a true Rat ( HOT ) Rod. Originally a coal mining truck from Walsenburg, Colorado. Powered by a trick three-deuce V8, this truck has character a ' plenty!"

AND:

"...it was found in a Texas pasture. The tree growing out of the grille was left in it."

Wayyyy better than anything I could have come up with.

July 5, 2013

Marine layer on the move

marine layer on the move

There's a shortcut through the mountains here that, if you put up with the occasional screaming motorcycle and pull over for the driver who insists on doing 60, is one of the prettiest roads around.

Rolling hills and ancient oaks, bobcats, birdsong, a certain whooshing sound to the grasses when a certain breeze blows through at dusk.

Hotter here than over there, where on some days, before the summer sun has its way, the marine layer seeps over the ridge line, draped and elegant.

July 4, 2013

Happy Independence Day!

July 4th speed trap in Malibu

The flag, the fog, the radar gun: it's the 4th of July!

July 3, 2013

No reason, really

egret, so pretty

It's late in the day and like everyone around me this hot summer so far, I'm a bit worn out, so here's something wild and lovely, just for the hell of it.

July 2, 2013

Action/reaction

Because getting from here:

kitchen before


To here:

kitchen during


new door


(We added a 3rd bedroom.)

kitchen during

Required being here:

during


kitchen/3rd br during


3rd br framed

I've been pretending that I'm here:

sail away

I'm sorry, what? I CAN'T HEAR YOU THE WIND IS BLOWING!

July 1, 2013

Respite, if only for a moment

Oh the pleasure of feeling chilled this morning, of moisture in the air, the breeze beneath the pier, the pelican diving, the shift in the sand when the wave broke.

cool and misty morning

Little Dume framed by the pier


under the Cove pier

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