What I did this summer #1

Here's what I've been up to lately.

Photo 1: Been goofin'. Me at 2 a.m., playing with the camera instead of sleeping. Who needs sleep?

Photo 2: Been cookin'. In the wok are yellow squash from the garden, mushrooms, bits of sweet red pepper, garlic, and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and cracked black pepper. 'Twas a big hit with grilled chicken breasts and a cool green salad.

Photo 3: Been paintin'. Walls in the main room are now a nice blueish-green which shifts with the light to a sort of sagey green in the afternoon and evening. It's the first time in 10 years the Wren's Nest has been given a fresh coat of paint, and I'm happy with the result. We painted the living room and the kitchen, too. Not white. Not cream. Robin's egg blue in the living room and bright yellow and dark blue in the kitchen. I love color. It took us the best part of a week to do; my Mom came up and helped us. She was appalled by my color choices, particularly in the kitchen, but decided she liked them after they were up on the walls. "You're braver than I am," she said. Mr. Wren likes it all.

Photo 4: Been walkin'. We trekked higher up the El Dorado Trail over the last couple of days, following it up past Placerville toward the Wren's Nest, which is still several miles further up the mountain from where these shots were taken. The terrain on this part of the trail is grassier, more open in places, a little wilder and a whole lot drier than the Placerville portion.

Photo 5: We've been trying to figure out what these yellow wildflowers are. They're everywhere along the trail, adding brightness to the sun-bleached grasses.

Blogger, the booger, won't let me download more than five photos at one time. So check the next installment for more, which will be above this one... you'll have to read from the bottom up. Or something.