The Shuster Garden in Willits California

I've spent the last seven days in Santa Rosa, CA for work. Yucky! I am not going to go into any details, but must say I worked with a colleague who is brilliant with pop culture and movie trivia, this fellow manager made it bearable during my time in the Armpit of San Francisco. I so wish I had time to make it to the City. Such good memories of SF.

I am writing this blog from my aunt Kathy's estate, yes estate! Feels like one anyway. Automated gate and all. She and her husband Phil have created the most brilliant gardens. Mom just told me that Kathy wants to get on the Garden Tour, well I must say they are on their way. Jim would be jealous as am I. They live in Willits, CA, where my Mother and her siblings grew up. My Aunt Kathy is my mom's twin sister and after two years of living in Roseburg, OR moved back to Willits over thirty years ago. Of the two wicked little towns I would have chosen Willits over Roseburg, just because this area was touched by the hand of god. Well at least there are far more hippies down here. Willits, CA is the gateway to the Redwoods on HWY 101, 1.5 hours north of Santa Rosa, and the only thing that will make my drive home tomorrow tolerable is the scenery. I've spent many vacations down here as a kid and loved every minute. I would love to live in the midst of the Redwoods.

Here are the picture highlights. Above: Aunt Kathy and Uncle Phil. Below: The Pond, Newly planted Vineyard, a fish in one of the three ponds, Redwood Carving (in honor of my Grandpa an avid reader who made his living as a logger), water lily and the Redwood Root Ball fountain. Phil found this root ball in the woods and brought it home to create a fountain. Fantastic! I want a water feature in our South Garden.

I still can't seem to figure out how to arrange the pictures better. I did my best. Much love to you all. --Sean

Gracie

Okay. Either I am becoming more of a loner or a lesbian, which ever I brought home a new addition to the family. Let me introduce you all to Gracie, named after a certain company's Virtual Travel Assistant as she was found at my agency in Ontario, OR. I kinda felt like Madonna adopting a baby in the desert. You can imagine what a crazy drive home (6 hours) I had last Sunday. Oh my. Never again. It's going to be local adoption this point forward. Oh goodness I write as if there will be another. The first two days were difficult, but knowing I'd be home for over a week I thought it would give me enough time to assimilate the little girl, without putting all the burden on Jim. Jim and I took her and Cappy to the Vet on Tuesday. She's healthy and had all her shots. She was a bit under the weather and a psychopath the following two days and I was afraid I had made a horrible mistake in bringing her home. I am very pleased to report that all is good again, except that Cappy has all but disappeared, hiding in the basement, where he never ventures. I feel bad for him. He's almost 9 years old now and I am sure has had enough of me and Jim bringing home more cats. I have also decided not to allow him outside as I worry he may succumb to Sebastian's fate. So I am sure he's really pissed. The twins are finally accepting Gracie. Bianca is still having a few issues, but Katherine has been sorta friendly. They have all started playing. Again I must say that I don't know how all the new moms and dads of human babies do it?? How?? I am so impressed with all you parents out there. Here's are some pictures. Gracie, Katherine alone, and Bianca and Gracie at the litter boxes negotiating a truce.

The South Garden

Jim and the hired help have been working so hard in the yard these last few weeks. Best Year Ever for the gardens. For some reason I can't get in the mood to help very much this year, although I think I'll get the green thumb these next two weeks as Jim is off to YMA (Young Musicians and Artists) camp in Salem. I and our kittie/house sitter will be responsible for all the watering while the garden boy (Alex) will continue with weeding and maintenance. Jim, brilliant! Here he is before he left for YMA.

The Jupiter Hotel

Hey all. I spent Friday night and Saturday with my BFFs S&M. S&M invited me to see the bluegrass band Railroad Earth who performed at the Crystal Ballroom. What a fun night. We had lunch on Friday at a deli, Kenny and Zukes, checked into the Jupiter Hotel and then headed to the Crystal for the show. We ended the evening by having a late dinner at the Doug Fir. What a nice evening of Portlandia. I highly recommend The Jupiter. If you live in Portland and have guests who want a chic place to stay direct them to The Jupiter, those that don't live in the City and need a place to stay, you'll have fun at this place. Every door is a chalk board to draw on, wonderful patios, very white walls and the decor is very IKEA. I was like, "Am I in the Showroom?" I've been to hundreds of hotels in my time and I've never seen anything like it. What fun!

The show was quite fun and I didn't really know what to expect. So many shiny happy people everywhere. I have never seen so many people at the Ballroom. S and I sat in the lobby of Lola's room (second floor) during the second set and watched the colliding cultures. There was an '80s DJ in Lola's, and many folks were dressed up in '80s fashion. We were very caddy. I bought a CD from Railroad Earth, which had the song "Peace on Earth" on it. Love this song. I told M it reminded me of the bluegrass songs I grew up with in the church, without the religious conitation. I am still a fan of bluegrass. I would love to see Dolly in concert sometime.

For those of you who are clubbers, you must hang out at the Doug Fir, which is attached to The Jupiter Hotel. Despite the fact I felt like an old man, it was fun feeling like I was apart of the cool young people. We ended the weekend at McMenamins Barley Mill, which was celebrating their 25th anniversary. Jim joined us for a lovely lunch. I felt out of place as I was the only one of our group without a master's degree! M just received his diploma. I have such intelligent friends. Congratulations Matthew! I wasn't going to write his first name, but this is such an accomplishment, I had to praise him using his name. Above is a photo of S&M. I told S I would protect her anonymity, hence all the initials (S doesn't want to be Googleable, like me). She did give me the approval to publish her picture, doesn't she look fabulous! They are are sitting at a booth at the Doug Fir, notice the logs to their left. Great decor.

Check out these cool websites to the left. Love to you all.

Colorado Rockies

Take me out to the ballgame. I was in Denver the first part of last week for a meeting, and one of our activities was to go to a ball game. Rockies vs. The Braves. The Rockies lost. Many folks were surprised I had such a good time being it was a sporting event. For me it's about the whole experience. Junk food, fun people, music during the whole game, and lots of people watching.

New Friend

Hey! What a great weekend this last weekend. I saw a hilarious play, met a new friend, and spent a day with Melissa, Adam and Oscar.



First, on Friday Jim and I saw The Little Dog Laughed at Portland Center Stage with Marcia and Michelle. What a fun night of theatre. Brilliant production! Very funny. I am sure it'll be a movie soon, as it was just like watching TV. Those of you who don't go see plays, you must! Nothing like live acting.


Second, on Saturday I spent all day in Downtown Portland with my new friend Takako, who's from Japan. She road Amtrak from Tacoma to Portland. She really should have taken the other transportation company serving Tacoma and Portland, but I won't go into that. Jessica, living in Tac, WA with her husband Steven and two children, asked if I'd entertain Takako during her vacation to the NW of the US, and I did. This was the last leg of her trip. We spent 1.5 hours waiting on Broadway for the Grand Floral Parade. We found our spot early as I thought it would be far more crowded. Sorry Takako. Regardless we got to know each other very well. I am always impressed when someone is funny in another language, other than their own. The Rose Festival parade made me proud to live in such a great city. After the parade we had lunch at the Saturday Market and shopped. I bought some toys for kitties, which they love. Here's a photo of Takako holding the American flag, which was given to me by a charity. Should we be proud of our country? I am proud you all nominated Obama!

Lastly, on Sunday I spent the afternoon with Melissa, Adam and Oscar. What a peaceful day. As a perpetual bachelor I am always overwhelmed when I hang out with a baby or children. Still overwhelmed three days later. What great parents. I've added a photo of Oscar in his pink onesie, which Jim gave to Oscar. Melissa and Adam dressed Oscar this way in honor of my visit. I hope they are okay with me publishing this photo. I really, really hope Oscar won't mind when he's like 18.



Writing this from Hermiston, OR. Sean's road is his home, his home is the road.

Ross the Intern

I've spoken to a few of you about my obsession with Ross (the intern) Mathews. Well here's a video from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he's a correspondent. He's much smaller now from his stint on Celebrity Fit Club. I hope you enjoy. Thank you Adam for showing me the short cut. --Sean