It was hard to say goodbye to this wonderful little girl. We got to spend lots of time with her over this past week-end. I happily changed poopy diapers and enjoyed spending really good times with her. Yesterday, before we came over to say good-bye, she was asking about Amma and Papa. So nice that she has names for us and gives us hugs when we show up.

I am really tired. It was very smoky in Grants Pass where we spent the night. I had itchy eyes, lost my voice and generally felt miserable and didn’t sleep very well. It was good to drive out of the smoke this morning.

On Wednesday, we decided not to drive all the way to Sonoma; instead, we drove to Muir Woods in Marin County and had a nice hike. I love being in the redwoods. The smells and the oxygen generated by the photosynthesis are wonderful memories for me.

Here are some photos from our day.

We did the hillside hike and so I was glad that I wore my sturdy walking shoes.

We drove past a huge stand of eucalyptus trees and I wanted to stop and pick up some leaves for natural dyeing — but not for me, for Judy Carpenter, who has been doing some beautiful dyeing with plants. There are some eucalyptus leaves that leave a red imprint. Unfortunately, we were on a narrow road with no place to pull off.

One more gratuitous photo of the adorable grandchild:

I will post more about our week, tomorrow. For now, I need to call it a day.

We made it to San Francisco and have been very busy since, getting in lots of time with Paige over the week-end. She is back in day care today and Mama and Papa are at work.

I always love driving over the Bay Bridge and seeing the SF skyline. We stopped to see Lisa and Clay in Oakland before we went over the bridge. They were married at Oakland city hall on Friday morning and so they are legally wife and wife!! We are so happy for them.

Paige or Peesh (as she calls herself) was excited to have company. She is one of those kids, like her Grandma, that gets energized being around lots of people. And then we crash!

Saturday was Jayme’s birthday so we went out to brunch in the morning. We are staying in a live/work loft in the mission on Harrison and  20th. More about that in another post.

Here she is enjoying something silly on my phone. And with her beautiful Dr. Mama.

On Saturday night, I made a birthday dinner for Jayme and Lisa and Clay joined us for the evening. It was lots of fun and we ate everything. I think there were two pieces of the vegan cake left over.

Yesterday, Jayme had to be at the hospital for her 12 hour shift. We spent the day with Mark and Paige. Here is Poppop (her name for Mr C) reading to her. She loves books and running around outside.

On this particular Sunday, part of 24th and Valencia Streets were closed to traffic and people walked, biked, skooted, skated and generally had a good time in the streets.

Paige wanted one of these huge bubbles to come near her, but she is too short.

She loved hanging out in this tent, part of an REI display.

I love SF murals, particularly in The Mission.

After a while, we all got hungry. Here is Paige eating one of her favorite foods – ’tilla (tortilla).

We stopped at a lovely playground where Paige had a good time. She was determined to run through the spouting water.

She is tall for her age, but looks pretty miniscule next to her big Daddy!!

Our condo is next door to this restaurant. Don’t think they have anything gluten free, but we are all going there on Thursday. Mia arrived in Oakland yesterday to go to the Young Artist’s camp at California College of Art so L and C will bring her over to spend the evening with us.

Today, we went for a long walk in our neighborhood. Here are some photos from our walk.