domestika

A rose, just for you

House in santa cruz, then and now

here's the cottage we rented in santa cruz, on the corner of 35th avenue and hawes street, just a block in from the shore.

and here's the same house in the 1910s or 20s, i'm guessing, and a decade or two later. 

i wonder if by the second photo, the neighborhood had filled in and shading devices, ie the trellis, was not needed on all three sides of the house. in any case, the first photo reminds me of project, ie the trellis, i 'designed' in structures class. i remember sketching something way more artful and complicated but then realized i did not know how to manipulate the equations in my 'tool kit' to explain how it stood up, which was half of the assignment. as it was (straight sticks up, straight sticks across), i remember this project taking DAYS, so i was ultimately glad that i had kept it simple.

Fog and flowers

sean and i are back from our vacay in santa cruz, and already sucked into our respective work stations (he, on the couch; me, in the office.) unfortunately i don't have any particularly interesting photos, as we didn't venture far from the house, and santa cruz doesn't really lend itself to spectacular photos since it is always so foggy.

although i was quite taken by all of the beautiful flowers -- rendered all the more vibrant by foggy daylight, where everything glows and looks flourescent. the house we stayed in had some lovely gardens around the perimeter of the lawn, and a wonderfully productive lemon tree that came in handy on more than a few occasions.

anyway i put together these three pairs of photos because it seemed silly to show photos of either foggy skies or pretty wildflowers alone. these pairs, i think, capture the mood and sights of our morning walks, coffee in hand, to go and check out the surf. it was always foggy, a little cold, and mostly grey, but punctuated by dots of intense oranges and pinks.

this is a view of a low-ish tide, which was usually the case in the early morning, near a break called "second peak" at the corner of 35th ave. and east cliff drive. paul o'neill (the founder of o'neill surfboards/stuff) is rumored to live in the green house built into the rocky cliff above this break -- an important point of reference for surfers trying to position themselves to catch waves.

this is a funny little house just a couple of houses in from the ocean. i myself would love to own this funny little house, or one just like it, so i best find another way to describe these uh...cute, quaint (i'm trying to resist saying 'little' here...which i now realize is a strange inclination, given that these houses are several times the size of our apartment in sf)...beach bungalows.

and here's an unspectacularly foggy sky, next to some really gorgeous irises that bloomed in 'our' very 'own' [rented] garden -- just yesterday, in fact.

full disclosure: i used to hate irises because they reminded me of someone bearing the same name, and whom i disliked with my whole being for many many years, but i guess i like them again. i'd tell you the full story, but this isn't that kind of blog.