This weekend the family met up at Filoli, as has become our custom, to remember Susan on the day that she passed. (It feels odd to me to call her ‘Susan,’  but as only two of us know her as Mommy and one of us as Grandmommy, I will use her most universal name.)

The weather was warm and the place was full to the brim with visitors, but it was still tranquil and refreshing to walk around the gardens.

One of our family’s iconic pictures of Susan was taken in the yew grove by the pool.

Filoli has undertaken renovation of these yews in the past few years, and they have changed dramatically since that photo.

In the latest issue of the Filoli newsletter, the head gardener explained why and wherefore they were so severely pruning the yews. Apparently they were getting so huge they required scaffolding to prune, and were also obscuring views of other parts of the garden (and the distant lake). Very interesting stuff, glad to be privy to the inner workings of our favorite garden.

Do you know what I dreamed about last night? Caterpillars at Filoli! - Lucy

One of the neat things about visiting Filoli is that you never know what you will see. The flowers are changed often, and the wildlife varies as well according to the season.

Recently we have seen wild turkeys and deer, and even both in the same day! The turkeys are hilarious…very self-assured birds who sometimes walk in front of a car, puff up, and gobble gobble at you.  The deer are so used to Filoli that they do not bolt at the first sight of visitors…esp. since we stay mostly at a distance.

There is also a resident rooster at Filoli, and though we have never seen him, we hear him often. Sometimes they let one of the chickens roam around in the garden…the last time that happened, Lucy was just a baby. She was scared of it even from a distance, and wanted to run away.

Oddly enough, her grandmother was also scared of chickens. She related this to me one time when we were walking through Filoli (possibly the same day as the chicken episode). Lucy has also shown a great dislike of chickens and roosters at petting zoos…so I think this might be an inherited trait.

Anyway, the last few visits we have been noticing…caterpillars! There are the little tiny green ones that dangle on strings hanging out of trees and get stuck in your hair (they have these every year at Stanford too), and the regular sized ones with stripes or spotty patterns. Here are some of the cool caterpillars we found recently.
Anyone able to identify them?

We’ve been to Filoli three times since it reopened in February. We went on Grandmommy’s birthday with the family, as has become our tradition.

Looking back through our photos I am reminded how happy Grandmommy was there, despite her illness. (The first photo below is Lucy now…the one next to it is Grandmommy in the same space 3 years ago. )

How peaceful and relaxing and ‘away from it all’ it is here.

“Oh, I love…everything!”
— Lucy in the morning (she actually meant to say, “I love shakes!” but had a momentary loss of words)

2010.09 Filoli from Mike C on Vimeo.

In remembrance of Jill’s mom, Susan, we got together at Filoli with Auntie Laura and Uncle John. Filoli was one of Susan’s favorite places, so it was the perfect spot to mark the occasion.

Both Jill and Laura took a lot of pics, so I’m sure we’ll have another post up soon showcasing many of them. For now, here’s a video of our day at Filoli. It’s dedicated to Susan.

Music Used:

• Alternate Route To Vulcan Street from Rings Around The World by Super Furry Animals

Last week we went to see the daffodil hill at Filoli…it’s a great place to run around!

Grandmommy loved the daffodils…we imagined her enjoying them with us, just like we did when Lucy was a baby.

This past week would have been Gma Susan’s 65th birthday. To mark the occasion, we got together with Gpa Peter, John, and Laura to celebrate. In the middle of the dog, cat, and cupcake fun we made time to plant a Magnolia Susan tree for Gma. Happy Birthday, Susan.

Camera Used: Flip Video Ultra 60. Soundtrack:

• I Couldn’t Believe It Was True from Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson
• Li’l Liza Jane from Country Guitar Thunder by Merle Travis and Joe Maphis
• Mainstreet Breakdown (excerpt) from Country Music’s Two Guitars Greats by Merle Travis and Joe Maphis
• Nobody’s Sweetheart from Galloping Guitar: The Early Years by Chet Atkins
• Courtin’ from Spanish Eyes by The 50 Guitars Of Tommy Garret

Just wanted to let everyone know that we’ve created a new site as a memorial to Jill’s mom Susan (aka Grandmommy), it is in progress, more will be added as the days go by. You can see it here:

http://memoriam.mikeandjill.net/

And just in case you haven’t seen this elsewhere, here is the info on her memorial service this Friday:

http://memoriam.mikeandjill.net/2008/10/service/

thanks to everyone for your support and compassion, we deeply appreciate it.

Beach with Grandmommy from Mike C on Vimeo.

Music: ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ by Iz Kamakawiwo’ole.

This is a video I found recently from June 20, the day Lucy and Grandmommy went to the beach for the first time together. It was Lucy’s first experience of sand and ocean and castle-building and being able to roam around on the beach.

I think we knew how special this day was as it was happening, it just seemed magical, a perfect moment in time.

Here are some photos from this day, the original post about the beach from June, and one of Susan’s favorite pictures taken of her with Peter:

We miss you so much Grandmommy! We had a lot of fun at the beach, didn’t we!

Here’s a video Jill took of the kid toddling around Filoli. Yeah, I know, it’s not really a maze. However, whenever I see something that’s even slightly reminiscent of a maze, I immediately think of the maze from the movie version of The Shining.

• Music: “Prelude & Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp Major, BWV 848/Prelude” from The Glenn Gould Edition – Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I composed by Johann Sebastian Bach

Lucy and I have been to Filoli several times recently, once when Uncle P.D. (above) visited from the far east (coast), and just last week with Grandmommy and Auntie Laura (also above, posing with madame). We like to think of it as Lucy’s back yard.

There are loads and loads of pics of our adventures here and I’ve included but a smattering of the ‘gorgeousness and gorgeosity’ that is Filoli below. Check ‘em out!