It has been a while since I have had a moment to blog!  We are out at the coast and it is one of those incredibly beautiful days.  The air is so pure here and it is a pleasure to be outside taking in deep breaths! We have a group of 6 fabulous women coming out here for a yoga retreat this weekend (they all met here several years ago at another retreat and have been coming back twice a year ever since!).

I just finished cooking up a storm and cleaning the house!  Now, I am ready.  So, I actually had a breather, just went outside,  and took in the beauty of our Little Renaissance.  Yes, it is really something to know who put each and every nail, roof tile, cedar siding, coat of paint, and oak wood flooring in! This place is a dream that we built.  And it continues to blossom and become more beautiful as we continue to landscape and the garden and orchard matures.

This day is steeped in sunshine, the kind of day that makes me want to stop time and sit still forever, gazing out onto the garden.

We built this home with friends and family in mind.  We built this home with self sufficiency in mind  (hence the orchard and the vegetable gardens protected from the deer).  And we built this home to be in harmony with nature, surrounded by trees, wind, birds, deer,  and to have a place where we can practice yoga with light streaming in or storms passing by.  We also built this home with hosting yoga retreats in mind.   We have had the most amazing retreats over the years.  For a while when my mother was very ill, I was overwhelmed and took a hiatus on offering Little Renaissance Yoga Retreats.  However, I am happily back to the satisfying labor of love of hosting retreats here at the coast.

I gave this smiling guy a rhodie hat:

Rhododendrons in full bloom:

The ever elusive Little Bear!  Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of him?  He turns his head away every time I click:

Like Rick, like Little Bear.  What are they looking at?

My namesake, Il Gallo.  Dad’s original last name was Bruno Gallo, the brown rooster.  His little sister, my 84 year old Aunt Lily gave me this plate.  You’d never know it, but it’s ancient.

Ricky’s gorgeous tulip arrangement.  (Yes, he even does flower arrangements!) These tulips will welcome our group today:

There is nothing like a clean house:

And finally, the apple blossoms are so exquisite and the promise of Liberty apples is something to look forward to: