Merry Christmas to all!

Neek sez:  Lex, Sar and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry and Safe Christmas!  The following are photos from a recent trip to King Gillette Ranch near Malibu, California.  It was the one time home of the inventor and seller of the Gillette Safety razor, King Gillette (his actual name).  His fame was to create the thin, inexpensive, disposable blade of stamped steel. 

The mansion was built in the late 1920’s by renowned architect, Walter Neff.  It had changed hands a number of times after Gillette’s death.  Once being owned by Bob Hope, Claretian Order of the Catholic Church, Elizabeth Prophet, and Soka University of America who had opposition from the residents of the area on its planned expansion.  The residents sought to protect the Chumash ancestral sites as well as the nature habitats and ecology of the area.  King Gillette ranch was purchased jointly for $35 million by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and California State Parks, who then made it available for public use.

Hope you enjoy it.

DSCN1947

DSCN1957

DSCN1953DSCN1956DSCN1958DSCN1959DSCN1960DSCN1950DSCN1963

A Merry Christmas Thank You!

Lex and Neek sez:

What we find extraordinary about this time of year are those moments of quiet reflection and shared beauty.  Hanging ornaments on the tree inevitably becomes a walk through memory lane of Christmases past when you first got that ornament.

Listening to a particular version of a Christmas song and remembering where you were and how old you were the first time you heard it. Continue reading