Winter at Ocean Beach

Life as a father is amazing!  Our daughter, Frances, the beautiful babe in the big cup is about to turn 4 months and I think she too has had a nice Christmas.  She is growing and changing daily!

The new Mandala tri-plane hull sure likes to shred waves like these...  Although not my pics, they sure do resemble the ones that were coming in the other morning.  It was another proper dawn patrol for breaking in the new board.!!

Ocean Beach, on the west side of San Francisco, is by many considered a world class beach break when things line up properly.  Like most exposed sandy bottom locations though it has it's fickle days, all factors playing on one another.  Tide, wind, swell, swell angle, working sand bars etc..

This fall and winter I haven't had as much time to surf at OB as I go to a slightly closer location that unfortunately is even more fickle...but also often gives way to fun and challenging surf conditions.  At any rate, the new single fin is performing much easier and more fun than I ever thought possible, and blessed me with a super fun session monday morning.  Comparing the performance differences to that of my quad Hess Lola, which is also a super fun and rewarding surfboard, the tri-plane hull is like riding a slightly wider and fatter version of a skateboard with super soft cruiser wheels in place of the harder, edgier and choppier modern day street version.  Likely a rider of the aforementioned only would understand my silly jargon.

  Happy Christmas to all and may the new year bring love and joy.....  and waves.  Peace and God bless.

Test mission Mandala

Hello folks.  Here are some shots of early morning 

december...test piloting my new board.  Also...the board bags are hand built with recycled shags..GroundArt approved.  Mani...if you ever check out the site...THANK YOU SO MUCH...THE BOARD YOU MADE ROCKS!

jafs juice

i recently saw and hung out with my good buddy Jafgas..and his right winged-ass has decided to start making biofuel.  here is a look.

life is all about the good times....and the not so good.....mostly good round these parts.  Merry Christ' bday.

leeroy

life on the coast

I found some neat sayings from the 20's that I want to share.  Life here on the coast is good...the following photos are what you get to do after a session of surfear.  But first...here are some of the dichos..

balled up = confused, messed up

dry up = shut up, get lost

bank's closed = no kissing/making out

hard boiled = a tough, strong guy

pinch = to arrest

piker = a cheapskate

by the way...that is my daughter FRANCINI...if you hadn't learned from any of the previous posts...sorry no photos of the ocean or the beautiful coast...80 degrees and offshores in late November.....Back to her....she is the true blessing!!

that's my daughter....

That's my daughter in the water...everything she knows I taught her.  That's  my daughter in the water...I lost every time I fought her...

She's thinking....  "what have I got myself into tonight?"

brown bag timing

shoulda been here yesterday....

fun fall...

well folks and followers....life here on C st is great.  Halloweenie was fantastic, as was my birthday.  Thank you for all the great gifts and givings.  It poured rain, but some good friends and I made it out to check the surf anyway...and have some cheves...see some live Japanese Motors..etc.  The pics above are some good ones...the board.... I have been told is coming really soon!!!chomping at the bit for that, except when it shows it will be the color of the Syrah in my glass right now.  My good friend Bri and his beautiful girl EVA on halloween evening.....and last but not least..beautiful Kathrogena and Francini.....they can be further visited at the Princess Fanny Surprise link to your left.  Also...check out the 180 South link...cool stuff.  Work is good, friends and family are great and thank you Lord for another beautiful fall.  Oh...lastly I want to give a big shout out to the birth of our new friend and brother to Noah...Hendrik....born on Nov.6th.  peace out!!

another glorious day

some photos of life...

spending time with the little woman

hoping soon to receive the Mandala hull...should look something like this coco

pretty sure she's thinking about shredding.

One year.....goes so fast.

I have not posted a lot in the past year...but I have enjoyed playing with the site. It is amazing how fast one year goes by.

Things I am looking forward to this year: Loving my beautiful wife day after day..turning 31 soon...hopefully seeing the Japanese Motors live...surfing more (now that I have no broken arm this fall) receiving my new Mandala hull...going on more walks...exploring the world with my brand new daughter...

thanks for stopping by...peace and God bless.

leeroy

good times

Katie officially turned 30 this past week.  I think she is handling it well.  Frances is just a love muffin....who occasionally poos, wees, smiles, fusses...and cries.  She is wonderful!!  Here's to having some time off spending it with my wife and sweet daughter!!  

Leeroy

beautiful babe..

One week into the mix and the beautiful babe seems to be right on track.  She, like any newborn, has her fussy times...but overall she is a great baby.

The beach photo was taken two

 days prior to her birth..the place that Katie and I went to walk as she went into early labor.  The other photos

 are post birth...with

 super good friend Adam both babies in Moby wraps.

Fatherhood hasn't completely sunk in yet...although demanding and super rewarding, I want to enjoy each moment as they come and live in each one.  As I have been told...each small phase doesn't last long...so enjoy all of them.

Peace everyone!!  Oh yeah, lastly is a photo of the super sweet single fin beauty that Manuel Caro of Mandala Custom Shapes has shaped for me.  

leeroy

We had a baby GIRL....meet Frances Dillon Sveinson

Quick note to those that check....we have a beautiful baby girl who was born on Saturday, Sept 6th at 514pm....she weighed 7lbs2oz and is 18.5in long. We are so blessed and love her so much!

peace yall...and check back soon.

lee

Experiencial...

Well...we have had another amazing northerncalifornia region summer week. Hot..foggy..classic south swell...windy...cool...more fog....and now warm and mild. Makes for great growing season...tomatoes, squash, peppers and other plants. I was recently given some succulents and planted one with the "angel" (see photo). As my wife and I prepare for the birth of our first...we are trying to enjoy doing stuff that we probably wont for a little time to come...at least the first several weeks. This past weekend we caught up on all sorts of laundry and more birthing flag mayhem...as well as over the past month or so, i have been doing all sorts of cleaning up things that needed to get done. I had been wanting to resurrect this bike you see here, so that when it is time I can just simply jump on it for errands around town to avoid the carsky. I have also finished up some looming side work..and also, just finished a very hip and functional long board surf bag. The sewing thing has really got us in 'knots' in terms of wanting to spend a lot of our current free time wanting to sew. It sure is fun to make things, and be creative with fabric...especially when you can look back at some super rad or functional bag that you just made. I think we also finally finished with all the new baby stuff we have received as gifts over the past two months. Thank you all again for being such givers!!! Enough with my rant...enjoy the good life. God bless.
lee

birthing flags

It was fun to make these flags for Katie this weekend. Yarn, paint, fabric, sewing and gluing.

peace everyone and thanks for the great gifts from all the showers.

lee

holy f$&#ing goodness!

that's not blasphemous is it? no wonder I am such a normal fool. I am just tripping on the fact that we are having a baby in 30 days. I know the baby ticker to your left says different but hey...I was off for several months.

Katie is doing awesome!!! We have recently been sewing birth flags...and it is very rewarding and peaceful. We have also been doing a bout of the birth classes...every wed. night for the past 3 weeks. Super good info...I like that our birth class totally represents the style of birthing that we want to strive for. No drugs...all natural, with minimal interventions considering all things go well.

Along with Scooby (our nickname for what dwells inside the belly of Kathrogena) a new surfboard that I ordered has been on my mind. I am determined to have it shaped for our baby...and keep it in great condition until he or she is old enough to give it a try. I am going with a Mandala shaped single fin stubbie or hull...orangish in color and biofoam. It will be a gem. In addition to making birth flags...I have recently enjoyed picking out some cool fabric to make another surfboard bag for the long board.. Pics to come soon. I guess I now realize and believe that "nesting" isn't just a lady thing..it certainly is a guy thing too because I have definately been feeling more and more in need getting everything in order around the house so we are ready!

ready, ready, ready....like I say.....holy f$&*ing goodness.

Junio, Julio, and Agosto

Well manana I will embark on a slightly new adventure. Though I have run and raced in the past (nothing serious) tomorrow I will run in the long time (second oldest race in North American history) famous race from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach called the Dipsea. I've always wanted to do a marathon or triathalon but never have really been into running. The dipsea is only 7 miles...but a gruelling seven, up and over Mt. Tamalpais in beautiful Marin county CA. I did run cross country in high school...but truly grew to hate it...but as I get older, I mostly enjoy the challenge of different things and the mind frame one must put themselves in, in order to press on, move forward, and eventually finish what is laid out in front of them. My good friend Derek has done it and he says it is not only really hard and mostly up hill...but you have to basically pass 1500 other runners that have because of handicap, been able to go ahead of you. Wish me luck.

The widget says 74 days to go....and counting. Katie and I are both super psyched...but also feeling slightly overwhelmed with how fast the baby is coming. Katie is beautiful and doing great...going to prenatal yoga once a week...and staying active, walking and exercising.

The surf is not flat...but not calm in the norCal region.

The sun is shining....weather is sweet yeah...make you want to move...your dancing feet

100 to go...

I just noticed on the baby calender gadget thing that tells you how many more days until she's due, it said 100. That's pretty cool...only a 100 days left until I am a father. WOW! What can you say about that? Well....I'm pretty psyched to become a father....I look forward to making it smile, and laugh...I look forward to teaching and playing more...more like a kid I guess and playing less like an adult. I realize that there will be times when I'll want to be doing other things than changing the dirty d...but maybe not. For the longest time I think that was my greatest fear..was letting go more of me and my time..not so much anymore and I don't really know why. I'm sure those times will come along but with such a rad wife like the amazing one I have...I have it made. Thank you Katie for carrying my child, and thank you come May 14th for a glorious 3 short years of marriage. I love you so much and thank the Lord that He brought you into my life.
Lately I have really been enjoying The Reason for God by Timothy Keller, a very insightful book that answers, discusses, and philosophizes about all the challenging questions relating to God and the views that many athiests', agnostics, and other believers challenge with those of Christianity.

Anyhow...other than that trying to keep life simple yet progressive, surfing when possible and worthwhile, and spending good times this spring with my beautiful wife and child to be. Peace and God bless.

New Ride

Fueled by the passion of turning and carving a board.

Enjoy.

South swell love in March

Shoot out after work, catch a couple of these puppies...makes the week a whole lot better.Small south swell..just enough to send some good size pulses to Cronkite. Very Nice.This is Jack Wolford photography...a long time local and super ripper in our area.

God bless and enjoy your week-end. Peace
Leeroy

Time For Baby....'s

Well yes..the news is officially out.  We are going to have a BABY!  Thank you for your prayers and thoughts...keep us in them.  Peace out and keep living life to the fullest.

leeroy

Day trip to Santa Cruz

My friend Kevin and I were able to score a fun day at the Lane in Santa Cruz.  I need to remember to bring my own camera so I don't have to borrow stuff like this from other photo sites.  We got there early and enjoyed a myriad of surfable condition, small south swell, localized north wind swell..etc The rest of the coast on our way south was chunky and later, blown to pieces.  Such is spring and the conditions it can bring.  It was fun to check out  this spot...I mean I have 'checked it' before, but never really surfed it..and as the tide dropped and conditions improved I think I remember why.  Guy after guy piled into the lineup and before too long it was super crowded.  At first I surfed my friend Danny's beloved garbage can find, a sweet old 70's style single fin...and then later surfed my 5'11 Hess that felt super skatey especially after having ridden the monster single fin.  Good switch and good timing with the tide.   Kevin meanwhile, enjoyed himself on the smaller stuff further in and around the point, checking the longboarders and still getting a feel of what this surfing thing is all about.  We finished up with some great coffee, good snacks, a beautiful drive up the windy California coast, good music and good conversation.  Gracias amigo.  We will do it again soon.

Groundart Mascot en vivo

The Groundart mascot finally came to life while hunting out at lake Sonoma with some friends Levi (not pictured) and J..the beast of a man next to the beast.  Hunting has always been a part of my life and a genuine way to explore the outdoors, enjoy the wildlife at many levels, and provide the hopes of filling the freezer with good meat.  This pesky sow of a wild pig went down with the help of two...two slugs from a shotgun that is, and one beautiful bow and arrow shot to the vitals.  These pigs out at lake Sonoma, or all of the California region for that matter, are a non native species and threaten other wildlife, add a tremendous erosion and landscape issues from the much rooting around, and are a very hearty, tough animal that reproduce like rabbits.  All these qualities make them a good hunt, not to mention the savory wild boar meat that will soon come to the plates of many.  J, my new friend and the man that shot this beautiful beast was literally beside himself with happiness and well, luck.  She (the pig) basically swam across the lake nearly right to him...but hauling ass to say the least, allowing for his hunting techniques to set in and work for the better.  Myself, well..I ran into three others, but was unable to emerge with the same success.  These little diesel propelled earth movers do not stand still long.  They run very fast.  That's all for now, check back again soon to the adventures of GroundArt in the northern California region.

Peace folks...Leeroy

sugarbowl

  After two long weeks of work, work work...rain rain rain, catching up on side jobs, rain rain rain, catching the surf good a few short times, and playing in or avoiding the downpours;  the day finally came to go explode at Sugarbowl.  A good morning to remember "the good-ole days".  Today I awoke knowing that all good things come from God above.  I am very blessed and loving the life in which I am privileged to live, knowing that I am not my own god, but living for the One that provides grace and mercy, love and sacrifice.  Live on.  Peace.