A Sweet Escape

garden love, again

2009-08-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to get all fancy with my cell phone blog posts, I failed. Rather than a single photo post + a few words, I thought I'd get all complex with text following each photo. While pressing the "send" button caused a feeling of giddiness, logging on to see what actually posted caused a feeling of slight heartache. The photos were listed one after the next, followed by my first line of text, then a three section message from Verizon. Ugh!

I need more practice.

So, if you will, please check out the corrected, re-posted, and much prettier post garden love.

Oh, and you might as well lookee here, too!

ooops

2009-08-15T02:43:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things about gardening is being able to pluck a fresh little bouquet to add some cheer to the corners of my home.

MY bouquets, however, aren't so much plucked as they are a combination of torn, broken, accidentally deadheaded or otherwise mangled snippets of various unfortunate plants plunked into the nearest jar, vase, or old Coca Cola bottle.

At this very moment I have 4 such happy accidents including a beautiful big fat frilly red begonia bloom that fell off when I knocked into it. Makes me :)

yard sale times are here again!

2009-08-08T23:39:00.001-07:00

Today I broke a self imposed ban against going to yard sales. And what a day it was! There were so many to choose from, signs beckoning bargain hunters on every corner. I was very well behaved and stuck to those I circled in the Times Standard last night at work. My prized find is the sweet little red wagon that I plan to use as a fun garden accent.

garden love--Re-posted

2009-08-07T00:31:00.001-07:00

I've spent all of spring and a good portion of summer working towards "finishing" my garden. My goal was to create a space I find inspiring, quirky, and peaceful.

From my kitchen sink I look out at my back yard and admire the result of all the work I've put in up to this point.

Each time I look out, my gaze is drawn to one corner. The group of plants that sit here beneath the cherry blossom tree make up my favorite view.

I'm especially amazed by the size of the blooms on this mophead hydrangea.

As if one giant bloom weren't enough, this baby's loaded with several.

The work involved in this gardening gig is endless, but then, so are the rewards.

endless summer

2009-08-02T23:01:00.001-07:00

Welcome home!...to the overcast ickyness. Just got in from a quick trip down to Santa Rosa for a family reunion. I love going out of town to visit just about anywhere. During the summer months trips away usually involve hotter weather than we get here on the coast. More often than not it also results in coming home to the fog and cloud bank. After so many years you'd think I'd be used to it, but I still feel a little ball of disappointment and wish that, for the summer at least, I could live some place where the sunshine is endless.

2009-07-31T13:32:00.001-07:00

Cookin up some pretties in the backyard so stay tuned.

2009-07-30T22:59:00.001-07:00

Well, hello there. It seems like I post more about me still being around than actual posts that show I'm really around. So here I am, assuring you that I am still around, see. I even got a new do. This isn't how I'll really wear it though.

2009-07-24T18:24:00.001-07:00

2009-07-16T01:13:00.001-07:00

So, it looks as though it worked. I'm not too happy with the looks of the photo, so maybe I won't be posting from my phone after all. We'll see.

2009-07-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

This is an attempt to post to my blog from my phone. Fingers crossed....

2009-07-15T01:54:00.000-07:00

I'm having computer difficulties--again!! So stay tuned, I will be back, I just don't know when :(

Father's Day recap

2009-06-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

For father's day this year we took dad to his first Crab's game. It was a beautiful, sunny, and very windy day, but since the stands are below street level, we were sheltered from most of the wind's fury. Briana was unable to make it due to getting off so late from work, and mom decided against going on account of her temporary state of crippledness (inside joke, I'm really not that politically incorrect), but we had a great time any way. We met up with the Cox family and indulged in all the goodies you automatically feel entitled to when going to a game. The Crab Grass Band played ever so enthusiastically and the people just behind us taunted the visiting team without mercy. The game against the San Jose Seals came down to the wire, but in the end the Humboldt Crabs prevailed!!
After the game we all met back up for dinner at Larrupin's. Man, I love my family! We had a great time, good dinner, and laughed ourselves silly after indulging in desserts--musta been the sugar rush! To sum up the happiness of the day I must quote Elena who, in response to the waiter asking if he could get us anything else for the night, replied, "No thanks, we're gay!"
Guess you had to be there.

Orejon

2009-06-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Elena with her "Beans"

I was sitting at the computer in the living room, right next to the front door when she walked in carrying a large object. "I got a chinchilla" she said. I just rolled my eyes.

Dad came up with his name "Orejon". Big ears. We called him "Ori" for short.

It was kind of nice having a nocturnal pet in the house; those middle of the night trips to the bathroom were met by excited company.."you got up just to play with me?" Likewise, if I stopped by at 2 in the morning for whatever reason, there was one I could count on to be awake, eager to greet me when I walked in.

When Elena moved out, unable to move him with her, he grew very close to my mom.

It's amazing how attached we all became to this little fluffy butt.

Suddenly those bites he took out of my imported Indonesian armoire don't make me mad, but are a sweet little reminder.

Four years isn't close to the 10-25 we expected he'd be around. But in that time he grew to be the center of attention in the house. Every visitor wanted to look at him. Every child wanted to pet him. And who could blame them, he really just was that cute. Personality so unbelievably big. Smart as a whip. Who knew? And who knew I'd be sitting here crying as I edited these photos and type these words? He will be missed.

Ori the Chin

Sssh...it's a suprise

2009-06-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

celebrating 33 years

2009-06-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

Thank you mom and dad for your example of love, honor, family strength, togetherness, humor, happiness, taking care of one another, taking care of your family...your marriage is an example that I am so thankful to have and take greatly to heart. LOVE YOU.

ghetto greenhouse

2009-06-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

divided plants, waiting a new home

Took a little break today and did NOTHING. Well, as nothing as I can do which is a little laundry and some roaming around in the yard. I'm not feeling 100% and when I try to get stuff done in that state of being, I'm not very productive, so today, I just gave in and it felt pretty good.

Lately, I'm spending 75% of my time in my little flowery world and I love it. I'm constantly thinking about how to arrange my pots, what to put in them to fill in the gaps, how to scale down the number of pots I have while thinking about the new plants that I want to get (how does that work?!), and when am I going to be done already so that I can just ENJOY?! I'm seriously loving every minute of it!Gardening is full of happy little surprises. Take, for example, this picture of what I like to call, my ghetto greenhouse. It's an old lounge chair that I got for free (don't judge till you see the final result) and is home to all of my last year's gardening leftovers. Leftovers such as good deals that I couldn't pass up but never had the chance to plant, bits of healthy plants that I accidentally cut or broke off and in an effort to save, stuck into a little pot of dirt sans rooting hormone. To my surprise most of my subjects lived!

anagallis 'skylover' pimpernel

Hi!

2009-06-14T01:27:00.000-07:00

I'm still here, just been busy working in the yard as much as I can. I so completely anticipated this season but STILL got a bit of a late start and I have that "in over my head" feeling. Ugh!

P.S. I'm not sticking my tongue out at you. I love you all for stopping by and checking in on me. My photographer dared to make fun of my yard working outfit and sadly, It's the only photo I could find of myself that wasn't a practiced head shot, LOL!

preparing my pots

2009-06-04T00:47:00.000-07:00

Recent beautiful sunny days found me digging out the gunk from my potted garden; fertilizing, dividing, cleaning...a lot of "work" that makes me so very happy!

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

I spent my Memorial Day with the best people around...my family
We were blessed with some of the best weather we've seen yet...a whole day of sun sans wind
Sneakers the cat and
Molly the dog enjoyed the day too
I even managed to squeeze in a little time getting my hands dirty in mom's planter box

catching up

2009-05-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

A birthday BBQ results in mom braking her ankle and spending the rest of the night in the E.R.

A little after hours fun, thinking of mom the whole time

Yard work reveals unexpected beauty

Mom, enjoying her time as our house guest--what's not to like about HGTV 24/7?

Surgery is scheduled and performed with good results

A pre-planned road trip caps off a hectic week

Baseball, anyone?

Sights included hidden towns just off CA HWY 1...peeks into quaint little gardens

...and trips to local nurseries

Did I mention the VIEW?

May 10th

2009-05-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Is the birthday of one of the most beautiful people in my life. She's Briana to most. I call her Menaw. Happy birthday to my Sister. I love you.

my MOM

2009-05-10T02:14:00.000-07:00

No words can say how much I love my mom. I could never express how much she means to me. She is comfort, warmth, LOVE, laughter, long hugs, I love you's a million times. She is the BEST and I'm so lucky to have her.

Blogger's Block

2009-05-05T23:17:00.000-07:00

You know how you feel a little disjointed on your first day back to work after vacation? Well, I'm feeling like that--a little disjointed and...refreshed! Of course, I have been lurking behind the scenes checking in on the blogs I follow so as not to be totally out of the loop, and I've even been snapping shots of things as I go with the thought of sharing what I've been up to, but that's all going to have to come in its own time cuz I've got Blogger's Block. Can't think of anything good to say, can't seem to choose which photos to post. So, while this marks my official return to this magical land, you'll have to stay tuned for my first actual, real, visually stimulating, blog post. Thanks for checking in!

May Class--Wall Hanging Layout

2009-04-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

I love teaching scrapbook classes and I'm always looking to share innovative and FUN ideas. In that spirit I came up with this layout which I'll be teaching in May. It's a single-page layout with room for three photos. It's designed to be a wall hanging, but can just as easily be slipped into the page protector of your favorite album. You can find full details and descriptions on the Scrapper's edge website here.

Easter

2009-04-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Had a low-key and relaxing day, so different from the excitement and anticipation I remember feeling as a kid. Lunch at Grannies was with great company and not lacking in moments of poking fun at parts of the meal, ahem, desert. A drive out to Willow Creek + meal #2 = me ready for bed asap! Before we left, Dorothy saw to it that I left with a gorgeous bouquet of Spring's offerings which immediately found themselves plunked into various vases and jars, cheering up a little spot in the kitchen.