Gardening Day....

My shasta daisies are in bloom -- always a harbinger of summer.



The gardener pauses to mark the occasion, hat and all....

Today was a day to be outside, gardening and taking photos of the garden. What a way to celebrate the final day of June!

For additional shots, including before and after shots of our week's gardening project, check out my Extras blog on the sidebar.

Catching Up: Friday

B and I stopped by this roadside stand in the town next to ours. We didn't buy the ass-kickin' jerky, but we did purchase some Hass avocados and a lovely cantaloup, and I treated B to a honey-bear shaped lollipop.

Catching Up: Thursday

The sun shines through a spray of Jacaranda -- the purple show is nearing its end here in San Diego County.

Catching Up: Wednesday

We went back to the lovely Botanical Gardens in Balboa Park for sketching and photography. This is one of my favorite places in the world.



More lovely Balboa architecture, recently renovated from the original 1915 Exposition.



Purple coneflower, also known as echinacea, inside the Botanical Building.



A lilypad from the reflecting pool in front of the Botanical Gardens.

Catching Up: Tuesday

For the third time this month, I took the kids to Free Tuesday at Balboa Park. This Tuesday the Aerospace and Automotive Museums were free of charge to San Diego County residents. I took this photo of the Laurel Street Bridge while driving in slower traffic on the 163....



The San Diego Aerospace Museum, rebuilt after an arsonist torched it and the Old Globe Theatre in 1978. The museum is directly in the flight path of planes landing at the San Diego Airport nearby, but I couldn't get my timing right to capture a plane flying over the museum. Darn!



One of Neil Armstrong's space suits for the Apollo 11 moonlanding mission. The kids were quite entranced by this piece of history. Only the replicas of the Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis (built here in San Diego) and the Wright Brother's flying machine caught their attention more.



Over in the Automotive Museum, B and T enjoyed a motorcycle ride....

Catching Up: Monday

Keith made us a lovely pepper beef dish with brown rice. Here J attempts chopsticks, a gift from one of Keith's online friends from Japan.

You want a Tattoo?????

Yesterday we all signed up for the library's Summer Reading Program. B obviously enjoyed the tattoo that was part of the introductory package, along with a bookmark and a poster on which to list books read this summer. May we all read great books this summer!

Saturday: Recital

T and J played in their first piano recital Saturday evening. Unfortunately, my photos turned out badly; the lighting in the room was very strange and nothing came out in focus. This was the best of the bunch. I have none of the photos with my parents or Keith's dad, either. :(

J and T are pictured with their teacher, Teri Antti, who just moved to our small town this weekend from Alpine. J and T played in the middle of the program, after having lessons only since October. J played "Bells, Bells, Bells," "Ode to Joy" and "Rain Dance/Forest Drums"; he was the only student of the evening who didn't make a mistake. T played "Square Dance," "Miniature Sonata," and "Yo Ho, Yo Ho," the theme song of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride which he figured out by ear and played in a duet with Mrs. Antti.

It was a great recital, with eleven students playing a total of 36 songs. The two high school students were extremely impressive -- something for our boys to aspire to.

Favorite Trees: Jacaranda

May and June are Jacaranda season in San Diego County. I love these trees with their gorgeous purple blooms and feathery green foliage the rest of the summer. I had to capture one for the blog -- this one is in front of Summerspast Farms in Flinn Springs.

Saying Good-Bye to Friends

I was recovering from the late party last night and didn't take more than one photo today. So here's a photo that Kitty's husband took with my camera of myself with the three who are leaving the state. So here's Kathryn, myself (very tan after my day at the pool), Linda, and Kathy.

Kathy leaves Saturday after the local B-52's concert she's going to with Kathryn, who's leaving next month with her three younger kids. They're both going to South Carolina -- the Spartanburg area near Greenville; Kathryn's husband and oldest son are already there, as is Kathy's son. Linda is leaving in two weeks for Connecticut with her husband and four kids. We'll miss them all -- goodbye ladies!

Pool Day and Party

This afternoon I drove the boys down the hill to our church's weekly Pool Day during the summer. Each week a different family plays host to kids who swim and moms who chat. Today's location featured a very cool slide with the kids lining up in huge chains to slide down into the pool. I think that two of my boys are in there somewhere....



Tonight our church ladies held a going-away party for three women who are moving out of state: two to the Greenville, South Carolina area, and one to Connecticut. We'll miss them all dearly! So here's the group photo; the three sitting on the sofa (Kitty, the hostess-with-the-mostest, is sitting on the sofa arm) are the ones to whom we're saying goodbye, at least for now. God bless you, Linda, Kathryn, and Kathy!

Free Tuesday at Balboa Park

This hallway in Balboa Park is just at the end of the Reflecting Pond. I love the shape, the architecture, the light streaming in.



A lilypad group in the Reflecting Pond in front of the Botanical Garden....

More photos of the park can be seen in the Extras blog....

Self-Portrait

I haven't done a self-portrait yet, so I'm trying to embolden myself to publish this one. No make-up, doing what I like to do best: reading outside.

A good way to celebrate our first day of summer vacation....

Puppy Love....

Dear Dashwood. He sits here quietly while we eat our Father's Day feast of grilled salmon and chicken, waiting to be "excused" from his crate so he can sneak over to the trash to try to steal a bone....

He's a sweet doggie -- the love of everyone in the house. Keith plays tug-of-war with him before leaving for work. The boys throw his toys and chase him around, which is Dash's favorite game of all. He sleeps in E's bed every night after keeping me company on the sofa each evening after dinner.

He'll be two in September, so he's not really a puppy anymore, but dachshunds retain that puppy-like look into adulthood. Perhaps that's why I've always loved them so much.

Another Mystery ... and an Answer

I thought that this close-up looked really interesting. It's not much of a mystery, but it's something we don't see here in So Cal very often....



Yup, woodpeckers have definitely been after this Jeffrey Pine tree. I love Jeffrey Pines; their bark smells exactly like vanilla. Yummmmmm!

More photos from our day in Cuyamaca can be seen on my extras blog.

Friday: Trip to the Cuyamacas

As our last-day-of-homeschooling treat, we took a field trip into the nearby mountains of Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. My mother camped in this park when she was a child, and my brother, sister, and myself spent wonderful summer days tent camping at the equestrain camp and at the regular campgrounds. We used to hike Stonewall Peak at least once each trip as well as make a trip into historic Julian for a refreshing strawberry ice cream soda and a stroll around the old mining town. We used to ride horses and hike around Lake Cuyamaca as well as hike up to the site of the old Stonewall Mine, the most productive gold mine in Southern California. So taking my own kids on a tour of these places is both nostalgic and sad as most of the park went up in flames a few years ago during the devastating Cedar Fire.



Here's the idyllic shot: Stonewall Peak and Lake Cuyamaca. Besides the fact that Stonewall looks a little barren, one can hardly tell the fire swept through here.



Here's the reality shot: 80% of the trees in this forested park were destroyed. I took this from the parking lot at Stonewall Mine.



When we stopped at the desert lookout on the way to Julian for the view, I didn't realize that several crosses had been placed here to remember the firefighters and ohers who died in the Cedar Fire. We stopped, and remembered.

What the Heck Is This?

Any guesses???????

More Zoo Photos ... Botanicals

A little-known fact is that the botanical collection at the San Diego Zoo is actually worth more than the animals. So here are some scenic photos of our Tuesday zoo trip....



This waterfall is on the backside of the Gorilla Tropics area. Three waterfalls can be seen, plus a huge one that is bridged.



These palm trees and jacaranda are for Julie, who misses her So Cal trees.... :)



In the Children's Zoo area, we discovered this very strange tree -- those cotton boll things are about eight inches or so in diameter! I'll have to ask my sis-in-law who works there what kind of tree this is. I've never seen anything like it! Is it familiar to any of you?



And a very large koi (close to two feet long) in Terrace Lagoon, near the entrance to the zoo.

I may have a few more extras for the secondary blog.....

"You Belong in the Zoo..."

"... the San Diego Zoo!" I remember that jingle all too well from my childhoood. I've spent many a day at the zoo throughout my childhood and my kids' as well. We even have home movies of my mother here as a curly-haired toddler. And Keith's sister works at the SD Zoo as a tour bus driver. So for today and tomorrow, I'll post some of my better shots from our celebration of J's birthday yesterday.



The orangutans were some of the first animals we spotted as we entered the zoo. It's not easy getting to see them from my low position in the wheelchair, but the kids cleared a space for me to get a few shots.



I loved getting these underwater shots of the turtles. A few came out really nice.



My kids' favorite animals are the otters and the meerkats. I got a few so-so otter shots, but a couple of really good meerkat photos. Guest photographer T bent over the top of the enclosure in the Children's Zoo to capture them digging a hole -- that's what both meerkats and boys love to do!

I'll have additional shots on my Extras blog if you're interested....

Happy Birthday, J!

J turned 10 today and obviously loved his present from Keith, E, T, and me. He's a true pirate fan.



After opening his gifts, we headed to the San Diego Zoo (will post some cool animal photos tomorrow -- too tired to edit them tonight) where my parents met us. So here's my mom and dad for those of you who haven't met them.

Happy Birthday, J!

Duplo Day

The boys built a Duplo pirate island and pirate ships to surround.



The Mayan-style temple opens up....



And the pirate treasure is cleverly hidden inside!

For more Duplo creations, check out my Extras blog. :)

One of My Favorite Things...

Keith gave me this "widow's mite" a couple of years ago to celebrate my being married to him for half my life (we had married when I was barely 19). I had spied the coin pendant on a trip to Vegas a couple of years before that; it's rare that I fall for expensive jewelry, but this one had a religious and historical connection that I couldn't resist. We then chose a chain from a local family jewelry store to complement the pendant.

In the Gospels, Jesus tells the story of the poor widow who gives her two "mites" as an offering, and He commends her for giving her "all," rather than just of her excess as the other people were. Well, this is an actual widow's mite -- a Jewish penny from the time of Christ.

It's my favorite necklace, and I wear it several days each week. The details are lovely, the history stunning, and the Biblical connection amazing, and I love it -- a special gift from a wonderfully thoughtful husband.

Mmmmmmm!

The first ripe organic cantaloupe of the year -- yummmmmmmm!

The plates are hand-thrown by an old guy; we bought them at our town festival a few years ago and were hoping to buy a few replacements, but we haven't seen him since. We loved the brown glaze topped with a deep blue glaze -- so rich!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Burns

Today is Dr. Burns' birthday. He was in a rush today, so we didn't have time for much more than a quick birthday wish and a very quick one-chance-only snapshot.

We gave him a card signed by the whole family, and J copied a Scripture verse for him.

So a Happy Birthday to our favorite chiropractor, a real blessing to our family in so many ways.

Garden Visit...

Today we visited a friend's house for our bi-weekly Creative Arts Council meeting. After business was done, Margo took us on a tour of her garden. The first photo is of her little water-can fountain; the second a bunch of mini-poppies, and the third an overview of her garden.

Remember that our area is technically desert, and Margo's area of the county, about 20 minutes east and south of our town, is REALLY desert. It's the roughest weather and terrain in our very large county. This little oasis of a garden is a truly miracle in the desert....

Memories...

Yesterday as we drove away from Balboa Park, we drove by our old house, which is only three miles from the park by road but only a mile away "as the crow flies." Quite often we could hear the park's bell tower chiming away from our front yard.

We spent ten years restoring this 1914 Craftsman, and this is where we brought home all four of our babies. Keith did such a wonderful restoration job: matching new oak floors to match 50-year-old floors in the front of the home (I miss wood floors!), adding a new master bedroom and bath, totally gutting and restoring the kitchen (oh, how I miss that stunning kitchen!). I had planted some of the flowers in the yard here, but most were planted by the new owners (second owners after ourselves). We were surprised to see T's old tire swing, a gift for his third birthday nine years ago, still hanging from the branches of the camphor tree in the front yard.

The newest owners also repainted the home from the gray, white, and burgundy we had it to the bright colors you see here. As we were painting the house in order to sell it, we didn't dare paint it so colorfully, but Keith and I both really like it, even though our former neighbors HATE the new paint job. What do you think?

Balboa Park...

On each Tuesday certain museums in Balboa Park are free to county residents. On the first Tuesday of the month, it's the Natural History Museum and the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.

Additional photos of our museum experience can be seen on my Extras blog.



This fellow greets all guests at the San Diego Natural History Museum. There's nothing like a grinning Allosaurus to put one in the museum mood. He usually wears a Santa hat during December....



This fountain graces the Prado between the Natural History Museum (in background) and the Science Center. I took some photos facing east and they were okay, but taking them into the sun was much better.