June 29, 2008
I didn’t plant these. They have always been in my yard.
But this year, they have really taken off like an out of control weed!
They are everywhere! They are growing in my grass and in several flower patches.
The taste is unbelievably sweet and tart at the same time.
I’m thinking it’s time to buy some vanilla ice cream…
Every time I go on a vacation, I always try to but myself a new piece of jewelry. It is never expensive. The main criteria is that it be unsusal. This is a shell bracelet that I found in Pasadena Calforina.
I have a favorite flower. It is called Sweet William. It is one of many types of perennial flowers that were planted in naturalized patches by the former owner of my home.
Sweet William have a spicey sweet scent and their nectar will attract birds, bees and butterflies. They are a good cutting flower for vases and are actually edible, so I can bring them in the house and not worry about Rikki and his strange eating preferences.
In the Victorian language of flowers, Sweet William symbolizes gallantry.
My son the college graduate has begun his job search. Check out his new portfolio. Click here I think he did a nice job.
Here he is with his home made Pizza
He’s an excellent cook too!
Ok this really is weird. My husband has a collection of stuffed elephants. Only he dosen’t call them elephants, he calls them furntzers. He has seven of them. Imagine my surprise when I opened the suitcase in California to find that he had packed all seven! Anyway, on the trip home, I looked at the baggage claim ticket and noticed that it wasn’t ours. It belonged to some guy with a Swedish sounding name who was returning to Sweden. Chris and I had used only one big suitcase, so we had to worry on our trip home whether all our belongings (including seven furntzers) were on their way to Sweden. Luckily, our bag was waiting for us in the baggage claims department of the airport. This is the father’s day postcard that Ben made Chris, and now you know the weird story behind it!
My pale yellow double columbine is blooming right now in my garden that faces west. This wildflower attracts hummingbirds and bees because its flowers are loaded with nectar. The names columbine means dove-like, and its folk name is granny’s bonnet. If I can remember to dead head the flowers as they die, my columbine will continue to bloom through june.
The purple flower in the back is a wood hyacinth. I have several patches of these as they lend well to naturalization. They also attract butterflies and they have the added benefit of being rabbit, deer and squirrel resistant.
Here is a photo of one of my patches of naturalized wood hyacinth.
Just one more.
Our last night in L.A., Chris & I had dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Tokyo Waco. There was a big goldfish pond outside , which went under the walk way that led the front door. At first I though wow, Rikki would love to snack on those fish, but these fish were so huge, that I ended up coming to the conclusion that the fish were actually big enough to eat Rikki!
Here is Supergirl. She is standing in front of Grauman’s chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
These Mountains were maybe two miles away from our hotel. We stayed in Monrovia, which is about 45 minutes Northeast of L.A.
Last monday morning I took a walk down the residential streets by our hotel. This is a typical small house, with a very elaborate garden, Most of these homes had amazing gardens.
 |
This is a photo of my good friend Julie. We have been friends since we were in the 7th grade. On sunday, we started our whirlwind tour with a trip to Venice Beach. It was my favorite stop. |
| Venice Beach was created to be a copy of venice Italy and the 16 miles of man made canals were originally dug in 1904. |  |
 |
This is a picture of a typical residential street. The average home price last year was $857,500. Wow, that is a lot of money. Especially when you consider that many of these homes are not very big! |
| Here we are on Venice Beach! |
 |