My New Year wish for you.

As we step through, from the old to the new, this is my new year wish for you.

May your troubles be less,

  and your blessings be more.

And nothing but happiness

come through your door.

~Irish Blessing~

Hidden Pictures and a word play!

A bird foot, holding down a snake.

Surprised tree.

A wolf.

I thought I saw a ram, then took the picture, up loaded it, and there he was, Lobo looking right at me...can you see other things? I can.

Chewie....you know...a wookie

Turtle?   Nope, a rock

One of the seven dwarfs, grumpy I think....see him?

King of the jungle, resting....see his face?

word play

For crushing pain?

Wait a minute Mister Post man!

I cut this story form the paper today, yes, I still read the newsprint kind. I still read books too, no on line e books yet...they are temptingly cheap, uh, less expensive.

The story made me think of my old roomie in Alaska. I have spoken of her here before.

She received an I pad for Christmas, she was having some issues with her social media chat not working so we were trying to figure it out, over chat, thousands of miles apart. She thinks I might know something as I received an I pad for my birthday last month. All that means is I have had my I pad a month longer than she has had hers.

As we were searching around to find answers to the I pad's issues, she some how found that we have shared over 9000 chats and messages over the year, yes year, 0ne, we have been on, er, the social media, thing.

I love the instant contact this media provides, my roomie can be a part of my day almost everyday, but I don't have a physical thing to hold, like the newsprint paper, of our chats.

I think I will start sending her little things. She is going to know all my "news" but a little note or card landing in the P.O. box up in Nome would be fun too.

Did you ever stop to think, how would Ken Burns ever have made his documentary of the Civil War without letters, written and sent.

Got to go find some stamps, bye for now!

Merry Christmas!

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Their old familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.  

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), 1867)

Solstice soup!

 For the last 5 years Lycra Man and his Mamil ( middle aged men in Lycra) friends have gathered together for a solstice century ( 100 mile ) ride. They started out at 8:00 a.m. it was 39 degrees ...cold for Southern California.

Here is their route.

Prior to the ride, Lycra man and I invited the guys to stay for soup upon their return to our house  E.T. A around 5:00 p.m.

It was much appreciated as they were cold.

Well, we thought it was cold. I read my old college roommate, now a resident of Nome Alaska's post of her solstice day.....Our low was her high.

So for all cold bike riders and snow shoveler' s, here is the recipe for Minestrone soup, I hope it warms your insides.  

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

Pre chopped celery and onion mix in produce department

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

2 small zucchini sliced

2 carrots cubed

2 cans Cannellini beans drained

16 oz can of tomato sauce

28 oz can of diced tomatoes

32 oz Vegetable broth

baby spinach leaves

1 1/2 cups white wine divided( 1 cup and 1/2 cup)

1 cup mini penne 

In a stock pot, saute garlic, onion and celery in olive oil, add Italian seasoning and mix well. add carrots and zucchini and mix well. Add drained Cannellini beans, massing a few. Add the tomato sauce , undrained diced tomatoes, vegetable broth and 1 cup of wine.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about an hour.

Add 1/2 cup of wine, Penne and baby spinach leaves ( as much as desired) cook until pasta is done.

Those guys are nuts!

Happy solstice!

Rainy Monday morning.

We have rain in Southern California today! It woke me up last night. Lycra man put a bucket under our downspout to keep the run off from carving the grand canyon in your lawn.

Here is his hat, drying off.

Drops in the pool.

Yesterday , I was wondering around in the yard and noticed our pomegranate tree. We had a bumper crop this year.

 The nasturtiums and Jupiter's beard love this time of year. In the summer they shrivel up to almost nothing.

We waited to decorate the house til yesterday when our youngest daughter could help. She loves to decorate for Christmas. Here is our yuletide creation greeting our neighborhood this year.

We also brought home our tree. Kathy as pretty excited about that. She was 2 years old the last time we had a real tree.  Buying an artificial tree was a hard thing to do, both Lycra man and I are from Oregon, I grew up surrounded by Christmas tree farms. We couldn't get fresh down here, the extremely dried out trees made me nervous. When I learned my old roomie in Alaska gets a fresh tree every year form the lower 48 , I decided...what the heck.

We put the lights and my birthday present ornament on, we will finish decorating when our oldest daughter gets home. I pick her up at the airport today!!!

HANK!

He says he wasn't going to eat it , he was just going to taste it.

A post per request.

My brother has requested a post. He is afraid the post button on my blog has grown rusty. So here you go brother, it was fun!
Oh yes, my brother has started blogging too, check out his blog.

What I have been up too, and why cobwebs inhabit my blog, as requested, via sticky me.

Been doing the usual, walking in the park, running to the various places of business to keep this out fit running.

Been sewing, trying to get the stuff done in time. I discovered sewing with the foot pedal resting on the wood floor is different than resting on the carpeted floor....( it slides) Yipes...need spell check on my pencil...to focused on the drawings I guess, ya that's my story...

I have been pretty busy in floral design class. Last night we decorated a Private residence...heavy arrangements. Of course I forgot my camera, here are some blurry cell phone photos for you! flowers+ floral foam + water + HEAVY

Getting the house ready for the holidays and the return of the queens...the daughters..  :)

I have been really enjoying the Mail art group I have joined. I get really creative mail for m Alabama, Florida, the UK , Ohio and Australia.

  I have been really happy this year, with the photo classes, the floral design class, this blog and my wonderful drawings. I had been missing the ability to create. So... if there is something out there you want to do...do it, give yourself that gift this coming year. 

Going to get off my soap box now, it's shaky up here.

Saturday morning in the park.

It was a frosty morning in the park, a big change form our 80 degree weather earlier this week.

Just a few leaves left on the trees. We are supposed to get winds today so they may be gone soon.

An American Robin! I only hear or see these guys in the spring or fall/winter. I grew up with them, they were very common in Oregon, now I get really excited when I hear or see one, they aren't so common to me anymore!

Another winter visitor to our area is the American wigeon, see the two drakes swimming towards us. They have white stripes down their center of their heads and a bluish tint to their bills. Their call remind me of a squeaky toy rubber duck!

I don't know what the name of these are, but they have been blooming since August and are still going strong.

A hidden picture! These roots look like deer antlers, or a big brown spider...I prefer deer antlers...what do you see?

It's been a busy week since Thanksgiving!

I visited a local wholesale flower outlet with a friend of mine yesterday, coolers full of beautiful flowers!

Hanging amaranths

  Tuberose, these smell sooooo good.

These poinsettias were at least four feet tall.

Still going on my morning walks. 

  I took this picture on my walk so you could see we do get some Christmas colors here! Speaking of Christmas, we have been getting ready for a Christmas open house in my floral design class all week. The students make centerpieces and wreaths to be sold at the open house. Here I'll show you.

T

That is our Teacher getting ready to hang some ornaments on the tree. She had us pair up, as we are newbies and needed to turn out a number of creations.

This is my new friend and partner, Gina, an amazing lady, but more of that later. She is working on our third arrangement we created together.

This is what #3 looked like when we were done.

Arrangement  #2, isn't he cute!

Our wreath we made, hot glue is hot you all...just saying.

These are the arrangements that the kids in the class made, remember most of our class is made up of high school kids. Our teacher then had the kids rearrange the tables and place the arrangements in  categories. We had winter wonderland, woodsy and Santa areas set up.

winter wonderland

Going to be the Santa's

So Last night Lycra Man I and I attended the open house, he could finally put faces to the names he has been hearing. I had him pick out a center piece and we purchased it and took it home.

( happened to be design by Gina and Jenean #1)

HANK

You all though I was kidding about the arrangement eating cat didn't you!