Amongst The Oaks

Boys and Their Toys

2012-01-30T16:46:00.001-08:00

Extra credit to anyone who knows what this is. You can tell it's something a man would like, right? Give up? Ok, I'll tell you; it's a cyclic! But what is a cyclic you ask. Well, it's like the
joystick
on
a
HELICOPTER!

The Lord of the Manor has a friend who just bought this 1967 Hughes OH-6A. It's a Viet Nam veteran; shot down twice, but patched up and sent back into battle. Apparently these Hughes were tough old birds.
LOM's friend wants LOM to teach him to fly it. Can you imagine buying something you don't know how to fly? And these things aren't cheap either!

Anyway, this is the really cool thing about helicopters; they have awesome visibility. And of course they are so cool to fly. You can land virtually anywhere you can get away with it.

It's painted olive drab with military markings...

and has all the original equipment including gun buttons on the cyclics and a machine gun for the guy in the back.

But all this old equipment isn't exactly legal, so there is a debate going on about how to maintain the original equipment (which looks cool and increases the value of the craft) yet comply with modern FAA regulations. For instance, the transponder is totally illegal, and they ferried the helicopter home Saturday using no transponder at all. Under the radar so to speak. The owner is a clever guy and we've made some aircraft parts before, so I'm sure they will find a creative way to install modern avionics yet cover them with the old face plates once on the ground. If we go for a ride soon, y'all will be some of the first to know about it.

Legion of Honor

2012-01-23T06:20:00.001-08:00

Have you ever visited the Legion of Honor in San Francisco? If not, I highly recommend it as a wonderful day out. It's located in Lincoln Park out past the Golden Gate Bridge where the air is fresh and the views are amazing.

Before you even get into the Museum, you see the Thinker by Rodin in the courtyard. The museum has almost 100 works by Rodin alone! Because several casts were made of Rodin's sculptures, this is not the only Thinker in existence. You can also see one at the Rodin Museum in Paris, and places like Tokyo, Copenhagen, Moscow, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Detroit. But the highlight of our visit was easily The Medusa by Bernini. This masterpiece is on loan from the Musei Capitolini in Rome only until February 19th. If you want to see it, you'd better hurry. After that, you'll just have to go to Rome to see it, which doesn't sound too bad either.

It is displayed in the center of the Baroque Gallery and you can walk all around it. It was wonderful to see such interest in it; it was mobbed with admirers taking photos, scrutinizing it up close and even sketching it.

And of course we had to pay a visit to the Impressionist Gallery where you can see this large water lilies painting by Monet. They also have paintings by Renoir, Van Gogh, Manet, and Seurat. We had a glorious time at the Museum and highly recommend a visit.

Old Books and New Comments

2012-01-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

Several years ago I did a post about Princess Mary's Gift Book and today I got a new comment on it. It always amazes me when I get a comment on a really old post, but I guess folks are still interested in Princess Mary's Gift book, or maybe the Cottingley Fairy Hoax.

Pt. Sur Lighthouse

2012-01-13T08:49:00.000-08:00

Have you ever visited a lighthouse? Over the years we have visited several here in California. And when we were in Oregon two years ago we visited three more, but we had never visited the one that is probably closest to us; Pt. Sur. It's only 19 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. It sits out on a rock that is connected to the mainland by a sandy spit of land and often looks like an island. I took the photo above early in the morning on our way to see the elephant seals.

You can tour Pt. Sur Lighthouse on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. All you have to do is pull off the highway at the gate and wait for the docents to let you in. Then you drive across the pasture, park, and start your walking tour with the docents leading the way.

As your group climbs up over 300' to the top of the rock, the docents stop and explain how the lighthouse came to be, and interesting facts about the history of the area. When you get to the lighthouse they take small groups up the spiral staircase to the top.

The views from the top of the lighthouse are beautiful; especially on the day we visited because the weather was so warm and clear.

Here is a drawing of the original equipment showing the Fresnel lens. The lens and machinery were taken out in 1978 and put on display at the Museum of Monterey.

Above you can see the modern electric light. It isn't nearly as pretty as the prismatic Fresnel lens, but its white flash every 15 seconds probably still looks BEAUTIFUL to a confused mariner far out at sea.

Speaking of beautiful, Teen2 was on her winter break and accompanied us on this tour. Looks like she enjoyed it.

Pt. Lobos State Reserve

2012-01-11T20:15:00.001-08:00

We recently visited Pt. Lobos State Reserve which is just south of Carmel, California. The weather on the Northern California coast is fabulous this time of year and this day was no exception.

Pt. Lobos is a beautiful park with over 6 miles of trails meandering around a rugged rocky point. We started at Whalers Cove and almost hiked around the entire point.

One trail leads down to a slot where the "The Old Veteran" perches on the rocks. It is an ancient picturesque cypress tree.

After hiking the North Point, the South Point, and Sea Lion Point, we cut across at Mound Meadow where we found these mushrooms; fly agaric or amanita muscaria.

We also saw some beautiful brown mushrooms.

And finally we found our way back to Whalers Cove where this snowy egret was fishing amongst the seaweed. It was a beautiful day at Pt. Lobos and a highly recommended day out.

My Studio (Finally!)

2012-01-10T05:03:00.000-08:00

It's been a looooong time coming, but I finally have the cottage/studio all to myself!

Shortly after Teen1 moved out we began moving furniture out of the cottage and into her old room to make it into a proper guest room. Then I rearranged what was left to make more room for painting.

Now the table and chairs are over on the other side and my easel is by the large front window.

I got a frame for this painting, but I think the red needs to be muted so I'm going to sort of antique it a bit, but I like the way the frame repeats the balls on the door.

Now after all the moving of furniture, I think we need a cup of tea, don't you?

Empty Nest

2012-01-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

So Teen1 moved out last weekend and Teen2 has been away at college for 4 months and we are finally "empty nesters". The house is so quiet and neat and clean and stress free. We are making one of their bedrooms into a proper guest room and talking about buying some new furniture for the library. We have rearranged the furniture in the kitchen to accomodate our antique meat block that we haven't used in years. Actually....

I'm kind of liking this empty nest thing!

Sunset at Rocky Point

2012-01-03T17:29:00.001-08:00

We had dinner at the Rocky Point Restaurant recently and timed it to coincide with the sunset. We were not disappointed. As we ate our salads the sun started coloring the clouds and by the time our entrees were served the sky was ablaze. The photos below were taken only about 3 minutes apart and then it was all over, but what a finish!

Although the sunset was breathtaking, the food, well...not so much. It was like stepping back in time to a menu and cooking style from the 80s. Not that it was bad, just dated, but I guess with this view it doesn't really matter, does it?

Elephant Seals near Piedras Blancas

2011-12-26T15:05:00.000-08:00

Just south of Piedras Blancas Lighthouse, and 4 miles north of Hearst Castle is a Northern Elephant Seal rookery. December and January are prime months to visit because that's when the babies are born. We drove down there this morning from Carmel and had a wonderful visit with these interesting animals.

Elephant Seals were almost hunted to extinction in the late 1800s, but in 1990 two dozen seals came to this beach and eventually a rookery was established and now several hundred babies are born here every year.

The bulls arrive as early as November just waiting for the females...

and practicing their fighting techniques. (These are younger males.)

The pregnant females start arriving in December and the first babies are generally born around the middle of December. The mothers nurse the babies for only 4 weeks, after which they mate and then they slip into the ocean to eat. They don't eat at all while waiting for and nursing their babies.

The babies will teach themselves how to swim and fish, but the rich milk the mothers provide has plumped them up to 300 pounds which sustains them while they are learning. The docent told us that the pup above is only a couple of days old.

While all this drama is happening, the old males just snooze and wait for Valentine's Day.

Grapevines

2011-12-13T16:50:00.001-08:00

Just before Thanksgiving a friend of mine asked if I would paint some grapevines over the arches in his entry area. It sounded like a fun project, so I said yes and took some measurements and made some patterns. Then I enlisted the help of Teen2 and we did the work the day after Thanksgiving.

We started by spotting in the medium brown for the branches and popping in some highlights. Then we started on the medium green in the leaves and added lowlights and highlights. Lastly we did the grapes starting with the midtones, then the lowlights, then the highlights. Somewhere in there I painted the cast shadows which really helps to make it look realistic.

Teen2 was a lot of help, but the best part was just working with her and getting a chance to talk without all the usual interruptions. And I didn't have to worry about her messing it up since she's a great artist. Thanks Teen2!

Late Season Roses

2011-11-01T01:32:00.000-07:00

California's second spring is well under way with lovely cool mornings and afternoons in the high 70s. And the roses are getting their second wind. Look at this beautiful bud I found yesterday. With a little cropping and tweaking it could make an interesting abstract painting, couldn't it?

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T06:48:00.000-07:00

Plein Air Painters and the Allure of Water

2011-10-29T04:19:00.000-07:00

What would you do if you had a beautiful fall day and a view like that? Well, if you belong to the Plein Air Painters of America, you'd paint it! And that's just what they did here in Stockton on October 15th.

Above you see just three of the more than twenty painters who participated. The building with the red gable and the water tower in the background were a popular view.

Above you see George Strickland's painting.

And this is West Fraser's painting. I like that big sky with the swirly clouds.
Below you see his painting finished, and framed, and waiting for a buyer.

Here is Don Demers' painting. As you can see, across from our downtown waterfront there was a wealth of subject matter for the painters.

This painting was my favorite of the day. It's by Kathleen Dunphy.
Below you see it framed and waiting for me to find $1500 to buy it. {sigh}

There were lots of other great paintings, but I couldn't manage to capture all of them. If you would like to see more, visit the Haggin Museum. The exhibition will be on display until January 22, 2012.

Transparent Objects

2011-10-28T16:01:00.001-07:00

So I'm taking this beginning painting class at the local junior college and we've met, maybe 21 times, and I'm amazed at how quickly he pushes us along. We've covered color mixing, shading, perspective, environments, landscapes, the human form, portraits, and now transparent objects! And he's having us build and stretch our own canvas from scratch.

Thursday while he was helping half the class with their frames, he handed out bottles to the rest of us and told us to paint them. I am pretty happy with my effort, but sorry that it ran off the top of the paper. Oh, did I mention we paint on white butcher paper? With house paint? And NO pencils? He wants us to get in there and paint - not draw. He also wants us to mix all our paint on the paper from our basic colors: white, yellow, red, blue, and black. But that's where I drew the line and I brought a plastic palette from home. For this painting I premixed the purest green I could make, a darker bluish green, and a lighter yellowish green. Then I squinted and blocked in the dark tones and shadows. Next I blocked in the medium green and blended it into the darks, and gradually worked my way up to the lighter colors. Next I painted the table top and the background, then went back to the details like the label, the stopper and the wires. He's definitely pushing us, but golly I'm having fun and I can hardly wait to see the next challenge.

Morning at the Watefront

2011-10-26T06:45:00.001-07:00

In conjunction with their current exhibit, our local museum recently had a plein air painting event. Over 20 members of the Plein Air Painters of America came to our downtown waterfront and created paintings based on the theme "the Allure of Water". I had previously attended a plein air painting event and enjoyed it immensely, and now that I've tried plein air painting, I just had to watch the pros again.

I decided the best way to learn from the experts was to watch one artist from start to finish and take photos as he painted. When I arrived several painters (who had started early) were already well into their paintings, but this painter was just setting up. His name is Ray Roberts and he is from a nearby town. I soon realized that he was the painter who made my favorite painting from the event two years ago.

The event was sort of like an auction. If you liked the painting (and could afford it) you put your name in the artist's box. When the paintings were all done and displayed they chose the lucky buyer from the box, but you could still change your mind and pass on it allowing the next person picked to buy it.

Here is Ray's preliminary wash and rough in.

He brought a palette that already had lots of paint mixtures on it so he was able to quickly block in the value and color masses.

He was attracting all kinds of attention and I felt good that I had picked him to watch. He gives workshops, but I got a FREE one!

His paid model would pose for about 20 minutes, and then take a 5 minute break.

I must have taken a walk, because the progress is very evident here. He had been painting for about an hour and a half at this point. I think this was about where he said, "What am I going to do with that railing?" He did simplify if considerably, but he has an official artist license, so he can do that sort of thing and get away with it.

After two and a half hours, the painting was done, he paid his model, packed up his equipment, and carried his painting down to the auction site.

Next post I'll show some of the other paintings.

Coming Along Nicely

2011-10-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

I was able to work on my painting a little bit this weekend. Here's how it looks now. Darn, it's hard to get all those gold leafed balls in straight lines! And I can see now that the ones up on the top of the door where there is lots of shade are a little too bright, but I can fix that later. This type of painting where there is strong structure and perspective seem easier for me than paintings with lots of random vegetation, so we'll try more like this for now.

Plein Air Problems

2011-10-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

The Lord of the Manor suggested that we drive up into the Sierras Saturday and do a little plein air research and/or painting. It sounded like a great idea to me, so we set off at 6am armed with coffee, folding chairs, the camera, 5 canvases, and all my painting supplies. We drove leisurely along stopping to take pictures of interesting scenes and finally ended up at Bear River Reservoir where we settled on a nice spot in the day use area. We had shade, a picnic table, and gorgeous view and beautiful weather. I sketched a view and started painting, but BIG PROBLEMS! There was a little breeze, and almost before I could get the paint on the canvas it dried. And there was no going back to pick up any previously mixed colors. What a mess. I almost completed one painting, but stopped after an hour and a half. I figured since I had taken a photo of the scene I could finish it later back at the studio.

So I pivoted around about 90 degrees thinking that the canvas would shield my paints from the breeze and started a second painting, but really it was no better. I struggled along for 45 minutes, then finally threw in the towel. What I really needed was oil paints.

We drove up to Silver Lake and had lunch, then continued on to the Hope Valley where we took more photos. That valley is gorgeous with long views of the distant mountains and the Carson River winding through it. It's a popular fishing and hiking spot. In the winter there's cross country skiing, sledding and cozy cabins. In about 2 weeks the trees will start turning; maybe we should go back then and capture those fiery colors.

So Sunday afternoon I found some oil paints and decided to just copy an Impressionist painter to get a feel for the colors and style. And OH MY! what a difference the oil paint made. I was actually able to mix a color and have it be there to use again any time during the session. Here's the painting I made. Nothing great, but still, I felt successful.

Then last night I sketched out a photo I'd taken in China and started painting it. Again, the oils are sooo much better. I'm pretty sure if one isn't painting frantically to avoid drying colors, their work will be much better. I have high hopes for this painting. I'll keep you posted.

2011-09-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

I tried one of the new Dynamic blog formats this morning for about 15 minutes. Perhaps some of you saw it. I immediately missed my favorite blog links and my categories, so it was back to the old format for me.

Anyway, here is the Lake Tahoe painting that I reworked yesterday. I don't think the colors photographed accurately. I'll have to work on that, but I like the painting a little better now.

And here is one I really like. I took the photo that I used for inspiration while we were driving down the highway early one morning. The fog was creeping over the hills and the sun was making the spring grass glow. Loved the atmospheric feeling.

In other news, our critique at school was very interesting for me because I'd never experienced one and I realize now that I've got to learn a new language to properly contribute anything of value. Every field has its lingo, right? Now I'm off to study the rule of vertical placement, atmospheric perspective, cast shadow, and implied horizon line.

Finished Landscapes from School

2011-09-27T13:53:00.001-07:00

We finished our landscape paintings at school today. That's my first one above. I think I spent about 7 hours on it over 4 sessions. Overall I'm pleased with it, but I still see lots of room for improvement. Thursday we do our critiques where we stand up in front of the class and talk about our paintings and how well we accomplished the goals of the assignment. That should be interesting.

Because I finished my first painting quickly, I did a second one too. Some things are better in this painting, but some areas could use more work. Although I've got 4 hours in this painting, it's only 18"x24" where the first one is 36"x24" so this one looks almost finished with less time.

Here is my easel setup. It's basically an old camera tripod that a fellow traveler gave me when we were in China. (Apparently he had too may souvenirs and needed space in his luggage.) LOM made a little table that hooks onto the front two legs and a bar that threads onto the camera mount. The bar has sliding clamps to hold paintings up to 36" tall. I hang my carryall from the tripod with an "S" hook to help weight it down in case of wind. When I break it down everything (including paints, brushes, paper towels, and a water jug) fits into that blue bag except the canvas. Thank you LOM for making such a nice easel. It has worked flawlessly every time.

Do What You Love

2011-09-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

Back in May I posted about the Holstee Manifesto and how I was having trouble with even the first idea: This is your life. Do what you love and do it often. I did in fact post a copy of the manifesto by my desk, and after looking at it for months, I have made a positive first step; I am taking a painting class at the local Junior College!

I've always enjoyed painting. First it was watercolors in High School, then for many years it was Sign Painters One Shot and screen printing ink, then faux painting and craft paints when I had small children. But NOW I want to try plein air painting. I did paint a landscape in oils about 10 years ago, but then we started remodeling the house and that was the end of that. I painted it from a photo in a book about England, and I was pleased with it at the time, but now I can see all kinds of problems with it.

16"x20"

Since I had never taken a painting class at college, I had to start with Beginning Painting. I felt a bit like a Kindergartner the first few classes because he had us working on large pieces of white paper just mixing paints and shading basic shapes, but he has pushed us along fairly quickly and last week we started plein air landscapes.

I walked over to the campus one day to scope out various locations and I took a few photos. Then I came home and painted the landscape you see below. I like some things about it; like the dramatic lighting on the tree trunks, but I still see areas that could use some help. This was a nice location but so far from our classroom that I chose not to use it for my assignment.

13"x16"

Then we started on our landscapes at school and it was a whole different ballgame! Painting en plein air is so much more difficult. First of all the light keeps changing and if you're not extremely careful, you'll be chasing the shadows the whole time. Secondly, you must contend with the sun in your eyes, or on your skin, bugs, passersby, equipment problems, and landscape maintenance issues. One student, upon returning to her spot after painting for two previous sessions, found an entire tree gone! What a learning experience.

11"x14"

Then one evening I tried another small landscape from a photo. This is along the Li River which we visited in 2008. Although it was misty, the colors weren't as flat as I've depicted them here. As you can see I'm still struggling with colors.

13"x16"

So I've developed a routine: work on the plein air landscape at school during the day, and paint a small landscape from a photo in the evening. Above is Lake Tahoe from a photo I took a few years ago. I see ALL kinds of problems with this painting, but I learn something from every painting I do. And I can always slop Gesso over the bad ones and repaint them.

36"x24"

Here is the landscape from school after two sessions. I've since done one more session and it's almost done. I'll try to share that next week, but in the meantime, check out this plein air painting I did this morning. Talk about hectic! It was very early and the sun was coming through the first clouds we've seen in ages creating that wonderful rosy glow. I thought I had everything all set up and I started painting the sky frantically to capture the colors before they changed. Whew, I got it, but then I needed to clean my brush to start the shadows and Dang! no water. But I had a cup of tea, so guess what I used to clean my brush. Yep, I used my tea and continued to race along capturing the bluish shadows and grey leaves of the oak tree. Just as I was finishing up, the sun peeked through a hole in the trees, so I dabbed that in there too and called it quits. Although plein air is much more challenging, it is also much more satisfying. You really do get a sense of atmosphere that just can't been rendered from a photograph.

11"x14"

Lolita Costume

2011-07-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Teen2 is getting ready for a picnic, and {shockingly} she is applying makeup!

You can look up Lolita on the Internet, but basically it's a style of dressing up that uses modest Victorian style clothing with ruffles, petticoats, bows and cupcakes. Teen2 recently got into it and she just made this skirt, blouse and bloomers. And now she is off to the picnic with her cupcakes. Have fun Teen2!

June Blooms

2011-06-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

I wandered around my garden yesterday taking a few photos of what was blooming. The hydrangeas are looking lovely...

as are these petunias that LOM planted in the hanging baskets and several pots around the yard.

We have about 40' of star jasmine along our driveway and it is in bloom right now, so the whole garden is full of its sweet perfume.

And this pretty blue flower is on the endive that I let go to seed. It started out as a spring salad mix, but I left some of them too long and this huge flower stalk developed from the endive. Its blue flowers remind me of bachelor's buttons.

The Making of a Wall Dog

2011-06-18T15:15:00.001-07:00

I recently volunteered to paint a wall sign for a local teen music venue and today was the day to make good on my promise. So I dug out these OLD brushes and cleaned two of them. These brushes are called "fitches" and some of them are probably 30 years old. I can't tell you who they really belong to, because in a sign shop no one really owns the fitches; they just belong to the shop. (Now quills are a different story; NOBODY shares their quills. In fact I used to put a dab of pink paint on the end of mine so none of the men would want to use them.) I can't remember the last time I even painted a wall sign - that's what it's called when you paint letters directly on someone's building - but it had to be a long long, time ago, because those brushes were filthy.

Next I made a paper pattern and perforated it. In the old days we would have hand drawn the letters on the paper, but I used the computerized plotter.

Then bright and early Teen2 and I got to the jobsite and hauled our stuff up onto the canopy of the building. Working on a canopy is pure luxury - you have a wide stable work area and you can drip paint and no one knows! We taped the pattern up on the first side, pounced it, and got to painting by 8:00am. My helper looks happy, doesn't she?

The making of a "Wall Dog" typically starts with the helper doing the heavy lifting and filling in behind the journey~~man~~woman. Teen2 is good with a brush and caught right on to the painting, but she's a little nervous about moving the ladders around up there. But here it is 8:15 and she's still happy!

We were really hot even though it was only 9:30 when we finished the East side. Thank goodness the other sign faced North.

On the second side we decided to work from right to left; it doesn't make any difference when you have an exact pattern, so here she is finishing up the last letter at 11:20 and she still looks happy! I guess my little "Wall Puppy" could turn into a "Wall Dog" someday; I'd be so proud.

Here's the finished product. Not exactly the font I would have chosen, but the customer is always right, even when the sign is donated.

Another Graduation

2011-05-24T09:16:00.001-07:00

The years have flown by so quickly and suddenly Teen2 is graduating from High School. I put this banner up for her like I did for Teen1 two years ago. (It doesn't really say "Teen2"; I photoshopped over her name.)

Soon she will be going off to college and I think I'll miss her! Luckily she is only going about 2 hours away so I can visit when I need to. But in another way I'll be glad to see her on her own, making her own decisions, charting her own path, growing into a responsible adult.

Fly, Teen2, fly!

♥ Mom

Holstee Manifesto

2011-05-23T14:02:00.001-07:00

I like this. I'll bet most folks agree with these ideas, but why do we find it so hard to actually follow through on them? Are we afraid of change? Are we afraid of success? Are we just too tired to try?
I'm going to print this out and post it where I can see it every day so I can keep track of my progress in meeting these goals. I'm having a lot of trouble with the first idea right now. As a wife and mother I seem to be living my life for everyone else and never taking time to do what I love. Hmmm....gotta work on that one for sure.

Artsy Car

2011-05-17T14:57:00.001-07:00

I've always liked playing with little towns, roads, houses and the like. So when I saw this street scene recently ON A CAR ROOF, I just had to take a picture. The whole car was decorated with jewels, toys, sayings and other fun stuff.

Here's an overview, but to really appreciate the car you have to get up close.

Lizard and peace signs on one of the mirrors.

A nice saying and some flowers for gardeners.

Love and peace and celebration on the driver's door.

And the best "Day Brightener" on the passenger door. One can't help but be happy after seeing a car like this. I sometimes think I'd like to decorate a car. I think I'd do something like this:

Cool Door at UOP

2011-04-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Asparagus Festival 2011

2011-04-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

It's Asparagus Festival time again. Today is the last day so if you want some deep fried asparagus, you'd better hurry.

They also have asparagus ice cream again this year.

And of course the other food booths have all kinds of treats like strawberries and whipped cream.

I like to visit the Asparagus Commission's booth where they display asparagus as it is grown. Here are some spears that are harvest ready.

And here is a bunch of spears in the old fashioned trimming/grading gadget.

And since the festival is all about food, here's a last shot of one of Lockeford Meat's hot links. Yum!

Masses of Wisteria

2011-04-04T03:55:00.000-07:00

Our wisteria is now in full bloom and I spent quite a while outside Sunday admiring and photographing it.

I is beautiful in every form from these unopened tips...

to these about-to-open buds...

to this fully opened nectar filled flower.

Surely wisteria is one of my favorite pleasures of spring.

Victorian Costume

2011-04-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

Just imagine how cool this dress would be if she'd had a pattern! This kid continually amazes me.

Heavenly, Heavenly Wisteria

2011-04-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

The wisteria is a little late this year because of all the cold wet weather, but since the last few days have been deliciously warm, it has burst out with a mass of purple flowers. You can find me out under the trellis with eyes closed, inhaling deeply.

2011-03-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of cute little butterflies that visited my yard several years ago. Aren't they adorable?

Finally Spring

2011-03-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

I think it's finally spring here in California. We've had a cold wet windy season up to now, but yesterday and today are looking perfect: blue blue skies, white puffy clouds, gentle breezes, and green fields. Here is a photo of the wind generators on the Altamont. We drove by them Saturday on our way home from Nova Albion and I was reminded of a certain someone from Arkansas who snapped a photo of them last December. And who just happens to have a birthday today. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY to that very special person!

St. Baldrick's Day

2011-03-28T14:18:00.001-07:00

When the Lord of the Manor and I first met many, many years ago, he had beautiful red hair and I always hoped one of our children would have red hair but that never happened. So when Teen2 decided she wanted red hair I thought it was a good idea. And I love the color, but maybe not the cut, but when you have a 17 year old daughter you learn to pick your battles and this was just not one of them. After all, it's just hair! Recently she surprised me again by signing up for St. Baldrick's day. It's an event that raises money for childhood cancer research. She raised $300 and on St. Patrick's day her school had a head shaving event where 30 kids got their heads shaved.

Several of the girls also donated their hair to Locks of Love, which Teen2 has done twice. It was a great cause and I'm proud of her and it's soooo easy to get ready for school in the morning. Now, I wonder what she will do next with her hair?

Nova Albion 2011

2011-03-26T18:03:00.001-07:00

Teen2 found out about this event last week so at the last minute we decided to attend. It's a short drive from our town to Santa Clara, California where the event was held. When we walked in Teen2 thought she'd died and gone to heaven. Needless to say, I think there will be some Steampunk costumes in our future.

I too, was smitten by the genre and think I'll be a lady adventurer like the one above. Pith helmet, sensible skirt and jacket, netting on the hat for a buggy day, leather accessories. She carried a bird cage with some birds in it, but I think I might add a leather notebook full of botanical drawings and a magnifying glass instead.

The vendors all had on fabulous costumes.

And everyone was happy to pose for photos.

Check out these cute girls. Only the girl on the left is not a girl. That's Matt who we just met last week at the League of Proper Villians meetup. What a fun group! Thanks for making us feel so welcome.

Not Even In The Running

2011-02-04T08:26:00.001-08:00

I didn't win Pioneer Woman's Photo Contest; I wasn't even in the runnning. Maybe I should have entered the Hot Cocoa roses in the above photo?

Or maybe I should have entered this vase full of soft pink roses? Or maybe I should just keep taking photos for my own enjoyment here Amongst The Oaks.

Pioneer Woman's Photo Contest

2011-01-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo I just uploaded to Pioneer Woman's Photo Contest. I took this almost two years ago over at the Junior College's garden. I didn't think it was so great at the time, but when I opened it on my computer I really liked the mysterious and delicate way the leaves folded around the flower. I don't know what the prize is, but if you have some nice flower photos maybe you should enter too.

Teeny Tiny Bathroom

2010-12-18T15:56:00.001-08:00

After a long break we are back to working on the cottage again. The Lord of the Manor installed the bathroom sink last weekend and today Teen2 and I made some curtains.

This teeny tiny bathroom is only about 3'x8' and the sink area cantilevers out over a flower bed. We made a curtain for the window and a curtain to hide the plumbing under the sink. To the left is the shower and to the right is the toilet. Now we just need to connect the water heater and we will be ready to host a guest here Amongst The Oaks.

The Annual Holiday Photo

2010-12-09T14:01:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we took our Annual Family Holiday Photo. We got a good one that I will be sending out, but I wanted to share this blooper with you. I set up the camera and stomped down a trail to where the rest of the family was sitting. Then I set the timer and started towards them but I fell down and was wallowing around in the snow trying to get up when the camera took the picture. That's why they're all laughing.

Good times here Amongst The Oaks.

Random Party Photos

2010-11-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Just had to share a few more photos from the Halloween party. Above is Myrtle before she was Moaning.

Here are spiders fleeing the castle. Remember Ron saying, "Spiders! Why does it have to be spiders? Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies'?"

Here are two cute students. They perfectly illustrate that costumes needn't be difficult or expensive to be effective.

Oh, here is one of my favorite costumes. She is Tonks with the pink hair and pig snout. Too cute!

These two photos show the party in the Gryffindor Common Room after they won the Quiddich cup. The music was loud, everyone was dancing, and I'm pretty sure some snogging was going on somewhere.

Here is one of the educational decrees that I (Umbridge) posted in the Entry Hall.

Here is Bellatrix LeStrange's dark mark. Pretty cool, eh?

And here are Hermione's books and a jar for S.P.E.W. donations. Of which she received NONE! What a bunch of cheapskates.

Hogwarts Party Details

2010-11-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite details about Hogwarts was the floating candles in the Great Hall. To recreate that I used those battery operated candles you see around Christmas. You've probably seen them before. The neat thing about them is you can put them in your own candle holders, turn the switch on at 5pm, and every day they will come on at 5pm and stay on for about 5 hours. The batteries last for months, so even in the cold, dark days of January they still come on to cheer your evenings. I got my first batch years ago from the Lillian Vernon catalog, but I've since found them online here.

To get the Great Hall effect, I took them out of their holders, tied thread around the bulbs and suspended them from the ceiling of my dining room with clear pushpins. I was quite happy with them and I think the Fat Lady was too.

The invitations were printed in green ink using a font I found online called Hogwarts. I tried to use similar verbage to Harry's first acceptance letter. And I tried to address each one using descriptive terminology for each kid's bedroom. If we had no idea about their bedroom we used the Cupboard under the Stairs.

When the guests arrived they had the option to don the Sorting Hat and be assigned a house. We had several stickers for each house, but the Gryffindor stickers seemed to be the most popular.

We also found some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and gave them as prizes. They are always fun. The flavors seem to change over the years. I remember getting a dirt flavored one before and I heard there was earwax and vomit too, but this year the icky ones were FISH, CHEESE, ONION, PEPPER, GRAVY, and SAUSAGE. And yes, they really taste like their names.

And Ollivander (Teen2) made a little display of wands that guests could borrow.

I hope you enjoyed visiting our Harry Potter theme Halloween party. Now, who's excited about November 19th? I know we are!

Start of Term Party

2010-10-31T16:48:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween party last night was wonderful if I do say so myself. We had butterbeer which was quite good. We made the butterscotch base ourselves, but I think it would be just as good to use premade butterscotch syrup. Basically you blend a little syrup with cream soda, top the glass up with more cream soda, and float a dollop of slightly whipped cream on top. Just like what is served at the Three Broomsticks.

We also had Scabbers scampering around...

and Crookshanks was seen soaking up some late afternoon sunshine.

And bless his little heart, Dobby nearly wore himself out cooking, cleaning, serving and cleaning up. I heard pots and pans being clanked around in the kitchens all night long.

Dumbledor gave an inspiring Start of Term welcome speech...

and introduced the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Mad Eye Moody.
We had several promising new students; Luna Lovegood, Cho Chang, Harry Potter, Cedric Diggory, young Bellatrix LeStrange, and Moaning Myrtle.

But several characters that showed up seemed to be at the wrong party; a SWAT guy, a crack dealer, Abraham Lincoln, Indiana Jones, Dr. House, Pyramid Head, and the Mad Hatter.

This strange woman was lurking around all night with a clipboard. Does anyone know who she was and what she was up to? I don't really trust her.

House Elves Only!

2010-10-29T10:00:00.001-07:00

You know how when you have a party and everyone ends up in the kitchen no matter how nicely you have set everything up in all the other rooms? I'm hoping this will keep a few of the kids out of the kitchen. What do you think?

It's just an old sheet with the message stenciled on in green spray paint. Then we tore it up from the bottom so you could pass through it easily. The cats are having a lot of fun with it, but I hope

I didn't just make a plaything for them. Oh well, on to the menu.

The Fat Lady

2010-10-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sooooo......
Our library is going to be the Gryffindor Common Room for our Halloween party and of course we needed a portrait of the Fat Lady in the Pink Dress on the door. I cut two pieces of brown paper; one to fit each sliding door and found a photo of the Fat Lady on the Internet. Then I sketched her in and colored her in with oil pastels. Then I finished out the edges to look like a stone wall. Now, if we can just remember the password! Was it Caput Draconus? or Fortuna Major? or Pig Snout?

Inside the Three Broomsticks

2010-10-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

The Three Broomsticks is all set up now. I tried to make it look pub-like, but I really think it needs some antlers, don't you?

Anyway, we have a preponderance of red plaid, pewter mugs, playing cards, and even

a shrunken head that Teen2 made out of an apple.

And a bat flew through too. So what do you think?

Hogwarts and Hogsmeade

2010-10-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

Here is the set up for the front of the Three Broomsticks. I had to position a spot light up on the siding to help the name show, but I'm quite happy with it. Next I'll start decorating the inside to look like a pub.

And here is the Hogwarts sign over the front door. It too is made of Sintra (that PVC sign material). It was more difficult to illuminate and I'm not exactly happy with how it looks. Maybe I'll try another spot light from a different angle. I want it to be easy to read and right now the shadows are too confusing. Maybe the green light isn't right? What do you think. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Three Broomsticks

2010-10-18T13:33:00.001-07:00

One of my plans for our Harry Potter Halloween Party is to turn our little cottage/shed/studio into the Three Broomsticks. I figure the kids will want hang out there just like they did in the books, so I'm trying to make it authentic yet kid proof. I plan to arrange two small tables and eight chairs like you'd see in a pub. I've put away the girly stuff and hung some red plaid curtains. I'll set out pewter mugs and cups, and a few bowls of snacks. I've even found a recipe for Butterbeer which I plan to test sometime this week.

LOM has already made the sign for out front. It's about 24"x30" and made out of Sintra. (Sintra is a PVC product that we use all the time in the sign industry.) That font is called Hogwarts and I found it online. Isn't it perfect? Has anyone got any more cute ideas for decorating the Three Broomsticks?

Grain Painting

2010-10-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

We get some interesting jobs at work.... Like this grain painting on antique automobile parts. The owner is restoring the vehicle and the original parts were grain painted but worn, so he came to us to get them redone. Grain painting is not something we ordinarily do, but this man is an old and loyal customer so we are willing to try just about anything for him.

First we photographed all the parts and got color matches for the background and glazing. Then we sandblasted the parts, primed them and painted them this ochre color. Here is the glove box door.

I don't have any fancy graining brushes so I cut V shaped chunks out of a throw away brush to make one. Then I mixed equal parts faux painting glaze and a very dark brown color. Here is the "graining" brush loaded with glaze.

Step one is to apply the glaze in slow steady strips across the piece. If the lines are a little wiggly it doesn't matter, but the thickness of the paint should be consistent.

Notice how the curved window frames are even more wiggly because it's harder to do irregular shapes. But seriously, it won't matter.

Step Two is to drag a soft dry brush across the grain. This is where consistent application of paint in the first step really shows its importance. If you applied too much, it just makes a big smear, if you applied too little, it won't pull out the horizontal marks.

This is how you want it to look.

Step three is to stipple the wettest areas with a stiff dry brush. Stipple means to tap the surface with the tip of the brush. Above is a window frame and below is the glove box door after stippling.

Step four is to drag the soft dry brush back over the wettest areas with the grain this time.

I repeated those four steps again and again as I worked my way around the six window frames, the dash, and the glove box door. And then I repeated them again and again and again for the second coat.

This is how it finally looked. So don't be intimidated by grain painting. It just takes some faux painting glaze, a few simple tools, and lots of patience.

Locks of Love Again

2010-10-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

It's been two years since Teen2 cut her hair for Locks of Love, and here she is doing it again, but this time, it's a lot shorter. I just love it and can hardly wait to see her elf ears peeking out. Well done, Teen2!

And a Murder Mystery Too

2010-10-03T03:01:00.000-07:00

Remember when I showed you this and said it was the start of something big? I'm glad to say it's almost finished. We have been invited to a murder mystery party this month and the Lord of the Manor supposed to be... No, wait, I'll let you guess.

I got the shirt, vest, jacket, and pants at a thrift store and I made the tie and added some lace to the cuffs of the jacket and pinned together some odd ribbons to hang from his pocket.

Then I checked the Halloween store for the hat and they had it alright, but wanted $35.00 for it. Too expensive for me, so I shopped online and found it for $25.00! I added two hatpins, and a real peacock feather and, Voila, his Mad Hatter costume is complete!

Isn't it a lovely hat? I had nightmares of myself trying to make one. I'm sure glad I found it. It has plenty of hair so I can snip off a bit for the wild red eyebrows too.

Now I just need to get busy on my costume. I'm supposed to be...No, wait, I'll let you guess...

later...

Harry Potter Halloween Party

2010-10-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello? Is anyone there? I'm sure you all thought I'd dried up and blown away, but no, I'm still here slogging through life one day at a time. It's been a wild and busy year with one crisis after another; health issues and surgeries for family members, business woes and the stress they bring, money going out and out and out, and just today $600 for a new motor for the washing machine! Don't get me wrong, there have been some good times too, but I for one will be glad to wave Bye bye to 2010. 2011 has GOT to be better, right?

This time of year I always start thinking of Halloween and planning a party. We are doing a Harry Potter theme this year. I've printed the invitations to look like Harry's acceptance letter and I've started setting up the rooms. The living room will be Professor Trelawny's classroom; Divination.

To create a smaller door, I built stone walls between two of the openings from the entry hall. Well, they aren't really stone walls....

they are brown paper that I colored to look like stone walls and taped into position. Then I hung tablecloths in the opening and pulled them back with some old tassels and made some glittery letters to say D I V I N A T I O N.

Then I moved the sofa out and substituted three small tables with red tablecloths and arranged comfy chairs around them.

At each table is a crystal ball. Ok, it's not really a crystal ball, but a glass globe from some old light fixture. I found them at thrift stores. I spent less than $2.00 for all three of them. I set them in some gadgets I found at the thrift store and around the house. I think maybe I'll spritz a little white paint in them to cloud them up a bit, but they look pretty good, don't they?

I think Professor Trelawny made them read Tarot cards too, so I scattered some of them around on this table too. I wonder what the King of Swords means?

At this table the students are studying tea leaves. Remember when Trelawny sees the Grim in Harry's cup? That's not the Grim in there now, is it? Gosh, I hope no one gets the Grim at our party.

Now I'm off to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I've been watching a lot of Harry Potter movies lately for inspiration and we can HARDLY WAIT until November when the next movie comes out. Are you a Harry Potter fan? Which character would you be if you came to our party?

The Start of Something Big

2010-09-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

It's that time again people. Yes, that magical time of the year when I start thinking of Halloween. And costumes. And parties.

I hit the thrift stores Saturday and I've already started sewing too. Here is the start of LOM's costume. It shouldn't be too hard to guess who he is going to be. We bought the pants, shirt, vest, and jacket and with embellishments they will be fine. I'm making the tie, hat, and hatpins. I'll keep you posted on the other costumes as they come together.

SacAnime and Pyramid Head

2010-09-05T07:16:00.001-07:00

I survived SacAnime yesterday, but it was a loooong day. Everyone looked like they were having a great time and the new Radisson location is so much nicer than the old Scottish Rites location. I did feel a little sorry for the regular guests though. So much noise, confusion, singing, dancing, cosplaying - some of them looked a little confused.

Here's what my sweet baby wore. Isn't she cute? It's called Pyramid Head and it's from the Silent Hill video game. Disgusting, really, but she got a lot of attention.
I hope you all have a nice peaceful Labor Day Weekend.

Greek Party

2010-09-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

I've made this post into a Tablescape Thursday over at Between Naps on the Porch.

Greetings from Greece! Okay, maybe not Greece, but our own back yard where we recently had a Greek dinner party for our Gormande Club.

We took our dining room table out to the patio, rigged a white awning above it, and set the table with white, blue and gold.

The runner is simply a piece of sheer fabric that reminded me of the Mediterranean. We used old blue glasses that we inherited from LOM's grandparents which matched the runner perfectly. I made those collars with the Greek key design to go around candle holders and a vase that I already had.

As the sun was lowering into the West we poured the Ouzo and started with mezede (snacks);

kalamata olives,

dolmades,

and saganaki (fried kefalotyri cheese). We also had pita bread and a sort of rolled version of spanakopita.

Then we progressed to horiatiki,

avgolemono, and the main course souvlaki and potatoes. which I failed to photograph. because it was getting dark. yeah, that's it, it was too dark. couldn't be the ouzo, could it?

And for dessert we had home-made baklava by Teen1. Oh, my, it was good.

Eventually it got dark enough to light the candles and we ate our dessert in their soft glow. In proper Greek style, we made dinner last for several hours and enjoyed our Escape To Greece immensely.

If you want to taste REAL Greek food, Stockton is having a Greek Festival on September 10-12 at the Greek Orthodox Church. Check it our here. I wonder if they will serve Ouzo?

A Tale of Two Cats

2010-08-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

Sophie: fat, docile, fixed, female.
Ever watchful of birds and squirrels.
The consummate DREAMER.

Nike: thin, scrappy, scarred, tom.
Ever watchful of humans and free meals.
The prudent REALIST.

And so it would seem we now have TWO cats here Amongst The Oaks.

Conservatory of Flowers

2010-07-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

After Teen1's doctor appointment Friday we popped over to Golden Gate Park and visited the Conservatory of Flowers. It had been years since I'd been there and Teen1 had never been there. It was even more interesting than I remembered. Not only is it a gorgeous Victorian structure, but it is full of fascinating plants - and you know how I love gardens.

It is divided into zones; Lowland Tropics, Highland Tropics, Aquatic Plants, Potted Plants and Special Exhibits. These orchids were in the Highland Tropic area.

Despite its high humidity, I enjoyed the Aquatic Plant area the most. There were several hanging baskets of these fantastical Asian pitcher plants in various sizes and colors.

And these beautiful water lilies.

In the Lowland Tropic zone there were ferns, coffee plants, vanilla plants, and banana plants. The oldest resident of the conservatory, a 100 year old philodendron also lives there. It reaches way up into the steel support beams high above everyone's head.

Another huge plant is the Amazon Water Lily. The leaves of these "water platters" sometimes grow 6' across! Their flower starts out white, but turns pink the second day.

If you love plants and flowers and are looking for a nice day out, perhaps you should consider the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. It's a fascinating place. For more information click here: Conservatory of Flowers

Culinary Institute of America

2010-07-18T07:26:00.001-07:00

We had a little celebration of sorts last night. It was Teen1's celebration of "back to normal" after her surgery. And where would we go to celebrate? Greystones, of course!

Their seasonal menu was full of fresh summery items last night.

Here are the first courses.

Here are the main courses.

And here's the lovely little lady.

And her old old parents.

Back to the lovely food. We always start with the "Temptations" which are served on tiny plates stacked on a wrought iron rack in the middle of the table. Here is the watermelon soup topped with radish threads. It was cool, sweet, and delicate; very nice.

Here we have mozzarella, tiny tomatoes, basil broth and pine nuts.

This is deep fried Halibut squares with tomato salsa. LOM really raved over this.

Pate on crostini. For a pate lover like me this was heavenly.

And finally Gorgonzola stuffed salami.

And now I must apologize for losing the salad photos. I remember taking them, but they are gone from the camera. Sorry.

Here is the Pan Seared Halibut with tomatillo salsa and squash and potatoes. I had a bite and it was delicious.

And this is the spice rubbed young chicken with basil broth, squash, and cherry tomatoes.

And I had Monterey Bay sardines with mixed greens, Yukon gold potatoes, and salsa verde. But the best part was the glass of Benessere Rosato that was served with it. The wine's fruitiness perfectly complimented the saltiness of the fish. What a great match.

And for dessert we shared the lava cake. Always perfect. A perfect way to cap off a perfect dinner.

Custom Converse

2010-07-15T14:17:00.001-07:00

Before Teen2 went off to summer school we got her a new pair of white hightops.

When we went to visit her Tuesday, she showed us what she had done to her shoes. Wow. I wonder what else she is learning there at art school.

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone!
I made a decoration for my front door. I took a hat that was left over from the Tea Party, put some flag-ish ribbon on it, and embellished it with firecrackers! Terrible festive, don't you think?

I just hope no one decides to put a match to them. That would even be louder than my door knocker, which is unbelievably loud.

We hope to go black berry picking today. It's a tradition here Amongst The Oaks. Then we will make a berry cobbler, but don't tell Teen2, she's already mad that she missed the lorikeets, that might send her over the edge.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

2010-07-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

I left my heart in San Francisco last week. Right behind those windows up there. Yep, Teen2 is at summer school at the Academy of Art University taking classes in computer animation. She found out about the school several months ago and her Daddy signed her up for their summer program.

She was the first to arrive so she got the softest mattress and the desk by the window. Her room mates are from Florida, Detroit, and Montana. They are sharing this huge room with two bunk beds, four desk, and four wardrobes. The room looks pretty good here, but I'm sure it looks like a bomb site now as she called me today and said her roommates are messy! (This is coming from Teen2, the queen of messy rooms, so they must be really bad.)

Three meals per day are available just across the street, and there's a kitchen available too. The school has shuttle buses that run to each location several times daily, but Teen2 said she is walking to most classes. There's a Walgreens close by and a grocery store about 6 blocks away. I'm sure she'll be fine, but....

I still worry about my heart walking around in that big, strange city.

Knotted Lace and Foreign Visitors

2010-06-30T07:14:00.001-07:00

We've had some wonderful visits lately from far away friends. Last Sunday LOM's cousin who lives in Guam visited. It had been two years since we'd seen him and his wife. Back in the 1980s they cruised the South Pacific in their yacht and eventually settled in Guam where they have swallowed the anchor. It was fun to see them and their daughter, son-in-law, and new twin baby grand daughters.

Then last night we went out to dinner with friends from Australia. We met him waaaaaay back in the 1970s. We both had Mooney airplanes and flew to Mexico several times together. Then we ended up buying sailboats and cruising, but never together. He cruised thousands of miles whilst we only went to Mexico and back. He eventually met his wife and settled in Australia, using it as a base for the last 15 years of cruising in the Indian Ocean.

His wife is a wonderful woman who makes lace. She's well known in the worldwide lace community and has written two books on Mediterranean lace. She was born in Greece, lived several years in Scotland and immigrated to Australia about 1960. She recently got interested in this Turkish knotted lace and will be teaching classes at the Portland Lace Society's 2010 convention from July 25 through July 31. She gave me this amazing bookmark last night. Traditionally the lace makers used flowers to symbolize their feelings and intentions. She mentioned that she might work up patterns for different Australian wildflowers and publish another book. I am in awe.

So that's what's been happening lately here Amongst The Oaks.

Lorikeets

2010-06-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

Poor Teen1 hasn't been out of the house for weeks whilst recovering from surgery, so yesterday we thought she was ready for an outing. Our local zoo presently has a lorikeet exhibit that allows you to go inside the aviary and feed them. We've been wanting to do that for ages so yesterday was the day! Those noisy birds didn't disappoint us.

They check you and your little cup of sugary water out a while, then usually hop down onto your hand to lick it up. It's very entertaining to have them so close.

There are several varieties; rainbow, red banded, green naped, scaly breasted, and the Stella, an all black one. They all belong to someone in Florida who loaned them to our zoo for several months.

Pretty, friendly, entertaining... they seem like the perfect pet, right? But there are a couple of drawbacks; they bite as you can see above, and when they poo, it squirts out about 3', hot, wet and icky. Yuck.

Mountain Ranch Garden Tour

2010-06-07T05:49:00.000-07:00

We went on a Garden Tour Saturday and it was a wonderful day out. The tour was in Mountain Ranch, an old Mother Lode town up in the Sierra Foothills. Their community center needs work, and it was the recipient of the proceeds. They are a little higher than we are, so their season is about three weeks later, consequently the iris and peonies were reaching perfection.

Most of the houses on the tour were very old by California standards. This one was built in 1852 as a stage stop/post office/bar. It still functions today as a cattle ranch and farm. The garden had several very old plants including these peonies and a huge old wisteria covering the south side of the home.

This is the Mountain Ranch Hotel. The portion you see, built in 1906, was an addition to an older section. This property is available for $1 million. You could fix it up and rent it our for weddings and parties. It even has a swimming pool.

The tour featured arts and crafts too. At the hotel several artists were displaying their work.

Here is the largest garden. It recently had a water feature installed, and the garden was still in a state of disarray, but it was the perfect site for the crafts tables. Since moving here 12 years ago, the owners of this garden have built a huge stone wall all around the property and are now starting to landscape the garden. The home is an 1860 adobe building that originally held a store, but was expanded over the years and has functioned as all sorts of things; butcher, bar, post office, boarding house, some even say a brothel!

One of the interesting things about these gardens was their use of recycled items. Every garden seemed to have lots of rusty things serving new purposes. Here is a plow disk holding succulents. And it looks quite nice, doesn't it?

And here is a rusty bucket serving as a finial on this lovely rock column. I like the rusty gate too.

Old stone houses, rusty accessories, water features...they're nice, but the reason I go on garden tours is to see the flowers and I wasn't disappointed at the Mountain Ranch Garden Tour.

Fanime 2010

2010-05-31T22:29:00.000-07:00

You see the strangest things on the streets of San Jose, California every Memorial Day weekend....
sometimes you recognize them....

and sometimes you don't.

Sometimes you gotta go, "Awwwwww"....

and sometimes you gotta go, "Eeewwww!"

But you've just got to love their dedication, creativity,

and plain old hard work

to make these wonderful costumes.

This was Teen2's third time at Fanime and my second. Fanime is a sort of convention for gamers/anime fans/cosplayers; but if you have any young folks at home, perhaps they can explain it better. I just enjoy looking at all the great costumes and sometimes wish I could dress up too. Hmmmm, maybe I could be Betty White?

Mardi Gras in May?

2010-05-23T12:02:00.001-07:00

Happy Mardi Gras everyone! What, you say it's not Mardi Gras? You'll have to tell our Gourmand Club, because last night we definitely thought it was.

We had crayfish, red beans and rice, collard greens, and King Cake for dessert. I've never had King Cake, heck, until last week, I'd never even heard of King Cake, but I made one anyway. It's not really a cake at all. It's sweet yeast bread that's slathered in cinnamon and braided. Kind of like stollen or cinnamon rolls, but iced and sprinkled with colored sugars.

And what a mess I made. I actually laughed out loud at this stage, but when I put it on the fancy platter it looked pretty good. And folks who'd had it before said it tasted good too, but what a lot of trouble just to hide a little plastic baby. Unless I go to another Mardi Gras party I don't think I'll be making this again. If I'm going to go to the trouble to make a sweet yeast bread, I think I'll just finish it off as cinnamon rolls.

But that's what I like about our Gourmand Club; it forces one to try new things, experiment with new recipes, and experience different cultures. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Hot Cocoa

2010-05-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

This rose is named Hot Cocoa. I love its various shades of dusty brownish red.

Sidewalk Art

2010-05-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

Teen2 participated in a nice project over the weekend. It was a sidewalk art festival at a local shopping center. Her high school art department has been doing this for several years. This year's theme was Old Masters with a New Twist.
Teen2 chose The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Hokusai, painted in 1832. In the original Mt. Fuji is placid and the men on the boat are bowing before the wave, but in her version Godzilla is riding the wave, Mt. Fuji is erupting, and the boatmen are firing weapons at Godzilla. And the sun is the giant red dot of Japan's flag.

This one is Degas' The Dance Class painted in 1874. The students and teacher are all fish! Very nice.

And everyone recognized Van Gogh's The Starry Night, but in this one Batman is on the scene.

This is an adaptation of Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp painted in 1632. Their teacher did this one. I guess he just couldn't resist - he had to be here all day checking kids in and out and passing out chalk, so why not? The faces are his students and that's him on the table. Isn't that a riot? I don't know if he's trying to say they've sucked the life out of him, or just saying a teacher gives and gives of himself, but it's awfully funny.

There were also paintings set up like a gallery in an empty shop. This is Van Gogh's Oleanders painted in 1888 - well actually it was painted by Teen2 in 2009. Anyway, I really like how the instructor makes the kids study and paint the old masters. Maybe we've got a modern day Van Gogh living with us here Amongst The Oaks.

Speaking of the Census.....

2010-05-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

Did you know the 1930 census is now available online to genealogists? Yep, it is and that's where I've been lately; searching the 1930 census (through ancestry.com) to find all those lost relatives in my family tree. And I'm doing fairly well. The trick is to search any and all first names and/or initials, use spouse's names to further refine the search, and just keep digging.

So I've decided to take a break from blogging for a while and concentrate on my genealogy. But I'll post a photo of one of my flowers now and then just to let you know I'm still around. Thanks for visiting us here Amongst The Oaks.

Old Family Photo 1947

2010-05-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Recently we celebrated my great aunt's 99th birthday. There were cards, flowers, cousins, cake and old family photos. This was one of the old photos. It shows a family reunion at my Granny and Grandpa's house around 1947. Six of my grandmother's siblings (out of 11) made it to the party with their spouses and children. So I easily recognize my mom and her siblings, and some of my cousins, but some of those great uncles and second cousins are a mystery. Thankfully, my dad and aunt recognize more of the people and we are gradually figuring everyone out. Thank goodness for these old relatives and their memories. And thank goodness for the ancestor who had the idea to record this occasion on film.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to you

from all of us

here Amongst The Oaks

3-D Chalk Art

2010-04-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

Amtrak finally posted the photos from the Asparagus Festival and here is ours. We had fun hamming it up. You can see other people's photos here.

Monday Mosaic - Asparagus Festival

2010-04-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

In celebration of our 25th Asparagus Festival I am sharing this mosaic of photos I took there over the weekend. Working from the center, up and clockwise, they are:

Amazing Chalk art by Tracy Lee Stum - you can see more photos here
Asparagus Ice Cream - It was very good, but quite subtle
Stilt Walking Entertainers - always a hit with the kids
California Repercussion Band - a pleasant surprise
Velocity Circus - Wow! these guys are great
Our Flag at City Hall
Tyson the Skateboarding Bulldog - Tyson is so cute and obviously loves skateboarding
Spectators at City Hall
Hundreds of Volunteers Making Deep Fried Asparagus - It couldn't happen without them
Foster Farms "No Plumping" campaign - they even had that old car there
Asparagus Display by the California Asparagus Commission - their site has recipes too
Stockton's Own Rima Barkett, Cookbook Author - we watched her cooking demonstration and then she shared what she'd cooked.
and an Asparagus Festival Shopping Bag

Thanks for joining me here Amongst The Oaks and
Mary at the Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Good Weather for a Festival

2010-04-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness the rain stopped and now we can set up the entry gate banners for the Asparagus Festival. Our crew was out there early this morning assembling the frameworks and attaching the banners. I ran by to get a few photos and check if they needed anything else. Sure enough, the Festival needs one more price sign, so I'm going to jump right on that and deliver it at noon.

The weather promises to be perfect for the Festival; 75 to 80 degrees with gentle breezes. So if you need a fun day out, come to Stockton for the 25th Asparagus Festival. It runs three days: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 7pm.

Asparagus Festival Preparations

2010-04-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

It's Asparagus Festival time here in Stockton, California. If you are looking for a FUN festival you'd better come to Stockton this Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Not only do we have the yummiest deep fried asparagus, but we have great entertainment, arts, crafts, and a skateboarding dog! And I'm excited to see that the famous street painter Tracy Lee Stum will be here too. She paints wonderful illusions with chalk right on the sidewalk.

We have been busy, busy, busy at work getting ready for the Festival; making and installing lots of signs and banners. We do this every year. It's always hectic, but I still enjoy it. And during all that hard work, this is the reward I keep thinking about:

If you'd like to see other things we saw at last year's Asparagus Festival, click here. Hope to see you at the Festival!

Outside My Kitchen Window

2010-04-16T06:08:00.001-07:00

Happy Spring from here Amongst The Oaks. The Joseph's Coat roses are looking splendid just now. This first flush of blooms will last two weeks and then I'll get a ladder and cut off the spent flowers and we'll get a second bloom and more flowers throughout the summer, but it never looks as wonderful as this first bloom. So I had to share it with you.

That little bed beneath the window has some oregano and chives, but I think I'll plant more herbs there soon. It's so handy to step outside the kitchen for a snip of something. Rosemary grows like a weed, and sage would do well there too. And maybe some parsley, but not basil. We usually plant about 12 basil plants out in the vegetable garden where they get more sun and more water. We do love our pesto.

Thinking of planting and enjoying the roses here Amongst The Oaks.

Stuffed Grape Leaves

2010-04-15T06:33:00.001-07:00

We are thinking of hosting a Greek dinner in June for our Gourmand Club, so I decided to experiment with a Greek appetizer. I found a recipe for stuffed grape leaves that called for apricots, which sounded good, so Saturday morning I gathered these organic, free range leaves from the field behind our house. I picked only the most perfect ones and boiled them for 5 minutes to make them pliable. You can purchase them in brine at the store, but it made me feel good that I could harvest them for free.

Here's the mixture that goes inside: rice, spinach, apricots, a shallot, lemon juice, salt and pepper. You put a tablespoon of the mixture on the stem, fold up and over, then in from the right and left, and tucking neatly roll them up. The mixture conforms to the roll and they are surprisingly easy to make.

Then you arrange them on extra leaves in a saute pan, drizzle with olive oil and vegetable broth (of which I had none so I used chicken broth which I'm sure wasn't right), cover them with more extra leaves, and simmer them for 30 minutes.

Then you arrange them on a platter and top them with squares of feta cheese. Ta da! And they tasted very good, but here are the changes I'm planning.

Use vegetable broth because the chicken added a wrong flavor.
Make more, lots more, because they were really good.
Serve them with the more traditional yogurt sauce instead of the feta cheese because the cheese splits and falls off when you try to eat one.

All in all this was a successful experiment here Amongst The Oaks. Kalí óreksi!

Boeuf Bourguignon

2010-04-13T04:21:00.000-07:00

Since seeing Julie and Julia last summer, we have talked about making Boeuf Bourguignon. So we borrowed MIL's cookbook and decided today was the day since it was blustery and rainy and we couldn't go outside and work in the garden.

The recipe is long and fiddly and dirties up a lot of pans, but it is sooooo good, you don't really care.

Here are the lovely chunks of beef.

Don't they look lovely after they are browned?

Here are the onions being browned. I think they were my favorite part of the stew.

But I do love mushrooms too.

So here is the finished stew; rich and winey and oniony and just delicious.

It made a fine dinner for a rainy Sunday evening here Amongst The Oaks.

Monday Mosaic - After The Rain

2010-04-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's rain everything looked so fresh, clean and bright in the morning sun. I like the way the warmth of the sun was making the fence all steamy. I am joining Mary at the Little Red House for Monday Mosaic. Thanks for visiting us here Amongst The Oaks.

The Scents of Spring

2010-04-09T13:41:00.001-07:00

I just love Spring and some of my favorite things about Spring are the scents. Like these Easter Lilies on the buffet in my dining room. Every time I walk past them I catch a whiff of their delicious scent. Love that.

And my first Double Delight rose opened this morning. Double love that.

And then there are these bright stock flowers with their spicy scent.

And my surprise for the year. I didn't realize Cineraria has such a pleasant scent. I'll be getting more of these.

And of course lilac is still blooming in last weekend's bouquet on the Easter table.

And good old Joseph's Coat covers the south wall of my kitchen. Several blooms are open and it is not only a beautiful sight, but another source of the scents of spring here Amongst The Oaks.

Steam Punk Invasion

2010-04-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

We have been invaded by a Steampunk here Amongst The Oaks. I found this gun and these goggles and these gloves in the kitchen the other day.

I happen to know the gun shoots nerf darts so I'm not too worried, but it sure looks real doesn't it?

It looks to me like this Steampunk has seen some rough action over the years. Look at all the scratches and scuffs on the goggles.

This sight and level on the gun are cool.

More evidence of heavy fighting.

But what are these, antennae?

Even the gloves are old and worn. What will I find next, spats?

Easter Tidbits

2010-04-06T04:07:00.000-07:00

We had a good Easter with lots of fun and good food. Let's start with the ubiquitous Peeps, now in neon colors too. I heard on the radio the other day that Americans purchase 700 million Peeps a year. I guess most of them get eaten, but some must end up like this. How sad. We ate ours. Of course from the Peep's point of view that is just as sad as microwave jousting.

We also had these salmon dip appetizers. The dip is cream cheese, salmon, onion puree, and a little sour cream whirled in the Cuisinart. It is then piped onto endive leaves and garnished with alfalfa sprouts. Yum.

And I made these watercress sandwiches again. And we had a crudite platter, but I didn't get a photo of that.

And Kim made this cheesy bunny. Cream cheese, onions, and herbs. Isn't he cute?

For the rest of the meal we had the same menu as last year, but different desserts. This year we had carrot cake, angel food cake with strawberries, and layer cake with chocolate frosting.

Because of the rain we had to stay indoors, so after dinner we played games. And shot nerf guns. In the dining room. And I wonder why frosting is found on the walls later? The girls told me the Lord of the Manor did it with a stray shot to the carrot cake! Oy vey! Just a typical day here Amongst The Oaks.

Monday Mosaic - Afternoon Tea

2010-04-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

I am joining Mary once again with a Monday Mosaic. This mosaic has images from our recent Tea Party.

Changes, Changes, Changes

2010-04-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter from Amongst The Oaks

If there's one thing we can depend on this time of year, it's change. And the weather forecast for our Easter Party isn't letting us down. It has been so nice the last few weeks, but now rain is expected on Sunday, so our party plans have changed.

We were going to barbecue, play croquet, and eat outside like we have done so many Easters in the past, but with rain expected we decided to set up tables in the house.

I set up a table in the living room next to the window with this lovely green cloth, white doilies, pink dishes, and pink napkins.

I also set up this round table in the living room with a pink flowered cloth, white doilies, pink dishes and pink napkins.

Then I set up the dining table for twelve with Johnson Bros. Summer Chintz, a white flowered table cloth, and purple napkins.

Here are the pink dishes with the place cards I made.

I thought I had it all figured out, but then things started changing again. One family called and said they weren't coming so I removed three plates and re-arranged the place cards.

Then another family called and said they weren't coming so I removed an entire table and re-arranged all the dishes and place cards again. I'm sure it will be a lovely day, but I just hope there are no more surprises, because I'm tired of shuffling tables and dishes around here Amongst The Oaks.

A Tea Party from Long Ago

2010-03-31T06:24:00.001-07:00

All this talk of Tea Parties got me to thinking about ones we've had in years past so I found this album page from 1997. The Teens were about 4 and 6 years old here. Notice how Teen1 has her pinkie out whilst she chats with Teen2. And check out the hats and pearls. It's all just too cute.

Tea Party

2010-03-30T04:34:00.000-07:00

The Tea Party was positively delightful! One of the most important things about a tea party is to use fancy dishes with everything stacked high, so we got out cake plates and pedestals for serving. We also got out all different tea cups; there was Spode Tower Pink, Noritake Grandeur, Johnson Bros Summer Chintz, Noritake Parkridge, several different Royal Albert Old Country roses, and three Limoges patterns of which I only know one; Clover Leaf. You can see more of my dishes here. And we used dainty old cloth napkins from great grandmother's collection.

We used three different tea pots (you can see more here) and three different teas; Earl Grey, Peach, and Raspberry. And we went through two pots of each tea! But first the guests did a craft project; decorating hats with silk flowers and ribbons.

Then they posed for a group photo and played a little croquet.

And petted the cat. I guess we have a cat now since this one has been hanging around for about two weeks and we've been feeding it.

Then we got the tea brewed and the food on the table and the girls gathered round. We had made cucumber sandwiches, egg sandwiches, watercress sandwiches, and radish sandwiches. The hardest part about these tiny sandwiches is finding the "thinly sliced" bread. We found unsliced brioche loaf and thinly sliced whole wheat bread at Teen1's store. The brioche was a little soft, but after slathering it with butter it got a little firmer.Basically the bread is buttered to keep it from drying out, then topped with sliced cucumbers and radishes and sprinkled with snipped chives. The egg sandwiches start with buttered whole wheat bread, get dressed with a little mayonnaise with curry powder and minced onions, and are then topped with thinly sliced hard boiled eggs. The watercress sandwiches have equal parts watercress, cream cheese, and butter whirled in the food processor. That is spread on whole wheat bread and topped with tiny slices of cherry tomatoes and watercress garnish. There were nine of us and we made about eighteen of each of the large sandwiches, and thirty six of the watercress sandwiches, and we ate ALL of them. Oh my!

We also had fresh strawberries

and tarts. The tarts start with a short paste dough which we pressed into tiny tart molds with our fingers and baked the night before. Then we filled them with ready made lemon curd (I have made it from scratch, but not this time) and topped them with fresh fruits; strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi. You can find my recipe here. On the top pedestal is pound cake which we sliced and cut into cute shapes with a small cookie cutter and then topped with whipped cream and a raspberry. Those were heavenly and looked so pretty on that red transferware platter.

We also made cupcakes and stacked them on pedestals.

and here are more tarts on silver pedestals

because it's all about the sugar, isn't it?

Now, would you like one lump or six?

Monday Mosaic - Daffodil Hill

2010-03-29T04:39:00.000-07:00

I'm joining Mary at The Little Red House with this Monday Mosaic.

Tea Party Preparations

2010-03-27T21:38:00.001-07:00

We are having a Tea Party tomorrow and today was all about the preparations. Not only did we get out feminine dishes and linens, but we shopped for groceries started preparing the foods. We are making fresh fruit tarts and egg sandwiches,
and pound cake rounds,

and cupcakes.

We will also be serving scones with clotted cream, strawberries, three different kinds of tea, and Elderflower cordial.

All this was the idea of Teen2. You know her; she is my Halo playing, anti-dress, anti-makeup, tomboyish daughter. I honestly don't know what has come over her, but I think she may be turning into a girl, because she wants everyone to wear dresses and hats, and eat tarts and cucumber sandwiches, and drink tea and play croquet. Will wonders never cease?

We will let you know how this Tea Party Amongst The Oaks turns out. Stay tuned...

Daffodil Hill

2010-03-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we visited McLaughlin's Daffodil Hill near Volcano, Ca. The newspaper article reminded us and we'd been wanting to go for a long time, so we rounded up the family and headed out after lunch. We drove up Highway 88, turned north at Pine Grove, went through Volcano, and continued on up Rams Horn Grade to the garden.

I had been to Daffodil Hill many years ago as a teen, but the Lord of the Manor had never been. And of course, Teen1, Teen2, and the Muffin had never been either. It did not disappoint.

Paths wander through several acres and thousands of flowers. There is a picnic area, so you could bring your lunch and make a day of it. Or you could just wander and take photos of the flowers. Or just sit on a bench and rest amongst the beauty.

There were several varieties; small ones with orange cups...

big ones with huge orange cups...

and the classic yellow ones.

Some were just opening...

while others were wide open soaking up the sun.

I really liked these ivory ones with pinkish cups...

but these tiny yellow ones were adorable too.

Whichever you prefer

daffodils are truly beautiful and seem to shout

SPRING HAS ARRIVED!

The garden opened April 19th and is at its peak now, so if you plan on going, you'd better hurry. They are open 10am to 4pm, seven days a week until the bloom season is over. Click on the link at the top of the post for more information.

Classic Yachting

2010-03-24T04:18:00.000-07:00

We had the privilege of going out on a classic yacht last evening. The boat was built in 1926 and belongs to a young friend of ours. We recently redid the nameboards - rerouting and gold leafing - and don't they look stunning?

I happened to be out at the marina this evening and went to check on Florencia's progress. The owner mentioned trying to find a crew to go out to "Tuesday Nite Tacos" at Windmill Cove. Being old river rats, I instantly volunteered my family, called them, and within an hour we were chugging out of the marina.

Here is our intrepid Captain at the helm. He has collected various accessories appropriate to the era of his yacht. I think it's wonderful that he is so dedicated to the preservation of this old boat, and marvel that a 19 year old could appreciate the subtleties of decor along with the necessities of a sound hull and reliable engines.

We had a marvelous time relaxing on the afterdeck, enjoying the views, eating tacos, and remembering a time when WE were the young kids on an old wooden boat.

Enjoying happy times aboard a yacht {not quite} Amongst The Oaks.

Mosaic Monday Signs of Spring

2010-03-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

The weather is starting to warm here and we are hanging linens out in the sunshine, watching the ferns unfurling, enjoying the antics of birds, and inhaling the scent of wisteria. Life is good.

I am joining Mary at the Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Blog Muggle?

2010-03-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

Blog Muggle n: a person who is totally unaware of blogs and blogging

click to see entire photo

Ok, TravelBug, I get the message. I have been a total Blog Muggle lately and I'm sorry. Things seem to be back to normal in my little corner of the world. Well as normal as my corner gets anyway. So I should be able to resume normal blogging now. Let's start with what's been happening here Amongst The Oaks.

The wistaria is starting to bloom right on schedule. We are hosting Easter and I'm hoping it still looks good for the party. You can see more wistaria photos here and here. I have inhaled the intoxicating scent many times in the past few days and it is wonderful. I usually stick my nose into the first flower that opens and I am always amazed at the power of one tiny flower. I wish I could share it with all of you.

The yellow rumped warblers are making their annual visit here Amongst The Oaks. They descend upon the oaks in large numbers, chirping and flitting nervously, and then in about a month, they are gone. This morning I happened to see several in the bird bath and managed to get a few photos.

And the Black Phoebes are back too, building their nest on our front porch. It's over halfway done so we should see some eggs in about a week. They always build it on that electrical box that we use for the Christmas lights. We remove it every fall and they rebuild it every spring. They are again pulling fibers out of my flower baskets to use in their nest, but I don't mind.

click to see entire photo

And the lilac is starting to bloom too. Isn't this gorgeous? I just love love love lilac. I'll make a huge bouquet of it later and bring it inside. I think one reason I love lilac so much is because tit only blooms once a year and that makes the flowers more precious.

Teen1 recently bought this window box for her window. She planted parsley, coleus, lemon thyme, stock, marguerite, and cineraria in it. Isn't she cute?

So that's what's been happening here Amongst The Oaks. Sorry I've been gone so long. Hope to visit you all again soon.

Girl Scout Cookies

2010-02-17T17:12:00.001-08:00

A little Girl Scout lives next door to us and last night she delivered our cookies. We all did a little happy dance as we whisked them into the kitchen. Who doesn't love Girl Scout cookies and all that they stand for?

I remember when I was a little girl - too young to be a Girl Scout myself - my mom was the Den Mother for my sisters. And I distinctly remember boxes and boxes of cookies stacked in her bedroom when it was cookie sales season. They smelled so good and looked so tempting. And every now and then we would purchase a box - and they tasted good too.

The boxes may have changed; they seem smaller to me now. The labels may have changed; they are much more colorful now. But the cookies still taste like they used to. It's good to know some things never change.

Would anyone care for a Thin Mint?

The Mushrooms of Spring

2010-02-16T16:18:00.001-08:00

This could almost be a mystery photo, couldn't it? But I'm going to tell you right up front that it's a shaggy mane mushroom, Coprinus comatus.

In the photo above you can see a whole crop of them sprouting in someone's front lawn. They are said to be delicious, but don't gather the ones that are starting to drip inky black stuff. They are starting to deliquesce, which is the mycological term for decompose. It helps the maturing spores to be in exactly the right spot to float away on puffs of air, thus continuing the species.

They may be kind of creepy when they start dripping, but they sure are cute when they're little. The ones in the photo above were about 3" tall. The one in the photo below was about 7" tall.

Almond Blossoms

2010-02-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

Right on schedule the almond trees are in full bloom all around our area. My mother always used to say they were blooming for her birthday which was yesterday. Thank you almond trees, for all the birthday bouquets for Mom.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T08:26:00.001-08:00

I'm waaaaaay behind on my pretty posts, aren't I? It's been hard lately to find anything pretty to post about. But today is Valentine's Day, and pretty things are everywhere. Hearts, flowers, cards and these chocolates from Sees Candies. So enjoy everyone. And Happy Valentine's Day from Amongst The Oaks.

Featured English Blog

2010-02-09T13:19:00.001-08:00

For the last month or so I've had a "Featured English Blog" link on the right side of my blog. I hope some of you have clicked on it and actually visited the featured blog, but if not please do!

This latest one is called Cotswold Peeps and is about Gretel's rambles through the Cotswold countryside via footpaths and lanes. She shares beautiful photos of villages, fields, woods, and churches with a little local knowledge and history thrown in.

Her most recent post has a bit about hedge laying. I'll bet you had no idea all those English hedgerows have different styles dependant on their purpose. And did you know they would grown into a line of trees if not cut and "laid" over now and then? Thankfully, the UK is seeing a resurgence in their construction, because the UK just wouldn't be the UK without hedges.

So if you enjoy hedgerows and wildlife, mushrooms and wildflowers, quaint villages and old churches, checker board fields and honey colored stone, this is definitely the place to visit.

Can Fog Be Pretty?

2010-02-05T16:08:00.001-08:00

I'm behind on my pretty things posts, aren't I?

Usually I think of fog as ugly, dirty, cold and depressing, but this photo of fog is rather nice. It was taken early in the morning and the fog was lifting and burning off but still tucked amongst the hills. I guess fog can be pretty.

Third Day of Beautiful Things

2010-02-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

As I said on February first I'm going to share only pretty things this month, so here are some quince blossoms after last night's rain. And the sky promises to be blue blue blue again today. Joy here Amongst The Oaks.

the California Coast

2010-02-02T05:43:00.001-08:00

Recently the Lord of the Manor and I went to Pacific Grove to install some stuff. It was a typical dreary Central Valley winter day, but on the coast it was BEAUTIFUL! Rugged rocks, windswept cypress trees, smashing surf, clear blue sky, plenty of birds, the fresh fresh scent of the ocean - perfect. It's no wonder so many folks want to live here and their real estate costs show it. We couldn't afford a shack here, but a day trip like this is certainly affordable. Visit the coast sometime this winter for a little pick-me-up. You won't regret it.

Accent on the Positive

2010-02-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

Things are looking up here Amongst The Oaks for a lot of reasons. The weather has been marvelous lately: slightly foggy mornings with bright clear afternoons. Flowers are beginning to bloom: camellias, violets, quince. My father is recovering nicely although it is much more difficult than he imagined.

I am enjoying my new tasks at work; cutting and preparing vinyl letters and installing them all around town. Cleaning and organizing the vinyl room and helping in production.

I think we all need more beauty in our lives right now so for the month of February I am vowing to post a picture of something pretty every day. Nothing more complicated than that; just something pretty. Hopefully it will take our minds off all the problems in our world even if just for a few minutes.

Enjoy.