In Bloom

The spring rains have brought a lot of flowers. We have lavender

Hawthorne

African Daisies

Another type of lavender

Asters

Photenia

Ceanothus

And the beautiful Rock Rose. I love the spring time flowers.

State Flower

The poppy is the state flower of California

And they are in bloom right now.

We've always wanted poppies on our property, but sadly they just don't grow here.

Grow Your Own

A friend sent this to me yesterday--what can I say? 

It's just funny.

The Shelves are Bare

Yesterday we had to do some errands, so we went to the store. This is what I found. I've only seen a store look like this one time in my life. It was during the summer of 1979 in northern BC. We had just left Alaska and we were ready to drive the famous unpaved road, "The Al-Can" (as it was called then) to Dawson. As we left White Horse in the Yukon Territory it started to rain. After our second day on the Al-Can, the rain was causing floods on this muddy, slippery, road. That's when we stopped at a campground in Muncho Lake. We holed up in our tiny motorhome for a few days eating our supplies down. The rain continued and the lake was getting higher. There were helicopters delivering food and supplies to folks; and the rain continued. One day, after we had our last can of Spam, we decided to take a walk to see the road first hand. We discovered it was not too muddy or eroded, so the next morning we filled the tank and left our watery campground and headed for the next "big town" which was Fort Nelson, BC. Nowadays, Fort Nelson boasts a population of 3000, but it did not have that many folks in 1979. It was a wide stop in the road with a couple of gas stations, a general market and not much more.

We drove all day to Fort Nelson never seeing anyone on the road. It was an interesting drive as we were both looking for washouts and mud holes only to find a relatively easy drive. We found one slick portion of the road, and we drove thru it without incident. About 5 PM we arrived at Fort Nelson. There was a guard at the gate and the guard was facing the town, not our direction. When she heard us she looked at us with incredulity. She said "where did you come from?" We told her Muncho Lake. She said "that's impossible as the road is closed." We told her otherwise. Reluctantly, she lifted the gate and told us in no uncertain words "DON'T TELL ANYONE WHERE YOU CAME FROM!"

We rolled into town and what a surprise. Four or five days worth of traffic and people were stuck in Fort Nelson. Cars, trailers, motorhomes, semi-trucks were parked everywhere. Every facility in town was being used...it was an amazing sight. 

We needed food, so we went to the only market in town and discovered what looked like a war zone. Everything was gone. We finally found a loaf of stale bread, a few eggs and some sugar and that night we dined on some fine French Toast. 

This one is Blue

Teddy Bears must be related to Tribbles, as they just keep popping up. 

Another Teddy Bear

Apparently the heart blanket needed a teddy bear...and this little guy showed up. 

I've not named him yet...any suggestions?

Pink Hearts

In retirement I make blankets. You know that. My sister asked me to make a baby blanket for one of her friends and I asked if she wanted my usual Teddy Bear Blanket or Hearts. She opted for hearts. Turns out, this blanket is a smidge bigger than the Teddy Bear design and fits in a crib very well. It's a cute design so I will probably be making a few more of this design.

PS. Sorry I have not written recently. My blog is not a political blog...or a current events blog...its a light hearted blog to make the reader feel better. I talk about my life and times, flowers and travel. Recently, a lot of "stuff" has been happening, but none of it is fit for my blog. Read the other DrC's blog to stay up to date with those events. That's not my bailiwick.

Pi Day

It's March 14 or 3-14 or 3.14 --and it's also known as Pi Day. Many years ago when I taught elementary school, I had a group of special Halloween lessons where the children would work with pumpkins.

One Halloween lesson, Larry, one of my bright lights in the class, said "Mrs. C...this pumpkin's circumference is about 3 times the size of the diameter"...and I had 2 wonderful thoughts. He understood circumference and diameter AND he had just discovered the constant PI. So I gave him a lesson to see if all circles revealed the same answer. He measured the record player (this was in the 70s) and the records, the round trash cans in the room. He even measured the round pencils and crayons and the answer was the same!

I had him present the results to the class and they were in awe that the answer was always the same. The class then started to measure everything round from tree circumferences to drinking glasses and the tops and bottoms of coffee cups...and the answer was always the same. These were smart fifth graders. I told them that PI always equals 3.14. The class decided that PI was the best number. That was a special teaching day and one I will never forget!

Spring Flowers

Ceanothus

African Daisy

Redbud

Lantana

More are in the offing...I'll keep watching the garden to see how the flowers grow.

This and That

It's been awhile since I've checked in at my blog and I have a good reason. The keyboard on my iPad broke and I quickly discovered that dictation does not work well, nor does the on-screen keyboard. The new keyboard has arrived, so I can write again.

A blanket I made awhile ago, has a new home. My friend really liked it.

And I finished another blanket. I've been calling it Rhapsody in Blue, but from the picture it looks like there's green in it.  Actually it made of 4 shades of blue from very dark navy to light blue. Sometimes color is tricky to photograph.

The best news to report is the appearance of spring flowers.  The daffodils are always first. The redbud came out a couple of days later. Sadly, none of the other spring flowers are blooming. I'll post pictures when they show up.

A Blast from the Past

The iconic trailer of the 1960s was made by Shasta. It was small, easy to pull and had all the mod-cons of the day including "space age" wings on the back. It was always easy to spot a Shasta trailer because of the wings. Today I saw one of those classic Shasta trailers parked at the Lake. All she needs is a 1960-ish station wagon as the pull car and a flock of plastic flamingos to round out the picture. (If it was an Airstream trailer of the same age, it would have been pulled by a Cadillac...but Shasta trailers were never as chic as an Airstream.)

Isn't she a cutie...all 19 feet of her. This trailer has the original awning. She's been cared for too, as she's pretty shiny. 

In case you are wondering, this is a Shasta 1900 Deluxe Trailer.

Here are her "specs:" Propane heat, a 20 gallon water tank, a toilet and a shower (meaning you did not have to use the campground restroom anymore). It had a 4 cubic foot gas fridge, and 3 types of lighting--one that worked with propane! She sported jalousie windows, too. No a/c in those days.

When this trailer was new, she was a first class beauty. And by looking at how well she has been cared for, her people still think she's the best trailer on the block.

Mission Santa Inez

California has 21 old Spanish Missions. They were built between 1769 and 1804. One of the last ones to be built was Mission Santa Inez in Solvang, CA.

Each Mission was built a "day away" from a neighboring Mission, so folks could ride or walk "El Camino Real" with knowledge that rest and refuge was not far way. The 2 closest Missions to Santa Inez are Mission Santa Barbara to the south and Mission La Purisma Concepcion to the east. Nowadays, these 3 Missions can be visited in a day. All of the Missions were connected to the "hide and tallow" trade, using the Manila Galleon to transport goods from the New World to the Old World. Santa Inez  has a fantastic fresco showing  that trade route that is most interesting.

Stretch out the map and look at the a depiction of the known world in the 1700s. The Manila Galleon route is clearly marked in the Pacific Ocean. You can see the line of demarkation that separates Spanish lands from Portuguese lands in South America. This "line" was set by the Treaty of Tordesillas and sadly Portugal got the short end of the stick. The Treaty was signed in 1494 and the true geography of South America was not known at the time. As an aside, look at the top right of the map and you'll see "Las Rusias" and "Tierra del Gran Kan" (aka Russia and China). While these pieces of information don't have much to do with the Mission, it tells of the time the Missions were built. The world was in the hands of the Spanish, a very important nation at the time.

The founder of 9 of the Missions was Junipero Serra. I'm guessing he was a force to be reckoned with as he set the ball rolling in Alta California to expand Spanish domination of the World.

The adobe Mission is highly decorated with frescos. The very colorful interior has been restored to reflect the early 1800s design. 

The long narrow church has a tile floor that shows the wear of the ages. You can almost "feel" the thousands of feet that walked these floors.

You don't have to be Catholic to enjoy the Mission and learn from the Mission. It's a slice of California history that tells a story of this state. Knowing the past helps define the future. 

Just Another Week

A week at the Lake is always wonderful...two months are better. 

Recently, there has been a light fog hovering over the lake in the morning. It gives an ethereal quality to the view. Is it real? 

Folks can camp right beside the Lake, or do like we do...park in the full hookup area and camp with all the "mod-cons"

I'll take the mod-cons any day. It can get cold in the morning in a flimsy tent and outdoor breakfast. Not my cup of tea,

Addendum 2

John loved his blanket. 

Is it Spring?

The lake is still

And the blossoms are starting to bloom

Is Spring around the corner?

Addendum

This blanket has a new home...Lori's 3 month old grand daughter. I'm not sending valentines this year, I'm doing this. It's so much fun.

Solvang

There's a Danish Village in Central California called Solvang. It's quaint and cute and filled with tourists. Yesterday it was not very crowded, so I took a little walk into downtown Solvang and saw some things that were new to me.

Flowers...as you know, I am always attracted to the flowers. And these hot magenta blooms that lined the street were breathtaking. It's wintertime and they don't seem to know it. 

Then I walked past Birkholm's Bakery and discovered a great long sign

You have to stretch this panorama picture out to see it in all it's glory...but it's a list of all Kings and Queens of Denmark

...and all of them are descendants of the first man in the picture, Old King Gorm. I wonder how many kingdoms can say that?

To top off my day I discovered a windmill I've never seen before

There are several windmills in the village, and this one is tucked away off the main street. I need to find out more about it. There's a sign that says it's part of Santa Barbara county, but even when I was in front of the sign, it was too far away for me to read. Watch this space to see if I find out the story behind this strange windmill.

Busy Hands

I like to stay busy..

I don't remember being hyperactive in school

Now, I think I might be. I need to have my fingers busy...

So I make blankets. This one is for Lori at the post office. She liked my little teddy bears so much she wanted one for her 3 month old granddaughter. I did not think the toy bears were baby-proof, but I know this blanket it. 

Teddy Bears

Teddy Bears seem to multiply in my house. We have our basic teddy bear crew, but recently a new bear has moved in. He's a Panda Bear that we named Cachuma -- or Chuma for short. He's a happy little creature that brings us joy.

To add to the collection, I just learned how to make crocheted teddy bears. I posted a picture of one ... and soon I had orders for 3 more...go figure. 

This little guy went to Florida

And these two went to California. 

They are fun to make so, if you'd like one, let me know.

Meet John

I did not send out valentines this year. Instead I made little valentine pillows and I've been giving them to folks. They seem to like them.

So here's John. John has been going to dialysis 3 days a week,  every week, since 2013. He definitely needed a valentine. Then when he heard that I made blankets, he asked to buy a blanket. Well, I don't sell blankets...So next week, John will receive a blanket. Watch this space for his reaction.

Out on a Limb

I always wished I was able to paint pretty pictures, but alas, that is not one of my talents. Instead I take pictures and sometimes enhance them. Here's my original...

Sweet birds sitting a tiny branch, enjoying the winter sunshine together.

Here are the "paintings" I created from this picture using an app called BrushStroke

A watercolor

Another watercolor

And surprise.

All show the birds and thru the magic of an app, I'm a painter. What a treat!