From Desert to Ocean

    Last Saturday found us in the desert…. helping out at a place that will be special to us next year when we spend 4 wisdom filled days. It definitely is the desert- sandy, windy and dry.  It makes you desire a shower and to pour water into your nostrils!  I know the desert has it's own beauty but…. I don't plan to move there! So the snakes and scorpions better prepare for an invasion of people in about 13 months!
    This special young woman spends her life telling the gospel story. Her brother is married to my cousin and I last saw her at their wedding in WI. Her 3 nephews were out at Christmas time to visit us (with their parents).
  This place is a full fledged campground so we will be renting a motorhome next year. It looks like the wild west minus the cattle rustlers and the saloons!

Beautiful hand carved doors

Homeless Depot- a very inventive portable tool shed 

Cute little quarters for 2

More bunk space

Yesterday Dave made some cute kids very happy when he fixed a bike tire! His 4th "assistant" was napping at the time but "helped" when he returned later.

And this is what I do all day-NOT!  I did plead for an outside couch which Dave seemed to think wasn't a high priority. It is an amazing place to relax and some day I know I will get fried when I fall asleep on it minus sunscreen. And the reading material-well that is a story in itself that I will tell another day.

  This Saturday (today) found us leaving our bed much too early to be down in SD by 8 am. I dropped Dave off so he could do a 35 mile bike ride. The route was named "3 hills" which means much more to you if you have been in SD. These are serious hills! I then headed to La Jolla do walk along the ocean for my exercise. And of course treat myself to Starbucks and a little window shopping. It was overcast and the Harbor seals and Sea lions were all sleeping in.  I was feeling envious!

  It was a purple day…. the colors really pop against the greyness.

Loved the rowboat/canoe sculpture.

Beautiful Calla lilies surrounded by African daisies

    After I picked up Dave we headed to Coronado.  And we biked! We rented some beach cruiser bikes and toured the island. That is my kind of bike- like sitting in a chair! Since Dave was already worn out we were a perfect match for biking. I even slowed down for him( don't tell him). We were here last year and it was overcast then also. This is looking back at the SD skyline.

More purple blooms. I look chunkier than usual due to several layers. We are now complete wimps if the sun isn't out. Hey 60 degrees is cold for us CA folks if the sun isn't shining! I don't have many photos since I was on a bike. The flower beds and gardens are stunning on Coronado. It must be a perfect climate for roses because they are amazing.

Coronado Boat House

A very unusual roof- some sort of wood shingles.

Time to cheat! Had ice cream here at Moo Time.  

Forever Friends

    Forever friends….. are those people who are in your past, present and future. Jamie and Meredith are some of those friends. Meredith is my cousin that I really got to know well in our later teens. Jamie became friends with Dave in their teens. When Dave and I were dating J & M met through us and were married 3 months before us. Our first children were born 10 days apart and the second ones were 6 months apart in age. We traveled back and forth on weekends to visit each other. We never lived closer than 2 hours away and sometimes further away. Now we are 2 flights away and 2 time zones.  Our oldest son and wife live 20 minutes from them and spend a lot of time with them. J&M spent 4 nights with us this past weekend. We had a glorious time and laughed pretty much non stop! So this is an account of our time together although the conversations and bonding just can't be described in photos.

Saturday- Meredith and Jamie at the flower fields in Carlsbad

Saw this poor little fellow at Torrey Pines. He seemed quite lost. Further down the beach we saw and adult  who appeared to be dying:( We were fairly certain that was this one's mother.

Not sure what to do or where to go.

We took them on our favorite hike- Torrey Pines.

Another perfect day in sunny CA

This was our view for our picnic lunch.

Supper on the patio. Dave was present but he took all the group photos so seems absent!

 Sunday began with a 3 mile hike at Monserate Mountain followed by our meeting. Then off to the Fish Market in Solana Beach for lunch. Next we walked Crystal Pier and Pacific Beach. Many sights since it is a happening place during spring break! Perfect day with an ocean breeze.

Love the contrast between these two beach homes.

Then on to Carlsbad for a supper of Knockout Pizza while sitting on the beach waiting for the sun to set.

Natural amazing beauty

Jamie never seemed to feel the cool air. Dave and I on the other hand are total wimps after living here 15 months.

Monday we spent the day in Carlsbad on the beach while Dave worked.  Toby and Kale ( formerly from the cold states of WI and MN ) joined us for lunch. Can you tell which one of these guys lives in San Diego and which one is the tourist that hasn't seen summer in forever?! The same someone who thought Banana Boat #4 OIL was a good idea??

Kale needed a towel. I was perfectly comfortable in my cover up and a light fleece!

Cousins- Kale and Toby ( with his freshly shaven head protected form the cool breeze and the hot sun)

On the way home we stocked up on fresh strawberries again.

The plants are raised so that you hardly have to stoop down.

Lusciousness!

Only in California ( my apologies to the natives), would you have to pay MORE to pick your own berries!

Still smiling as they "glow" a painful shade of red! Not sure which is more red-them or the wall.  Thanks for coming to see us- see you in May!

Fun company and new adventures

  Sure was fun to have a boy (Emerson) visiting us that wanted to play with the Harry Potter legos. Legos- we have multiple bins in our garage. That is what happens when you have boys and I see no sense in getting rid of them- we paid a small fortune for them over the years!  They did provide hours of entertainment for our boys and our puppy at the time who chewed on them midst shrieks of, " No Heather! Bad dog!". Perhaps Legos are the reason Tristan became an Architect.
    We had this family from Wisconsin stay with us two nights. We were very glad that they made us a part of their CA trip. They came Sunday night after a very long day which included a missed flight. They traveled from Milwaukee to Detroit to Salt Lake City and finally to San Diego. Murray came to the Milwaukee area to go to college so we have known him since he was barely growing whiskers! Charla came into our lives via her marriage to Murray.
   Monday it was off to the beach in Oceanside for us and poor Dave had to work:(

Emerson, Murray, and Elliot with their creation which included a farm field. 

The boys even played in the waves- pretty much Lake Michigan temperature in May!

Monday night was dinner out at La Caseta in Fallbrook.  Then a stop at FroYo.

Hmmm….. what flavor to choose….

Emerson looks like he was playing "Chubby Bunnies" !!

I have an addiction….

Star Jasmine

   Oh don't think I didn't see how fast you clicked on this blog post when you saw the title! No I am not confessing some horrible long kept secret. Now that I live in this wonderful Mediterranean climate I realize how much I love to plant and nurture. After living in Wisconsin which has about a 172 day growing season ( if we were lucky), this new climate astounds me! We have about a 300 day long growing season. And the options of what I can plant are almost unlimited. And thus began the ADDICTION.
    For example, today I very innocently went to the dump with a load of cardboard ( from 3 new toilets and a patio couch). Well, my car just drove me right over to the local hardware store that has a very nice lawn and garden center. There is also a very patient woman who works there named "Kathy". She has answered a myriad of questions from me as I tried to learn this new climate. Immediately upon entering the garden area I smelled jasmine. I have been enjoying the smell of that Star Jasmine on my walks ( see previous post). Well once I smelled I had to touch and then I had to buy! It needed a good home with someone who would nurture and love it. I will keep in on the patio to enjoy until it is done blooming for the year ( spring bloomer) and then plant it on our fence where it can spread itself out and intertwine happily on the fence rails. Right now I am sitting in the house quite aways from the front door and I can still smell the fragrance.
   Well then I saw some sweet little tomato plants that I assume will grow and produce many sweet cherry tomatoes for my enjoyment. And I already had pots for them at home so it was a perfect match!

 

My back patio garden- Gerbera daisies that survived the winter,  a succulent garden which was a gift from a beloved cousin, and a yellow mum- a bday present from that family with the 4 adorable blond children.

Parsley and basil flanked by the tomato plants

This is the Fruit Salad tree we were given by our Sunday morning meeting when my Mom died last May. It  has multiple different color and type of blooms since it will bear different fruits. Plum,apricot,nectarine and 2 types of peaches. 

And here is one of the reasons I bought those plants. Our house has 3 brand new toilets that  flush very well. 

And my new couch for the patio. For when I need a nap and just want to be LAZY!