04 April 2010

SLO Downtown Creek Walk




When I lived in San Luis Obispo, one of my favorite places was the creek that went past the mission and through the downtown area. It is a beautiful spot, the right balance of natural beauty mixed with well thought out areas to stop, sit and enjoy. I have many fond memories of the years I spent living in SLO during my college (plus) years, many of those memories happened downtown around the creek area. I've learned since then that living somewhere beautiful can have a bit of a "numbing" effect at times. It is necessary to regularly acknowledge what is around you to keep from taking it for granted. I think I appreciate how beautiful this part of SLO is more now because it isn't right in my backyard. This thinking can easily be applied to where I am now, I live in an amazingly beautiful area...but sometimes I look outside and just see the work I need to get done. Slowing down and appreciating what is in front of me, is just as important a need. The trips we've taken recently have been fun, but coming home is always nice. I've been taking a closer look at my home surroundings, I like what I see, it's nice.

03 April 2010

Welcome Back to Avila Valley Barn

A couple of weeks ago on that same trip to Southern California that I mentioned yesterday, the huband and I headed up for a short one night visit to the town where I went to college, San Luis Obispo. Just outside of SLO, there is a fantastic place called the Avila Valley Barn. It is only open seasonally and we were lucky enough to be in town on it's third day open day this season. When I lived in SLO, it was always a treat to go there. They have wonderful produce, baked goods, home accessories and gift items. I left several things that I wanted behind because we were going to be flying home, though I did manage to come home with one treasure. Being at the Avila Valley Barn put me in the mood to visit my own local farm stands. In fact, a couple of days after returning from that trip, the husband and I dropped by Snow Goose Produce, also open for the season. Spring is a fantastic time to start visiting places like this again!

02 April 2010

A Bit of Southern California



A recent weekend trip to Southern California provided a chance for walking on the beach, enjoying beautiful sunsets, celebrating a friend's birthday, meeting another friend's new baby girl, enjoying good food and drinks, and remembering that spring brings pretty blossoms everywhere.

01 April 2010

Welcome April!


Welcome April, I'm so glad you've arrived! A little over a week ago I was able to slip away for a little while to La Connor, home to the annual Tulip Festival. Well, the tulips weren't ready just yet, they are more of an April occurance, but March brings the daffodils, which were out in cheerful full force. Fields full of flowering bulbs in the spring have been another part of falling in love with where I live. I never saw anything like this when I was growing up in California...Washington has a unique beauty, it has taken me a few years to appreciate it more fully. I'm sure in a few weeks when I get up there again to see the tulips I'll be feeling the same sense of pride for where I live.

31 March 2010

The Pod's Delivery Day Photos

I am finally sorting out my photos after having to transition from the camera I drowned in iced tea, to the old clunker camera I was borrowing from the husband, and finally to my new digital camera that I've been using lately. So the delay in sorting out the pictures I've taken in the past month is finally over and I'm back on task and ready to do some sharing. So I introduced the Pod the other day, here are her delivery photos. She literally came on the back of a truck, was lowered in two steps and set into place. Considering that the last greenhouse I acquired came in about a million small pieces and took me two days to assemble and many hours to repair after wind storms have taken their toll in the last couple of years, I am completely thrilled with the low maintenance nature of my new greenhouse. Of course, there has been the initial prep of sealing the benches, but that will be worth it in the end when they don't rot out from the moisture.
We are on the road right now for Spring Break. I am taking the evening off from theme park madness to get some time in to work. It's getting easier to balance work while I travel, lately I'm digging the freedom and flexibility of my online job. The theme park tour has been fun, but the crowds do get old...it will be nice to be back home and back in a normal routine soon.

28 March 2010

It's Been A While...

...since I've been around here. I guess I needed a bit of a break. Between work, trips, chores around the house and in the garden, and general busyness, time has been short lately. So while I've been quiet in this space, life has been anything but quiet lately. I am excited to have a few things to share in the next couple of weeks. Today I thought I'd finally introduce "The Pod", the name I have given to my new Solar Green greenhouse. The day it was delivered the husband and I shoveled a yard and a half of pea gravel into the Pod and then moved in the four benches that came with it. Since then I have been busy sealing the wood benches with water sealant and buying plastic trays in which to place the six and nine pack plastic starting containers. I wasn't going to go through the trouble initially (lazy!), but I decided it was worth it. So in between the trips we've been on, I've been trying to get those little chores squared away. Soon I will be starting tomatoes, pumpkins, eggplant, broccoli, summer squash, basil, and probably a few other goodies in my new workspace. Around the time that the Pod was delivered, the decision was also made to move my pathetic little vineyard from the field that the back of our house looks out at, over to our fenced in garden. In addition to the eleven grape vines I moved over, 11 more were planted. They were given to us by a friend of the husband's. I'm hoping that the new location will give my vines a better shot, they did not do too well in their last location with hardly any growth. It was important for me to get them moved soon because they weren't going to be in their dormant stage much longer. I am proud that my new strawberry shoots are taking very well. This summer should be full of delicious strawberries from our garden. The radish seeds I put in the ground have germinated and are growing nicely - I should have home-grown radishes in just a couple of weeks! This will be the first of many rounds of radishes this season!

22 March 2010

Let Them Grow Vintage Flower Poster

What a wonderful sentiment now that spring is here...I hope you've enjoyed these vintage posters as much as I have...they were all found (along with many, many more) here.

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