OOKEY-SPOOKY!!

APPLE FARM 10~11~11

"SHADOWS OF A THOUSAND YEARS

RISE AGAIN UNSEEN,

VOICES WHISPER IN THE TREES

"TONIGHT IS HALLOWEEN!"

HAVE A SPOOK-TACULAR NIGHT!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 10.30.11

MACRO / CLOSE-UP

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY crept up on me! Was out of town until later today (Sunday)... traveled with JPE to So California... he was presenting at a conference on Friday! so we snuck in a trip to visit my mom & attend my brother-in-law's retirement party!
Words for this week's SCAVENGER HUNT were: Macro/Close-up, Found Texture, Home, Cover, Tree (Kent Weakley)

MACRO / CLOSE-UP

I collect hearts... this is one of my favorite!! well, actually ALL of them are "pretty special" ~ but I love the color & intricate carvings on this heart. The MACRO / CLOSE-UP shot is at the top of this post. I don't have a macro lens, but play around with both of my cameras (Canon Rebel Xsi & Canon Power Shot SD880 IS) until I get a picture I like.

FOUND TEXTURE

Pumpkins = fabulous TEXTURE, color, shape... they're just fun to capture in print. Check out the crusty, dried mud in the crevices of this pumpkin! and the stem has a curly, twisty twiggy-like piece on the end of its brown stump. I had to run my hands over all the pumpkins to feel the indentations, warty imperfections and lumpy sections that were dented during their growing periods.

HOME

When I was taking the picture of "our tree" this bright piece of green raffia caught my eye! I had forgotten about the HOME (bird nest) sitting on top of our patio light. Don't know if the same birds return each year, but we get a lot of action outside our bedroom patio every spring.

COVER
(overhang at Avila Barn)

Avila Barn is on our way home from work! It's a fabulous place to people-watch, to purchase fruits & vegies, to take visitors, and to take pictures. Although this picture was taken on a fairly sunny day, two days earlier the weather was chilly, drizzly & wet. I didn't have a raincoat, so the COVER over the barn provided much appreciated protection from getting "soaked to the bone."

TREE

JPE & I love the TREE outside our bedroom window... Both bedrooms have a view of our TREE, but on a rainy day, it's wonderfully cozy to snuggle up with a quilt & watch the rain, read & sip something hot! Loved the reflection of our TREE in the roof of JPE's car... FYI - you can read about Kent Weakley tree HERE. Kent, a photographer, made regular visits to his favorite tree, to capture its elegance at different times of the day & seasons during the year... 


Gorgeous pictures & bloggers participating in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY can be found HERE! Take a PEEK ~ you won't be sorry!!!

ORANGE + GREEN...

"Pumpkins on a fence post, with their eyes alight,

bats and cats and hooty owls, witches all in flight,

ghosts and goblins galloping, what a scary night!"

~ author unknown

IT'S COMING...

Arroyo Grande ~ 10.22.11

"When witches go riding, 

and black cats are seen,

the moon laughs and whispers.

" 'tis near Halloween."

~ author unknown

Did you ever dress up as a witch?

I remember dressing up as a gypsy,

(elementary school)

being dressed up as a cat

(toddler - with black penciled whiskers)...

but my favorite 

Halloween memories...

include ACE & SLE!!

Little Bo Peep & Charlie Chaplin

The Tooth Fairy + A Little Girl

(I made ACE a little Tooth Fairy purse 

- she carried white Chiclets gum inside! 

SLE was wearing one of ACE's dresses!)

both girls were dancers ~

Halloween costumes

often included...

ballet shoes, gauzy skirts, leotards or tights

ACE is a kindergarten teacher!

last year her "kinder" team

dressed as

"WALDO"

(Where's Waldo? fame)

She's also been a

Peacock,

Mr. Peanut

(you know, the guy on Planter's Peanut jar)

&

a Black Widow Spider...

she's got the "creative" gene!!

& her "kinders" LOVE it!


WHAT HALLOWEEN COSTUMES
DO YOU REMEMBER?

FOOD 4 THOUGHT!

KEW GARDEN ~ London ~ July 2010

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

~ author unknown

What changes are happening in your life?

I'm getting my work space free of clutter!

I'm looking forward to the end of 

Daylight Savings Time...

(first Sunday in November)

I'm thinking about the 

upcoming holidays...

(are you?)

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY!

HALLOWEEN-ISH COLORS

It's SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY!
I'm loving my weekly search for pictures! hunting for the perfect picture --- or my "twist" on making word matches. This week's words: Word, Under, Orange, Fly and Always Look on the Bright Side.

WORD = INDULGE

There's a wine bar, "INDULGE" in the cute, historical block of my hometown...  I'm beginning to think about the upcoming holidays... & looking forward to INDULGING in some holiday baking. 

UNDER

Look who's peeking out from UNDER the flowers? My mom is taking Katie (great-granddaughter) to the La Mirada Theater to see the play, "Charlotte's Web" today...

ORANGE

Awesome brillant ORANGE morning sunrise... hazy farmlands near Stockton, CA!

FLY

JPE & I drove out to Windmill Farms yesterday afternoon... this sign caught my eye... FLY-ing wings! did a Google search to find out about this sign - thought this would be a gasoline company? I was wrong!! but DID learn DEKALB SEED COMPANY (St Louis, MO) will be celebrating 100 years of seed (corn) production in 2012.

BRIGHT SIDE

JPE (husband) & I LOVE our cozy nest! NO, we don't live in a tree... but our street has lovely trees with fabulous autumn colors (our "seasons" are relatively mild ~ see VISIT SLO for more information). It's easy to ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE of life when you have a cozy home (nest) to retreat to at the end of the day... we count our blessings for having a home, locally grown food, meaningful work, family & friends, plenty of cultural events to attend and a generous selection of places to walk (beach, mountains & coastal trails)... 


Check out other Scavenger Hunt Sunday's links HERE...

AHHH! I'VE RE-SURFACED!!!

APPLE FARM RESTAURANT ~ SAN LUIS OBISPO ~ OCTOBER 2011

AHHH! BUSY WEEK... it's amazing how the body tells you to S-L-O-W  D-O-W-N... when I got home from a work-related trip to Sacramento, I had an incredibly busy Thursday at my work site.


Needless to say... my body "MADE" me (yep! that secretly organized person, who feels she has to have "everything put in its place" before letting her head hit the pillow) CRAWL into bed at 8:15-ish, the past two nights.


It's Saturday & I'm meeting girlfriends for breakfast & a walk through town... hope I don't embarrass them by taking my camera on our walk...


Have a fabulous day... I'll be participating in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY... so, my blogging is "back on track" (meaning ~ I'll be posting on a more frequent basis again!).

VISION FROM THE VALLEY...

"purple makes me happy"

"It's only from the valley
that the mountain seems high."
~ anonymous


It's a "DETAIL" sort-of work week!
I'm in Sacramento (required 2-day work conference)...
and wrapping up the "DETAILS" for a work event 
to be held on Thursday!
(get home about 9:30pm Weds night).

The view from the bottom of the valley
has these
incredibly beautiful flowers!
& the mountain top will be
just as gorgeous!

It will be a fast climb!
(got my walking shoes on - well, sort of)

Thank goodness for email...
& a FABULOUS 
co-facilitator (Kim) & her team!

SLO SILLINESS...

man + his dog ~ 10.12.11

:: SILLINESS in SLO ::
(SLO = San Luis Obispo)

:: TODAY ::

driving to Sacramento 

two day meeting

meeting friends from all over California

living the LIFE?? ~ hotel living!!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY!

SLO Little Theater ~ 10.13.11

For this week's Scavenger Hunt Sunday, I was able to capture most of the pictures during an errand in downtown San Luis Obispo... 

The words were: Abstract, Round, Fire, Seeing Faces in Strange Places and Stars 

ABSTRACT ~ SLO Little Theater

This piece of art probably isn't all that ABSTRACT, but, it is an portrayal of three actors who are emphasizing the "whimsical nature" of theatrical performances...

ROUND ~ sidewalk on Morro St

Have any sidewalk vault lights in your town? I'm not aware of the area underneath this sidewalk (former basement? crawl space?) but I did some research (always the educator!!) and found these ROUND glass lights were used as an inexpensive way to project light into dark areas, which created more work spaces or basement rentals. CLICK HERE to learn more about the history behind the cast iron vault lights, as invented by Thaddeus Hyatt in 1845.

Roasting marshmellows over a FIRE ~ Big Bear

Sorry... had to dig through my photo file to pull out this picture of our FIRE pit during our last trip to the cabin in Big Bear. We'll be spending Thanksgiving here with JPE's family!!! four generations of family!! I better brush up on my indoor photography skills!!!

FACES in UNEXPECTED PLACES ~ beauty salon in downtown SLO

Pumpkins are expensive!! I've noticed quite a few people using artificial pumpkins for decorations... while I understand wanting to save $$$ there is something about the smell of a burning candle in a pumpkin... and the "melt-down" of the pumpkin shell, the week after Halloween... These FACES had to share the glare of the building across the street!

STARS on exhibit ~ near the SLO Library

Hidden on the side of the parking structure (the corner of Morro & Palm St), there's a brillant outdoor exhibit of the history of the American flag. Done in ceramic tiles, the exhibit includes eight flags, along with plaques explaining the date and reason for additional STARS being added to our red / white & blue national wonder... if you visit SLO, be sure to check it out! I'm pretty sure most residents of SLO have never found this exhibit! it's one of the "hidden wonders" of our town.

Wanna join in the FuN?

check in with Ashley at SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY!

DE-LICIOUS DAY...

"testing for done-ness" ~ 10.15.11

CINNAMON SURPRISE COFFEE CAKE

3 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c butter (room temperature)

1 1/2 c sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

16 oz sour cream

:: Grease 12" BUNDT pan; set oven temperature at 350 degrees.

:: Combine first four ingredients in large bowl; set aside.

:: Mix together butter + sugar; then beat in one egg at a time.  

:: Stir in vanilla extract + sour cream.

:: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. 

:: Place the following ingredients in small bowl; mix with fingers.  

1 TBSP cinnamon

4 TBSP butter (room temperature)

1/3 c brown sugar

2 TBSP flour

:: Spoon half batter into BUNDT pan.

:: Crumble cinnamon filling over batter & swirl knife thru layer.

:: Add rest of batter to pan.

:: Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 50-60 minutes.

"cooling"

:: Cool on wire rack. Invert onto plate after 30 minutes.

Afternoon treat w/a cuppa of tea!

JPE ~ you are the "BEST"

(baker, gardener, friend, husband, travel-partner...)

BTW ~ do you use an uncooked piece of pasta

to check your baked goods for done-ness?

IT'S IN THE DETAILS...

Big Sur "treasures"

"The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”

~ William Morris (1834-1896), British craftsman

created the Arts & Crafts Movement in England

On Sundays, do you wonder how you'll make it through the "busy-ness" of your coming week?

This past week was ALL about the DETAILS... and while I won't say DETAILS = HAPPINESS... I do know that sleep-less nights happen when I don't get the DETAILS taken care of (whether it be a work project, planning for a trip, or even a craft project).

I'm a paper & pen person (& my blog often fills in for the blank spots in my daily planner)... but, this week was a whirlwind of events that were DETAIL oriented! A few come to mind:

• Completed & submitted a report (had been waiting for the final DETAIL) ~ it's amazing that a single number can put a report on hold...
• Finalized the DETAILS for workshop I'm facilitating next Thursday... whew!!
• Anticipated needing to share the DETAILS of a upcoming event at a community forum Tuesday evening... grabbed flyers as I flew out of the office!
• Discussed the DETAILS with JPE for celebrating our anniversary (hot-tub? massage? hot-air balloon ride?)
• Made a DETAILED grocery list for whoever has a moment to drive to Trader Joe's... 

Rethinking... MaYBe? although my week was exhausting... I'm HAPPY the DETAILS are taken care of, so I can rest up for next week....  

Don't you love the DETAIL of the beads in this basket???

IDYLLIC... OF COURSE!

REMNANTS OF THE PAST VINTAGE SHOW ~ 10.8.11

"Live each season as it passes;

breath the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit
and resign yourself to the influences of each."

~ Henry David Thoreau, author, philosopher, naturalist

San Luis Obispo County is experiencing unusually warm no, make that HOT weather. Typically, coastline temperatures average mid-70's... today was 98 degrees! AND, SLO was 110 - that's darn HOT!


I realize I shouldn't be complaining ~ but, it really makes me appreciate air conditioning! Our weather is "idyllic" and MOST houses / condos / apartments in our area open their windows & patio doors to COOL off their homes.


Traffic slowed to a near-stop as I drove closer to Pismo Beach. It was apparent by the number of cars exiting the off-ramp, that the beach was the place to COOL off! There's nothing like HOT weather that signals a walk along the splashing waves ~ burying your feet in the moist, gritty sand to forget the steam rising from the black asphalt parking lot!

Someone "scored" a parking spot!

Parking can be a challenge! But, JPE & I were meeting for dinner at Scotty's ~ fish tacos! yummy! & a tall glass of ice tea to quench my parched throat! 

GOPHER GLEN ~ our "fave" place to buy apples & apple cider!

See Canyon APPLES are the seasonal fruit for this time of the year! crisp, juicy, beautiful colors, incredible taste & texture (& NO WAXY coating) ~ JPE & I are taking advantage of the weekly menu of APPLES that are being harvested daily at GOPHER GLEN... visit THEIR WEBSITE! to see the selection of APPLES grown. 

We CAN'T eat JUST ONE!!

COMING to the Central Coast?? buying APPLES from one of the See Canyon fruit farms is a MUST!!


Even though I'm fussing about the heat wave, we have a pretty idyllic climate on the Central Coast... I'll "force myself" (joking!!) to enjoy the seasonal influences of Fall.

If you come to this area ~ taste the APPLE CIDER! oh yum!! (& make sure it's chilled)...