Sneak a Peek Week 12 - Tulips

Do you remember the song "Tip Toe Through the Tulips"

made famous by Tiny Tim in the 60's?

I know that possibly, many of you weren't born yet,

so here are the lyrics:

Tiptoe to the window, by the window that is
where I'll be...
Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!

Tiptoe from your pillow, to the shadow of a
willow tree....
And tiptoe throughout the tulips with me!

Knee deep in flowers will stray, we'll keep the
showers away.
And if I kiss you in the garden, in the moonlight,
will you pardon me?

Come tiptoe through the tulips with me!

Well, my tulips have popped...

let's take a moment

and

tip toe through the tulips in my garden:






And for some other blooming delights:

the blossoms of my Japanese Flowering Cherry

which is in it's full glory...

pink blooms on another flowering cherry...

some white freesias flowing over in a pot by my kitchen door.

and some Cheerfulness white daffs under the Monterey Pine.

I do believe spring is really here....

I am now off to work in my garden.

My Henny

This is my Honey

But this is my Henny

I met Henny on one of the blogs I follow

and was intrigued by the many comments made by those who had a Henny.

In fact, I made a special trip to IKEA in search of a Henny...

but to no avail.

So on my second trip to IKEA, while browsing the aisles..

my eyes caught sight of a bin filled with about a half dozen Hennys.

Oh, I thought, I WANT one!

so into the basket one Henny went

and off to the checkout aisle I trotted.

On my way home, I heard the echoes of my Honey's voice,

"Do we really need another blanket?"

"And how many are in that stack folded behind the couch?"

I'd cheerfully reply:

"Oh but Henny has such a lovely, grey pattern...

is so soft and warm...

is composed of 80% wool and 20% acrylic....
( such a good combination )

is light and it covers well...

Oh... I love Henny so!"

But never fear...

I will never let Henny come between me and my Honey..

I just can't wait to lounge on the couch with my Honey..

with Henny wrapped around the both of us..

watching old episodes of "The Office".

Daylight Saving Time

It has been a week and a half since we switched to

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

(note that "saving" is singular, not plural)

and I am still trying to reset my internal clock

we all have one, you know

I automatically wake up 6:07 am

(without an alarm clock..never use one)
and I still think," it is really 5:07"...
it is so hard to get up when it is dark and cold

and then I think of those poor farmers

who have to work an extra hour in the dark

I've noticed there are less people at the gym

are they having a hard time getting up too?

This clock changing really messes me up.

In spring, we "lose" an hour...

do we really "lose" that hour...
or isn't it just spinning around in space for the next 7 months
until we turn the clocks back in the fall and "gain" it back

"An extra yawn one morning in the springtime, an extra snooze one night in the autumn is all that we ask in return for dazzling gifts. We borrow an hour one night in April; we pay it back with golden interest five months later." -Winston Churchill

Why do we do this?

DST started under the Department of Transportation

to regulate the railroad schedules

and was originally suppose to last 6 months but now lasts 7.

"they" claim during DST....

energy consumption is reduced(saving 300,000 barrels/year)

that people are more prone to shop in the evenings (do you?)

there is less crime

and fewer car accidents

I do like having the extra light in the evening to
work in my garden..
or to go for a hike...
or to have a "que"

It's just that the first week or so of DST

is a bit rough at times.

Skiing With the Fam

(DZ, Adeline, Mr. and Mrs. Shoe and me at the top of Comstock ski lift getting ready to make our last run down the mountain.

Peter and Joann are already down the hill at the village below)

Nothing is sweeter than being together as a family and skiing at Northstar

we had so much fun

...that is, after our bumpy start...

first, we didn't get to the ski resort until about 10, which resulted in losing out on the free parking next to the resort...so we had to park a mile down the street and take a shuttle bus

we inadvertently left Adeline's skis on the floor of the garage, so she made the 40 minute round trip drive back to the cabin to fetch them.

She did meet us on the slopes just as we finished our first run.

we came ready to purchase the great deal offered by Shell gas stations...

you fill up your tank and you get a coupon for 2 lift tickets for the price of 1...

only we didn't realize that they were only valid Sunday through Friday

mr. shoe caught an edge on his snowboard (he is pretty fast),

and wiped out bad with a face plant...

got the wind knocked out of him...

cracked his goggles and cut his eye...

check out his swollen and black eye here:

photo courtesy of the Mr. and Mrs. Shoe

as it turned out, it didn't matter that we had a late start

for by the time we got skiing, the snow softened up
really, five and a half hours of skiing is plenty at my age

(note: when I was in college, my friends and I would ski all day, without even a lunch break and then go to the spaghetti factory at Trolley Square to have a gigantic dinner...

can't do that now)

the sun was shinning.

the lines weren't too bad as long as we stayed on top

able to ski without having to stop mid hill (most of the time)

could keep up with everybody (most of the time)

the best run was the last...

there I was, all alone

making the most of each turn...

the cool wind brushing my face as I swooshed down the hill ..

I was tired but it felt oh, so good.

such a beautiful way to spend the weekend with my family

and being up amongst the beautiful snow covered, tree studded Sierra mountains

well, so long to the 2010 ski season

(that is unless I sneak up there on a Friday in the next couple of weeks

to use one of those coupons...)

anyone interested?

So Proud of this Girl!

Meet Adeline ....

she is my baby.

I am so proud.

She applied to 5 graduate schools, and has been admitted to 4:
Georgetown, George Washington, Carnegie Mellon - Pittsburgh and University of Chicago.
(Berkeley turned her down--they have no idea what they lost!)

This girl has...
drive
ambition
and spunk.

She is...
a go getter
smart
fun
cute

dedicated

short

athletic

funny
friendly

a hard worker

(was working 3 jobs at one time)
spiritual
a good speaker
a terrific writer
an organizer

and so, so very talented.

Now, which school will she attend?

Decisions...decisions.

No matter what,

she will be a fabulous addition to that lucky university.

Congrats to you!

Sneak a Peek Week 11

Daffodils are blooming all over....

in the back yard...

in the front yard...

by the fence...

and under the flowering cherry.

Daffs make me feel so happy!

They are little balls of sunshine popping up from the ground.

Don't the blossoms of my flowering cherry make you feel cheerio?

Spring has arrived.

Love it!

Juice

I love to start my day with

fresh squeezed orange juice

from Trader Joe's

it tastes like you are drinking an orange

it is not pasteurized

(so the fresh taste isn't cooked out)

at times I purchase the competitors

such as Odwalla, Minute Maid and Naked

they are good

but not as good as TJ

which is the best

it never lets me down

regardless of the time of year

so sweet!

...bottoms up!

Back in Monterey II

Am I losing it?

I wrote this post several days ago...

but instead of clicking "PUBLISH POST"

I clicked "SAVE NOW"

Oh me oh my...

Let me finish telling you about the my visit in Monterey last weekend...

I woke up at the crack of dawn Saturday morning (around 6 am) and couldn't go back to sleep.. so, what is a better way to start my day

than by taking a walk along the coastline trail to Pacific Grove?

I love getting up early, especially on a weekend.
Most (normal) people are still asleep in their cozy beds..

Not I...and several other early birds...

some were.....
running and biking...

still others were preparing to go scuba diving

and some were just plain walking like me..(some with a leash in hand).

I love to watch the sun rise to greet another day

and to watch a sleepy town wake up...

I walked passed......

workers sweeping the sidewalk...
delivery trucks bringing the goods..

workers cleaning the windows...

I smelled wafts of ....

bacon scents and sea salt mist...

floating through the air..

I heard...

the seagulls cawing

the sea lions croaking

and the surf crashing.

I knew this was a start of a most beautiful day.

I walked passed this retaining wall depicting the history of Pacific Grove..

What a lovely way to "disguise" an unsightly wall?

After I got back from my walk (over 3 miles roundtrip),

I went to the aquarium as a guest with one of my friends

(her husband is attending the Adcom meetings with my dad)

Don't you love FREE?

We took a behind the scenes tour of the facility...
and fed the fish with handful of krill ....

(so thankful for rubber gloves!)


Loved the jelly fish exhibit...what incredible creatures!
the floating blobs are so mesmerizing....

I could stare at them for hours..

I didn't, for I wanted to see the...

sea dragons!

The sea dragons are something out of a science fiction film. So wild. So unreal.

and the sea horses (cousins to the sea dragon)..
which was my absolute favorite.

(Note: the battery to my camera died at this point.

Unfortunately, here on out, I have no pictures to share).

As I gazed upon the tank holding these most unique creatures,

something very surreal came over me.

I found myself with misty eyes,

as I watched the sea horses

gracefully move about the water

in tandem with each other

their tails wrapped and intertwined

dancing

together.

If DZ was with me..

I would have squeezed his hand

So amazing.

Have you ever seen an Albatross in real life? I have!

After spending close to six hours in the aquarium,

I dropped my friend off at the hotel and

I headed south to Point Lobos.

This was my first visit and I was filled with amazement.

The trail hugs the bluff 100 feet above the coast...

where the crystal clear opalescent aqua blue water

crashes over the jagged rocks below.

Why is the color of the water near shore iridescent blue?

Sea otters and sea lions splashed in the water ...

birds were everywhere ..

but a scarcity of people ...

I was in heaven!

(I do hope heaven includes a Point Lobos, because that is where I want to land)

At 6:02 pm, I witnessed

T H E M O S T I N C R E D I B L E S U N S E T, E V E R!!!!

so, so lovely.

Before I turned my back to the sea

(I had 1/2 hour to return to my car)

a most peaceful wonderment consumed me..

a smile filled my face...

my eyes glanced upward....

and I thanked God

for His amazing creations.

What a wonderful way...

to to start and end the day

with the rising and setting sun..

the bookends for a day

which is indelibly imprinted in my memory.

Interviews for DZ

DZ is all ready to head out for his three interviews this morning.

(notice the new pair of glasses?..oops, should have worn his black belt)

Wouldn't YOU want to hire this happy chap?

(I would if I were in the driver's seat!)

Please zap some good wishes toward Redwood City...

(and DZ, show them your stuff !)

Back in Monterey

I headed back down to Monterey Thursday night with my dad. I love travelling with my dad to conferences and meetings. This time there were no planes to catch, we just hopped in the car (with me in the driver's seat) and headed south to the city by the ocean that I love.

My dad's purpose for being in Monterey was to attend IEEE Adcom meetings all day Friday and Saturday which consisted of sitting inside a windowless conference room with 40 fellow attendees from 8 in the morning til 5-6 at night.

For me, I had two days to do whatever I pleased. Now, if I was home, those two days would be filled with all sorts of projects, activities or the dreaded housecleaning jobs. I came prepared. I brought a book (Emma), I brought some magazines (Real Simple, The Ensign), I brought a photo album project, and I brought a counted cross-stitch sewing project.

I'll bet you are wondering..did I open my book? did I get any pictures pasted into the photo album? did I read any magazines? or did I thread a needle? Well, I must respond with a resounding NO to all of the above. I was prepared just in case the weather did not cooperate and I would be confined to our hotel room. But since it was soooooo gorgeous, I was out and about at the crack of dawn.

Let me share with you a tidbit of my long weekend:

The moment my eyes flipped open Friday morning, I made a beeline to Trader Joe's and to Peets to purchase some fresh squeezed oj , a cup of steaming hot chocolate and lemon scone with currants. That was my breakfast. The first thing on my agenda was to head up the coast to Moss Landing and go to the Succulent Gardens. OK, I purchased more plants and a couple of wreath forms (will show the progress on that project in a future post). I know what you are thinking ...there she goes again, purchasing more plants..I know I am plagued with a bit of sickness ...I just can't help myself.

I found some zinc bell jar tops in an antique collective. Had a wonderful chat with one of the owners. I felt a bit bad for him, for business has been quite slow. So, I had a good feeling as I trotted out of his store with my tiny brown paper sack under my arm. Upon returning to my car, I was greeted with this on the windshield. Those lovely seagulls!

Believe it or not, I started feeling pangs of hunger so I headed to Phils Fish Market ,

and had a very large bowl of their clam chowder. I was stuffed.

Again, for seafood lovers, this is the place to eat--you can also purchase the freshest fish in their market. I understand their cioppino is OUTSTANDING.

I came upon this sign for the Moonglow Dairy. The sign alone made me want to buy their milk, unfortunately I don't think they sell to the public. Cool sign though.

Wafts of the freshly tilled dirt permeated the air as I drove along the coastal roads. I passed acres and acres of artichoke fields filled with ripened chokes waiting to be harvested... passed by fields with workers bent over mounded rows covered with plastic, planting and weeding the acres of strawberry plants. I am so grateful for these hardworking people. What a back breaking job. I am glad they are willing to work in the fields (most speak very little English, if any) under all sorts of harsh conditions, whether it is the beating sun or cold air. My hat is off to you!

I stopped at the Navy Postgraduate Training School where my dad was stationed over 65 years ago. I naively thought I could pop in and take some pictures of the buildings he stayed in...unfortunately since it is a "live" military base, I was denied access, thanks to 9/11. Oh well.

Finally, I spent over an hour in Target wandering the aisles (you can easily do that in Target), after which I headed back to the hotel, got ready and headed to Fandango for a most delicious meal. I had the finest paella my palette has ever tasted! Would highly reccomend this restaurant.

To be continued (tomorrow)......

Six Sisters Celebrate

I am so lucky. I have five sisters who are my best friends.

We all went to Monterey this past weekend to celebrate the two sisters who had birthdays in February, one on the 9th for her 59th and the other on the 19th for her 50th.

On our way down, we stopped at the Succulent Gardens . I've never seen so many succulents in one place...my heart skipped a beat the moment I entered the greenhouse. This is an amazing place and if you are ever in the area (near Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough) I highly recommend you stop in for a visit.

Monterey is a quite the charming seaside town, I must say. We spent the night at The Clement on Cannery Row, the most exquisite hotel I've ever stayed in.
Doesn't it look magical? It is right on the water, clean, sleek, and staffed with friendly and helpful people...

We were greeted with a furry little otter and her pup and very luxurious shampoo/conditioner and soap on our beds.

We each had our very own big fluffy white robe, white puffy towels and a pair of pristine white terry slippers,

and had a bonsai and a mini Japanese garden to enjoy.

The granite/slate tiled bathrooms were exquisite.We had a 36" flat screen HD television, a cozy fireplace in the corner, our own deck, a fitness center that is to die for.. the most comfy bed with my favorite kind of white sheets....and a skinny lap pool to frolic in (and try and get skinny).



The city looked mighty fine with it's sparkly clean sidewalks and streets ( I swear little elves come out at night and scrub everything down!)...

...blooms were everywhere in "pocket gardens" throughout the town ...not a weed in sight.



At night, we ventured on down to the terrace and sat in front of a blazing fire under a gorgeous glowing full moon while the waves lapped the shore below ...


...and we toasted our sixty toes in twelve shoes by the flame.

Early Sunday morning, we all took a stroll along the shoreline trail .....

...and enjoyed the crystal, clear, salt air..

On our way home, we stopped in Castroville, the Artichoke Center of the World. It provides nearly 80% of the U.S. crop ( the other 20% of the US crop is grown elsewhere in California). We picked up the deal of the century...12 Green Globe's (the only kind grown commercially in the U.S) for one buck. So deelish.

Have you ever seen a choke as large as this?:

Oh, I am so lucky to live so close to such a beautiful place....


I am ready to return.