Bounty by the Bay......

I had the most wonderful vacation in San Anselmo, California (across the bay from San Francisco.)  I was fortunate enough to be able to spend time with my dear friends Jami and Bonnie.  Days of fantastic weather, amazing food (both Jami and Bonnie are superb cooks and even have an outdoor wood fire oven from Italy,) fun sightseeing, walking and hiking, plus plenty of rest and relaxation!

I'll let the photos take you through some of the highlights......

A day in the city..... a view of Lombard Street.

 Reflections on a beautiful sunny day in San Francisco......

 

An early wake-up call so I could take photos of the sunrise by the Golden Gate Bridge....

Priceless!
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The colors of the weekly Farmer's Market:

I sampled my way through the entire market....

 ...and saw beautiful baskets of flowers everywhere.

.... and this was my first time tasting a "Pluot" 

(a new one on me - apparently a cross between a plum

and an apricot!)

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My generous hosts and me, dining at Casa Carlson......

... and I was thrilled to reconnect with my college pal Eric

and meet his lovely wife Linda!  

(Be sure and let me know when you're going to be in Ohio!)

The Pacific Ocean!  With my new canine friend, Pismo.

(Kiss kiss, scratch, scratch, buddy!)

Of course I can't forget the reclusive Chloe.  

(Yep, that's the face she gave me every time she saw me.)

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Well, I have hundreds of photos to go through, but I just wanted to preserve my time on the West Coast right here on the Web!   And yes, I've reserved the "same time, next year."  

Thanks, dear friends, and make sure my room is ready!

Love to you all ~~

XOXOXO

Sue

2010 Garden.......

Yes, it's that time of year again.  I finally got my garden planted at the farm.  I waited until I was sure there would be no frost, and I decided this year that I'd only work 3 or 4 hours a day instead of 8 hours a day, as I did last year.

Again, this is a true hillbilly garden!  I use items from around the farm to make the perimeter structure, for the tomato stakes, and to hold down the black weed barrier.  And of course, the old TV antenna "scarecrow" is in the corner, along with the large plaster owl, to keep the birds away.   Pop cans and small muffin tins rattle in the breeze to keep the critters away, and the garlic and habanero pepper mixture that I spray around the perimeter keeps the deer and raccoons away (so far!!!!)

I used some broken wooden stepladders to hang the old cane pole which will serve as the pole bean trellis.   I also have Alaska peas and Fordhook Lima beans growing in the corners.  Along with tomatoes, hot Hungarian and sweet banana and Jalapeno peppers, broccoli and spinach, new to the garden this year are cucumbers, radishes, small watermelons, okra, white onions and lettuce.

The side of the Morton building will (hopefully) produce zucchini, yellow squash, acorn squash and butternut squash.

Also beside the Morton building is the spearmint patch.  I transplanted a small bunch from my Mom's house several years ago, and now I'm trying to keep it contained!  I continue to share starts of it with my friends and neighbors.  After all, how can you make a decent Mojito without the spearmint ???

I've already harvested some spinach, lettuce, green onions and three little radishes for a  delicious salad over the weekend.  I can't wait for everything to come in!!  I plan to can some hot peppers, Grandma Margie's sweet pickle chips (the recipe also works for a yellow squash and zucchini sweet chip recipe) and maybe a bit of salsa. 

I still need to figure when to plant cilantro and dill to coincide with canning, but other than that, I only need to give this year's garden some TLC.

Here's hoping the weather suits the veggies this year as well as it did last year!!!

Sue

Fun, fun, fun......

Last week, my niece asked me to come to her Showtime 2010 dress rehearsal for her high school show choir.   I took my camera and took plenty of shots for her and the cast.  It was a fantastic performance, and I got a couple of unexpected shots which I thought were quite interesting........

What a great opportunity for these talented students to showcase their artistic flair!  Best of all, they looked like they were having SO MUCH FUN!
Best wishes to all of them for a wonderful and fulfilling future!
Reach for the stars...............

Oh, the snow and the cold......

.... in photos:

 

Icicles at Sunset

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Wagon Wheel

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Frozen Pond

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Mulberry Tree Covered in Snow

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Snowy Sunflower

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Snow Covered Branches

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Enough said.  THINK SPRING!!!!!!!!

Sue

Exciting News (multiplied by two!)

First exciting news item:

I just found out that one of my photo submissions won 2nd Place in the 2009 Ohio River Sternwheel Festival Photo Contest!!!!  I was so excited when I got my letter (and check) in the mail this week.  Here's my winning photo:

"Reflections by the Levee"

This was also the site of my infamous "slip and split" while taking photos that day (see this link for THAT story.)  But at least my aches and pains were worth it!

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Second exciting news story of the year:

My husband and I became great-grandparents this month (I know, hard to believe we could be SO OLD!) 

So without further ado, behold Ariel and John's beautiful baby boy, Jacob Patrick:

 

Winking at Great Grandpa

"Please, I'm trying to sleep!"

"Yes, I have lots of hair, too!"

So great news to start the year.  Here's hoping you have a great start to your 2010 as well!

Sue :)