Still Christmas in the greenhouse

This poinsettia is going gangbusters. I have watered it since Christmas and it keeps growing. It seems to really like it in the greenhouse. I love the pop of red. It's sitting on my brother's baby chair. His birthday is Wednesday, tax day. 

Sweet picture of Oreo watches over me as I putter around in there. Gail had that painted for me when he passed away. I will treasure it always. And one day, I will see him again. I think of Sherri and her beloved Tallulah Mae. I pray they are reunited.

A True Green House

I saw this today and thought: a green house that grows food, not orchids or some rare ornamental this or that. How smart! This is Lucy Marr. Her and her hubby are: Stephen and Lucy Marr - Hairdressers and Skincare Developers at their glass house - Auckland - Nov 21 2011
I love this idea…

One could certainly whip up quite the green drink from this little crop of goodies. And since it’s enclosed, no bug friends to disturb the leafy goodness. If you click the link, and scroll down a bit, you will see the green drink they make and the recipe. It sounds divine. Love love love.

End of Weekend Catch Up

Fall is upon us, and I’ve been away for what seems like a full season. Work has me at the computer a whole lot, with little time to blog. Fortunately, I keep snapping pics, waiting for a night like this to catch y’all up!!!
Figs. That’s a good place to start. Our fig tree, the one that was basically a little stick with a few green leaves on it for the first year, has gone wild! I’m so glad it rallied. And these delicious beauties were the recent harvest. They were so crazily good. Picked them on a cool morning. So good.

Strawberries! Also home grown. I have four pots on the potting table and they just keep putting out the berries. Fun to take a break from the computer during the day and walk outside and nab one. A sweet distraction from writing about technology!

Peaches. And, how gorgeous are these? Not home grown, however. But delish nonetheless… A Whole Foods bounty. They smelled divine.

The “L” train in Chicago. I was there recently for work. What a great city. Gorgeous architecture everywhere.

This is the Tiffany Dome – it’s in the Chicago Cultural Center. Such a beautiful building.

My sis-in-law and niece met me in Chicago for some family fun. It was so great to spend time together. We had dinner one night at The Girl and the Goat. The chef was a Top Chef winner. It was quite the carnivore’s haven, but really, really good.

My favorite San Fran eating spot. I was there last week. A salad from Il Cane Rosso. Everything they make is so fresh – like they pulled it out of the ground 2 minutes before you get there.

Hope this finds everyone well! I’ll stop by and say hi soon!
, Robin

Chicken & Pig Bonanza...and I Don't Mean BBQ

Smith & Hawken has some adorable tin roosters and pigs (with wings!) right now. Made from 100% reclaimed scrap metal. Pretty cute! They look a wee bit tipsy, like maybe they just went to a Mad Tea Party. :o) This picture is from the S&H catalog. Just so you know, this bevy o' chicks is not living at my house. But, if you want them at yours, you'll need to pay $259 for a big one, and $129 for the small one. Sqwaauuuk!

Around the Yard

This past weekend, James planted the fig tree we bought the weekend before. It went into the border at the far end of the yard where there were 3 rose bushes. I walked out to check them the other day and they were dripping in aphids - ew! I pretty much said, that's it. If I want roses, I may have to go buy them. They're going into pots on the other side of the house where they can either thrive or be consumed by aphids, and neither process will have to be witnessed by me. Boy, do I sound bitter!

So, in went the fig tree and a little patch o' herbs and a couple lavender plants. Hopefully this assortment will prove less delicious than new growth on the roses bushes - the new growth and buds are what makes the aphids go cwazy with hunger! Although other insects will eat the aphids (if you wait long enough, as your buds and new growth are demolished) and spraying them off with water is the "natural way" to deal with them, I think I have another decade of patience-building to invest the constant doting I think rose growing will require of me. Other folks have bumper crops of blooms - not this gal. I'm Robin the Rose Killer! And looking back, I have a bit of a history of doing this. Oh, well...













Now, lavender on the other hand! This is the humongous plant that I mentioned the other day.













And this little seedling started on its own from another big plant (same type as this) . And he's doing really well! He was just about 1 inch high when we discovered him. Now he's nearly 5 inches. Is everyone asleep from this blog post? I realized this may not exactly have you on the edge of your desk chair. :/














How about an extra picture of darling Saylor getting some lovin' from her Mom.

A Sunday Herbal

Today I spent the late afternoon planting herbs! It was very relaxing and grounding. No soil pun intended. There's marjoram, basil, mint, chives, parsley, oregano, rosemary, and dill. Except for the thyme, there's a Mammas and the Papas' song in there. Ha! They are now all nicely situated on a plant stand that was a gift from my friend and Foziewisp blogger, Ms. S. I adore the stand, and love the way the terracotta pots look on it. Fun! Some of the herbs seem kind of small in the pots, but fingers are crossed that they'll sprout up!













At another corner of the house, I planted some of the herbs in vintage California pottery pots I've picked up at estate sales. The yellow ones and the green one were each 50 cents. Gotta love that. I just realized the white iron tables are also from Miss Sherri - purchased at one of her yard sales! Stuff doesn't really ever go away, it just changes addresses!

Around the Yard

I moved a couple rose bushes closer to the front door where I can spend more time trying to revive them. They were languishing in a couple of terracotta pots (outdoor tandoori ovens that can sometimes cook your plants), poor dears. We'll see how they do with some regular conversation, water, and general doting. The leaves are not in good shape, and this bloom is past its prime. But, such a pretty color.















I love the way Lantana forms these little bouquets. I've seen them grow as tall as small trees. I'm hoping these continue doing well. I just love them.
















And here we have a row of empty pots (ovens? ha!) ready for something hearty and heat-resistant!
















This little dude was sitting on one of the three rose bushes that are in the ground along the fence. He's pretty cute in his orangey-golden splendor.
















And, last but certainly not least, the vintage camp cot I picked up at an estate sale for 25 cents (!). It's made of hickory or some hard wood, I was told. The fabric definitely needs to be replaced, but can't you see it with a new cover? Maybe a heavy duck fabric in red? Perhaps a big monogram sewn into the center? Even if it isn't used for sitting, I could see it holding linens or books or something along a wall in a house. Who knows what purpose it will find. I couldn't resist though. Sitting there in the backyard of this house, I was transported to explorations along the Nile, wearing vintage Banana Republic safari wear, and sipping a smoky sherry. Ah, imagination.

. . . Garden Roses in Italian Pottery

Hope no one tires of seeing my roses in various containers. I just set up a bookshelf with all of my pottery on it (pictures soon), and I'm having lots o' fun using the different pots. Having a rose bush to cut from is so nice -- they're so beautiful and fragrant.



This is a new batch, btw. I nabbed this ceramic pot for just 3 dollars at a thrift store frequented by Miss S. of Foziewisp fame. She calls the shop "The Ladies" -- it's run by women who volunteer there. I just luuurve the colors, and it's Italian! Molto bello!

Garden Roses . . . Again

I love this blue pitcher which was my grandmother's. I love the way the red roses really *pop* against the blue. So, in weather - it's another scorcher here in San Diego today, and I have tons of work to do. Best stay inside and stay cool. But I'm dilly-dallying just a bit here in Blogville. I hope everyone's day is wonderful. How's that for a jumpy little paragraph? Oh, and for you conspiracy theorists, there's this: www.thisjune5th.com Apparently we are encouraged to withdraw all our money on June 5th. Probably not such a bad idea when you examine our shaky economy. Bye for now!

Garden Roses

The roses I planted over a month ago - can't remember now exactly when? - are a'bloomin'. They were doing a weird dry bud thing which the nursery folks solved for me - too much water! Ironic that dry buds = too much H2O. We are now giving them a good soak just every 7 days or so and the blooms are starting to come around. Yay!

And, here is a beautimous bouquet of marigolds and sunflowers that Mary had perfectly arranged on the table the other day. I love these.

The Order of Things

They say we only hold seven things in the front of our brain. Not sure how true that is. So, how many blog posts do we hold? I'm jumping around, but here's some new news:

1) A hummingbird hatchling is swinging on a palm frond right this minute at Mom and Dad's house! Only a California hummer could do this, right? Momma and papa birds are sharing nest duty -- how hip of them! They're hangin' ten as the wind sways their home and their hatchling!

2) Mary and I made the trek to Summers Past Farms for the 3rd Annual Craft and Antique Fair. I love, love, love this event. I can barely sleep the night before. We lolly-gagged around for about two hours. This was the entrance to the sweet pea maze. This is one of those pictures you treasure because of the memory attached to it.

I love that I haven't missed the fair in three years. We both stocked up on their Herbes de Provence, and I picked up a funky orange and yellow Hawaiian house dress for $8. I also saw an oddity of nature -- a humming bird hawk-moth -- something I had never seen or heard of. Oh, I've lead a sheltered life. Here he is in all his mothy glory. And another of his moth-mates may be seen at Foziewisp in the Ramona post (I was there, too!).














And another pic of a playhouse on the grounds at Summers Past Farms. What a great place.