Goin Back To Cali

Once again I must leave my sweet little friend and shadow, Miss. Ginger. She's been a bit 'wobbly' of late and I really hate leaving her, but my mom's been a bit wobbly too, and I'm very much so looking forward to being with her during this whole surgery business.

If only we could explain things of this type to our pets...if only they could understand why we're going away, or taking them to the vet, or not giving them chicken anymore because they're allergic to it...the list goes on. It would be so much easier for them...as well as for us, if they could talk!

The four art camps were a great success and an absolute blast...I can't believe that they're already over and done! It's truly shocking how fast time flies when they're happening...so much prep, so much activity, so much fun, and then...

Whoosh, they're gone...until next year that is.

Of course, I can always visit and relive these special times, along with the wonderfully talented kids that partook in them...in the glorious 'land of images', where I know happy memories and a continuous smile will be guaranteed each time I do.

The Seagull pictures particularly make me smile...the one above seemed to be looking at his creator saying "Are we done yet...can we go home now?"

Little Miss. M's bird seemed to be completely up to no good...personally, I think he was planning to do a little target practice over the ferry!

The sweet seagull above was just saying "Isn't that one of the prettiest sunset you've ever seen?"...and I have to say...yes it is.

The Northwest Indian Salmon 'carvings' just amazed me. The details that the students added to their fish were so creative...I wish I'd taken more pictures of them!

Next year I think we'll definitely be trying the Totem Poles!

Even though I loved the Seagull's and the Salmon...I think visiting the Tulip Fields was my most favorite project...and because the majority of students had been to the Skagit Valley during tulip season and had seen the farms for themselves...they were very excited to visit them in oil pastel.

Maybe it was my favorite because I've been in such an obsessive gardening (and conservatory) mood lately...it's actually going to be difficult to leave garden (as well as Miss.Ginger). It's been coming along so nicely and I don't want to miss one single second of all the lushness.

I will be able to get a garden fix though while in LA...at the Getty Museum, one of my all time favorite places to visit. The Huntington Library is also one of my favorite gardens & museums, but I don't think I'll be able to go this trip...so the Getty it will be!

I'm just sure I'll be coming home with thoughts of building iron umbrellas for roses to climb upon (if it wasn't for our climate, it would definitely be bougainvillea!)...and azalea mazes for the local water fowl to play in...Mr. 24 best prepare himself for some serious garden working!

Other than visiting The Getty though...I'll mostly be playing nurse and hanging out with Poppy, my mom's main coon cat, who acts like a dog and is bigger than Ginger...he's just a big sweety at heart though, and quite the gentleman! So he and I are planning to have an enormous amount of time to visit you...and time is what I've been lacking lately, it'll be such a luxury to do so...and I'm actually going to try to post something from there, we'll see how that goes, I don't have a laptop so it might be tricky...I'm very game to try though!

Poppy and I will be seeing you all soon...♥

(BTW- Blogger *really* kicked my caboose on this post...it was one of the most difficult posts to get images and words to behave and stay put...hope it's a temporary issue. Simplicity please Blogger...simplicity.)

(All images: personal)



Moss Illumination...Irish Style

When ones Irish Moss is all aglow, one stops everything one is doing and takes note, and then also takes a veritable slew of images that one must then add to the already enormous image file that one is piling up in the hopes of producing a post in the very near future.

One decides that the illuminated Moss will make a wonderful foray back into the land of blog, which one has been trying to enter for the past two weeks to no avail.

What with the third camp prepped for and started (but not the fourth!), guests visiting, a trip to plan for (Gitzi's having another surgery), two mediation's about the house finally tucked under our belts (this was a HUGE one!)...not to mention the Olympics, which have kept us up into the wee hours and muddled our morning brains a bit (so worth it though!)...it has been a touch difficult to find the time to sit in front of the computer and produce a *brilliant* post!

Actually, it is the next conservatory post that one has diligently been trying to accomplish, but one took way too many pictures, and one must now sift through and fiddle with them all to of course, present the most stunning of the bunch. I really must learn to reign in the click-click of the camera!

But now, due to being completely enraptured by the sun kissed Moss...the conservatory post will have to await another day and I will instead, share these lovely images with you in the hopes that you too will find the Moss just as 'stop you in your tracks pretty' as I have.

When walking past the Moss first thing the next morning...it somehow looked especially fresh and green to me after the previous nights incandescent performance.

It's little tiny little arms seemed to be stretching after a wonderful nights sleep...and the sweet little white flower buds at it's fingertips seemed ready to pop open for business!

Hopefully our weather will permit such glowing occurrences to happen more frequently (we've had such a cloudy summer) since Miss. Moss liked basking in the sinking sun so much...it obviously made her (and I) very happy!

Normally, Irish Moss is grown out of doors, but due to the Conservatory state of mind I've been in lately, I've found myself experimenting in the world of Botany, and have had a few great successes and some very pleasing surprises, such as this happy & fluffy Moss! I think finding her all lit up though has been by far...the best surprise of all.

There was a bit of a learning curve here mind you...she doesn't like wet feet, but she does likes somewhat damp hair, and oh yes...she very much likes sunsets!

So here's wishing you all a delightfully glowing, and thoroughly motivating surpirse, in your very, very near future!