Wiped Out

 Song - Pipeline by Stevie Ray Vaughan & Dick Dale

Valentine's Day is Mr. B's birthday, so with the long Presidents weekend, we decided to head on down to Santa Cruz for a few days to celebrate and relax.

The weather was just exceptional - in the mid 70's and clear as can be.

We took long walks on the beach every morning.

Stopped in at Gayle's bakery a few times.

Just to "smell" the wonderful pastries and goodies that she and her staff make! (wink....)

We watched the surfers enjoying the waves.

 We called this guy "Spidy" as he was dressed in Spiderman colors and he was quite the trickster!







And the Sandpipers were enjoying the waves as well......

 

In they go, run, run, run, run, and.....

...out they come, run, run, run, run!

 

 

 



We also found a little "honey bee" enjoying the waves too....well as long as they didn't catch her!


We enjoyed several new restaurants that were incredible.  Soif is a Wine Bar & Restaurant that had an excellent menu and Laili which is Silk Road/Mediterian food.  Both were wonderful &  Mmmmm.....can not wait to go back!



Andy and Ashley joined us for a few days and we went wine tasting.....

 

 

 

Both Nickelson and Alfaro Wineries were fun and beautiful late in the day.  They are both just little family run wineries but friendly and served some very good wines.



Saturday morning we headed to Natural Bridges to watch the Monarch butterflies fly North....

I guess with the weather being so warm they had taken off several days ago but there were still a few dancing in the air with eachother and basking in the warm sunlight.

.....good talks,

breakfast on the Wharf,

crab & spaghetti at the cabin for Saturday's dinner

and lot's of laughter!

 

I have never seen seals piled up like this, have you?  Usually they are under the Wharf barking or basking in the sunshine.

Do you know why they are doing this???

 

Raise your flipper if you know the answer.....

 

 

 

Luckily Ashley (who is now a Kindergarten teacher) was an Fourth grade teacher last year and provided us with the answer, which we promptly checked her on because a lot, I mean A LOT, of tall tales get started by Mr. B. but because it was his birthday weekend we tried not to bust him too much.  So we went after sweet Ashley instead.

 

She was right!!!  The seals form a "raft" and hang on to each other so they don't get lost while sleeping or in rough seas.  They hold up their flipper to regulate their body temperature. I guess it's kinda like we do at night, one leg under the covers and the other on top!

 

 

 

  

 

Remember after all.....you are still in Santa Cruz and you know the saying ......

 

 

 

"Surfing soothes me, it's always been a kind of Zen experience for me.  The ocean is so magnifiecent, peaceful and awesome.  The rest of the world disappears for me when I'm on a wave." -- Paul Walker

A Little Green Science Experiment

What do you do with old, outdated vitamins?

While trying to "simplify" my surroundings, I discovered that I had 20+ bottles of old, outdated vitamins.

So a couple of days ago, I decided to purge my old stash of vitamins.

I looked online (as I know it is not safe to flush them) and I found it interesting that several articles said to toss them in the trash. But then I came across one article about composting them!


Boy was it fun......I felt like I was in High School science lab all over again!

Pretty cool huh?

Things were bubbling and brewing all around me.  I had several bowls going at once. 

My son, Tyler walked in at one point and kind of rolled his eyes at me while pinching his nose.  I could just hear his mind thinking.....oh, oh, mom's totally lost it this time!

But before I passed this information along to you, I decided to check it all out with my friend Taya Monfried who has a blog on cooking and going green! 

Her blog is "Me and My Green Bin" 

 http://meandmygreenbin.blogspot.com/

Please drop by and say hello!

I though she could shed a little light on the subject.....so I asked her to do some research and to "Guest Blog" on the subject.  Here is what she has to say.........


"Last week Jeanette emailed me that she had decided to clear out her family's outdated vitamins.  She came across a website that advised her to "place them in hot water until they dissolve, add coffee grounds or kitty litter, place them in a ziplock bag and toss them in the garbage."  So in the spirit of curiosity and adventure, she followed the directions exactly and documented her little science experiment.

Sensing that there had to be a green alternative, she consulted her "Green Gal"--me. I immediately thought of composting them, so when I got done chuckling, I decided to check what the experts had to say.  Interestingly, in all my respected sources, there was zero information on the effect of vitamins added to compost.  Neither the comprehensive Rodale Book of Composting, nor The Berkeley Ecology Center, not my favorite guide, Composting for Dummies, had a word to say on the subject.

Finally, it was the Internet that provided some down to earth suggestions for vitamin disposal, and some novel ideas for their transformation - i.e. bead projects, noisemakers or a base for coloring paint.  Others discourage throwing them away at all, since it is debatable whether vitamin pills actually lose potency after their expiration date, which may be merely a gimmick used by manufacturers to sell more vitamins.

The Garden Web has a lively forum with opinions and suggestions on discarding and composting vitamins.  The participants maintain that since compost is, after all, a mélange of organic matter made up of kitchen scraps and lawn clippings, etc., why not add unwanted vitamins into the mix.  These little capsules seem to have all the requirements for good compost material--they're small, non-toxic, water soluble and full of nutrients.  Why wouldn't they decompose with the other stuff, eventually turning into humus, which will in turn lighten, aerate and naturally fertilize the soil in the garden.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg0221015016816.html

An Ecology Center employee, told me that it's fine to experiment with home composting, but the City of Berkeley doesn't want vitamin pills in their green waste.  That means I can't dump unwanted multivitamins in my green bin!  So I thought I would make a cleansing scrub fortified with old vitamins that I found on the ehow website.

CLEANSING FACIAL SCRUB

Grind vitamins up in a food processor and mix them with yogurt, avocado and lemon or lime juice for a gentle exfoliating mixture you can use on your face and body."

Taya's facial scrub looks much "prettier" than all of my photos of "slime" but I think we both enjoyed our little experiments and learned something in the process!  Thanks so much Taya!!


"My whole life has been spent waiting for an epiphany, a manifestation of God's presence, the kind of transcendent, magical experience that let's you see your place in the big picture. And that is what I had with my first compost heap." -- Bette Midler

 

                              

"Lemonade, Lemonade, just like Grandma used to make"

Song - Lemon Tree by Peter, Paul and Mary 

I like lemons but I especially like lemon trees.  

The aroma when they are in bloom is just majestic.

Occasionally I pick a basket full of ripe lemons for the house.  Just the scent of the lemon rind is amazing.

Right now I have about 8 lemon trees and today I harvested half of the crop so that they have energy for a new batch of fruit.

Freezing Lemon Juice

---

One other thing about harvesting lemons before pruning... you can freeze fresh squeezed lemon juice in ice cube trays and keep them for many months in the fridge. Freeze them in the ice trays and then bag them up once they are frozen. A great way to have water with lemon!

If you'd like some ideas of what to do with your lemons, particularly Meyer lemons, check out Amy Scattergood’s  100 Things to do with a Meyer Lemon article from the LA Times.


 “I believe when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade...and try to find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.” --Ron White


<sup>Or my personal favorite....

When life gives you lemons, find a kid with a paper cut!</sup>

From the Bleachers

Song - San Francisco 49ers Song

My boys are heading to the Super Bowl! 

L to R - Jon, cousins Sean & Paul, Andy c. 1988

Well not really but they are going to a great party at a friends home to hopefully celebrate the 49er's victory!

I am not a big football fan so I am looking forward to a day of gardening and reading in peace & quiet at home!

In preparation for the event Mr. B has spent several days pondering as to what he should make to share at this special event.


Would it be a Super Bowl Stadium Snack Dome? Mmmmm....maybe......

He looked at photo's of various structures for days.

No, that didn't feel just right. (Thank goodness - lordy - can you imagine my kitchen after building that ?)

Every morning he would pour over recipes.

Then one day he settled on the Muffuletta!

And there were days of pouring over various Muffuletta recipes.

Now if you know Mr. B - he isn't going to follow just any recipe.  He needs to combine several, then tweek it just a little to make it his very own.

"The muffuletta sandwich has its origins at the Central Grocery in the French Quarter of New Orleans. According to Marie Lupo Tusa, daughter of the Central Grocery's founder, it was born when Sicilian farmers selling their produce at the nearby Farmers' Market would come into her father's grocery for lunch and order some salami, ham, cheese, olive salad, and either long braided Italian bread or a round muffuletta loaf. In typical Sicilian fashion they ate everything separately sitting on crates or barrels while precariously balancing their meals on their knees. Her father suggested cutting the bread and putting everything on it like a sandwich, even if it was not typical Sicilian fashion. The thicker braided Italian bread proved too hard to bite and the softer round muffuletta loaf won out. Shortly, farmers came to merely ask for a "muffuletta" for their lunch.<sup>"    from Wikipedia.com



Whether or not the 49er's win, I know they will have fun!


"Julie Brown to Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys running back (Super Bowl XXVIII):

......"What are you going to wear in the game Sunday?"</sup>

 

Take a Peek Outside

Song - I Dream of Spring - KD Lang



It is only February 2
and generally my garden
still looks like winter
but after a few days of sunshine,
nature is beginning
to awaken.



The Garden in Winter today.....but look closer...

Our Tulip tree

You must get close, very close to see the small changes going on.

The Climbing Hydrangea is beginning to bud

As is the White Lilac

A Dogwood bud

I like to put my Macro lens on my camera when I stroll around my yard. It forces me to pay close attention to the little details.

Usually the Quince is one of the first signs of Spring

 

Or the Snow Drops

And the Forsythia

 

The Grape Hyacinth surrounds my garden with little purple & blue suprises

 

An old Hellebore hiding under a fern in my shade garden


 

I love the scent of Narcissus - don't you?

The Daffodils will be out soon

Around the corner, in the bright morning sun, 

I smell something beautiful and I see my Daphne plant is in full bloom

 

Under planted with little sweet Pansy's

The Strawberry Madrone is beginning to bloom

And a little Sea Foam rose made an appearance today

Looking at the first photo of my Winter garden today, would you ever expect so much was going on?

"A single rose can be my garden, a single friend, my world." ~ Leo Buscaglia