A Sua Casa

Iris and daffodils

2011-11-21T23:18:00.000-08:00

I managed to plant all but my historical iris today...a big feat. I then spread bird netting over them to deter the rabbits, squirrels, racoons and possium.

Tomorrow I have a dumpster arriving to get rid of junk in the garage and clean up the side yard. I'm thinking of plantng the historical iris in the side yard. The half-bushel of daffodils was supposed to be delivered today per Fed-x's website but they didn't arrive. Maybe tomorrow.

Mom and I are getting out hair done tomorrow then if she has the strength we plan to see Puss 'n Boots. After dropping Mom at home I need to pick up the turkey (Deistel) and get the rest of T-Day shopping done. It will be a busy day tomorrow. Ugg.

Daffodil hill

2011-11-15T18:49:00.000-08:00

Well I've just been notified that my shipment of a half-bushel of daffodils has shipped. I know what I'll be doing over Thanksgiving holiday! I plan to put them on the front hillside, spread evenly in groups of 5-6. That's a whole lot of 6"-8" holes to dig but come Spring, what a display it will make!

I also got 50 dutch iris to plant in the same order...not sure where they are going yet.

Entered National Geographic's photo contest!

2011-11-15T18:40:00.000-08:00

There's no way I'll win anything but it's a good photo and I wanted to share it along with the other 11,000 entries. What was I thinking? ;-)
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/photo-contest/2011/entries/107364/view/
Sue

Newest Obsession

2011-09-11T22:48:00.001-07:00

Before my obsession with quilting, before my obsession with figs there was my obsession with iris. Last year when I first moved to my new place I planted a few iris thinned from Mom's yard. My sis also gave me some pretty iris as well. They bloomed and were beautiful, rekindling my love of them. See previous posts for pictures of last year's blooms.

Well I went a little crazy this year. I found HIPS, Historical Iris Preservation Society. I was hoping to ID some of the old iris from my grandmother's ranch. Well they had their annual iris sale last month. I didn't buy any at first but when last call came and they were only a buck, I said send me one of each variety...they did, 28 new iris added to the landscape. On their forum one of the members offered rhizomes for postage as he was thinning them out (done every 3-5 years). He sent me another 20 or so historical iris.Well this started a roll...eBay was my next stop...that was a mistake!

I like the historicals but I really love the newer hybridized iris. Some are just stunning. Between eBay and direct ordering from the likes of the Iris Patch and Iris Farmer, another 50 named iris were aquired.

Thought I was done but no...I heard my local nursery had iris on sale...they were potted, not bare root and were only a buck each...another 20 picked up. Names are unknow but they are a 'named' iris so should be pretty...peach, purple, deep yellow, bronze...

I joined the San Diego Iris Society. They had a member's iris sale today at Balboa Park...no I didn't go! I actually skipped it. I had to start planting what I have! I did get one large box planted, maybe 40 iris but these were from Mom's yard again. I still have over 100 to plant. I need to figure out an ID system so I don't loose track of the iris names. The San Diego Iris Society has a second plant sale next Sunday...

I think I am going to plant a historical iris garden seperate from the fancy, dancy iris. The fancy ones will be in the front yard, historicals in the back. I'm thinking of planting a Dykes Metal garden too...that's the award for the top iris of the year. I have several of them.

OK, so I thought I was done but I'm not. I found the reblooming iris group on facebook. I just ordered a dozen or so of them. Then there are the Spuria I want to get...someone stop me! ;-)

...and on top of the iris there's the half-bushel of daffodil bulbs I bought that are due to arrive in October. My garden next Spring should be quite spectacular...if I can keep the rabbits, squirrels and golphers at bay.

Sue

My Owls

2011-09-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

My nesting owls had a second clutch this summer! I didn't see how many were in the second clutch but three were in the first. Here's a pick of Daddy Owl on the box with either Momma or a baby peaking out from inside.

Photos taken in Aug, 2011

Bought me a man-tool!

2011-06-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

Well the weeds have finally won out. I can't keep up with the ones in front much less in the back so I bought me a 'man tool', a high wheel trimmer from Craftsman. I hate motorized tools, except my drill, but I had to bite the bullet and try this monster out. After reading the directions and familiarizing myself with the many parts, I added the oil. Went to the gas station and bought some gas too. It's a 4-cycle engine so no 2-cycle oil needs to be added to the gas.

OK I chickened out and didn't put gas in the tank. Figured if I did that, I'd have no excuse but to try to start it. Then I'd actually have to USE it....ugg. Right now, it's looking new and pretty sitting on my back porch. Maybe tonight? Definitely by this weekend as I have guests coming to dinner on Saturday. First BBQ of the summer!

Baby owls take flight

2011-06-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

I was out last evening and saw 2-3 owls fluttering around near the ground. In addition 2 larger owls were flying around them calling out. I have to assume these are baby owls that fledged from my nest box! I'm so excited. I tried to take some video of the one baby flapping it's wings probably trying to strengthen them for flight. He/she is hopping from tree to bush to ground to tree, etc. Fun to watch. the video is bad and you need to enlarge to fuill screen to see anything and it's well into dusk but you can see the owl in the lower center of the video as it flaps its wings and hops from tree to post.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=1791555192408&comments

I'll try to get a better video tonight if they are still around.

Summer Solstice

2011-06-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

Today is the Summer Solstice, the first day of summer. One of the enlightening moments I've had living in my home was experiencing the sun as it moves across the sky during the year. I knew it did but never realized how wide an arc it made. Actually it's the Earth that's moving, I know.

Starting today I plan to take a photograph of the setting sun every day possible for the next year. At the end of a year I will combine them into a movie so anyone can watch this event. Now I just have to learn how to make a movie from photographs! I think I can do this in Flash, just need to brush up on it's software.

Baby owls have fledged!

2011-06-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

I'm a proud momma of 3 newly fledged baby owls! Last night there was a flurry of owls swooping from tree to tree. I realized these babies learning to fly must be from my nest box! I saw the big daddy owl and momma owl swooping around them, keeping an eye on the three tree jumping babies. One would get ambitious and fly from the neighbor's Eucs to my Oak then back a few minutes later. The other two would fly to the ground then back up into the Euc. but mostly stayed in the Euc. They were so cool to watch! After an hour or so, one flew back into the nest, calling up a storm. I think it was either the Mom or Dad. Sweet!

Cliff Swallows

2011-06-08T20:10:00.003-07:00

I'm sure you've heard of the Swallows of San Juan Capistrano returning every March 19 to the Mission. These are Cliff Swallows. They make a very pretty mud nest that are like cement when completed. How do I know...I have my own Swallows...nesting in the entry way of my front door. I didn't even notice them until a couple days ago! I get home late, usually after dark so that my explain why I didn't notice them before...now what to do about it?

Since they start laying eggs before the nest is finished I'm sure there are eggs so I can't destroy the nest at this point. From what I've read, the eggs incubate for a couple weeks then it's another 6-8 weeks before flying off. Once they migrate back to Mexico for the Winter, I'll be able to destroy the nest and hopefully get all the mud off the stucco. I'll just have to stay vigilent next year since they 'return' to the same nesting spot! Until then, they are pretty to watch as they fly around the front yard.
Here are some pics of the nest and the birdie inside...

and of course, last night's sunset...

Sue

After the rains...

2011-05-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today I woke to a blustery rainy morning. It was quite nice. I put a fire in the fireplace then read for a couple hours. It was a nice Sunday morning. Around 4pm the sun broke and all the flowers, few that there are, looked quite pretty. My newly planted hillside is just starting to bloom. I don't expect much this year but next year should be quite pretty! The Pride of Madeira I started from a cutting last winter even has a few bright blue blooms on it! Can't see it in the pic but it's at the top of the hill.

My kitties

2011-05-27T12:59:00.004-07:00

Tina, this is for you! Below are my two 'new' kitty's enjoying their new home...I think?

This is Pasha...formally known as Desire, Desi or Miss Kitty...finally settled on a name for her. She is a Seal-point Himalayan according to the shelter's docs but I don't think she's a himy. Maybe a Bermese or other Siamese-colored breed. She is a big, hefty cat. She's really put on the weight since I got her...it may be diet time. Shes a beauty though!

This is Smokey, aka Smoke, Mokie, or Squeeker. He's a Blue-point Himalayan so the shelter docs claim. He is a tiny-boned, delicate cat but quite the hunter...and quick! He loves to play, is shy about being petted but loves to be brushed. He too has put on the weight. They were both underweight when I got them but I took care of that!

Mokie sleeping in my sewing room next to me (while I'm on the computer...did I say sewing room?)

Well I'm off to go play in the garden...summer flowers are starting to bloom, day lilies and agapanthas, geraniums, et al. I leave you with last night's sunset...

I hate spiders!

2011-05-25T23:35:00.001-07:00

I like to think of myself as a tough old broad...respectful of rattlesnakes, lizards and frogs but when this HUGE and I mean HUGE black widow spider pops out of nowhere in the dark garage dangling too close to my hand I squeel like a little girl! Ewww! Instant goose bumps. Yes, it's now part of my garage wall...and I'm back inside the house...shutter...

It was too near my longarm too! Now I'm going to have to quilt with one eye open above and below the table! I'm going to try to quilt this weekend since I have 4 days off! I have Gloria's quilt top to quilt, the one we worked on when she visited a couple months ago.

On Saturday, my b-day, I'm taking an art class with Lisa Bebi. She does some amazingly fun stuff and I can't wait! Not sure what I'm going to do, maybe a leaf or one of the kittys. After that is a shrimp BBQ at Mom and Dads.

I bought a new(er) car!

2011-05-09T14:15:00.001-07:00

Well I traded in my poor tired 1998 Toyota with 206K miles for a 2001 Honda Odyssey with only 91K miles. It was a good price and even comes with a nav unit, electronic sliding side doors, a back seat that folds into the floor, and lots of other goodies. It's gold with a cream interior so the dust won't show as bad.
;-) So far it drives like a new car, has lots of power. It's only getting 19.5-19.8 MPG but then I do drive that nasty hill daily. I like it. It's a relief. My poor Toyota was ready to go tires up!

Here it is! His name is Hal...as in 2001 "Space" Odyssey...

Owls and Iris

2011-05-01T11:17:00.002-07:00

Well look who's peeking out of my owl box! It's momma owl. I saw her moving around in the box last Friday and snapped a couple pictures. This one was the best!

Last night at dusk I was out watching the box. I saw the male owl swoop down the hill and make a kill. A minute or so later I hear him coming straight at me from behind the owl box carrying the rodent in his beak. As he approached the box, he swooped up, wings fully extended, extended his claws and grabbed onto the entrance, stepping inside. A minute later he exploded out of the box to hunt again. Momma owl was in the box chirping away when he left. I believe she is nesting! Hope to see owlettes in a couple weeks to a month.

My Anna Apple has set apples! This is the largest. The rest resemble the next picture...just starting to swell.

My iris have been blooming for the past month, mostly the solid deep purple, lavenders and whites. This weekend this bi-color and the pink bloomed. So pretty!

And then there's this red iris...

and a red violet

This deep purple is from my grandmother's ranch up north. They have been growing there for as Long as I can remember. I believe it is a historical iris named Amas.

And of course, last night's sunset...

Brown out!

2011-04-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well I never expected the electricty to go out for no reason last night! It happened around 9:30; the TV popped and went off, the ceiling fan lights dimmed to a ghostly yellow and the refer alarm went off. Wow where did that come from? Good thing I have a land-line phone so I called SDGE to report it. I was #9. They sent a couple crews out as it was a 'catastrophic failure', sounds omnious doesn't it? With an hour or more estimated repair time I went to bed with a flashlight and read for a while. Lights came back around midnight or 1am.

What was even more omnious was the morning sky. Got up around 7am and the sky looked like what I call 'earthquake weather'. The sky was an errie yellow glow. But the good thing is, there was a morning rainbow.

Linguica

2011-04-03T15:03:00.002-07:00

Last Friday I made a batch of linguica stuffing that needed to marinate for 48 hours before stuffing in hog casings. Well today is the day I stuffed the hog casings. This is my first attempt at making sausage and it was messy but fun! I have a long way to go to get the links similar in size but that will come with practice. Next up for these links is the smoker. I have a built in smoker in my BBQ. I've soaked some hickory chips and am headed to the smoker to try it for the first time! Lots of firsts this weekend!

The first casing which made the links in the picture below was made using the larger of the two stuffers. I thought it was too big so the next casing I used the smaller stuffer.

The last 3 links used the smaller stuffer. It's a better size for linguica.

So now they are off to the smoker. I have no idea how long to smoke as the directions didn't say. I'll go at least 2 hrs if not 4. I'll search the net to see if I can find a generic sausage smoking time.

Fun!

edit: Here's the final smoked linguica:

It looks good, like linguica is supposed to look. The flavor was quite different than I'm used to tasting though. A bit over spiced (too many spices). I'll definately try another recipe next time. Mom is trying to remenber how Grandma made hers using sour oranges (Seville). This recipe called for sherry. Others call for red wine. Now why didn't I make that one??? ;-)

Happy April Fools!

2011-04-01T15:05:00.002-07:00

Well today marks the one year anniversary of the purchase my home, 1 year down, 29 to go. So how do I celebrate? I'm out pulling weeds and prettying up my front hillside. I'm out spraying round up on the weeds down the hill in the back. I'm fumigating the ground squirrel tunnels as well as the gophers near my Paradiso fig tree. In other words, being a home owner. ;-) It got a bit HOT outside so I came in for a break. I'll go back out to get more done later this afternoon.

The perennials I put in a few months ago are growing well. The only setback are the daylilies. How was I supposed to know rabbits love them? Oh well. I need to get more agapanthas to take their place.

A few of the hundreds of iris I planted are throwing blooms. Can't wait for them to bloom! Most are from a garden club sale I went to last year. There were 3 flats of iris, one of white iris, one of purple, and one unknown. I bought all three. Had to be over 100 rhizomes. My sister gave me all of her iris, most of which are from Grandma's ranch. These are old world, unhybridized iris and highly sought after. Grandma's irises are the ones starting to bloom now.

My Anna apple is in bloom! This is a excellent sweet apple and I can't wait for my first bite. I was surprised to see how many blooms were on the tree. I didn't even know it had bloomed until I went out to weed.

My lemon has 20-30 small fruit set but something is eating the leaves, the orange too. I think it's snails but haven't caught the rascal yet.

The stargazer lily bulbs I planted are poking up thru the soil and the Society Garlic is blooming. The Panache fig has put on a good couple inches of growth. Love this fig! Excellent, excellent taste but needs a hot summer to ripen fruit well. My Pride of Madeira that I started from a cutting last year has doubled in size. It's a beautiful brilliant blue, stunning. I doubt it will bloom this year but next year for sure. I want to get a dark purple and a red-violet plant too.

One of my 3 lilacs had a tiny bloom but it was nice to see what the color was. It’s a pretty dark lavender color. Next year they should be beautiful.

I met my soon-to-be new neighbors today. As I was weeding they were driving by, stopped to say hello. They are building a weekend Tuscan retreat 2 properties over...they are from La Jolla. They have already put up an owl box, people after my own heart. They even have a mating pair nesting. I think I do too but it's hard to tell as there is no light on the box as I don't want to frighten them off. I do hear the male out there nightly on the box. I hear him all hours of the morning before daybreak too so I think I do have something going on. ;-)

The neighborhood is going to do a pig roast when their home is finished to celebrate. That should be good! A neighborhood Luau! I have great neighbors! I'm so lucky to be here.

Here is last night’s sunset. A bit of clouds in the sky always makes a special show.

Fire-breathing Dragon!

2011-03-22T21:19:00.002-07:00

After the rains, sunsets are unusually spectacular. Last nights was no exception. I caught this image of a fire-breathing dragon in the clouds. The sun set below the 'mouth' of the dragon giving it the fire-breathing image. Can you see the dragon?

Full moon rising!

2011-03-19T21:13:00.001-07:00

Tonight the moon is as close to earth as it has been snce 1993 making it a super moon, 14% larger than normal. Unfortunately it was hazy and blurred the image but I made a video of the show anyway.

Sunset, moonrise

2011-03-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

The pictures say it all...

Day before the full moon but it was sure pretty!

Home Decor

2011-03-07T22:22:00.001-08:00

Sunday was a busy day! I started off hanging the faux white wooden blinds I bought last April, yep, last April! I also hung curtain rods and put up the celery green curtain panels that my sister Sandy gave me her last trip here. I moved the chair and a half into the corner. It makes a nice reading spot for a Sunday afternoon. Granted, the curtains are not the right shade of green but for now, they will do.

I managed to fertilize all the flowers I planted last month before the latest rain came. Also surveyed the damage to the plants from the snow. I may have lost a few plants. The statice definitely didn't like the cold. I also planted the Star-gazer lilies and pulled a few weeds. I still have a few gladiolas to plant, maybe next weekend.

Can't wait for Spring!

Quilter's Run, 2011

2011-03-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

Sandi, Bonnie, Tina and I spent the day visiting 9 quilt shops on the southern half of the San Diego Quilt Run. We started at Amadon's in Poway then headed to The Crazy 9-Patch in Ramona. From there is was down to Memory Lane, Rosie's (where I bought $100 in backing fabric) and Country Loft. We took a break for lunch at an Irish Pub, Houlies, in El Cajon. Great beer, interesting appetizers; fries in a curry dip. I had Irish Stew.

After lunch it was on to Cozy Quilts where I found a Strip pattern called Harvest for my Bali Pop package of strips. From there it was down to Chula Vista and Amathyst and Quilter's Choice quilt shops. Here I found a lavender batik for the background of the new Cozy pattern.

Missed tonight's sunset but here is one from yesterday...enjoy.

and here's yesterday morning's view with fog in the valley...you can see the peak of Mt Woodsen in the distance.

Snow!

2011-02-27T21:32:00.002-08:00

Well the weatherman was right, it did indeed snow in Ramona last night! We got nearly 2" on the ground waking up to a rare winter wonderland. Take a look:

6:30 in the morning, sun is not up yet.

Small tree outside my bedroom...view from the window

Rosemary covered in snow

Owl nest box with a dusting

Side yard with newly planted lilac and society garlic

Pink iris in a frozen pond

Iced driveway

Sun is up, around 7:30am.

Car's not going anywhere for a bit...not sure it would make it up the icy driveway.

Palomar Mountain View Rd looking towards Palomar Mountain.

While playing on the road I built this little, and I do mean little snowman...had to it's tradition!

The snow melted by noon. It was pretty listening to it melt off the trees and roof, raining down on the ground.

Sue

Snow in Ramona!

2011-02-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

Break out the winter thermals! Stack up the firewood, cover the citrus trees, stock up the shelves and hunker down! It's going to snow in Ramona this weekend! Yeah!!!! Can't wait!

The goat

2011-02-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

Oh Delphi, Delphi, Delphi...what am I going to do with you?

My sister just called and said the neighbor's goat, Delphi is in my yard eating my newly planted plants...even pulled a couple that I just planted out of the ground. Love that goat but something needs to change. I've tried to hint at tying the gate shut instead of just using the latch. She knows how to butt the latch open. Suggested it twice to the neighbors to no avail...hmmm

Sister's visit

2011-02-16T18:30:00.004-08:00

My sis came down from NoCal on Sunday for her belated birthday. We went to Bob's for a BBQ and presents. It was a nice visit.

Monday I worked so Sandy went to visit Bob again.

Tuesday after work we went to Mom and Dad's to take them belated roses and strawberry covered chocolates for Valentines. We played 2 games of pinochle. The first game Sandy and Dad whipped our butts. Next Game Mom and I cleaned house. We had a great time.

Wednesday I took the day off to play with Sandy. Day started off with a roaring fire on a wet foggy morning. Sweet! Good cup of Sumatra coffee and a good book on the couch, heaven. In the afternoon we went 'girl-shopping' at Home Goods, Tues Morn, and Ross. Actually didn't buy anything! I was amazed.
For dinner tonight I'm making Chez Panisse's Goat Cheese Calzone with Prochutto. Yum!

http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/1045681-Chez-Panisse-Calzone

Tomorrow it's back to work for me. We are having dinner at the folks, Avogolemno, a fabulous Greek lemon-chicken soup.
More later! Gotta go sew! ;-)

Garden glow lights

2011-02-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

I worked a bit in the garden last weekend putting in more solar lights on the other side of the driveway and adding a few 'art lights'. These cracked-glass globes glow at night, changing colors of the rainbow. They are beautiful! They slowly move from red to purple to blue to green then yellow and white back to red. Very even, flowing movement but very bright glow, like little fairys in my garden! It is raining so the images are a bit blury and fractured but you can see some of the colors. I got these at True Value in Ramona.

Gardening is done!

2011-02-06T18:12:00.001-08:00

Finally, finally, finally! I got those plants in the ground that I bought last Thanksgiving! It didn't look like I had that many but when all was said and done, 96 pots were emptied.

I was sitting in my sewing room (also the computer room) enjoying my accomplishment when out of the ground popped a grrrrr...ound squirrel! Yes, he was so excited at all the new plants to eat! Couldn't stand watching him so I made up a bait trap and put it next to his hole in the ground (under my driveaway no less!). Well, haven't noticed if he's partaken of any of the bait cause I went and took a nice LONG nap. :-) I was pooped...still sick and all. Bait is from the County Ag Dept and does not have a secondary kill effect like some poisons (won't kill an animal that may eat the poisoned squirrel). It's expensive but that's why I use it.

Here's my bait trap...bait is in the center. Squirrels, rats, mice can get in, eat their fill then go away and die. Birds and larger animals can't. Ingenious! You can see some of the newly planted flowers too...daylilies, agapanthas, lavender, star jasmine, blue statice, and sea holly amongst others. I staked the trap so it wouldn't slide down the hill.

Gardening and Sunsets

2011-02-05T19:08:00.000-08:00

I hate being sick...where this fever, coughing and sneezing jag came from I don't know but I'm not a happy camper. It's going on two weeks. On top of missing 3 days of work, when I did feel well enough to go in, my freekin car wouldn't start. Borrowed Dad's until mine is looked at and repaired on Monday.

I spent this morning positioning around 70 potted plants in the yard. Tomorrow I'll start digging them in a little at a time...still not fully well and my energy is low. It will be nice to get them planted, I bought them last Thanskgiving! The soil is damp and easy to dig so the planting will be easy too. I had my Dad's gardener come over and fix my sprinklers front and back. They work so much better now! Before the water was disappearing into the air, not much hitting the soil. Now, water is getting to where it is needed. Yeah!

Mother Nature was in her full glory again tonight. I leave you with another of her fabulous displays.

Wolf Moon setting

2011-01-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

It's early Friday morning on my off-Friday. Got up fed the cats and went out back to water the potted plants. That's when I saw it, the Wolf Moon setting. Up here the rising sun casts a pink glow in the western sky every morning. It's beautiful. With the first full moon of the year setting it just enhanced the experience. The link below explains the unusual moon name.

http://www.dennismammana.com/skyinfo/astrofacts/moon_names.htm

I saw the moon rise last night on my way home from work. It was stunning and seems a good 20% larger. It was quite a sight to see.

Hope you saw it too!

Ramona Art Guild

2011-01-19T21:20:00.002-08:00

I joined the Ramona Art guild tonight. Looks like a great group of people. Some even come down from Julian. The guest artist tonight was Lisa Bebi. She does collage on canvas then paints with acrylic. She also makes stamps from sticky-backed foam for imprinting on the painting. It looks pretty cool and I think I'd like to give it a try. It's fast and I need some big art for my walls. She has a blog at lisabebi.blogspot.com. She also has a couple websites; lisabebi.com and lisabebiart.com. She demo'ed her technique for almost 1 1/2 hours. I think I'm going to like this guild! Next month we meet at the new Ramona library's community center.

It sure was foggy driving home though. I could hardly see the road and had to take it very slow...not like me at all. ;-)

More work in the garden

2011-01-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

I love to procrastinate but then most of us do! After looking at 40 or so potted plants I bought around Thanksgiving, I figured it was time to get some in the ground. I didn't get many planted, in fact only two...the black olive tree was planted on the front hill to help block the sight of the water tank and I put in one of 3 lilacs.

My trouble is trying to visualize what the yard will look like in a few years if this is planted here and that is planted there..or should I plant that here? Get my delima? I did get some Pride of Madeira cuttings from two friends but I think it was too late in the season. New growth doesn't root well, need dormant old growth but we'll see. They were put in the ground too.

I did mix up 2 gal of round-up and tackled the weeds that are starting to grow. Gotta stay on top of those babies! Also knocked down a bunch of weeds on the front hill. While there I noticed a potentially bad problem developing. Squirrels have nested under my steep driveway. With all the rain it has undermined the driveway and I'm afraid it is going to crack. I tried to push in as much dirt as I could but I think I need a contractor to advise me...I see $$$$$...ugg.

On a happier note, I got my new computer up and running using Windows 7. It sure is different than XP. Hate having to hunt around for what used to be at my fingertips though. Just to find the games was a chore!

Here's a pic of Saturday's sunset, it was a beaut!

and this one is from Friday night...glad I got off work a bit early...

Missed tonight's sunset as I took Mom grocery shopping and it took a bit longer than I expected. But she's very happy to get out of the house.

Sue

Shooting Star!

2011-01-11T13:43:00.000-08:00

Last night as I was pulling into my driveway around 8:30PM, I saw the most amazing sight, a blue-green shooting star that went from horizon to horizon. Well almost, I watched it break up about 3/4 of the way across the sky. It was awesome to see!

Another interesting fact of living on a hill...it gets windy! I stopped at my folks place neat Mt Woodson and it was calm but cold. When I got home, 10 miles away the wind was howling! Knocked over several potted plants it was that strong. It's fun living on the hill!

Window Scraping Complete!

2011-01-02T14:21:00.003-08:00

Well, almost complete.
I've finished the 5' master bedroom window. The side window was previously done.

I've finished the 8' living room window:

And the 5' dining room window:

The only window that remains painted this morning is the one over the kitchen sink. I'll do that when the blood returns to my arms. ;-)

In the mean time, I'm chopping up the Christmas tree which is heading to the mulch pit. Ornaments and lights are packed away for another year.

Tomorrow, it's back to the real world and back to work...I need the rest! ;-)

edit: 11:17PM: I managed to finish scraping the kitchen window when I got back from having dinner with Mom tonight. All the windows are done! Whew, what a job but the place looks so much better!

New Years Eve Sunset

2011-01-01T23:02:00.000-08:00

The final sunset of 2010.

Happy New Year everyone!

Sue

What to do on a rainy day?

2010-12-29T18:06:00.003-08:00

Christmas break is half over, boo. Yesterday I took Mom to see Little Faukers. It's the first time she's been strong enough to sit that long in years. We enjoyed a bag of popcorn and soda. She enjoyed it but it wiped her out. No energy for lunch so we went straight home.

Yesterday's sunset was another stunner.

Today the Arctic rainstorm hit us around 8am. It was a nice day to light a fire and stay inside. We are expecting an inch of rain and gusts of wind up to 40 mph. Frost is expected the next couple of days.

I've wanted to rearrange my kitchen cabinets since moving in and took today's rainy weather to accomplish this. I packed away 3 boxes of what I call 'excess glassware', mostly coffee cups. I guess I should just donate them. I also packed away excess baking dishes. I can't believe I have 10 baking dishes from loaf pan size (3) up to 13" x 9". Anyone need baking dishes? More stuff to donate!

After reworking the cabinets I got ambitious and tackled removing the paint from another one of the transom windows in the kitchen. It was not a fun job as the razor contraption kept collapsing on me every time I tried to scrape. Made a 45 min job into 2+ hours but one more window is now clean of paint, 3 to go. I can understand why the previous owners painted them, they do face west and when the sun sets it is very bright and very hot in summer. But still, put up drapes! Geeze!

Transom window half scraped.

Transom window now clean of paint!

What a mess I made!

With the rainstorm still in full force, there was no visible sunset tonight...boo. So here's one from earlier this week.

Tomorrow Darlene and I are going to lunch and a movie. Friday and Saturday I hope to get in the garden and finish planting my flowers and fruit trees. Yep New Year's Eve I'm doing the same as usual, staying home and staying safe from all the crazy drunks on the road...

I love the rain!

2010-12-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

New records set for rain fall in the county. Ramona had nearly 8" of rain so far.

7 day precipitation records broken or tied for the period December 16
through December 22...

Location new record(ins.) Old record period of record

Alpine 6.27 3.21 in 1978 since 1951
Campo 5.83 4.32 in 2008 since 1948
Escondido 8.30 7.21 in 1921 since 1900
Palomar Mountain 18.23 9.95 in 1938 since 1940
Ramona 7.99 5.98 in 1945 since 1974Palm Springs 3.47 1.67 in 2008 since 1922
Big Bear Lake 14.29 5.07 in 1978 since 1960

I love the rain!

It's a week before Christmas and all thru the house...

2010-12-18T23:43:00.002-08:00

I stopped at Home Depot Thursday night to get a tree. I wanted a big one for my first Christmas in my new home. I found a stunning tree in the 7'-8' bin so I grabbed it...or at least I tried. That sucker was HEAVY! I went to the front to get one of the employees to help me. We muscled it up front to have the trunk trimmed and to pay for it. They loaded it in the car and away I went...now how am I going to get that monster out of the car much less in the house??? Well I struggled for sure. I managed to get it leaning against one of the front columns and into a pan of water. I figured I'd get it in the house on Friday.

Friday came and I couldn't find my tree stand so off to Kmart I went for that and LED lights. Got 4 boxes of 75 lights. The tree stayed outside another night...

Saturday morning I decided to give it the old yankee try and muscle the tree into the house. I first put the stand on...having to shave down some of the branch nubs with a saw first.Then screwed in the 8 tree stand screws as far as I could get them. I did manage to drag it into the house, shedding needles all the way, but could I stand it up? Not a chance. I tried every McGiver trick in the book short of block and tackle...and I did think about that. But I chose to beg the help of my neighbor with a tray of holiday cookies instead. Jeff came over and we hefted that monser upright. Yep even Jeff commented "my, what a LARGE tree you have!". Oh well, next year I will be more sane in my choice. But it sure is pretty!!! I had to go back for more lights. The 4 strings I bought barely covered the top third of the tree...Bought 2 more boxes of LEDs and added a 100-string set I had on hand. It has ~500 lights on it now but it needs more. I will snag a few strings from Mom tomorrow since she's not putting up a tree.

Happy Holidays!

Sue

Geminids Meteor Shower Dec 14

2010-12-14T23:38:00.000-08:00

This meteor shower was touted as the best show of the year and they were not exagerating! I stepped outside around 11 pm Monday night and was privy to several meteors within a few minutes. I wasn't going to stay up, happy to have seen a few but the show kept going and so did my interest.

Around midnight there were a few larger fireballs cascading through the sky that were amazing to see. It was getting cold, on its way down to 33 degrees so I went inside. Not wanting to miss the show after seeing those fireballs I pushed my couch up into the corner window, laid on the couch with my kitty on my lap and watched the show from inside. Yes my vision was limited but I still saw quite a few meteors from the comfort of the house. Finally crashed around 2am.

Next celestial show is on Dec 20th with a total lunar eclipse around 12:30 am. Yep, I'll be up!

Weekend doings

2010-12-12T11:57:00.003-08:00

Friday, Dec 10, 2010:

I went to Tina and Andy's home to pick up a chair-and-a-half with ottoman they wanted to give me for my home. It's from IKEA and the slip cover is a great foresty green which will fit with my 'green' theme home. We also planned to go to Oceanside to see the Visions exhibit.

We first went to TJs to pick up an excellent Syrah from Austrailia, Henry Drive. It's a reserve lable normally selling for $30-50.00. TJs has it for $9.99. We each bought a case. From there we headed to Oceanside to see the new Visions Quilt Show..oh, Velda! What a stunning quilt of Zinnias you created! I want it but at over $100K, due to the economy, I need to pass. :-(

When we got home we loaded the chair and ottoman into the car and sat down to watch season 2 of Dexter. Needless to say, I spent the night, enjoying some of the Henry Drive purchased earlier, YUM!

Saturday, Dec 11, 2010:

Got home from Tina and Andy's around 11am and unloaded the chair. I thought I was going to need help but it was manageable. It's bigger than I thought or my home isn't as big as I thought! I'll find a good place for it as it's color is perfect and the chair is quite comfy. Maybe in front of the fireplace!

As sunsets go, this one on Dec 11 was exceptional in that it started at dusk by turning the surrounding mountains a beautiful lavender, purple mountains magesty! The clouds to the east were a beautiful glowing pink, the whole sky just glowed with that 'Tuscan light". After the sun set, the underlit clouds glowed all the hot colors in the spectrum...red, orange, pink, gold, yellow...stunning!

After the sunset was no more, the evening show was not over! A beautiful cresent moon set yellow then orange in the evening sky, truly an inspiring site. My camera didn't capture it well but it was a site to watch and enjoy.

Sunday, Dec 12, 2010:

It's not even noon on Dec 12th and it's already 83 degrees outside! I'm off to water my trees then put down more roundup to keep the weeds at bay. Soil is already too hard to dig so I'll have to wait until after the next rain to plant my many perennials. Rain is in the near forecast but...?

This afternoon, I'm going over to Mom's and help her set up her home for Christmas. I'll get a tree for my place next weekend...ran out of time this weekend. Boo...

Soft-serve chocolate dipped ice cream cone

2010-12-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

OMG! I haven't had one of these in YEARS. I bought one with lunch today at El Pollo Loco. Of course I ate it first so it wouldn't melt! I forgot how deliciously creamy and decadent this taste treat is.

New plants for the garden!

2010-11-30T14:45:00.003-08:00

Well Thanksgiving is over for another year. I was off all week to spend time with family. On Tuesday the 23rd, my sister and I drove to a wholesale nursery in Temecula, Hall's Nursery, that sells to the public. I found them on Craigslist. They have thousands of varieties of perennials as well as trees. The 1-gal pots were $2.00 each so I bought a bunch! I picked up more agapanthus and day lilies. I also got a few red Aust tea trees, lavender, blue salvia or was that sage?, star jasmine, a pink jasmine, some buddleya, statis, and bougainvillea. I also picked up 3 lilacs, an Anna apple, loquat and an olive that was fruiting. I don't know the variety but hope to figure it out amongst the common ones sold in the area.

That night I fixed a yummy ribeye roast with rosemary/peppercorn dry rub for Mom and Dad's 58 Anniversary. Sandy fixed some yummy au gratins. Bob came over and we all had a great dinner.

Sandy and I planned to plant these small treasures the Friday after T-day but we were both exhausted from cooking and cleaning. Come Saturday, the COLD weather and rain set in so nothing has been planted. I was going to get them in the ground this weekend but more rain is forecasted. No biggie, I should round-up the area first and kill off the weeds. Speaking of weeds, I'm going to have to get mulch or something to keep future weeds down over the years...ugg.

I was really depressed when daylight savings time came around when I realized I was no longer going to see nightly sunsets. The sun is setting earlier and earlier and I don't get off work now until it's dark outside. I miss my sunsets! Boo hoo!

More landscaping...

2010-11-22T12:44:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago (Nov 14) Darlene came over once again to play in the yard with me. In addition to weeding, we planted my Lisbon Lemon and Clementine.

Lisbon Lemon (with flowers!)

Clementine

We planted the Society garlics, more flag iris, a honeysuckle, red and lavender boginveilla, and purple statis amongst others. Everything is small so not much to show. Next Spring though should be quite pretty!

Lavender Boginvillea

Iris and Society Garlic along the curved sidewalk

Taking a break from the garden, Darlene helped me hang the 2 mirrors in the master bath, mini blind in the master bedroom and we hung my Tropical Sundance quilt in the bedrom.

We were both ready for a glass of wine by the end of the day. A glass of wine and another spectacular evening show...

Landscape projects

2010-10-30T13:41:00.002-07:00

My friend Darlene came over yesterday to help me in the garden. With the unseasonal rains we had last week it was the perfect time to weed and start planting the new landscape. We weeded for a couple hours took a break then started planting. The first item in the ground was my Reed Avocado that Tina and Andy gave me.

Next we planted the sour orange. We were on a roll!

After that, we put in the agapanthas, salvia, day lilies, scented geraniums, flag iris and heliotrope, all drought tolerant, just outside the corner windows in the dining room. It will make a pretty display when they take hold.

Time for another break...next I dug out 4 bottle brush plants (hate them things!) and a small fan palm. Darlene likes the bottle brush so in her car they went, soil and all. In their stead I'm planting pink and purple flag iris. The bottle brush were near my Panachee fig outside my kitchen so I think it will be pretty in the spring, iris surrounding my favorite fig.

Next we planted the bare-root flag iris rhizomes I had in the garage, maybe 75-100 of them! We dispersed them randomly across the front hill. Again, come Spring, it will be beautiful. After that, we planted a Paradiso fig by the seasonal stream and 3 pomegranates across the top of the hill along the roadside for a little privacy.

Yes, I'm exhausted and can feel every muscle in my body and not in a good way...where's the advil?

By now it's close to 5:00, time to stop, pour a glass of wine and watch the sunset. Yep, another spectacular evening show.

I fixed a nice spaghetti dinner with Italian sausage and parmesian reggiano, warmed some rosemary/olive oil bread and poured a good Sangiovese wine from Orfila winery. Not too bad a way to end a very productive day!

Cookies

2010-10-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I made chocolate chip cookies with pecans and walnuts for the first time in many, many, many years. I think I was in high school or college the last time I made any.

I was anxious to try out my new mixer and it worked great. The cookies did get a bit over cooked though. The directions were to bake at 375 for 10-12 min. I put them in for 10 min and they looked done so I took them out. I didn't really notice they had started to scorch on the bottom as they looked good on top. The final batch was baking when I tried one that had cooled. They are edible but I sure wouldn't offer them to anyone. So now I need to get a thermometer to check the actual temp of the stove. I'm going to bake a second batch tonight and check them at 8 min. Maybe I should change the temp to 325 and cook for 10 min? This time I'm using butterscotch chips with pecans and walnuts. Yum!

Rainy weekend

2010-10-25T16:13:00.010-07:00

This past weekend I was over at my folks to help out as Mom is still not on her feet after surgery. On Saturday I tore down her sewing machine/surger table and reassembled it into the spare bedroom. Whew! That was a job. I also vacuumed and dusted her room, moved the day bed under the far window and generally tidied up.

On Sunday I pulled a few weeds at my place while waiting for a 1/2 cord of oak firewood to be delivered. Wow! I didn't realize how much a 1/2 cord was...I think I'm good for the winter. ;-) In the afternoon I went back to the folks home to tidy up the rest of the house; vacuum, mop and dust. I also made a potato-leek soup for mom for the next few days. I should not have added the oregano. It overwhelmed the leek and thyme flavors. Last week's soup was better without it.

When I got home my neighbor Matt, the cabinet maker, came over with samples of my kitchen cabinetry. The kitchen was never finished off at the base and he mentioned he had the materials to do so. He brought samples of a railing that can be installed under the cabinets to hide under-cabinet lighting and molding across the top of the cabinets as well. The molding were only 1 1/2"-2" and too short for what I want. I'm thinking they need at least a 5" cap due to the height of the ceilings and cabinets. He's going to bring over his catalog of moldings. He warned me they were EXPENSIVE...how expensive could the be? Stay tuned...I'll post when I find out.

I settled into watching Dexter at 6pm but the sunset was so spectacular I had to go outside to watch and photograph. The second image is a bit later in the evening. Wow! It sure was pretty. :-) I taped Dexter but he's on several times during the week so no biggie.

My new Kitchenaid heavy-duty stand mixer arrived last week. It's RED! I'm anxious to try it out. I'm going to stop at the store tonight and get makings for chocolate chip cookies. I'm adding pecans and walnuts, maybe cranberry too. Mom and Dad will like a little taste treat...I'll leave the cranberries out of Dad's...he's so fussy.

Oct 22, 2010 sunset

2010-10-23T07:46:00.002-07:00

An image of last night's sunset was hard to capture on my camera. With the dark and heavy rain clouds just above the horizon the sun had but a few moments of drama before setting. The momentary deep lava-red glow of the sunset was stunning. My camera just didn't capture it in all its glory.

More fruit trees

2010-10-22T15:31:00.002-07:00

With the rains we just had, the soil will be ready to till in a couple of days as it starts to dry out. I'm getting the bug to get the soil amended readying it for fall planting. In addition to the citrus I mentioned in my last post, as most know I have an unusually large collection of figs. I have over 90 varieties and multiples of most. Not all of these will go into the ground but I do have a list of 30-35 must have varieties to plant. The hillside I am on will need to be terraced and irrigation installed. I'm hoping my neighbors are willing to help me out with this task as they have the heavy equipment for a job this big.

With the number of figs I have planning a permanent layout is important. Do I plant the figs by color of syconium (fruit's skin), by the country they are from, by height of a mature tree; larger on the north side of the row, dwarf on the south, or how? I’m leaning towards a hybrid of country/height for my plantings. All my Portuguese trees in one row the tallest if known on the north end. I have Italian, French, American hybrids, Spanish and Middle Eastern (combining Syrian, Turkish, Iranian in one row) figs as well. This will be a fun adventure planting my own private germplasm!

Other fruit trees I want to get include a loquat, apricot, anna apple, maybe a peach and another avocado, mexicola, hass or bacon. I also want to get a few unusual plants like an allspice, coffee and kaffer lime.

Then on to the flowers. I've already planted over 100 German iris. I want lots of drought tolerent but flowering plants on the front hill. I'm thinking Pride of Madeira, Day lilies in yellow, agapanthas, honeysuckle, star jasmine, pink babies breath, Aust tea tree in pink or red, etc. Lots of garden dreams on a drizzly day!

A Sua Casa

2010-10-21T13:50:00.002-07:00

It has been raining this week. It is unusual in that this is the season for hot Santa Anna winds to blow in from the desert. Instead we received 3" of much needed rain. Yes the climate is changing due in part to El Nina. It has been predicted by the weather forecasters to be a drier year that last. It's not starting out that way!

I wasn't sure I wanted to get into blogging because I just don't have that much news to pass on. I think I will use this blog to post daily views of the sunset from my home and/or any other interesting happenings around my little hobby farm. Today's image is from a few days ago when we got over 2500+ lightening strikes. This is a rain cloud passing between my home and the view of Mt. Woodsen around 10 miles away. It was a beautiful day.

I was talking to my mom the other day when the subject of finding a good linguica came up. I haven't found one to my liking so I thought to try my hand at making it. Mom mentioned grandma used to make her own and used sour oranges to marinate the pork before stuffing into the casings and smoking. I thought she meant any orange that wasn't quite ripe and therefore would be sour. Nope, there actually are sour orange trees whose fruit never sweetens. This orange is what is used to make marmalade! I never knew that. So the hunt for a sour orange tree was on.

I started my search on the internet finding only descriptions of a sour orange and that the Seville was the most popular variety. I put out a request for help in finding one, since the Net let me down, to the Citrus forum on Gardenweb. One reply did come listing a nursery that had several varieties of dwarf rootstock. I was ready to order one when another post came thru to check Weidman Nursery in Encinitas. I called them, no luck but they said to try Clausen’s in Vista. Again no luck but Clausen's turned me on to Atkins in Fallbrook. Guess what! They had one 5-gal Seville left. I took a long lunch that day and headed to Fallbrook and picked it up. So now, I have my first citrus tree to plant this weekend. I plan on getting 2 more oranges, a Naval and Valencia, 2-3 lemons, Eureka, Meyers and/or a Lisbon, at least 1 lime and maybe a tangerine. No grapefruit for this gal!

One should learn something new every day and I did. Sour oranges do exist. ;-)