DARK KNIGHT

A Mother's Day Gift that bloomed 2 weeks ago after planting it up at the cabin.

Is the name of this new rose on the market

that reminded me of a lovely tye-dye work

with an ombre' quality.

My two pups and I on Mother's Day

at Roger's Gardens in Corona Del Mar ...

masks or no masks?

Both actually.

No mask as we walked across this hidden gem of a beach to the Newport Jetty

so we could watch the boats go in and out of the channel.

Glorious Day with my babies.

HANGING WITH MY KIDS

This year to celebrate my birthday,

my children took me to our favorite place,

Poppy Street Beach in Corona Del Mar to check out the marine life and enjoy the weather.

Zach's girlfriend Nicole was able to shoot some great photos for us.

Loved this panoramic view of the entire beach.

I also love watching my two beach babies 

enjoying and playing with each other in the rocks and waves.

We saw lots of sea slugs and crabs walking around with shells for their homes.

The water was incredibly clear.

 

But as fabulous as it all was sometimes the Internet is just a bit stronger attraction.  

ha ha

Thanks you guys for a wonderful birthday.

Mother's Day Weekend 2012

I had a fun and crazy good weekend with my two kids, so good that I was actually exhusted when it was over.

Started off with my favorite activity, weeding  LOL  Seriously, I love it, I love getting dirt under my fingernails, love pulling out a stubborn weed, planting ,digging and uncovering treasures like this lone marigold in Zach's garden.  For me it's the best, most relaxing therapy.  And it was especially nice that we were able to help my son clear his garden in Pasadena.  He lives in an old back house and has his own plot of land to do with whatever he pleases.

But I do have to admit that Jim and Zach did most of the hard work.  Some of the weeds in Zach's garden were as tall as me, I kid you not.

It only took us 2 1/2 hours but we managed to clear the whole space.

And found a few buried fruits and vegetables from his winter and spring garden.

As you can see, Jim was really happy when we were done.

But we still had to Rototill the soil and rake it smooth.  Another sweaty, backbreaking hour. 

But man oh man does it feel good when you are done!

And of course I had to give that Rototiller a try.  Check out the pumpkin patch that sprang up in Zach's compost pile on the left there.  I counted 10 baby pumpkins, and also found a lone cherry tomato plant in there with at least 30 tomatoes.  Way to go Zach!!

Next we made a pit stop at a local Pasadena nursery.  What a treat that was.  This place almost rivals Rogers Gardens, almost. 

They had a good 1/4 acre of Japanese Maples, so many varieties I've never seen before.  And many raised vegetable gardens.  Just check out this huge lettuce plant below.  Crazy I tell you!

And the topper was my son made an amazing dinner for my daughter and her boyfriend who drove up, my husband and I, and Zach's new gal friend.  What you ask was on the menu??  Healthy Food.  Jim was TERRIFIED.  Zach baked 3 huge spaghetti squash and topped it with sauteed Italian sausage in his own homemade marinara sauce with a fresh loaf of French bread.  I wish I would have taken a pix, I was so proud of him.  And even Jim ate and enjoyed it.  Hee, hee  :) 

On Sunday, Dani drove me to the Corona Del Mar coastline to visit another of my favorite places, the tide pools with a view of Laguna in the distance. 

The day was spectacular and the water was warm.  We shared a sandwich at Bruegal's Bagels on PCH and then she took me to have our toes done.  Two whorl wind days with my babies. 

And then there's my 2 sweet babies at home who gave me a much wanted fiber book on Boro.

But the real kicker was my ex had Jim and I over for a Mother's Day bar-b-que that night.  It just doesn't get any better.  :)

Thank you all for 2 wonderful days.  I love you all so much!! 

Mother's Day 2011 - Better Late than Never

My kids and husband know one of my favorite places are the Tide Pools down in Corona Del Mar.  I think my children have taken me there for the past 5 years and we always have such a nice time.

This year the weather was a bit overcast and chilly but it didn't stop us from enjoying the day together.

What was new this year was that Jim's daughter Julie joined us.  She had just flown in from New York so it made the day even more special.

We got a little wild...

and silly...

and playful...

with lots of hugs and kisses from my gorgeous new husband. 

We looked for sea life...

sea glass...

and shells.

A highlight; my baby still lets me hold her hand  :)

We saw lots of birds...

and very cool rock formations.

But the best part of all was watching my two babies together, enjoying each other, loving each other.  They are best friends for life.

And the second best thing was the flower my honey picked for my hair.  The day couldn't have been better, and ended with gelato in Laguna Beach.  Yum...yum.

Mother's Day 2010

My kids both know that one of my favorite places is down in Corona Del Mar by the tide pools off Poppy Street, so for the third year in a row off we went in my new little Mini Cooper. We stopped off first in Newport Beach for lunch at Ruby's, then hung around the tide pools looking for beach glass, cool shaped rocks and shells. I found two rocks shaped like hearts , so I gave one to each of my babies.

As you can see the day was a bit overcast but not too cold. I always love seeing the beautifully appointed homes on the hillside as you walk down to the tide pools.

The nasturtiums were in bloom, and all the vegetation was so lush due to our excessive rains this season.

Once down by the pools there are several small caves carved into the landscape as well as homes hanging over the cliffs that are fun to look at.

The tide was low so we were able to get very close to the pools and see all the sea creatures moving around. In the shot above in the upper right, the thing that looks like a black rock is actually the largest sea slug I've ever seen. It was on the move and pretty gross looking.

And because the tide was so low you could see all the plant life growing on the rock formations(below)

The kids also took me to downtown Laguna Beach to a favorite new store that sells only recycled things. I'm pretty sure it's called Green Cube. Got several new ideas for my art students there. We also stopped off at this very cool candle making store in Laguna Canyon right next to the Sawdust Festival grounds, I think it was called Pier Light, where you can pick a mold shape, wax colors and scents and pour your own candle. It was a two hour process and we were running out of time, so maybe we will go back there next year and do it together.

Before heading home we made one last stop at my beloved mother's grave to say hi and bring her a lovely bouquet of flowers.When I got home my amaryllis bulb that I had picked up at Big Lots had opened. Isn't it gorgeous! And then my favorite shot of the day was catching my daughter Dani in a snapshot when she didn't know I was shotting. Don't be mad Dan LOL

So thank you Zach and Dani for a wonderful Mother's Day, for making it very special with all my favorite things. I love you two with all my heart. xoxoxoxox M'er. For EXTRA CREDIT on a small piece of pink paper with your name and period, tell me what you did for your mom this Mother's Day.