Thursday, June 22, 2017

Happy Summer!

Happy Summer Solstice Day! Yesterday, that is.  Here are my Friday Fave Fives for this celebratory time.  Summer's HERE!

1.  Our week has been a bit warm, but this morning it was foggy again.  June Gloom.  I kinda like it.

the view from the freeway on ramp


2.  It has been a recovery week here at Willow's Cottage.  I have been mostly confined to the house while I wait for the swelling and bruising from my not so minor after all oral surgery to subside.  According to the surgeon who checked on me in the middle of the week, I am making a great and healthy recovery despite the epic bruising.

3.  This spring I planted my first calendula seeds.  Evidently, my garden really really likes calendula, and I've grown some lovely healthy plants which have bloomed brilliantly.  I have already picked a bunch of the flowers, and they are drying so I can use them to make some calendula oil.



4.  Thursday I drove The Professor to Ventura for one of those early morning lab sessions.  It was my first trip out this week other than the doctor visit, so we took advantage of the day to pick up some books from the library and take a short walk among the oaks and eucalyptus trees.  I've really missed my walks!

5.  May and June are purple months in Southern California.  Mostly it's the jacaranda trees that dominate the color scheme.  But other purple (and blue) plants and bushes bloom during this late spring season.  Everywhere I turn I see the purple.  It makes me smile.







Enjoy your first summer weekend (or first winter weekend if you are in the Southern Hemisphere)!  Here are a couple more photos just to make you smile.

that necklace from my sweet tutoring student



and it isn't really summer unless there's a photo or two of the beach



14 comments:

Tracy said...

Oooo...love seeing all the purple, blue and yellow! What oil are you using for calendula oil mix? Your necklace gift is sooo lovely--those beads are wonderful. BEAUTIFUL photos, Willow! Hoping very much you'll be feeling better soon. :) ((HUGS))

Deb J. in Utah said...

I love that necklace from your student! Such beautiful pictures. Southern California is such a scenic place. Wish we lived near the beach once again (we did a few years back) but alas we are moving even farther inland! Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Continue to heal and feel better!

Jerralea said...

Glad to hear you are improving!

Love the beads! Especially the turquoise one ;)

You certainly live in a beautiful area. The purples and blues are gorgeous.

Barbara H. said...

Ooooh - oral surgery is no fun. Glad you are improving! Lovely blossoms - funny how so many are purple in June.

nikkipolani said...

You know, I never thought of the Purple Months of California, but you're right! I love the jacarandas even if they are messy. My mom parked under one of them (!) and then proceeded to use her wiper blades (!!!) to brush off the fallen blooms before I could warn her...

Glad the calendulas are doing well for you. Flighty sent me some seeds a couple of years ago and they just reseed themselves every season.

Anonymous said...

Glad you are on the other side of the oral surgery. Mary

Gracie Saylor said...

Sorry about the bruising, but so glad to know you are getting better! I especially love all the purple/blue flowers, too. Our Hydrangea bushes which we hoped to coax to both be blue are only half committed so far. We have lots of buds on our purple Clematis vines. Happy weekend!

Susan said...

The calendulas are beautiful. Making oil from them? I had to look that up as I like using natural products. Let us know how that goes.

Glad to hear that you are healing well. Hope the bruising is all gone soon.

Love the purple photos. In NO CA we don't have purple months and I am a little jealous.

I hope you get to go on more walks this week. Have a great week.

Mereknits said...

HOpe the bruising has gone away and you are perfectly healed now. Sending you a hug.

snoopydogknits said...

Happy Summer! Loving all those gorgeous flower shots! Hope you're feeling back on top form very soon x

A Joyful Cottage said...

Beautiful flowers. Blue is such a welcome color in the garden. I have blue flax in my garden and I just love it. So sorry about your oral surgery and the bruising. Not fun. :(

ellen b said...

Happy summer to you. I'm sorry about your not so routine oral surgery. Yikes. Glad things are settling down. We are trying to stay cool here in Washington...

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hope you are feeling better! That is a beautiful necklace and i love all the blue and purple flowers you found!

Susanne said...

Love the colors in the sweet little necklace from your student. He chose well. Oh hope your mouth feels better and that bruising disappears fast. Ouch. Gorgeous flowers all around! I do love the purples but the cheery yellows also make me smile.