Friday Fave Fives in Mid August

It's Friday and I am posting a bit late as we were out on Thursday for a long long day.  Better late than not at all, right?  Especially when it comes to being thankful.  So here are my Friday Fave Fives.  The link to others is HERE.

1.  Lunch with a friend.  She was my Precepts Bible study leader and we attend the same church. In addition, we are sort of in the same time of life, so we have lots in common.  Starting at the lunch place, we continued our conversation over coffee.  We just had so much to talk about--we still weren't done. There's always another time...

2.  The hat I knitted for that sweet little one was happily received.  Big brother was standing nearby, so I asked him if he'd enjoy a hat too.  He replied, "Yes, please!" {so polite!}  Brother chose a World War II watch cap in navy blue.  It's on the needles now.  I love knitting for people who appreciate it!

3.  Speaking of knitting, the World's Best Neighbor asked me for some knitting advice.  The result is that I have a new scarf project.  I'm making her pattern with her so we can compare notes.  Details:  sock yarn, size 7 needles.

4.  We went to the county fair again this week, this time as revelers not workers.  I love the theme!  We truly are a country county although we share a county line with Los Angeles County.  And we truly do have ocean air at the fair.  The fair grounds are literally across the bike path from the beach and you really can smell the ocean as you stroll down 'main street' (unless you're right by the bbq place!)

5.  First time ever at a fair:  a vegan option advertised on the menu board.  I think the clerk was a bit amused at my enthusiasm.

That's it for Willow's Week.  Summer is winding down although the temperature isn't.  I hope you have a great weekend and find many many blessings in your days.

Fairs, Museums, Birthdays, and More

Hello!  Welcome to Willow's Week in Friday's Fave Five hosted by Susanne.

1.  Reagan Library and the Vatican Splendors.  We spent a lovely day with friends at the Presidential Library and the special exhibit from the Vatican.  So many highlights!  So many moving moments and displays.  But everyone's favorite is always Air Force One and Marine One.

2.  Much of my week has been focused on preparing for and working at our county fair.  Our guild has a booth and I worked there demonstrating spinning the first two days.

(Did you notice the blue ribbon?  Our exhibit earned first place in our division, and we also received an award for education.)

3.  One of the days, (probably because we won the awards), we were featured in our local newspaper.  Every year, every day of the fair, one of the reporters does a story on some part of the fair.  His stories are always fun to read.  Who knew that he would come interview US?  Here's the link to videos and article.  I think everyone enjoys Tom's columns because they're funny and not about negative stuff in the news.

4.  Best news ever:  Son #2 sent a message saying, "Just got my seat.  Almost there!"  and then, "Shutting down over here."  And finally, "On the ground."  Back in the USA!  He has been away all summer researching but is back now.  That makes my mama's heart happy.

5.  In other children news, two had birthdays this week.  Although we can't celebrate in person, we always make sure we all communicate our love and felicitations in calls, emails and texts (and cards or packages delivered by USPS).

How was your week?  I hope you found many blessings!

Monarchs of the Butterfly Kind

See?  They really do eat everything.

There are one or two caterpillars left on the milkweed plants now.  The rest of them have waddled off to build their silky sleeping bags.  According to google, the butterflies will emerge in ten to fourteen days.  In the meantime, I am cajoling the milkweeds to start again and produce more leaves.

Five Faves and a Bonus

All of a sudden, I realized, "It's time for Friday Fave Fives"!  What happened to the week?  Because it has been a bit unusually warm here, I haven't been paying as much attention to what day it is.  Mostly I've been staying inside enjoying the AC.  However, the week has had many blessings besides the air conditioning.

1.  Lunch with The Professor's sister.  We live in the same town, and sometimes it's just fun to hang out together.  The three of us ate our favorite burrito place after church services on Sunday.  I'm truly blessed to have a fun and witty sister-in-law.

2.  During the summer our church does 'Wednesday Night Dinners'.  We assemble and enjoy a meal together.  Everyone is welcome and there always lots of visitors.  This week, it was Taco Wednesday-the food was fantastic.  And then the evening was topped off by a concert by a local Blue Grass Band Brush Arbor.  It was great!

3.  I was sitting near a mom and her little daughter.  The four year old was mesmerized by my knitting needles.  So I offered to knit her a hat.  She was so cute.  "Any color hat is fine," she said as she smiled shyly.  Finally, she decided that light blue would be fine.  So now I have some light blue yarn and I'll be casting on for a sweet girl's new hat.

4.  I've been trying stay motivated and busy even in the heat.  So I have declared the rest of the summer as 'Focus on One Area' Time as I declutter and clean around the house.  Right now I'm focusing my attention on PAPERS.  I discovered a couple of file folders that could be passed on to the people who will be taking over my classes.  Also, I cleaned up a bunch of random papers on my desk.

5.  The sweetest part of going through the papers was rereading a bunch of cards and notes from my students.  I know I don't 'need' to keep them, but reading them gives me great joy, so I keep them.  If you had been  a little bird in the window, you would have heard me saying, "Awwww."  And "Ohhhh, sweet."  And "Sniff, sniff."  I think I'll keep them forever.

A little bonus--my milkweed plants have been thriving, which is a good thing since this week the monarch caterpillars are back in force--I counted nineteen of them on my four plants.  Fortunately there are adequate leaves for those ravenous things to consume and they have been doing just that.  The milkweed doesn't LOOK like it's thriving, but I know that as soon as the caterpillars depart and make their cocoons, the plants will put out more new leaves.  I spotted one butterfly hatched out already.  I love hosting the monarchs in my garden!

Summer Adventures

Wow.  It has been quite a couple of weeks.  Not much down time for blogging, but lots of time for family!  Here is a catch up Friday Fave Fives.

The mid Atlantic East Coast is a lovely place.  But the time spent with family was the best.  Within two weeks, we spent days with all of our grandchildren.  That never happens!

Hiking in the woods.  While the children played in the water, The Professor and I escaped for a hike in the woods.  What I love about Not-Southern-California nature hikes is the shade provided by the tree canopy.

Annapolis, Maryland.  The Professor had never been to Annapolis, so we took an excursion there one day.  The children were mesmerized by the harbor filled with boats and jellyfish.

The adults enjoyed the history and architecture.  Annapolis was at one time the capital of the United States and is still Maryland's state capital.

Train museum.  It was our wedding anniversary and we were asked what we wanted to do.  Why, visit a train museum, of course!  Hurry!  We have a train to 'catch'!

Train heaven!

Getty Villa.  After returning to the West Coast, we quickly prepared for a visit from our PAL.  On her list of places to see was the Getty Villa since her Auntie Mimi had never been there.

Seashore.  Little desert girls need a seashore visit, too.

Willow's Two Weeks Away were filled with adventures and children!

An East Coast Sojourn

I am writing from my daughter's living room.  Last week, we were visiting Daughter #1 (Older Daughter) and this week we journeyed even farther east to Daughter #2's home (Younger Daughter).  This is a yearly (or more frequent) event, this visiting east coast family.  These are my Friday Fave Fives for this week.

1.  Of course, I always have to state that my first fave in traveling is arriving safely.

2.  Time with our grandchildren.  We picked raspberries and fed horses at the farm of a friend's friend.

3.  Theater in the Park.  We watched The Countess of Monte Cristo.

4.  Hiking in the woods

5.  I love visiting places where there is lots of green!

(Next post--photos of other grandchildren!)

Midsummer

Midsummer day was bright, sunny and quite warm here at Willow's Cottage.  This week's Fave Fives* include just normal activities.  I like weeks like this and am thankful that it's peaceful and quiet. *link to Susanne's blog so you can participate if you would like.

1.  The Professor and I attended a thank you brunch for volunteers at the county fair.  We do enjoy  helping out and it was nice to be thanked.  I even received a five year award.

2.  Tuesday:  maybe the best day of the week.  I just stayed home and didn't get farther than the mailbox.  I'm thankful for summer days.

3.  I have decided to branch out a bit in creativity.  My sister-in-law inspired me to begin artistic journaling.  So this week, I bought some pens and pencils and just started.

4.  The Professor had fun this week.  He designed, planned and executed the installation of a drip irrigation system.  This way the watering of the garden will be automatic when we travel.  The best part?  I think it was the solar powered control box.

5.  I love to hike.  Today, I joined a couple of other people for a hike up Conejo Mountain which overlooks my community.  Five+ miles with lots of up mountain and down mountain. I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

[That road making the sort of left hand bend in the middle of the photo?  That's Highway 101, El Camino Real.]

The views were amazing although the sky was hazy because of the smoke from the wild fire just north of us.

(Below--memories of the fire that swept along the mountains three years ago.)

What are you thankful for this midsummer week?

Two Thousand Two Hundred Excuses

I have an excuse for being AWOL.  2,200 excuses.  That's how many miles we drove on our trip to the Pacific Northwest.  Here is Willow's (Two) Week catch up with Susanne's Friday Fave Fives.

1.  Time with my brother is especially precious. It is just the two of us. For many of our adult years we have lived thousands and thousands of miles apart, but now it's easier (less than a thousand miles!).  I have been pondering how to describe relationships among siblings.  Maybe this is how.  My husband has my heart.  My brother has my history.  Because he was older than I, my brother bossed me, protected me, helped me.  (I wonder how many potential dates or boyfriends my brother scared off...)  This photo captures our love for each other and our joy at being together.

2.  The World's Best Neighbors gave me a 'celebrate retirement' present!  The Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham Knitting T-shirt!  Here I am wearing it while I 'knit with a goat'.  (Goat provided by older brother)

3.  Visiting the communities where we lived for many years provided lots of opportunities to visit people.  Church friends and former college buddies.  So many lunches and dinners.  One evening, we spent three hours at one (sort of semi-fast food) restaurant talking, eating, laughing with people who included the college professor who was my department advisor.  Three hours!  And we could have talked for another three hours if the shop hadn't closed at 9pm.  (For the record, the staff seemed to enjoy our rowdy, joyous laughter, our switching seats at the table, our passing of the old college yearbooks around to share pictures and stories.)

4.  One day, we decided we wanted a quiet hike.  We needed the tranquility of a forest.  There is no place like the Pacific Northwest for hiking under fir trees and beside streams.  (LOOK!  WATER! and GREEN ferns!)

5.  People have asked if we are bored driving an sitting in the car all those hours.  The answer is no.  Fortunately, we travel well together.  I had lots of time to knit and read.  Here are a couple of samples.  Hats for my niece's family.

Those 2,200 miles passed like a blur.  But now I'm home and my garden is calling to me.

Green, Blue, White, and Blue

Friday Fave Fives from Willow's Cottage.  Short because we're traveling.

1.  A birthday present was ordered in March and delivered this week.  A friend is a potter and made these BLUE bowls:

2.  Commercial blueberry season is over for the year. The Blueberry Lady called to tell us, "Come glean some berries."  So we did.  Sixteen quarts of BLUEberries frozen!

3.  Road trip!  I just can't post photos of California's Central Valley.  Too much drought.  So here are pictures of Mt. Shasta with WHITE SNOW!  That's Southern California's drinking water for next year.  And I love the view.  As I told The Professor, I probably have 100 photos of this mountain.  It never gets old.

4.  Until you've been gone for awhile, you don't realize how much you miss the evergreen trees. Warning:  over the next two weeks, there may be a plethora of GREEN photos at Willow's Cottage.

5.  That first hug.  When you haven't seen your only brother for a year, there's nothing else that comes close to the feeling of rightness and settledness of hugging him.