Friday Fave Five, April 30th

Here we are again. It's Friday! And it's time for (insert drum roll) Friday Fave Five hosted by the lovely and gracious Susanne!  Go on over to Living To Tell The Story and check in with our constantly growing group of thankful people.

Wow, what a week it has been at Willow's Cottage!  I am not sure I can limit myself to only five favorites. (I also am not sure that I will be able to upload any photos today since I updated blogger and may have difficulties with new formats.)  But first I want to say that whenever I have one of THOSE weekends when I don't get around to visit everyone, I always feel sad. I really do make an effort to visit everyone who links to Susanne's FFF, but I missed out last weekend because, well, because:

1.  The Professor and I spent all day on Saturday at UCLA.  Yes, that big magnificent university in Westwood, Los Angeles.  The LA Times hosted its annual Festival of Books with UCLA and on the university campus.  Because Chaplain Dan was on call, The Princess came with her parents and a friend, and the six of us attended interesting and stimulating lectures by many different authors, grabbed lunch with thousands of our best friends, toured the book stalls and finally stood in line for a half hour to sample the world's best ice cream sandwiches at that locally famous Diddy Riese's.

Amazingly, I didn't purchase a single literary volume, although I was certainly tempted by Captain Richard Phillips' account of his time spent as a hostage of Somali pirates after I heard him speak at one of the lectures.

2.  The local hospice hosted a Garden Tour on Sunday. We thoroughly enjoyed our three hours of walking through five gardens.  Especially meaningful was the third garden--a home grown backyard garden belonging to our close friends T and D.  I'm hoping to post more photos of the gardens over the weekend (once I figure out blogger).

3.  Years ago, an Indian neighbor taught me to make kefir/yogurt.  I made my own yogurt until we moved to an Asian country where it was impossible to procure fresh milk.  Then I just never got back into the habit of preparing my own yogurt.  Why would I, when Trader Joe's carries such marvelous Greek yogurt?  After I received my dehydrator birthday present last month, I noticed that the owner's manual gave directions on how to make yogurt.  So. I made Greek yogurt this week!  Yummy!

4.  Knowing that my two girls are great friends who love and support each other makes this mother's heart happy.  MamaMia spent last week helping Kiti and The New Boy move to a larger apartment.  You may think, O how nice. But really, it's a major accomplishment considering that it takes MM as many hours of travel as it does me to get to Kiti's city and state.  I love seeing how my kids love each other and sacrifice to help their siblings.

5.  Speaking of kids, the two male siblings each called his mother on the same afternoon, just to check in and say hi.  Yep, Mom's heart was bursting with happiness!

6.  Oh, and speaking of the dehydrator (see #3), I received a book called The Dehydrator Cookbook from a blog friend who found out I had  a new dehydrator and had never used one before.  Thanks, Kathie!

I need to stop here at five, umm, six faves. But Willow's Week was so full of blessings!  How was your week?

Garden Tour

Five local gardens in three hours.

Proceeds benefitted the local hospice.

It was a perfect afternoon.

Each garden unique, unlike any other.

Large outdoor playrooms.

Quiet zen like gardens.

Happy peaceful gardens.

Even a little desert habitat.

A good time was had by all.

Especially the resident turtle.

Friday Fave Five, April 23rd

Friday is here again and so is Friday Fave Five! Welcome!

1. I am proud to announce that The Professor not only survived the fifty-five mile bicycle Ride for Literacy, he finished in great shape and time!

2. Our garden is growing! Soon we'll be enjoying kale, lettuce, peas and other green yumminess.

3. I had fun this week recycling a sweater that I am going to reknit into a more appropriate and better fitting garment. I posted details of how to unravel and old sweater and prepare the yarn for reuse on my new knitting blog.

4. The performing arts department of the local university where The Professor is on the faculty did several performances of "The Heidi Chronicles" this past week. Of course, we attended because usually The Professor helps out with the lighting design. For this production, we were just part of the audience. I enjoyed watching the set crew and performers work with the abstract stage set moving staging cubes around between scenes.

5. Ellen is in town for a couple of days packing the last possessions she has here. We enjoyed tea and then dinner at an excellent little Italian restaurant. Spending a few hours catching up on family and personal news was truly the best highlight of my week. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet up again for lunch before she heads to LAX.

That's a wrap on Willow's Week! What ONE event from your week reminded you to be grateful? Join our hostess Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and share your faves from this week.

The Three Rs

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

What do you do with an underworn sweater that doesn't fit but was knitted with beautiful yarn?


You pull the sweater apart, unraveling six large skeins of gorgeous denim colored wool,

so you can reknit it into another sweater that will fit better and show that beautiful yarn to better advantage? Recycle. Reuse. Reduce the stash.

See more photos and read more of the story HERE at my knitting blog.

Friday Fave Five- A Gentle Week

Friday is here! Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts Friday Fave Five every week, giving us an opportunity to share five events of our week for which we are thankful. Join us in looking for gratitude in our every day lives. You can participate by posting at Susanne's blog.

1. After enjoying two weeks of Spring Break, I slipped quietly back in to the school routine. Gearing up for the last six weeks of classes, last weekend I glibly ignored the papers that clamored to be corrected and the lesson plans that needed to be planned. Because a friend was competing in the Southern California Junior Bach Festival, we drove to Ventura on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed listening to an hour of Bach Minuets, Preludes and Fugues while gazing at beautiful stained glass windows.

2. After Bach, while The Professor rode his bike (in preparation for the 55 mile Ride for Literacy he's participating in this weekend), I strolled along the beach path at Ventura Beach State Park. The yellow flowers were blooming brilliantly.

3. The week passed gently. Heirloom tomatoes and basil seedlings were planted.

4. Students were tutored, papers were corrected and a pot of tea was enjoyed at my favorite tea shop All Things Tea.

5. A little knitting, a little walking, a little reading filled my evenings. All in all, Willow's week was wonderful.

How was yours?

Friday Fave Five, Two Weeks' Worth

It's Friday and time for my favorite post of the week: Friday Fave Five which is hosted by Susanne at Living To Tell The Story.

Because I was traveling and visiting my New Boy last week, I missed posting FFF, so this week I am combining the past two weeks of Friday Fave Five. Remembering back to the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, I want to share two special events.


1. Just the day before I left, I received a phone call. The caller was an employee at our local Trader Joe's grocery store informing me that I had won the weekly give away for bringing my own bags to the market. I have been taking my bags and filling out the little raffle ticket for YEARS and had never won anything. Even if there were no give away of a new reusable bag and $25.00 gift certificate, I would still take my own bags to the store, but the tantilizing opportunity to maybe, just maybe, win that prize some day added incentive to my resolve. But after several years, I wondered if there really was a weekly winner. Imagine my surprise and joy to find I'd WON! Yay, Trader Joe's! Go, Me!


2. Since I'm not an enthusiastic flyer, I arrived at LAX somewhat concerned about my lack of an assigned seat. I had to check at the gate for my seat assignment and that usually means being relagated to a middle seat in the rear of the plane which is not the best spot for a reluctant flyer. The customer service agent earned extra brownie points from me for working to get me a great seat--on the aisle, right behind first class! In fact, on all four connections during my trips to and from The New Boy's city, I sat on the aisle in the front section of the plane.


3. The days and nights I spent with The New Boy and his mama were delightful. We enjoyed one afternoon at the Zoo.

There were tigers

and monkeys

and bears,

Oh, my!

4. The New Boy is growing up so quickly. No longer is he a baby. He is a little boy who loves to be outside playing in the park. He is curious about everything from red trucks and fire engines, from airplanes to the gray squirrels racing through the grass from tree to tree.

He astounded me by counting from one to twelve, pointing out the 'red atagon, Meema!' (translation: red octogon stop sign, Grandma), and reciting his colors. The current favorite dvd is Thomas the Tank Engine, which he seems to enjoy watching without stopping, over and over, day and night.

5. The last evening, we met a friend at the local coffee spot and sat next to a very pleasant group of knitters. As you know, if you pull out knitting needles, other knitters will find you and strike up a conversation with you like you are old friends. Imagine my delight to discover that one of those knitters had purchased and knitted up Sweet Eleanor, the cabled cap I featured on my blog here a few weeks ago. The hat was designed by a friend of Kiti's and all proceeds go to help a little girl who has cancer. What a small world! What a wonderful world of knitters!

Susanne has a link on her blog where you can post your FFF or just click to read other FFFs.

Now I am home and relaxing on my last day of spring break. How was your week?

Spring, During Which Yellow Appears on Southern California Hillsides

A few days ago, my neighbor and I were admiring the flower covered hillsides surrounding our community. I commented, "The giant coreopsis are beautiful this year." She looked at me in confusion and said, "Giant coreopsis? Aren't those mustard plants?" "No, I don't think so. Mustard flowers are smaller, and I think the blooms are a lighter yellow," I replied. But then I looked around again and wondered what spring flowers really were blooming.

That little conversation got me thinking about our Coastal Southern California Spring Flowers. There is certainly a preponderence of yellow. For most of the year, giant coreopsis looks like raddegy deformed cactus. It grows in incredibly unlikely spots such as the edges of cliffs and in rocky crevices as well as steep hillsides. Only during the short rainy season does it bloom, sending bright yellow daisy like bouquets reaching toward the blue sky.

A shorter shrub blooms at the same time. I think this native California plant is a marguerite daisy, but I'm not sure. I did spend a bit of time researching in both books and on the web, but I didn't find any photo identification. These bushes are everywhere in the hills and along the country roads and sometimes grow mingled in with the giant coreopsis. On Saturday, The Professor and I stopped at the Chumash Trail head near Mugu Rock on Hwy 1 along the beach so I could photograph these flowers close up. As I was walking through the brush near the trail, a hiker stopped on his way down the path to warn me that he had just seen a very large snake slither into the very section of underbrush I was approaching! After he showed me a photo of the snake he'd taken, we determined that it wasn't a rattlesnake but merely a non poisionous king snake. Nevertheless, I decided that my photos of these daisies by the trail were sufficient.

These giant coreopsis may own the best ocean view real estate in the county!

You can just barely see some little flowers in the bottom left corner of the photo above. Those are wild mustard. In the photo below, you can compare the size of the blooms with the stones, broken abalone shell, and cigarette butt. Even though the mustard flowers are tiny, they bloom profusely at the same time as the 'daisies' and the coreopsis and when all three plants are scattered all over a hillside, it's not easy to tell them apart from a distance.

What I am sure of is that it is Spring in Southern California, the hills are carpeted with yellow flowers, and they are beautiful!

Friday Fave Five, Spring Equinox 2010

Hello! It's Friday and Fave Five time. On Saturday, we reached the Spring Equinox and crossed over in to Spring! What moments and events have blessed you this first week of Spring 2010?

Here's my list:


1. I must admit that I am rather excited today as I write this FFF. My Spring Break has arrived, and I have two full weeks of vacation!

2. Plane tickets were purchased this week. I'll be flying away to spend 6 days with The New Boy and his mama.

3. Game nights with friends are always fun. The Professor and I joined several other people to play Bananagrams and other games on Friday night. Do you know Bananagrams? Played with wooden alphabet tiles, the game is what I term 'expanded Speed Scrabble'.

4. For the past several years, I have had a different Spring Break schedule than The Professor and any of our children who might be taking college classes. This year is no different. The Grad Student is here for a few days at the end of his spring break and has enjoyed hanging out during the day with his dad who also has this week off. They kindly drove over to share lunch with me on Thursday. A few extra hours spent with 'my boys' is really special.

5. California's state flower is the California Poppy. Usually, poppies are bright orange. But some of these butter yellow poppies reseed in my back garden and bloom every spring.

When I see the poppies blooming, I know that Spring has truly arrived!

I hope you'll pop over to Susanne's blog Living To Tell The Story and join us for Friday Fave Five.

First Blooms

Spring is an exciting season, full of new beginnings. Like this first bloom on Mayflower.

FFF- March 19th

This could be titled the Spring 2010 Edition of Friday's Fave Five since Spring is arriving here in North America in three more days. Alternately, I could call this week's FFF the Willow's Leprechaun Birthday Edition.

1. My birthday! Since my actual birthday was on a weekday, my San Diego kids drove up to celebrate on the weekend. I chose visiting The Getty Villa in Malibu as THE PLACE to spend Saturday. If you are ever in Los Angeles and are interested in visiting an exact replica of a Roman villa, viewing amazing ancient artifacts, enjoying a superb meal, and strolling through a classical garden, then I would recommend The Getty Villa. Like the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Villa has free entry; you only pay for parking. What could be better than spending part of your birthday weekend meandering through the formal Roman gardens where fountains bubble in four corners among the acanthus, violets, pomegranate trees, daffodils, and boxwood,

where the peach trees are just beginning to bud,

and where you can look up and gaze on the most intricate architectural details

such as ionic columns?

2. Speaking of my birthday, I received several cards, emails, e-cards, skype waves and kisses, and facebook greetings wishing me Happy Birthday. People all over the world, from one of the -istans to Canada, from my friend in Arkansas to the neighbor next door, from Ellen in Washington to sisters, brothers, children, the New Boy, and my long silent cousin in the mid-West checked in to wish me Happy Birthday. I have to say that the email and facebook message from my cuz in Nebraska completely surprised and delighted me since we haven't seen each other in nearly twenty years. Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday felicitations!

3. A few weeks ago, The Professor and I ordered some seeds from Victory Seed Company in Oregon which features heirloom, rare, or old varieties of vegetables and herbs. We received the packet this week and opened it on my birthday. For us, it was an exciting occasion as we looked at the seeds we had chosen and planned our weekend around weeding, fertilizing, and planting. We're hoping to find out if kale and brussel sprouts will flourish in our little veggie patch.

4. I have long been interested in living a life of simplicity, frugal living and minimalism. This post by one of my favorite rational minimalism bloggers really struck a chord of agreement and excitement with me. If you are interested in simplicity/minimalism, you will enjoy and benefit from reading his blog and his new e-book Simplify. I've read many many books on simplicity and Joshua Becker's is one the most readable, accessible and enjoyable ones I've come across. (No, I am not getting any remuneration for recommending this book to you, although I did have the opportunity to read it before publication.)

5. I seem to be a fairly easy and predictable person to shop for. If my family and friends want to be sure to please me with a birthday gift, they know what I like! Books and music! Being a fan of Irish inspired music, I loved the Keith and Kristyn Getty CD the Blueberry Lady gave me. And the books, oh, the books! How can I pick just one favorite? It's not possible! I love each one!

As you can see, this week my faves have mostly been birthday themed. I suppose that is what happens when you reach a milestone birthday of Jubilee plus Ten.

I'd love to hear how your week was! Please share, and let's enjoy the gratitude and blessings together. Even if your week wasn't great or wasn't what you'd wished, you can always find something to focus on and be thankful for. Susanne at Living To Tell The Story has a Mr. Linky where you can publish your post, so others will be able to share the joy.

Paper

We've come a long way since this plant was our main source of writing paper.

Papyrus in a Pond at Getty Villa

et tu

Brute?

Beware the Ides of March!

Photo taken in the TimeScape Room

The Getty Villa

Malibu, California

FFF- March 12th

Time Magazine has nothing on Friday's Fave Five. What happens in the lives of our families and friends is so much more important than what's happening in the world. What makes us thankful and grateful in our daily lives matters more than national nightly news.

Friday's Fave Five hosted by Susanne helps us focus on the favorite parts our week. It's our own Week in Review. Thank you, Susanne, for hosting FFF every week!

1. There has been a perfect combination of rain and sunshine to make the garden wake up.

2. My friend who owns Ojai Lavender and Roses Farm gifted me with four David Austin roses!

Right now, there's not much to see except a few new leaves on the bushes, but in a few months I'm hoping to have beautiful Fair Bianca and Eglantyne blooms cut and placed in vases gracing my dining table. I'm so very thankful for my generous friend!

3. On Saturday, I joined some friends to celebrate 'our birthdays'. Even though I wasn't feeling the best because of my cold, I had a great time catching up with all the news in the lives of those five dear friends.

4. It's obviously March! The wind is blowing, and the kites are flying! And that means Spring is coming!

5. The Professor and I have been reminiscing in the evenings by sorting photos. He volunteered to choose, classify, and scan some family photos and documents for his siblings, and I have been culling and collating photos from my side of our family. While the process isn't always the most fun activity, the final product will be something our families can treasure in the years to come, in a manageable form. Time and Newsweek may not run an article about The Professor's grandmother winning $1.00 in a crossword puzzle contest or do a feature on my grandparents' trip to San Francisco, but those memories make our lives richer.

How did you make memories this week? What events are featured on your faves list?

Share them over at Living To Tell the Story or leave a comment here if you wish. Thank you for all your good wishes for my health this week. The Professor and I lost the fight with the cold germs, but we are determined to win the battle. Echinacea tea and Airborne are on our side!

In the Wind

I stopped near Marina Park and relaxed while drinking some hot cocoa.

Leaning in to the wind, a sailing ship slipped over the green waves.

Weekly Review - Friday Fave Five

Friday Fave Five is a weekly review of gratitude. Here are my faves for this week:

1. I belong to a spinners and weavers guild in my community. Last weekend, Sara Lamb was the featured speaker at our monthly guild meeting. Speaking for about an hour on Saturday morning, Sara showed us how she had taken white handwoven cloth and dyed designs on using paintbrushes. She was an interesting, enjoyable, and inspirational speaker, and I came away thinking, "Where am I going to put up my loom? I really need to get that thing set up!"

2. After a very rainy and windy Saturday, Sunday was glorious! The Professor and I spent a couple of hours in the blueberry fields with our dear friends where we picked two trays of fresh ripe berries. When we brought them to the house to dry the dew from them and package them, we sampled our bounty!

3. Some days, it seems that when you make one thing well, the next creation turns out, too. Spinning fiber is an art. We spinners talk about not always knowing what the yarn we are working with is going to do, how it wants to be spun and plyed (fyi: plying is the process of taking two of more single strands of yarn and twisting them together). The second skein of yarn I spun for my daughter in law plyed perfectly! It may be the very best yarn I've ever spun. And then, to add to the perfection, the cup of misto I brewed tasted just right because I finally used the correct proportions of coffee and hot milk.

4. How can I have a wonderful week of gratitude without mentioning the beach? The shore birds and local children shared the joy of playing in the sand on a sunny afternoon. I enjoyed watching from my car.

5. One of my tutoring students told me I'm the 'best tutor ever'. Whether I am or not, whether he was trying to distract me from his math assignment or not, his declaration reminded me why I persevere in teaching and tutoring.

How was your week? I'd love to read your list of gratitude. You can post it at Susanne's blog as part of Friday Fave Five or just tell me in the comments. Please know that if I don't respond right away to you or get around to visit your blog, it's because I have picked up some cold germs and am fighting a valiant battle which it seems that I am losing.

Happy Weekend!

Sweet Eleanor

Eleanor is a little girl who has cancer. Her parents are friends of my daughter Kiti's college friend, Wendy. Because Wendy is a knitter, a supportive friend, and a blogger, she has designed this adorable hat and is selling it to help raise money to help Eleanor. Every penny that Wendy makes selling this pattern is given to Eleanor's parents to help them pay for her medical care. You can read about Eleanor's situation on her Caring Bridge website (posted with her parents' permission).

I bought Sweet Eleanor HERE on Ravelry last week and knitted it in a creamy white acrylic/wool blend. I loved it!

Wendy has designed a great, clearly written pattern in two sizes, child and adult. If you are looking for a cabled cap to knit, try this one. You'll get a well written pattern, a really really cute hat, and the satisfaction that you are helping a little girl in her fight against cancer. If you're in to KALs and are a Ravelry member, you can join this Malabrigo Junkiesgroup and knit Sweet Eleanor with them.

Grateful for Fave Five

I enjoy participating in Susanne's Friday Fave Five each week. It's a great way to focus on positive events in my everyday life and to remind myself to search for blessings to be thankful for. Thanks, Susanne, for hosting Friday Fave Five! If you want to see what FFF is all about or participate too, you can click HERE.

1. I'm thankful for the opportunity I have to create beautiful fiber objects. No week at Willow's Cottage would be complete without some fiber in some form being knitted, spun or felted. I spun this silk and merino blend fiber while I watched the first part of the Olympics. I raced to finish the first skein before we packed the car and drove to San Diego for the weekend because I intended to give it to my daughter in law for her birthday. The brown and gold hand dyed fiber was a beautiful gift for my precious daughter in law!

2. I'm thankful for time spent with my family! Because the main purpose of our trip was to participate in the birthday celebration for The Princess, we headed to Hodad's in Ocean Beach on Saturday at noon. The Birthday Girl chose this iconic hamburger joint because, honestly, this place has the World's. Best. Onion. Rings. And. Chocolate. Milkshakes. When we arrived, we took our places in line and waited until there was room for our 'party of six' to sit at one of the picnic style tables.

Hodad's is world famous for its beach shack decor as well as its burgers, fries, shakes, and onion rings. The walls are almost completely covered with license plates from all over the US, Canada, and the rest of the world. Surfboards hang on every wall.

This fascinating bike is made from all kinds of beach debris. I wonder if anyone has actually ever ridden it.

3. I'm thankful for good friends! This week has been filled up with 'last times' for Ellen and me. We took our last walk in my neighborhood. We enjoyed our last cup of tea together at All Things Tea. This is how I'll always remember Ellen--with camera in hand! Today we'll have our last lunch, and then tomorrow she and her husband will be heading north to Washington. Ellen and I met through our blogs, discovered that we lived in the same town and that we both loved to walk. We've been photographing, blogging and walking buddies for two years. I'll miss her joyful spirit and sense of humor. Fortunately, we'll still have our blogs, phones and facebook for keeping in touch.

4. Gentle rain is a blessing we have enjoyed this week. Usually our rain in Southern California drops in torrents, roaring in from the coast with strong winds. Yesterday's rainstorm was more of a Pacific Northwest drizzle, a sweet goodbye gift for Ellen.

5. Lastly, I love Skype! What could be more precious than seeing My New Boy blow kisses to his Mema in real time through the computer screen?

What were your favorite little blessings this week?

Right on Time

My Lenten Rose is blooming!