Color Me April

Color me a deep velvet red like the early roses of April, still cooled by the nights and heightened by the mid-day sun, so deeply red that my edges look purple and velvety.

Color me blue and purple and lure the buzzing bees to my giant spikes of colorful flowers.

Color me buttery yellow as the next phase of wildflowers replace the fading orange poppies.

Color me April!

Railroaded...An Adventure

I get nervous about traveling in unknown situations...not afraid, just anxious, that I will not find everything I need to find and get where I need to be when I need to be there. I still shudder when I think of how near I came to missing my flight to Paris last spring because I forgot to reset the watch that I ordinarily never wear.

And so I was quite pleased with myself to make it "downtown", find the train station, find the parking lot, find a place to park, buy my ticket, find the platform (OK, I verified it with the nice Caltrain lady who was standing on the platform), and board a train for San Francisco from San Jose.

I've done this a million times from Mountain View, but never before from San Jose. Heck, what does Diridon even mean? Is it a person, place, thing?

The most surprising element in this mini-adventure was the train station. Lawrence, Mountain View, Santa Clara, even San Francisco are mostly platforms, pretty uninteresting.

San Jose has a real, and beautiful, train station!

Through a little research on that source of all facts, Wikipedia, I have now learned that Diridon is a person, the station which looks brand new was restored in 1994 but dates back to 1935, constructed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, and was featured in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

I learn so much through my adventures :-)

Never a Dull Moment

How could there be, when it's spring, it's been a rainy winter, and beautiful colorful things are blooming everywhere. Even in my poor, previously neglected little front yard, a tiny little rose bush has pushed out some monumental color!

Modern Marvels

I continue to marvel at the beauty of this wonderful new place where we have chosen to live. OK, so maybe the beauty is man-made, but who cares, beauty is beauty.

Welcome Back Spring

Rain is good...it helps things grow. It is keeping the hills green longer, watering the tiny little patio tomato plants, keeping the pool filled, oh and helping to keep us out of drought.

So yes, rain is good, but so is it when the rain stops, the sun comes back out, and the refreshed earth shimmers in spring glory!

Oh hail to the red, white and blue! Red maple, white puffy clouds and blue sky!

Wild yellow irises surround the pond at the 17th.

The little sparkles behind mama duck are about 9 little ducklings paddling madly.

And a little later than usual, hot pink iceplant.

How Bunny-ful!

Who doesn't love a cute bunny? I adore bunnies, at least from a distance, not because I don't want to get up close and personal, but only because the feeling is not usually mutual.

So it was quite exciting today as I was walking toward the 11th tee, to see an adorable bunny sitting along the path wriggling his little nose, and not hopping away.

All I had with me was my cell phone camera, which doesn't zoom very powerfully, so you'll have to trust me that the little brown smudge on the edge of the grass, just next to the big bush, is a bunny.

Well, I was so pleased to see little Mr. Bunny today that I decided to pay him a little tribute via a digital collage.

All the background elements are courtesy of Jessica Sprague.

And yesterday I had a bunny-ful encounter of a different kind, stamping the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland on an altered faux book, a fun class taken at Memories Live On.



Stay tuned for a peek inside the book, and a series of Alice in Wonderland ATCs!

Morning Mist

I actually slept until it was light today, and made my coffee not to the lingering, twinkling pre-dawn lights of the Silicon Valley, but instead to a sun-brightened mist that blanketed the valley.
How could I possibly tire of the view, since it ever changes.

Surrounded by Turkeys

We've all heard that expression...

"How can I soar like an eagle when I am surrounded by turkeys?"

Well, I could apply that sentiment to my golf game, because Silver Creek is somewhat infested with wild turkeys.

Sometimes they hide up on the hillks and cackle when I hit a bad shot. Nasty creatures!

This one was particularly close. I kept my 7-iron in my hand as I passed him. Fortunately, he was more interested in his snack than me. One of these days, I'm going to hit a "birdie", and the feathers are going to fly.

Art & About

I love finding art, not necessarily in a museum or a studio, but just in one's everyday, or every night, walkabouts.
Such as here, when I walked out of the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose to a plaza filled with tall palm trees wrapped in lights.
It was such a lovely sight!



And right on the plaza is the art museum, showing art among the art...I must go some day...

Stairway to Heaven

If heaven be the 8th tee at Silver Creek, then this is the Stairway to Heaven. Or at least it is one of 3 stairways, with additional walkway, to go from the 7th to the 8th holes, an elevation gain of some several hundred feet.

With the exception of the first time we played at the course, I have walked these stairs.

I love these stairs of weathered wood, somewhat soft underfoot as you take each step. I love how they are somewhat hidden in the hillside, melded into the native vegetation. I love how you cannot see the top as you ascend, making them somewhat "secret stairs".

My goal is to someday get to the top and not be out of breath and have "leg-wiggle".

In the Pink

What is that I spy from my desk in front of the window? What glimpses of pink are there to distract me? Aha, the first rose of the season, in my new yard! How pleased I am to meet you, pink rose, and I do hope this is the start of a long and loving relationship.

Pink jasmine, you I have already met, and thank you for spreading your lovely fragrance my way on this lovely spring day.

Red Maple in April

The seasons are progressing, the sun is moving around further to the northwest, shining into places we've not yet seen in the spring and summer sun.

Meanwhile, all over the neighborhood, the red maples are taking over the spotlight from the flowering trees, brilliant red against the spring blue sky.

Oh red maple in April, how I wish I could protect you from the burning summer sun, but alas, the seasons must progress, there are new beauties to discover each day.

Blog Anniversary

Two years ago, I took the plunge, and started blogging. Does anyone even say blogging anymore?

It started as a commercial adjunct to my quilting design business, focusing on the quilts and quilt patterns in my eBay store.

It saw me through the development of new art forms and hobbies, Artist Trading Cards, collage, altered art, mosaics, scrapbooking, nature and photography.

It sometimes captured special people and places in my life.

What it has most taught me is that there is something special going on every day. It could be something artistic, or creative, or perhaps even ordinary, but worthy of notice. And how special if the thing we notice makes us smile or warms our hearts, like this...