April 17

My turn for dance duty. Middle school gyms are hard to spruce up!

April 16

Huddled, waiting out some rain and wind, or maybe resting up after giving Katie-dog a good wind-up by taunting her from the fence?

April 15

My nephew told me earnestly this past weekend, "You can't pick the orange ones. It's against the law." I remember as a child believing this rule about the state flower and feeling like I was imparting Important Information to adults when announcing it as fact. I think this childhood rumor is a rite of passage for California kids, but thanks to Wikipedia I am assured "A common misconception associated with the plant, because of its status as a state flower, is that the cutting or damaging of the California poppy is illegal. There is no such law..." I don't think I'll let my nephew in on this; that would be on par with messing with the tooth fairy. The flowers are pretty enough staying put in the ground anyway.

April 14

I love this time of year when everything is so green!

April 13

First of the irises this year, pretty much right on time for their short season.

April 12

I have tons of great egg hunt photos, but I love this snapshot of Nana and her boys wrapped up in a big hug.

April 11

Mr. Time on Her Hands and Mother of Mr. Time on Her Hands goofing off at the nursery.

April 10

 

This snapshot is a tribute to my mother-in-law, once the most techno-phobic, gadget-resistant person I knew. Now she is an email-sending, online-shopping, Facebook-communicating diva!

April 9

We barricaded ourselves against the damp and chilly evening by bundling up in front of the fireplace. Whenever one of us got up, Little Miss Cover Hog would be waiting to swoop in.

April 8: What April showers bring

Get out of my garden! And take that horrible weed you're hanging out on with you.

Tuesday, April 7
This sweetheart is part of a feral cat colony in my neighborhood, and I think she may be one of the last. About five years ago a group came in to trap, sterilize and release them; the notch in her left ear signifies she was part of this procedure. Her markings and coloring are beautiful, very much like a cat I had growing up, and that makes her my special favorite (shhh!). I couldn't believe how close she let me get to her today!

Monday, April 6: Dinner
We're total asparagus junkies. The only cure is June, but by then we'll be tomato junkies.

Sunday, April 5
The whirligig sculpture outside the performing arts center. It stands in the center of a fountain and today was making lazy revolutions around its opalescent glass center.

Saturday, April 4

We couldn't resist heading to Pulgas Ridge to enjoy the gorgeous weather.

 

After the hike we stopped for ice cream. I had just said we should wait for Gisi to finish her ice cream before heading home when she cracked us all up by popping the whole thing in her mouth. The camera caught her mid-gulp.

Visits with Nerissa and Gisi are few and far between... so we're making the most of the weekend.

Still Catching Up...

Saturday, March 28 This project is turning into Simon 365! He shows up here at least a couple times a week. How can I help it? He's such a handsome boy with quirks and personality to spare, he's usually up to something fun or naughty, and the camera loves him.

Friday, March 27

 

My nephew, or perhaps my niece. Can't wait to meet this angel in July.

Thursday, March 26: Hopelessly Devoted to... Ryan Seacrest? Well no, but as host of a show I managed to completely disregard for 8 years but am now addicted to, he makes a twice weekly appearance in our home.

Catching up

Wednesday, March 25

I surprised Mr Time on his hands with a new gadget--a Kindle. He was pretty much speechless!

Tuesday, March 24

A spontaneous evening out with friends at one of our favorite local spots.

Monday, March 23

So this is where all the pear tree blossoms went!

Sunday, March 22


Two for today: inside and out.

Saturday, March 21

On a letterboxing excursion with Katie. It's in this oleander somewhere... :)

Friday, March 20 First Day of Spring

Another shot of the pear trees in the front yard. It's been so fun to watch them transform over the past couple of weeks into their current leafy spring wardrobe.

March 18

 

The sink needed to be disconnected when the counter was installed. Here is Mr. Time on Her Hands explaining why hooking the plumbing back up is trickier than he thought.

March 17: It's not easy being green

This poor frog! One eye dangles from its socket by a black thread, it now has somewhat fewer than its original 12 toes, and its "fur" is dingy and matted and always sort of damp.

March 16

The area where my neighborhood is used to be orchards. Sometimes you can find evidence of that, like in this lot across the street.

March 15

Brunch with B. We chat all through brunch, then run some errands, then chat some more at home, then walk her to her car, which turns into chatting on the sidewalk!

March 14

March 11

Tomato plants in the ground in mid-March! Hopefully in 65 days (give or take) we'll have tomatoes.

The time change is so disruptive and feels awful for the first couple of days, but I appreciate the extra daylight after work to get things done in the garden. This year, I'm planting the tomato starts really deep--right up to the crowns--as an experiment. This is a new variety for our garden: "Oregon Spring." It will be our only full-sized tomato amongst cherry and grape-sizes this year, and it's supposed to be an early cool-season variety. In this photo you can see the nearby onions on the right, carrots on the left, and broccoli in the back. It's still too wet to put out the grid, so it's hard to tell, but this is my "square foot garden."