SPRING IN THE FOOTHILLS...

A ride through the foothills 

of the Sierra Nevada,

 in the spring,

 has a promising effect.

Bright beginnings 

brought on by

 nature...

...or bringing life back

 from the ravages

 of time.

Sometimes 

age and nature

 need a little extra assistance

 to survive...

...sometimes

 a little make-up

 is a good thing...

...and sunshine and contentment 

always go

 hand in hand.

To be beautiful

 is sometimes a struggle

 but...

...if you give it your all 

it can somehow work.

Meanwhile, back home in the garden...

...Lady Banks

 is flourishing...

...and the lilacs 

are giving her

 stiff competition.

The valerian 

is marching 

along side

 the fence line...

...just starting

 to bud out.

The rosemary

 is alive with the 

buzzing, busy bees...

...and while Cecil Brunner

 is awaiting 

their soft show

 of color..

...a little lady bug 

is moving

 towards the light.

Visions of spring loveliness

 to grace

 the Cottage

 and the garden...

Ah-h-h...

Spring time 

in the foothills!

...Judy...

Join me today at:

Dishing It & Digging It at Life and Linda

BTTCG at Quail Creek Cottage

No Place Like Home at Rose Chintz Cottage

Share Your Style Link Party

Feathered Nest Fridays at French Country Cottage

IT'S A SMALL WORLD...

It's a small world

After all...

It's a small world

After all..."

"Small World" theme

Disneyland

Anaheim, California

I still find myself 

humming that tune 

every once in awhile.

 It was our first visit 

to Disneyland

 and even though 

I was a mother of two,

 I felt like a child myself.

 It is a glorious memory.

Other memories

 that are dear to my heart

 have been wrapped up 

in the pages of Victoria magazine.

 I have been a faithful reader

since its inception 

and I have kept a good number of issues

 over the years.

 When we moved from Santa Cruz

 to the Cottage,

 I had to give up a few.

 Now, whenever I have a chance

 to see an older issue

 at a garage sale or thrift shop, 

that was one of the ones

 I left behind,

 I will buy it.

 It doesn't happen often

 but every once in awhile

 I get lucky.

I did get lucky 

this past weekend

 when we stopped at a road side sale. 

 After a short time, 

I realized they had nothing

 I wanted 

but I did spot a pile 

of old magazines 

and in between 

the National Geographics 

and the Family Circles,

 I found my treasure.

Inside,

 there is an article 

about a family owned 

lavender farm in Bonny Doon,

 a tiny hamlet 

in the Santa Cruz mountains,

 not far from where I grew up.

 If it snowed at all 

in the mountains around Santa Cruz,

 Bonny Doon would get a light dusting,

 and it was always an adventure

 to meet our friends there 

for a snow ball fight.

A very rare scene on the streets of Santa Cruz. A snow fall in the mid-1950's.

When I was younger,

 my home town was the extent of my world 

and I thought myself

 and my friends who lived there 

were the only people in this world

 who knew about it.

 To this day,

 I still get that

 excited feeling of wonderment

when I see anything in print

 about that time and place 

that was so special 

to me.

Now,

 our daughter, Tami, and her family

 still live in that town 

where both the Captain and myself

 grew up,

 and she is helping

 a friend wrap the soap

that is made at that lavender farm 

in Bonny Doon.

As it turns out...

it is a small world after all.

...Judy...

Join me today at:

Dishing It & Digging It Link Party

BTTCG at Bernideen's

No Place Like Home at Rose Chintz Cottage

Share Your Style Link Party

TULIP TIME...

Spring

 has got her foot in the door,

 or at the very least,

 depending where you are in this world,

 a toe.

We just need to be

 a little more patient,

 but for us humans,

that isn't always 

as easy as it is

for some.

Hope everyone enjoyed 

a happy Easter.

 We drove

 down to the kids' 

on Sunday morning,

 had a fantastic meal

prepared by our 

talented SIL...

...topped off

with a Three Berry Crumble...

and were back home in bed 

by 11:30

 Sunday night.

Tami had these beautiful tulips 

as a centerpiece 

and sent them home with us 

as her two cats 

have been known to eat 

whatever flowers 

they find laying around..

...the culprits! -- 

But,

 I certainly 

can't complain!

While we are on

 the subject of tulips,

 I thought I would share again

 these beautiful flowers

 from a couple of years ago.

These photos

 are from a tour we took 

of Ananda Village.

 It is a cooperative

 spiritual community 

outside the town of Nevada City. 

 Two hundred residents 

of all ages 

live on 700 acres of land. 

 They choose devotion 

through the path 

of Kriya yoga.

 Every fall

 the residents plant 

thousands upon thousands 

of tulip bulbs...

...and come spring time 

they open their gates 

to share all the beauty with 

anyone wanting to visit.

 It really is 

a spectacular sight,

 one that the photos 

cannot do justice.

I hope you enjoyed the return trip.

...Judy...

FYI: 

 In last week's post, 

I mentioned that Picasa

 was eventually going away.

  The truth of the matter is

 that it is not going away,

 we will still be able 

to access it

 and use it for editing,

 but Google

 will no longer back it up,

 so if anything were to go wrong 

they would be of no help...

so, 

for those of us

 who love and use Picasa,

 fingers crossed!

Join me today at:

Dishing It and Digging It Link Party

BTTCG at Bernideen's

No Place Like Home at Rose Chintz Cottage

Share Your Style Link Party

Feathered Nest Fridays at French Country Cottage