A Little Pain

Sometimes the tiniest things cause pain. I had to take this picture because this little prickly something was so teeny tiny it crossed over to having a cute factor. But then I thought of how much it would hurt if it hopped into my shoe during a run. Not so cute anymore.

I think that some of the things I've been working through lately have disguised themselves over the years as teeny tiny issues that could just lie dormant. Just little hints of selfishness. Little bits of stubbornness. No big deal. But they are a big deal. Those 'little' things can do a world of hurt. I don't even want to take the time to take a picture of them. I want them out.

Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens - Part Two

This will be a picture post of my visit to the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens on Saturday. I spent the entire time gasping and taking pictures. (gasping because I was so overcome by the beauty, not because I was training for a road race...just wanted to clarify.) I'm so glad that the majority of the gardens were not destroyed by the fire last year. There is a portion that is closed, but you can still have an enjoyable visit if you decide to go. It is right up the road from the Mission. I suggest getting off at Mission, filling up with coffee and a homemade scone at The Daily Grind (my favorite of favorite coffee places), heading up the hill to see the Mission and then continuing up to the Gardens. There are many trails and paths to walk in that area too. It is really breathtaking--at the top of the hill (at the Mission), you can turn around for a panoramic view of the ocean. Beautiful! :)

in the distance, you can see the 'labrynth' wood structure...

this is the roof inside that structure--all flowers and grasses! i wish i could have captured how beautiful it was...

inside the labyrinth...

the view looking outside this structure...

my favorite flower--nasturtiums!!! the leaves were the size of my hand!!!

a black and white photo for kicks...

turtles basking in the sun

a trail that leads down to the Redwood gardens and a little waterfall

Made: Food Edition

And now for another chapter in the food chronicles...

Every-once-in-a-while my mom would make dutch babies on a Sunday afternoon after church. It really is just an oven pancake that billows and grows into a big puff while it is cooking. We would cheer when mom took it out of the oven and the dutch baby was especially big. I think in those days we'd douse it with syrup and dig in. Maybe we had blackberries on it when we lived in French Gulch (since our property bordered a creek that was lined with blackberry brambles...mmm)

In recent years, I rediscovered the dutch baby, this time reincarnated to be served with a generous squeeze of lemon juice and a good serving of powder sugar. Double mmm. It was quite a lucky surprise to find out that the BF also had a thing for all things dutch baby. That his family made it a point to find restaurants that served these happy creations. Amazing. Anyway, we've been treating ourselves to these for the past two Sundays...the first Sunday we had them the traditional way with lemon and sugar. And the second one we cooked them up with some apples and sausage and then promptly died and went to heaven. Wow.

Today at lunch I decided to make a chicken apricot stew. It took a little bit of time but oh my goodness, it was delicious. The couscous I used had a slight cinnamony taste to it, believe it or not, so that added even more to the dish. You can't see them in the picture, but underneath all the apricots and sauce and couscous there is a bunch of chicken.

How in the world am I going to eat all of this?

Texture

photos from my morning up in Santa Barbara last weekend.

I love texture.

I love how we can feel things by looking at them.

I love walking through a store or a garden or down the street and reaching my hand out to feel as I pass by.

Thick, soft sweaters.

Velvety, light flowers.

Course, speckled brick.

It's a beautiful thing.

Santa Barbara Botanical Garden

I went to the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens this morning. And this is what it looked like. Oh. My. Heavens.

TGIF

a beautiful tree we passed on a walk last weekend. spring has come to lalaland! :)

Another gratitude Friday...

What a beautiful week it has been. My BF's sister had her son on Thursday--what a precious gift to their family! Yesterday I went over to Descanso Gardens for a much-needed spiritual break. Walking through the camelia forest and sitting on a bench surrounded by chirping birds and lush grass and oak trees filled my spirit to the brim. My heart couldn't help but sing. Thank you, Lord, for beauty. On my way out of the gardens, I passed by hundreds of different varieties of camelias and could not help but think of the intricacy of each one. How carefully he designed and created each little petal. It was breathtaking. And then my thoughts moved on to our own lives as humans....if he is this careful with a flower that will brown and drop to the ground in a matter of days, how much more is he looking over us--loving our hearts, growing us into the people we were meant to be, providing for our every need (especially the inside ones that we desperately need.) I'm so grateful for his intimate care for each one of us.

Have a wonderful weekend...

A Garden in the Mail

What a lovely idea. This postcard comes in the mail, you sow the seeds into the postcard itself and water...and a tiny garden grows. It only keeps for 2-3 weeks, but I still think it is a sweet thought. Unfortunately, (for now) these are only available for sale in the European Union. I wonder if someone over here in the U.S. has thought of the same/similar idea?

Rainy Weekend

It was a rainy weekend here in L.A., but we still managed to have a lovely time. Ate a scrumptious breakfast downtown at Nickel Diner and shot a lot of pictures in between cloudbursts. mmmm

Camera Club and Babies

My little middle sister had her baby, let's see, ten days ago. Emily Elizabeth. I love how that name rolls off my tongue. Yesterday a little postcard came in the mail with Miss Emily's baby mugshot on it. She looked surprised. It must be a surprise to have all these strange things happening to you as a baby. Everything is new. Everything is the very first time in your life that you've ever done ____ (fill-in-the-blank). It's pretty amazing.

S and I have officially joined the Camera Club at Reform School. We will be meeting once a month and presenting 5 pictures to the class for critique and such. This month's theme is 'California'. I don't think a theme could be much broader but I'm also intrigued by the interpretations we will see. I wonder if all of us will be tempted to go towards non-obvious pictorial explorations of California. Whatever happens, I think it will be a nice challenge. I'll be sure to post that journey here. Never fear. :)