Sights Around the Arboretum

My cousin and I went to the LA County Arboretum this morning. We were amazed at the beauty of the peacocks and peahens and how their feathers seemed to "glow"; the iridescence is incredible. Their call is really loud - it sounds like a woman screaming "Help"!

And The Winner Is...

#5 farmlady!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

5
6
2
2
5
1

Timestamp: 2009-05-22 14:47:48 UTC

I gave each comment a number in the order that they were received:

1. julie Haymaker thompson - 5/15, 12:45 a.m.
2. Marilyn - 5/18, 8:21 a.m.
3. Marie Reed - 5/19, 10:43 a.m.
4. annemarie - 5/19, 11:00 a.m.
5. farmlady - 5/19, 11:38 p.m.
6. grace - 5/20, 4:51 p.m.

Congratulations farmlady! Just email me your address and I will send you your earrings.

Thanks to all of you for leaving a comment. Have a great weekend!

It's My Blogaversary!

Today marks the one-year point in my blogging adventure. Just leave me a comment and you will be entered to win a really pretty pair of pearl earrings (I had originally asked for the comment to be on charm bracelets, but that is probably a little too limiting). I hope more of you will participate. I have extended the time I will be accepting comments until 11:00 p.m. Thursday night, so there's still plenty of time. Come on, don't be shy - I know you're out there! I will announce the winner Friday morning.

Blogaversary Giveaway!

I can't believe that on May 18 (Monday) I will have been blogging for one year! It is an ongoing learning process and one that I find myself really enjoying - I wasn't sure I would! There are so many wonderful, interesting and talented bloggers out there that continually inspire me, so I hope I can add a little something to the mix.

I've decided to have a giveaway for my one-year blogaversary. I made a pair of pearl earrings to give to one lucky commenter. The pearls are a very pretty cream color and I've put them on a Swarovski crystal headpin. I can't seem to get a better photo of them, but they are really pretty. Just leave a comment telling me what type of charm bracelet (i.e. what kind of "theme" or subject) you would like to see made up; I'm trying to come up with some different ideas and would like your input. I will accept comments for the next five days, until Monday, May 18 at 11:00 p.m. PDT. PLEASE leave a comment - I would really appreciate your feedback. Thanks!

For You Mom...

...and all the special Moms in my life, Happy Mother's Day! I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Earrings In My Shop!

I am indulging myself in some shameless self-promotion today. I have listed three pairs of earrings in my Etsy shop.

On another note, my thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Santa Barbara who are dealing with yet another wildfire ("Jesusita Fire"). As of this morning, 75 homes have either been damaged or destroyed. It is absolutely heartbreaking. I only wish that we could afford to have our own Super Scoopers, as "fire season" seems to be coming earlier every year and now is really a year-round threat.

Have a good weekend. Stay safe.

Carousel Restoration Part Two

These are the last of the photos I took last Sunday. It really was a very interesting afternoon. The top photo is of the antlers on one of the animals. A lady was telling me that they are actually real antlers, as the wooden ones they had used were always breaking from children hanging onto them. These won't break!

Another interesting fact she told me is that the "male" horses always have their tongue hanging out of their mouth. She wasn't sure why, but I guess it was a way of showing their "maleness"! Anyway, I hope you enjoy these photos.

Carousel Restoration

My friend (and neighbor) got an invite to an "open house" from an acquaintance she knows from her volunteer work and invited my mother and I to come with her yesterday. The woman owns a "studio" (actually a warehouse) in Irwindale where she rescues and restores carousel animals. It was really fascinating to see them all in different stages of restoration. My favorites are the carved wooden animals that are European (there are three different materials that were used to make them: wood, fiberglass and aluminum). It was really interesting to learn little tidbits about this unique artform. I hope you enjoy these photos - I have many more and will share them with you in another post this week.