Sherman Library and Gardens

Yesterday I went with a friend to Sherman Library and Gardens in Corona Del Mar.  We left the gray, drizzly foothills and an hour or so later were down in the sunshine near the beach.  It was a gorgeous day.  Neither of us had ever been there and we were pleasantly surprised at the scope of the gardens for its size.  It is located right off Pacific Coast Highway in a lovely area of Corona Del Mar not far from the beach in a residential/business district.  They also have a lovely gift shop!

We then had a wonderful lunch at Bristol Farms and made one more stop at Rogers Gardens which is amazing!  I definitely want to go back around Christmas - they have an extensive selection of gorgeous Christmas ornaments by Christopher Radko, Debbee Thibault and others, and were putting out Easter items yesterday.  Their selection of plants, trees, etc. is like none I've ever seen. 

We then made the drive home in our "wonderful" LA-Friday afternoon traffic; our least favorite part of the day, but so worth it!

Spring Flowers

Here are a few examples of crocheted flowers that I'm making up as part of a joint "project" with my sister-in-law Maria. I'm using a #9 steel hook, which is fairly small. It was a little hard getting used to at first (my hand kept cramping-up on me!), but it's getting much easier. I've gotten about 25 flowers made so far. I make them at night while watching television. They are a pretty fast crochet and I especially love the effects I get with the variegated threads. The largest flower I'm doing is the size of a half-dollar and the smallest so far is the size of a quarter.

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is in full swing here. It was an absolutely beautiful day yesterday and my cousin "C" and I spent the morning at one of our favorite places to walk - Descanso Gardens. The lilacs were especially beautiful - the smell was unbelievable! I was wishing that my camera could capture their scent so that I could bring it home with me! I love autumn and winter, but I must say that there is nothing more glorious than the sights, sounds and scents of spring. It was just amazing to hear all the birds yesterday and to see all the flowers coming into bloom. Ah, spring!

On the crafting front, I've been busy finishing a couple of charm bracelets and ordering supplies. I've got lots of things in the works.

Here are a few photos I took during our walk yesterday.



Have a great week!

A Floral Sunday

Nothing much to blog about this weekend, so I decided to take some pictures of the flowers in my yard. The sunflowers are a result of the black oil sunflower seeds that I put out for the birds and squirrels. They were not planned, but I let them grow, as the finches love to eat the leaves! I'm hoping they will eat the seeds out of the flower head when they're ready. I used the "cartoon effect" option in my Kodak EasyShare Software that came with my digital camera for some of the photos. I don't have Photoshop on this computer, so my editing of pictures is rather limited. Hope you enjoy these pictures. I think the hydrangea bloom almost looks like a heart, and I love the swirl design in the middle of the sunflower where the seeds will develop in the top photo that I left untouched.

Here's wishing everyone a lovely Sunday!