Point Lobos

John and I went to Monterey and Point Lobos to celebrate our wedding anniversary.  This is a view of Carmel from Point Lobos.

Two views of kelp.  The first one is at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  The second one is at Point Lobos.  I've been scuba diving at Point Lobos and it does look like the top photo when you are in it.

This is a carving on the back of a bench along a trail at Point Lobos.  I think I see a harbor seal integrated into the bird.  Do you see it?

Lavender Scone

Yesterday I made lavender scones and lemon curd.  I also served them with my homemade apricot jam.  I meet with a small group of friends from church twice a month.  It was my turn to host and I had time to bake.  We also had iced tea, because it was too warm for hot tea last night.

I am trying to copy a lavender scone we had at a tea house in Capitola.  Mine are good, but not quite as light.  There's a crispy yet fluffy texture that I have yet to duplicate.  It was the first time I'd made lemon curd.  I was happy with it, although it was more tart than others I've tasted.  But I like the tart flavor.  I used lots of lemon zest.

The apricots, lemons and lavender all came from my yard!

Taken with my New iPhone

I just got a new iPhone 4s and I'm learning to use the camera.  At first I didn't like the camera, but now that I've learned to use the zoom and set the flash, I like it a lot.  I was impressed with the detail the camera was able to capture on these plumbago flowers.  I even went to iPhone school at the Apple Store today.  It's fun to have time for things like that.

Book of the Hours

For the art class I'm taking, one assignment was to make a book of the hours.  We were to write poems for each of the monastic hours and then put them into a book.  Here this the cover of mine.  I choose a format I saw in the book, Adventures in Mixed Media.  It turned out to be pretty difficult, but I'm glad I gave it a try.

Each page has a moveable panel within it.  On one side it the poem and on the other is a photo that goes with it.

Here's another view of the open book.

Too Many Books, Too Little Time

I'm now on the downhill side of my summer vacation and the books are piling up! Conquistadora was recommended by a friend.  I had just started it when Alif the Unseen came in at my bookstore, so that's what I'm reading now.  It's a fantasy about a hacker during the Arab spring.  It has a magic book, a magic cat, and jinn; not to mention Star Wars references and Harry Potter references.  Fun!! I had Three Day Town, the latest in one of my favorite mystery series, on reserve at the library and it came in today.  I had forgotten that I'd pre-ordered Shadow of Night, and it turned up in the mail today.  Yesterday, I unexpectedly received Caleb's Crossing from my sister.  So I will be blissfully busy for the rest of July.

My Kids

It's been wonderful to have both our children home from college.  We went to the San Francisco Zoo and enjoyed dinners out and dinners at home.  Laura went back to New York yesterday.  I miss her!

Fish Jacket

John was very happy to find this tool to help him grill salmon.  This piece of salmon came from our farmer's market--wild caught California salmon.  It was delicious.

Flower Mandala Book

I made a little accordion book of flower photographs.  These are flowers from my yard, cut flowers in my house and flowers from the San Francisco Zoo.  I'm working up to the Book of the Hours that I'll be making for my Way of the Monk Path of the Artist class.

First Apricots of the Season

I picked the first apricots of the season yesterday.  They are sweet and juicy and as good as I remember from last year.  These are Blenheim apricots--the best variety there is. I don't have enough ripe apricots to make jam yet, but I think I will be busy cooking in a few days.

Here is my tree.  I put a tarp under it to catch the windfalls and keep them clean.  I mostly just gather apricots from the ground, because those are the ripest and the best.  That way I don't have to use a ladder.  Unfortunately, about half my crop is eaten by squirrels.  They leave a lot of half-eaten apricots on the ground.

Here's a picture of a squirrel enjoying my crop!