Dockage Tester (Robinwood Reclaim II)

This dockage tester was just so beautiful, I had to shove it on the blog. The Husband would never let me have him, even if he wasn't $350. But couldn't you just? I know I could. Find it at Robinwood Reclaim, one of my new favorites. Go there and look around, you'll be glad you did, I promise. What the hell is a dockage tester anyway, and does it matter? No.

Pink Buckeye!

Yesterday while touring The Son's new COLLEGE (congratulations, T.S.!) I noticed a tree I swear I have never seen before. It was positively glorious in all its springiness. Lush droopy leaves with pink spikes of flowers. I crept closer, mouth agape. "What IS this?" I asked to no one in particular. "It looks like a buckeye, but it's PINK." I have always had a special place in my heart for the regular old buckeye. I even grew one in a pot but The Husband did something with it that shouldn't be mentioned on the blog. (I think he threw it away, which I now mention in case someone thought it was something worse.)

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I snapped this pic of the tree and as soon as I got home I googled it and low and behold! Aesculus carnea, aka Pink Buckeye! I'm getting me one.

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Here are some more pics from yesterday that I just had to share because it was such a beautiful day in Silicon Valley.This last one is just weird. In this little rose garden we saw a giant golden bee. I was aiming my camera phone at him when he turned towards me and hovered so that I could get a good picture. It was kind of creepy, actually.Here's the close up. After extensive research I have come to the conclusion that it is a male carpenter bee. Only the female, which is black and shiny, has a stinger. If I had known I would have scooped him up and given him a kiss on his fuzzy little nose.

Bz.

Oscar

At the risk of jinxing it, I have to say that I have a feeling Oscar isn't going to sprout. He's been sitting in his little egg cup with three toothpicks wedged in his sides for weeks and weeks. This morning I dug Oscar II out of the garbage and gave him his very own egg cup. No picks this time because he's just that fat he doesn't need any. I'll keep you posted.

Arbor Walk Update 2

It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Benicia. A bit breezy and not quite as warm as I like, but so lovely. A nice day for gardening, or working on the Arbor Walk. Above is one of my favorite flower beds. To the right of the stepping stone is a Sea Thrift. It's a little grassy mound with pink puffy flowers at the ends of long stalks. In front of that is a johnny jump up. To the left of the stepping stone is one of the many salvia greggiis. I have a lot of these because I just love how they look in a flower bed. I have a couple of them in this bed, and many more throughout the garden. Another favorite salvia is Pineapple Sage. I have three different kinds around my yard, and one more, a twig plucked from an unsuspecting sidewalk pot, trying to grow his very own roots (updates to follow). Far left, just out of the picture is a gorgeous bougainvillea - pink/light green flowers. I also have a new currant bush that isn't quite ready for The Blog, but it's coming along nicely.

Speaking of coming along nicely, at first glance you might not notice this little baby fir tree. The Daughter had a teeny terra cotta pot with some fir tree SEEDS that a friend had given her years go. She saved it all this time, and brought it out when we moved into Wellington. Last year we planted the seeds, two sprouted, and this one is thriving! (Don't ask about the other one.) It's only about an inch and a quarter high. But I never even knew you could grow a little pine tree from a seed. But here's proof. Pay no attention to that weed underneath him. Better go pluck that thing out.

Now for the Arbor Walk Update! This photo is taken in the middle of The Walk. In the distance is a small redwood deck as sort of a landing when you come through the front gate. Limestone stepping stones meander through what will soon be planted with little trees and grasses. Then a second, larger deck will have an outdoor table and chairs. Right now we have these two adirondacks. This little deck is beautifully situated for dining. In the morning the sun shines on the right side of this deck, in the evening it shines on the left. If one of us is cold, and one is hot, we can sit at opposite ends. That window leads to the kitchen/dining area inside. I'd like to put a shelf right outside this window for passing food out. From where I'm standing, more limestones finish out The Walk, along with two more decks - one against the house and one on the other side both with gliding benches for sitting amongst the trees. So far the Arbor Walk has the following trees: nectarine, apple, lemon, apricot and two weeping Japanese maples. I'd like to get one more large tree and a couple more small ones.

I have been busily propogating lots of plants for this area. Most I bought in tiny six packs, some I snagged from neighbors and rooted. I have a lavatera, which I grew from a little teeny (stolen) cutting (more like plucking) last year, right after we moved in. It's now three feet tall and full of blooms. I'll be planting lambs' ears, lavender, blue fescue, snow in summer, variegated St. Augustine grass, two kinds of sedum and maybe some glechoma.

Finally, look at my kitchen mid-dinner prep. I had just finished making a pie (it was baking). This is the first time I rolled the pastry out right on the granite countertops and it came out very flakey. The chicken was washed and waiting to be split and made into Chicken Adobo. It was a good day at Wellington.

TriBeCa Loft

Although it has absolutely nothing to do with Wellington, there's something about this loft in Manhattan. I found the slideshow while Blog Surfing. The site is Apartment Therapy. It was hard to choose which of the photos to post, but I love the transom windows above the two bedrooms and their use of picnic tables as dining room tables. The Husband and I are trying to decide on seating for the Arbor Walk. Picnic tables were thrown out there and I threw them out, there. But look at this cute space. And that ceiling. It's worth it to snurk over to that blog and run through the slide show.

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Meanwhile, The Husband and I have been working on the Arbor Walk. We went to Home Depot today to buy fittings for some plumbing thing we have to do. Then we zipped home and I held onto this PVC pipe while TH glued some bits together, then I came inside and made dinner while he finished up. I don't know what he was doing out there, but I'm pretty sure we now have a faucet in the Arbor Walk. (Dinner was salmon quiche and collards with tomatoes.)

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Yesterday I took my poor little plants that have been all bound up in their six-packs, with their little roots all jumbled and pinched, and planted them into all the extra pots I could find around the place. I'm hoping to be putting them in the ground soon, but until then they can wriggle their toes a bit. Update pics of the Arbor Walk to follow when I'm not feeling quite so lazy.

Favorite Blog of the Month

courtesy susk and banoo

There are a lot of blogs that I like. Most are about houses, or house renovation. I have a list running down that >>>> column. I use my blog to check for updates to my favorites. Sometimes one blog leads to another.

Yesterday when I was reading one of my favorites, I found a link to this absolutely scrumptious blog. I spent positively HOURS reading it (I'm a slow reader - it is a new blog started late last year). This blog is about the renovation of a house in Norf Londontown. I'm so in love with the writer, a 6 foot 2 inch blond from the UK who married a Parisian then moved with him to London, bought this scary row house and completely gutted it. You have to start at the beginning and work your way back, that's what I did. And she's a great photographer, too. (See photo above.) Her love of old books and paper remind me of the daughter. <3

Look! A new post!

American Bungalow

Two months ago I went to the local Borders Books, coupon in hand, determined to get something to feed my bungalow fever. With 40% off, I could afford to splurge. I found a great book in the architecture section, on sale for $16, but with the coupon, that would only be about $11.00 (too lazy to do the actual math). When I made it through the checkout line I found that the coupon didn't apply to sale items. Being in a frugal mood, I got out of line, put the book back and continued browsing.

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In the magazine section, I happened on a magazine called "American Bungalow." The cover price of $8.95 surprised me (it's a MAGAZINE!), but I flipped through it quickly and decided it was just what I was looking for. And would only be about $5! Still a lot for a magazine, but I had that coupon, so I sidled up to the counter only to be informed that the coupon didn't apply to magazines. I bought it anyway. I had fallen in love with it in the three minutes it took me to get to the register. And I'm glad I did. It was better than any magazine, and better than most books, I had read on the topic. I love the section entitled "Family Album" where readers send in photos of their bungalows along with a blurb about the history of the house. Even the advertisements are uniquely satisfying. Some are from Benicia!

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The problem with the magazine is that it only comes out quarterly. Recently I went back to the local Borders. Unfortunately the store is closing, but furtunately the magazines were 30% off! I zipped to the House section and was just quick enough to snag the very last issue of American Bungalow! I'm now on page 14. I'm relishing it. Savoring every morsel. I read a bit with my morning tea and will read more later when the husband and I sit on the new DECK in the ARBOR WALK (which still isn't compete, but is coming along - photos to follow).

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Here is American Bungalow's website. It's not as good as the actual magazine, though. Can't wait for the next one!