Rot and Roll

Todd is at it again. He has  put together these awesome band creatures for the big day.  He is a clever yard artist. It is a treat to see the kids checking out the band on their way home from school.

Sunday Painting

I love to photograph my husband Dan. He is painting on a lazy hot Sunday afternoon. He has the stance of a Qi Gong Master. It is pleasurable to photograph people engaged in their passion.

Lovin the Distagon 50 mm

These photos were shot at the Mission in Solvang, California. I love using the Distagon Lens to create an interesting point of view.

Santa Barbara Rose Garden

The rose. I like to shoot roses and blur the background to make them more interesting. 

Summertime in Cambria

Cambria has beautiful gardens. Do you believe in fairies? I do.

Larry's Roses

My brother in law Larry used to grow roses on his property in San Luis Obispo. I never understood the fascination of the rose until I grew them in my garden. You learn to love the rose when you keep snapping photos of the rose. 

Summertime and the Roses are Pretty

I love seeing the possibilities of shooting the rose. There is the traditional shot. This requires putting a round rose into a rectangular format. I gravitate to taking part of the rose out of the frame and give the pic an interesting perspective. You can also include the sky to make the color of the rose pop.

AV Mode is my friend

I love using the aperture variance mode to highlight certain elements of the roses. It makes the pictures more interesting and more painterly.

Rose Garden Delight

This is a fun time of year to shoot pictures of roses. I use my Canon film camera and buy good old Kodak 400 S film and bang away. The rose gardens are in full bloom and it is the perfect time to walk around and get intoxicated with the parfum of the rose.

Sustaining Succulents

AGCC's Occupational Therapy department planned a succulent sale with the residents. The residents painted clay pots and repotted succulents from the Therapy Succulent Garden. The sale was a fun way to get residents involved with planting, pruning, cutting, and re planting succulents for container gardening. The money raised went to purchasing OT equipment for Arroyo Grande Care Center's Rehab. This is a fun way for OT patients to use their fine motor and cognitive skills in purposeful activities. Thanks to all the residents and staff at Arroyo Grande Care Center who made this sale successful. 

Happy Fathers Day

               

Today is Fathers Day. I have great memories of my Dad. He loved to tinker. He loved to garden. He loved getting his hands in the dirt. I woke up and prepared this mini shadow box for our AGCC succulent sale as a starter kit. My Dad enjoyed recycling small objects. My sister Anita stamped this box and I recycled it into a succulent starter kit. I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Succulent Beauties

The first and third photo shows the epi (epiphyllum) cactus. I recently transplanted it and put it in a smaller pot. The pot broke during the planting, so I propped it on its side, because I enjoyed the angle of the potted plant. I love gardens with unusual design elements. In the middle photo, I have the potted  plant in an old Pyrex dish. The top photo has an abalone shell for drama.

Magical Succulents

I like to grow succulents. They are slow growing, but in time, if you are patient, they produce beautiful results. They look great in a variety of pots and placed near step stones and unusual yard art and or antiques. I also love the various varieties and colors in the smaller gardens. A perfect solution for small yards with container garden planting.

Hand Painted Clothing by Pat Riley

Pat Riley is the real deal. She is what I think of, when I think about art.  She paints these amazing clothes and no two are alike. She paints jean shirts, cotton tees, vests, jackets, hoodies, and sweatshirts. I bought a blue tee and wore it to work at AGCC and the employees and patients loved her work. Pat is friendly and open about what inspires her art. You can find her in the garden at Spellbound Herbs on Burton Drive in the East Village of Cambria. You can call her studio at (805-927-4143). Get out and enjoy her hand painted clothing.

Kniphofia Uvaria

I am on a gardening roll. Just ask my husband and friends at work. I have been obsessing on California natives but came across this non native at one of the historical buildings in Cambria. The big beauty is near the side of Hidden Gate Antiques off of Main Street in Cambria. I found a variety of this at the Cambria Pines Nursery and Dan planted it in our garden. The plant is a grasslike finely toothed foilege that produces bare stems topped by nodding tubular flowers ranging from coral reds to oranges and yellows. The plants attrat hummingbirds. The plant is also called Red Hot Poker and Torch Lily. It originates from the Cape Province in South Africa.

"The Lunchbox" is FANTASTIC

This film is wonderful. The Lunchbox is Ritesh Batra's feature about a romance in Mumbai. Nimrat Kaar plays a neglected housewife and Irrfan Khan plays Mr. Fernandes a widowed office worker.  They communicate through handwritten letters and home-cooked meals. Do not miss this film. It is unforgettable.

The Green Vase

The Green Vase is a wonderful store in Arroyo Grande, Ca. Connie owns the store and she and her staff are helpful and friendly. Connie finds the most amazing treasures. I just wish I had a spot for this fascinating find. I had fun shooting Hasselblad pics.

happy mother's day

My mother was a great Mom. She is with me every day. I put together a vase of rose varieties that I planted in my garden the year she passed. The roses represent all the ladies in the family. The orange and yellow is my sister Deb. The darker pink is me. The peachy pink is my sister Anita. The baby pink is Mom. Every year they bloom on Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the great mothers in the world.

Santal 33

        

Santal 33 by Le Labo is a powerful wonderful scent. Dan and I are wearing it today. This is unusual for us. To each his own when it comes to our parfums. I was pulled in by a sandalwood force at the initial spray. I spray my wrists and one side of my neck.  Dan sprays his parfum on the top center of his chest. As the day unfolds, I am smelling cedar and rose  and cardamon. Dan's early am smell is a flower incense woody smell.
Great parfum pic for both of us.

AGCC Farm

The Arroyo Grande Care Center Farm invited city officials to the center on Friday April 25. The staff and patients sported their farm shirts. The City of Arroyo Grande Officials were visiting the farm and viewing a video of what the AGCC Farm is all about. The patients at AGCC grow their own produce from wheel chair accessible planters. The produce is given to local seniors in need at the local farmers market. Kudos to Tammy our dietary manager for creating this unique pig watermelon display. I love kitchen art.

Une Fleur de Cassie

 

Dominique Ropion is the creator of Frederic Malle's Une Fleur de Cassie. I am wearing it today and I feel blessed. I has properties of mimosa absolute, jasmine, cassia, rose carnation, vanilla and sandalwood. The Frederic Malle parfums last throughout the day. This one is special.

Jo has an Eye for the Central Coast

My dear friend  Jo Genito has an amazing eye for photography. She lives in Los Osos, Ca. and a short walk from her home, takes her to the outstanding beauty of  picturesque Morro Bay.  She was born with a gift for those outdoor shots. I love her point of view. Her photos speak to me.

Finding Vivian Maier

I found out about the work of photographer Vivian Maier from my friend Shawn. Today we saw the documentary about her life. Vivian Maier was a mysterious nanny who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that went unsceen during her lifetime. Historian John Maloof bought her work at an auction hoping to find out parts of history. The rest of the story unfolds in this riveting documentary of Vivian Maier. Her black and white shots of the city, children, and still life made me cry.