Summer Trip: Flowers and More Flowers

This flower addiction of mine was in full swing over the start of fall. I spent several mornings collecting plants off a running trail in Placerville, and gathered more from the yard, (some even came home with us from Idaho) it was enough to fill the kitchen. And then I purchased $20 of blossoms and we were set for an afternoon of designing. 

 Mom has all kinds of vessels around the house that can house a flower arrangement, so part of the fun was working with those different shapes.

Above: When I was prepping and separating the stems by kind into buckets and vases for us to pull from, Mom liked what was happening with the Japanese Iris so much, that she asked it remain "as is" so I added a bit of red Dock and it looked great with red mimicking the wooden bureau and the iris the color of the floor.  

 I don't really care for sunflowers, but I think this one worked well here.

These little lantern like plants were so lovely, I wanted to use them in something, but just didn't have the right combination of colors and textures available. I put them in this arrangement, but it doesn't do them justice at all and the arrangement itself isn't a stunner. I kinda like the lanterns alone....

 Hayden came over and put a couple of arrangements together too!

 Apologies for not getting great photos of either one. They were both lovely with a touch of romance.

 She added more to this at home after I took the picture and it looked fabulous. You'll just have to imagine it.

Below: I needed practice with this one, wasn't particularly happy with it at all. It was first for me to work with tall fuzzy grass as well as making a bouquet in a twist method instead of an x method. I failed. Oh well. Practice. Practice.
But it does make you want to reach out and pet it doesn't it? So soft.

 Mom played with us too and made some fun arrangements. She was mainly interested in using the dried ingredients. She used another kind of red Dock we found on the way home from Idaho.

The little dried flowers had a wonderful scent. I couldn't quite place it until Dad mentioned they smelled like maple. He NAILED it. Strong scented maple! Lovely.

 Mom created this one as well with all it's textures and shapes. The vessel choice is spot on.

 I made the rest below.

 This one looked different from all angles.

Below: I enjoyed putting this one together the most. I liked the shape of the vase. I'd never worked with a shape like that before...and it allowed me to make something quite big, structured, and use some ingredients that were interesting to me.

Later for dinner we put several of the arrangements on the table. Because after all that work, and all the beauty, you HAVE to, yah know?

I like being surrounded by plants. They make me feel...more peaceful perhaps? Perhaps more connected? Less boring? Heh.

In all, it was a lot of work between prep, creation, and cleanup. But we got 15 arrangements for only $20!!! It was fun teaching Mom and Hayden the very basics (cuz that's about all I know) and then working together at the table. I enjoyed being with them, I hope they had fun too.

Summer Trip: Puppies

A few weeks before I knew this was even going to happen, I'd confessed to Adam "For about 5 months I've been wanting to hold a puppy. I don't know why but I want to love on one."

My wish came true! Michael and Hayden were babysitting two tiny babies and I finally got a dose of furry, squishy, cuteness...and a bit of wee! :)

Mom even enjoyed it. This little baby stayed content like this for a while. 

Puppies are so sweet.

Puppy Video Here.

Summer Trip: Mother Daughter Date

Have you ever been on a date with mom? She's so much fun. And I love that she doesn't mind taking pictures...as you can see. Awesome!

 The Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento had an exhibit by HiFructose Magazine I wanted to see and mom was up for it. So down to Sacramento we went. "Fructose showcases an amalgamation of new contemporary, emerging, as well as distinguished artists, with a spotlight on awe inspiring spectacles from around the world."

Mom will now show you the installation by Marc Dean Veca at the entrance of the exhibit:

And now will will attempt a photo before going in:

Below is from one of my favorite artists—this one is "Unrequited" by Beth Cavener whose style, colors and creatures I very much enjoy. 

Below: "It Was You" by Audrey Kawasaki. I enjoy that most of her work is done on panels of wood, that that she let's it show through. It's quite beautiful.

 Rather fun and featuring a wonderful color palette, this one is called "The Abyss Stares Back" by AJ Fosik.

 The two below are out of a series of four called "Asylum" and then numbered 1-4 by Tim Biskup. You can see what he's going for and I think it's a fun exercise.

 The artist below was one of Mom's favorites. Each character in his illustrations comes with a back story. And the technique is lovely too. The title of this is "Miss Lila and Her Black Fish" by Travis Louie.

Here is Miss Lila's story: When Miss Lila had black days, her 'worry fish' increased in size. On those really harsh days, it was as big as an average elephant. On days filled with pleasant thoughts and overall well-being, the fish was the size of a moth and white as snow."

And though this wasn't part of the HiFructose collection, I'm just going to put it in anyway. It was slightly larger than life and is perfectly relatable. "Wallflower" by Tip Toland.

Summer Trip: Apple Hill

One of the places on our agenda while I was at home this summer was Apple Hill. A shop owner there wanted to sell Mom's quilts and hot-pads. So Mom and Dad loaded up the car with her goods and we drove up to see what the owner wanted to display in her store.

 Of course while there we had to grab some fresh apple turnovers. Then visit the red barn for hot apple cider donuts.

We ate our brunch and celebrated Mom's future success under the apple trees.

Then my parents humored me and let us drive around the Apple Hill circuit so I could see the scenery. I haven't been up there during my adult years to appreciate it. And for some reason never quite get up to the hill while the "season" is in session. (Still missed it by two weeks this time. Grrr.)

 But what a lovely place...full of orchards and Christmas tree farms and cute barns. I can see why people drive up the hill from the city every year. I would too.