Virtual coffee with the family

 

I had Saturday morning's coffee outside on a balmy Sonoran Desert morning in Arizona with my mosquito repeller turned on because the little buggers are back! I took my glasses off so I could get more morning sun in my eyes. I love the bright green of the mug, which I got at the Cameron Trading Post near the Grand Canyon.

As I was sipping my morning coffee -- alone -- I thought about how nice it would be to be able to meet up with family now and then for breakfast. I envy families who can do that. But since we all live in different states, the next best thing was to shoot out a group text asking them to show me their morning beverages. Here they are!

From my son's family in Madison, WI, Ozzie enjoys his Starbucks toy ...

... while Dad (my son) uses a mug from his favorite movie, "The Big Lebowski," and Mom (daughter in law) loves her owl mug and farmers market flowers.

Across the country in Spokane, WA, another family pet gets in on the morning coffee. Pops insists on being on my son-in-law's lap with his thermos of coffee ...

... while my daughter sips from her favorite mug, which was given to her by my daughter in law in Madison.

Can you tell there's a toddler in the house?

We don't show their daughter's face on social media, so Dad stands in for her with her sippy cup of water and some morning reading. Or maybe he's just regressed, because parenthood can do that to you!

My sister Terry, visiting her son's family in Minneapolis, uses a handmade pottery mug. She's an artist.

Her husband's photo came with the comment, "Assembly required." But he also drinks espresso throughout the day.

My brother Kevin in San Diego, on the other hand, NEVER drinks coffee. But when he's headed out for the day he gets a Big Gulp filled with 85% diet Coke, 10% horchata, and 5% melon juice. He's an engineer, hence the precision. He said, "When I'm heading out early it's usually for a long day, so the steady low-grade caffeine infusion is therapeutic."

My other sister, Kathleen, enjoyed coffee on her deck on a soft western Washington morning. I see the mug is from Astoria, OR, a great little NW town.

And finally, Dave in drizzly Gig Harbor, WA, had his coffee in the mug our son gave to him years ago because they used to go canoeing and fishing every summer in Canada.

Well, it's not quite the same as visiting in person, but it was fun -- we'll have to do that more often!

Have a colorful day

Back from visiting Mom

I drove out to Oceanside, CA, to see my mom for Mother's Day. My brother, who lives in Solana Beach, also was there. She's 94 and going strong, joking with the staff and whizzing around in her wheelchair because she doesn't like her walker.

Here she is watching her beloved L.A. Lakers in the playoffs on Saturday. They lost, but she still had fun. Kevin brought a pizza and I brought a big chocolate cake that I had baked, so it was a party.

I also hit up two quilt shops, both in San Marcus. First was Grand Central Quilt N Stitch, which was hopping with two classes going on. The quilt above was being taught by a 90-year-old woman for the San Diego Modern Quilt Guild, and I was thrilled to see that at 90 you can still be modern, although she could have passed for someone decades younger!

I bought a pattern there for five sizes of project bags, which I'll work on this summer for gifts when it's too hot to hike.

The other store was Eleanor Burns' massive Quilt In a Day warehouse, which included a shop and classroom. The outside had huge painted quilt blocks all around the building. I used to watch her TV show, "Quilt In a Day," long ago in my early quilting days.

Inside, the fabric bolts went on forever!

I couldn't go to the coast without hitting the beach, so Sunday afternoon while Mom napped I walked for miles along the Oceanside Beach, which was packed. Lots of families.

Despite rows of "No Swimming" signs, there were plenty of people in the water.

My favorite site was a sand artist who raked swirling patterns into the sand, exposing the darker damp sand. People were lined up on the pier watching him from above.

But my favorite discovery was the charming Alta Vista Botanical Gardens, sprinkled with outdoor art and many lovely shady sitting areas.

This rock bench was a true work of art and also was so nice and cool to sit on because it was a warm, humid day.

 

A stream and waterfalls added to the cooling environment.

My favorite art was made from kitchen utensils at the culinary herb garden.

The children's garden also had fun art, like this row of whimsical figures.

I walked the labyrinth, with inspirational signs like this one ...

... and a beautiful view of distant hills. I'll definitely return the next time I visit my mother.

My last stop was at the Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, which has a beautiful rose garden and magnificent palms.

Speaking of plants, my daughter sent me this saguaro wind chime for Mother's Day! (It's hanging by a quilt I made in 2009 called "Morning.") And here's little Juniper tending to the barrel plants in her sun hat.

Have a colorful day

The scary cholla cactus

Dead cholla look like staggering zombies!

It's been awhile since I've written about the cholla cactus, pronounced choi-a. But they've been catching my eye lately because they start blooming in April, producing spots of beautiful color in the middle of their nasty, scary barbed spines.

They're shaped like small trees, but their jointed branches easily break off, sticking to you if you bump into them and their barbs latch into you. You can't pull it off with your hand because then it will stick on that hand, so hikers are advised to carry combs and tweezers to remove the branches. That's why they're given wide berth by hikers. In six years of desert hiking here I've never bumped into one because I'm really careful.

Here are a few from my recent hikes. There are about 20 different types of cholla, with descriptive names like teddy bear cholla, jumping cholla and buckhorn cholla.

Looking closer, you can see how thick some of them are with spines!

Looking closer.

Here are some of the beautiful blooms. I've seen them in pink, orange, red, purple and yellow.

The skeletal branches of dead cholla are interesting ...

... and are incorporated into a lot of art pieces like this wall hanging that I made from native plant materials.

Here's a link to another post I wrote about the cholla, and it gives more info:

the-nastiest-cactus-cholla.html

Have a colorful day