Category Archives: Arts and Crafts

Displays arts and crafts projects that I love working on.

Magic Lantern Hybrid Tea Rose

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Magic-Lantern-Rose-1Our Weather has been very hot lately, and I haven’t spent a lot of time outside. This morning when I went out to look at the front garden, I was thrilled to see my Magic Lantern Hybrid tea rose in bloom. It is such a beautiful coppery orange color. Hybrid teas are the most popular type of rose. Not only is the blossom gorgeous, but as you can see below, the bud is also a joy to look at.
Magic-Lantern-Rose-2Hybrid tea roses usually produce one bloom on a long stem, which makes them perfect for cut flower displays. Hybrid teas are also popular because they continue to produce flowers all season long. My Magic Lantern has a light fragrance, although many tea roses have a much stronger scent. Magic Lantern is a very vigorous variety and is easy to care for. This plant is now in a large pot at the front of our house. It gets morning sun and seems very happy there. It does like frequent watering. I originally planted the Magic Lantern in the lawn at the side of our house. Three summers ago, a guest, when leaving,  backed over the plant and flattened it, splitting the main stem. I dug up the bush and transplanted it to the pot it now grows in. I thought it was the end of my beautiful Magic Lantern, but as you can see, it not only survived, but has thrived. Now you know why I say it’s a hearty variety, and I’m especially fond of our Magic Lantern Hybrid Tea Rose. You might want to add one to your garden.

The Completion of a Knitted Blanket

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Finished blanketI belong to a lovely group of women called The Crafty Ladies. The group meets once a week, to knit and crochet items for those in need. I’m a knitter, but a slow one, which is why I’m so pleased to have finally finished my latest project. This blanket will go to Orange County Child Abuse. The Crafty Ladies, is a group of ladies who generously give their time and talent creating beautiful items which are donated to several different organizations. We meet on Wednesday mornings at the Norman Murray Community Center in Mission Viejo, and although we officially start at 9:30 a.m., many of the members are there by 9:00, because it’s always so lovely to sit, chat, and do our needlework. Below is a photo of the yarn I used in the above project. There is also a photo taken in the very early stages, and you may notice that I used circular needles when knitting this blanket.

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With the completion of this blanket, it’s now time to choose colors for my next project. For me this is one of the most exciting parts. Once I’ve made that decision, I’ll be sure to show you the beginnings of the next blanket.Please stay tuned.

Exploring Toy Haulers

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trailer hallToday we went to a local RV dealer to investigate toy haulers. We currently own a 5th wheel trailer, which we love, but have often said how nice it would be if we could take our scooter and can-am spyder motorcycle along with us. This is the reason we've talked about looking at toy haulers which would give us that capability. Today our curiosity got the better of us and we went looking. We looked at several,and the Winnebago Spyder was our favorite.I took this photo from the kitchen looking down the hall into the bedroom. Below you can see my husband checking out the kitchen. Though shorter than our current trailer, it was very nice and we gave it two thumbs up. We're not ready to make such a big change right now, but it was fun investigating. We let the salesman know up front we were only looking and did not want to waste his time, but he said he was happy to show us around. We appreciated that he was very helpful and informative, but not at all pushy. We did take his card, and who knows what the future holds. 

Martin 2 kitchenOn the saleman’s recommendation we ate lunch at a small cafe across the street.
lunchI had a delicious sandwich and we both thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at the Cafe Latte.
As we left for home, we learned that there were flood warnings in several Orange County cities, including Westminster where we were. At that moment, the day was sunny and warm, and it was difficult to believe the predictions. On the drive home we spotted the clouds ahead. Fortunately we made it home before the rain started. Our area never did see rain. Exploring the toy haulers, eating a delicious lunch, and just being together made it a great day.
cloudy skies

A Visit to the Los Rios Historic District

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yellow houseThis morning I rode my can-am spyder motorcycle to the library, and afterwards decided it was too lovely a day to go directly home, so continued south into San Juan Capistrano. Above you see one of the charming little coffee houses in the Los Rios Historic District, which is a special part of the unique city. Los Rios Street is an example of neighborhood life at the turn of the century. It’s not only the oldest neighborhood in San Juan Capistrano, but the oldest in the state of California. We’re so very fortunate to live close to this charming part of California. There are about 40 homes and they vary in age from 50 to 204 years. Most homes are private and can only be viewed from the street, but several are now gift shops, museums, or tea and coffee houses. The street is lined with lovely flowers, and below is a gorgeous example.
pink flowerHidden house coffeeAbove, another coffee house, and below, the beautiful Hummingbird Cafe.
hummingbird cafeI took many more photos, but the ones I’ve posted should give you an idea of why I love to visit Los Rios Street, and always make sure to have my camera. You can park in a free parking building on Verdugo Street in San Juan, next to the Am Track station, and walk to Los Rios Street. If you’ve never seen the Los Rios Historic District, and are in or near Orange County, please go and see it for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

Garden Calendar

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MarigoldsJuly is nearly half over, so I decided I should be taking a look at my copy of The Twelve Month Gardener’s Journal. I have the West Coast version. Under July I read that I should deadhead annuals and perennials to encourage flowering. With that in mind, I went about the yard with my pruning shears in hand. Above you can see some of the marigolds that brighten up the yard. I love marigolds. They’re so bright and cheery. Our hummingbird garden is doing well, and I recently added another plant to my collection.  Below you see two photos of Mystic Spires Blue salvia. I was told that once you start collecting salvia it becomes addicting and it’s true, mainly because they’re available in so many beautiful colors.Mystic-Blue-SalviaMystic-Blue-Salvia-2
bougainvillea
Our Bougainvillea is doing very well this year. This plant was purchased in May of 1977, when I returned to California. This was the first plant I bought, because to me Bougainvillea means California. The plant remained in its original pot until we moved into our new home in November of 77. We first planted it in the front of the house, but it did not do very well there. Later we moved it to the backyard, where it has thrived until this very day. It is the first thing we see each morning when we look out into the garden. I don’t know the life span of a bougainvillea but I do hope we can enjoy its beauty for many more years to come.