It was an umbrella day in Southern California. I keep an umbrella in the trunk of my car, but rarely use it. Wednesday morning I definitely needed it as I hurried into the building where my knitting group meets. Still I was quite surprised when I entered the room and spotted several more umbrellas. Mine is the orange one. Because it is such a rare occurrence I had to take a photo.
Candles are warm and friendly, especially on a cold and rainy day like today. The droughts of the past few years here in California have kept our days mostly sunny and warm, but this morning we woke to rain, and it has continued all day. I can hear it outside the window I’m sitting near. We rarely have gentle rains here in California. When it rains, it really rains. Now that I am retired, it’s a great excuse to stay inside and relax a little. Warm weather keeps us out and about most of the year. This afternoon I read, caught up on my knitting, and lit two of my favorite candles. The first one is called Sugar cookie and it gives off a wonderful warm cozy scent. The candle below is vanilla scented. Another one of my favorites. 
The rain is supposed to end early tomorrow morning, so I’m very happy I took time today to relax and smell the candles.
My bright pink Thanksgiving Cactus is blooming. I previously showed you my white Thanksgiving Cactus and promised to share each variety as it blooms.
It’s almost Thanksgiving, and my Thanksgiving Cactus is blooming right on schedule. Last year I purchased several plants that were labeled Holiday Cactus. That started me researching the difference between a Thanksgiving Cactus and a Christmas Cactus. If you would like to learn the difference, you can read about it in my posts from last year.
Here is a second photo of the same plant. It has many blossoms opening. I have several other Thanksgiving Cacti that are beginning to flower and I will post them as the blossoms open.
I haven’t posted in ages, because I never seemed to have time to sit down and write. Our youngest daughter and grandson were visiting from New Zealand, and our first stop was a visit to a local skateboard shop,where I took the above photo.Our grandson is an avid skater(skateboarder),as is our daughter. Not being a skater myself, I simply enjoyed the bright colors I found there.
Just a few of the colorful helmets. I don’t plan on taking up the sport of skateboarding, but I can certainly appreciate this colorful sport.