Persimmons and Orchid

Beautiful Fall colors!  

PAINTINGS BY RACHEL
"Fall Bounty"  36 x 36
My first seasonal painting.  I love Chinese lanterns
Wish me luck today, I am starting a commission.  

November is here!  I am so happy to have time to photograph the things I love.  I am looking forward
to Thanksgiving and time with family.  Our family has changed this year with my Mother's passing and my Father being ill.
It makes me appreciate family and close friends so much, its hard to describe the feeling.  

My orchid bloomed this year!  I think it loved all the hot weather.  My friend, Rovena says it is good omen.

My persimmon tree has been plentiful.  I have a mystery animal guest and we are taking turns at harvesting them.

Czechoslovakian vase with frog: my newest edition.

My mantle is cluttered with persimmons and ornate glass.

                                    tchotchke

Mosaic Monday

Fall Colors

I love the Fall colors and the silhouette of the birds decorating the French Victorian wedding display.
Had a really long Indian summer in Laguna this year.
Looking forward to a chill in the air.

Laguna Tropics

The dinner plate dahlia is taller than me.  I have had to stake it twice.
The garden is thriving this year.

My Crepe Myrtle tree is blooming.  

This morning is hot and sticky.  

We have had rain the last three days.  The weather feels like Florida not Laguna Beach.

Laguna is going tropical.

All this and badminton too!  My son puts out Facebook posts and people
show up for random badminton tournaments.  Do you think I should try it?
It would be interesting to see who shows up.

More Funky Purses

My purses were once for sale at my Sawdust Festival booth during the summer but it got too hard
for me to sew and use scissors.  I had to make a choice either to make purses or paint.  So I gave
up making purses but I still am obsessed with antique textiles and putting them together in different combinations. 

I used an old English tapestry for this purse and trimmed it with a border from India and fringe from
Ubekistan.  The Native American inspired concho is ornately stamped and set with a beautiful green
turquoise stone.  

I have kept my collection of fabrics and sometimes make purses for friends.

I call this one the "Elk Purse".  There is a "gambler" concho and a beautifully stamped
Broken Arrow turquoise oval concho, along with domed stamped concho on the leather strap.

Mismatched concho on the strap adds a quirky touch.

This purse is my one dollar find at the consignment store.  Of course it is my favorite and
I have worn it out!

The oval stamped domed concho is set with the most beautiful deep green turquoise stone.
All the concho were made to order from  master silversmith  Greg Thorne.
GREG THORNE TURQUOISE

Flowers In Bluebird Canyon

The Dinner  Plate Dahlia's are having a very good year.

Floral Friday

Every Dahlia I have ever planted is coming up this summer.  These are the early bloomers.

The roses have rallied a second time and are blooming profusely.

These roses are too heavy for these thin stems.

I have five Angel's Trumpet Trees.  Two trees are white and three are yellow.   I would like to
add a pink and a red one.  I know they exist!

The trumpet flowers have a sweet smell and buzz all day with bees.  There is a healthy
population of bees in Bluebird Canyon.  I do my part and plant many flowers!

The  Angel's Trumpet Tree has exploded with poisonous flowers!


Home and Garden Thursday

The Champa tree is from India and is known for its heady fragrance.  
Also called the Joy
Perfume Tree, Champa flowers are used to make the world's
most expensive perfume.   I planted this tree two years ago and it is enormous.
The Joy Perfume Tree is  getting ready to bloom and the air smells so sweet.

What's Growing In The Garden

The 4th of July rose is ready for summer!
Amaze Me Monday

The Canna lily is new in the garden.

The clematis vine is winding around and looking super happy!

There are more poppies than ever!

Here is a barrel of sunflowers and zinnias. 

These are the first dahlia's of the year.  It's always a surprise when they bloom because they are
too big and beautiful to be real.

The hollyhocks look like fluffy pink carnations.  They are taller than me now.  

The tomatoes and weed are maturing fast!

Feeling Festive

This week I am featuring a new painting on the mantle!  I found a vintage frame in my collection and it was a perfect
fit for this painting.  I used to go to the farms in Irvine and set up and paint the Eucalyptus trees that
were planted as a windbreak.  There are not many trees left today.  Instead there are  many new housing developments.

On display is my Mother's lalique purple butterfly and a yellow teapot I found hidden in her cupboard.
Corinne did not like yellow and used to eject any yellow flowers from the house.  The teapot met a similar fate
and was banished to the very back of a shelf.  At first I thought it was broken and then I realized it was just yellow.

I had a very small cactus that was root bound, so I planted it in the ground.  Now it is an enormous tree.  It gets white
giant orchid like flowers that are spectacular and last for a day.

My garden is looking extremely festive.  Summer is officially here!

Mosaic Monday

                                                             Masterpiece Monday

Canyon View

Everyday there is a new poppy blooming in the garden.  This week my house got a treat as well!

My kitchen windows were rusted and the glass was cracked.  So I made the leap and
ordered new windows!  The house was built in 1948 and these look like the originals.

*

My home is three stories clinging to a cliff overlooking a large garden.  The kitchen is on the top and I
feel like I
am on a great sailing ship

Mosaic Monday
Home sweet home

Art In The Park In Beverly HIlls

Would you buy a painting from this woman?

I spent the weekend at the Beverly Hills Art in the Park.  It was a beautiful show.  I rented an SUV and
transported everything with the help of my friend Terry Reno.
We spent the evenings in West Hollywood and had some wonderful dinners at Tortilla Republic.  Dropped in on
an art opening at Louis Stern Fine Arts.  Terry and I know Jean Stern, so it made it seem like a small world in the
 "big city" to run into his brother.

I am so happy to be home.  This is the view from my deck.

Poppies and roses are the grand event in  the garden!
Mosaic Monday
Fabulous creative Friday

These hybrid poppies are spectacular!  I hope they last a while.   The heat wave has let up and the garden is relieved.