Orchids, Orchids, Orchids

Last weekend I drove up to Santa Barbara to visit a friend and go to the Santa
Barbara Orchid Show.  The theme of this years show was the '60's and they
called it Orchidellic.  The theme was cute but to be honest I was just there to see
some beautiful blooms.  And beautiful they were!!!  The varieties we mostly know
are Phalaenopsis, Cymbidium and Cattleys(the corsage orchid), but they had many,
many other varieties as well.  Anyway, I am going to let the beautiful blooms speak
for themselves...

I promise you these are not pansy, they are definitely orchid....

Maybe at a later date I will show you some of the "theme" displays which  were cute

but as I said, I was there just to see some beautiful blooms.

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful first full week of spring!

I am linking to lovely Rose Vignettes.

A House In The Trees & Thank You

Yesterday I visited the CALM Antique Show in Santa Barbara and after that met a
friend for cup of tea in Montecito.  While driving around Montecito I spied a couple
of very creative and artistic treehouses.  They really caught my eye!  Although I 
didn’t stop to take pictures I really was not able to get their beauty out of my mind.

I remembered reading about a man who’s business is to create wonderful treehouses.
His name is Roderick Romero and he is the guru of treehouse creations. Some celebrities
who have commissioned Mr. Romero to build treehouses for them include Sting,
Donna Karan, Val Kilmer, Julianne Moore and many other’s including CEO’s of large
industries.

Sting’s treehouse, in Tuscany, is built on a century old oak tree with  copper and found
wood from the land around the old oak tree, on the edge of a private lake. A huge copper
sundial was built into the floor of the treehouse and Romero, with interior designer wife
Anisa,  designed stained glass windows for the 190 sq. foot abode. It is named
Casa Del Sole Di Mezzanote.

(Sorry, magazine pictures don't always copy well)

And designer Donna Karan’s treehouse has a bridge to take you to the house in the
trees.  It also includes an Australian musical instrument built into the wall where you blow
into the mouth piece that goes up a tube that is inside the wall and resonates throughout the
entire structure.

Here are a few other wonderful treehouses...

This two story structure will be one of several in a Costa Rican treehouse
community...

Val Kilmer’s house in the trees...

A tri level treehouse...

Santa Barbara treehouse...

Lantern house in the trees in Santa Monica...

Romero is New York based and has a band called Sky Cries Mary. He has designed
dozens of treehouses scattered from Montecito, California to Tuscany, Italy.  All are
said to be fully functional with electricity, kitchens and plumbing.

I must admit, I never would have thought of doing a post on treehouses but for the fact
of seeing the spectacular treehouses in Montecito.

Now, my question is...Do you have a treehouse?

I also want to thank so many of you who left comments and sent lovely emails regarding
my kitty.  Unfortunately, he passed away. He lived a long and happy life until the age of
27, which really is quite remarkable.  He came to live with us 26 ½ years ago when the
people he was living with decided to move away and abandon him. He was the sweetest 
little guy and I certainly do miss him. I thank you all for your kind wishes for him. It has
been a sad time for me and I thank you for your generous kindness and understanding.

I Really Do Know It's October!

I know it is the beginning of October but in Southern California we have been
having some very warm weather after what has been a very cool summer. 
It's really not so unusual for our area that we are warm at this time of year.

I have been away for a few days and when I returned home today the lovely warm
weather was emphasized by these beautiful new rose blooms to welcome me.

I was going to do a post on more antiques but the weather has me experiencing
a bit of spring fever, so I will post the antiques at another time.  Please enjoy a few
more blooms from my garden this morning.

As you can see, the warm weather has made it nearly impossible for me to accept
that it is October and I should be getting ready for fall!


Debbie of  Love Of The Sea has asked a few of us to answer the following questions.
I don’t ordinarily do this kind of thing but Debbie is so lovely so I thought I would
go ahead and play along with everyone.  Here goes...

• Do you consider yourself a city girl or country girl?
Well, I think I am a country girl at heart. I love living near a city and I do tend to
make use of everything a city has to offer...cultural offerings such as museums,
galleries, all kinds of concert, etc.  Also, I love trying new restaurants and things like
that. But, if I had to choose between living in a big city and living in the country on a
daily basis, I would say I am more of a country girl at heart...but I want to have a
city not too far away.  Oh, and I would like an ocean not too far away too!

• Besides where you live, where is the one other place you would like to live? Why?
I grew up on the East Coast and when I first moved to Southern  California
I lived in Santa Barbara. I loved it. I think it is one of the most beautiful
places. I also love New England and its charm. If I had to choose somewhere
outside of this country it would be Paris or some place in Provence.

• What is your favorite thing to do on a Saturday night?
Hmmm. That depends on the kind of week I’ve had. If it has been extraordinarily
busy I would probably choose to stay home and relax. If it has been a normal
week then I would definitely want to gather with friends for a nice meal and wine.

• What is the one habit that you really want to break but know you never will?
I wish I could simplify more. I keep trying but I do love to be surrounded by
pretty things and I appreciate their beauty. So it would be difficult for me to live
a life as a true minimalist(I so wish I could). I also love the fun of the hunt...I love
antiquing and thrifting.

• If you could spend the day with one famous person, who would it be and why?
That’s a very difficult question for me because with my work I am surrounded by
well known people on a daily basis. There are many who are very interesting and
are great fun. However, I guess if I had to pick one well known person to
spend the day with it would be Neil Simon, the playwright. I have had the pleasure
of spending lots of time with Neil and we have had wonderful conversations.

• What is your favorite pastime or hobby?
Antiquing, photography, reading, designing, catching up with my wonderful friends,
trying new restaurants, traveling...and the list goes on!

• If you could choose any place in the world to go to - all expenses paid - where
would it be?
I love to travel so I would go to France, Italy, Tahiti, Scandinavia...and the list
goes on!

Now, my instructions were that after I answer the above questions I should pass
them on to other people. But instead of that I think I would prefer that when you
leave a comment,  maybe if you want, you can tell me a little something about
yourself.  Oh yes, if you are a minimalist...do you give lessons!?!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Red Sun At Night - Part II - And Something New

I have wonderful house guests right now and a few days ago we were driving home from
antiquing/thrifting in Santa Barbara.  I stopped to take a few pictures and remembered
that last May I had done a post about pretty much the same thing.  So if you will forgive
me, because I do have several house guests and need to spend time with them, I will
include some of the same things I wrote several months ago.  I have added several more
tidbits and more pictures. I know I should be writing about fall but it is over 100 degrees
in Southern California right now so we are holding on to summer a bit longer.

It was a glorious, sunny and warm day. My guests and I were late in leaving Santa
Barbara after a lovely day of antiquing/thrifting so we decided to take the coast road
home instead of the freeway to avoid the late afternoon traffic.

Actually, my intention was to show my guests the changes in the sky as the sun would
begin to set.  We were not is a rush.  I guess the surfers around Malibu were not in a
rush either.

The sun was still bright and a wind had kicked up. We passed lots of surfers but our

attention was drawn to the beautiful kites and those people flying above the water on

boards!!!

The kite surfers!

 

We had to pull over and watch these athletes letting the wind pull them around the
ocean with only a kite above them and just a board at their feet. The strength these
guys have is amazing. They surf the ocean and a minute later they are jumping up in
the air as they maneuver kites so they can fly over the water.

 It is truly incredible to watch these extreme sportsmen. I was absolutely in awe of their
strength. We were totally mesmerized as they lifted up in the air..

Exhausted at the end of the flight...

As we drove along I could tell the sky was beginning to change and the sun was casting
shadows and a glimmer on the ocean water.

It seemed like every time we looked toward the ocean the sky was beginning to 

change hue...

Slowly but surely...

Now it was more and more difficult to keep our eyes on the road because our attention
was on the magic light show taking place in the sky. Finally, we just gave up trying to drive.

We quickly parked the car, sat back and enjoyed another magnificent sunset over the
Pacific Ocean.

It certainly looks like the sun is begining to fall from the sky...

A big round ball coming to earth...

Lower and lower...

Kissing the mountains...

And now the sun is saying goodnight with a glow behind the mountains...

Another sweet gift in life.  A gigantic Thank You to Mother Nature!

As they say, "red sun at night sailors delight".  Tomorrow will be a delight for
surfers, sailors, kite surfers and perfect for me to work with my roses.