Spring Break and Garden Video

Our niece Leah, and her girlfriend Hannah, are visiting the desert during part of spring break. The day they arrived the wind was blowing clouds in from the coast with gusts up to 45mph. They were good sports and didn't complain! Arriving on an early plane in Palm Springs means an early wake-up in Seattle ~ they had a very good sleep the first evening here.

  Picking lemons for lemonade 

Yesterday we enjoyed strolling up and down El Paseo, venturing into a few shops along the way. Leah found a great scarf in one boutique, I picked up lotion at Harry & David's, and Colleen picked up pear chips there. The weather was perfect...warm but not too hot. It is always fun to people watch and the one that made an impression on me was just outside Sak's! The gentleman was wearing leather shoes with turned up toes, long pony tail, and some gold on the hands. Of course it was fun to stroll through the store and browse. I thought it a bit steep when I looked at a leather belt for $350. From there we went into the shoe section (Leah was looking for prom shoes)...buttery leather again...with prices up in the $600 range. Then I had to check out the bags. I found one I would love to have if I led that kind of lifestyle. It was a deep red leather with a huge red leather flower on one side. That little bag went for $995. Ugh. Think of all the good you could do with that amount of cash.

   Hanging out in the sun

Today I worked in the roses spraying for mildew. Our summertime gardener stopped by to make sure we hadn't forgotten him. I think he wants to keep his clients~the Canadians are all beginning to leave the desert and I'm sure he thought we were leaving as well. Our plan is to drive up to Cashmere around May 10-15th depending on Annie and the new baby boy. John will spend time visiting there before driving back to Thousand Palms for his dental appointment. We should have the house kinda packed away for the summer before driving up. John will have to do the "last minute things" before flying north for the summer.

   Lillian Austin

   All That Jazz

Golfing

I went out with John on the golf course to watch him practice. He did quite well that evening, only one slice to the right and one goofy hit. I kept wondering about all the complaining I've been hearing after he golfs...

This photo shows the orchid tree in front of Jim & Donna Martinsen's house in full bloom. Also notice the jug on the green...John has two of these dandies that he fills with sand/seed. He fills the divots as he practices...probably fills 3 divots on each shot. He dug only one of his own!

As we were traveling around on the course he came to the filling station...I was sitting in the cart waiting for him to fill the jugs, the wind was blowing the dirt my way, there was a party on the patio next to me (must have been a green's party...the patio was filled to the brim) and I was feeling conspicuous. Grrr~ hurry up John! He was able to hit a nice shot close to the green. This is the hole Rob and Terri lived on (their home was the middle one in the photo).

Whew!

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake centered 16 miles southwest of Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California just rocked the Coachella Valley.

I was bending down collecting sow bugs and thought I was passing out as the world was bucking around. My first thought was to get out of the garden. Trying to step carefully out of the garden was a problem~nothing was standing still. Heading for the house I thought I was really nuts...it looked like the blinds were swaying. When I reached the sink to wash up, the medicine cabinet door was swaying too...that was when I figured it wasn't me!!

Out I went...thinking about what I had learned about earthquakes. Whew!

What an Easter surprise...hope it's the last!

John's Rack

We decided that a bike rack was needed for the Pilot...John found one that would fit into the trailer hitch. It is quite the bruiser! 

 

 Actually it looks quite easy to install...now to get the bikes to the bike shop for new tires and a checkup.