#3043 the week in review plus April art

I can buy myself flowers

 Hello!

It wasn't a terribly busy week, but I felt kinda tired every day. I think with the weather being so warm then cold then warm then wet, my body hasn't adjusted to anything. I've been staying up later than usual because T and I have been watching the NBA Playoffs. There are 16 teams playing, so every day there are at least two and sometimes four games a day. Usually two or three games during the week and four games on both Saturday and Sunday. It's a lot of basketball, and I enjoy watching with my son. 

I went to Red Butte Garden and Arboretum (RBGA) twice this week. I recorded blooms on Tuesday. I am sorry to say the wisteria did not do well with the snow. SAD.

15 April

21 April

On Friday I volunteered at the Arbor Day festivities. It was one of the first times I have been able to volunteer during a weekday for an event. It was a beautiful day, and there were hundreds of people who came to the Garden that day. It was a free entry day, for one thing. The Garden gave away 500 little red bud trees - I was sad I didn't get one! There were tables from organizations like the West Jordan Conservancy District, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Sierra Club, and others. They were giving away information and stickers. RBGA had some interactive stuff for kids and adults, like the game I was helping with. It was a Plinko game where we learned the four things tree roots need to grow: space, water, oxygen, and soil. Watching the little orange disc plink down the board was hypnotic for me and the kids. I did a lot of squats in those four hours as I plucked the plinko discs off the board for the next player. We always had someone playing the games. It was actually pretty fun, and I had a good time, even though I was dang tired at the end. That's a lot of smiling, chatting, and being "on" for an introvert like me. 

Yesterday I had the urge to wander around Barnes and Noble. MT came with me and we just looked around. MT got a book, and I picked up a sketchbook that will be my travel journal for the June trip. It is bigger than I usually get, but I like to put lots of things in my travel journal like postcards, maps, business cards, pieces of wrappers or parts of bags, photos, and of course sketches and words. Since I'll be out in the world for about three weeks seeing lots of new things, I decided the bigger size book was a good option. Not only is it big in size, it has a lot of pages, too. It is not watercolor paper or even multi-media paper, but if I want to paint, I can glue two or three pages together and it will be okay.

On a sad note, Mom's sweet doggo Lulu crossed the Rainbow Bridge this week. I noticed that she was quite a bit less peppy in March than when I saw her in December. Lulu was Mama's companion for 14 years. She was a smol girl, but she took up a lot of room in Mom and Lizzie's hearts, and I know they are missing their furry friend. 

RIP Lulu

It's the last Sunday of the month, so let's have art show and tell time :)

Here are a few little things I did on my own:

These pieces were all responses to prompts from Jill Badonsky.

"Pretty Funky Chicken"

"Gaudy Gecko"

"Bubblebees"

"The Power"

"Come Fly Away"

I like the chicken. The gecko I drew upside down with a single line, then got a little carried away with the painting. (It happens.) The Bubblebees were a combination of two prompts from a big list. The peace sign made of words was an exercise in letters, and the last one was a "sky" prompt. 

~~~~~~~~~

Looking forward to:

* Final follow up with Dr. Holt about my wrist on Tuesday. It won't ever be like it was, but I think it's about as good as it can be.

* Training at RBGA about the app they are using this year. It's called Bloomberg Connects, if you are interested. I tested it last year, and it's informative. The idea of folks wandering through the Garden with their nose in the app makes me squeamish, so I hope one of the things we talk about is encouraging use of the app as a tool, but not a guide, if that makes sense.

* I will also record blooms sometime during the week, maybe Tuesday after the doctor appointment?

* Friday is May 1 and the official countdown to vacation will begin!

Have a great week! Stay safe. Be kind. Have fun.

#3040 the start of volunteer season and my art

this month's wee calendar

 Is it possible it's already nearly the middle of April? Sheesh! Those first two weeks flew by!

I officially began the 2026 volunteer season this week when I recorded blooms in the Children's Garden at Red Butte Garden and Arboretum on Thursday. The first entry: wild strawberries. There are lots of plants and trees blooming, so the task took awhile, then I walked around the Garden to check it all out. I hadn't been up there since December. Usually I try to go once a month, but January got away from me, then I fell and didn't feel like doing much of anything while I was healing. I have missed the place. It's really beautiful up there in the spring. The lilacs, viburnum, and wisteria are all beginning to bloom. I think it's going to be a glorious year for the wisteria. It seems to bloom spectacularly every other year. Last year's blooms were kinda meh, but the vines are already beginning to flower and perfume the air. Magical!

The concert schedule was announced on Tuesday. I'd like to have 11 or 12 shows this summer. There are eight shows I'd really like to see including Alabama Shakes, Ray LaMontagne, and Bonnie Raitt. The last time Bonnie Raitt was here, I had Covid and cancelled my assignment. Maybe this year I'll get to hear her play.

Also on Tuesday, MT and I met my friend Liz and her husband for lunch at Emigration Cafe. It was a gorgeous day! We sat out on the patio in the sunshine, chatting and eating. Crabapple trees with pink blooms lined the street and a gentle breeze blew the pink petals toward us. Afterward, we went over to Liz and Chris's house to look at their backyard. They live in a lovely, quiet neighborhood in upper Sugarhouse and the yard is a haven. It was a really nice day all around.

We are getting closer and closer to our big vacation at the end of May. Almost everything is set up and paid for. We still have to choose some tours that we'd like to do, and we will decide on those things this week. There are a few things to buy, like a European power connector for T, a sketchbook/travel journal for me, probably a pair of shoes, and a few other things. Nothing too extreme. This is gonna be a helluva trip.

I haven't been doing as much art as I thought I would, but I do have some things to show you. These are all things I made in March.

made my own little art banner :)

These first nine pieces are from prompts by Jill Badonsky.

"Seems Fishy to Me"

"Sitting"

"Picasso-style Self Portrait"

"The Road to Spring"

"Beware the Cranky Carrot"

"On the Deck"

I didn't give this one a name

This was a single line blind contour of a blooming rose

"Watermelon Butterfly"

The rest of these were inspired by Pinterest and my need to put color on paper.

I made this for my mom.

I like cats looking out windows surrounded by flowers.

I made this one for my mom, too.

I am interested in being able to show a European street.

Thanks for having a look! Have a wonderful week. Be kind and be safe.

xo

#3023 weekend wrap-up plus art gallery

 

my January wee calendar

Good afternoon! I hope you are having a delicious, relaxing weekend.

MT and T were here this weekend. They arrived on Thursday just in time for MT to go with me to the Red Butte Garden volunteer dinner and reception. It was a fun event. We sat by my friend Liz and her husband, and I saw my good friend Wendy B, along with many others. The best part for me was getting recognized for being a volunteer for 10 years!

10 years!!

I write about how much I enjoy volunteering at the Garden, and it's absolutely true. Red Butte Garden has been a sanctuary for me. It's a place I can go to clear my head and to be completely present. One of the "jobs" I have there, bloom recording, requires me to be focused and observant, and I relish the hours I get to spend noting what I see blooming. Last year, I had nearly 159 hours of volunteer time. I have no idea if that is average or below average; there were 572 volunteers last year, and the volunteer hours ranged from 30 to over 600. (The over 600 hour woman is there nearly every day!) My hours goal is always at least 101 hours, so I am fine with 159. Maybe I'll aim for 200 hours this year since I will have more time to give. We'll see. Anyway, I was glad MT was able to come with me to the reception this year.

MT also helped me solve the bird seed situation. He has lots of empty buckets from Lowes in the garage. We filled two of the buckets, then bought a lid (he just had one lid that was available), so now the birdies can have seeds again. I've filled the feeder a couple of times this weekend and it sure doesn't take long for the birds to empty it.

T was a total hero on Friday. He came with me to pick Stella up from the groomer. On the way out of the store, she got a little spooked and slipped right out of her collar in the middle of the road in the parking lot. She had a lot less hair around her neck than when we went in to the store that morning! T calmly scooped her up and carried her to the car. You might not think this is anything heroic, but it is, and I'll tell you why: Stella does NOT like to be picked up. We have had her for three years, and I have never picked her up. I've seen people do it; I think T even did one time before here at home, but in general, she doesn't allow the behavior. So for him to walk to her and calmly tell her it was okay and pick her up, man, that was awesome. He was amazing.  I'm so glad he came with me.

Other than that bit of excitement, we had a nice quiet weekend. Yesterday the three of us had lunch at Moochies. I cooked a couple of T's favorite dishes for dinner on Friday and Saturday - pasta on Friday and croquetas on Saturday. MT worked on a puzzle and the two of them watched some shows on TV. I read and puttered around.  The two of them left this morning, so here I am again, just me and the puppers.

I've got a couple of things coming up this week. On Tuesday, I will take Stella to the vet to have her vaccinations. I'll be sure to tighten her collar. On Thursday I am planning to go to my former office. I need to do some business at the credit union, plus they are having Dip Day and I was invited to come over for that festival. I even bought a dip to take with me, because you can't show up to a party empty-handed. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, having a snack, hearing the gossip, and leaving.

I don't think we've had a little art gallery for awhile, so here are some things that I've made recently.

This first painting is from October. It was inspired by a photo I saw on Instagram from a guy I follow (provencallife) who takes beautiful photos of his home in Provence. This is my interpretation of a photo he took:

Provencal Doorway

These next two pieces are from a prompt from Jill the Artist. She gave a list of adjectives and nouns and the prompt was to select one word from each list and do an artistic interpretation of the words. Both pieces were inspired by art I saw on Pinterest.

Unfinished Spark

Green Balloon

The next one was also inspired by something I saw on Pinterest. It's how I felt one morning when I was out walking the dogs during one of the very brief  and infrequent snow episodes we've had here in SLC this month.

In the Snow

This last one is from my still unfinished travel journal. I bought the pretty postcard in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic and I really wanted to try to duplicate it, so here it is:

my take on Cesky Krumlov

That is all for today. Have a great week!

xo

#3017 a lengthy recap with lots of photos of trees and coffees

We have a lot to catch up on, don't we? 

This might be a longish post, but let's just roll with it. Let's start with Dec 11, a Thursday, and the last work day for me of my career at Granite. I did actually do a little bit of work that day, then there was a retirement luncheon. Food was catered from Cafe Rio (my choice), and all my work pals were gathered round the conference room table. There were gifts and tears and words and hugs and it was really nice. Afterward, there were photos. Here's one:

my work peeps!

The next few days, Friday through Sunday, were kind of a blur. MT and T came home on Thursday night and stayed for the weekend. MT went back to Pocatello on Sunday morning, and T stayed here because he was taking care of the dogs while I went to California to visit Mom and Lizzie. 

I arrived in Southern California on Monday afternoon. We went out for dinner, then to the house to chat and chill. Every day Lizzie and I went out for a walk and coffee. She picked easy trails for me, which was kind of her. I really like the urban hill trails in the area where they live. The trails we walked on were all part of parks, but they still feel a little wild. The weather was good, in my opinion. We had some foggy mornings that gave good vibes. After the walk and coffee, we went home to hang out, then in the later afternoon, we go somewhere for late lunch/early dinner. 

On Tuesday we went for a walk at Laguna Lake park. It was a foggy morning, and one of my favorite things about the trail was the part where all the trees were decorated! A family who lives along the trail had decorated about a dozen (or more) trees with baubles and it was so sweet. I think if you double click on the photo, it will fill your screen with the image so you can see the decorations.

Laguna Lake Park trail

We went for coffee at a cute place in Fullerton called Lulu Coffee. The bagel with cream cheese and salami was delicious and the cappuccino was good, too.

at Lulu Coffee in Fullerton

That evening we went to Old World Village in Huntington Beach. We had dinner at the Old World Biergarten. I had schnitzel and cheesy spaetzel and it tasty. A fun thing was that there was a Christmas Market onsite that day, so we wandered around in there. It was nicely decorated, and there weren't too many people, so it was good.

in the Christmas market

The next day was Wednesday, my mama's birthday! Lizzie and I started the day with an easy walk at Creek Park. 

it was still fall in Southern California

For coffee, we went to a favorite place, Civitas (no photo) and took it to go along with a chocolate croissant for Mama. Around noon, we drove to San Juan Capistrano, about a 45 minute drive from their house. We had lunch in a cute restaurant called Sundried Tomato Bistro.

birthday lunch!

After lunch we crossed the street to walk around the mission. It was a beautiful day, and the grounds were all decorated for Christmas. If I remember right, the lighting ceremony was going to be the next evening. We didn't come back for that, but we sure enjoyed strolling around. A nice lady took our picture.

awww!

The light that afternoon was amazing, and we were happy to be together.

ussie with perfect lighting

We stopped at another restaurant, Bloom, for coffee and dessert before we headed back home. The drive down only took 45 minutes, but it was at least double that going back north. That's how it goes, I guess.

On Thursday morning, Lizzie and I walked at Clark Park. It was a lovely morning, and everything was so green, it looked like spring.

a blooming meadow on the Clark Park trail

For coffee, we went to Enchanted, a coffee shop in La Mirada. I had one of the seasonal drinks, a maple latte that was really good, and the biggest, most Nutella-stuffed croissant I've ever seen. I couldn't eat the whole thing in one sitting. The place was busy and the vibe was not relaxing, but the coffee and croissant were top notch.

coffee and croissant at Enchanted

That night we went to Il Gatto in La Habra. It is an Italian trattoria that is completely gorgeous. We didn't get the table we wanted, but the food was good and the wine was excellent. I'd be glad to go back to this place anytime. I didn't take pics of the food. We ordered from the happy hour menu, so we had a variety of delicious snacks that were really filling! The hostess did take our photo by their pretty Christmas tree.

we are full of Italian food

On Friday morning, Lizzie and I went another park in Fullerton, I think, to an area she called Lost Trail. We walked through a softball complex to a series of dirt trails. There weren't many people on this trail, so it was really quiet and nice. There was an amazing tree just off the trail.

I loved this cool tree!

An interesting thing to me about the trail is that it went to the Brea Dam, which is interesting because it doesn't dam anything. Lizzie wanted to go up a trail above the dam, but I didn't really want to, so she was kind and cut me some slack. It was a cool area, and I liked the walk a lot.

For coffee, we went to Golden State Roasting Company in Placentia. The seating areas were large, and the exposed brick was pretty. It wasn't exactly cozy, but it was nice. The coffee was good - I had a peppermint mocha along with a breakfast sandwich. Nothing special about the sammy, but it hit the spot.

peppermint mocha at Golden State Roasting Co.

Later that afternoon, we had late lunch/early dinner at Zumaya's in Whittier. I didn't take a pic of my meal, but I had carnitas tacos and they were really good. The meat was tender and flavorful, and the tortillas were amazing. They may have been made from masa; they were sort of chewy and soft and mmmm. So good! After the meal, we drove over to a Mexican bakery to get a coffee and a dessert to take home. The dude told me there was coffee in that mocha, but it was so smooth and chocolatey, I didn't taste coffee at all. We also went to a nearby store called Pour le Bain. I have been in the store before and it smells so good and has pretty things. Then we took an ussie with a giant Santa.

this Santa is BIG!

The next day Lizzie and I did our traditional Saturday walk around La Mirada Regional Park before hitting the Farmer's Market for pastry and stickers, then picking up coffee from Starbucks. We stayed home the rest of the day. Mom cooked canalones and we drank a bottle of cava to celebrate my retirement, Mom's birthday, and just being together.  

On Sunday we didn't go for a walk, but we did go back to Civitas for coffee and pastry to go. Then I had to pack and get on the plane to come home. 

The highlights of this past week were getting a live Christmas tree, this cute Norfolk pine...

our Christmas tree

...going to the Christmas breakfast at the country club with my work friends, then taking my final walk of the year through Red Butte Garden (the Garden is closed from Dec 24 - Jan 1)...

no snow to be seen

...taking a drive down Michigan Ave to admire the thousands of lights on the sycamore trees...

magical Michigan Ave

 

...and celebrating Christmas at home with my menfolk.

Happy Christmas from MT, me, and T!

The bummer part is that I've had a cold since Christmas Eve. It's still hanging on, but I do feel better today.

So, yeah, this is a long post, and if you've made it this far, thanks and nice going! It's just a little snippet of my exciting life LOL

I don't have much on the agenda for next week. Of course, Wednesday is New Year's Eve followed by New Year's Day. I'll be surprised if we make it to midnight on Wednesday, but we'll try! I think my main activity will be figuring out how to spend my days productively since I won't be working anymore. I've cut myself some slack this month since I've been on vacation and it's the holidays, but I know myself well enough to know that I must have some kind of structure planned or I will default to scrolling through Instagram and playing games on my phone. I have a list (surprise!) of things I want to do daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly, so I'll use that to shape my days. I'm excited to see what's next.

xo