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The L.A. Flower Market!

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01-Flower District LA 004-001A couple of weeks ago I took a long weekend trip to Pasadena to visit my youngest daughter Bethany.  It was so great to spend time with her and to soak up some warm southern California sunshine.  Bethany had a weekend of “things to do” and “places to eat” planned out for me.  One of those things was  the L.A. Flower Market.  We walked through acres and acres of live flowers and it was fantastic.  Are you ready for some floral loveliness?

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03-Flower District LA 008-001Orchids.

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05-Flower District LA 013Hydrangeas.

06-Flower District LA 014I don’t know what these are but they look like moss on a stick and they used them in several pre-made arrangements.  Loved!

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11-Flower District LA 019One of the vendors created all of these amazing succulent displays in driftwood and she graciously allowed me to take pictures.  What at artist!

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14-Flower District LA 035-001Reminders of the Hawaiian Islands.

15-Flower District LA 023-001Ferns.

16-Flower District LA 033-001Can anyone help me with the name of these flowers?  I love their lime green color and I bought some artificial swags of this plant to make a wreath for my Spring Chandy (post upcoming).

17-Flower District LA 034-001More succulents.

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20-Flower District LA 036-001More hydrangeas.  I would love some hydrangeas in this color for my yard.

21-Flower District LA 030-001The blooms were gigantic.

22-Flower District LA 041-001This is my daughter Bethany, prettier than any flower 🙂

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27-Flower District LA 038-001Roses, roses and more roses.

The L.A. Flower Market was phenomenal!  I’ve shown you pictures of just one shop, the original market, but there are several smaller shops, many with complete arrangements available for immediate purchase.  We weren’t allowed to take pictures but I have one arrangement “in my head” that I’d like to try (hydrangeas, roses and moss).  Yes, it is because of people like me that pictures aren’t allowed!  We walked through several of the artificial flower shops as well where some of the flowers were hard to tell apart from the real thing.  I purchased some artificial flowers to bring home with me because the prices made them too hard to pass up!

1-Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog in LA 006Our final stop was at a street vendor in the market where we enjoyed grilled, bacon wrapped hot dogs with all the trimmings.  Onions, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, ketchup and mustard.  Wowsers!  I’m already planning a BBQ at my house where we’ll serve these delicious L.A. Hot Dogs!

What a perfect topper to an already wonderful day and just the beginning of my weekend fun (more posts upcoming).

Blessings,

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Taking a Little Break!

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 My life is a whirlwind and I feel like I haven’t slowed down in months.  I know that I’ve been doing too much, but the dilemma is that I love everything that I do!  So . . . I’ve decided that I’m taking a little break (from almost everything) for the next several weeks.  It is a necessary break to restore some sanity to my life and to keep me from ending up looking like this!

Waiting at SeaTac (7)-001(I don’t know about you but my mom always told me that if I made a face like this one too long it would get stuck that way!)

During my time off I’ll be getting some things taken care of that have been on the back burner.  Things like . . .

doctor’s appointments that have been on hold so long they’ve stopped sending recall cards,

organizing my office space so it is a more peaceful place to work,

fine-tuning my WordPress site (does anyone know of someone who specializes in WP and isn’t too busy to respond?!),

putting the finishing touches on home projects that are almost completed (they look okay to other people) and nagging at me to get them done,

taking a long look at priorities and deciding what I need to continue doing and what I need to let go,

having a little fun while learning a new painting technique,

and finally, taking a mini-vacation or two where I can do nothing . . . if nothing is what I want to do!

So, if you don’t see any posts from me for awhile that’s the reason. Thank you for being patient with my absence.  I appreciate those of you who follow along with my little blog more than you’ll ever know.

 And hopefully when I come back I’ll be looking just as young and refreshed as Betty Grable!       

Blessings to you,

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A Visit to Historic Oysterville & Oyster Shooters! (Long Beach Part II)

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During our recent trip to the Long Beach Peninsula (link to post HERE) we paid a visit to historic Oysterville.  This fascinating little town situated on the Willapa Bay once had a grand population of 800 but is now little more than a ghost town.  It became famous for it’s oysters that once sold to wealthy San Francisco oyster lovers for $80 plate.  There is only one oyster harvester on the bay now and that is The Oysterville Sea Farms.  Whenever we go to the peninsula we make a stop there to pick up oysters for shooters!  
Tides out in Willapa Bay!
Wherever you go on the Peninsula you’ll see piles of oyster shells. I have two buckets full for a future project!

After enjoying this quaint little town we loaded up the cooler and headed for home. 
Time to BBQ up some oyster shooters for dinner!

 Mr. OTN is an expert at this. When the coals are just right the oysters go on the grill and the cooking begins. When they begin spitting and popping they’re ready to eat. This one is steaming!

 They open fairly easily once they’ve popped. You just have to get your knife in between the two sides of the shell and twist. This oyster turned out just perfect!

We like the Beaver brand horseradish cocktail sauce (made on Oregon). It has just the perfect amount of  kick to it!

Here is a picture of my fabulous oyster chef!

And a picture of me . . .

 . . . enjoying the first bite!

Sasha wasn’t so enthusiastic about the oysters. This is her trying to spit the taste out of her mouth!

“What are you guys trying to FEED me?”

BBQ’s oyster shooters at sunset. Does life get any better than this?

It is so good to take time out from the “real” world and enjoy the beauty of creation around us.

     Blessings,

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Long Beach Peninsula Part I

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This past week Mr. OTN and I took a few days off to rest and refresh at the Long Beach Peninsula on the Washington coast. My in-laws used to have a home here so our family has many fond memories of long summer weekends spent at the beach.

The Peninsula is the longest continuous sand beach (28 miles) in the United States and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west,  Willapa Bay to the east and the Columbia River to the south.

There are a lot of fun family activities here with festivals all summer long, but it is also a great place to do nothing more than spend time immersed in a good book!  Enough talk, I’ll just let you have a glimpse of the peacefulness we enjoyed.

Below is the North Head Lighthouse and it’s beautiful grounds.
 The Rhododendrons love the climate of the peninsula and are plentiful and large here.
Cape Disappointment Lighthouse and the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
Besides resting and enjoying nature we spent a little time visiting unique thrift stores and antique shops.

We even picked up a few treasures to bring home.

After each day of exploring we came home to our condo where we enjoyed some beautiful sunsets from the deck.
 Our time away was a much needed rest in our busy lives and we look forward to a return visit in the Fall.

     Blessings,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

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