The Rest of the Week

 

Pom Pom Chrysanthemums
at the Japanese Garden

Thank you, everyone, for your very kind comments about my visit to the botanical gardens.  Visiting a public garden had been on my Fall/Autumn Joyful Activities List and I am so happy that I was able to do so on my birthday, thanks to my gardener friend M who gifted me with the tickets.  He had been very keen for me to visit the Descanso Botanical Gardens for years, but, I wasn't ready to go until now.  It was a very big deal for me, especially since I generally tend to stay home.  

I needed to take it easy for the rest of the week because I was quite tired after that outing!  First, my left knee complained about the walking (the fact that I had dropped a large glass jar on my left foot a day or two prior to the trip and bruised my second toe didn't help).  Then, my hips protested for a couple of days.  

On Wednesday, M came to tend to the garden and I was able to show him some of the pictures I took at the Gardens and thanked him again for the tickets.  He brought several bags of potting soil I had requested him to buy for me and we planted some herbs and cool weather vegetables such as celery, kale, and carrots.  Later on Wednesday, I had a chat with my friend from university days. and, afterwards, I went to the pharmacy to pick up some medication refills.  We had leftover egg salad sandwiches for brunch and leftover Thai food for dinner.  We applied the vet prescribed flea treatment to Dancer and he seemed to tolerate it.  

On Thursday, I had a follow up appointment with the dermatologist.  It rained just a little bit on my way to the dermatologist's and it rained again on my way back.  I stopped for gas on my way home; gas has gone up, again ($4.69/gal. at the cheapest station in my neighborhood).  Later in the night, it started to rain in earnest - mostly light showers in my area, but, it rained throughout the night.  I was happy we were getting some rain because the garden really needed it.

On Friday, it rained all day and all night!  Once again, mostly light rain in my area, but, every now and then, it rained more heavily.  The garden received a good watering.  I didn't expect M to tend to the garden on Friday, but, he still showed up, moved some of the potted plants out from under the awning in the back and set them out to get watered by the rain, checked on the garden, and left early because I told him to go home.  I didn't want him working in the rain. 

Saturday was another rainy day!  Daughter vacuumed most of the house and I vacuumed my bedroom.  Then, I started on the laundry - my daughter's bed sheets and quilts,  the sofa dust sheets, and our clothes, etc.  There's extra laundry getting done because Dancer is still battling the fleas.  I've been flea combing him, daily, too, and sometimes, twice daily.  I think we are making some progress, but, it's an on-going battle.

The rain paused for the day on Sunday.  Daughter helped me order some groceries and I picked up the items in the early evening (I will do a separate post about the groceries).  Afterwards, I drove over to friend R's apartment to hand over a package she had ordered (she gets them delivered to my address because I'm home to receive them).  

Daughter tried a new recipe and baked some scones made with olive oil instead of butter and we both enjoyed the scones with butter and jam or cream cheese and jam.  

We are supposed to get more rain on Monday.  We need all the rain we can get, but, there have been floods and mudslides in certain areas.

As this week ends and another one begins, I am grateful for:

- Living to be 70
- M's gift of tickets to the botanical garden
- A lovely day at the botanical garden

- Access to medical appointments and prescriptions
- The rain we've received

My joyful activities have included a visit to the botanical gardens, planting cool weather plants in my own garden, knitting, and spending time with my daughter.

How was your week and weekend?  What are your plans for Monday?

A Visit to a Botanical Garden - Part 3

 

Roses

When we planned our trip to the botanical garden, daughter and I knew that I couldn't visit the entire 150 acre garden in one go.  So, we picked and chose a couple of main areas we wanted to visit.  The Japanese Garden was one of those areas, located to one's left when entering the botanical garden.  The other area was the Rose Garden, which was located to one's right when entering the botanical garden.

Pink, Single Petals

It isn't the peak season for roses, but, I knew that there would be at least some roses blooming because the roses in my own garden bloom for a second time in the autumn.  I was not disappointed!

More Roses

The Rose Garden grew from its original one acre to 5 acres and consists of 1,600 varieties of roses.  Apparently, it was renovated in 1994 and now includes many hybrid roses developed by horticulturists from around the world and is now called the International Rosarium. 

Whole Beds of Roses

According to the Gardens' website, the roses are interplanted with companion plants to attract  pollinators and predatory insects which enable them to grow the roses organically, without pesticides or herbicides. 

Roses and Companion Plants

There were a few water features, too, including this pond:

Water Features

After walking through several parts of the rose garden, we came to a fountain with benches around it and I sat for awhile to rest:

View from a Bench

My daughter and I were fascinated by the huge aeonium plant that was growing by the fountain.  As far as we could see, it was just one plant!  It merited a second look:

Aeonium

There was a tunnel of arches strung with stars, which is a part of the Enchanted Forest of Lights feature, which starts mid-November and continues into December.  It is an evening/night experience, featuring a one mile long walk with interactive lights, leading through various parts of the botanical garden (separate tickets are required for it and we saw several staff members getting the place ready for the lights displays).  The arches are planted with climbing roses, I believe and would look lovely in the late spring/early summer when the roses are at their peak blooming season. 

Part of the Enchanted Forest of Lights Garden Walk

There is a pavilion in the Rose Garden which I believe is available for renting to host private parties, etc., and we walked through it as we left the Rose Garden.

Daughter took a picture of what currently looks like a dry stream bed, but, which I imagine helps to carry rain water and is part of the Garden's water collection and circulation system.

"Dry" Stream Bed

We took another picture in front of an archway built out of branches:

Branch Archway

I am wondering if M and I could put together a smaller version of such an arch in my garden?  

By this time, we were both feeling a bit tired and I was wishing I had brought my bottle of water with me, instead of leaving it in the car, although the visitors' guide specified no food or drink in the garden.  

There is a central courtyard one has to pass through near the entrance to the botanical garden, complete with tables and chairs, and surrounded by a coffee stand, a gift store, an adjoining plant nursery, a market where one could buy food and drinks, and a more formal restaurant.  Of course, even though we were tired, I had to check out the plants in the nursery (they had some lovely Christmas cacti in bloom, but I thought they were very overpriced) and the items in the gift shop (again, very overpriced, in my opinion, although people were buying things).

Next, we wandered over to the market and looked at the snacks and drinks they had.  $9 for an ice cream cone?  No thank you!

I had anticipated food to cost a lot at the botanical garden and had made egg salad sandwiches before we left in the morning and packed a picnic lunch with a couple of bottles of water and a bottle of lemon-lime soda which I had kept in the car since you weren't allowed to bring food or drinks inside the garden.  However, there was a picnic area with tables and chairs just to the side of the car park, before one entered the Visitors' Center and the courtyard area.  My original plan had been to have our egg salad sandwiches in the picnic area, but, there were quite a few people sitting there and I didn't want to take off my mask to eat when there were so many people about.  Yes, both my daughter and I wore N95 masks the whole time we were in the garden, except for a couple of occasions when we took the masks off to take pictures of ourselves, making sure that there were no people around while doing so.

So, after sitting at a picnic table for a few minutes to rest, we walked to our car.  I had parked in a side parking lot that was a bit away from the main parking area, so it was fine to sit in the car with the windows down and our masks off to enjoy our sandwiches, drink our water, and share the bottle of soda.  

Then, we drove home and encountered only the very beginnings of rush hour traffic.  We stopped on the way home to get two ice cream cones and an order of chicken nuggets to share; once again, daughter paid as it was my birthday.  

Altogether, I really enjoyed my birthday and the visit to the botanical gardens.  I would like to go back to visit the garden at least one more time, perhaps in the spring, to see the rest of the gardens, including the California Garden with its native plants, the Hill Top garden and Boddy House.

Once again, I am very grateful for my gardener friend M for making this visit to the botanical garden possible.  

A Visit to the Botanical Gardens - Part 2

 

The Ancient Forest

The Ancient Forest featured specimens of some prehistoric trees including cycads, tree ferns, and Coast Redwood trees.

The Ancient Forest

Coast Redwood (Sequoia)

It was quite shady in the Ancient Forest:

Tree Canopy at the Edge of the Ancient Forest

There were several paths going through the Ancient Forest and benches along the way:

Benches Along the Way

Cycad (Sago Palm)

Coast Redwood with Twin Trunks

And while I took pictures of the trees in the Ancient Forest, my daughter took some pictures of me taking pictures of the trees (I had no idea she was doing that, until she shared her pictures with me!)

Picture That!

We didn't explore the Ancient Forest in depth, but, there were lots of interesting plants to see, including these cycads:

Cycads

And several water ways:

One of the Waterways

Then, walked through part of the Camellia Forest:

Part of the Camellia Forest

There were several areas marked as Camellia Forest in the map of the Gardens that we had, and most of the trees were not in bloom.  But, I imagine the place looks magical when all the camellia trees are flowering.

These camellia bushes, however, were flowering:

A Portion of the Camellia Forest

We then took a path that led us back to the area in front of the Japanese Garden and we walked past the amphitheater and the Main Lawn to a location identified as "Center Circle" in the map.  There was a table and bench formed from two slices of  tree trunk and we sat down to rest for a bit.

Tree Trunk Table Top

Directly in front of us was the center circle, which featured water-wise gardening.  It was planted with a variety of water-wise, drought tolerant plants, and repurposed fountains.  I was most interested in this planter in the shape of a fish, with a plant growing out of its mouth:

Fish Pond Fountain Turned Planter

There are actually two fish planters, but, the other one can't be seen from this angle.  They were, apparently, fountain heads in a pond, at one time.  They were moved to the Center Circle and planted with water-wise plants!  Very creative!

We were near the area with model trains and a small scale ride on train, that is mostly an amusement ride for children, I believe.  The general admission tickets didn't include a train ride, and neither my daughter nor I was interested in it.  We had another destination in mind and after our brief rest, we headed out in that direction.  But, that's for another post!  

Once more, I am most grateful for M for this wonderful birthday gift!

A Visit to a Botanical Garden - Part 1

Signage:  "You Are Here"

My gardener friend M's birthday gift to me was two tickets to the Descanso Gardens, a 150 acre botanical garden he had been eager for me to visit.  So, on my birthday, my daughter and I visited the gardens for the first time.

It was a lovely day, weather-wise, to visit the garden.  Partly cloudy with an afternoon high of a very comfortable 83F,  Not too sunny, not too hot, and not cold.

The garden consists of various smaller gardens and cultivated areas as well as some uncultivated, wild areas.  We weren't sure just how much I could walk without getting too tired and although wheel chairs were available on a first come first serve basis, according to the Garden's website, I didn't want my daughter to have to push me in a wheel chair.  So, we planned to visit just a couple of the areas on this visit and leave the other areas for another visit, at a later date. 

We first visited the Japanese Garden, with its blue tiled tea house, raked-gravel garden, bridge, stream and pond, koi fish, and camellias in bloom:

The Entrance to the Japanese Garden
(Yes, that's me being a lantern head)

The Japanese Garden with Tea House in the Background

Bamboo Water Spout

The Bridge over the Stream

Another View of the Bridge and Stream

Koi Fish in the Pond

Koi Fish

And a Duck

The Raked Gravel Garden

Camellias in the Japanese Garden

Then, we walked past the Lilac Garden, where heat-tolerant cultivars of lilacs which have been bred at the Descanso Gardens are planted.  Unfortunately, this was not the season for lilacs and the trees were mostly dormant.  

Lilac Garden

We will have to come back in the spring when the lilacs will be blooming.

From there, we proceeded to the Ancient Forest, but, that is a post for another day!

I am so grateful to M for the lovely birthday gift!  I am so glad that I was given this opportunity to visit this botanical garden.

Chapter 70

 

Paperwhites

Today, I started on the 70th chapter of my life story!  

As with all the previous chapters, the 70th chapter will be written as each day unfolds, a line, a paragraph, or maybe even a whole page at a time.  

We started celebrating yesterday, with daughter treating me to a lovely meal from our favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant:

Beef Fried Rice; Chicken Pad Thai; Seafood Drunken Noodles

At midnight, my daughter (and Dancer) sang Happy Birthday to me and I received an e-card from a very dear friend.  

This morning, I woke up to birthday greetings, texted and emailed, from family and friends and I opened the birthday cards I had received in the mail.  There were phone calls, too, from my half-sister, my aunt, one of my cousins, and several friends. 

Today, I celebrated with a visit to a nearby botanical gardens, compliments of my gardener friend M who gifted me with two tickets for my birthday!  I will do a separate post about the visit to the gardens.

On our way home, we stopped to pick up some chicken nuggets and ice cream cones (another birthday treat from my daughter).  

We've been relaxing since we got home. 

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being alive to celebrate my 70th birthday
- Having daughter home to celebrate with me
- M's thoughtful and generous gift of a visit to the botanical garden
- All the birthday wishes I've received
- A safe drive to the botanical gardens and back

Today's joyful activity was celebrating my 70th birthday.  

Plans for tomorrow include picking up medications from the pharmacy, tending to the garden with M, and more laundry!

How was your day?  What are your plans for Wednesday?

November Meal Planning - Week 1 Review and Week 2 Plans

Paratha with Spicy Sauteed Potatoes

 

These were my meal plan options for November Week 1 (11/3 to 11/9):

Brunches:  Cold cuts sandwiches; Bagels; doughnuts, leftovers

Dinners:  Hamburgers/fries/chicken nuggets (Monday); Parathas and spicy sauteed potatoes (Tuesday); Breakfast for dinner (Scrambled eggs, sausages, and hash browns);  Fried  Mexican rice casserole; Leftovers/Planned-overs 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit; crackers; granola bars; cereal and milk;  Peach cobbler

Or something else!  Butternut squash risotto (compliments of M) and pizza, chicken alfredo pasta, and breadsticks (compliments of daughter)

And here is how it worked out:

Monday:

Brunch:  Leftover milkrice with fish curry (me) or seeni sambol (daughter)

Dinner:  Hamburgers, chicken nuggets, fries from the drive-through at McDonald's

Snacks/Dessert:  Milkshake (me); peach cobbler (daughter)

Tuesday:

Brunch:  Doughnuts from the doughnut shop next to Dancer's pharmacy

Dinner:  Parathas with spicy sauteed potatoes (ala thel dala) - a vegetarian meal

Snacks/Dessert: Persimmons, peach cobbler (daughter0, the rest of my milkshake (me)

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Cold cuts sandwiches, leftover uppuma

Dinner:  Rice, chicken curry, green beans, pickled cucumber salad

Snacks/Dessert: Doughnut, Strawberries, chips, the last bit of peach cobbler (daughter)

Thursday:

Brunch:  Bagels with butter and cold cuts (daughter) or cream cheese (me)

Dinner:  Mexican rice casserole

Mexican Rice Casserole

Snacks/Dessert: Doughnut, persimmons, chips, apple juice

Friday:

Brunch:  Leftover Mexican rice casserole

Dinner:  Butternut Squash Risotto (compliments of M who bought two frozen bags of it on sale and gave me one to try)

Butternut Squash Risotto

Snacks/Dessert:  Chips, 

Saturday:

Breakfast : Bagel with cream cheese, apple juice (me)

Lunch:   Leftover Mexican rice

Dinner:  Pizza - daughter treated us to pizza, chicken alfredo pasta, and breadsticks

Snacks/Dessert: Piece of chocolate, breadsticks

Sunday:

Breakfast: Stringhoppers and seeni sambol (me)

Lunch:  Leftover pizza and chicken alfredo pasta (I had only the pasta)

Dinner:  Leftover pizza (daughter); "breakfast for dinner" scrambled eggs  (me)

Snacks/Dessert:  Peanut butter and toast (me), granola bar (daughter), dates and cashews (me)

Well, I tried to stay on plan but, we did go off plan with Mexican rice instead of fried rice, risotto on Friday night, and pizza and pasta over the weekend!  But, I am okay with that.  I had everything needed for the Mexican rice on hand, the risotto was a gift from M, and the pizza and pasta dinners were a treat from daughter.  

Moving on to November Week 2 (11/10 to 11/16), these are my meal plan options:

Brunches:  Egg salad sandwiches; cereal and milk; the last bagel; leftover pizza; leftovers from dinners

Dinners:  Smoked sausage, spicy oven baked potato wedges, broccoli; Chicken curry, dhal, rice, cucumber salad; Thai food (birthday meal); Leftovers/Planned-overs 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit; crackers; chips; granola bars;  banana/zucchini bread; maybe cheesecake?

Once again, the meal plan options might, or might not, change as the week progresses!

As always, I am grateful I am able to have access to a variety of food and plenty of it, and for daughter and friends generously blessing me with some delicious meals.  

Speaking of meal plans, I booked the date for my annual almsgiving over the weekend and I have already started meal planning for that!  I will post the almsgiving meal plan a little closer to the date, once I have everything more or less finalized.  But, I am so happy that I was able to schedule it.

Did you meal plan last week?  If so, did you keep to your meal plan?  Will you be making a meal plan for this week?

A Photo Bouquet of Garden Roses

 

Pink Rose

Now that Fall is here, the roses are blooming again.  I thought I'd post a photographic bouquet of my garden roses.  This pink rose is one of my favorites.  It has a light fragrance.

Red Rose

The red roses in the front garden are also among my favorites!

Red, Red Rose

It, too, is fragrant.

White Iceberg Rose

This white iceberg rose is a standard and a gift from my gardener friend M who rescued it from the garden of another of his clients who wanted to get rid of it.

More Iceberg Roses

M is disappointed that the lilac colored Neptune rose doesn't seem to be a repeat bloomer, but, it certainly performed well during the summer and I am happy.  

I hope you enjoyed the photographic bouquet of garden roses.