Category Archives: My Enchanted Life

Spring Garden Tour

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I took a look around and thought it’d be fun to share my other gardens at Casa de Enchanted Seashells.

The little side yard next to the driveway…See the gigantic ceanothus to the left of the flowers? I thought it had died and now it’s taking over that entire space.

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This is one of my favorite places; a rose arbor with a hideaway pond/waterfall along with chairs and a table, perfect for morning coffee or afternoon tea.

This sweet smelling herb garden under the bedroom window is starting to bloom, too. Sage and flowering borage, also known as starflower:

Borage
Edible sage

We haven’t had any measurable April showers that would bring May flowers; such is the life of a SoCal garden. We’re halfway through the month with no rain in sight. We’ll need to enjoy these flowers until the summer heat and drought turns everything brown and drab.

DIY Garden Paver Project: Stepping Stones

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This simple DIY project reallyreally exacerbated my OCD issues. However, I was determined NOT to give up until my inner demons were soothed.

The fifth time was a charm, at least I think so. I’m not good at math but I used sixteen pavers with the exact same distance between each one. The middle of the arch aligned perfectly with the big living room window and that made me SO happy. It’s a nice transition between the pygmy palms and the ponytail palms and my dry river bed. I realize the standard rule is to leave 24 inches between each paver or stone, but I’m short and that’s a big leap for me, ergo the reason why they are so close together.

I have an unending supply of these adorable little mounding succulents that are ideally suited to completely fill the spaces between the pavers. If I remember correctly, it’s a kind of spreading sedum and seems to love it in my backyard garden. It won’t take long for them to grow.

I thought about painting or stenciling the gray concrete but it would have spoiled the theme of the dry river bed. The rest of my front yard is planted with California natives; coyote bush, sages, buckwheat, and this gigantic Rhus integrifolia, also known as lemonade sumac or lemonade berry. It began life as a one gallon plant and must really love it in that spot because it’s as big as the house!

(I probably don’t need to tell you that you wouldn’t want to be here when I hang a picture on the wall.”Move it just a bit to the right, I mean to the left; up a tiny bit. OK. PERFECT.”)

#LevarBurton for #Jeopardy Host

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UPDATE: This post was liked by the REAL Levar Burton!!! I really hope he becomes the only rightful host of Jeopardy. Then maybe I could convince Angel Boy to become a contestant…

Thirty years ago my Angel Boy entered and won a poetry contest hosted by Reading Rainbow.

My son never watched much TV but he loved to read and he loved Reading Rainbow.

I know I still have the poem he wrote but I couldn’t locate it and didn’t want to tear apart the boxes in his bedroom–yes, I confess…I proudly saved EVERY SINGLE essay, poem, picture, craft, test, report card — from the first day he started kindergarten up until NOW.

What I could easily find, because it’s framed and I can see it every day, is the official photo taken at KPBS studios of the local children who entered the contest.

Somewhere in that group is my fashion-forward Angel Boy.

Since the death of Alex Trebek, no one is no one more qualified or more right for the job of Jeopardy host than Levar Burton.

Please click on the link below to sign the petition to make Levar Burton the next host of Jeopardy: I did!

https://www.change.org/p/sony-pictures-entertainment-levar-burton-should-be-the-next-host-of-jeopardy

Confession: Secret Talent

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One of my proudest skills is the unexpected ability to propagate plants. Currently I’m propagating lavender, rosemary, roses, and a variety of bushy daisies.

Another simple (and thrifty) joy of mine is to go to the section at the nursery where the sad unloved plants are piled up and sold .50 cents to a dollar. I call them my “rescues”. Sometimes all they need is to be transplanted, maybe cut back, offer a bit of care and tenderness, and they’ll thank me by bouncing back and thriving.

A couple months ago, I “rescued” six Autumn Sage one gallon plants. I transplanted them to serve as a border around the deck.

Leaves on Salvia greggii are narrow, leathery and aromatic. This low water need perennial boasts a long flower season. Blooms appear from spring to fall.

They responded to immediately and have now grown into gigantic, beautiful plants with lipstick red flowers. Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds are happy, too! Even better, I pinched off some new growth and have successfully propagated them to another part of the garden and the little babies are also healthy and flourishing. Success!

[glitter in the air]

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Have you ever thrown a fistful of glitter in the air? I tried several times, and attempted to capture it with my camera, but all that happened was that I wasted a ton of glitter!

You should have been here; it was a bit too windy (also a total failure) but funny.

Oh well. No worries, nothing to stress about. This pic is better.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

I’m feeling incredibly Pink right about now. Love her and LOVE glitter!

Here’s a FUN Writing Prompt!

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What’s going on here? I dunno, you tell ME!

This is one of my favorite photos. It’s actually a sort of mistake but if you’d like to play along, tell me what it’s all about.

I like image-driven inspiration, don’t you?

Splash!

P.S. I’ll reveal in response to comments.

Photo property of Enchanted Seashells.

Urban Wisdom

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Snapped this photo as I was driving down the street in the early early morning just after first light. I like the stark, grainy, gritty, almost blurry perspective.

All straight lines, no curves, even the lettering, and I think that only enhances the powerful message:

LOVE WILL WIN.

Flower of the Sun

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There’s a full moon, the air is warm, the sky is blue, birds are in joyous song during their gathering of nesting material, and this soon-to-be sunflower is in its cocoon, tightly wrapped and protected until the flower of the sun bursts open.

Sunflower/Flower of the Sun

Friend/ship

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This is funny.

A certain website I needed to access for an important document had been giving me a consistent error message to close out my browser every single time I input my password. No matter what I did, I encountered the same message.

I couldn’t figure out what the problem could possibly be, so I called the company tech support number. I wasn’t angry or frustrated; it seemed like this could be easily solved if I took a deep breath and asked for help.

An hour later, I have a new friend.

She instructed me to close out my ENTIRE browser, not simply the tab that was open to her website.

I said, “Oh my goodness, not that! All those tabs? That’s going to ruin my life!”

She started laughing and told me I made her day, and then I started laughing, and that in turn opened up a conversation about life, the weather (she’s on the east coast), and our kids and grandkids. We shared that each of our moms had lived with us and we both took care of them while they were sick up until they died, and what a blessing it was to have been able to give back some love and kindness.

She asked me why I was laughing about the tech issue instead of getting angry and yelling at her (which is the emotional state she usually encounters) and I explained to her that in the grand scheme of life, this seemed to be a minor blip on the screen of my universe.

She told me she had been depressed and I cheered her up and that in turn made me happy.

Oh, and she solved my access problem so I was able to get into the account and acquire the info I needed.

If I hadn’t had a problem, if I hadn’t made the call, I wouldn’t have connected with a beautiful soul three thousand miles away, and I wouldn’t have been able to shine a light and a laugh into her darkness. In my opinion, this was a win-win scenario.

Photo by Lucas Pezeta on Pexels.com

An outstretched hand.

Friend/ship.

Spindrift

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We’re enjoying a wintry Santa Ana wind event here in SoCal. It’s warm and sunny with gusty winds about 15-25 miles per hour–not bad enough to cause damage. I hear it’s much windier north of us.

The National Weather Service defines a Santa Ana as “Strong down slope winds that blow through the mountain passes in southern California. These winds, which can easily exceed 40 miles per hour are warm and dry and can severely exacerbate brush or forest fires, especially under drought conditions.”

It makes for beautiful ocean views and a bit of spindrift, spray blown from the crests of waves by the wind. Also one of my favorite words because it sounds magical.

Spindrift.

Even though there were no whales or dolphins this time, it’s still the ocean and that’s plenty to be grateful for.