Not a Nip Slip But…Slip + Fall = Break

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

100

That’s the name of the break I sustained.

I slipped and fell in this ditch Sunday evening in our upper yard as I was looking for coyotes in the hill on the other side of our property.

I was wearing flip flops (not smart) and my hand broke my fall, but then I broke my hand.

SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT…At first I thought it was just a sprain or torn ligaments, but the pain was really, really bad, so I had it X-rayed and the doc confirmed my suspicions.

I’m in a removable cast for about six weeks — no weightlifting but I can do anything else that doesn’t cause pain.

My hand is super swollen and all bruised up, too.

I might not be able to lift weights, but there’s nothing to prevent me from shopping!

I never did see any coyotes but I snapped a pic of this amazing hawk in our eucalyptus tree.

Coyotes and Fireworks (myersbowman.wordpress.com)

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

Birds are singing, the sun is out, the sky is blue, and there’s a gentle breeze.
It seems like the perfect time for a couple of Sunday morning songs and a few snapshots of our backyard and a street view.

Agave with Nasturtiums

Clematis and Sweet Pea Vine

Baby Apples

Jupiter’s Beard

Heart Shaped Leaf

Pride of Madeira

Baby Artichokes

We created a drought tolerant front yard: California natives with a smaller lawn

Update On Starting Clematis From Seeds I Gathered (backyardgardeningtips.com)

I love elephants of all colors

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

White elephant: A possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. According to Wiki, the tradition derives from tales which associate a white elephant with the birth of the Buddha, as his mother was reputed to have dreamed of a white elephant presenting her with a lotus flower, a common symbol of wisdom and purity, on the eve of giving birth.^[5]Because the animals were considered sacred and laws protected them from labor, receiving a gift of a white elephant from a monarch was simultaneously both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because the animal was sacred and a sign of the monarch’s favor, and a curse because the animal had to be retained and could not be put to much practical use, but cost a significant amount to maintain.

Hmmm…that sounds very much like a description of Princess Rosebud, don’t you agree?

April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals month….I’ve protested and spoken out with Peta against the cruel practice of elephant rides at our San Diego County Fair in Del Mar. The life of a captive elephant (or any animal) trained for humans to profit by is barbaric and must end. Please join me in caring about the lives of other species. We must work together to end animal abuse. Click on the link to learn more: http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/tags/elephant+rides/default.aspx

Here’s my very own white elephant. She is extremely beautiful and, as you can see, quite useful, holding a vase of alstroemeria flowers from our garden. I found her at Ross Dress for Less for $29.00. The vase is from Anthropologie. I picked up some color chips from Home Depot to repaint the wall for contrast but I haven’t decided on a color yet.

More elephants!

They’re everywhere!

An elephant box

Cute elephant lamp in our entry

Circus Elephant Injured … in Drive-by Shooting (newser.com)
Watch New HBO Elephant Documentary “An Apology To Elephants” (spiritandanimal.wordpress.com)
Watch New HBO Elephant Documentary “An Apology To Elephants” (sunsetdaily.wordpress.com)
Urge India to Stop Using Elephants to Demolish Buildings (forcechange.com)

Art Imitates Life…an example

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

This came first, a starfish still life; to touch and smell and feel…

I snapped a pic and then there was this, still and silent and safe for all time…

Getting back to the essence of Enchanted Seashells with, well…what do you think?

Seashells and starfish and pearls…of course!

And a Lovesong for all of you (and my tugboat man) from Adele

and the original from the Cure, old school style. Which version do you prefer?

Starfish (mediumail.wordpress.com)
Monday Morning Series: Antigua Starfish (traveldestinationbucketlist.com)
England: Bad weather to blame for dead starfish washed up in Cleethorpes area (sott.net)

Instead of Flowers, How About an Enchanting Seashell Bouquet?

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud

Today is super hot and humid but I went to Pilates anyway, and saw a friend of mine who’s a nurse and she always has a handful of non-latex gloves or figs from her tree for me and I trade her tomatoes and cucumbers and clary sage seedlings, so it’s a win-win for both of us.

I’m really excited about all my clary sage seedlings; I have about 100 of ’em that look very healthy but will have to wait for the weather to cool down to put them in the ground. Here in So Cal, October is our spring, and that’s the best time I have found to plant natives.

So I have all these seashells, right? Prolly thousands of them, collected by me or presented as gifts, and I’m not super creative like everyone on Etsy and Pinterest, but I do like to embellish almost everything with shells and rocks.

I was looking for a new project and somewhere saw a bouquet of seashells and starfish and thought that it looked easy enough to re-create, so I did!

How to make the seashell bouquet:
1. Get craft sticks of all sizes; I even used chopsticks
2. If you don’t have a glue gun, get one! I can’t live without mine, that’s for sure. For this project, you don’t have to be perfect, obvs you need to use more glue for the heavier starfish
3. If you want to use florist’s foam,that would be a good idea; I didn’t do that here, but I did fill the vase with paper

Voila! Here’s the finished product. This vase is at the bottom of our stairs up to the second level and is the first thing you see when you come in the front door.