271/365

Easter Sunday - the Calla Lily cross which is a longtime tradition at my church. They ask people to donate, and were worried they may not have enough this year. I'm happy that about a third of these came from my garden!

225/365 FOURTH OF JULY

The BEST time to be at home in SoCal... on my parents' deck. Today and Thanksgiving were the only two times I'd get homesick when I lived in England.
So I've got more than one:

The view. I mean really. Can you guess how the relationship between my parents and the neighbor below who expanded is??

Random shots of the bay, playing with my zoom... seeing if I could spot any individuals involved in illicit activities on their boats.




At night, before the fireworks (which I posted last year, and frankly is a pain to take, so I let my brother take those this year!


Happy Fourth!

215/365 - Memorial Day

I actually took time in the morning to reflect, and remember, those who have fought and died, as well as those whom I have loved, and have died.
I went out and spent some time with my aunt, grandma & grandpa. It was lovely; a big line of cars going into the cemetery, but it's such a big place, no one was around where I was.

201/365 Cinco de Mayo!

Went to a lovely golf club for dinner and sat outdoors having dinner while the mariachis played.

175/365

I may finally be onto something & holding to one NY's resolution - taking brisk walks around the neighborhood (today I even started running!), then going back around with my camera to shoot things I find interesting.I tried making friends, but he wasn't interested and I looked like a crazy lady.


Honey, are you sure you checked the outside of the house for ALL the Christmas decorations to put away?

169/365

Madeline, my friends' cat, greeting the guests for New Years' Eve Dinner. I've cat-sat over the years with her, and she NEVER hangs around for more than a couple of minutes for affection and attention, but apparently she was locked up at the vets over Christmas, so she was being particularly warm and lovey on this occasion.

They also just moved to Pasadena, and we discovered during dinner, they live on the route the floats go by to park up the night before the Rose Parade. So we got a mini parade during dinner, then walked up the road afterwards to see some of the floats up close:

168/365 A Christmas VIDEO!

I bought a tripod and decided to walk around the neighborhood and take photos of all the Christmas Lights.
I can't upload it on youtube or photobucket because of the music I used - bloody copyright infringement! Like the Decca Records Orchestra is gonna want 5p every time this is played?!

166/365

Mom preparing breakfast on Christmas morning (blintzes, tater tots, sausages and poached eggs)...
And Dad, doing his favorite Southern California lifestyle activity: FRESH ORANGE JUICE!


(my dad drove straight from Chicago to Orange County the day he finished; he said he always dreamed of living in a place where he could reach out the back door, grab some oranges, and make fresh orange juice. And so he does!)

165/365

Merry Christmas (Eve)!
Cheating because I love this series... of mom and dad waiting patiently while I figure out the right exposure settings on my camera (no, I still haven't read the manual!).











The final result/s:



NOT terribly flattering of me or my brother, but... still a fairly nice family photo.

164/365 Christmas cookies

Before:

And after:

163/365

Finally finished decorating the Christmas Tree!

161/365

Part of the fake tree I had to throw away - cuz I broke it. :(

(it had those fiber light thingies that change from a disk underneath, and as I was trying to straighten the tree... *POP*SNAP*

No crackle.

Bummer.

73/365 Happy FOURTH!

Went to a fun 'hometown' parade this morning, now off to Laguna.
I've never been more excited about 4th of July, as there is no better place for me to be than on the deck in Laguna, having a beer and fried chicken while watching the fireworks, and hearing everyone along the hillside together saying "oooh, ahhhh".
4th of July and Thanksgiving were my two hardest holidays being away in England. So today I am THRILLED to be home!!

More pics from the parade and 3-legged races here:

http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/Kuyperama/4th%20July%2008/?albumview=slideshow