Solar Panels

I mentioned before about renting solar panels.....this seems to be a good thing.....and I will continue to do more research on this but the gist is that the solar company does a site inspection of your house, and if it meets the requirements, you pay a security deposit (refundable) and they install the panels, get the permits, etc. for FREE....then you just pay a flat monthly rate,it doesn't change.....you would pay that rate regardless of winter, summer, etc. while utility rates keep going up, yours stays the same....I know in some places, winter heating bills can be killers, ours is summer...we've had bills as high as $400 in a hot summer with the AC.

There are good things about this plan...it will transfer to the new owners if you sell your house...it increases property value, and you can move it with you one time if you move..so far I haven't found any negatives...there are many sites explaining this, I just am posting one that seems to explain the program well....its called Home Solar USA

I heard about this watching the Planet Green Channel....normally I don't watch this as alot of it is too PC but I do enjoy the TV show Living with Ed...we are interested just in being good stewards and saving money.....I also have a few other links on the left hand side of the blog...we pick and choose what we want to go with..we do recycle, reuse and redo..it just makes sense

Saturday Evening

I was going to post something this morning, but like most of you who blog...couldn't figure out what I wanted to say so left it for a time....its been a warm day, in the high 90s, and at 6:30 this evening, still almost 95 outside yet....phew...summer has finally come...as it cools, down, we will be watering the garden and enjoying the cool of the evening.

Yesterday, we got a call in the afternoon, and had 3 jobs to do....another 100 mile trip....and this morning, Alan realized he had left a bucket at one of the houses so we took a little trip again to retrieve it. Afterwards, he surprised me with a trip to Rubios....I ordered the Fish Taco Especial, which has avocado,Jack and Cheddar cheese, and limes with black beans.....my little fish tacos pale in comparison......what a treat! If you ever get to Southern California, please try them..you won't be disappointed...Alan ordered the shrimp tacos which looked just as good...


If you've read my blog for any time, you know I am a fan of the Hillybilly housewife and would like to again encourage you to sign up for her newsletter. With the House vote on the cap and trade yesterday....if this goes through we are all going to be in for very high bills and higher taxes..all the more reason to be frugal...like our country needs this right now, right? Its with the pretext that it will help the environment but in reality, I think its just for higher taxes. We are seriously thinking about going solar as soon as possible...now you can rent the solar panels in many states with free installation.
I sometimes entertain the idea that the environmentalists want us to go back to the 1800s with no electricity, cars or any modern conveniences.....I think that is fine if you want to get off the grid but not be forced to...I kinda like the computer and internet.....call me crazy.


After posting yesterday about the temple and the ark....I went again into the scripture and found the Revelation quote a commenter spoke about....it is true about the ark in Heaven as the scripture plainly states......however, there will be a temple built, as it plainly states in 2 Thessalonians (2:4), Mark(13:14) and Matthew( 24:15)
"But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:" (Mark 13:14, KJV)
There is a very good discussion on this subject at the website, Prophezine
as far as the ark....it remains to be seen what the Ethopian church have been guarding for 2,000 years..it will be interesting!

Alan and I were talking the other day in the car while we were in Lake Elsinore......we drove by the Little League field where a few years ago, our son's Little League team played for the league championship....they had won the division championship and if they had won would have went on..but unfortunately, the manager didn't manage correctly. He kept putting in his favorite pitchers who could only throw fast balls, which the other team easily hit...the two other pitchers (our son included) threw all types of pitches, junk, slow balls, etc. which would have won the game but this manager didn't use them.
His two coaches were angry with him and
many of the parents, us included were very angry. The game was lost...it left such a sour taste in our mouths, our son has never played baseball since although he is very good. Since that time, the manager has passed away.

We were remembering this, recalling the game, feeling the same ugly anger when Alan looked at me and marveled...isn't this amazing, we still have hard feelings about some one who is dead? We had to laugh at ourselves. Even though the person is no longer living, we bore a grudge against him...

'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." Leviticus 19:18

Even the word bear implies a heavy weight, doesn't it? We'd been carrying this heavy weight around for over 5 years...and had to forgive this man and let the incident go. Just let it go. Thank the Lord, He brought this to our attention!
I have sometimes wondered why as we age, some get sweeter and some get more bitter....may it not have to do with years of bearing grudges?
Some interesting news is forthcoming, Ethiopia's Orthodox church is going to reveal the Ark of the Covenant soon..or at least what they have been guarding for almost 2,000+ years..You can read about it here if it is the actual ark..this will be one more step towards the Lords Return and the rebuilding of the Temple.

Garden Update

The found birdhouse and ammo box with a Martha Washington geranium cutting...

Our peach tree is loaded

these are yellow peppers....can hardly wait!

The first time we've ever grown Japanese egg plant...they are getting big enough to harvest soon.....I think we will grill them like we do the yellow summer squash..we've been eating squash lot but not tired of it yet.....its so good grilled with a little olive oil and Parmesan cheese sprinkled on afterward .....no tomatoes yet although the plants are loaded with green ones.....we've had a very overcast and cool June, this last week has been sunnier....

We both agree that the garden is doing fairly well considering how poor the soil is....still lots of rocks and decomposed granite....in future years, it will be better as we work to improve it and get more rocks out...but this is the best location so far for the garden....when we first moved here, we planted it on the large side of the house, but it did very poorly...it just gets too hot there....now the fig tree is in that location and doesn't seem to mind the heat..plus as fast as its growing gives us shade on that side of the house. Its loaded with green figs too and we are awaiting some fig bars and fresh figs
We covered the ground on that side of the house with mulch which seems to help with the heat also and also keeps the weeds down......behind the fig tree against the fence line, we planted blackberry and boysenberry bushes...yes, our yard is that large...they've taken off this year and are starting to reward us with a few berries. They don't mind the heat either so far.
so how is your garden growing?

Wednesday Dog of the Week - Ernest

Ernest is a Basset Hound/Beagle mix...he's small and rather calm for a beagle.....good with children and young, about a year old. A mystery dog as he was found wandering the street but doesn't seem to have been abused..no one has claimed him so he is looking for a forever home...
the vet says he is healthy and has gotten all his shots.....his eyes are compelling, aren't they?
You can find him at Sun City K-9 Rescue, they are the no-kill shelter in the Menifee area and run off donations so if you can help, please do......they take Paypal and all the information is on their website. When a dog finds his way here, he finds a safe haven.

They also had a wonderful first time ever, Adoption Reunion Picnic......all the volunteers were honored, and there were many donations from local business for the raffle......

Tuesday Chat about a Variety of Things

We've been working, working, working..so many calls, so little time to blog.....so many foreclosures...rather sad and today a realtor says there are tons more. June has been our biggest month ever....we've both been very tired with lots of driving....the van isn't the most comfortable vehicle to ride in....I hope not to go tomorrow....Alan has a lockout and that is all so far. But we've been getting an average of about 3 calls a day from REO realtors.

We made fish tacos this evening, they were so good....we all love fish tacos......you just cook the tortilla shells, then add your cooked fish (we used fish sticks, the easy way out), a little ranch dressing or sour cream (I like the dressing), chopped tomato, cabbage and avocado....yum...we also had black beans, and sliced oranges for dessert. Simple, healthy and good.

Gas prices are sure going up......we got through alot with the amount of driving we do. Its crept up to about $3.00 a gallon, sometimes we can find it for a little less by careful shopping. Is it just because its summer?

Last but not least, I've been having a blast playing Farm on Facebook. I didn't think I would like Facebook and although several invited me, resisted. But after taking the plunge, find it really nice...I've reconnected with several old friends I haven't heard of in 30 years, discovered some new distant family members and generally am having fun!

A Tiny Visitor and more!

Alan was watering the garden the other evening, and thought a big bug flew by....he accidentally drenched this little guy who wasn't too happy...ever see a baby hummingbird? He sat there for some time, preening his wings and calling for his mom...so cute....as it was getting dark, we were a little anxious, but in the morning he was gone. You can't really see his size in the photo but he was about as big as a bumble bee, I zoomed in for the photo. The white dots on his beak are water droplets....

Remember a past post when we went up in the high desert, Adlento and I told you about the house that had been used for storage? Well we found a ammo box full of old pipe threaders...the ammo box I used as a planter outside with a geranium cutting and sat looking at the pipe fittings...here's what I came up with...I think they look cool.

They make perfect candle sticks holders!

A Preview

Not a long post today as I posted last night, but I wanted to share the newest with you....I am rather proud of how this little snowman turned out, he'll be in my Inspiration shop for the Christmas in July sale next month.....

Thursday evening

I've been getting a little stale in the blog department, and decided to do a little late spring/early summer cleaning and change things around a little..what to you think of the new background? A little brighter, anyway and I hope not too distracting.

We've been working so hard and I think its getting to us a little.....so much driving..and we are still waiting for payments...today it slowed down slightly which was a blessing....Alan was actually able to get some invoices sent and got to work in the garden which he loves...so far he has just one job tomorrow but will probably have more if the last two weeks are any indication. The real estate offices are getting swamped. After the week we had, we can use a short rest...yesterday, we went to a job and people were still on the property after being evicted...the sheriff was called but it all ended well with everyone at peace...

I've always been interested in Bible prophecy and there was a interesting article in the Israel National News about a new temple being built on the temple mount. The temple must be built, according to prophecy before the Lord comes back as it talks about the antichrist

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) (Matthew 24:15, KJV)

"But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:" (Mark 13:14, KJV)

This is exciting news and has been expected ever since Israel became a nation in 1948. For more details and information, I am going to give you the link here


As its getting late...here is a little graphic I think you might enjoy....I do love Suzi Zoo

Wednesday Dog of the Week + An Adventure

Meet Fiore...a West Highland terrier mix, true Westies are white ...he was found running loose in the Lakes area of Menifee..very well behaved, housebroken and ready for his forever home...a real cutie who gets along with other dogs and loves children....very mellow..he is small....chocolate brown and white..the vet says he's about 3 years old, up to date with his shots, and just needs a chance. Westies are great little dogs, who get along with everyone with the right leadership..strong for their size and great watchdogs, originally from Scotland. You can find Mr. Fiore and many other great dogs at the Sun City K-9 rescue Don says they've gotten in quite a few new dogs and he hasn't had time to put them all on the website..

Well, I said an adventure and we did have one...the whole day was something out of Twilight Zone....the day started out well, we decided to go over the Ortega Highway into Orange County. There are only two ways to get to the coast, the highway or go north across the freeway...we like the scenic route when we aren't on a time table........
the beginning of the highway is a series of switchbacks up the side of the mountain...ending with a scenic turnout where I took this photo of Lake Elsinore

the rest of the highway has many curves, mountain type driving, camp grounds, wildflowers, etc. lots to see..it ends in San Juan Capistrano which is a pretty town and then we went north finally reaching our destination in Santa Ana....we hadn't been there before but soon found out, we don't want to go back either.....as we were waiting for a large group middle school children to cross the road where we had to turn into, two young men, probably 13 or 14 stopped in the middle of the street, one pulled out something we couldn't seen, and the other leaned down, covered his face and when he raised up, we saw he had some kind of crack or meth pipe in his hand and had taken a hit...he wasn't a bit shy about showing what he was doing, but looked at us defiantly.

I wish I had take a photo but Alan said it wouldn't have been a good idea. I would have sent it to the school and maybe they could figure out what student it was and get them some help...these are boys in serious trouble already in life. As I was in the house, I prayed for them..and wondered if anyone had ever prayed for them.

Needless to say, it kinda ruined the day....the house was in a bad area of town but we didn't have any problems.....locksmiths tend to be ignored and are no threat to anyone. Its obvious we have no money either, but we always take some precautions...

I will try to make this post shorter.....after we left, we thought we'd get some gas as it was cheaper there.....our gas card wouldn't work. Alan had got one of those ARCO ATM cards and they have a limit how much you can use...then he went into a grocery store to use the bathroom and get some cold drinks for the trip back.....in the bathroom was a homeless man who sang, groaned and talked to himself..and outside the bathroom was a Mexican woman loudly scolding a man in Spanish...the adventure continued when he went to the cashier to buy an apple, 2 sodas..the apple rang up at $62.95.! The clerk said, Oh, my...and it took some time to straighten out.
We were really glad to get out of town, believe me! and had to laugh..like what else could happen?
well, as we were driving back over the mountain highway....someone in a small sports car, tailgated us for half the trip, literally almost pushing us down the windy road, he got so close, Alan couldn't see him in the rear window or mirrors.


....believe me, going 50 mph around sharp 30 mph curves is no fun...the van needs two back tires, not much tread. (he's getting tires today) I am thankful he's an excellent driver and it only ended when Alan was able to pull off at our favorite little candy store....to let him by
Chocolate was a comfort..

a big comfort.....
as well as a lot of prayer
Did I mention Twilight Zone?

Tuesday Chat

We re keyed 4 homes yesterday...3 were condos, and we found this cute little birdhouse at one..its not too practical but cute....today, Alan has two jobs this morning and then I am going with him to Santa Ana this afternoon for another job.......I learned something new yesterday! I now know how to use the key machine and cut keys......not very hard and kinda fun...he has key machine in the van and I cut 13 keys...only messed up 4 so that's not too bad for the first time.
These were all foreclosed properties.......the only condo I liked was one in El Cajon....the architecture was Mediterranean and all the units faced the parking area .....the condo itself was very nice, clean and modern looking....very quiet area with lots of birds...seemed very pleasant
It had a large backyard patio area too, enough to garden
You can't see it from this photo, but as you walk through to the front, there on the left, it opens into a pretty garden area...it had a fireplace too........we are re keying more condos lately, most of them aren't anything to really talk about...but this one had a nice design....the upstairs bedroom had a outside balcony that reminded me of Romeo and Juliet.
I don't know if you enjoy reading about our locksmithing adventures..hope so..
here are a few photos of our drive....Alan wanted me to take a photo of this unusual water tower


this is a photo of driving into the San Luis Rey River valley...very pretty area

Happy Flag Day!

Did you know that June 14th is Flag Day? We have our flags outside and so do some of the neighbors...it was declared Flag Day in August of 1949 by President Harry Truman. I got this graphic from Penniwig's...she has tons of darling free graphics.....

A nice quiet Sunday, Alan and I worked outside this afternoon in the garden and patio...we moved our bird feeder to a shepherds hook as having it next to the patio was getting too messy...seeds and yuck bird droppings....we put the feeder out in an area we are going to be making a flower bed in the future.

Yesterday we explored the little Sun City shopping center and discovered a new chocolate shop! The two ladies that run it were so pleasant and the shop so attractive, we knew we'd discovered a find. They also make sugar free chocolates and fudge which delighted Alan...he loves chocolate but being diabetic, has to be careful..he bought a few pieces and they gave him samples so he got his chocolate "fix". He also got his hair cut at the nearby new barber shop which two young men
own...alot of new businesses are moving into the old center which is exciting and we wish them well....
while he was getting his hair cut, Matthew and I strolled over to the local thrift shop, and I found a treasure trove of great crochet, and counted cross stitch patterns..and Matt found a sweet little gift box with 3 handblown glass angels to give his girlfriend..all the proceeds from the thrift shop go to feed the hungry...so its for a good cause.
Here is just one of the patterns I found...I listed it in my etsy shop, Daniv1951


These would sure make nice little tuckins to put in a birthday card or gift book...rather easy to crochet too....

Friday Musings

Here is the garden again...we staked up the tomatoes, and they are loaded with green ones..wish the sun would come out...its been gray and cool all week....we also planted zinnas around the border...hoping to discourage the ground squirrel that has been lurking around.....he sneaks through the side fence so I've been blocking the openings with rocks.......the grass is dying around the edges too, but that's ok as we are thinking of putting a border of used brick around the garden area....
we were worried that the eggplant wasn't producing but spied some baby ones coming.....we harvested most of the beets yesterday giving some needed space for the watermelon.

We've been so so busy with locksmith calls all week....we had planned to stay home yesterday and get some needed paper work done, but got 3 calls to Perris, Pomona and Costa Mesa....we both really liked the house in Perris.....it was out in the country..on about an acre ...nice quiet countryside...you could hear a rooster crowing...the house was ranch style...huge rooms and nice country kitchen...there was a rock fireplace in the family room and all 3 bedrooms were huge, so were the bathrooms....there was a nice patio area, and a pepper tree in the yard....some of the neighbors had horses...I wish I had got some photos. The house was older probably built in the 80s but in fairly good clean condition.


I will have to share this great night light we found at a foreclosed house...it was wrapped up in a upper cabinet....I think its so pretty and never seen one before....

I like to put a night light on top the TV....shades of the 50s I guess...my mom always said you should have a light on while watching, that it was bad for the eyes....I don't think that is true but its still looks nice. Its actually prettier than the photo. and yes, we do find things that have been abandoned occasionally....

Wednesday Dog of the Week, Meet Brewster +

This is little Brewster, a one year old terrier mix...he is quite the character with lots of personality...high energy like all terriers....loves other dogs, cats and children...he loves to play fetch and loves people..he needs to be with someone who can be with him as when he gets bored and alone, he tends to dig. You can find out more about the Sun City K-9 Rescue here

When we went to the graduation, a older lady brought a dog carrier with this little charmer
I think her name is Michelle as that is the name on the water bottle...she even had a pearl necklace and was quite the fashion statement in a black and white sun dress with a flounce....we have mixed feelings about this....Its ok but personally, I wouldn't try to make a dog into a human. She did look cute.



On another topic...my dear friend Sandi, sent me the link to the Freedom Rock in Rural Iowa.....last year when I first started blogging, I had photos and the link but have since lost both...so was very happy when she shared with us again..

there are too many photos now to post but here is the link
from last year and prior years.....I think its incredible and a fitting memorial to our military.

Our weather has been gray and overcast for days......On Sunday afternoon, we had lightening storms, hail and rain....gray ever since...not good for the garden, tomatoes and other veggies.....
I heard the national weather report and it doesn't look good for the rest of the country either...
We did harvest a few more summer squash, wax beans and beets for supper.......

Cora sent me this survey....its supposed to be emailed but I decided I'd rather publish it here and then you can choose to go on with it or not....
we've been swamped with work lately...June is going to be a good month. Now if they pay timely, we will be ok.


1. What time did you get up this morning? - 6:00...heard our oldest going off to work

2. Diamonds or pearls? - Pearls

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Pirates of the Caribbean..I......we usually wait until it comes out on DVD.

4. What is your favorite TV show? right now, Glen Beck

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Coffee and maybe toast or a muffin

6. What is your middle name? - Rae

7. What food do you dislike? - shellfish of any kind, I am allergic..its getting worse too..even the smell of shrimp cooking makes me sick....sigh.....

8. What is your favorite CD at moment? -I don't really have one

9. What kind of car do you drive? - Honda Accord

10. Favorite sandwich? - a IN and OUT burger

11. What characteristic do you despise? arrogance and narcissism

12. Favorite item of clothing? - soft jeans and a T shirt or sweatshirt

13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? -London and see some plays, take some day trips

14. Favorite brand of clothing? - don't have one, I'm not into brands.

15. Where would you retire to? - in the country somewhere with lots of space..too many years in a condo....

16. What was your most memorable birthday? the last one when my mom was alive and..we went out to the mall and had lunch...

17. Favorite sport to watch? - Olympic weigh lifting, and Winter Olympic skiing

18. When is your birthday? - Febuary 24

21. Are you a morning person or night person? Morning

22. What is your shoe size? 8

23. Pets ? 2 cats

24. Any new and exciting news you 'd like to share with us? -no, but I'd like some good news

25. What did you want to be when you were little? Teacher and a archeologist.

26. How are you today? - Ok, a little overwhelmed, we've been really busy.

27. What is your favorite candy? Mike and Ike fruit chews

28. What is your favorite flower? Yellow roses

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? - 4th of July

31.. What are you listening to right now? My son whistling and his Mexican music

32. What was the last thing you ate? - MacDonalds big breakfast with sausage and a latte

33. Do you wish on stars? - no, but I love to find constellations.

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? - green

35. How is the weather right now? cool and overcast

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? a property manager about a job..which we had to turn down as we are just too busy to do handyman work.

37. Favorite soft drink? - Coke

38. Favorite restaurant? - The Olive Garden

39. Real hair color? - Under my color, silver white

40. What was your favorite toy as a child? - my Tiny Tears doll

41. Summer or winter? - Winter

42. Hugs or kisses - Nothing like a hug!

43. Chocolate or Vanilla? - Vanilla

44. Coffee or tea? Coffee with cream

47. What is under your bed? - boxes of linens, no room! and a box of photos

48. What did you do last night? - we watched High Anxiety, funny!

49. What are you afraid of? - losing our house and as I am getting older, heights.

50. Salty or sweet? - Sweet!

51. How many keys on your key ring? 5

52. How many years at your current job? I am about out of being a At Home Mom and now am helping run our business...probably 2 years at that....

53. Favorite day of the week? Sunday

54. How many towns have you lived in? 5

55. Do you make friends easily? - no, I am rather shy but when you are my friend, you are always my friend....

If you'd like to do the same survey, just copy and paste.......!

Busy Weekend!

Here is the graduating class of 2009..our son is there somewhere.....it was a cool windy day and everyone anticipated rain but it didn't happen.......I didn't get very good photos though...and hope Alan's are better than mine...we also talked to one of his teachers who promised to find out about the photographer that was there so perhaps we can buy a few.....

as he got his diploma, they are supposed to do a pose for the photographer, and of course, Matt put his arm over the school Presidents shoulder...everyone laughed.
This is the greatest charter school and I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about putting their child into a school who really cares about the students....the classroom size is small and there lots of options of education....no child learns the same way. Matt has flourished in this school and only wishes he could have started sooner.....its called River Springs and if you are reading this and a local parent you might want to check it out.

Sunday, in the afternoon, we were called to go to Adelanto, in the high desert to re key a house. It was a nice drive up through the Cajon Pass. I have posted photos before but didn't show you the California aquaduct that winds its way through the mountains

this brings needed water from Northern California...
here is another snapshot of the pass
We always find this area beautiful and interesting...no matter what time of year....I remember riding with my parents through here on the old 395 when it was just a 4 lane highway...now of course, this is the interstate 15. We could look down in some areas and see the old highway and wondered if it went all the way through..it would be fun to drive on it.
Adelanto is kind of a sad place in a way.....the city a few years ago decided to allow builders to use good desert land for housing tracts....and there are many with hardly any homeowners...lots of empty homes, nice ones too with granite countertops, Italian tile floors, lots of extras just wasting away....on the street we were working on, I think there were only about 5 homeowners and 20 houses..most were empty. Like a ghost town. There were signs up advertising way under the market prices...like around $50,000 and no takers....
The house we re keyed had never been lived in but used as storage for some kind of lighting company..we really couldn't figure it out....the living room was full to the ceiling the boxes of glass inserts for lamps, lamp parts, etc.

The house itself was very nice...but we were happy to just do the re keying and not the clean out.....the 4 bedrooms were full of boxes, lamp parts, plumbing items, etc.

Its never a dull moment!

Saturday Sharing

You all were mentioning about jacaranda trees......my parents had a large one in their backyard in Oceanside, Ca.....they do get fairly large and need a big yard......these are native to South Africa but do well here and in Florida too.......they lose their leaves in the winter and then flower in the spring/early summer...green in the rest of the year......
another nice tree we have here is the Coral tree or Erythrina....we always just call it the Coral tree, its native to Argentina but again loses its leaves in the winter and then blooms first with beautiful bright coral/red flowers........our previous condo complex has two large coral trees as you enter.....and I used to write a association newsletter named "The Coral Tree"...couldn't find a photo of our trees but did find a stock one...

This tree is a younger one...ours were older and I think, prettier......most all trees in Southern California have been brought in by humans...the Palm tree isn't native and uses a lot of water...the only native Southern Californian tree we have is the California Live Oak which are protected.
There is a housing tract here that had to move about a dozen of these monsters before they could build....they used big cranes and then replanted them in the backyards of the new homes.
Lucky new homeowners to have such beautiful old trees.

We have a legend here about the wild mustard that grows everywhere in the spring...it says that Father Sierra planted it at the various missions and the seed of course, spread everywhere....I don't know if its true or not but rather romantic....

I guess I have followed the scripture verse today, Ephesians 3:17-19 and " I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." and just like a tree, be rooted and grounded in God's love today....
have a great weekend!

Road Trip...Santa Ana, and Fontana

We've been going on road trips this week..yesterday we went to Colton, Ca and also Santa Ana....the Colton house wasn't much to talk about but on the way out, we noticed this beautiful Jacaranda tree.....it is one of the prettiest I've seen...
The Santa Ana property was a very nice small condo, just one bedroom...and 2 locks but on the way out, more jacarandas in a park...




I was impressed with how green everything was in the Santa Ana area...even the sides of the freeway were landscaped...and this is in drought conditions...we wondered how much water was being used?

this freeway exit are looks like a park...yes, its on the side of a freeway exit...I doublechecked!
We were also impressed with all the big office buildings...felt a little like hicks looking up at all the tall sky scrapers.......and wanted to go home to our little town.......


We have jacaranda trees here too....these are some that are on one of our main streets.....they are just about finished blooming but still pretty.....
We almost put a jacaranda in our back garden but decided against it as they are a little messy...the African sumac doesn't shed and does have tiny yellow flowers which the bees love. Its getting large enough now to have some needed summer shade ... also drought tolerate so if we get water restrictions, it will hold up nicely.....I think we made a good choice....