Archive Meme

Kate at Our Red House tagged me with one of the coolest meme's I've seen. Usually I don't like meme's, but I actually was glad that Kate tagged me for this one.

Why? How could I possibly be glad I was tagged? Well, the meme is a way to send one's readers back into the blog archives to posts they may have missed or posts that they will remember (hopefully fondly).

The rules are as follows:

Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are... what you're all about.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be *newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better... and don't forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

Ready? Here we go!



Family past and family present







Friends (remember Kitty cats are friends too!)










Me (who I am and what I'm all about)








Something I love








Anything I choose






Now I get to pass this on to five other people. I am passing this on to:

Lynda Lehmann at Peripheral Vision--Inner Sights by Lynda Lehmann

Miss Peach and the Mistress of Briarrose Cottage at Miss Peach's Meowz

Thea Burger at Shades of Life

Strawberry Lane

Linda at Somewhere in Time

More Springtime Warmth in February

I know that it's a warm sunny day when I catch a kitty laying around like this in the garden. This is where I found little Oreo, the feral garden kitty--lounging under the Breath of Heaven bush in the front garden. Today was such a beautiful day, with a high of around 67°F (19.44°C) according to Hubby (my personal weatherman).

Oh no... I can almost hear the groans from my friends in colder climes. I'm really not doing this to gloat. I'm hoping to somehow spread the sunshine in some way to all of my blogging friends with cold toes and noses right now.

So many of my blogging friends are fellow rose lovers. And many of those fellow rose lovers are missing their blooms right now. So let me share with you the few lovely roses that are in bloom at Rosehaven Cottage. The Joseph's Coat rose (above left) has one solitary blossom reaching toward the sky amid leafless lilac branches with buds on them. The Tahitian Sunset rose (above center) also has one stalwart solitary blossom that I couldn't bare to cut when I was doing all the rest of the rosebush cleanup in preparation for the new foliage. And the pink "mystery" rose (above right) has a few brave tight little buds spearing toward the sky like cupid's arrows--perfect for Valentine's Day.

I can't think of a better way to warm some of you up than to share this gorgeous lemon with you! It is one of many on this lemon tree that is only a few years old. This is the first good crop we've had, and I'm so happy about that. Hubby picked a couple lemons today to bring in and cook with. He is amazing in the kitchen and can do wonders skinless chicken breasts, spices, and a fresh lemon or with a lemon, vinegar, and some spices over some fresh greens. Yum!

Speaking of greens... we have some of those too! The broccoli (above left) is looking almost too pretty to harvest. And the perennial brussels sprouts in the front garden (above right), although not tight enough to really harvest for eating, are filling in nicely to serve as a great aphid decoy when the roses send out their new foliage soon.

And finally, the lovely soothing blue of a vinca major blossom that I only get to see during this time of year. During the summer months, it gets too hot and dry for the vinca to be happy enough to flower. So I enjoy it in the spring before it goes away by the time June rolls around. That will be about the time when I will be enjoying the wonderful blogs of all of you in cooler climates that will have amazingly lush summer gardens when mine is past its prime and I'm camping out inside in front of the A/C to somehow get cool. It all evens out somehow, doesn't it?

A Touch of Springtime in February

Ever since my family moved back to the state of California during the month of February when I was 10 years old after living in the state of Colorado for over 7 years, I've equated the month of February with sunshine, new life, and the sunny cheer of daffodils and narcissus blossoms.

The year was 1977, and it happened to be a drought year so the weather was unseasonably warm. But I had just been in a snowy and cold Colorado climate and been moved into the wonderful sunny climate of the San Francisco Bay Area with ice plant in bloom in people's front yards and spring bulbs blossoming all over. My first day of school in California happened to be on Valentine's Day. I remember it well.

Now that I'm an adult, I always look forward to the month of February. It's the milestone I look forward to as being the time when the sun will emerge more often than not, the daffodils will be out, and the hyacinths, crocus, tulips, and other bulbs won't be far behind. There are many areas on freeway embankments where volunteers have planted fields of daffodils for motorists to enjoy. These embankments will soon be glowing with daffodils.

February is also the month when the almond trees bloom. As I was out driving along the highway last week, I made my first sighting of the year of an almond tree in bloom with its pale pink blossoms. Spotting the first almond tree in bloom is always a milestone for me (and my mother).

Now I know that the ornamental pear trees with their snowy white blossoms won't be far behind. It's often a neck and neck race to see which we'll spot first--the ornamental pears or the almonds.

Yes, it is beginning to look a lot like spring in the Bay Area.

Our daffodil crop wasn't as prolific this year (probably because its time to dig and divide) but I was able to cut some for the vase on the mantle. There is a lone narcissus volunteer that sprung up in the back garden. I cut it as well and brought it in. The heady fragrance of the narcissus is a perfect complement to the subtle clean aroma of the daffodils. It's a little spot of springtime right on the mantle both for the eyes and the nose!

All photographs featured here can be made available as unframed or framed prints, high-quality posters,
bound journals, tile coasters, keepsake boxes, greeting cards or a variety of other products.

Please email Cindy at rosehaven_cottage@yahoo.com for customization information.

Don't hesitate to ask about a special request. There is no additional cost for customization, and it's free to ask.

Feeling the Valentine Spirit

Thanks to Catherine Holman the folk artist at Pigment of Your Imagination, I'm feeling in very Valentine-y mood! She just awarded the Rosehaven Cottage blog with the Spread the Love Award!

Thank you so much, Catherine. Your award came just at the right time to lift my spirits, as I've been having to deal with my health issues in a big way lately. The sunny day yesterday and today coupled with this lovely award are just what I needed.

The Spread the Love Award originated from Mica at Garb-oodles Soup with the Mica's purpose being, "I have met so many lovely and very talented ladies here in Blogdom, what more can I do or say to express my humbled heart to each, than to give all my Dearest Readers and Friends a special award filled with Love. So, Spread The Love dear ones, Spread The Love to those you love. Except my award in which I have specially designed and share it with others. Enjoy the day."

I feel the same as Mica. I've met so many wonderful friends that have lifted me and strengthened me through my associations with them through blogging. I am passing on this award to:

Jodi at bloomingwriter for being such a ray of sunshine.
Kylee at Our Little Acre for her sense of humor that always brings a smile to my face.
Yolanda and the entire Bliss Team who have given me joy from the Bliss blog as well as important support and expertise with little Lucy.
Holly at 2 Kids and Tired for being the best Scrabulous competitor EVER!

A big hug to all these ladies for what they've done for me without really knowing it! And also a big hug to everyone else (too countless to list) that lift me, make me smile, and bring a bright spot to my day!

The Original Mel's Diner

Click here to read about our great meal at The Original Mel's Diner in Walnut Creek, California. (Be patient. Sometimes our reviews take a while to load over at foodbuzz).

<-------- That's what Hubby ordered. Yum!

"Lucy News" by Lucy Maud (Day 50)

Hi, it's Lucy here writing my own blog post to commemorate 50 days since I was rescued and brought here to my new home!

I decided to write about one of my favorite activities--sleeping.

When I'm not tearing around jumping and pouncing on the bigger kitties, I'm sleeping. I like to sleep on one of my people best. But if they aren't available, I like to sleep in my lavender fuzzy bed with a special kitty heating pad in it.

It's so cozy!

But for some reason, I get awakened a lot by a flashing light thingy. It's quite annoying.

Daddy why are you always pointing that thing at me?

I usually give up trying to sleep after the flashing light thingy starts. It's too hard to stay asleep, and I'm too curious. I'm usually pretty groggy but that doesn't stop me from being curious. And sometimes I get up with a bad case of bedhead. Yikes! But at least I had the presence of mind to do "fancy paws" like the big kitties do. Well... almost.