Celebrating at Mimi's

Last Friday was the last day of the school year in my district, so I got together with some colleagues for beakfast at Mimi's Cafe -- a last hurrah before parting ways for the summer.  I'd had lunch and dinner at Mimi's before, but never breakfast and was I in for a treat!  Yummy french toast with cinnamon and orange zest, scrambled eggs, and this big cup of cocoa. 

Bon voyage to all who will be traveling this summer, and have a lovely time unwinding and relaxing for those who are hanging out at home.

Antique Roses and White Hydrangeas

Saturday I joined friends for a special tea at the historic First Mayor's House.  Croissant sandwiches, lemon bars, and fresh fruit were arranged on sparkling crystal plates.  An assortment of interesting tea pots contained flavorful blends of tea.  But one of the things that really caught my eye were the luscious boquets of beautiful flowers on each table.  One of my friends enjoys flower arranging and she explained how she made the arrangements -- I was inspired!  She even gave me one of the small table decorations to take home and I have been enjoying it ever since.  It is a simple, but elegant, arrangement of antique roses and white hydrangeas with just the right amount of greenery in a basic mason jar.

Simple but elegant is just my style and I placed these on my family room table so I can enjoy them all evening long.  Aren't they pretty?   Whenever I have fresh flowers, Violet has to explore them.  I think she is pretending to be hiding in a jungle.

Even at day's end, they are charming. 

Where have all the bees gone?

Remember the song "Where have all the flowers gone?"  We could now be singing that about where have all the bees gone!  Have you heard of colony-collapse disorder or CCD as the apiologists refer to it?  Honey bees are dying in huge numbers, and considering how many of our foods they impact, it is very concerning.  We automatically think of honey, but these precious bees are also responsible for pollinating crops worth $200 billion a year.  So one of the projects adopted by the California DAR is to help researchers get to the bottom of bee colony collapse so the problem can be turned around.

Last month some friends and I drove up to the UC Davis Research Lab for a special program about CCD and so the DAR could present a check to UC Davis to help with their research.  The program was followed by a tour of the Haagen-Daz Honey Bee Haven which is a bee friendly garden where we could learn how to plant our own bee friendly gardens, and observed many species of bees.

 

 

 The photo I took at the top of this post is a honey bee, but below I captured a carpenter bee in flight  ~ they are large, black and glossy:

We learned so much from these little signs posted throughout the gardens, but there were also well-informed scientists with displays to explain things as well:

 

  A colony of live bees on display in the science building:

Beekeepers checking out some hives:

The picture below didn't turn out well as it was taken of a glossy poster on display ~ 

all I can say is no bee beard for me!

To learn more check out the UC Davis website:
http://beebiology.ucdavis.edu/

The Merry Month of May

May came and went like a flash and it was wonderful!  Besides spending a wonderful Mother's Day weekend here at my place with my daughters (and being spoiled by them with lunch, flowers and a Barnes and Noble gift certificate), I spent a weekend at their place in San Francisco last month.   It was for a very special occasion -- Lys's college graduation!  

We went over to San Francisco State University mid-morning as the graduates had to line up by noon.  After presenting Lys with a traditional Hawaiian lei and taking a few pictures, Ash and I left her to join other grads in the BUS Major line.

Ash and I walked over to find our seats in the Cox Stadium bleachers.  Within the hour the place was filled!

Then the graduates marched in to the stadium.   Can you see them entering the stadium on the big screen?  Excitement was in the air!

The San Francisco Giants President and CEO, Larry Baer, gave the keynote graduation address, focusing on the "art of the possible in life."  Of course, it was sprinkled with some baseball history World Series analogies, and lots of inspiration.  And then the grads flipped their tassles on their caps and marched up to the stage to receive their diplomas!  Yes, I got teary -- that's my baby!  And I wished so much that Lys's dad could have been there to see his youngest graduate.  He would have been so proud of her.

We had big plans for an elegant dinner at the wharf Saturday night, but by the time we left the stadium we were too starved to wait another three hours for our dinner reservations so cancelled those and ate close to the campus.  Then we went to Ghiradelli Square for hot fudge sundaes that night. 

Complete with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset....

Lovely evening, lovely weekend!  I couldn't be prouder of my girls!  They both have their bachelor's degrees now, both are employed full time, living the lives they are creating day by day in the City.  We are truly blessed!