Teresa, Mrs. Carole Wong & Becca

We attended the wedding of Teresa's friend Heather this past weekend and the girls were so happy to see that their Elementary School principal was also in attendance. Mrs. Carole Wong retired last year. The girls hadn't seen her for quite a few years.

2010, May Auntie Becca and Emily

May 2010 - Jack

FRE Family Retirement Celebration

Maureen Chris, Vicki Loughran, Jan Williams, and Joyce Rubel were honored at a wonderful celebration at the Renaissance Hotel in Aliso Viejo. What an incredible evening to pay tribute to these lovely ladies. I have enjoyed working with them at FRE and miss them dearly. Jan and Vicki taught at my girls elementary school and I had the priviledge of working with them at FRE. I met Joyce when Teresa and her son Ken became friends in school at Trabuco Hills. Maureen Chris I came to know and love through FRE. We have spent many evenings having fun at Bunco, walking through Orange on a home tour, spending a special evening for the past few years during the Christmas holidays at a local church and enjoying this past year at Stagecoach. I feel so fortunate and blessed to call them my friends.

Georgia Cate's First Sewing Class

You can sure tell Auntie Maureen has had some experience with babies!

Claire and Georgia Cate Ferrell.

Sweet as a Georgia Peach!

Becca happened to be home and was lucky enough to be able to meet and hold Georgia.

Bet you can't guess what I got for Mother's Day!

MACRO LENS!!!

Mother's Day 2010

Patti and I organized a brunch and invited the family over to celebrate Mother's day. What a wonderful way to honor our mom, Betty. Patti out did herself with the food she prepared. Happy Mother's Day Mom & Patti! Love you!

Double Dutch Chocolate Muffins

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/ is my favorite place to buy flours, mixes, cooking utensils. Check out their website. They have a wonderful recipe section as well.

April 28th Patti Piper's Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Patti's birthday this year with just the sisters. Lori, Patti and myself went to Claim Jumper for dinner and then came back to our house to open gifts.

Happy Birthday Patti!

The Huntington Library - April 2010

Janet and Chuck invited us to a weekend in Pasadena. We stayed at the Sheriton Hote in Pasadena and visited the Huntington Library on Saturday. It is so beautiful. Perfect time of year to visit.

Taix French Restaurant - April 2010

Saturday evening Janet and Chuck shared a restaurant with us. The Taix opened in 1927. It serves "Rustic Country French". It is fabulous! Check out their menu with prices here:

http://www.taixfrench.com/dinner_menu.html

Ray had Canard A L' Orange which is served only on Saturdays and it is something to try! They sell out early as it is a favorite with many. I had Escalope de saumon rôtie and the champagne sauce was wonderful. They take reservations and parking is easy with valet only. Service was perfect! You may take a bottle of wine and have it opened for a fee if you wish.

The Taix Family are the third and fourth generations of a family of sheepherders and bakers from the "hautes-alpes" in southeastern France who immigrated to Los Angeles around 1870.

In 1912 Marius Taix Sr. built a hotel called the Champ d'Or in downtown Los Angeles' French quarter. In 1927, Marius Taix Jr. opened Taix French restaurant within the hotel serving chicken dinners for 50 cents at long "family-style" tables. Diners could choose private booth service for an extra quarter. Taix's novel food, unique service and affordable prices make it a Los Angeles institution.

The present location opened in 1962 and continues to be a family affair. Family style service has given way to private booths, but Taix French restaurant remains faithful to the famed tureen of soup, sourdough bread, and abundant portions of French country cuisine at affordable prices. The restaurant dynasty is carried on by Marius' son, Raymond Taix, who has made sure that the character of the restaurant has remained unchanged, and his son Michael, whose passion for wines has resulted in an extensive, award winning wine list.

Taix Restaurant is proud of its' vintage staff; many can boast of serving more than three generations. We look forward to serving you and your family for many generations to come.

Los Angeles Arboretum - April 2010

On Sunday after we checked out of the Sheraton we went to the Los Angeles Arboretum. They had quite an extensive cacti and succulent area which I was very interested in seeing.

Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcakes

If you haven't tried a cupcake mix by Sprinkles, this one is very surprising! The batter is so red it stained my fingers for days! But of course it was worth it. They are moist, light and delectable! I am hoping they brightened my friend, Patty's day when she received them.

Viburnum in April

This is Snowball Viburnum Opulus, it is also known as The Snowball Plant.
So many people mistake it for a Hydrangea. They say it grows 10-15 feet tall and wide, but I have a feeling in some areas it may be larger. It is great as a backdrop in your border gardens and cuts well. In one of the pictures on the left you can see how the snowball start out, it does not begin to leaf out until the snowballs are formed and blooming and then after they drop it begins to fill in with more leaves. My particular plant blooms on old wood.

Sam's 17th Birthday - March 27th, 2010

Happy Birthday Sam! Thanks for the picture Bailey, you are quite the photographer!

Easter at Quartz Ridge Ranch

This is the day after Easter Sunday - we woke to a blanket of snow. The pictures are of taking Emily to school. I was so excited that it snowed for us as we had not been at the ranch in the snow yet. It was incredibly beautiful. The picttures just don't do it justice.

Collecting Eggs with Emily is one of my favorite things to do!

The ranch hands were hard at work building their "Mare Motel" to house the horses they have. Gramma was on "Jack Duty" (Em's saying) which just happens to be my other favorite thing to do at the ranch!

This is our little Jack on Easter Sunday at Perry Creek Winery. He is getting so big and just loves to be outdoors with everyone!

March 2010 Early Spring Garden

Left to Right: Calla Lillies, Viburnum, Geranium, Camelia, Petunia, Succulent, Mixed Succulents, Geraniums in Hanging Baskets, Wisteria

My little man Jack

Is he just too cute for words??

Emily's day of pampering

You know when you live on a ranch there is not a lot of time for pampering, so Gramma decided Emily needed a day of girlie pampering, she got her hair cut, curled and braided, a manicure and pedicure too. All the while her patient little brother hung out with them. Of course it didn't hurt that they had a choo choo train at the hair salon!