When life hands you lemons...

Do you make lemonade? I usually do. When you have Meyer Lemons, however, it calls for something extra special. While searching for some recipes I came across the Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake from Martha Stewart Living and thought it would be just the perfect cake to make. 

And it was. The crumb streusel is not too sweet, but the layers of meyer lemons give it a surprising texture and make the coffee cake, oh so, lemony delicious!

Weekend Flowers

Instant Pick Me Up

My daffodils are late this year. It might have something to do with John passing the lawn mower over them about a month ago. They are still growing, but they look a little ragged on the tips.

So when I went to the grocery store this weekend and saw that they had two bunches of daffodils for $3.00, I just couldn't pass them up.

Spring just isn't Spring without daffodils and at just $3.00 I can afford to buy them until my own start to bloom.

Spring Blooms

Since today is the first day of Spring,  I took a walk around the garden after work to see what new blooms I could find. There are lots of plants in bud, but some were in full bloom.

My beautiful Angel Face was hiding her face in the back of the bush and I almost missed her. Last year, the first rose to bloom was 'Ginger Snap,' but Angel is the first to bloom this year. I planted this rose in honor and memory of John's grandmother, Louisa. Her very favorite flowers were lavender roses. This rose has such a lovely color and fragrance.

At her feet nestle these beautiful yellow freesias that have a splash of orange and fade out to a soft, buttery yellow.

My white calla lilly is pristine and gorgeous as ever.

The Red Salvia is looking pretty attractive to the hummingbirds. They hover around this bush even though they still like to eat from the feeder.

If you would like to have a flowering hedge, I highly recommend the 'Simplicity' hedge rose. My mom gave me one of her pink simplicity bushes from her garden before they moved to Florida. It is easy to care for, disease resistant, and always has beautiful blooms. It is just one of those plants that just does not disappoint. And, paired with daises in a white vase makes for a lovely arrangement.

Shouting Distance

The Sacramento Film Festival is an unincorporated, not-for-profit film organization that is a showcase for film arts and artists from Northern California. The festival begins March 22 and runs through April 5. Of special interest to me because she is a friend of a friend of mine is a short film by director, writer, and actress Loreni Delgado that will be shown on March 31st at the Cine Latino during the festival.

The film is about a woman's husband who is a journalist and who has been covering the war in Iraq, but since he came back from the war he is a changed man. This is "a story of a woman who uses her art and a little imagination to reconnect with her husband." Here is the trailer from the film, Shouting Distance.

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

From Flickr

Home is Where the Heart is - or is it?

If your 'home' is a tent on the bank of the American River, is your heart there? I suspect not - a broken heart maybe.

With the recession, more and more people are losing their homes in Sacramento. So much so that it even caught the attention of the producers from the Oprah Show. They came to Sacramento to examine the "New Homeless in Sacramento." Chilling. The 'new homeless' are people like you and me. Teachers. Small business owners. Middle-class, hardworking people. People who believed in and lived the American Dream. Where are those dreams now?

Just in my neighborhood alone, at least three houses have been foreclosed on in recent months. One day a family is living there, the next day the house is empty and a notice appears on the door or a sign is posted on the lawn. There is no hint that it is going to happen - they just disappear in the night. Where do they go?

If they don't have friends and family they can turn to - a lot of them are ending up in temporary tents along the river. And you know what? I just learned about this. I live in Sacramento and just learned about the tent city. I drive to work in downtown Sacramento and never even realized that less than a mile down the river that I cross five days a week - a tent city has been erected for those who have recently lost their jobs and have nowhere else to go. Shocking, but true. Where have I been that I have not seen or heard about what is going on in a city that I love? I feel like I have been living in a bubble. This makes me sad. This makes me sick. This makes me angry.

Not a day goes by that I don't hear of someone losing their job. Not a single day. And they say that it is going to get worse before it gets better.

Although I know this is not just a Sacramento problem - it is a problem being played out across the country. It doesn't make it feel any better. It doesn't make it feel like we are in this together.

This is not something that will be solved overnight. It is not something that we can simply leave up to our newly elected President. And it certainly is not something we can leave to our newly elected mayor. No, this is going to take all of us - collectively - to solve. 

An editorial in The Sacramento Bee a few days ago called for a summit on homelessness. I think that is a good place to start. But until that happens, we need to have a safe environment for these people to live in until they can get back on their feet again. They need help now - not a few months from now, not a year from now - they need help now.

Black and white photos from Loaves & Fishes

Color Photo from The Sacramento Bee/Randal Benton

First Signs of Spring

With all the rain we have gotten in the past few weeks, now that the sun is shining again mother nature is blushing in all her beauty. In honor of 'Spring Ahead' day, I spent part of the day outside taking pictures to share with you some of the first signs of spring in my area.

I know I showed you in my last post my camellia bush that is blooming, but just because I love it so much I am going to show it to you again.

I always get so happy when I see the first snowdrops appear.

There are some blossoms on my peach tree!

My cyclamen on the front porch have emerged from their winter dormancy.

When I lived in South Carolina, we had several magnolia specimens growing in our garden, so I have always been drawn to their beauty and their fragrance. Although we don't have magnolias growing in our garden here in California, there our some tulip magnolias down the street from us that I get to enjoy.

The fruit trees in my neighborhood are just ripe for the picking.

I picked that lone navel orange right after I took its picture. I felt delightfully mischievous! It smells simply divine and I know it is going to be delicious.

And last, but certainly not least, is the flowering quince. Its burst of color always brightens the winter landscape and reassures me that spring is once again on its way!

Well, I have to say that it did so much good for my soul to be out in the sunshine and taking in all of nature's beauty. I hope you enjoyed my little walk as well. Happy 'Spring Ahead' Day!