
I saw these hibiscus flowers on one of my walks last week.

For more flowers from around the world visit Today’s Flowers hosted by Denise and Luiz.

I saw these hibiscus flowers on one of my walks last week.

For more flowers from around the world visit Today’s Flowers hosted by Denise and Luiz.

It’s that time again. Time to look back and remember some favorite things from this past week. The collage is not in order but here goes my 5.
1. On Saturday I woke up early to rain and thunder here in Southern California. When the sun was beginning to rise I stepped out of the condo and look what I saw. It was a fabulous sunrise and I’m thankful that I saw it.
2. On Sunday we drove South across L.A. to a Nifty Fifty Birthday party. On the way Dear and I stopped at Jerry’s Famous Deli in Woodland Hills to eat. I love that we have great Jewish Delicatessen’s here in Southern California.
3. It was fun to see old family and family friends. My cousin Tanya turned 50 and we attended a Birthday Dessert in her honor. The Families represented in the photo of the ladies have history together way back to Iran and Russia. It was great to talk and enjoy each other.
4. I popped into Goodwill this week (surprise, surprise) and I spotted this great blue and white creamer that was calling my name. I really like creamers and I like blue and white. This little pretty cost me $2.95.
5. I’m having an Fall Open House on Saturday. I decided to try a new dessert to serve. The recipe says to make it two days ahead so the flavors can moosh (they didn’t say moosh but you get the idea) I like how it turned out and I’ll post the recipe next week. There are lots of detail to type out. It’s a Pumpkin Praline Trifle. So if you live in Southern California you might want to pop on over on Saturday.
For more Fave Five’s visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

These were the skies above the Santa Monica Mountains that I saw during a short hike last Friday. A storm was brewing and we were blessed with some great clouds in the skies above Southern California!
It’s not very often that we get interesting skies in Southern California so I’m throwing in the following collage of the skies from last week and the weekend.

For more SkyWatch from around the world click here.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
For more ABC’s of the Word visit Pam at Grey Like Snuffie.
These were taken this last Saturday on a walk at a Bird Refuge in Santa Barbara, California. It was 11:30 in the morning and the fog/marine layer had not burned off yet…

This next shot I took on a walk in Camarillo on Wednesday this week. I loved the sunshine and the Autumn colors in the leaves on the tree and on the ground. Oh and of course there’s that Mule Deer, too :0)

For more Skies from around the world visit the official Sky Watch blog here.
Sorry I don’t usually rant on my blog but my resolve has been weakened by my cold which is ending with sinus pressure headaches and this forecast isn’t helping.
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Don’t worry though, I will find something soon to smile about and I will get help from one mightier than me to choose joy and contentment in this heat..
If it’s Monday it must be time for Ruby Tuesday! The Teach wanted us to find our Ruby in Halloween Decorations this week. Here’s what I found. Some of the red is harder to see but there is red in all of these…

For more Ruby visit Mary at Work of the Poet.

Welcome to Blue Monday. The birds and birdhouse photos were taken on a walk with my bloggy friend Willow. The blue stained glass window is in St. Mary Magdalen Church in Camarillo, California. I love the beautiful blue and green in this window.
For more Blue Monday Posts or to join in the fun visit Smiling Sally.
Grab your camera and show off the sights, sounds and flavors of your locale. One photo or a whole spread. Lets see your town and your favorite spots.

Located in Ventura County California, the City of Camarillo (pronounced cam-a-ree-oh) straddles the 101 freeway about 50 miles Northwest of Los Angeles and 40 miles South of Santa Barbara in a coastal valley 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean at Point Mugu. In a semi-rural setting, the surrounding farmland is some of the most productive to be found anywhere, yielding up to three crops per year.
The Camarillo Ranch was originally a 10,000 acre Spanish land grant created in 1837, patented to Gabriel Ruiz in 1866, then purchased by Juan Camarillo in 1875. His son Adolfo built the Queen Anne Victorian home in 1892. Later the barn and stables were added to support the agricultural work and house the renowned Camarillo White Horses. Today the ranch is owned by the City of Camarillo and operated by the non profit Camarillo Ranch Foundation.

The historic land upon which the Camarillo Ranch now sits was a part of the original Rancho Calleguas, one of the last Mexican land grants (9,998.29 acres). It was given by Governor Alvarado to Jose Pedro Ruiz in 1847. Juan Camarillo (1812-1880) obtained the rancho from the Ruiz family in 1875. Juan was a member of the Hijar-Padres Expedition to California in 1834. He settled in Ventura in 1857. Following Juan’s death in 1880, Adolfo Camarillo, his oldest son, took over the ranch operations. He was 16 at the time. During next 68 years, Adolfo operated the Camarillo Ranch, changing the operations from mostly cattle to crops. He was a leading innovator bringing in lima beans, plus barley, corn, alfalfa, walnuts, and citrus.
Adolfo (1864-1958) married Isabel Menchaca (1861-1936) in 1888 and they moved into an adobe home on the Ranch, which was later destroyed by fire. They had seven children. In 1890, with the help of two Chumash Indian boys, he planted two rows of eucalyptus trees. The trees arched across Highway 101 in Camarillo for many years. Some of the trees still line the north side of the freeway. Adolfo also employed a number of Chumash Indians on the Ranch. [the first collage at the top of the page shows Adolfo Camarillo on one of his famous White Horses. You can read about these famous horses here]
The Camarillo House was built in 1892 by Adolfo and others using the services of Architects Franklin Ward and Herman Anlauf This three-story, 14-room home was built in the Victorian Queen Anne style.

Adolfo’s younger brother, Juan (1867-1935) later donated land for St. Mary Magdalen Chapel (completed in 1914) and St. John’s Seminary (completed in 1939), both prominent in Camarillo history. Juan chose not to stay at the Ranch and lived and worked in Ventura and Buenos Aires

We have only lived in our condo in Camarillo for two years. We have our established home in the state of Washington. Although we weren’t overjoyed about returning to Southern California, we feel blessed to be able to live in Camarillo in the interim. Camarillo is a lovely area with close proximity to the Santa Monica Mountain Recreational Area and Pt. Mugu State Park and Recreational Area.
Camarillo has wonderful access to fresh farm produce and we have a farmers market year round on Saturday mornings. We have several good restaurants in town and one of our local favorites is El Tecolote. We enjoy Mexican food and we have many options for that in Southern California. Our Friends of the Library bookstore is one of the best I’ve ever been in.
I hope you have enjoyed my little tour of my hometown. To see more Hometowns click here.
This week was filled to the brim with the regular and the unexpected. My favorites were…

1. A early morning hike on Saturday with dear where our reward was a beautiful view of the Pacific.
2. While we were hiking our ribs were slow cooking to a totally comfort food perfection that we enjoyed later in the day.
3. One of my favorite things to do every week is to thrift store shop and there’s a photo of my favorite little Christian thrift store in Camarillo where I have found some really reasonably priced goodies.
4. I saw an interesting recipe for Bruschetta while at the bank. (Isn’t it weird how they have these tv’s where they show the food network chefs cooking at the bank!) Anyway I made it for an appetizer and it was good. I’ll be posting the recipe later today! Update: I posted the recipe here.
5. I had a fabulous treat on Thursday morning at Dawn. I walked out on my little patio and looked to the east and saw an amazing Sunrise that prompted me to praise God.
Here’s a photo of one of the goodies I found at the thrift store this week. These 7 pieces of ceramic fruit with gold leaves and stems were $4.00. I thought I could come up with some sort of Thanksgiving centerpiece with them…

For more Fave Five’s or to join in visit Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.