Hollyhocks and rainbow

I've been busy here.   I made a journal for a friend's birthday and that nearly did me in!   It turned out to be HUGE and I could barely shut it.   And, guess what?  Now I'm making another one to put in my ETSY shop:      https://www.etsy.com/shop/DesertsandBeyond?ref=pr_shop_more

It was a grimoire (grimoire "light")...I'm not into spells or stuff like that, but I did find a digital journal kit with herbs, so I included 20 pages of them.  AND, the most exciting part:    I found a video posted by a mixed media artist on a STUNNING journal cover: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7JUF_Dn-6M&t=543shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7JUF_Dn-6M&t=543s

I nearly passed out fron all the work for the cover, but it is absolutely GORGEOUS!   And, yes, I'm planning on doing one for this next journal.    You can see my YouTube flip through here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lXbUIre5dI&t=5shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lXbUIre5dI&t=5s
This journal was a real work of art! 

But, I digress...
My hollyhocks out front are just STUNNING!   They are 8 to 9 feet tall. They sway in the wind and they don't break off, like my sunflowers did.   The sunflowers were decimated by the winds which come from the west.   They broke, they dried out, but NOT the hollyhocks!   They are thriving.   I planted last year's seeds and I'm going to do that again next year and plant them ALL across the front of the yard.   They really do make a beautiful hedge.   I went out yesterday morning to feed the birds and I could smell rain and I looked up and there was a gorgeous rainbow.   OF COURSE I took 10,000 photos of it, but I'll only post a few here.

 Hollyhocks and rainbow and palms

 Hollyhocks by the mailbox

Hollyhocks and palms

I put in a seed order with Botanical Interests and I now have over a dozen packs of seeds to plant:   cosmos, zinnias, Mexican sunflower (although I collected last year's seeds also), and a couple of herb packets (rosemary & lavender).   I really LOVE lavender and rosemary!   My rosemary bush out back is thriving in its 3 year here.   One chilly morning I went out to water it and it was so cold that when I sprayed it with water, mist rose from it and the most delicious smell!    We have had a cooler than normal winter and spring here and we are ALL hoping that this summer will be cooler than normal, too.   I remember a couple of years when we didn't even have to consistently turn on our air conditioner until AFTER July 4th!!!!!!!    July is our hottest month here and August we usually have our monsoon season, but that seems to be changing and it now starts in June and lasts through September.

Our pup is doing just fine.   He has grown into a good looking young dog (he is now 18 months old).   He sleeps with us every night ON THE BED and he snores.   he still loves to chase the cat, however, but one swat will calm him down.   He slept on the bed with me yesterday afternoon when I watched "50 to 1" on Amazon (about Mine That Bird, who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby at 50 to 1 odds).  Good flick.   I LOVE horse movies, as long as the horse doesn't die.  My grandfather used to take my mom and aunt to Santa Anita to see Seabiscuit run there.   He told me stories about Seabiscuit, Whirlaway, and Citation. I, however, remember Native Diver, who also ran in Southern California.

But, I digress (again)...

So, eveerything is pretty normal.   I feed the birds in the mornings, do a little yard cleanup, take the kindergarten granddaughter to school, come back, eat breakfast, and work on my journals for the rest of the day.   I DO NOT watch the news (too depressing)...

Cheers!
Cheryl Ann