The mystery tree that is no longer a mystery...

One of the exciting and sometimes frustrating aspects of buying a new house is all the new flora that you get to enjoy and in many cases learn to take care of.  We are thoroughly enjoying getting to know all the beautiful trees in our yard (this, of course, excludes previously mentioned Mulberry tree which was technically in our neighbors yard but managed to grow almost entirely over our yard.  Ugh!). Many we fell in love with right away, like the huge plumeria specimens we have on either side of the yard.  But then there are those that have taken some time to figure out.  The mystery tree fell in to this category.  You see, it looked like this when we moved in... What is with all those twiggy branches.

We had never seen anything like it before and no one we asked seemed to know what it was. Then one Saturday, my husband saw the same type of tree in Balboa park near the huge Moreton Bay Fig tree.  He checked it out, but, unfortunately no sign announced what type of tree it was.  No help there, until... a few weeks later my husband came home and said, he still didn't know what type of tree it was but he knew what to do with it.  Hmmm.  The tree in Balboa park had been drastically pruned, cut all the way back to bare branches, all those awful twigs removed.  We figured the gardeners in Balboa park  know what they are doing so we followed suit.  I wish I had taken pictures of the pruning because it was quite a site.  But here is what it looked like after we pruned it...  This was in late - March 2008

Pretty sad site!  And we, more than once, wondered if we had made a horrid mistake!  I spent hours on the computer trying and trying to identify our tree.  Well, after much looking and I still don't know how I arrived at the information - a bit of luck, I think.  I discovered it to be a ... drum roll, please...  Cockspur Coral tree.  Never heard of it, yeah me neither, but it happens to be the native flower of Argentina.    And we were right to follow the lead of the Balboa Park Gardeners because they like heavy pruning every year ( you could even cut it back to a stump)!

Well, here is our tree now, just 4 months later...

Now, I can't say I am totally sure I adore my tree yet.  I think I will need to see how next years pruning goes before I am ready to give it a thumbs up.  If it is as much trouble as last year I may be tempted to take the whole thing out and start fresh.  But, maybe I will learn to love it, after all.  I have to admit the change over the past 4 months is quite remarkable.

And down came the mulberry tree!!

It's true.  It's gone!  The bane of my existence has been removed.  Here is the last of it coming down.  My hero (my dear sweet hubby) in the foreground with his able helper, (our son)Jared.  And, no one sustained any injuries!!!As many of you know this tree has caused us much distress over the past two summers. Our dear sweet Lily just loves the endless berries that this fruiting mulberry drops all over the ground.  Her tummy however does not like the countless berries that she manages to ingest before we are able to chase her away from the berry spot.  This makes for some rather unpleasant clean up when she, for lack of a better way to put it, "can't hold her berries".  The berries also happen to make a horrid mess on shoes and them subsequently on the floor of my house.  It has just been an all around unpleasant relationship with this tree.  And quite a chore cutting it back and now finally down.  We have disposed of truck loads of this tree and there is at least one more load still piled up in my backyard!!  Farewell Mulberry Tree!!!  I will not shed a tear.

Well, apparently America doesn't know who can dance!

I am still a little surprised that I am hooked on "So you think you can dance".  But now that I am hooked, imagine my shock when I tuned in to the results show last night to discover that Twitch and Will were the bottom two guys!  What?!  "This is insane!", I thought to myself.  And said something of the sort aloud to my husband, who heartily agreed.  It shouldn't  have even been between these two.  Mark and Joshua are clearly the weaker dancers.  But between these two, it was Twitch who should have gone home.  Will is amazing!  Have you seen his jumps?  How about his turns?  He is just all around well-trained and talented!

Well, this makes it between one of the remaining girls!  That will be a tough battle!  They are all quite excellent, but Will was the only guys who had a chance to win this, and now much to my disappointment, that chance is gone!

Taylor Family Reunion 2008

The Taylors headed off for our first (hopefully, of many)Family Reunion this past week.  We all headed up to Idyllwild, CA for a long weekend in the woods.  We had a wonderful turn out with just a few family members unable to make it.  We missed you Rebeca & Jeff, Nathaniel, and Raelene, Nick & Haley!  We had a great time hanging out and having fun together.  This was the first time in over 2 years that a large group of us have been together.  The last time was for Rebeca and Jeff's wedding.  And William and Hannah were still unborn at that point, so many enjoyed getting to know them for the first time.  Here are some pictures of the fun!

The whole clan!  Our shirts said, "Betty's Kids",in honor of Grandma Betty. 

In the center of the picture are her kids( L to R) Bob with Cay, Doris with Gleason and Warren with Penny surrounded by all her Grandkids and Great Grandkids and Hannah (a great-great grand child!)

Cay was so sweet to plan some crafts for the kids!  Here they are painting rocks.  They made bugs- ladybugs, bees etc.  And of course some of them got creative and made other things like avocados & bunnies.  It was very fun!  Thanks Cay.  

There was lots of time spent just hanging out on the patio after dinner.  Here are some of the guys enjoying some cigars and port and good conversation.

L to R: William, Ryan, and Hannah have fun with bubbles!

The view from the Northern clan's house was incredible!  We all enjoyed watching the beautiful sunset while catching up!  Here Jon and I chat with Jon's cousin Robin.

The girls! From the top (L to R) Alex, Carolina, Grace, Nichole, Serina, and Madeline

The boys at a nearby lake (L to R), Jared, Evan, Kyle, and Justin.

All the kids worked together to put on a talent show Saturday night!  Here, Serina plays "Dragon Hunter" on the viola while Alex and Grace perform a dance choreographed by Madeline and Alex.  Other acts included Hannah singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", Carolina doing a great stand-up comedy routine, and the boys performing" The Boys' Ballet".  Nichole MC'd the event.  They all did a great job.

Justin climbing the huge pine tree in front of our cabin. 

Matt watches as William and Hannah enjoy the tire swing!

Everyone in our cabin headed home on Sunday, so Monday morning we got up and enjoyed hiking the Ernie Maxwell Trail.  We meet a couple along the way that was nice enough to take our picture.  

We had such a great time getting to know our family a bit better that plans are already being made for the next event!  Looking forward to another adventure!!   Until next time...

East Coast to West Coast

One of the main reasons I decided to blog is because I have done such a poor job keeping in touch with the friends we left behind when we moved back out to the West Coast.  So in honor of our time Back East I thought I would share some of the things I miss most about New Jersey/New York... and some of the things I enjoy most about being back in SoCal.  So in true Letterman style, here are my Top Tens!

Top Ten things I miss most about NJ/NY....

10. Fireworks on Floods Hill in South Orange- I remember being terrified the first time I experienced fireworks so close, but I sure came to love it over the years.  You see, here in Hot, Dry  Southern California there are lots of restrictions on Firework Displays due to the Fire Hazards, so most displays are done out in the water and you just can't be as close.

9. Bagels, Mmmmm. - sure we have bagels here, but the

y just don't compare to a good NY bagel!!

8. Maple Trees - I still remember the first time we drove down Valley Street into Maplewood. It was early fall and the leaves were starting to change color.  It was breathtaking!  I loved watching the Maple trees change with the seasons. 

7. Time Square/Broadway- No place like it!  Any kind of food you could want within a few blocks, great theater, and the non-stop hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps... all a 30 minute train ride from our beautiful Village of Maplewood.  Which brings me to the next slightly puzzling thing I miss...

6. Public Transit?- yes, with gas at a whopping $4.50/gallon here in San Diego, I have found myself missing a public transit system that can get you around in a timely and affordable manner.  

5. Snow Days - sure, snow can be irritating, but there is something wonderful about a snow day.  I sure could use one now and again.  The forced break from the daily business.  You can't go anywhere, except out to play in the snow.  The kids rosy red cheeks after playing in the snow... You just get to stay home and drink hot cocoa and eat popcorn and warm up in front of a toasty fire.  I know I am leaving out all the shoveling and other frustrating aspects of snow, but, in all fairness this is my list of things I miss.

4.  "Crocuses beginning to show through what is left of the bear country snow"-  OK, that is actually a line from a Berenstain Bears book (a much loved one in our house, clearly), but it gets the point across.  Crocuses popping up just when you think you can't take any more snow.  

The little unassuming green shoots, that open into beautiful vivid purple and creamy white.  Yeah, spring!

3. 37 Essex Avenue, Maplewood, NJ- our first house will always hold a special place in my heart.  We put a lot of love, sweat, and tears into fixing up that little house and we enjoyed lots of great memories along the way.

2. Cait and Abbey's Bakery in South Orange - I sure miss the quiche, danishes, and cookies!

1.  Well, this is a no brainer.  All our friends, of course.  We moved out to the East Coast with out any friends or family nearby, and we were so richly blessed to get to know so many wonderful people!  We love and miss you all!!

Top Ten things I love about San Diego...

10. Sun, Sun and more Sun - what can I say, I admit it, I like having sunny days all year long!  

9.  Palm Trees- they are not that deep shade of green I miss from back East, but they have a majestic beauty all there own.

8.  The Beach- it sure is fantastic to be just a short drive from lots of beautiful beach!  A highlight of our summers out here is a weekly beach day with a bunch of friends from church.

7. Mexican Food-  Oh, how I missed the Mexican food when we were on the East Coast.  And now, I get to eat it all the time!  In all honesty, I think I could live on guacamole and good tortilla chips!  With an occasional fish taco from Rubio's, of course.

6. 7007 Hoffman Avenue, La Mesa - our new home which has more trees in the yard than I ever would have expected to have.  It makes me feel a little like I am back East.  We are thoroughly enjoying fixing this one up, as well!

5. Low humidity-  I love that summer is not sticky.  Although, I will admit I miss the summer afternoon thunderstorms.  I have always been a bit of a storm lover.

4. Family-  It is great to have most of our extended family here in San Diego.  There's always someone to leave the kids with when you need a get away.  And, we have enjoyed the births of 2 nephews and two great nieces and soon a great nephew, one wedding, and lots of family holiday get-togethers. 

3.  Citrus-  I have 2 orange trees in my backyard!  And plans to plant a lemon tree.  I remember one trip to the farmers market Back East while my Mom was visiting.  She suggested we pick up a lemon.  Well, no luck, of course.  No lemons growing back there.  

2. Avocados - need I say more!

1.  Again, an easy one.  Friends!  It was unexpectedly hard moving back.  It had been along time and  many of the people we had known didn't live here anymore.  We have been richly blessed in getting to know so many wonderful people!  

Welcome to my Blog!

After months of enjoying reading the blogs of some dear friends (OK, mostly one brilliant and spectacular friend), I have decided to join the ranks of bloggers.  Thanks Jenny for your inspiration and help getting started!  Stay tuned for updates...