You Never Know

I try to keep the house neat and tidy because we never know when someone will drop in.

Frequently people call asking if they can stop by the studio to check out a painting so it's important that the entry is welcoming.

That's my excuse for always creating new vignettes

and changing things on the shelves.

Thank goodness I do so because on Easter, my cousin unexpectedly brought my aunt to visit for a few days.

Both the house

and the garden were ready for entertaining.

My aunt, who is 92, didn't bring her kayak with her on this visit so instead of hitting the water, we drove to Los Olivos in search of poppies.

These are the only poppies we spotted, but we saw the ubiquitous California oak trees

and extensive fields of mustard - at least that's what I think it is.

My aunt called this Indian Paintbrush.

The weather was fickle and I'm kind of glad -

if not for the fog, my cousin would never have captured this beautiful shot.

With our company gone, it was right back to fluffing the house and garden because this time I do know.

By this time next week more company will arrive and we'll be hosting 14 for a family BBQ.

The weather has been great so I should have plenty of flowers for the tables, but you never know.