Home from California

I must say that "the desert" of California was even more beautiful than I'd imagined! Our time in Indian Wells (near Palm Springs) passed quickly, but I took lots of photos of the gorgeous scenery and am so grateful to Alex's client for making sure we had such a lovely week and were treated so well. They even gave us the use of one of their golf carts, so one afternoon, we rode through the neighborhood so I could take photos of the gorgeous flowers. This is the entrance to "the club" in the community where we stayed, and I was just bowled over by all those pansies!

So, so lovely!

On the golf course, everyone—and I mean everyone—had an immaculate garden, and ours had so many gorgeous roses that I just enjoyed walking out each morning and literally smelling the roses!

I'd never given too much thought to the name Palm Springs before, but now I can definitely see where the "Palm" comes from. I saw so many of them and admired the variations in shape, size, and color. What a visual feast!

And I never got tired of gazing out at those mountains. So majestic!

While I didn't make it to a tearoom or a thrift store on this trip (and there were some on the outskirts; I'd done my research!), I still got to enjoy a little shopping with the client's gracious wife, who made sure I visited some of the cutest boutiques in town. At a spice shop, I was delighted to find a decidedly homey souvenir, a Palm Springs community cookbook that was published and reprinted many times as a fundraiser for the local hospital.

I haven't had time to cook anything from it yet, and while it does include some recipes that would be great for teatime (like a pineapple banana bread), the first thing I want to make is Bob Hope's Favorite Lemon Pie. California sure pulled out the welcome mat for us, and I hope to go back again one day!