Happy moments from San Diego stay..

A spring afternoon.........
Tea time with my spouse..

My recipe: Quinoa salad....

Quinoa...an Amaranth family pseudograin...
I like its taste..

If preparing make sure to wash the saponins well...these soapy chemical harm gut mucosa..

Gum arabic..

Gum arabic.........food thickener..
Collected from a variety of acacia tree..
A major source of economy from arid regions of Africa...

Lovely camellias..........

Camellias...these tea family plants bloom in winter.........one of the prettiest flowers........

Apartments we lived in...

Our current apartment in Irvine......

Lavender......

Lavender......

Food at Forks, Washington ....on a rainyday..

When we arrived to Forks from Port Angeles, it was raining heavily...after all, we were approaching the rainforest area of Olympic National Park, Washington..
We were tired..and hungry..
Why could been better than a pizza!.
Fortunately, we found an Italian restaurant..
We ordered not only an artichoke pizza but some chicken hot wings and a panini sandwich..

Just what the belly was craving for....as rain kept pounding outside..
Now, such memories make road trips all the more fun!

Pickles...

Pickles...olive, garlic, tomato...
Mouth-watering savories..

Exotic nuts............

Brazil nuts...

Pecan nuts.........

Nuts are delicious and protein-rich..

But they can evoke allergy and anaphylaxis in atopic individuals..as they contain lipid transfer proteins (LTPs)..

Christmas decorations............

Chistmas decors kept for sale...
Poinsettia, reindeer, angels, snow-covered conifers..

Mums...

More mums.........of an array of colors..........
Love their smell....
Insects hate the smell..for the phytochemical pyrethroids...

Home Depot premise is graces with hundreds of the colorful abloom mum containers..

Potato and its anti-nutrients..

Potato belongs to Solanaceae family.........
This family includes many toxic plants...
Potato is edible...but because we cook them..
If eaten raw, it would have been unhealthy...these tubers has an enzyme called phospholipase that impairs cell membrane integrity of other animals........

Marigold.......

Marigold............love their divine smell..
However, these hybrid varieties lack in them......

Halloween decors..

Halloween witches showcased for sell...

Visiting the Home Depot Garden Center.....

There is this Home Depot Garden Center close to our apartment............
Visiting this place for annual and perennial plants is my new-found joy...

Rows after rows of beauties....

Shots from Mount Rainier National Park...

Pictures from our visit to Mount Rainier National Park in late August...
A beaver-gnawed tree....

Hot spring...

One of the many falls...Madcap waterfall..

Lake Louise..

Garden center at Home Depot.....

Ever since I have taken a liking for gardening, Home Depot garden Center has become a go-to place for me...

I love spending time there, choosing my desired plants......

At Devil's Postpile monument.......

Here, we are at Devil's Postpile monument.......a national monument...
Its the top of the basalt columns..

San Diego safari.......

San Diego safari in Escondido.......we have been there dozens of time .........

The falls by the Sumatran tiger enclosure...

Some shots from the visit to Olympic National Park..

Olympic National Park....located in North West pat of Washington state...
It was my dream to visit it...I fulfilled it this summer..
Some shots..
Ruby beach..

A scenic pond with maple reflection..

Rainforest..draped with moss...