~Terracotta Army~

Hello Everyone, 

During my visit to San Francisco I had  the privilege of seeing the traveling exhibit that makes its only West Coast stop at San Francisco's Asian Art  Museum. asianart.org  
Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy.

Driven to secure his place in the afterlife,  China's first emperor,  Qin Shi Huang Di, began planning for his burial shortly after he ascended the throne at age 13. He died at the age of 39 in 210 B.C.

His vision was not of a simple tomb, but rather of a subterranean palace guarded by weapons as well as more than 8,000 brightly painted soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, 

What an fabulous experience to see 10 of the life-size statues and another 120  rare objects from the nearly 250,000-square-foot UNESCO World heritage site.

The terracotta army figures were manufactured in workshops by government laborers and by local craftsmen. The terracotta figures vary in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank.

 The head, arms, legs and torsos were created separately and then assembled. 

Studies show that eight face moulds were most likely used, and then clay was added to provide individual facial features. Once assembled intricate features such as facial expressions were added.

The exhibit was truly amazing. I think I just saved a ton of money because...China has been on my travel bucket-list since I read Pearl S Buck's 'The Good Earth'  many years ago. 

Sweetheart and I had a memorable trip in the City of San Francisco.
We don't have any trips planned in the near future, but I'm sure if I go off on an adventure I'll be sure to share the trip with all of you. 

Thanks for visiting My Cozy Corner today.

 I hope you have enjoyed a bit of history. 

I'm Linking to:

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday

Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

xo

Betty 

Garden Blooming and Pergola Changes

Remember When?

We've come along way Baby! 

Welcome everyone,

If you have been following My Cozy Corner for awhile, you know about my secret garden project.  Sweetheart and I have been working on this side yard for a couple of years. Since retirement we seem to work slower now than when we worked everyday.  During the last couple of months I've been busy planting perennials and a few annuals to fill in the spaces for the summer months.

The 'Sallie Holmes' in the corner has been replaced with a new healthy one. And
I'm so excited about designing a beautiful space.

I planted some tulips and this is a close-up.

 I think a post with a bouquet of tulips is in the future. 

On the west side of the pergola is a border of Azaleas. I have a couple of pink lace azaleas planted, but they're not blooming yet.

A new white dwarf lilac is planted in the big garden.

The strawberries are blooming and the snails are making a big attempt to win the battle to eat more than I do...I hope they leave me more to photograph.

I love the early blooming perennials, especially bleeding hearts, snowdrops and lily of the valley. 

I have so many beautiful plants growing and I wanted to document the progress of  this year's growing season. I can't wait until next month to see the peonies blooming along the back fence. 

Thanks for visiting My Cozy Corner
 and looking at the garden progress and pergola changes.
LINKING TO
Between Naps On The Porch for Met Monday
A Delightsome Life for A Return To Loveliness
A Southern Day Dreamer for Outdoor Wednesday
No Minimalist Here for Open House Party
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell
How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday
xo
Betty 

Easter Brunch with the Girls!

Hi everyone, 

How's your Easter plans going? My weekend is going to be pretty low key. Sweetheart and I are having our daughter and two granddaughters over for brunch on Easter Sunday.  
 My 11 year old granddaughter printed the letters on my new chalk board tray. I love the way she prints. 

Happy Easter! 

  The other day I found an old silver plate tray I wasn't using, and decided to  paint it with some amazing chalkboard paint.  I love to play with paint and this is such a cute idea. 

While shopping for our brunch I picked up a beautiful lily. I wrapped it in some burlap I had on hand, and tied a bow with a pink gingham ribbon.

 I love the rustic look the burlap gives the tablescape with the pink...gingham ribbons. 

The baskets with candy are ready to be eaten, and the pink lemonade in my Italian bottles all ready to have a refreshing  drink and a light brunch.

And the jar of colored eggs are so festive and spring like.

Yum! Candy! I love Chocolate. Can you tell?

The everyday flatware is wrapped in linen napkins with more pink gingham ribbon.

I'm serving brunch on vintage snack serving sets. The wonderful sets have been with me since the early 60's.  I used the delightful sets for many bridal and baby showers, and I have such fond memories of those days gone by. 

*Life is good today*

Patio clean-Check

Table set-Check

Baskets done-Check

Sit back and relax-Check

As always, I'm so happy you've come to visit My Cozy Corner. 

We will be outside doing some gardening and photo shoots.

Please come back soon.

xo

Betty 

LINKING TO:

How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday (Easter)

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday

*Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco*

Hi everyone,
 How's your week going? I'm having an interesting week. Yesterday I bought my first laptop computer. I'm typing this post on it right now. I have a desktop in my office, but I wanted to be able to sit in the living room with Sweetheart and do some blog management or type a post. A new learning curve with Windows 8.
That's all the new news about me.
Now on to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California.
After spending a few hours visiting the Japanese Tea Garden, Go Here. 
Sweetheart and I drove to the beautiful Conservatory of Flowers building to see the most beautiful tropical flowers and the most amazing Victorian building.
The flowers in the front of Conservatory are planted twice a year.
The caretaker shared with me that they just finished the spring planting..

1877 San Francisco businessmen purchase Conservatory from James Lick's estate and offer it to the Golden Gate Park Commission as a gift. 

1879 Conservatory opens.

1833 A boiler explosion destroys the main dome.  Charles Crocker donates funds to restore the dome.

1906 Conservatory survives the earthquake intact.

1933 Structural instability causes the Park Commission to close the Conservatory

1946  The Conservatory is reopened to the public.

1998 With the support of First Lady Hillary Clinton, the World Monuments Fund places the Conservatory on the list of 100 most endangered world monuments.

1999  $25 million restoration campaign begins.

2003 Conservatory reopens.

2010 Since reopening over 1 million people have visited what is now the oldest public glass and wood greenhouse in the United States.

Can you see  Sweetheart admiring the beautiful building?

One of ten flowering plants on earth is an orchid.  The Conservatory's highlands gallery is home to a renowned collection of Pleurothallid orchids, including the Masdevallia and the Dracula vampires

I hope you have enjoyed the tour of The Conservatory of Flowers.
I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under The Table and Dreaming for Sunday Showcase
Monday
The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Monday
Tuesday
A Delightsome Life for A Return To Loveliness
Wednesday
A Southern Day Dreamer for Outdoor Wednesday
Faded Charm for White Wednesday
Thursday
Bernideen's Tea Time Blog for Open House 
Friday
Common Ground for Be Inspired Friday
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell 
Tootsie Time for Fertilizer Friday 
Saturday
How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday
Sunday
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday
Thanks  for visiting My Cozy Corner
xo
Betty  

Visiting The Japanese Tea Garden

Welcome to The Japanese Tea Garden.

 A place to experience the natural beauty, tranquility and harmony of a Japanese-style garden. 

While visiting San Francisco last week, Sweetheart and I took a walk in Golden Gate Park's Japanese Tea Garden. What a beautiful place. Sweetheart and I enjoyed some Miso soup in the Tea House and walked along the path exploring the sights. Especially the five story Pagoda that graced the 1915 Japanese exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition.

As some of you know I love to make my own greeting cards. Every year I pick a photo from  a memorable place Sweetheart and I have visited, and send a handmade card with a photo to family and friends at Christmas time. 

This is the photo I have picked for Christmas 2013. 

I have four cards to join the Vee's Note Card Party. 

The Shinto Shrine

The beautiful landscape design by Makoto Hagiwara 

The Temple Gate

The Arched Drum Bridge

Truly Amazing
For more information about the Japanese Tea Garden Go Here.
Thank you for visiting My Cozy Corner
Wednesday
A Southern Day Dreamer for Outdoor Wednesday
A Haven for Vee for Note Card Party
Thursday 
A Delightsome Life for Home and Garden
Friday 
My Romantic Home for Show and Tell
Saturday 
Mockingbird Hill Cottage for Favorite Thing 
Sunday 
The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday 
Monday 
Little Red House for Mosaic Monday 
xo
Betty 

Spring Mantel

 Hello Everyone, 

We've been away for a week visiting my sister and brother-in-law in the Bay Area. We stopped over in San Francisco for a couple of nights. The weather was beautiful in the city. We had low fog in the morning, but by noon it had disappeared.  I'll show you some highlights of our trip later this week. 

DECORATING THE MANTEL.

I have a spring mantel to celebrate the First Day of Spring on March 20, 2013.  I went shopping around the house for this arrangement. Oh yes! I did buy the artificial branches with the blossoms from Michael's Craft Store. They look so real. Go Here to see the real McCoy~

 Little bird's nests and colored eggs are symbolic of Spring. 

 The three vases are from the Dollar Tree. I love the Dollar Tree. And my fake blossoms. 

 I found the lime green candles at Walmart. Being retired I watch my pennies and candles are so expensive. I found the pretty lime green candles in the clearance isle for .75 cents each. Such a deal. 

 Do you remember this mantel? This is my Winter mantel. To See more Go Here. 

 The bird house is actually a caddy for silverware. I have a small mercury glass bird sitting in a nest with more of the FAKE blossoms.   

 Simple, Crisp and Cheery.

Thank you for visiting My Cozy Corner. 

I love to party, so here is the list. 

Monday 

Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday

The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Monday

Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday 

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday
Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop

Wednesday 

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday
Faded Charm for White Wednesday 

Thursday 

No Minimalist Here for Open House 

Stonegable for Tutorials Tips and Tidbits

That's it for now.  Please look around My Cozy Corner. You might find something interesting.
xo
Betty