PAINT SNOB...

 Putting the final coat of paint on the upstairs doorway molding...

contractor's paint choice for crown molding & base boards!

Sorry... but, give me Sherwin Williams paint!

this goes on sticky...

Urgghhh!

Ahhh! the dishes are beginning to pile up!

JPE's out of town - finished a two-day training in Siskiyou County... 

NOW, he's hitting the trail for some warm-weather hiking

in the beautiful mountains

near the California-Oregon border.

...maybe when JPE gets home, he'll bake some tasty

Cheddar-Rosemary scones?

SITE 33 - CAMPING @ PLASKETT CREEK

Plaskett Creek Campground, south of Big Sur

gorgeous views of the ocean... a 90 minute drive from our house...

Lydia chose to sleep in her own tent this year... ummm...

no shoes in the tent...

 ...almost done!

surprise... due to lack of running water (low water table),

we weren't able to build a fire!

so'mores over a propane stove?

they were actually G.O.O.D!

...it's heavenly having clean hair!

and riding bikes!!!

...building memories!

PURE "BEACHY" BIG SUR STYLE...

 Sand Dollar Beach is across the road from Plaskett Creek Campground.

to get to the beach, you walk down a huge flight of stairs!

taking the heat off!

OH... URGH... AHH...

Grandpa & Lydia
8.14.13

P52 {WEEK 34}

Gosh, this is week 34 of 2013... only 18 weeks left in this year! Unbelievable!! Posting a mish-mash of photos from the past two weeks... Checking in with Tamar @ Random-osity.

Very unique brick wall in Laguna Beach! 

Not sure that my dad would have liked it - the mortar is oozing out between the bricks.

He was a master craftsman... hard to believe it's been almost four years since he passed away! 

You can spend the night in "The Nest" --- I would think you'd need a pretty warm night, with no fog blowing off the ocean. Cute sign seen at Treebones Resort, south of Big Sur proper.

The NEST - taken years ago - gosh, I've aged! 

Cool FONT! store window in Laguna Beach.

Pretty novel fire hydrant, huh? I was curious about the words located in the red - so I googled cluehoo.com & learned this is an interactive scavenger hunt about a city! It appears it's still being developed in Laguna Beach, CA.

Last weekend, JPE & I joined four friends in Laguna Beach for Pageant of the Masters, a "living show" of art. Check out the video clip RIGHT HERE (click on what is it)! A simply amazing venue!

We bought a few new Lego Hero Factory action figures... Lydia explained which guys are "good" & which are "evil" but I don't remember the names of these guys. Apparently, these guys are a new line of Legos.

Speaking of NEW... I bought a new pair of work shoes! lately, I've only been able to wear my Keen sandals (due to plantar fasciitis)... I'm able to insert heel cushions in these new shoes! AHH! Comfort!

That's it for my random post... check back for the upcoming posts:

1. Book Peek - see book title mentioned Sunday
2. Site 33 - camping with Lydia
3. Pure "beachy" - Big Sur style

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 8.25.13 + SONG-OGRAPHY

my photos today feature a lot of the new overlays at PicMonkey
(click on School U). 

After a bit of vacay from blogging...  a few days of camping, visiting family & some painting...  I'm back to work & blogging!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY continues to be hosted by Ashley @ RAMBLING & PHOTOS.

Here are my interpretations of:

BACK TO SCHOOL, WRITING UTENSIL, FAVORITE SUBJECT, LUNCH & RECREATION.

In most parts of the country, it's BACK TO SCHOOL... Love this school crossing sign (taken in London, England several summers ago). ALSO, if you are dropping off your kids at school, don't forget to watch for bike riders!! (bike lane in Brighton, England).

Did you read, in many states, cursive writing is NOT being taught in school? As an educator, I'm puzzled by this decision. What better way to build eye-hand coordination? are we developing a nation of learners who focus on finger taps, scrolling, pinching, abbreviated spelling & faces peering into small screens? Sorry about my soap-box opinion!
My favorite WRITING UTENSILS continue to be pencils (a Peruvian student practicing cursive) & my colorful ZIG markers.

FAVORITE SUBJECT? it has to be reading! Here are two of my favorite books... How to Get Your Child to Love Reading, by Esme Raji Codell and Children's Book-A-Day Almanac, by Anita Silvey. I recommend both for parents, teachers & librarians! I'll share some details about these books in another post later this week.

My "first place" LUNCH includes an apple. All the Farmer's Markets in our area are featuring locally grown produce... with apples being the most frequently purchased for school lunches. Pssst! I take my LUNCH to work every day in this cute bag.

We took Lydia camping in Plaskett Creek... next door to the campground is Pacific Valley Elementary School. Swinging, climbing & sliding - it there ANY better RECREATION for children (& adults)?

Today, I'm participating in SONG-OGRAPHY hosted by Kathy @ You'll Shoot Your Eye. This week's song by Frank Sinatra is "The Summer Wind"... this picture, taken at the top of the staircase down to the beach, just happened to remind me of Frankie's famous lyrics... this guy was pulling in his kite at the end of the day!

See you tomorrow! plenty of items to blog about...

BUZZING...

Busy as a BEE! 

Flying aimlessly from blossom to blossom!

Hope to return to regular posting this weekend!

with

photos of our camping trip to Plaskett Creek?

HAPPINESS...

from JPE'S garden

YESTERDAY...

 Mom, Stacy & Brett drove home

LEAVING BEHIND...

a silence that is very pronounced

SO, TODAY...

detailing my car - it needs to be washed, vacuumed & waxed

PHOTO-HEART CONNECTION: JULY 2013

7.2.13 @ Big Bear Cabin

How does this happen? months speed by & I miss participating in the photo "MEME's" that were the "food which nourished" the early days of this blog...

My last post for Kat's Photo-Heart Connection was six months ago! time does not stand still, waiting for the camera lens to focus on the details of daily living! Today, lacking the focus to do much more than a few loads of laundry, I edited some pictures... and these two photos tugged at my HEART.

If you follow my blog,

you may recognize this photo.

LYDIA {our granddaughter} turned double digits {10 years old} on July 2nd. For her birthday, she wanted nothing more than "TO DO NOTHING". While eating her birthday pancakes, she told JPE that she wanted to stay home {meaning, stick around the cabin} and that's what we did.

Lydia & I built this COZY tent from outdoor cushions, throws from indoors, towels, a sheet & the frame of the porch swing. With enough breeze to cause "white caps on the lake" she "hunkered down inside" playing games on her phone, texting her girlfriends pictures of her creation, and chatted through her tent walls to anyone who walked by. 

JPE was cleaning a fish {on the edge of the deck}, her mom worked online {inside}, and I had spread out magazines on the porch chaise, while sipping my second {possibly my third} cup of coffee. Utterly blissful!

Lydia will spend the final days of her summer with us, next week! Several days will be spent tent camping at Plaskett Creek campground, south of Big Sur... maybe riding our bikes on the Bob Jones Trail... definitely eating popcorn & catching a movie... & ALWAYS enjoying JPE's cooking. 

WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO

SIMPLY DOING NOTHING!!!

{and BUILDING MEMORIES}

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 8.4.13

SHS 8.4.13

Ummm... MIRROR IMAGE??

After being away from blogging for several days,

I was "guilted" (not really) into posting...

This week's SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY words were selected by Ashley, hostess of this weekly event... anyone can participate!

Here are my interpretations of:

BODY PARTS, WEDNESDAY, MUSIC, 

GUESS WHAT THIS IS & MIRROR IMAGE.

My sister & brother-in-law's "BOYS"... poor "BOYS"... their BODY PARTS are so short & bellies so low to the ground, they needed to be carried up our staircase to check out the bedrooms. They have such adorable faces, you "have to help them"... 

Thank-you Buster & Mac for making

your "peeps" drive up here to camp!

Next time, you can spend the night with us!!

Mom came on Amtrak (Friday July 26th)... we took a drive to Cambria WEDNESDAY... of course, we had to stop by Heart's Ease to check out the gardens! Loved the "Fairy Garden"... Heart's Ease had been owned by SHARON LOVEJOY, author of one of my favorite children's gardening books, Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots.  Topped the day off with fish & chips in Morro Bay!

Initially, I had a difficult time figuring out a photo for MUSIC. This is the Tibetan bowl on JPE's altar... after a quick tap on the rim of the bowl, you run the wooden clanger around the edge to keep the sound going. The bowl is used to call people together for meditation.

Had to use my imagination for this one! GUESS WHAT THIS IS? Even though you know they are teeth... I'll bet you don't know where they came from? 

Last summer in the Amazon (Peru),

JPE & I went piranha fishing...

these are the teeth from the fish I caught

- check it out HERE (look under memories).

EASY BREEZY! captured this MIRROR IMAGE at Oceano Campground... had a BBQ with family on Thursday!

Gotta run... off to Avila Barn to buy some apples! Yep, first of the season from the fabulous orchards in See Canyon.

See ya tomorrow! Will be back in the swing of blogging (after an unexpected lapse due to house reno... painted laundry, powder room & kitchen... just have the kitchens cabinets, which will take a bit of time with all the sanding, priming the wood & more sanding).