GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. V48

Sunday, JPE & I walked around Arroyo Grande Village (actually, our historic downtown area)... In addition to having a coffee of coffee at Andreini's, we watched the "locals" stake out their spot along Branch Street for watching the holiday parade that started at 5:00pm. 

Grace Bible Church performed at the gazebo on the So County Historical Society lawn... and led a sing-a-long of holiday songs.

The Santa Manuela Schoolhouse had been decorated so we took a "peek" inside.

We had to laugh at the writing on the chalkboard! It IS a GOOD idea NOT to SPIT on the STOVE... all those germs! 

Thinking of dining or having an appetizer at Rooster Creek Tavern? well, the resident rooster will be joining you!! pretty RANDOM eh? having to share your outdoor dining experience with the "local" roosters that prowl the downtown area.

In addition to the holiday decorations in the old schoolhouse, we had FUN reminiscing about how many of the items we had during our elementary school years... of course the American flag, but I didn't recognize the California map displayed. Both JPE & I recognized the two items that were used on the blackboard... I especially remember five-prong chalk holder (the bottom piece of chalk is missing) that drew parallel lines for demonstrating penmanship or for music class. Although we didn't sit at desks like these, I recognized several of the textbooks on top of the desks... a science book from 1959, a history book and penmanship book. I didn't attend a one-room schoolhouse, but there is actually one in our county that still operates. It's amazing to think this teacher is responsible for teaching lessons to multiple grades. 

Last post of November... the holidays are approaching! will share my decorating once I get over the frenzy that 2015 is almost over!

posting with Tamar @ Random-osity

G.R.A.T.I.T.U.D.E.

Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia ~ 10.24.15

Our Thanksgiving Week has been AMAZING!
It wasn't just the food,
{which is always tasty}
B.U.T.
JPE & I spent quality time with Mom!

Monday - Cambria, Splash Cafe clam chowder, & the Palm Theater to see "SPOTLIGHT" {a thought-provoking movie}.

Tuesday - Massage w/Patricia {mom}, began House of Cards-Season 3 Marathon, & watched a PBS Special about the Mayflower & first settlers.

Wednesday - Another episode of House of Cards, saw "BROOKLYN" {sweet, love story} at Fair Oaks Theater, early dinner at Old Juan's Cantina, Oceano & a few more episodes of House of Cards.

Thursday - Started our morning with House of Cards & oatmeal, Thanksgiving with Lars & Kathryn's family/friends in Solvang {incredible food, company & wine}, & a nightcap of House of Cards.

Friday - JPE put our turkey in the oven, watched an episode of House of Cards w/am coffee, turkey dinner w/Mom, JPE & Lars {sorry, you missed it}, the thirteenth & final episode of House of Cards, followed by evening news w/Gwen Ifil, & Andre Botcelli {both on PBS, our favorite channel}

We chatted on the phone with our girls, texted other family members... and just R.E.L.A.X.E.D.

Unfortunately, Mom insists it's time to board Amtrak to head home tomorrow. Bummer! But, it's only a month until Christmas, so time will pass quickly.

There's SOOO much to be thankful for!

F.O.O.D.

F.I.L.M.S.

F.A.M.I.L.Y.

How was your holiday?

WILL YOU DANCE WITH ME?

quote by Shira Tamir, blogger

Tuesday... A relaxing day?!?

Plumber came to fix the backed-up drain...

Took Mom to get a massage from Patricia...

JPE bought a turkey...

(having our Thanksgiving feast Friday) 

Talked to Allison & Brian...

(Lola photobombed our FaceTime visit)

Began our House of Cards Marathon...

(watching ALL 13 episodes of Season 3 w/mom)

Listened to the rain...
(considering a rain dance for more rain tomorrow)

GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. V47

Cambria, CA 11.23.15

Mom came up on Amtrak Sunday evening... We spent a GOOD part of Monday walking around Cambria... Isn't this a GOOD way to keep track of socks missing their mates??

hilarious book about breastfeeding

One of our RANDOM "finds"... some laugh-out-loud information about breastfeeding!! This might make you think I don't support breastfeeding... but it should be noted that I breastfed both of my daughters until they were almost 2 years of age. We couldn't help laughing at this silly cartoon, "Bad time to breastfeed"...

Ball & Skein Yarn Shop, Cambria, CA

I've seen plenty of cardboard reindeer heads, but this is my "first" cardboard sheep. What a novel, FUN way to display skeins of yarn. Allie would love-love-love the yarn in this store...

posting with Tamar @ RANDOM-OSITY!

THREE WEEKS AGO...

the daylight hours are getting shorter

flannel sheets are on the bed

sweaters & scarves are being pulled from storage

the birds were getting quiet

the water had stilled its movement

an hour before the sun dipped behind the hills

Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

snapping the final pictures

fingers pulling our coats closed

the chilly air swirled deep into our lungs

as we returned to the warm car

seems like yesterday

{instead of three weeks ago}

we stood on top of this stone wall

THE EMBROIDERED SLEEVE...

"A Must-Read!! 5 out of 5 stars"

Oh my! I don't know how I learned about this book, but I'm recommending it to all my bibliophiles/book lovers!

Two women... different centuries... their lives forever woven together by a single item... an embroidered silk sleeve.

What do you remember about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882? I don't know that I ever learned about this, or if I did, the history lesson has escaped my memory. How about the Geary Act of 1892? Did you know about the ethnic cleansing of Chinese immigrants? I'm embarrassed that I don't remember learning any of this.

The title of the book, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, caught my attention. The story takes place on Orcas Island, near Seattle, Washington and opens with Inara Erickson returning to the island to visit their family's summer home. Although the summer home has a tragedy attached to it, Inara feels a connection to the home she can't shake. A recent MBA graduate, she's getting ready to begin a new career, but her discovery of the embroidered silk sleeve and her love of the island peacefulness takes her life in a new direction.

In chapter 4, Mei Lien enters the story and the year is 1886. Her elderly grandmother, father and Mei Lien were dragged from their small family store in Seattle and taken aboard the Prince of the Pacific, which is bound for China. Although Mei Lien was a legal U.S. citizen, her family members had immigrated and ALL Chinese residents were being driven out of Seattle.

This story follows the lives of Inara (current day) and Mei Lien (1890's) as their lives unfold on Orcas Island. Their relationships with their fathers - connections with nature - struggles with their personal identity are key themes in this book.

The book includes a discussion guide, a conversation with the author, Kelli Estes, and peaked my interest in reading more about Chinese embroidery, the tragic purging of the Chinese people from Seattle. 

It was amazing to learn this was Kelli Estes' first published book, and that she had graduated from Arizona State with a degree in business management. 

Let me know what you think about this book by leaving a comment on this post. I'll keep checking back!

GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. V46

JPE & I celebrated our 11th Anniversary last Thursday. We took a drive to Cambria, CA (a 40 minute drive up Hwy 1). The weather was beautiful... we had a tasty breakfast at Linn's Restaurant... peeked into our favorite stores... and enjoyed a GOOD ole' relaxing day... topped off with massages & Linn's Chicken Pot Pies followed by a sliver of Linn's famous Olallieberry pie with a dollop of ice cream. Ahhhh! we certainly know how to celebrate!!

After Sunday's downpour, I was checking out the tree in our front yard. I've been watching our tree with "eagle-eyes"... A couple of days ago I noticed a leaf that appeared to be falling. When I put on my glasses, I could see the leaf was tangled in a spider's web. RANDOM sighting! even with a half inch of rain & some wind, the web is still hanging onto its leaf. Yeah for Mother Nature!!

Today is National Button Day. I'll bet you a "card of buttons" that you didn't know there was a website dedicated to button collecting. I looked around on the website and found a resource link for new button collectors. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I collect buttons for the "cute-ness"... my Instagram post gives some tips for using buttons in your elementary classroom!

time to "button my lips"

{sorry for the pun, couldn't help myself}

& link this post to Tamar's blog at Random-osity.

Come back tomorrow for a review of the book I finished this morning!

BUTTON, BUTTON... WHO'S GOT THE BUTTON?

TOMORROW is National Button Day!

I love the sound of running your hands through a bucket or dish of loose buttons!! if you don't know what I mean, find a fabric or hobby store that sells loose buttons by the scoop. Weave your hands through the bucket of buttons & you'll probably notice it sounds a bit like ocean waves moving shells along the sand.  I saw these buttons in a yarn shop in Cambria... they were organized in containers... and sold individually.

Have you ever washed (or hand-washed) a sweater, only to have it shrink to Barbie size proportions? Of course you have! Have to admit, I have too... but before I recycle the sweater, I cut off the buttons. The round-wheel looking buttons were removed from a green sweater that was much too itchy! (so I don't miss wearing it). And swirly buttons (there are four of them) were cut off a off-white fisherman knit sweater that belonged to my mother-in-law, Lana. I don't know how I ended up with the flat silver buttons, but I love the design on the face of them.

A flood of memories come to mind when I see these buttons. I sewed most of my daughter's clothes during their early years (6 mos-9 years). Allison loved purple! Stephanie liked unusual shapes --- so I sewed the telephones on the pockets of a corduroy jacket. Remember Hello Kitty? both girls had the pink kitty buttons on their blouses. 

Christmas is my favorite holiday! Even though I don't have plans to use these buttons, I bear to get rid of them. One year I sewed an army of gingerbread cookies on the girls bathrobes... Notice the bells! the two red metal ones actually make a noise. Oh... and the little reindeer. They're sweet, but I don't remember why I bought them?? Do you have to have a reason to buy cute-ness?

Of course I could go on & on about the VALUE of a button jar, but I'll leave you with this link to my Instagram post about National Button Day. 

If you have any buttons that you're ready to get rid of ~ I'm here! ready to take them off your hands.

Don't forget to post your button pictures tomorrow on your blog.

GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. V45

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

clever signage for the ladies bathroom!!
GOOD... GREAT...
not a question who should walk down this hall!

San Luis Obispo, CA

signs mark the Historic District in San Luis Obispo...

RANDOM utility boxes have been painted by local artists.

Sorry for the blurry pic - taken through my front car window.

Hands Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA

holiday FUN is coming! getting excited to decorate!

give Tamar's blog a peek for her amazing "treat"

joining Tamar's GRF

ORANGE, ROUND, SCARY...

Winchester, VA ~ pumpkin patch
"curly vine & visiting spider"

Fredericksburg, VA
"colonial skeletons, webs & spiders"

Fredericksburg, VA ~ decorating contest
"If she'd ONLY had a BRAIN"

Fredericksburg, VA
"a splash of fall colors + Halloween decor"

Fredericksburg, VA
Mary Washington's House
{mother of George} 
simple pumpkin & PicMonkey enhancements

remembering... reflecting
Fall Colors Trip

STRESSED?!?#? NOT ME...

image found here

HAVE YOU JOINED THE "COLORING CRAZE"

It's a real stress-buster... well... ONCE, you get over the idea that you are "wasting time" that would be better spent doing laundry, vacuuming the car (mine needs it), cleaning the garage (urrghhh! I promise to get to this JPE) or running errands.

Allie & Brian gave me some art supplies as a retirement gift, and I've been "sneaking" some time to just COLOR. I say JUST because I'm guilty of multi-tasking... watching HGTV & reading blogs with a pile of folded laundry beside me & another in the dryer. I've found that if I COLOR at my workspace, I get in the zone! I don't have the other distractions calling to me... this feeling continues to be problematic, I still feel like I'm "wasting time"... urgghhh.

So, my question is: how do you get over the idea that you are "wasting time"? please share.

I mentioned minimal supplies are needed. I've used felt tip pens & COLORED pencils... a child could use crayons (I like fine points, so I'll leave crayons to other projects). Just experiment with what you have on hand.

I have several adult COLORING books, but, a search on GOOGLE brought up several websites that allow you to print them from your own printer.

Easy Peasy & Fun http://www.easypeasyandfun.com - check out their holiday COLORING pages (under Printables)

Trail of Color http://trailofcolors.com/ - offers a variety of COLORING sheets for adults and children.

The design I'm COLORING I downloaded from Jenean Morrison (http://jeneanmorrison.net/) - an artist with many COLORING books on the market, including four that were recently published in France. Click on this link to see several unique ways to COLOR in the spaces (scroll to the bottom of the post).  

Reminder... if you DO download COLORING sheets, please remember these generally have a copyright & are for public use only.

I was searching for COLORBOOKS on Amazon, and found TWO COLORING books with drawings that were created by Mary Engelbreit. They appeared on the cover but were credited to the person who is selling the book as their own work. SO, I wrote Mary (I still have all her magazines - being the magazine hoarder I am) to alert her to what I found! I received a PERSONAL message from Mary (& one from her marketing representative) thanking me for having "eagle eyes".... BTW, Mary has her own COLORBOOK which can be found HERE!

Ah, such is the life of a creative, huh?!!

LIGHTING THE DARK...

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

A question I've wondered about?

Do amateur photographers (such as myself) take black & white photos INTENTIONALLY? I'm one of those photographers who doesn't manipulate the camera setting to capture ONLY black & white pics. In most cases, I take photos in color & WHEN the color is fuzzy, or the object is blurry, I change the photo to B&W. I would imagine my photos would be crisper or might have more depth to them if I were INTENTIONAL about shooting in B&W. I'm going to give that a try!

Governor's Palace ~ Colonial Williamsburg

Intricate scrollwork. Incredibly detailed statue.
Entrance to the bricked compound.
(which we didn't get a reservation to tour)

The palace housed 7 royal governors, as well as

the first two elected governors in Virginia.

In addition to housing leaders of that time, it was built to project British wealth & the authority that money brought.

transported back in time

It's late September, 1781!

The general addressed the colonial townspeople, explaining a revolution is on the horizon.

The colonists have gathered around the troops to cheer them on

as they prepare for battle.

A canon is fired signifying they are ready for battle in Yorktown.

relief map of Colonial Williamsburg

I'm a MAP-LOVER! paper, digital & relief...

My traveling companions (Mom & JPE) discussing Colonial Williamsburg layout.  

sharing this post at

Black & White Wednesdays

& Wednesdays Around the World

Photographers!

what is your response to my QUESTION?

BRICKS GALORE!!!

Fredericksburg, VA

"Architecture starts when you carefully put two BRICKS together. There it begins."

~ Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Fredericksburg, VA

black iron fence, old BRICK & new BRICK 

Williamsburg, VA

BRICK path on the town center greenbelt

Williamsburg, VA

a canon-ball holds open the gate to an

original historic BRICK building

Jamestown, VA

the BRICK church that served the early settlers

Richmond, VA
Tredegar Ironworks, housed in a
historic BRICK building, was the munitions & canon supplier
during the Civil War

Richmond, VA
 BRICK furnace at Tredegar Ironworks

Arlington, VA
view from our AirBnB location - overlooking the BRICK condos & walkway to Virginia Square Metro

Washington DC
BRICK row houses along the street
leading to the White House
{if you walk straight ahead,
you'd be looking at the front lawn of the White House}

:: BRICKS ::
have played an important part in my life!

my dad was a skilled BRICK mason...