GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. V.12 {2016}

GOOD. GOOD. GOOD.

street sign advertising the Alberta Art District in Portland, OREGON. 

RANDOM. RANDOM.

Richard, our Portland Walking Tour guide told us this statue has many names! Somewhat controversial, the local newspaper said it's a sex-education lesson, it's also known as Three Groins in the Fountain... but, officially, it's called "The Quest"

FUN.

Pretty ceiling in the Portland Opera House. This is the lobby, looking up!

Have to say, Portland, Oregon

"raises the bar" for public artwork.
(even controversial art)

posting with Tamar @ Random-osity

check out her "GOOD" this past week!

GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. V.8 {2016}

 Asparagus, Parmesan Cheese Fritatta

cleaned out the fridge - GOOD for breakfast & dinner

RANDOM = Spring + Easter decorations
are beginning to appear in stores!

Wish I had purchased one of these felt bunnies

so I could try to make my own pattern!

creative FUN

(l) used PicMonkey to add a red hat & sunglasses to a pic of Lola

(r) took pic of a pillow that resembled Lola

(at Therapy, one of my favorite stores

in Mountain View)

 she's such a C.U.T.I.E. P.A.T.O.O.T.I.E.

Lola will be going home Tuesday...

we will M.I.S.S. her sweet little face! 

posting with Tamar @ Random-osity

ON THIS DAY.... JANUARY 28th!

Being an "overachiever" and NOW a "procrastinator" I tend to avoid posting pictures on my blog if they aren't new or what I consider "blog-worthy"... I've been spending a chunk of time each day editing my photo library. It's gotten unmanage-able (over 42,500 photos)... and many of them need to be trashed. Of course, that prevents me from wanting to add more photos until I take care of this problem.

So... to SIMPLIFY life... I dug back into my archives for some notable happenings on this day... specifically, 2013 and 2011... Here's what I found. Also, I borrowed photos I hadn't posted to illustrate this post.

January 28, 2013

We took visitors to see the ELEPHANT SEALS on 1/28/13. An easy drive... it's always exciting being outside in the brisk, winter breezes along the coast of California. AND, who wouldn't like seeing the elephant seals... 

Actually, I enjoy seeing the expressions on people's faces while they watch the nuances of ELEPHANT SEAL life. This photo happens to be from February 2014, but I love the look on Matthew's face.

January 28, 2011

Then there was this LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE IN 2011. 

I had broken a bone in my left foot. I had written about the emotions that I was feeling as the result of being on crutches. Little did I know that I would use crutches until mid-July. AND, then have physical therapy for several months to regain my balance. 

JPE & I had already booked flights to see SLE & MB in Washington DC. So, off we went... You can see "da boot" that was "oh so glamorous!" We are laughing at MB, who was taking our picture! He's taken some of the best pictures --- and he's blind. Of course, we had all sorts of comments to help him snap this photo. 

Well... hope you enjoyed "On THIS DAY" (in 2013 & 2011)... perhaps I'll have to make this a regular feature here!

See you soon! 

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

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!

GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. V44

 ::  GOOD  ::

Oh yeah!

five of us shared a piece of "Peanut Butter Madness"

after dinner at Bonnie Blue Bakery & Market, Winchester, VA.

this was beyond GOOD... I'm sure Steph, Mazen, JPE & Mom will salivate remembering the creamy-ness of this treat!

::  RANDOM  ::

totally RANDOM!

A bit of fluffy whiteness standing T.A.L.L. &
holding S.T.R.O.N.G. in the COLOR competition on Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.

::  FUN  ::

Mazen to Steph: "Is this too big for our dining room table?"

Sebastian, "guide-dog extraordinaire" has no opinion!

The five of us took a FUN drive out to

Marker-Miller Orchards & Farm, outside Winchester, VA.

In addition to pumpkins, we purchased apples, 

jams, & apple cider donuts. 

posting with Tamar @ Random-osity

A BIT OF SICK HUMOR!

 photo series captured Sunday May 4th

 missing 3 legs?

perhaps this the reason for making an appearance in my Sunday OJ?

 nice form!

 ummm... I must ask about his technique - I always tend to sink?

 so, did I set a PR (personal record)?

swimmers are always competing against their own time!

swimmers can be territorial about sharing a swimming lane!

{psst! no insects were harmed in this production.

Upon conclusion of filming, the spider exited the pool & walked off.

The little guy wasn't as lucky!}

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY + SONG-OGRAPHY 2.16.14

 

SHS 2.16.14

posting with Ashley at Rambling & Photos

this week's SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY words are:

CAMOUFLAGED, NUTTY, OLD STYLE, HAPHAZARD & MONOCHROMATIC

can you see the hummer? this guy is CAMOUFLAGED by the foliage of the trees.

 looks like a piece of corn, but let's pretend he's eating a NUT!

horseshoes ~ an OLD STYLE game!

this cactus is very HAPHAZARD!

lucky me! I caught a MONOCHROMATIC sunrise...

 

And, I'm stopping by YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT, for SONG-OGRAPHY.

Like many of you buried in snow, Kathy needs some sunshine & blue skies...

This week's song is by Meatloaf, "I'd Do Anything for LOVE"

Oh, I'd fly to the MOON? 

{ummm, after seeing the movie, GRAVITY, I don't know}

I'd hop a plane & travel to places that stretch our minds & bodies

{even, humid locations, like the Amazon River}

I can't really think of anything I WOULDN'T DO for JPE!!!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 6.16.13

SHS 6.16.13

I know I sound like a broken record...

but, haven't taken many pictures this week.

I was able to scrounge up something

for this week's SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.

The words are: SUMMER, DANCE, HELPER, LAUGHTER & WATER.

SUMMER... means lazy mornings... BBQ's...

family time... watermelon (& an abundance

of tasty fruits)... traveling... a break from work!

This fellow kept us DANCING... 

shooing him away from our picnic table...

running up & down from the river's edge!

Of course, the squirrel had a HELPER...

this bluejay would screech loudly...

distracting us from dealing with the squirrel

getting into our picnic lunch.

LAUGHTER... this pair of seals

look like they are sharing some sort of joke.

AND, we were LAUGHING at them.

Living near the beach... we see a lot of WATER!

Kneeling down, I captured the WATER

dripping off the seaweed.

Thanks for dropping by... off to enjoy the sun...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

to the "guys" in blogland!

my DAD - 1953

{with his baseball trophies}

 we R.E.A.L.L.Y miss him...

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 5.19.13

SHS 5.19.13 

Welcome to SHS - A LOT of painting has taken place in the past NINE days! We've completed painting the hallway, living room, dining room, guest bedroom, master bedroom & master (it's tiny!!) bathroom... and been going to work! Whew!

All my photos this week have been pulled from my photo archive of PERU. I don't believe I've posted any of these yet, so I consider them newly "scavenged" since I had to sift through 2000+ photos to find a match for this week's words: THREE, HAND(S), FENCE, CUDDLY & SIGNS. 

ASHLEY & RAMBLING & PHOTOS is still hosting SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY, so stop by to see the other "hunters"...

THREE blue slides --- seen at a park in Lima, Peru. Set along the ocean, this park in MiraFlores, is located in the "higher economic" area of Lima.

The HANDS of an 18 year old weaver!  near Cusco, Peru. I posted a bit about her HERE --- we purchased a table runner from her.

I couldn't decide which HANDS photo to post! so, I'm posting two!! Lucio, our tour guide in the Amazon River (Peru) showed us a seed pod that can be cracked open & the seeds smashed to produce a brilliant red color that women use on their cheeks & lips.

Laundry hanging on a FENCE...  People in the community of Indiana, (Amazon River) Peru do not think of FENCES as boundaries or divisions between two pieces of property... this FENCE was built in the middle of a public road, across from the public elementary school.

Two little girls (sisters?) CUDDLING with each other. They lived in an "emerging town" on the edge of Lima. The town was a series of dwellings with compacted dirt floors, some with running water, doors & windows. Our tour group purchased soup from a public kitchen that provides food for the community.

SIGNS in Peru... we bought the "tastiest" empanadas (meat & potato pies) at the Horno Tipico on the road to Pisca, Peru. The middle SIGN lists the various drinks available for purchase in the local bar (Indiana, Amazon River, Peru)... we tasted Inka Kola (a syrupy, fruity yellow drink). In Cusco, Peru, we saw this costumed man holding a SIGN reminding people to "use the crosswalks"... our tour guide reminded us that Peruvian drivers do NOT stop for pedestrians!!

Well, that's SHS for now! As always at the end of the school year, it's a time of awards, celebrations & recognition ceremonies. I'm co-hosting two this week (Monday & Wednesday evening)... AND, I've put my paintbrush away until the end of the month. Check back Tuesday & I'll tell you why!!