GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. V.7 {2016}

Sunday, February 14, 2016 - VALENTINE'S DAY

GOOD - Went for an afternoon drive to our favorite place along the Shell Beach cliffs! Yesterday was a beautiful, warm (mid-80's) day along the beach. Not exactly winter weather, but okay, I can live with a few days, THEN we better get some more of that El Nino weather (meaning... rain) before all the trees bloom thinking it's Spring. The 101 highway was sooo crowded it took us 65 minutes to drive home... in general, it's a 15 minute drive.

RANDOM - A group of women were practicing their hula dance for an upcoming performance. They were being accompanied by a guy on his guitar. A lovely addition to the beauty of the coastline.

Allie's classroom - Thursday, February 11th

FUN - Volunteered in Allie's TK classroom. (TK = Transitional Kindergarten). Haven't seen her students since October... they are ALL 5 years old now...

She has the most interesting items in her classroom! a new set of puppets with an upper & lower case letter on them...

And, doesn't this plate of (plastic) spaghetti look tasty? At the beginning of the school year, playing in the kitchen was the TOP choice during free-time... now it's the writing center (they love those glue sticks + scrap paper). Allie has a huge stack of little "treasures" created by her students!

 Posting with Tamar at Random-osity

Last I checked, she was enjoying
a snowy day on the slopes!

RED SORT-OF-DAY...

In honor of the upcoming

RED HOLIDAY - VALENTINE'S DAY...

here's a collage of some RED items from my photo archives.

RED wooden airplane - Open House in SLO

RED bowl - White House tour 

(state service selected by Abraham Lincoln)

RED accordion - Winchester, VA

RED buttons - personal button collection

RED

:: is an emotionally intense color ::

RED evokes feelings of passion, desire, love

Brides in Nepal & India wear RED saris.

Japanese women wear RED kimonos for good luck & happiness.

RED is associated with war, energy, danger, power

Stop signs are RED to signify danger.

Countries include RED in their flags to signify power.

and, lastly...

Men love when women wear RED!

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?

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 12.1.13 + SONG-OGRAPHY

SHS 12.1.13 + SONG-OGRAPHY

 Can you believe the holiday season has arrived?

So, THANKFUL to have had the entire Thanksgiving Week off!

We slept in, started decorating, car shopped, went to movies, visited with JPE's family...
I took some pics, but seem to have lost my photography "mojo"... 

My offerings for SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY,
hosted by the beautiful Ashley at Rambling & Photos.
Words this week:
STARTS WITH "S", TEXTURE, BLESSINGS, WARMTH & I WENT...

recently wandered through Apple Farm Gift Shop
if you're feeling "bah-humbug"
this is the place to find some holiday SPARKLE!

 some cloud TEXTURE 
no, we didn't get rain, unfortunately!

 definitely, two of my greatest BLESSINGS!
living on opposite coastlines {California & Washington DC} 
they don't get to see each other much!

WARMTH = comfort food
 {charming holiday graphics!}

 snow globe in the Apple Farm Gift Shop
{such fond memories of our travels}

AND, for SONG-OGRAPHY, check in with Kathy at DON'T SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT.

L-R: Natasha & JPE; Thanksgiving feast; Perry, Lauren, Daniel & Jenna; Celebrated Hanukkah too!

  this week's song is
"CELEBRATE ME HOME" by Kenny Loggins

"I believe I've missed each and every face.
Come on and play my music,
Let's turn on the love light in the place." 

M-E-M-O-R-Y  M-A-K-I-N-G  T-I-M-E-S! 

 

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 9.8.13 + SONG-OGRAPHY

SHS 9.8.13

Whooossshhh!
It's already time for SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY - check in with ASHLEY @ RAMBLING & PHOTOS. She's posted a fabulous FALL Bucket List for photo ops!

For now, here are this SHS week's words:

LABOR DAY, PHONE CALL, PILLS, CLOSE UP

& WHITE SPACE.

I chose not to highlight the holiday celebrated in the US... but, decided to show a typical DAY of LABOR(ING) along the Amazon River (Peru). Don't you LOVE the cheerful smiles of the "ladies" from the church!

The market place in Independence, Peru (along the Amazon River)... YES, the fruit seller is making a call on a cell PHONE... very unusual since most residents of this area live in extreme poverty...

Okay... I'm playing this word. I didn't have a picture of PILLS... But, JPE & I picked up our anniversary gift to ourselves a couple of months early. A large canvas of McWay Falls - #1/150 prints signed by the artist, Steve Thomas. JPE & I got married beneath the trees (top of the cliff; left of the waterfall). Cool fact: there are only TWO natural waterfalls that (S)PILL directly into the Pacific Ocean - the other is located in South America.

When we travel, I look for marvelous samples of architecture... if you see a CLOSE UP view of the detail between the two windows (pic on left), you'd see the spikes that were added to prevent pigeons (& other winged creatures) from ruining the stone work.

During our trip to London (summer of 2010), this boat in a bottle by artist Yinka Shonibare  was installed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square. The plinth is used as a display for contemporary art, with artwork changing every 12-18 months. In the bit of WHITE SPACE, you can see the cloudy sky & the top of the National Portrait Museum.  Cool fact: the bottle neck was large enough for the workers to crawl through to complete the assembling of this ship!!! (click HERE to read more)

And now for Song-ography...
check in with Kathy @ Don't Shoot Your Eye Out!

My oldest daughter was a Queen fan... our 7 passenger van radio blared "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You"... while I transported half-a-dozen kids to speech tournaments. I had forgot about this song, "I WANT TO BREAK FREE"... but, I can still remember those sweaty bodies bouncing around in rhythm to QUEEN's lyrics, in the back seat(s) of the van!

Have you noticed a pattern? while most bloggers rest on the weekend, that seems to be the only time I have to edit, write & post to my blog.  Hopefully, you'll be back tomorrow... for P52!

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).

A CHANGE OF WEATHER!

WEATHER-READY!!

WILL LEAVING MY STINKY BOOTS OUTDOORS

TAKE THE SMELL AWAY?

I haven't worn these shoes since we tromped through the Amazon River... 

urrghh! the humidity seems to have permeated the leather...

I fear I may have to toss these shoes out???

Today, Lydia, JPE & I stayed around the cabin

(BTW - we're at the Big Bear cabin)!

Lydia practiced playing her electric guitar...

I did some laundry...

AND, we watched the weather change, in a matter of minutes.

we're warm & cozy in the cabin,

while the rest of the group is snowboarding!

Do you think the STINKY SMELL has left my boots yet?

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 12.9.12

edited with PicMonkey

It's TIME --- TIME to post this week's SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY interpretations.

The host site, RAMBLING & PHOTOS, is bound to be colorful --- especially with these words --- CALM, SEASON, WEATHER, COLORFUL & SILHOUETTE.

CALM

This love-ly cellist was sitting in a courtyard off State Street in Santa Barbara --- just waiting for her opportunity to play. JPE & I were in SB to see our nephew, Daniel, dance in his 12th year of the Nutcracker. THIS production of the Nutcracker is fairly UNIQUE --- the music is played by a live orchestra. I love the moment of CALM between the orchestra warm-ups & when the director lifts the baton before the first note is played. Ahhhh!

SEASON

"Tis the SEASON" --- for candles, snowmen (or snowpeople, if I was being gender sensitive), snow, glitter, decorated trees and houses --- on the Central Coast of California (several miles from the beach), "Tis the SEASON" for frosty mornings --- nothing like this adorable holiday village.

WEATHER

Current WEATHER --- here's a glimpse at the past week. The trees are changing colors --- we had a bit of sprinkles (or "spitting" --- barely enough to wet the ground). Oh, we also had some wind --- a couple of days, the wind chime played some light tinkling sounds.

COLORFUL

Enjoying all the COLORFUL decorations --- without the frenzy of getting our house fully decorated. I mentioned in a previous post that we're "decorating light" --- candles, JPE's miniature village, wreaths --- no Santas (yet??). We discussed using our extra time, to bake "goodies" --- our traditional treats ---  JPE will bake three types of biscotti (double-chocolate; craisin; and peppermint) --- I'll select a few holiday cookie cutters, then bake & frost the "family requested" Christmas cookies.

SILHOUETTE

Just after parking the car (Santa Barbara), I spied a fabulous art piece --- on the dark side of the street, it made a perfect SILHOUETTE against sky, as evening approached. 

The past few days I've played around with PicMonkey (free photo editing program) & then sent THE PICTURES to the kids in my family --- Lydia, Katie, Ada, Matthew & Derek. Can't wait to see them at the holidays. Hoping the technology bridges the physical distance gap!!!  

Hey --- add participating in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY to your list of things to do --- kidding!! But, it's open to everyone. Next week's words are:  SPARKLY, DOOR, DECORATE, STRIPES & A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS.

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 12.2.12

 "CHARMED LIFE"...  "CUT TO THE CHASE"...  "RUNNING WITH SCISSORS"

It's here... DECEMBER and SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY...

Silly me... I waited until this morning to take pictures. Not the best light (overcast with light rain), but setting up my photo ops brought me out of my "FUNK"...

This week the SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY words were: MISSING, NUMBERS, PURPLE, MUSIC & BRACELET.

MISSING

Cute sweater... MISSING a button. It's amazing I didn't toss the extra buttons in the button jar... what do you do with the extra buttons that come packaged with clothes?

NUMBERS

Pulled from my archives... taken in Lima, Peru (in July)... amazing ironwork NUMBERS.

PURPLE

When thinking about the color PURPLE... I instantly think of flowers.

MUSIC

Listening... the gutter is gurgling... JPE put our Christmas MUSIC on shuffle... a light rain is falling... AH, MUSIC to my ears. Yesterday, JPE set-up his holiday houses... this time of year also reminds me of singing & listening to MUSIC in churches.

BRACELET

Although I haven't worn my charm bracelet in years, I continue to buy charms --- when I spot them! I found these in Sunnyvale - the Eiffel Tower reminds me of our trip to Europe the summer of 2005... and the pine cone represents the beautiful trees at the Big Bear Cabin (we're hoping to spend some time there after Christmas - can't wait).

Well, that's SHS for this week. Next week's words are: SEASON, COLORFUL, WEATHER, SILHOUETTE & CALM.

Hope you'll stop by again this week. Getting into the holiday "groove" now... so will be posting some pictures.

  

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 3.4.12

all pics taken 3.4.12

TODAY'S the DAY...


:: That JPE comes home from Cincinnati, OH (his "home turf"... he's made three trips since Thanksgiving. AND, thanks for your concern... this trip was not an emergency related to his dad's health)...


:: To enjoy the last week of darkness before DAYLIGHT SAVINGS time kicks in next Sunday...


:: To tidy your gardens in preparation for SPRING, which begins March 20th...


:: To participate in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY with Ashley @ RAMBLING & PHOTOS. YEAH!!

No time to plan my photo shoots this week... this was a quick, down & dirty, short-time project (35 minutes)...


I won't say I love what I'm posting, but it was FUN ~ once I set the timer)... Enjoy these words: 

ROUTINE, MUSIC, TECHNOLOGY, SHOW ME YOUR STYLE & MISMATCH.

ROUTINE

During the week, I rarely deviate from my ROUTINE. My work bag, purse, shoes & lunch-bag leave with me every morning & arrive home with me every night (ready to be packed again)! Everyone at work takes a lunch because we'd have to drive 15 minutes to buy lunch, coffee or a snack. No corner coffee shop for us! ummm! that's great on the $$$ but can be boring.

Lucky for me, I often have meetings in the afternoon (off-site) which give me some flexibility in my ROUTINE. 

MUSIC

JPE has played MUSIC since he was a youngster! stand-up bass, guitar, and drums... In his work with high school students, he often starts a drum circle as a way to release some of their energy! JPE's a runner! he doesn't play his drum (or guitar) at home, but he often grabs his drum before heading to Men's Group... 

TECHNOLOGY

I consider myself pretty tech-savvy - but looking at the dining room table this morning, you might question that statement!
I LOVE my TECHNOLOGY (I-Phone, MacBook, I-Pod Touch) but I also LOVE my work calendar (with color coded meetings), my planner with tabs for the months, and my checkbook. 
I pay the majority of my bills online - but some items just need to be paid by check. AND, you probably remember my fond-ness for PAPER & PENS... 

SHOW ME YOUR STYLE!!

Well... the truth is... I DON'T have a STYLE! I'm one of those gals that is still trying to figure out how to dress stylish, but comfortably.
I dislike clothes shopping - seems like such a waste of time! My body is just not made for the style of clothes I see in magazines, online or in the stores. I'm certain there are quite a few of us non-fashionistas... but they don't seem to be designing clothes that are favorable to my budget, figure flaws & comfort...
SO - I'm SHOWING YOU MY PREFERRED STYLE... which is jeans, tshirts (sorry, I had to pull this out of the laundry basket), casual shoes, low-cut socks & a scarf to add color. Retirement clothes?? currently, weekend clothes!! ahhh! comfort clothes!

MISMATCHED

When I got home from work on Friday, I noticed I'd worn two MISMATCHED earrings! Honest mistake - easy to make! one is pearlized & the other has a flat finish. Both earrings change, depending on what color (purple, teal blue, gray) top I'm wearing! I don't buy expensive earrings... when I lose one, I just buy new ones. Perhaps if I got a nice little jewelry box, I'd lose fewer earrings? NOPE! I prefer to toss my earrings in that adorable red dish. AND, no, I don't store my earrings in a lemon! just a prop for photographing purposes. 

So - here's my contribution for SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY... 

Next week's words: WATER, LIGHT, CHOCOLATE, ANIMAL & CROWDED.

Bet you can't wait to see what I post for CHOCOLATE....