A BLUE SIGHTING...

this morning! I was enjoying the view from my chaise lounge... 

sipping coffee... & thinking about my blog post...

WHEN... I had a visitor!

JPE had seen several when he was hiking in Big Sur...

this one scampered from underneath the edge of the patio slider!

so, I GOOGLED "Blue Tail Lizards California"

I didn't like reading this...

as we often have Lola {or other dogs} visiting! 

As JPE reminded me,

this is the FIRST one we've seen on our patio.

HOPEFULLY, it will be our LAST!

I'll definitely be on the lookout for more!

Today is...

TASHA'S Bday

{they're at the cabin in Big Bear Lake!}

Later this evening,
we're headed to the top of the hill to watch

the Pismo Beach Pier Fireworks

BE SAFE! 

HaPpY 4Th oF JuLY!!!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 6.30.13

SHS 6.30.13

Thought I'd better get myself "in gear" and grab my camera!

{this meant putting down my paintbrush}

The SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY words posted by Ashley

are ones I suggested a couple of months ago!

So, without further hesitation,

here are my interpretations of:

MOTION, TOOLS, DOTS, SWEET & STRIPES.

We drove up to the cabin late Thursday evening - here to celebrate Lydia's {& Natasha's birthdays}.  

The weekend before July 4th is pretty quiet! Not many boats, jetskis or kayaks on the lake - but, caught the neighbor in MOTION on his jetski last evening.

JPE getting his tackle box ready for some fishing. Last year he got a fishing license for the lake & spent his gift card on some TOOLS {hooks, sinkers, bait & a new pole} of the trade.

Wondering where I found these DOTS in this heat wave? Actually these are DOTS of "pitch" or "resin" from the pine tree. They've found a home on the outside fireplace hearth!!!

SWEET! a tasty SWEET ice cream birthday cake for the "girl's" birthdays!

The wind is strongest in the late afternoon... so Jack & Taylor pulled the kite out... Brilliant, bright STRIPES --- makes it easy to find the kite from anywhere on the lake.

Well, off to breakfast! taking the boat across the lake!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 8.5.12

40-60 PARTY @ BIG BEAR LAKE

We spent the weekend at the cabin in Big Bear ---
having a 40-60 Party!!!
Natasha turned 40 & her dad, my wonderful JPE,
will turn 60, in a few weeks. 

The weekend was filled with fun, festivities, food & family!
A.W.E.S.O.M.E

This week's SHS WORDS are:
GOING BACK IN TIME, SOMETHING JUST FOR ME,
BEST PART OF MY DAY, DAY & NIGHT & LOOK UP.

All pictures were captured at the 40-60 BASH!

GOING BACK IN TIME

The birthday kids, JPE & Natasha.
their combined ages = 100 years. 
HAPPY BDAY!

DAY & NIGHT

Lovely morning on Big Bear Lake... 
followed by
a Saturday afternoon rain storm!

SOMETHING JUST FOR ME... US!

Getting in the kayak!!
Didn't practice before our timed kayak RACE!
great fun, even though we didn't place
in the "top bracket"...

BEST TIME OF THE DAY!!

Early morning!!!
Coffee, computer & sitting on the deck.
What could be better?

LOOK UP!

LOOK UP... Doesn't this look like fun?
Para-sailing behind a boat. 

These were posted for
SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.

Other participants can be seen at 
Ashley's blog, Rambling & Photos!

LOVE IT...

Yesterday, a large package arrived... 

I had been alerted that something was being delivered!

I had NO idea that package would be

so large & contain a live plant!!

a bonsai GARDENIA...

has found its new home on the patio.

THANK YOU...

NB, Lydia & JMcG

for my Mother's Day gift.

LOVE U 

{off to the dentist... then work}

CHILLING on THE LAKE...

SPRING BREAK ~ 4.6 - 4.12 {2012}

"Nature always wears the
colors of the spirit."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

 twelve hours later!

ummm... relaxing!!!

How's your week going?


Off to play
"CLUE"
with Lydia, JPE & NB...

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 4.8.12

TUBS OF COLOR ~ 4.7.12

Missed a couple of SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAYS, so I'm anxious to get back into the swing of things... don't forget to stop by Ashley's blog RAMBLINGS & PHOTOS to see who else has posted this week!

Hide & Seek... Words for this Week... NEW, LIFE, FRAGRANT, PINK, & OBVIOUS...

NEW

JPE made pancakes from his "secret recipe" for breakfast Saturday morning! He tried out Lydia's NEW pancake pan {Christmas gift}... pancakes at the cabin are the BEST!!!

LIFE

EAST {taking care of SLE after her Monday surgery} to WEST {spending time at the Big Bear cabin with family} --- LIFE was a BLUR this week... these SPRING colored origami birds captured my eye {seen in the window @ CHICO'S, The Market Common, Arlington, VA}.

FRAGRANT

Simply amazing!! one hard-boiled, cracked egg sure created an "unpleasant" FRAGRANCE in the kitchen... urgh! had to give this egg a toss!

PINK

Couldn't pass up one more opportunity {an earlier post} to share another PINK "cherry blossom" from Washington DC.

OBVIOUS

It's pretty OBVIOUS what day it is! I'm certain Peter Rabbit will pay us a visit Sunday! After all, we spent some time today doing this....

...DECORATING SOME EASTER EGGS!

ARTWORK by NATASHA & LYDIA

HAPPY EASTER!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 2.12.12

LOVE MOM'S TABLE RUNNER!

JOIN ME in visiting Ramblings & Photos (Ashley's blog) where over 150 participants in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY yesterday. 
I was visiting family & didn't get to a WiFi site... so I'm posting late (I consider anything after NOON on the SUNDAY of the scavenger hunt to be late! but Ashley encourages participants to post no later than Tues at midnight).
This week's words were: FACIAL FEATURE, SHADOW, SPICY, GOLD & FABRIC.

FACIAL FEATURE

This is from my photo archives ~ the girls are here & there!

I think my girl's eyes are their best FACIAL FEATURE!

SHADOW

Candle light SHADOW... I've taken other pictures of this chair...

always trying to capture the SHADOW.

GOLD

Before I left my mom's I took a picture of this plate... we know it's been in the family for years,

but with no visible markings, it could be something from a "5 & Dime" store??

 the lovely GOLD painted edging really sets off the border, don't you think?

SPICY

Okay ~ this really isn't anything SPICY... but, use your imagination! this is a fan my parents 

bought in Spain... it shows some fancy dancers... tango, flamenco, salsa ~ 

those are all pretty SPICY {sassy} dance moves!

FABRIC

Don't you love these FABRICS? this is a small table runner at my mom's! My mom is a quilter / seamstress / mender etc. Of course, she has a cabinet filled with quilts, so I could have shared her "stash" of love-ly, cozy warm bed coverings... but, I'll save that for another post. 

She has a knack for selecting complementary fabrics {some quilters are much better at fabric selection}... but, it could be I'm used to the way she puts together a quilt pattern?? 

Originally, I thought I would use the next photo for my FABRIC post... I was visiting ACE & decided to document the pillowcases she's received from her NANA {my mom}... Remember my previous pillowcase post?

So, for my mom's benefit... here's Allie's collection of handmade pillowcases!

• one = ACE is a knitter... and she decorates with blue & orange in her bedroom {this is her newest pillowcase}
• two = she has a February birthday - three days away from Valentine's Day!
• three = one Christmas, my mom made pillowcases for everyone in the family! {I think the year was 2002 & she made more than a dozen!!}
• four = to commemorate the beginning of her knitting hobby
• five = another birthday pillowcase with Valentine designs from the 40's
• six = in college {CSU-Chico}, ACE was in the ballroom dance club - so this pillowcase has dancers on it {sorry for not showing more of the dancer fabric - it's adorable}
• seven = this pillowcase was sent to ACE the first summer {2001} she was a camp counselor at Snow Mountain {residential camp outside of Nevada City}

So - check in with Ashley & plan to participate in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY... the words for this week's hunt are: 

LOVE, DUPLICATED,

TREND or TRENDING {a photo that symbolizes a trend},

PAPER, & PLASTIC