GOOD. RANDOM. FUN. {WEEK 16}

 Posting with Tamar at RANDOM-OSITY...

JPE made his Gorgonzola Sauce for our pasta Saturday night. AND, it was tasty Sunday night! Why is it that leftovers taste so great the second time around? Is it because you don't have to start a meal from scratch {my opinion}? or the flavors have blended together {JPE's opinion}. Anyway... it was taaaa....ssstttteee! Yummy GOOD.

On Thursday, we had tea at Kreuzberg's on Higuera in SLO. The tables on their front patio have such interesting graphics. We had this RANDOM guy - doesn't he look a little like someone from the Simpson's? 

If you follow my blog, you saw the bottom part of this sculpture last week. I love taking pictures of it! There are so many details, angles to capture, and cartoon-ish faces & bodies. Perhaps I'm drawn to this FUN sculpture because it reminds me of the characters who mime.

Well, if you ever visit San Luis Obispo, let me know & I'll share some of my favorite spots to take pictures.

P52 {WEEK 52}

My last post of 2013!

Linking to Tamar's blog at Random-osity.

 Thanks, TAMAR for hosting P52. 

Although I missed a few weeks, I loved being able to connect to her blog. She'll be starting a new MONDAY "muse" entitled, 

 Hope to see you there!

We had a Christmas celebration at the Big Bear cabin... it had snowed the night before we drove up, but the warmer, sunny weather melted most of the snow before we left. Seems odd to have snow & kayaks in one picture! but here they are... in all their fair weather glory...

The orange cupcake looks realistic... I expected to be able to get a dab of icing on my finger, but, the ornament was spongy to the touch & squeezable!

Love the natural decor! although it wouldn't work in my house (I decorate our tree with my SANTA collection), I love the re-cycled, simplistic nature of houses that use loads of white, beige and cream in their decor.

One of my favorite bloggers is leaving the blog-world... Chez Larsson...  (her all-white decor is refreshing) of course I'm sad, but understanding how difficult it can be to write posts 2-4 times a week! it's something I expected! Benita will still post photos on Instagram.

CHRISTMAS DAY cookie decorating is becoming our "new" tradition! When my grandniece, Katie, and grandnephews, Matthew & Derek, were younger, I would bring the cookies fully decorated... as they gotten older, I'm s-l-o-w-l-y passing on the JOY of the Christmas cookie decorating!

This is the second year of asking them to decorate cookies. It's a blast... they eat (way too many cookies during the afternoon... more than their mom knows!!!) and decorate to their heart's content. Of course, the adults get caught up in the action also.

On our way home... we stopped at Snapper Jack's for fish tacos! yummy!! Arrived home to Lola sneaking a nap in front of the fireplace (Allie & Brian were watching a movie)... But, OH NO, our succulents got frost-bitten while we were gone! 

Today we're going to a matinee, to see the Hunger Games! then, dine on lentil-potato soup + cornbread! taste a bit of sparkling cider & "watch the ball drop" (three hours ahead of time-East Coast time)... we have a puzzle on the table... ENJOYING the quiet after a whirlwind November & December!

See you in 2014! (LOVE even-numbered years)... with my annual recap of the year, Memories, Dreams & Reflections ... here are my 2012 & 2011 posts.

P52 {WEEK 50}

Saturday December 14th - JPE brought Mom & Katie up from So California. He had been attending a conference near Disneyland. We saw our nephew, Daniel dance in the Nutcracker at the historic Arlington Theater, Santa Barbara.

Sunday morning was pancakes & playing (I pulled a tub of Allie's Barbies out of the garage). And we took a drive to San Luis Obispo, and showed Katie around the Cal-Poly campus. Cal-Poly is noted for its Agriculture, Architecture, Business, Engineering, and Kinesiology programs. 

An animal lover... of course, Katie needed to visit the horses, cows, sheep and goats. The goat manager introduced us to "Pepe" (Le Pew) - the only male in this field of pregnant females! 

After an early dinner at Apple Farm Restaurant & exploring all three floors of the gift shop... We ended the day seeing Mary Poppins (third row seats) at PCPA. It was a truly "magical" weekend!

I'm posting this at Tamar's blog, Random-osity. We are counting down the last few weeks of 2013!


pictures are a bit blurry - taken with i-Pad mini!

P52 {WEEK 46}

the tree outside our front door is shedding its COLORFUL leaves.

Checking in with Tamar @ Random-osity for Project 52 {Week 48},
as we spin toward the end of 2013!

First Congregational Church - Long Beach, CA
site for Andrew & Talia wedding!!
stunning stained-glass windows!

Sebastian, "guide-dog extraordinaire" wore a lavender bow-tie
to Andrew & Talia's wedding!

Sycamore Mineral Springs, Avila Beach
{click on link - it's amazing place}
JPE & I celebrated our 9th anniversary!
with a morning hot-tub, massages &
breakfast at Fat Cat's Cafe (on the pier in Avila Beach).
Sat on the patio enjoying the beautiful weather!

we want to book another massage soon!

a touch of FALL inside...

A busy few weeks! 
B.U.T.
Thanksgiving Break
is coming soon!
{looking forward to some time off}

P52 {WEEK 41}

A PIGGY & SOME PUMPKINS

catching up with Tamar @ Random-osity

SOUL-FUL SKELETONS

PUMPKINS COME IN ALL SHAPES, COLORS & SIZES
{my fave = the "eyelash" pumpkin - right side of the pile}

AVILA VALLEY BARN = LOVE-LY COLORS

OCTOBER

provides a blast of color!

P52 {WEEK 40}

MUD ART?

excited to be posting two days in a row!

linking up with Tamar at Random-osity

...had to write a few posts ahead of time to make it happen.

once my work week starts, it seems there's

no stopping until the next weekend...

Sacramento Map... I love maps...

especially communities that post maps so you can locate famous landmarks.

eco-friendly... park your car & shuttle.

as the sun dipped lower to the horizon,

the acorns began their early evening GLOW!

Allie's kinder lesson on "mixing primary colors"

...my favorite experiment

demonstrating how a flower absorbs fluids through their root system.

AND, can change the color of the white carnation.

M-A-G-I-C-A-L for 4 & 5 year olds.

and, this necklace! ADORABLE!

my daughter, ACE {also known as Allie} is so very creative!

I think I'd like her to make me a NEW necklace for Christmas!

I'll be back with another post tomorrow!

P52 {WEEK 36}

O-R-A-N-G-E

you thinking of FALL?

posting with Tamar @ Random-osity

a hanging lamp that looks like F.A.L.L.

Last week was... 

work! work! work! meetings! & reports!

BUT, the weekend was spent with JPE's sisters!

fun! FUN! fun!

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!

P52 {WEEK 35}

"BEE-STILL"
so I can take your picture!

"SUN-GLOW"
...was drawn to the spider web,
but the sun glowing through the leaves is amazing too!
I DO think I need to purchase a macro lens!

"PASSIONATE for PURPLE"
not sure what the fuzzy white thing is behind the thistle?

We're back to work full-time now...

as a result, I didn't take many pictures last week. Oh... I was also having some problems with my eyes!

I think it's been determined I have "chronic dry eye" ~ ummm, may have to give up wearing contact lens??

Posting my piddly bunch of photos with 

Tamar @ Random-osity...

she always has some interesting pics of food, her classroom & Boston.

When you stop by there, tell her I sent you!