EMBRACE DIVERSITY...

NEPENTHE Art ~ BIG SUR, CALIFORNIA

Why are people so threatened by people

who are 

DIFFERENT

than they are?

WORK ORDER COMPLETED!

Mom's atrium bird

Several weeks ago, the shade awning over MoM's atrium "caught a wind" and the heavy-duty cloth ripped in two pieces!


Being a "VERY THRIFTY" MoM (more about that later), she asked a member of her work team to assess the damage (secretly, she hoped they would be able to "stitch it" back together...)


Silly, huh?? but, I KNOW she didn't want to book the job... I also know how her mind works ~ like a "QUILTER"... give her a heavy-duty needle, some carpet thread, hold the ladder & she could solve her own problem...


BUT, (hear the cheering from afar?)... her work team had concerns about that (MoM + two story ladder? uh! huh!)


As SILLY as the visual seems, ALL options required renting a ladder + 2-3 workers scaling the ladder, balancing in precarious positions (quite like Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel), while wielding staple guns, hammers and lumber to secure the shade cloth between two edges of the atrium.


NOW, I wasn't present for the installation - but, I can imagine the "heroic actions" of the work team to get this heavy, cumbersome awning pulled taut and then fastened to the frame and fascia board...

:: TODAY'S FULL REPORT ::

ATRIUM AWNING HAS BEEN INSTALLED!!

a work team of 4 workers + 3 great-grandchildren + 2 observers + 1 HaPpY MoM were present for this task!

MoM has signed off on her work order!

She still has a "pending problem"...

what to do with the left-over food

she cooked as payment for the work team??

I'm sending my note of 

A-P-P-R-E-C-I-A-T-I-O-N

to the work team!!

JPE & I'll benefit from the completion of this work order when we visit MoM at the end of the month!

S-E-R-E-N-I-T-Y

Brunch in the atrium

without the ripped shade cloth

flinging dust on our eggs!

:: FYI ::

MoM was "SO THRIFTY" she would tear our paper napkins in half ~ she didn't want us to waste them!

(I'm not making this up!! ask any one of her 7 grandchildren)

:: MY TASK ::

I can handle dusting the

top of the candle!

A "TOAST" TO NEW BEGINNINGS...

Sunday Shopper ~ Ojai 

Lunch conversation...

M: I bought a new couch...

C: What color?

M: Brown... with huge, plush pillows... the kids can make forts with the pillows...

C: What accent colors will you decorate with? (she repainted her bedroom a lovely, feminine shade of lavender, several months ago)

M: RED? my options are endless...

C: (the creative wheels were spinning) ummmm...

M: My feet don't even touch the ground, it's so plush... 

C: (the wheels were gyrating) ummmmmm.... we better get back to work...

Take a detour to MANDYLAND & check out the picture of Mandy's new couch before the "LOVING" starts (you know, wine stains, sticky spots ~ the sort of loving that happens with LIFE)...

On my walk tonight, I was thinking about Mandy's couch and her accent colors...

L-O-V-E  this color!!!

This would be MY choice for accent pillows! of course, I can suggest that since it's NOT a color that could accent the oxblood leather couch in MY living room.... But, now, plush, patterned pillows in CHARTREUSE.... AH! now that's classy!

colors of nature ~ seaweed (Big Sur)

Actually, ANY color from NATURE will compliment Mandy's plush brown couch!  

Don't forget to stop by MANDY'S!!  

AND, I suggest you take a kleenex... (you'll understand why when you get there!)

SO, MANDY, here's to N-E-W beginnings!

If you were changing your accent pillows, what COLOR would you pick?

M-M-M MESSAGE!

MAKE IT A MEANINGFUL MONDAY!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY!

KEW GARDENS ~ London, England

Looking for a photo challenge, I ran across SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY (several of my "fave" bloggers participate --- KAT, KAY & ASHLEY). Ashley blogs at RAMBLINGS & PHOTOS... if you care to participate in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY, click on the link at the top of her blog. I've copied the rules directly from Ashley's blog...

The rules are simple: 

1. Anyone can participate.
2. You're encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge. Creativity is also encouraged!
3. If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I'm not too strict about it - I do my best to take fresh shots).
4. Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) - you can use the button above. I've added the button to the column on the right!
5. Leave comments for at least five entries around yours (we have so many new participants each week, this is the only way I know to be inclusive).
6. Have fun!

Pictures for this week:  Inspired by a Book or Movie, Brown, Hazy, Coffee or Tea, and Linger

:: INSPIRED BY A BOOK OR MOVIE ::

Have you seen the movie, MONEYBALL? it's currently playing in theaters & stars Brad Pitt, as the General Manager (Billy Beane) for the Oakland A's baseball team. Even if baseball is not your sport-of-choice, this movie is a "feel-good" movie. 

:: BROWN ::

Seed pod exhibit... the seed pod (at the top of post) was fairly tall - intriguing exhibit of man-made pods at Kew Garden...

:: HAZY ::

Final walk around the campground... a foggy, hazy, damp morning at Plaskett Creek, Big Sur, located on the coastline of California. Most summer days start out hazy... NOT all SUNSHINE!! (many people not familiar with the weather along California beaches, are surprised to find our summers are often chilly & damp).

:: COFFEE OR TEA ::

When in London, of course you have to drink TEA... even if you are a coffee drinker! Our London holiday included a visit to Kew Gardens ~ after wandering the gardens, seeing a butterfly exhibit, the seed pod exhibit, we ended our day with a "cuppa & scone" ~~~ YUMMY! 

:: LINGER ::

Pretty flowers + cafe chairs = a PLACE to LINGER! the flowers don't even need to be fragrant, nor the chairs soft & cushy, or in a secluded spot.... but, someplace that allows my mind to wander, enjoy the sounds of birds, water, or people chatting ~~~ and lingering also includes a journal, pens, book or playing with my camera + a cup of tea.... 

I hope you've enjoyed spending some time here? I've enjoyed putting together this photo montage for SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY!

Leave me a comment about your favorite place to :: LINGER :: or a link to your blog if you are participating in this week's hunt.

Please note: these photos were "scavenged" from my photo library - four have never been posted on my blog... I really "fudged" (see rule #3), but I wanted to participate!

NESTING...

:: time to dust off the cobwebs ::

"Luxury need not have a price ~

COMFORT

itself is a luxury."

~ Geoffrey Beene, American designer

I absolutely love the experience of climbing into a bed that has clean sheets - especially, when I pull back the blankets to find crisp, smooth, tightly fitting sheets & NO WRINKLES...


Do you think of your "bed as a nest"??? I'm sort of like a mother-bird building my nest ~ layering the sheets, blankets and coverlet or quilt ~ tucking, fluffing and smoothing this nest... AND, I look forward to retreating to my nest each night... almost dreading that tap from JPE each morning, signaling me to get up!


We've enjoyed the company of Mom, Lauren, Jan & Perry, and Marcus this past month... they've all mentioned how "cozy" our guest bed is! I think it's the SHEETS!!!! or perhaps it's my mother-bird nesting skills???


Today's a lovely FALL day to "rebuild our nest" ---