SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 1.8.12

tin of homemade Christmas cookies 

It's back! SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY! Wanna participate?

Check in with ASHLEY @ RAMBLING & PHOTOS!

This week's words: One Color, Laundry, Empty, One Dozen, & Soft.

"ONE COLOR" 
red accents ~ living room

"LAUNDRY"

It's embarrassing... LAUNDRY sits in the dryer, while I play Words with Friends. Poor quality picture... but I'm too distracted with my camera & new i-Phone! best get the sheets on the bed so JPE's not laying on just the mattress pad.

"EMPTY"

We got a tin of homemade cookies from Patty! Her stash was lovingly baked by her mother, Olina... I didn't get around to baking my cut-out Christmas cookies this year {deleted from my to-do-list when I was recuperating from my sinus infection}... so, these were a welcome addition to our afternoon tea time! YUMMY! all that's left --- an EMPTY tin.

"ONE DOZEN"

Actually, ONE DOZEN x four... 48 ZIG ColorTwin Markers. A Christmas present from SLE & ACE!

The Zig colored markers came in this cute suitcase with a black handle on top! I'm pretty obsessed with these pens & have blogged about them HERE & also, HERE.

"SOFT"

ummm... a SOFT pillow! {pillowcase blog post HERE}... my bed is calling me! But, before I head to bed...

It's not too late to participate in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY! 

Get out your camera & snap some pictures, post them on your blog, then check in with ASHLEY to add the link to the list. What could be easier than that? Didn't you say you wanted to "kick your creativity" up a notch in 2012?

ROSEMARY...

all pics taken 1.7.12 @ home

I need like to have fresh flowers, a succulent or greenery in my living room...


In the off-season, I buy something at Trader Joe's... From March-October, we display small vases of our fragrant roses cut from the garden. JPE & I returned to work this week, so with the busy-ness of a work schedule, I haven't taken the time to buy something GREEN.


My fall-back GREENERY is R-O-S-E-M-A-R-Y... OUR NEIGHBOR, JEAN, planted the entire length of her condo fence with Rosemary. This morning, while JPE was watering outside, I had him cut some sprigs to freshen the air & add some color.

three sprigs ~ guest bathroom

Origin: Rosemary comes from the Latin word, rosmarinus, meaning "mist of the sea" or "dew of the sea" {well, we live a few miles from the ocean, so perhaps that's the reason it's easy to grow in our area}!!


Medicinal fact: In the 16th century, Rosemary was often burned in sickrooms as a disinfectant to kill germs. {I love the fresh, fragrant, almost antiseptic smell}

dried rosemary ~ living room bookcase

Long lasting: Dried Rosemary is able to retain most of its fragrance & flavor. {these dried sprigs were dropped in this container at the beginning of December - if you rub them between your fingers, you'll release the fragrance, even though they are a month old}.


Scientific: Ancient Greeks believed that Rosemary was a magical plant that could strengthen memory. I've also read that smelling Rosemary before you take a test can increase your concentration... Japanese scientists confirmed Rosemary is a brain stimulant. {gosh, I may need to keep some sprigs on my desk at work}.


Trivial Pursuit fact: During the English Tudor era, Rosemary symbolized fidelity, and brides would give sprigs of Rosemary to bridegroom as a tradition {ummm... food for thought}.

Final comment: Rosemary is also considered to increase creativity {when I started this post, I planned to plop some pictures onto my blog & head for the shower - yep! still in my jammies! My post has morphed into research, with the afternoon disappearing}.

JPE's roses ~ April 2011

Gotta get moving - check back tomorrow! it's SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY over at Ashley's!

A PLACE TO LAY YOUR HEAD...

birthday & special interest
{2011}
Mattie's 5th Birthday - he had a PIRATE Party!

~~ MY MOM ~~

{called Nana by her 7 grandchildren &
GiGi by her 5 great-grandchildren}

sews

PILLOWCASES!!!

They're generally a SURPRISE!

you can never tell when you will get one

{or two if you are a married couple}...

You might get one in the mail or as a present:

 to commemorate a holiday...

{Christmas, Valentine's Day, Halloween, 4th of July}

as a remembrance of a hobby or special interest...

{surfing, snowboarding, knitting, dancing, computers, baseball,

for your birthday or Christmas...

or to celebrate a special time in your life...

{wedding, graduation, Daisy-to-Brownie fly-up}

special interest: Katie LOVED Dora!
{2007}

holiday: Lydia's first Christmas pillow case
{2005}
snowmen w/green stocking caps & Santa hats

holiday: Christmas pillow case
first Christmas {2004} w/new husband, JPE
red horns w/red, glittery gold pine cone band

holiday: our new set of Christmas pillowcases
{2011}
Yippee!!
Doesn't our bed look cozy?

special interest: knitting
{2010}
ACE & Lola napping
balls of yarn against a yellow background

special interest: cartoon characters
{2007}
Mattie reminded us of Charlie Brown!
here's a Snoopy-like puppy dog pillowcase

Several guests at our Christmas celebration received a PILLOWCASE this year... I hope they realize how SPECIAL these PILLOWCASES are?

FYI: the grandkids have been known to "let it slip" when they received a pillowcase in the mail (& none of them live in close proximity to each other)!

Rumor is: ACE might have the largest inventory of PILLOWCASES!

MOM may have to do a "recall" to inventory her gift-giving list!!! ha! ha!

BTW: I'm confessing... I have 7 {seven pillowcases}

holiday: single king-size Christmas case {1998 - year I was divorced}

special occasion: set of wedding pillowcases {November 2004}

holiday: set of Christmas pillowcases w/French horns {December 2003}

special: set of yellow/green floral print {why? I'm special - ha! forgot year}

holiday: set of Christmas pillowcases (Christmas 2011}

JPE has a couple of pillowcases...

special interest: loves coffee {cups of java 2003?}

hobby: loves camping {moons & stars 2006?}

Okay - 'fess up ---- the rest of you!!!

Kidding aside {really --- I don't want to start a family war}... 

                                      these pillowcases are adorable!

                                        treasures that are well-used!

                                          a true LABOR-OF-LOVE!

                       THANKS!!! MOM / NANA / GIGI


psst! HAppY BiRthDaY Daisy!!!  ummm... did you get a pillowcase for your birthday? just checking!

WINDOWS...

12.21.11

"Originality houses many rooms, 

and the views from the windows are all different."

~ Guy Davenport, author, professor, illustrator {from Kentucky}

claimed to "live almost exclusively off fried baloney, 

Campbell's soup, & Snickers bars"

WINDOWS... intriguing aren't they? makes you wonder what's inside? what's being protected from the outside world?


Do you cover your windows? with blinds, curtains, drapes, paper bags, dirt?


Why? to create a "mood" inside the house? for privacy? looks better for your decor? to control the temperature inside your house?


JPE & I enjoy evening walks... when MOST windows are open to the world... families are busy inside cooking... school-age kids are doing their homework... families are chatting about their day... the TV is on {it's amazing how many people have a TV on & no one is watching}... 


It's even more FUN to ride our bikes through a campground in the evening... in addition to seeing families prepare for the evening, you experience the delicious smells of their dinner... see kids {& adults} toasting marshmallows over a campfire {so'mores, yummy!}... people carrying pans of water to wash their dishes {or children's sticky faces} by hand...


Ummmm... think I'll take a walk this evening!


{FYI - we're planning to clean our windows this weekend}

FOCUS {OLW}...

Ventana Grill 12.13.11

Several of my blogger friends {I use that term loosely, because I have yet to meet them in person}, select a word for the year... for a better understanding of this project, click HERE!

On the same blog {ALI EDWARDS @ AE BLOG}, Ali Edwards, digital scrapbooker extraordinaire, has compiled a list of words from bloggers participating in ONE LITTLE WORD {OLW} 2012.

Kat Sloma, shares her love of photography @ KAT EYE STUDIO... and explains HER THOUGHTS on selecting words to provide a direction for inspiration & creativity. If you aren't familiar with her online photography courses, check out FIND YOUR EYE... she also coordinates EXPLORING WITH A CAMERA, a bi-weekly project for expanding your photography skills. 

I spent some time editing & deleting photos over the New Year's Weekend... and almost trashed this photo. But, something about it captured my attention. So, it survived the year-end DUMP.

Today, I ran across the quote by Mark Twain, "You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of FOCUS" & I knew the word, FOCUS could be my OLW for 2012.

I don't really know what this pursuit will mean... but several thoughts come to mind:

:: FOCUS ::

on being in the moment

{I'm constantly planning --- mentally & physically writing down lists of things to do --- gotta cut this down --- that's how I BROKE A BONE last January}

on creative interests

{participate in a photography class, create handmade books}

on building a physically healthy body

{eat less, walk more, relax daily --- stop hunching my shoulders at the computer}

on doing what makes me thrive

{blogging; traveling w/JPE; spending time w/family & friends}

Perhaps more thoughts will reveal themselves as 2012 unrolls...

Do you have a word you'll

:: FOCUS ::

{sorry, couldn't resist sharing my word with you, once more}

on?

PACKING 'EM UP...

All my SANTA'S are packed in tissue & put away! I took pictures of the NEW ones in my collection & thought I'd share them with you!

...got the "STEAL 'EM" Santa at a work party! Of course, because he's so adorable, I was the THIRD & final person to steal him ~ LUCKY ME!


He's got a great beard with a jingle bells on the points of his whiskers!


The other four ornaments were gifts: two from JPE (purchased in Big Bear this past summer) & two from ACE & her boyfriend.

Sleigh Santa & Bubble Santa from ACE & boyfriend!
Love Santa & Santa with a List from JPE...

I'll leave you with this quote from
:: John Greenleaf Whittier ::
an American Quaker poet &
advocate for the abolition of slavery!
(pssst! my hometown, Whittier, CA, was named after this poet;
& the town was started by a group of Quakers in 1887)

"A little smile, a word of cheer, a bit of LOVE from someone near, a little gift from one held dear, best wishes for the coming year... these make a MERRY CHRISTMAS." 

Have you packed up your holiday decorations yet?