FOUND A HEART!

taken this morning!

As I was packing my car to leave for Sacramento this morning, (visited w/ACE & Lola in Sunnyvale last night), I looked up & noticed this HEART....

I'm sharing this with Chrissy over at cul*ti*vate... If you find a HEART, don't forget to post your blog link at Chrissy's.

It rained the 2 1/2 hour drive to Sacramento this morning... but, what a treat when I pulled up to the hotel! we're staying on the Delta King ~ docked on the Sacramento River...

 both pics are located at this website http://www.deltaking.com/

check out this adorable, historic hotel! Government rate... walking distance to Old Town Sacramento... READING GRANTS this week... it doesn't get any better than that!

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY 2.5.12

"SPOTTED" REPTILE

A bit late to the party ~ SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY snuck up... this week's words are: STRIKE A POSE, FOOTWEAR, HOBBY, SHINY, & COLOR ME GREEN. 


Loads of adorable STRIKE A POSE interpretations can be found at ASHLEY'S blog, RAMBLINGS & PHOTOS, the host blog for SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY. Click on over & see what's been posted.

STRIKE A POSE
{archived photos from Christmas 2011}

When I saw STRIKE A POSE, I just had to put the three dogs pictures together from last Christmas. From left to right: LOLA {visiting Big Bear Lake}, SEBASTIAN {chewing on his holiday present & YES, his fur is that shiny!}, PEANUT {relaxing on the hearth at home}. JPE & I don't have pets, but we see them on our family visits...

FOOTWEAR

Okay! Okay! I'm SURE everyone has some of these?... eh, FOOTWEAR "casualties." These are off to the rag bag because they've lost their mate. 

HOBBY

I have many HOBBIES... but my favorite is combining a love of stickers, scrapbook paper, and photographs into books. I created this book, LYDIA'S ADVENTURE, to commemorate her first TENT CAMPING trip with us.
This is not the actual book I made, but a color copy that was covered with clear contact paper. LYDIA'S ADVENTURE was laminated & adorned with beads at the top of the three ring binding. She was learning to read, so the story line was simple & included pictures from all the activities we had during that three day period.
I know there are digital book options {Blurb, Apple, Snapfish, etc}, but I still love the cutting, pasting, and gluing items down on chipboard. I think it keeps the treasured books a bit more primitive & personal. A bit FOLK-ARTY!

SHINY

The red orb & silvery candle holder, set against the turquoise Native American table runner really "sparkle." I added a "mirrored frame" using PICNIK to accentuate & make these items very SHINY.
Have to say... I am going to miss using PICNIK's simple-to-use editing features. There's got to be a replacement that is user-friendly without costing a bundle of $$ and time to learn a new program. Surely there is a computer programer that could put something together for us "picknikers" to use? {Oh - if so, keep the sticker assortment ~ I love the variety}.

COLOR ME GREEN

Don't you L-O-V-E this reptile?? such a vibrant turquoise-green body with lime green & chartreuse spots! I think this guy represents COLOR ME GREEN, just fine.


Don't forget ~ anyone can participate in SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY. The words  for this week's hunt are: FACIAL FEATURE, SHADOW, SPICY, GOLD, & FABRIC.

LESSONS from A SNAIL?

visitor to our dining room ~ 2.2.12

Some days I have no idea what I plan to blog about! Generally, I browse my recent photos to see what looks promising. Then I find a quote that I believe matches the photo, in some manner {humor as in THIS POST; or thought provoking as in today's post; or even something QUIRKY}.


I took this photo a couple of days ago... we had an invasion of ants in our kitchen! There could have been several reasons for the "ant army" attacking us... JPE believed they were retaliating because we had taken away their access to the hummingbird feeders! I thought they came inside to get out of the cold, damp, evening weather.


BUT, I'm getting sidetracked! 


After hosing the ants off the trash can & washing down the patio, I came inside & promptly left for an afternoon work meeting. Upon my return, I was all prepared to wipe down the trash can dry when I noticed a touch of brown. Leaning close to the bath towel {used to sop up the water in front of the sliding door}, I found this was NOT MUD, but a teeny, tiny snail. As soon as the dining room light flipped on, that poor little snail wanted out... out... out... of the house.


Quick on the draw, I grabbed my camera, snapping a couple of pictures before he pulled his shell over him for protection. If you've read this blog for a while, you may remember I am NOT GOOD at taking pictures INDOORS, of CHILDREN or ANIMALS & now I can add, SNAILS. This little guy is blurry... but adorable none-the-less! Instead of flicking him outside with a "snap of the towel" {which I would do IF this was a potato bug}, I carefully removed him from the towel, set him on the smiling stone, and off he went.

SMILING STONE

Now, back to my blog post! 


I thought Harriet Beecher Stowe's quote, provided a "thought-provoking" statement... this idea is something JPE & I are working on!


Living simply... adopting a more European philosophy of life... buying fewer things & hanging onto them.


It's working ~ sort of ~ especially if you look in my closet... I have three pants I can wear for work, two pairs of work shoes, two casual shoes, some tops {90% are solid colors}, a dark brown purse & red purse {which I no longer like}... and a smattering of long-sleeve tshirts & camis for layering under sweaters, blouses, & jackets. I'm working on "purging the rest of the items" that haven't touched my skin in the last 6 months. AND, I'll see what I really miss, before I decide to go shopping! 


As for our household.... we've noticed we have more recycling than trash... although we ripped out our raised beds {in the garden area}, we still compost our vegie scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells etc & use this richness to feed our roses! Hopefully, we'll see more blooms than ever this year.


BUT, I have ONE little confession... we bought a new TV! yep, a flat screen... which is very unusual {we don't watch TV ~ in fact, the last time I turned on the TV, was January 11th & JPE was out of town}... BUT, JPE wanted to be able to stream programs ~ which is something our older TV cannot do! so, we are looking for a new home for our slightly used TV {which we've found that NO ONE wants because it is the old kind... big, hunky, but 12 years "young"}... any takers???


You see - some days, I have NO idea which direction my blog posts will end! AMAZING what energy a picture of a snail + a quote has!!! My mind works in mysterious ways! a bit quirky but that's okay!


As for JPE & I ~ we'll continue to work on living SIMPLY... how about you? how have you SIMPLIFIED your life? 

PHOTO-HEART CONNECTION: JANUARY 2012

PHOTO-HEART CONNECTION ~ January 2012

Kat Sloma ALWAYS finds a way to peak my interest ~ whether through her online courses which fine-tune my photography skills or helping defining my creative eye through photo composition ~ In her newest monthly offering, PHOTO-HEART CONNECTION, Kat is appealing to the photographer's inner thoughts ~ memories & their connections to photographs. Photos that tug at the heart! for whatever reason.

She asked us to review our JANUARY photo files for the one photo that "spoke to our heart" ~ after much deliberation, I decided on this photo.

Initially, I selected this photo for the rich red color of the London phone booth, which happens to be a Christmas ornament. Actually, we left this ornament out after the holiday season as a reminder of the three weeks we rented a flat in London to experience life in this bustling city!

The London phone booth brings back a FLOOD of memories...

• watching families walk to work & school {from our 9th floor window}
• buying groceries in the corner market
• using the TUBE (daily} or relying on our feet to transport us on our next adventure
• visiting {& revisiting} the London museums & famous landmarks
• seeing four live performances on London stages {including the stage performance of WAR HORSE}
• getting caught in a London downpour
• stopping for tea time each afternoon

JPE & I documented our London adventure in this blog, starting HERE! with a post & pictures of our day's events.

What this picture also represents is the awe & wonder of really looking at the amazing architecture found in this city. Wandering the streets armed with day packs, we soaked up the energy from this sprawling city & marveled at brick, stone, intricate carvings, amazing ironwork gates & fences, and the canopies of well established trees shading the cobblestone walkways... ah! it's hard not become intrigued by the history, the people & the evolution of this cosmopolitan city... it's a true heart connection!

To learn more about Kat's PHOTO-HEART CONNECTION, please click HERE! the link to post your January photo is live until February 7th. 

HEART & SEEK! 3rd edition...

taken in Palo Alto ~ February 2010

As you know I collect HEARTS... Last year I ran across CHRISSY's blog, cul*ti*vate, & decided to start my own hunt...


For the third year in a row, CHRISSY is asking bloggers to look for "found hearts" --- you can think of these as hearts that you notice for the first time OR details that form the shape of a heart OR items in your daily journey that resemble a heart... 

On her blog, she reminds us we have a whole EXTRA day to find hearts {February has 29 days} this year... so, keep your eyes peeled for the that curvy shape with a point on the end... I'll share mine as I come across them! but, be sure to check in with CHRISSY & share your "found hearts." She posted several of my "found hearts" on her blog last February.

Some of my "found hearts" from last year are HERE & HERE... 

FYI - discovery!!!!

Lo & behold... I just noticed my ME {Mary Englebreit} letters have a small heart on the elephants back. Now, I've had these letters "staring me in the face" for at least 8 years & I just discovered the HEART?? either there's something wrong with my eyes, or I'm not very observant? Just goes to show that "found hearts" are just that - something you may notice for the first time - even though they may have been right in front of you for some time. 

Ohhhh.... I LOVE the hunt!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY 2.1.12

participating in Wordless Wednesday ~ click HERE  & HERE for more participants!