JUNK IN MY TRUNK

Junk
in
my trunk.
Time to clean.
Clean guilt, sorrow, funk .
Reach to forgive,share, shine....clean .

Photo: old buttons collected from junk jars at flea market

Perfect Party

Going through my pictures today I found this one which reminded me....

Last year The Girls on the Block (well one in particular.. tee hee) asked me if I would have the 2006 New Years Party at our house. I thought: HOW FUN... we were going to be gone for the 2 weeks but, due to fly in on the afternoon of New Years Eve.... a little tight on scheduling... but that is how I tend to live my life.

This was the easiest party that I ever did give, all I had to do was provide the house... everyone else was bringing the food. So I set everything up before we left...easy . The friend (feeling like she owed me....love that hah !) picked us up at the airport, we came home, did a few loads of laundry... and 3 hours later... The Girls on the Block showed up with all of the food and drink. Easiest party evah... we had a blast and DH even made it to midnight !

Picture: my kitchen dining all ready for 2006 !

PS: I get to have lunch with THAT friend this Friday ... havent seen her for a month. We have lots to catch up on and lunch will be on me because now I owe her...hah!

Home Sweet Home

Little blue house... big blue house...
Old house....new house...
In the city.... out of the city
Many rooms...... one room...
Own it...rent it
Fine furniture .... flea market finds...
Stuffed .... sparse...
Flooded with light... dark and cozy
Music...books...art...love
Food...laughter...companions....
Many companions.....one companion
So many possibile combinations to make a
Home Sweet Home...

What is your combination for a Home Sweet Home ? How much or how little do we need to have a happy home ?

Picture: sweet little beachy blue bird house in my front yard

Blue Day

Blue
Day
For me.
Garden girl
Hiding in flowers
Prays for sun,water,nourishment.

A Surprise a year ago..

The College Princess in our life loves surprises. She is frequently planning surprise brithday parties for her friends and I knew she secretly yearned to be surprised herself. In our house it is next to impossible to keep birthday plans a surprise... so I knew planning a surprise birthday for her would not work.

Instead I planned a different surprise for her last year as she was preparing to graduate from high school. I planned a party and invited all of the special people who had a gentle hand in her development during her 18 years. The guests included favorite teachers from preschool, elementary school, junior high, and high school and some of her favorite babysitters . I asked each person to write a short letter to her with their favorite princessmemory and words of advice for her first year away from home. It was soooo top secret... I never made any phone contacts from the house... I told DH at a location away from home.... and miraculously... I pulled it off... the princess was surprised... and almost as important... the younger princess was also surprised.. if you catch my drift.

Anyway... what a special evening we had...we met at an outdoor restaurant in the hill country... we shared we laughed we cried and we celebrated sending our young girl into the world.



Picture :hs teacher,2nd grade,junior high teachers, kindergarten teacher, babysitter..i love them all !

Goodnight Moon

Warm
Day
Perfect
Slow, lazy
Drags into cool dusk
Deep orange moon says goodnight all


Today was what my DH calls one of those "chamber of commerce days " and while driving thru the port tonight... the moon was incredible...alas I did not have my camera with me.. so I downloaded the image from a local inn.

Happy Son

Sweet
Son
Driving
Growing fast
Summer beach,bike, golf
Now camping three weeks no sisters !



Enjoy !!

Aqua Sea

cool
sea
aqua
blue water
too cold for wading
instead walk, gaze, imagine, dream




I love reading Paris Parfait Tara's haikus using the Fibonacci sequence of 1, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8 syllables:. Thank you Tara for helping me to think and stretch. Haikus could be addictive !

PS I DID NOT TAKE THIS PHOTO... DOWNLOADED IT OFF THE INTERNET AFTER TAKING ABOUT 100 PICTURES OF THE OCEAN AND THE OCEAN LOOKING GREY IN MY PICTURES...EVAH HAVE A DAY LIKE THAT ??????? LOL !!!

Red White and Blue Spirit

Let freedom ring....In our hearts, our spirits, and our deeds. We are blessed . Happy Independence Day !

The Quilt

Recently I was ALONE for a 45 minute drive on the highway. NO TALKING ...just me alone with my thoughts ....and my thoughts wandered to my blogworld.

Lately I have been amazed at the TALENT, creativity and richness of my cyber-friend's blogs. Its enough to make a plain jane like me feel a little intimidated. As I thought about the diversity in all of my blog friends, the image of a quilt came to mind.... a patchwork quilt.... with each blog friend representing a square in my lifequilt... and I tried to imagine what it would be like if all of my blog friends met to make a quilt ?

Well, Alicia from Mayfly would come with the cutest fabric , Tara from Paris Parfait might bring some of her european fabric, Corey from Tongue in Cheek would bring some of her french fabric and arrange all of the pieces in the most artistic way for us, Susan from Artstream would come too and bring lots of praise for us budding artists along with her retro fabric, Laura from No Appropriate Behavior would bring great fabric and keep us all laughing while we quilted, Janna would provide the music, Sophia would bring her fabulous secret brownies, Chasity would take photos and make a layout for us... Julie from Suburban Kitchen would bring fabulous things to eat......Andrea could bring her paintbushes and paint a fabulous picture of the quilt... and ME ????

Well we can quilt at MY house and I will make margaritas uh I mean iced tea !

So now I dont feel like such a plain Jane anymore because I know we would have a fabulous time making a quilt at my house ! BUT.... I was so deep in my quiltblog thoughts....
that I missed my exit !


The photo: quilts and vintage fabrics on the bottom shelves of my bedroom armoire

Someones in the kitchen

Summer 06 Teen Cooking School continues. Todays dish is a family favorite...

Jim's Spaghetti

1 lb hamburger
1 box noodles
1 can tomato soup
1 soup can of water
1 can Rotel ( tomato with green chili)
1 grated zuchinni
1 chopped onion
shredded cheese for topping

Cook hamburger,drain and add onion and zuchinni. Add soup and water.. simmer 15 minutes, then add rotel and simmer another 15 minutes. Boil noodles,drain, and pour into oblong pan. Pour hamburger mixture over noodles. Cover with cheese. Bake 350 for 30 minutes. ( Note: I have used a variation of noodles, and sometimes I use more meat and an extra can of soup... teen boys ya know )

Yum..

10 Things that made me smile today

1.The fog this morning.
2.The sun this afternoon.
3.Teens who know how to get places better than I do.
4. Lunch at the pier in the above picture.
5. Having to move inside at the pier bc it was too chilly...can ya believe that ?.
6.Teen Son taunting.. I mean ..encouraging teen daughter to ride bike to play tennis
7.News that IRS building in DC was experiencing flooding...
8. College princess is finished with summer school.
9. Pink toes.
10. Giggles and gossip with my friend Pattie and George tomorrow.

Aging

George Carlin's Views on Aging

1.Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER : Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

The photo: my eldest princess preparing for her senior prom... as I clicked the picture... it took my breath away.. and I instantly passed into full fledged middle age... ready to send a new generation into the world.

Beach Walk

Walking on my beach route today....

Beautiful antique victorian home


Beach condos


Sea roses by the marsh


This homeowner has awesome garage sales... I go every year



5 star restaurant... I have never been though


The scenery is definitely an aerobic inspiration.

Babysitting

The teens in our house love to babysit and I love for them to babysit. Usually babysitting is seen as a benefit for the parents of small children and a financial benefit for the teen, but I believe that the biggest benefit of babysitting is for the parents of teens. No..... not because it gets them out of the house....... here are a few of the benefits from my perspective:


*teens are always glad to come home after a babysitting job... in fact they come home saying things like..." wow I am sooo glad to be home Mom" ...or "omg that food looks so good mom"

*teens reassure me that it will be years before they have kids..."kids are sooo much work Mom"

*teens come home with questions about interactions with the parents and their young charges... "Do you think that is the best way to handle it Mom?"

*they see how other families live, how they interact, their values, their strengths and their weaknesses.

*they see how parents treat their spouses, their children, and their babysitters and they take it all in... and dream of how they will treat their spouse, their children and their babysitters.

* they learn how to be quick thinkers and problem solvers... how to get that shy child to interact or how to get that spirited child to comply with her mother's rules.

*they learn that work is hard, mistakes are made, but rewards are great.

One of the moms told my teens this week that her kiddos watch everything that the babysitters say and do... which is true... it is also true that the teens see and hear everything that happens in the families they care for .

Babysitting has been a treasure chest of life lessons for my teens and I.

Visit To ARTstream

I promised Susan 2 weeks ago that I would visit one day .....and today I snuck away to go 30 miles to visit her art studio in Rochester New Hampshire. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a drive, although it was 70 here and 84 there.
Weird, huh ?

Anyway... it was kind of a big trip for me...I had been all the way from Texas to New England and thru cyber - blog land by the time my little car pulled up in front of the ARTstream Studio. I was pretty proud of myself as I walked past the pretty window boxes and up to the front door of the studio... then I saw this sign :


Uh-oh as I giggled to myself.. I thought they were open on Thursdays... but now that I am a "bloggie", I whipped out my everready camera and clicked some photos and peered thru the front window at all of those delightful pieces of art I had seen on her website... as I had my nose pressed up to the window ooohing over the art inside.. a man came to the door and to let me in ... seems they WERE open.. he just forgot to take down the closed sign.

Ah her studio is just lovely... old worn wooden floors, with crisp white walls, and bright contemporary art pieces, with soft day light pouring in. Saw so many things I loved, but decided to come back when I knew Susan would be there and she could show me around. I know some teens who will love some of those earrings she has for sale ! You can view Susan's art blog at http://www.artesprit.blogspot.com/.

Thanks Susan for pulling me in the direction of a new town and new art ! I am so glad I hung around even though the closed sign was up ... only next time I will let you know for sure when I am coming ! Here are a few exterior shots

Simple Things...

Its the simple things in life that can bring you happiness.

Last week when our friends from the south were visiting i mentioned that I loved going to the beach at dinnertime. The crowds are gone, the sun is lower, the breeze is stronger... and it is heavenly. So we gathered the beach chairs and ordered pizza to be delivered to the beach. We were the only ones there !

Of all the things we did last week... this is high on the list of favorites.

Wedding Cake House

Seen while strolling in the New England sunshine .

This beautiful piece of architecture is called The Wedding Cake House and it does resemble a wedding cake, doesn't it ? The local legend is that the architectural ornamentation pieces were carved at sea by a lonely sea captain who had to leave his bride as soon as they were married. Before writing this post, I did a wee bit of research to find that the legend was in fact a fairy tale which was perhaps concocted by an overzealous entrepreneur.

The Wedding Cake House ,originally Federalist in style , was built in 1825 by a shipbuilder for his bride. The architecture of the house was altered in 1852 after the barn attached to the house burned. The shipbuilder was retired by then and decided to rebuild the barn in a Gothic style. He then added all of the spires and trim to the house so that it would relate more to the barn. So alas... it was merely modern day home improvement.... 4 years of home improvement as all the ornamentation was made by the shipbuilders own hands. What a fabulous artist he was ! Today the home is privately owned and impeccably maintained.

Daddy

He
..spoke four languages
..broke an olympic record
..designed secret runways
..served 3 wars
..played in 2 bands
..served as mayor pro tem
..was grandpa to my 3
..yelled at crazy drivers
..made me laugh !

I miss you Daddy !
I think of you when I look outside and see the birdhouse.

Happy Fathers Day Daddy !

BTS

One of my summer goals is to teach my teens how to cook. We have started with the basics and this week we created one of their favorites: BTS Cake (Better Than Sex Cake ) Not sure if it is their favorite because of the name or because of all of the chocolate.... probably all of the above. Nevertheless.. they made it on Tuesday and it was gone by Wednesday.