Happy Birthday Michele

Happy Happy Birthday. I hope it is a wonderful day because you deserve all the joy your heart can hold. When I hear this song I think of you and Duarte. It's Johnny Nash's I can see clearly now. Hugs from this Tia that loves you.
Thought you might enjoy some of VoVo photos. Old school.

These little photos are of Michele as a little girl. She is the oldest of my brother, Ilidio's, four daughters. Michele got married this past February. In the last photo Michele is five years old with her two sisters Staci (2) and Larissa (9 months) 1983. I took the photo with Michele sitting with her legs crossed in late 1980.

Photos of What you have Missed

Welcome to weekend adventures from Pumpkin Cottage
Sweet Pea cutting days at Summers Past Farms



Cal State Fullerton's Green Scene

Shopping on 2nd Street in Pomona

RV Show (Lee's favorite)

Just checking in

We have been so busy and the grief is so strong. I haven't had a chance to even post a quick hello. Next weekend is Jacob's 7th birthday. Can you believe how time flies? Then there is Mother's day. My deepest desire is to bury myself in work and school and not feel but that's not a simple thing.

I have so much to share with you but I needed photos. When we were going through my mother's things there was only a few things I really wanted: old photos, some that I had never seen before, handmade things, and what I was really seeking was a wooden star and moon shelf combo my mother always had hanging in whatever living room she called home.
Some how in all the moves it was

lost. Last weekend Lee bought me the moon. It may not be the same but I will be able to carry on the tradition for my children. These first few months without my mother have been difficult. I miss everything about her and everything reminds me of her.

She is in the my favorite lime green scarf she crocheted for me and when I wear it I feel her touch. Last weekend I planted fennel in whiskey barrel of rosemary because it was a plant we always had in our garden growing up. My mother could take the tiniest plot of land even pots, if that is all the dirt we had, and grow an amazing garden. The feel of the warm soil reminds me of her. The scent of the carnations, she planted in the front flower bed here at Pumpkin Cottage, take me back to a sweeter time. She planted the hen and chicks sporadically here but in her garden they created a long edge to her flower beds. The hens and chick in the photo about originally came from a friend's (Jacinta) garden in Bakersfield. Miss Jacinta was the mother of my father's dear friend. She was nearing her mid-90s when she gave us these succulents. In my mother's garden the carnations were huge and usually white or red.

At the Green Scene, last weekend, we purchased a daisy, such a simple sweet flower and strawberries. We have members of the arboretum for years and my mother had visited often with us. All of these things keep me close to her memory. I carry her in my heart and in everything she taught me.

See the huge aloe to the left of the daisy? My mother planted the first little cutting. My mother believed in the friendship of flowers, the medicinal qualities of plants and that everything tastes best with fresh herbs especially flat leaf parsley (salsa).

At Easter Joe gave me kale that he had planted from her seeds. It is typical of her, she always saved her seeds. Flat leaf parsley, holly hocks, sweet peas and fennel from seed. Roses and geraniums from cuttings.
Spring is here. Thank you for stopping by.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter all my darlings. This has been the toughest holiday so far. Easter is the last holiday where I can recall my mother being okay. It was the last holiday she cooked for our extended family. It was the Easter before she came to live with my family. Jacob was little. It is a memories I hold onto with care because it was so typically my mother. Up at the crack of dawn to cook, do laundry and just get things going long before any of us where even awake.

Enjoy your families. Hugs and kisses all around. Here is a little glimpse of our road trip so far.

On Friday we took a very long slow trip up the 99. Before we even reached the 99, we stopped in Sherman Oaks at Natas Pastries. Absolutely delicious. Some of the custards were still warm. There was a little bit of all things Portuguese. Custard tarts, huge suspiros (it means sigh..meringue cookies), and even cod cakes.
See us at the Sherman Oaks Discovery Shop. Hey, I waited 20 years to play with a little girls hair.

April Finally

March was a hard month all around. So I am glad it is gone and done. This Spring will hopefully bring some new adventures to help me get out of the funk I seem to be stuck in. I absolutely know when my mood is heavy. I just want to curl up in a ball and watch I Love Lucy.

Road trip tomorrow so get ready for an entire weekend of new adventures and some yummy food.

Come back for some roadside exploring and bright photos.