Vintage Beach Style..

It's been hot and humid in our neck of the woods.
We escaped south to cooler climes.
Oceanside and Solana Beach.

 Lucky Street Market

The entrance to the wonderland.
I may have held my breathe as I entered.
It is lovely.

Bling and shiny things.

Flowers for the garden.

Music better than the Andrew Sisters.
I mean it.  Look at Holly's foot tapping action.

The bowlers are wired as pendent lamps.
Charming.

The picket shelf caught my eye.  Picket always does.

The photo doesn't do the turtle justice.
The shells are translucent.

Come on, this little cabinet has my name all
over it, but alas, babies need new school shoes
more.  

Speaking of babies and new shoes.  Check
out Holly's Adidas.  And Jacob, you ask?
He's covered.

This little tub called my name as we exited.

A Grumbler's Paradise

A life spent surrounded by grumblers. 
Nay sayers. 
The glass is half empty types.
Pessimists.  Creatives outlined in darkness.
Silly barkers who lift me up and allow my brightness.

No Jesus fish stickers on my car or
NTW..not of this world decals.
You will know I am Christian
by my love, by my love.  And limited
grumblers. 

Right now, I am reading Delight by J.B. Priesley. 
A grumbler's anthology of good things.  As the proclaimed
Queen of small things the book is a bit of revelry.
 

Love the sarape covered chair.  It would be hard to cut
a perfectly good sarape. 

Manicures all around.

Downtown Los Angeles.

Hot and Sticky...Humid

The humidity is so painful.   Symptoms of
Ankylosing spondylitis are my constant
unwanted companions.  Extreme weather
aggravates the inflammatory pain. 

Renegade Los Angeles

Mind over matter.  Mind over matter.
The only way to cope with the pain, without
the help of modern often harmful
medicine, is to distract the mind.

At the root of my strength is my
faith:

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually,
18 give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 
                                    1 Thessalonians 5:16 -18

and creative endeavors.

4th of July Idyllwild

It's all in the treasure HUNT

Treasured people.
Treasured pets.
Treasured plants.
All joined to create treasured memories.

In peachy Pumpkin Cottage.

Every door a different color. 
Crystal knobs.


Vintage dreams.

Love of owls. 

Patterns to imagine in embroidery.

Stitchy V.

Two funerals and one wedding

This was the subject line of my friend's email. 
Chrisy and I have been friends since before I could
speak a word of English.  We were four years old.

Aunt Minnie, our neighbor at 424 Purisima, said
we couldn't possibly be friends because
we were like Mutt and Jeff.
She was tall and thin and I was tiny. 

No matter.  We liked the same things, we were born
days apart, and Chrisy had Portuguese roots. 
We were both the babies of our families.
Shared the trials of life together,
reason enough to have 44 years
of friendship behind us. 

A sister in-law passed, a nephew passed
with a sister in-law's wedding just around the
corner.

I bawled with the news.  Her pain in my
pain.  I know what it is to lose a sibling and
I can't imagine losing any of my nieces or
nephews.  Lord, let me be spared the lost
of a child.  The children of the next generation.

Our families are so intertwined. Donna, the
sister just above Chrisy, is the same age
as Joe.  It was her son, Karl, who
lost his battle to cancer.  The present
and the past woven together, as
I recalled Karl as an infant.

The four of us would play together,
go to school together, and grow up together.

Donna, Chrisy, Joe, Me

We made the leis from fresh daisies from our neighbor's yard

Today's message is to relish every day.
Stay close to your beloved. Patch up
any hurts.

2013 Roadtrip Traditions

Mini family reunion...

My father adored me.
He passed when I was only 24.
He suffered a long illness, we
lost him long before he passed.
It still pains me today.

In Randy Pausch's book, The Last Lecture,
he writes something like it doesn't matter
when you lose your parents, what matters
is that you know they loved you.

Monterey FDES 1944

My heart is still full.
Saturday evening, the Get Along Gang
was joined by
my two brothers, my oldest niece,
more like a baby sister, and
their families.

Monterey's FDES first Holy Ghost Festival Cape

Crowns

My great nephew Gabriel

Romancing Vintage

A little devotion left at my
desk years ago.

May 8

The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face 
anything it has to face without wavering.  
If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, 
a glorious opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. 
God is disciplining us to get us into this center place of power. 
                                                                                                                   
                                                                          Amen

How lovely is that?  Life as one great romance.
Each day is a gift.
On the days we get to thrift, eat good food
and spend time with our beloved is the
romance of living.

Joe's loot, new stuff doesn't count.

Get along loot

Funny but Joe and I selected similar colors.
The green plaid is a dress for me.
The little dress is for our girl.

Metal canisters.
A little blue dutch ceramic shoe.
Vintage needlepoint and a needlepoint
book.
More sheets for my future crochet rug.
A happy apron.
Ceramic puppy.
A new  bag.
A cottage plate for the kitchen wall.

Satisfaction.

Seeking Inspiration on the Road

First say to yourself what would you be;
then do what you have to do.
                                     _Epictetus


Or follow my lead and run.

Country Roads

 


















If my parents had been born in a different time,
my father would have been a vet and my mother
a doctor.  Her heart's desire was to be a nurse
but she had the makings of a doctor.

It only took nearly 50 years, but I know
my calling has always been to live among
broken people. Shattered lives, broken
hearts, damage, with a sprinkling of grief.
No matter, I ran from it.  God
paid no never mind, continually placing me
in the thick of it.

Adding insult to injury, He disabled me so
I can no longer run as fast.  He does
have a sense of humor.

To rest my mind and body, I have
to create.  To create. I need
constant stimulus. I frustrare
methodical  personalities, create
anxiety for those who must control,
and ruffle the conventional among us.

What happens when I need to rejuvenate?
ROADTRIP. 

All American 4th of July

What makes my vintage heart skip a beat?

Made in USA.  

 

First time in Farrell's

Uniquely American Palm Springs, California.
Ace Hotel.

Jacob, Todd, Jessica and Holly

Happy 4th of July

Vintage Thoughts on Marriage

Marriage is hard and boring..

Not my experience.
Hard is picking the right
partner.  Having the courage
to not settle because some
timetable isn't being met.

Life can be hard.  Most of the
time life is made harder through
our own poor decisions.

Marriage is either wonderful
or not.  Relationships are
wonderful or not. Marriage is
intended as a partnership.
A support system.

Marriage is sweet, cool,, salty, tangy with a bit of spice for good measure.

Pick well.
Respect the red flags.
Retreat retreat.
Hold tight.
"Better alone than in bad company,"
my big sister Mericia used to say.

A bit of mystery.  Jessica and Todd.  Love you guys.

Mericia didn't believe in divorce.
She sustained an abusive, controlling,
tyrant of a husband until her death at 44.

Hold out for the excitement
in your belly. Let your
cup runneth over.
Love with all your heart.