Pumpkin Cottage

Pumpkin Cottage
sit and visit a spell

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Reflections: Road Tripping

Port Hueneme, a sweet destination.
The Get Along has been tired so
very tired. To gain some control, of
what I can't control, my mind calculates
through making of lists.  Eventually,
I have to quiet my mind by get out of bed to
write the stupid list.  The mind and body was
expressing it desire to escape.


Off with a loosely prepared plan, the Remnants of the Past 
vintage show Queen of Arts Show and Sale, and a bike ride.



Such a happy and blessed family.
Laughing in fits as we pedaled to the beach.





























Walked to the coastline.














Watched the sunset.














This family is the cocoon of peace.  We don't take anything
for granted and know we are blessed.  In no time, they will
be grown and on their way, but for now they are ours.
Squeeze every ounce of joy from
each day. 

Monday, November 14, 2016

Fat Girls Get Things Done

There has been a lot of ranting on Instagram.
Most of it election related.  There aren't
enough words.  But, there are actions like making
donations and wearing safety pins.  Smile and
greet strangers, it will be easier as we enter the
holiday season.

My favorite  rant has been #fatgirlsgetthingsdone. 
It's intended as shaming but I'm embracing
it because it's also true. When you are fat, short and
disabled, like me, there is very little that people
can say to hurt you.  For the most part, strangers
don't make eye contact and are all thumbs. It's
okay what I have is genetic and not catching.

I'm fat, not making any excuses.  Emotional
eating is my bubble wrap and helped me survive
years of excruciating physical pain as my spine fused.
Emotional pain as my mother's health and mind failed.

You betcha this fat woman gets things done.


Junk in the Trunk Show September 2016


Friday, October 28, 2016

The Magic of Roadtrips


Mr. Lee and I marvel at the road trip time machine.
We leave before the crack of dawn.
The neighborhood is quiet and pitch dark at
3:00 a.m.

By 7:00 p.m. Sunday evening the Get Along is safe
and sound all tucked in at Pumpkin Cottage.  We
pack so much fun into one day that it feels like
a week.  Do you ever feel like that?



















Thursday, September 1, 2016

A Day to Remember

















House Vintage...Debi Beard



You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

                                                         On Marriage - Kahlil Gibran

Happy Anniversary to my precious partner.


Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Lifetime of Chances


One of the porches at Second Chances Barn
in Fallbrook, CA.  Wonderful venue, super
friendly people, be prepared to be surprised. 
Make room in your vehicle.













































26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were 
when you were called. Not many of you were 
wise by human standards; not many were influential; 
not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the 
foolish things of the world to shame the wise; 
God chose the weak things of the world to shame 
the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this 
world and the despised things—and the things 
that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29  
so that no one may boast before him.
                             NIV 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 

My entire life I have prayed on my calling. 
It's been a slow pathetic attempt.
 
Many tears and disappointments.  I know 
my call and given the opportunity I will 
walk through the door.  

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

My Angels in Vista, CA





































Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,
for by so doing some people have shown
hospitality to angels without knowing it.

                                  NIV  Hebrew 13:2

It's common for me to feel goosebumps 
while I pray.  I love the feeling, I imagine 
I am in the presence of God.  It's like having a chill
and then warming up in the bright sunlight.  
The goosebumps are encouragement 
to press on in contemplative 
prayer.  

There is  a great need to pray. 
 

Friday, August 12, 2016

Any religion that professes to be concerned with
the souls of men and is not concerned with the
slums that damn them, the economic conditions
that strangle them, and the social conditions
that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion.

                                Martin Luther King, Jr. 























Livermore's Paris Flea Market.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Papa's Chair

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry,
and narrow-mindedness, many of our
people need it sorely on these accounts.
Broad, wholesome, charitable 
views of men and things cannot be acquired
by vegetating in one little corner of the earth
all one's lifetime.


                                        Mark Twain



























Seeking a Papa Bear chair like this one.
Mr. Lee is enjoying the comfort of
Ink Spell Books in Half Moon Bay.

The bookstore is housed in half the
original Sam's Mercantile building
where I used to shop as a little girl.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Late Bloomers

Every evening I arrive at the
Live Your Purpose freeway sign.

As I stare at the sign, I sigh...Is it relief,
comfort or fear?  I think to myself,
if fear or money weren't factors, what would
I be doing?

Unlike early bloomers, its taken my entire
lifetime to excavate my purpose.  It's been
a journey of discovery.  Some times painful.
Five years ago, the journey was experienced as
a severe period of pruning. A period of darkness.

As a gardener, I recognized the cutting back
was intended for my fruitfulness.
Change can be uncomfortable and scary.

Today, I take the first step in answering my
God sized call.


Friday, August 5, 2016

Making a Saturday 3

Do you know what it feels like to
find your tribe in strangers?
Every day, baby.  Sometimes the moment is
so intense it can bring tears of joy.

The Creativity Caravan follow their blog
or follow them on Instagram.
You will not be sorry.

We each made a tiny book at the show.
Some times a tiny thing
can be an adventure.





















Thursday, August 4, 2016

Making a Saturday 2

I say to the moment:
Stay now! You are so beautiful.

                Johann Wolfgang von Geothe








 Miceli's since 1949 Hollywood.  Tasty, authentic, and the Get
Along will return.

Sunday, July 31, 2016

The Making of a Saturday




















On Saturday, the Get Along Gang attended an
Open House at the Corita Art Center.
Visiting was an embrace of peace.

Located in Los Angeles
on the campus of the Immaculate Heart Community.























































It's the spirituality, spunk and political vibe of
the art I love.  Timeless. Possibly more relevant
today than when Corita create it.

Some of the silkscreens contain up to
23 individual colors.  The negative space
is as important as the positive space. Corita
used glue for the writing.

























The serigraph I am dreaming about. It's all about
the V.


Tuesday, July 26, 2016

On Quitting

Sometimes being brave
means quitting.

While others don't believe in having
a Plan B, I believe in being flexible.










Monday, July 25, 2016

Words for the Soul

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live 
a life worthy of the calling you have received. 
 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, 
bearing with one another in love.  
Make every effort to keep the unity of 
the Spirit through the bond of peace.

                                Ephesians 4-1:3
















Sunday, July 24, 2016

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Paradox

An amazing paradox is that it is
easier to be courageous than to be a
coward. Once you get over the initial
fear of plunging into the unknown, with all its
dangerous snake traps, the mere fact
that you dared to face a hard decision becomes
your ally.

                           Alexandra Stoddard
                              Making Choices
 Discover the Joy in Living the Life You Want to Lead  


























Holly innocently
sat near the box,
but had no
idea Rose would wrestle
for position in the box.

Monday, July 18, 2016

Thoughts on Character

Character is that which reveals
moral purpose, exposing the class
of things a man chooses or avoids.

                            Aristotle


A few weeks ago, the Get Along
visited Back in Time Antiques
in Redlands.

This one is a charmer with
twinkling lights.  Oh Oh France
our hearts are with you.


Sunday, July 17, 2016

Namaste

This morning the visiting priest greeted us with
Namaste.  He had to repeat it three times to get
our attention for a satisfactory response from
the congregation.

I bow to the God within you.






Thursday, July 14, 2016

My Father Loved Chocolate

It's the simple things in life that are
the most extraordinary.

Paulo Coelho


Pai (pronounced like pie means father)  liked chocolate
in all its forms. German Chocolate Cake,
warm chocolate chip cookies, and mild milk chocolate, too.




Tuesday, July 12, 2016

On the Value of a Lie

Just bounced over here from Susan Branch's blog
where she disclosed her Dad had passed away in
May.

In May, the Get Along Gang was at the
Morro Bay book signing.  When Sue was
asked about her Dad she said he was having a
hard time breathing and brushed it off.

I turned to Mr. Lee and whispered, "It's bad."
Oh, Sue, sweet authentic Sue, you did right to lie.


























Mr. Lee with Hans Christian Andersen
upstairs in the Book Loft in Solvang.
























Hans has promised to keep the secret.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Don't Entertain Regret

 























Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the thing that you didn't do 
than by the ones you did do.  
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away form the safe harbor. 
Catch the trade wind in your sail 
Explore. Dream. Discover. 


  Mark Twain


Saturday, July 2, 2016

Monday, June 27, 2016

Pumpkin Cottage DIY

When there is no wind,
row.

Portuguese Proverb


Three legged stool
make over. A live affair with
spray paint and any furniture with
legs.