Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Perfect Storm


Little did she know the fury that was about to unfold when she made the decision to walk around Dana Point Harbor.  Sure there were clues, but she was distracted by the smell of the sea and the sight of the sun sinking low into the water.  Maybe she should have felt apprehension as the sky turned to black, for they were there, whirling and churning. The darkened sky filled with the shadows and anguished sounds of the wretched sea fowl.  She took note of the spectacle and yet suspected nothing of the destruction that was about to unfold.  She walked, peacefully gazing at the boats moored in the inner part of the harbor, blissfully unaware of the desecration ahead.  
She enjoyed her walk, confident that she had left her vessel moored securely in the safe part of the harbor.  But as she approached the vehicle, it became clear that a terrible tempest had erupted in her absence.  Fury had rained down on her beloved vessel.  A fury that had left her vehicle defiled and defaced.  The perfect storm had seemingly come out of nowhere.  A squall of excrement so fierce no part of her vessel was left  untainted.  Apprehensively she approached the vessel, but the fury had passed.
Tentatively she climbed in, all was quiet, eerily calm.  There was nothing left to do now.  Nothing she could do now, but put her chin up high and be grateful for the cloak of darkness.  The cloak of darkness that shielded her from all but the nearest travelers.  And with as much pride as she could muster she made her way back to her homeland. To make the journey easier she allowed her mind to wander, pretending that she was royalty traveling in a magnificent carriage, instead of the truth.  The ugly truth; she was that person.  That person you can’t help but point at and laugh at when you see them out on the highway.  She was the tortured soul in the polka dotted car spewed and splattered with the waste of hundreds of effluent sea fowl.

Friday, February 11, 2011

A Day to Play!

I had a fun day playing at Irvine Park with three of my favorite people; Melody, Jaina and Gavin!

We rode the train!

Jaina loved the ponies!





 We had fun feeding the ducks, they made it look so delicious, Jaina ate a lot of the duck toast herself!


Then we played on the swings....



And the slide......



And Jaina served me up some delicious bark cakes at her restaurant!




So much fun in the sun!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Play time in the Garden



I feel instantly happy as soon as I step foot in a Garden Nursery and see all of the cheerful little flowers smiling up at me.  My favorite place to go is Green Thumb Nursery.  Not only do they have beautiful plants and flowers, but as an extra  special  bonus you get to shop with a little red wagon.  As soon as I grab the handle, I am a little kid again and I want to load it up with as many pretty things as I can find.

And sometimes I get a little greedy and my little red wagon becomes a train, which is even more fun, although a little hard to get around with.


I brought these treasures home and Dale helped me plant them all in our Garden!  

"Just living is not enough...one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."
- Hans Christian Anderson


Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Yep it's a 6 foot Rooster


One of the many reasons I enjoy shopping at Homegoods. Yep it's a 6 foot welded metal rooster for a mere $199.   Enough said!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Welcome to the garden


Oh hello there pretty little succulent garden pots, welcome home to my garden.  I hope we are going to get to be good friends.  I noticed you right away in the nursery waving your cute little flags that said "Drought Tolerant".  That's what really caught my eye, you know?  I could feel the other plants in the nursery pulling away from me as I walked by, not want to catch the eye of an occasional waterer, but not you!  You stood tall and flirty.  Drought tolerant...that means that you will like it when I go weeks at a time without waving a hose in your direction, right?  As long as you keep your end of the bargain, we should get along just fine.


Thursday, January 13, 2011

Day of sunshine and dolphins

The view from my table

We have had more than our usual share of rainy and cold gray days lately but today was absolutely gorgeous.   I celebrated by having lunch at the Fisherman's Restaurant on San Clemente Pier.  While I was out there enjoying the sunshine and the sound and smell of the sea, a pod of dolphins swam slowly by and kept me entertained.  What a beautiful way to spend a day in January!  
View from the side of the pier

Pier view of Fisherman's Restaurant.  They have great choices of seafood as well as pasta and salad options.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Fun and Joy!


Today is 1/11/11 hooray!  Another shot at a new beginning and another reason to celebrate!  Today I am celebrating my mantra for this year;  Fun and Joy!  I am a making a point of bringing a lot of that into my life. There are many things I want to do for myself to be happy and healthy, as well as to succeed in the  creative endeavors that I have been envisioning.  Keeping the pursuit of Fun and Joy close to my heart  is a good way to get there I think.  Sometimes it is just a matter of being in the moment and realizing when I am experiencing it.  For example I have been riding my new bicycle quite a bit lately.  I am not particularly good at it yet and so I do not go very far, but I notice that when I am outside enjoying my pretty view of the mountains as I ride I feel like I am a kid out playing, and that it is pretty stinkin fun!  And while I am out having fun, I am doing something nice for my heart too, so win- win-woohoo!

Sunday fit nicely into the plan for the year when Becky and I had a lovely Mother Daughter day at a spa.  Massages, facials. and mani-pedis, ahhhhhhh relaxation, what more could 2 girls want?  Even the clueless man who stepped out of the male dressing room twice into the quiet room in  his tightie-whities yelling for help because he had locked himself out of his locker and then had them open the wrong one, could not deter the fun and joy of the day.  (OK I was thinking "hey buddy why not put your spa robe back on?"  but I cheerfully got someone to help him....twice.)  Then vegetarian sushi for her and seafood for me for dinner, yummmmy!  Girls just wanna have fun!