HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE !

We can know that the goal

of life is to open out a way

whence the imprisoned

splendor may escape.

--- Eric Butterworth ("Celebrate Yourself!")

(I posted this sometime in 2009, but I think

it bears repeating, at least for me.)

This postcard is addressed to my Grandmother Rachel back in Dec. 1910, 99 years ago! Her full name was Rachel Arizona Albertina Bryant! Hence "Zona" for short. She would have been 9 years and 9 months old. It comes from a stack of my Grandparent's postcards that I am lucky to have. It is addressed to "Dear cousin", which would make the sender my cousin as well, but unfortunately I do not recognize the name or even what the name is!


Well here we are on the eve of a new decade! How exciting is that? (VERY!) I am thinking back to 1999 and how the future century seemed kinda scary. Yet here we are 10 years later! Although I know how much tragedy has taken place, and of all the challenges we think we are facing now, we really only need to trust ourselves and God's Grace. Each one of us really knows what is best for ourselves (and ultimately our world) if we are honest and look within. Listen to your intuition! It is there for a reason. We each have everything we need to know right within ourselves. God.

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HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL EVENING

WHATEVER YOUR PLANS ARE!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

Beware of things that

go bump in the night!

Are these just the cutest kids you have ever seen? Yesterday was Lakeport's Halloween parade which features school kids 5th grade and younger and the high school band. (part shown below)

I will be spending Halloween evening with my sister and nieces and nephew gathering lots of candy!

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

ORGANIC PRODUCE TO BUY

If the country life be

healthful to the body,

it is no less so to the mind.

--- Giovanni Ruffini

1807-81

Do you buy organic produce? I hope the answer is a big YES! The above chart will show you the best produce to buy organic. Almost everything we eat is organic. I'll have to think about what isn't organic.....hmmm...... what I just purchased today that isn't organic is a liquid called "Creme de Chocolate" by HerbaSway. It is caffeine-free, calorie-free and instead of sugar it is sweetened with stevia. It is sold as a supplement, but I am hoping it will take care of my need right now for chocolate in a coffee drink! For 3 weeks I didn't have any chocolate or sugar, finally breaking down a week ago yesterday and having a bit of chocolate cake and then 3 days later a Mocha Frappuccino. Boy were they both good! :o) I am suppose to be on a no wheat, no gluten, no sugar, no yeast eating plan as I am healing from Lymes and a co-infection Bartonellosis (cat's scratch fever) I have been trying not to eat wheat (well, occasionally if I go out :o) for close to 5 years, but gluten is another challenge. What are the grains with gluten? Barley, Rye, Oats and Wheat. I remember by the acronym BROW. I had been eating an organic rye sourdough bread by French Meadow Bakery and although it has gluten, it had no wheat or yeast and was recommended by a friend, but then I realized that it does have a sourdough starter which may be a type of yeast so I actually made my own bread yesterday! I probably spent 50.00 on ingredients as I looked up several no wheat, no yeast, no gluten recipes online and each had different ways of doing it! I will post my recipe in my next post. It didn't turn out too bad, but still no substitute for the real thing! :o)

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HAVE A RELAXING EVENING OR DAY!

3 MONTHS HAVE GONE BY

Enjoy your own life without

comparing it with that of another.

--- Marquis de Condorcet

Well here I am! I can't believe it has been 3 months since I last posted and I wanted to get a post in before August ended. I was going to recap since June....actually since April/May, but will do it over the next 2 weeks. I have lots of pictures to share for anyone who cares. Has everyone been pausing this summer to enjoy the little things? (or big for that matter)
The above image was sent via email from my sister-in-law Terri months ago. I love pansies and the beach so isn't it perfect?


My attempt to photograph this lovely butterfly. I don't know if it was a Monarch or Swallowtail, but it was sure fluttering about that day in June.

These were my little skunks that I think were born under one of the sheds. There were 4 of them + the mother. What was funny was they were out and about during the late morning and early evening hours while it was still light! At first I was concerned they were rabid and I was afraid I would encounter them as I fed one of the feral cats, but they pretty much stayed by the sheds. I think that since they were young they didn't want to go to sleep when they should! They were so cute and silly. They would play "fight" and bump up against each other sideways with their beautiful tails straight up in the air.

Although they were cute, thankfully I haven't seen them since the first part of July.

Isn't that tail beautiful? Oops, I just deleted the other skunk pic...darn! I will show in my next post.

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These were the last of the sweet peas from the farm stand we got our pumpkins at last autumn.
Since I had several challenges with my health this last spring (more on that later) I totally forgot about them.(I don't know how I could have) Last year, I went by a couple of times a week to pick my own. I had so much fun! They were only 5 cents a stem and I bought dozens and dozens of them each time. The row was long, running north to south in all colors. I barely got these by the time I made it over there. Can you smell them? They are one of my favorite flowers! :o)

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The rooster. A story for another post. Enough said.

Ahhh.......the prettiest eggs in a rosebush in my in-laws front yard. This was taken the end of June and I just put my camera up in the air and pointed down and was lucky to get this lovely picture! My mother-in-law told me they hatched 3 days later and were gone before they knew it. She said it was hard to get close to the nest for a picture as the mother mockingbird would dive bomb them whenever they got too near.

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HAVE A HAPPY DAY!

Pause and look for the small things

Learn to pause ---

or nothing worthwhile

can catch up to you.

--- Dorothy Ballard

HAPPY JUNE FIRST!

2009 is flying by, are you pausing to enjoy?

Taking a sip!

These 2 pictures were taken late in April when our apple and pear trees were blooming. They were so lovely although they need desperate pruning. 2 of the trees need to be taken down, as you can tell from the below pic, but for now they will stay.

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This little guy was on our front screen one morning last month. He only measured about an inch wide and such a bright green color...darling.



HAVE A MONTH OF PAUSES!

Papers, pictures and postcards

Happiness is not achieved by

the conscious pursuit of

happiness ... it is generally

the by-product of other

activities.

--- Aldous Huxley

Well, I wanted to get in at least one post for May so here I am! I posted only one post in April and that was on Easter. Time flies for sure. As we (my dear husband Mike and I) are going through papers and stuff in the garage, trying one more time to get organized,(can you relate?) I found this picture of my friend Phyllis and I that was taken in either 1982 or 1983. How can that be? I remember that day. (although I can't remember which year it was!) It was August and our girlfriend Gina came over and "fixed" us up....make up and hair. Do you like our Hawaiian shirts? I think I am wearing my Mom's faux pearl necklace too. (at first I thought it was my puka shells, remember those?) Sorry the picture is not very clear, I took a picture of the picture! I will see Phyllis and her family next weekend at a party she is having for her daughter Stephanie who just graduated from high school and her son, Spencer who graduated from the 8th grade. I am also going through the boxes of my Mom's papers that I kept in 2006 after going through them a second time and not quite ready to part with the ones that were saved from 2004 when she died. Hopefully the 3rd time is the charm. I did get rid of so much in 2004 and again in 2006, but now is the time to go through the saved ones from 2006 and discard most. It is still very emotional, but it has to be done. My addiction is papers and I love all kinds! This includes old and new, photos, postcards, wrapping paper, old Victorian scraps, old calendars pictures, books, greeting cards....anything that catches my eye and especially family papers. Florals, people, scenery, paintings, insects, seashells, sayings, etc. etc. etc. I also found the box of postcards that were my Grandmother Rachel's and also some that were my Grandfather's, all from 1910 to 1920....so special to have those. My dear Aunt Peggy (one of my Mom's older sisters who is 81) gave them to me back in 2004 when we went to Colorado for a long overdue visit. There are some lovely pansies that I will post over time.
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HAVE A WEEKEND FULL OF PATIENCE!

Rejoice and Be Glad

Under the storm and the

cloud today, and today

the hard peril and pain---

tomorrow the stone shall be

rolled away, for the sunshine

shall follow the rain.

--- Joaquin Miller

I am alive! I wanted to post this sweet Easter postcard on Easter Sunday so that is all for now.

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HAVE A JOYOUS DAY!

You must want to fly so much

No matter how small and

unimportant what we are

doing may seem, if we do

it well, it may soon become

the step that will lead us to

better things.”
--- Channing Pollock

Here is the handmade card that my friend

Marie sent to me last week.

"How does one become a butterfly? she asked pensively.

You must want to fly so much

that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar."
from Hope for the Flowers
--- Trina Paulus

Alert blue eyes - the kitties have been out and about everywhere! I caught 2 of them doing their reproductive thing the other morning. I am trying not to think about more babies. I hope to do some trapping and fixing, but not for another 2 weeks.

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HAVE A FAITHFUL DAY!

The First Day of Spring - a day late!

No man in the world has
more courage than the
man who can stop after
eating one peanut.
--- Channing Pollock

I wonder if Laura ever heard from Dora again?

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Well, here I am, finally! I hadn't expected to be away from the blog for so long, but the time just flies by, doesn't it? I guess another reason to live in the moment and enjoy each day as it comes. HAPPY SPRING, a day later! I had a St. Patrick's Day postcard all ready to go on the 17th too, but obviously never got that posted. I started my antibiotics on Wednesday, March 4th. Rifampin, Septra DS and Nystatin, an antifungal. I am taking all 3 for 30 days. I don't know what will happen after that. I was worried about having an adverse reaction since I would be taking all 3 medications at once and I have not taken many antibiotics in my life. The day I took my first dose, Mike and I went to the emergency room at our local hospital and I took them there. We waiting about an hour and then went home...no reaction! :o) After that I was concerned about diarrhea and vomiting, but neither have appeared. The pharmacist thought I would have diarrhea since I was taking all 3 pills, but so far so good. I have 12 more days to go and will see my doctor on April 3rd, the day after I finish.

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More rain is in the forecast for tonight and maybe tomorrow. We still need several more inches to be out of the clear of water restrictions, but, I know, we should always be careful of our water consumption. This is one area I am not good at, although I am trying. :o) This past week's weather has been mild and enjoyable. It is suppose to return later this coming week. One of the effects of Septra is to not have prolonged exposure to the sun. This was a disappointment since I like to sit outside in the sun for 20 or 30 minutes, later in the afternoon when I am home. (When the UV index is at its lowest. This is why "they" say to stay out of the sun from 10 am to 3 pm) You have to get your Vitamin D and the sunshine is the best way to do that.(I also take a Vitamin D softgel too) Don't you think it is strange that there are still so many cases of skin cancer while everyone is wearing sunscreen? I always questioned that. My pharmacist said that as long as it wasn't over 70 degrees it should be ok, otherwise to wear sunscreen if I was going to be out in the sun for a longer period of time. (which I don't plan to be the next 2 weeks) Other than all of that, I got a beautiful handmade card from my dear friend Marie that I will post tomorrow.

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HAVE A PATIENT DAY!

More Seaside Photos

There is no such thing as luck.

It's a fancy name for being always

at our duty, and so sure to be

ready when good time comes.

--- Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

No postcard today, just more

pictures of our trip to the coast.

Enjoy!

I love this moss...it was so brilliant green and velvety.

The water is Pudding Creek and runs from the hills down to the ocean. It was higher than usual because of the rain, probably 20 feet wide. The ocean is just to the right maybe 200 feet away.

Mike and I wish we could have seen inside the caves,

although I don't think they went back that far.

We were helping the erosion along

by stepping close to the edge and

watching it fall into the water.

Cheap thrills, huh?! :o)

The beach side of the creek

looks like the Grand Canyon,

not in colors, but layers.

Later in the afternoon we drove into Fort Bragg looking for fried shrimp. We ended up at the harbor at Chapter and Moons to the far left of the picture. Long story, but the shrimp was good enough. To the far right is "Captain Flints" which was in the movie "Overboard" with Goldie and Kurt. One of my favorite movies! Weren't they so cute? It was used in the scene were Kurt tells the legend of the two lovers Katerina and Arturo and the waves.

The clouds were a bit too thick

for a truly spectacular sunset,

but this one will do. :o)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HAVE A SAFE DAY!

The Beachcomber Motel

The important thing is to use
today wisely and well, and face
tomorrow eagerly and cheerfully
and with the certainty that we
shall be equal to what it brings.
--- Channing Pollock

No writing or postmark date on the back of this postcard.
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I am finally posting as I didn't feel like it the past couple of days. We got back from our 2 night trip to the Mendocino coast on Thursday night. Of course, we had a fabulous time and it just reinforces again, how much we need to live there. I think Mike is coming around. :o) I'll post several pictures, in somewhat order, over the next few days.

Mike had to take a picture of the back of our van loaded for just a 2 night trip! We took just about everything including the toaster ! It is a pain, but even Mike said it is worth it once we are there.

Here is our room this time. We splurge and got a room with a fireplace and whirlpool tub. With tax, etc. it was 269.00 for 2 nights. It was nice to have the gas fireplace, which was on a timer so we could go to sleep with it on. The tub was great.....you could still watch tv and sit in the tub! The room also had a vcr and I brought several shows I had taped on video for Mike to catch up.

The view on the day we arrived....Tuesday, 2-24-09. As you can see, the room was a bit more to the right of the property instead of having the beach directly in front of you like the other times we have stayed there.

Of course, we took a walk on the beach after we got everything unpacked. I'll post more pics tomorrow.

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And lastly, this darling little kitten that was on a card Mike gave me. :o)

HAVE A DIVINE DAY!

Sea Caves and Arches

If there is anything

better than to be loved,

it is loving.

--- Anonymous

Another postcard from Ethel to the same address,
but not to Winnie. Maybe Winnie's brother?

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I thought I better get the rest of my beach

photos posted as we are heading back over to

the coast tomorrow! These are the sea caves

and arches off Mendocino, taken in January.
Wouldn't it be fun to have a little boat to explore them?

It will probably be raining, but we

will have a fireplace this time!

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HAVE A HEALING DAY!