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!