Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Today, Trying To Move On
Well, I did have pictures to share of our 4rth of July, but the camera cord must still be packed somewhere, I can't find it! So, my 4rth pics will be a little late ;) It was a VERY beautiful and moving night down at the lake. Our plans changed slightly. We ended up walking down one of the paths that I thought was gated and found a spot right on the lake to watch the blaze of fireworks. It was clear and the temperature was perfect, the moon nearly full, shining through the pines...it was beautiful. Again, me, all teary-eyed...geeze, people might start painting a picture of me a some kind of cry-baby! :) Really, I'm not...I'd say more emotionally passionate, moved by nature and music...and loud, booming fireworks :) But I'll get pics as soon as I can. I think a blog needs visual as well as written to really convey all the feelings. Some are such excellent bloggers though, I rarely notice they don't have pictures! But Life is busy at the moment...still trying to get the house together, taking the car to the shop, picking up the car at the shop, taking Bunny to the vet...yes, again! This was her dental visit when at her last visit (for the 'flying Piglet'), her vet spotted tooth decay. 3 missing teeth later (4, if you count the one lost on the scaffolding fall!), now the day after the extractions, she's barely coming around. She was under pretty heavy painkillers yesterday. She came out from under our bed this morning, looking a little more coherent and a little less trusting :( I feel terrible, she's always been a bit cautious and fearful anyhow. But I bought her some special soft treats of the salmon variety and she's coming around :)
As for 'moving' but moving farther abroad, I received an e-mail the day before yesterday from Skillclear, a UK site that deals with UK immigration and similar things. I signed up to receive news when UK visa requirements change back (if they ever do) so that we can begin the process of moving over. When I saw that e-mail in my inbox, my heart jumped!!!! This is it! No, maybe not. The were informing me that nothing has changed. Gee, thanks, haha! Oh well, at least I know it's working! :) Well, friends, I will end this rambling blog here and will be back soon with pics of this and that. One of these days I will have time to read your blogs from the past week! Never a dull moment...
Blessings, friends
~ER~
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4rth of July!!!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A Sad Day...


Sunday, June 21, 2009
**~Blessed Summer Solstice!~**
Saturday was spent packing up the house some more with breaks of laying on the floor, looking out the window as the clouds flew past. I listened to the entire Ray Noble Orchestra featuring the vocals of Al Bowlly CD as I lay there. The melodies of the early 1930's were haunting. Listening to the past being transported through my speakers, I couldn't help but think the clouds resembled ghosts. It gave those old 30's tunes an even more haunting effect. I loved it.
Sunday, the day of the Summer Solstice, I did not rise with the sun. Shame on me. I was exhausted from all the packing from the day before. I know the God and Goddess will understand :) In between more packing, I spent my breaks on the sunny deck, listening and watching birds, watching the oak sway in the breeze and letting the sun infuse my water with health and abundance, thinking of the new start that lay ahead in a new house and new ideas and plans for our future. A beautiful day here, but hopefully I'll get to experience the Stonehenge Solstice at least once in my lifetime.
Good Health & Blessings to you all! Mom and babies under my deck
My gargoyle fountain with my holey stones from a beach in Rye, Sussex
My 'Grandpa Ott' Morning Glory
Hollyhocks and Nicotiana growing like weeds!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
I Have a Hideous Problem and Need Help, Please!
There are a few more things about the house that we don't like, but hopefully that will all change in time. This wall, for now, is the biggest eyesore and possibly one of the easiest fixes. I'm amazed that I have time to blog...well, I probably don't, I should be painting. I worked myself to exhaustion yesterday and need a few minutes of 'me stuff' to keep my head balanced. This is what I tell myself to keep from feeling guilty for not working. But there does need to be a balance in ones' life, yes? I agree! Soooo, speaking of keeping a balance....while I was out at the thrift store yesterday, dropping off my husbands old skis and picking up old sheets to put on the carpets when we move in next week (!), I had to do a little balancing for my aesthetic side. I bought stuff! My husband is definitely not a thrift store/yard sale person. He can't get himself to use other peoples things. I say, "What's the harm? You wash it or clean it off and it's yours!". No, he cannot get around it. So, thrifting is something I usually do alone or these days, with my youngest son, Daniel. He loves it too! It's like a treasure hunt and what better treasure hunt if you get it at a bargain price? Instant gratification! : ) The other part of this particular 'treasure hunt' my husband will not agree with is buying more things = moving more things. Yes, true but I do plan on moving these myself so that there is that balance :) I added to it, so I will subtract. Here are my treasure hunt finds...
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
My Saturday In Pictures
Monday, June 15, 2009
When Pigs Fly...
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Evening in Paris
I forgot to put this picture up of my 'Evening in Paris'. The funeral reception for my grandma, Fino a couple weeks ago was held at my grandma Evelyns house, who passed away last October. When my grandma Evelyn passed away, some family members were quick to grab her antique crystal, china and other, I'm sure, valuable items. Someone had asked me 'what I wanted'. You know, it just felt wrong. I don't want anything...but I do. When my parents would travel, I would often stay at my grandma Evelyns house. She had her own bedroom, separate from my grandpa's. She had a queen-size bed and a beautiful, old wood vanity complete with bench. She would sleep in my grandpa's room when I stayed, leaving me in the huge bed-or so it seemed to me as a child. I would wake up, birds chirping outside the window in the old orange trees and in would come my German grandma with a fresh squeezed glass of orange juice. She swore by it and I loved it. I felt like a princess waking in that big bed, being brought a glass of sweet nectar :) But my German grandma Evelyn was not one to wait hand and foot on a spoiled princess. It was 'up and at 'em' when the sun came up, wash up and be on time for breakfast! Well, she wasn't too strict but stern enough that I would never cross her. My grandparents had a very old, tiny house with one small bathroom, but everything you needed. I'll always remember that house and particularly, that bathroom. It had that 'old house' smell, not bad old smell, but good old smell. The bathroom was painted a pale pink and had a tall-boy dresser that was actually part of the bathroom; not built into the wall, but attached to it and painted as part of the bathroom and it had crystal knobs on the drawers. My German grandma was very clean and tidy and her bathroom had pretty vintage toiletries and minimal decor. The tub was the thing I remember the most. It. Was. Deep. It wasn't your standard tub. Like the tall-boy dresser, it was not free-standing. I'm assuming it had been framed in wood, then gone over with that old plaster you see in old homes, then painted like the rest of the bathroom. It was all almost 'seamless' in her little bathroom. But the tub was great as a kid! And she ALWAYS had a bottle of Mr. Bubble-bubble bath for me or my cousins staying. In that bathroom, as part of my ever-curious nature, I used to look in wonder at every strange, vintage looking thing she had. Things I never saw at home or in stores or at the houses of friends. Strange, curious things. My one favorite, hands-down, was this bottle of talcum powder, 'Evening in Paris'. I used to ask her if she got it in Paris. She would laugh. I would ask her if I could have it, she always said, "One day, one day...". Well, that 'one day' was my Spanish grandma, Fino's funeral reception. My sister, who I have not spoken with after my grandma Evelyns funeral in Oct., apologized to me at my grandma Fino's funeral and handed me the blue bottle of 'Evening in Paris'. She had set it aside for me once other people started grabbing things. I was so mesmerized by that cobalt blue glass as a child, that I started collecting blue glass once I was a settled adult. A 'settled' adult is different than 'an adult'. My daughter is 'an adult', according to society and people who make rules. But in my eyes, far from being a grown, settled, responsible adult as most kids normally are not, "One day, one day...". As for Fino's personal belongings, I say the same thing; I don't want anything...but I do. I remember her 'molcajete' that she used to make the best salsa with (it was even brought up in speeches at the funeral!). It was one of those things that I would stare at in wonder when she used it...what in the world is she doing?, I would think to myself. I would love that to remember her by, but I have a suspicion it has gone to another sibling, who teamed up with the other sibling and went through Fino's things, picking out what they wanted. Not nice in my eyes. I could go on another rant about that, but I won't!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Rocky Mountain High, California
No, this isn't 'Rocky Mtn. High, Colorado' or the 'country roads of West Virginia', but this is the California mountain I've lived on for the past 10 years and respect it's nature in all it's forms and cherish it's beauty every day. The first 3 songs on the Playlist are by John Denver, in honor of my mountain memories (turn your speakers on). I'd forgotten how much I love John Denver. I grew up with his voice, over the 8-track stereo, riding in the top bunk of our well-travelled camper. I saw the beauty of the Colorado rockies and experienced the fiercest of storms while there and roamed lush meadows once the storm cleared. I fished in streams in the Sierra Nevadas, walked in the mountain moonlight in Wyoming and hiked mountain desert trails in Utah. I can't listen to a John Denver song, these 3 especially, without tears streaming down my face, unable to sing the words. I don't know if it comes from a longing of my childhood, a celebration of it maybe? My childhood was full of fun, wonderful memories, the way childhood should be. It was also filled with an equal amount of dysfunction and dark times. Camping is one of my most cherished memories, where life was happier, simpler. And that was probably my foundation for my love of travel and nature; the seed planted for a nature lover and an a clear understanding of Paganism. I felt safe in nature , even alone as a kid as I wandered because of a strong connection. Even growing up in suburban Orange County, one of my favorite places to escape to was up on our roof, with the towering Sycamore tree above me, under the moonlight, feeling the breeze. Here are some of my mountain and nature pictures from the past few years...I hope you enjoy them...
~ER~
San Bernardino Mtns., Ca.
Above the clouds, San Bernardino Mtns., Ca.
My 2 loves; nature and my husband, Sierra Nevada Mtns., Ca.
Sunset view off our deck, Thanksgiving, San Bernardino Mtns, Ca.Monday, June 8, 2009
My Weekend
Saturday was spent with a whirlwind trip down to Orange County, more specifically, South Coast Plaza Mall for a couple of returns that turned into a couple of purchases. Yes, we returned the Burberry scarf. It was beautiful but with the bad economy, our upcoming move and at least 20 other things up in the air at the moment, I felt guilty at such a luxury. There is a better time for that beautiful cashmere scarf in the future. Of course, I fell in love with a purse, a dress, another scarf...on the way out the store. No, I didn't get them, that would defeat the purpose of the return! My husband also needed to return a dress shirt at Bloomingdales, where on the way out, he treated me to a few Kiehls skin care products :), which I love! I suppose to ease my painful decision at returning the Burberry scarf. All the while, I tried to be inconspicuous and take a few pictures here and there, trying not to look like a tourist, haha! South Coast Plaza is special to us; it was a place that my husband and I used to hang out at quite often when we were teenage boyfriend and girlfriend...aawww. Although it was a short trip, it was nice reminiscing while we were there. After leaving the mall, we drove through So. Orange County where he grew up and another place we spent a lot of time together in our teens. Before heading home, we had a late lunch at a little Mexican restaurant called the Little Onion...I was surprised to see it still standing. It seems Orange County is built up and levelled down, then built up again every decade or so. It can be so trendy, it's nice for a native, old-timer like me to see something familiar. Once we left Orange County on our way home, we saw this monster-Frankenstein thing on the freeway. We cracked up as the eyes would light up when the driver hit the brakes! haha! I have no idea what that thing was, but it was a good laugh anyhow. My husband tried to get a picture of the eyes lighting up, bad timing with all the stop and go traffic, known all too well to Southern Californians. As we left a bright, sunny Orange County, we ascended our mountain a little over an hour later and noticed we were driving up to the clouds. It looked dark and stormy. It reminded me of 'The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein' where she was bought from the gipsy family to live with her wealthy Frankensteins and ascending the Swiss mountains, through treacherous roads, clouds and storms, at last saw her new home, Belrive. It's so dark and romantic, driving up the mountain, entering the dark clouds, like entering another world; my own Belrive.
Friday, June 5, 2009
What To Do...
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Hawaii & Guam and Young Love
I have had this funny feeling about Hawaii lately. Now, most of you 'regulars' know me and my love of England. I am not, repeat, am NOT a tropical kind of girl. My parents had a timeshare on Maui when I was an adolescent aged kid and used to vacation there around that time in my life. It was beautiful, yes, but I have never made it my goal to get back. Then again, I would never refuse a ticket to Hawaii either. So, I guess I'm saying, I could take it or leave it. BUT lately, for some unknown reason (and this is so like me), I don't know why I've had an urge to go to Hawaii. I thought, 'Well, maybe because it's more affordable being so close and in this economy, it would be a more practical vacation', BUT as I said, I am not a tropical kind of girl. So, why bother? This is why my feelings of late have me confused. The other part of this 'feeling' is that I reeealllyyy wanted it to be a family vacation. More than ever, I wanted a family vacation, in Hawaii. I don't know why but it has struck a strong chord in me lately. So, paying little mind to it because I have more important things on my plate right now like MOVING. The move is looming big at the moment...
Now, on to Guam...
I don't know anything about Guam. I do know that my fathers' aunt married a wealthy man from Guam, they had children and have lived there for probably 40 years. I know nothing else... and I don't even know the details of that information! Have you seen Bridget Jones' Diary? Do you remember the scene where Bridget does not know the location of Germany and everyone has a good laugh about it (all except Bridget)? Well, you can have your laugh now because that's me. Well, I do know where Germany is, but I have never known or had an interest where Guam was located. I always assumed it was somewhere just beyond Hawaii! Okay, okay, laugh it up...but I'm learning! Now, I have a reason to learn.

Our daughter, Christina has an ex boyfriend. They were young, they were in love (as much as teenagers can be or think they are!), he broke her heart, she broke up with him. Shortly after, he enlisted in the air force, like many in his family before him. He went to Texas for training, then on to Guam. For the past year, he has been trying desperately to get in touch with her. I don't know how it happened, but he finally did and they talked for hours. She is trying to be sensible (as sensible as a nearly 20 yr. old can be, I suppose). He wants to send for her this summer, to stay with him for a week in Guam. He's still in love with her and I secretly think she is with him as well. Aahhhh, young love. How exciting! How romantic! Soooo, I began looking up maps of Guam on the internet. When I saw exactly where Guam was located, I started crying. It's so much further than I thought! My excitement was replaced with fear and worry; I'm very concerned. Despite all my maternal feelings of concern, I am so very excited for her. I do hope that he has matured and has suffered enough after hurting her to have learned his lesson. He is the only boy we have ever liked for her.
Well, it didn't dawn on me until just a short while ago that my longing for a family vacation in Hawaii had completely disappeared or rather, was replaced by the excitement for our daughter, on a tropical island, hopefully with the Guy of her dreams ;)



Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Thunder, Lightning and Books
~ER~
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Open a Window, a Gate, a Laundry Chute...Anything!

I don't want to give up. I'm still looking for a way to get there...
As the lovely Ulla from Ullabenulla (ullam.typepad.com/ullabenulla/) recently reminded her readers in a post, 'when a door closes, a window is opened'. I feel like I'm in a window-less room at the moment and that UK visa door has slammed shut in my face ;) I'm trying to remain optimistic as I stare at my near-full plate of life at the moment. Full plates are good in life as long as they consist mostly of positive, happy or exciting things, but I know there must be a balance in life, so there must be negative, sad or boring as well. Full plates are also good if they're full of food :) Yes, I'm hungry and my mind usually wanders towards food and just wanders in general. I'll try to stay the course here...I've added the UK Border Agency feed to the right-hand column, hoping to hear some good news pertaining to visas, but I'm not holding my breath. Our only hope of going over now is for my husband to get sponsored employment which is a more difficult route and the chance is slim. Does anyone see an open window in this room yet?! I need air! The coming month I will be busy cleaning out closets and cupboards and packing rarely used items in preparation for our move. I can't complain about our Southern California weather; at least it's being kind to me. We've already had a heat wave or two (before summer!) but for now, it's as pleasant and as napping-in-the-hammock mild as it can be. The kind of days with chirping birds and lulling, soft breezes, aaahhhh. Friday was GREAT! We had a dark, stormy sky complete with rolling thunder all day. Later that afternoon, we had a beautiful summer storm, oooohhh, I loved it! Rain, thunder, lightning...it made my day. But here we are, Sunday and I'm taking it easy, planning my packing, keeping an eye on any visa news in our favor. In the meantime, I think I will have to build that window myself. Please check out Ulla's site, she's a beautiful spirit and talented! Wow, she is talented, creative and so artistic. She has a wonderful outlook on life, a truly special soul.
Be well friends and build windows where you need them ;)
~ER~









