Circle of Friends

Sometimes you just fall right into the middle of a friendship.

Thats how it was meeting Laurie, Linda and John, there is no need for history, no need for explanations. Through years of writing and reading each others blogs, we knew all there was to know. No questions or filling in..we just moved on into an easy friendship. Laurie and I have met before but have been wanting to catch up for ages, she drove up here on Thursday morning and then the two of us took the slow coast road and wound our way up past San Simeon, Hearst Castle and Big Sur to Monterey. We stopped for scenery pictures but didnt linger too long.

We all met for dinner and talked and laughed and talked looong into the night. Shops closed and we were seved our last cups of coffee and still we lingered, it was cold and clear as we walked Senga up past the seals and back, nice to do it with friends and not alone as Im used to.

The next morning (after realizing it was most certainly going to be bad hair day..no hairdryer and a heavy 'marine layer' aka FOG..) we met for a yummy breakfast on Cannery Row, and then made a quick shoe shop visit..(smiles sheepishly) and a new purchase...we wandered down to the Waterfront and spent much of the morning at the Monterey Aquarium...omg what an amazing place!!!

Later we bought (after I had recovered from my dizzy spell and they realized it was just food related...) shrimp and artichoke wraps and lunched on the beach watching the sea otters frolic in the kelp.

this is the Magic Carpet..South African 'Vygie' tranplanted in Monterey!! I kid you not...

and Senga says gooodbye...

John you are the kindest funniest man, honest and exactly how I perceived you to be. Thank you for showing us the sights and being such a wonderful chaffeur, for making us laugh continuously! The binocular story..and the seafood store tales will never be forgotton. Linda my friend..how wonderful to meet you at last, you are the gentlest soul and a sense of humour I never knew you had!!!! Cherie..thanks for the treats you sent for Senga, she loved them...we did miss you..bye John..sniff...

We had the most marvelous time, the laughter and warmth we shared will never be forgotton.

Laurie and I headed home. We stopped at Pismo Beach for the most amazing clam chowder, walked on the beach looking for pansy shells and watched the sun set on two glorious days

How lucky we are...

And There will be Chocolate...

I am cleaning my car, the dog is washed..my little overnight suitcase is packed an ready. Laurie arrives soon, and then we are driving up to Monterey to meet with Linda and JohnO, about a 3hr trip along Route 1 which will take much longer becasue we will stop to take a gazillion photo's.

The sun is out, even so its a little chilly. I shall take my light coat I think, and a jersey and warm slippers. Grins. We are meeting for dinner tonight and spending tomorrow at the aquarium. Virtual people from a virtual community, we will laugh and be happy as we add another dimension to our friendships.

I cant wait..

Roadside ~ Picture Perfect

Taken this morning with my cybershot, point and shoot, not enhanced in any way as Im tired and technologically challenged...

Derilect steel with rusted memories of its vibrant youth.

Shopping Spree

Well the other day Rosie decided to come and help me rejuvenate my garden. I must remind you and Im sure you've noticed, that its not big..your couldn't swing a cat really (if i had a cat) or a small dog even..and she no I couldnt swing her. So we trotted off down to The Quirky Quaint Not Cheap Nursery to get some potting soil and plants and few accessories too.

Im not quite sure why Rosi and I bother to make a list of stuff we need before we go shopping, because it fly's out the window and we spend the next couple of hours rummaging through antique farm equipment (which of course would never fit through the front door let alone in my garden..but we're like that) weird and quirky metal and stone sculptures..and then inside to these little gems pictured below. We did buy a whole heap of plants and accessories..but amongst the oohing and aahing of all the gorgeous stuff we forgot the potting soil.

Many of the things I saw reminded me of some you lot actually...

There were Garden Tools for Rosi:

and a Garden Gnome for Mystie...

some bird houses for Ronnie...

a Big Round Shell Collection for Jude

a set of Colourful Buoys which reminded me of Sharon and her Maritime existence

ok the hearts are mine

a dragonfly for Tint

a Bit of Bling for Chris

a Horse and a Cart for Ginny

and another Horse for Red Robin..

and a Special House for Bert and all his friends.

If there's anything you need, do let me know coz Im bound to find it somewhere....

(PS..Shipping is Free in Fantasyland...so size doesnt matter)

Chalk Art

Every Memorial Weekend a chalk-art exhibition is held in the parking lot of the Old Mission in Santa Barbara. For three days artists are on their knees producing the most gorgeous artwork out of chalk.

I drove down early this morning to watch them first hand, the sun was barely up, clouds hanging over the mountains making it chilly and damp. I grabbed coffee on the way, and found a spot on the front steps leading up to the mission and sat and watched the artists at work. It was one of the most calming, peaceful things I've ever done.

The crowd was thin, just a few dog walkers like me. I sat clutching my steaming coffee and watched steady hands and listened to friendly conversation being shared, as they hunched over their masterpieces, shaded and touched up, swept away debris. Some pieces were still covered in plastic to protect the drawings from the night air and morning mists, many unfinished. The grand showing is only tomorrow.

Eventually the sun broke through the clouds, and we wandered across the road to the park nearby and played with the children....

~ more pictures on my photo page ~

Wishful Thinking

This is the new Picture-To-Words challenge, which is due tomorrow. However I felt as it was Memorial Day I felt it appropriate to post it today.

While the poem is written in memory of my son who died in a drowning accident and not fighting for our country, I still find it relevant for all mothers..and fathers.

Life is tenuous and precious, especially for our children.

..oOo..

I wish you gentle clouds against which to nestle

my child

because you no longer nestle against me

I wish you music and familiar sounds

because the sounds you hear can't be mine

I wish you warmth and comfort

my son

because tonight I don't have the luxury

of tucking you in

I wish you fun and friendships,

a soccer ball and a video game

I wish you water to swim in

the biggest fish

the best tied flies

in the clearest lakes

and a dog

I wish you the best surf under sunny skies

the funniest jokes

in all the universe

I wish you vision to float,

down through the layers

of memories,

and see

why the only real wish

I have today

is really

just

for me

Pictures To Words

Sunday Funday

Nancy's Funday Sunday

Just For Fun!

For the next few weeks Picture Perfect is in Competition Mode! So today, you can all come over and view

Ten of the Best..

and vote for a winner!

PICTURE PERFECT VOTING POLL

Rain, Songs and Chalk Drawings

The nights have been cold, unexpectedly cold really. Last night when I cruised home (after the very LAST 3p-3a shift I will ever do in this lifetime,) the moon was hidden behind a misty veil and I had the heat on in the car.

I always walk the dog when I get home, even if it 4am! Last night the air was cool and the ground was littered with debris from the wind storms we have had over the past few days. Nothing prepared me for the torrential downpour I woke to at midday!! Wonderful! I lay in bed and watched the water stream down my window, washing all the pollutants and allergens right down the drain...yayyyy!

I have three days off and already there are a million wanna do gotta do things rushing around my head (and none of them involve laundry or washing carpets!!)

Its summer and the weekly music concerts on the green have begun, there is also a weekly Movie in the Park which is 10minute walk from my house, actually everything in Solvang is a mere 10 minute walk!! There is the farmers market today, the flea market and then of course there are the gorgeous pavement chalk drawings downtown Santa Barbara at the old Mission, on Sunday. I do hope they have a sunny day for that otherwise there won't be much point I guess.

Work has been busy beyond belief, I think everyone in Southern California wants to have their baby at The Birth Centre before if closes. Rosi and I have had very little downtime to catch up with each others lives, knitting, sewing, books and other little craft things we bring to work keep busy when we are quiet have stayed firmly in the bowels of our craft baskets!! An added frustration has been that The Mother Hospital downtown SB expects us to 'orientate' to our new jobs on our days off. As you can imagine this does not suit any of us.. esp Rosi and me!!

Tonight is the beginning of an avalanche of Farewell Parties, for the 2 OB GYN's who have decided to retire, we decorated some scrubs for them with a sharpie and cryptic comments and then spent a few hilarious minutes (which is all the labouring women of Santa Barbara would allow)..composing songs for each of them, (songs which include words such as 'pursed lips and heaving hips'..I kid you not) which we will sing with gusto after a few glasses of wine later this evening.

Senga is gazing out at the dripping trees, wondering if she will ever get a walk today.. she may get lucky...

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Broken ~ Picture Perfect

The salon where I have my hair done often exhibits art work, changing it regularly for new work every other week or so, so for me my visit there once a month is invariably greeted with a new piece to study. This week the shards of broken pottery mounted on the wood salvaged from an old chicken coop intrigued me and came with a story from the potter.

A few weeks ago as he was firing a really huge pot, it shattered as it was being fired, long before it had been fired completely. So he cooled down the kiln, removed what was left of the pot and later that week he gathered the pieces together and went down to the beach. There he collected seaweed, stones and driftwood, and buried them along with the broken pieces of half baked pottery. He then kept a fire burning all night and the full day following, firing them slowly in the beach sand.

The result..unique pieces with a special beauty which would never have been revealed without having been Broken first.

And so it is with us too...

Picture Perfect

Camouflage

She wasn't sure which made the more noise, her feet clattering on the wooden planks or the sound of her ragged breathing. She allowed herself a glance over her shoulder as she ran expecting to see him hot on her heels. There was no one in sight.

The fog swirled and draped its wet cold fingers around her in the early twilight and she shivered slightly, her long hair clung to the perspiration on her face. She hadn't meant to venture this far from the compound on the wooden boardwalks. They were suspended high above the ground to keep people safe from the old minefield below she had heard someone say.

The dampness made the woodwork slippery beneath her bare feet, but her fear at being spotted urged her on as she leapt up to the railing and on to the lowest branch of a nearby tree. Almost without thinking she climbed, and scrambling from one to the next, tried to gain as much height as she could as quickly as possible, all the while trying to slow her breathing. Every so often she paused and listened for the sound of running footsteps.

Eventually they came as she knew they would. her feet were tucked up beneath her now and she hardly breathed at all. The clatter got closer and she could see the path sway with the weight of others, she squeezed her eyes shut as if to block out the light, surely if she could not see them, they in turn would not see her.

The footsteps stopped, right below the tree in which she hid.

Her heart pounded.

She waited.

'Beatrice' smirked the voice. 'We can see you, dummy'

Her brother and his friends laughed heartily and turned to leave. 'Youre it next round'

'Oh, and Beatrice' shouted a voice 'we can see right up your dress'

Sugah

Isn't she beautiful, my graceful girl diving deep and scooping up the sweet stuff.

Carrol Boyes is a well known South African designer who lives in Cape Town, she has the most beautiful range of functional art I've ever seen.

Of all the pieces I've collected over the years, my sugar spoon is my favourite!

Read more about her Here

The Road Less Travelled

Well the road is not less travelled, just less travelled by me really. This is what a fair amount of the road from Santa Maria to Bakersfield looks like, using the 166 you travel west from the coast through the mountains to the Kern valley. Its about a two and half hour drive, and it really is spectacular. The I-5 may well be quicker, but the scenic route is always surprising, interspersed with the unusual.

Midway, just as I was descending, winding my way down into the lush valley, I found a group of these old apple trees...

They were standing in a square, quite obviously the remains of an ancient old apple orchard, now pushed to the edge of a huge thriving fruit farm.

They have been pruned into a variety of shapes.

And as I walked amongst them I noticed something I hadn't seen from afar.

While all the trees had been shaped to grow in obscure shapes and angles, they each had one limb outstretched so they just touched one another...

Moonshine

The Moon had her moment

tonight

as she hung,

a yellow orb strung in the sky

spilling golden

patina on a calm heaving canvas

a palette of fluid below

The moon had her moment

as she peered brazenly between

trees as I gazed

across lavender and roses

at heavenly pinpricks of light

as I walked

The moon had her moment

as I bathed in the washes of colour

changing contours on skin to perfection

As the shadows swayed silently

gently across walls

in time to the sighs of the trees

As the light drips through drapes

and puddles and falls

The moon has her moment

with me

Summertime ~ Picture Perfect

Hout Bay ~ South Africa 2006

So many memories of summer spent in different towns in different countries, all so vivid.

Home and Christmas and family gatherings, swimming in cold mountain streams which ran clear and cold off the Swaziland mountains and New Years eve pool parties spent with friends and family sipping apple sours and champagne. The mountains as a child, the beach as an adult, the highveld thunderstorms in between.

Summer memories are filled with sounds. That of a lawn mower, a sprinkler system kicking in, sitting around a braai (bbq) fighting off the mozzies (mosquitoes) watching children play hide and seek in the waning summer light, calling to each other and excited whispers and yells of joy when someone in found. Dogs barking in the distance while ours snore gently at our feet, and the crickets and the cicadas which we called Christmas Beetles.

Oh and the smells, of that freshly cut lawn, the flowers in the heat of the midday the lap of the water against the lilo as I lie back and shade my eyes from the sun in a clear blue sky. The smell of the African earth after a sudden violent late afternoon thunderstorm. Sleeping babies in cotton diapers, beads of sweat on their little brows as they nap in the shade of the huge pine tree.

The evening dinners with friends on the deck of our favourite restaurant overlooking the beach in Abu Dhabi, fans keeping us cool as we watched the old dhow bobbing off shore in the Arabian Gulf. Late night swims in luke warm water in temperatures that dropped only slightly after sunset. Fogged up sunglasses each time you moved from the air conditioned interiors to the blazing desert heat outside. Where filling up with gas meant never turning off your car ignition or a/c.

Hot humid summers, continue in New York City I'm sure even though I'm not there, the city burns and is muggy even now, and other women's feet slip in their sandals even though they wear scanty clothing and catch an afternoon show on Broadway. Couples walk arm in arm through Central Park I'm sure, and I bet they eat bagels bought fresh from the little shop on the corner in Manhattan. People still go to Jones Beach on the weekends and walk along the boardwalks and eat Ben and Jerry's ice-cream from Vermont. And take a copious amount of photo's.

In Vermont Judie and I dropped the hood of the convertible during summer, and drove fast to loud music down narrow tree lined roads until our hair was knotted and our cheeks were sun-burnt. We walked Quechee Gorge from the top right to the very bottom, and swam in Stoughton Pond, we boated and water skied on the Connecticut River and then ate pizza on the deck while we watched the hummingbirds at the feeder, and the deer in the vegetable patch.

Across the country summers were a little different and more like home. In Arizona summer involved intense dry heat, so lazing by the pool at midday was a must, there were hummingbirds and lizards and a dog to walk, there were water fights and night walks when it was cooler. We walked the length of Sabino Canyon, and when it was very very hot we went up the mountain and walked in the shade of the poplar trees. We browsed the old shops in the little village of Tubac and bought brightly painted pottery, we took pictures then, and now when I look at us the heat shows.

I miss the steamy nights asleep with just a sheet and the fan turning lazily above barely moving the air, I feel the warmth of your hand still, stretched lazily across the expanse of bed. Your fingers barely grazing the skin on the small of my back

My grandchildren and friends, Midlands, Kwa-Zulu Natal 2007

Life Line (not for the faint-hearted)

Don't you hate it

when you're floating around in water

just minding your own business

and someone pulls the plug

on the worlds greatest little gymnast

whose tied herself up in knots?

What a lucky little girl, you are....

Mandala

I have to be honest and admit that until last week I had never heard the term Mandala. While I have (unwittingly) used the shapes and concepts probably through most of my life, I had never heard the word or knew what it was about.

One slow night at work, my friend Karen changed all that.

Its a Sanskrit word meaning circle or completion, and its used in almost every form of religion or worship. They are used to focus, to achieve a sacred space and assist in meditation. They are used decoratively too, and as a form of relaxation. There is something about doing something repititive which stills the mind and allows ones subconscious to unfold, lift and be refocused. Its very calming and allows one to attain order and resolution to the chaos which lies within each one of us at some point.

Colouring between the lines of pre printed patterns is great to do with kids..no matter what their ages. Once you've done a few printed ones, try doing some you've made yourself, the variations are endless and the materials you can use are vast.

The word mandalas, are Karen's gratitude prayers

Bedspreads

Printed Mandalas

Sand