A tale of shoes. . .

Last Saturday Gary and I went up to the Gilroy Skechers outlet store and bought each of us a pair of Skechers (he needed them, I wanted them.)  We happened to see Jorden’s favorite, a Van’s shoe store, and, since his were looking really sorry Gary went in and bought two pair, one on sale and the second pair at half price!  Such a deal!

Jorden was visiting the Fresno Five (that’s what we call Russ & Denise and their three) and when Russ heard about the shoe purchase he said, Hey, there’s another grandson who really needs shoes!  Jorden said Will’s pinky toe is sticking out of his shoe.

So Papa and I headed over to Famous Footwear to buy some shoes for Will . . .something neon was the request.  Oh my, there were a lot to choose from! Which would he like?  We narrowed it down to three and sent IPhone pictures:

Did Will chose this one OR. . .

This one OR. . .

This one?

He chose the first one.  In his words he loved the first one!  (Interesting ‘cause that’s the one we were going to buy if we couldn’t reach him for a decision!)

Mission accomplished but wait---we can’t send a box to Will and not include Stanley and Mary even if they don’t need shoes!  So, it’s over to Old Navy where we pick a cute pink ruffled top for Mary and a cool T-shirt for Stanley.

Box in the mail yesterday!  Mission now accomplished!

The four best grandchildren fresh out of the pool:

And that is the tale of how the purchase of a pair of shoes turned into the purchase of five pairs of shoes, one ruffled top and one T-shirt!

Life is good!!

To everything there is a season. . .

and a time to every purpose under heaven;

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to get, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time of war, and a time of peace.

I have always liked these eight verses from Ecclesiastes;  have no clue why I relate them to Spring and Easter but I do.  Recently I was reminded of them when the monk Athelstan recited them during a battle scene on History Channel’s The Vikings series.  He seemed to be praying the verses as spears, swords and axes were flying around his head in a very violent conflict. That sure doesn’t relate to Spring and Easter does it?

Some Spring indications around here:

Narcissus from my yard.

Not sure, but these may be orchids!  Vivian plopped this pot in my yard about a year or so ago, no blooms until last week when these beauty’s emerged!

Wild flowers from here at Laguna Seca.  They are very tiny and only bloom for a few weeks in Spring.

 Buttercups. (I only know this because of a newspaper article in our Herald newspaper last week.)

Aren’t these little violet wildflowers cute?

 

 A field of yellow wildflowers with Coast Oaks in the background.

Again, as I reread the “For everything there is a season. . .” verse I still wonder why I associate it with the Spring season but I do, so I guess that’s that!

Happy Spring to you.

NOTE:  The big mower here at Laguna Seca just came by and mowed down all of the pretty wild flowers (and the weeds that were overpowering them!) Good thing I took these pics a few days ago!

Let’s eat some thistles!

Time for fresh artichokes. . .actually we have access to fresh artichokes year-round since Monterey County grows pretty much all of those grown in the United States but they do seem to taste better during the peak season of March to May.

Can you spot the artichokes in this field?

On Tuesday we stopped by our favorite place, Pezzini Farms, and bought one for each of us.  They were so good and fresh!

In fact they were so tasty and tender that yesterday we took a side trip while running errands and bought a bag of six---$8.00 for what they call baby artichokes.

There are many methods for cooking these thistles but I’m a purist:  Cut the stem off, then slice off the top, rinse in cold water, place in a covered container and microwave about 8 minutes (for two.) They’re ready when the leaves easily pull off.  We eat ours with melted butter. And, the heart is absolutely wonderful!

In the event I don’t have fresh artichokes, there is always a jar of marinated in my refrigerator!

Artichokes. . .a sign of Spring!

Another sign of Spring:  I’ve never seen a Hooded Oriole here at Laguna Seca but yesterday one flew in and had a drink of water from my fountain! (I’m sure glad our cat Inky wasn’t here!  He is the great bird hunter!)

HAPPY WEEKEND. . .