This is today’s Real Simple Daily Thought. I always have Gary on one side and Dulee on my other but I have also ALWAYS read in bed and am definitely a book lover. Oh, and look, on the night stand is a teapot and cup of tea. . .one of my other big fav’s!
Dulee, twelve pound white Bichon Frise, on our bed.
My morning cup of Earl Grey tea. My daughter Kelle gave me this beautiful cup.
Books and reading in bed---a good thing.
Today it has been 16 years since we lost my Mom. I still think about picking up the phone to call and talk to her!
A few weeks ago I went through a box of buttons I saved from her many many and sold these fourteen. Since I am definitely not a blinge-type girl I chose to auction the rhinestone buttons on E-Bay. When the auction ended I had made $5.98!
One of Mom’s button boxes was this wooden codfish box. I’m thinking she made lutefisk with the codfish---no, my sister, brother & I did NOT eat smelly lutefisk!
A couple of really pretty vintage red buttons.
Mom was a recycler before recycling was called recycling. She tied matching buttons together with bits of thread, string or yarn, sewed them by hand onto index cards or miscellaneous pieces of button cards.
Vintage buttons on original cards. Isn’t the red triangle button cute?
I love the lady in a hat graphics on these 1940’s era Luckyday button cards. “The talk of the town” and imagine, only 5 cents!
LeChic toggle buttons possibly circa 1950’s. . . 25 cents!
As I wrote about Mom’s buttons I did some Googling and learned that button collecting is a hobby! There is an online Google group called Button Bytes and even a National Button Society founded during the depression, which numbers 3,000 members who preserve and study clothing buttons; even exhibit and receive awards for their buttons and collections.
I’m quite sure that, even though Mom had a LOT of buttons, she didn’t consider herself a collector but doesn’t an item become a collection once you have more than three of them? Mom had a button collection!!
I found this on the Nubia Group blog I follow (And they state that it is OK to share – how nice of them!) and thought it was a good quote to start the day and the weekend!
Good Morning. . .and Good Weekend!
My narcissus are blooming so Spring must be here!
I accidently moved the setting on my Nikon to “P” and got this interesting composition. I will have to spend some time reading my manual to see just how/why this happened but I like it!
Cute teeny bitty purple flowers blooming in a pot with other plants.
Since it is such a beautiful day (and Spring must be here!) I decided to pot the succulents I bought last week. I painted the three cheap (or is it better to say inexpensive?) clay pots with craft paint.
I am usually careful about saving and sticking the labels to the bottom of the appropriate pot but mixed them up! The Hibotan is easy to identify since it is the only cactus, I know that the tall flat one in the right pot is a Flipping Flapjack (don’t you think it looks like pancakes?), so know that the other three are either Sedum Brown Bean (maybe the dark green in the right pot-it looks sorta kinda like a bean?), Moonglow or Rainbow Elephant Bush. The two in the larger pot are cuttings I “stole” so I have no clue what they are.
This Anna’s hummingbird joined me while I was doing my potting.
The Anna’s Hummer frequents our area year round. (The following is from “Hummers – hummingbirds of north america” by Millie Miller and Cyndi Nelson)
So I am enjoying this February Spring. . .of course I am in California where one season is not too much different from the next!
Happy Spring!
For an occurrence to become an adventure, it is necessary and sufficient for one to recount it.
Jean-Paul Sartre
One of my traveling hobbies is visiting and photographing Carnegie Libraries across the country. Naturally I haven’t gotten around to many of the 89 still remaining in my own state of California so before sister Micki took me to the Oxnard AMTRAK station we stopped at the nearby Carnegie Library (now the Carnegie Art Museum.) This elegant structure was built in 1906-07 with funds granted by Andrew Carnegie. The section to the left of the Doric columns is an addition which blends seamlessly with the original building.
Across the street we checked out the Oxnard Veteran’s Memorial. Each of the pyramids is dedicated to a different war.
Our reflections in the World War II pyramid.
This trip from Oxnard to Salinas was an adventure that started off with the train being about 40 minutes late and ended with arriving in Salinas 1-1/2 hours late.
The train was crowded so my assigned aisle seat would have felt cramped but since I had already decided to ride in the Observation Car I went straight there after having my ticket taken by the conductor.
I love to people watch, at the mall, at restaurants, Costco is great and just anywhere there are people, and the train has proven to be a perfect place to observe all sorts of unique and interesting characters.
As I sat down in the Observation Car I noticed two men who reminded me of a Hispanic version of George & Lennie in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. They were speaking Spanish so I couldn’t understand their conversation but the younger “Lennie” seemed to be looking to the “older” George for guidance. I imagined Lennie saying to George: “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."
When I finally able to nab a seat on the ocean side of the observation car a down and out kind of guy sat in a seat near to me and struck up a conversation. “What is a lady like you doing traveling alone?” Was he trying to pick me up? I just don’t know?! After I had quashed any such notion we had an interesting conversation. His story is that he is going to be rich when he publishes his Sci-Fi novel. So far he has the first 2-3 chapters in his head all ready to put pencil to paper! He also shared that he would like to have a wife but only wants an Oriental because she would be submissive and take care of him! I rolled my eyes at him at this statement! (I later saw him try to strike up a conversation with an Oriental girl - she shut him down very quickly)
While we were talking a man who earlier had been intently watching the ocean stopped to tell the down and out guy about his embarrassing attempt to buy beer during the stop in San Luis Obispo. He walked across the street to what appeared to be a restaurant, walked in and asked if they sold beer. The answer, given with a real chuckle, was “No, we don’t, this is an AA meeting.” Turned out that it was an antique store used for their AA meetings! When down and out guy left the older man told me that down & out was his seatmate and had tried unsuccessfully to sell him his watch. He did sell it to another passenger for $30 and then bought beer.
Another trip I talked to Travisteen Helms who I learned is a composer of blues, jazz and country songs.
I also heard another 30-ish passenger say that he was on his way to see his Mother whom he hadn’t seen since he was 12 years old, some 20 years ago. Must be quite a story there.
Riding the train is an experience! During the four months of train trips back and forth from Oxnard to Salinas I observed some real characters. On one trip someone died of a heart attack. Another time, after several announcements that drunk and disorderly conduct was not be tolerated, the train made an unscheduled stop to turn a drunk and disorderly person over to law enforcement!
A Pacific coast sunset taken from the train.
It is SO good to be home; we are hopeful that this is the last trip for this reason! Gary had leftover pizza from Casa Sorrento – yummy!
Life is either a great adventure or nothing. Helen Keller
I am definitely not a morning person. I do get up early but don’t function well for a few hours so sunrises generally don’t rate much of my attention. Give me a good ol’ beautiful sunset! But a few days ago I was jarred out of my morning doldrums by an absolutely gorgeous multi-colored sunrise. I grabbed my camera and, from my deck, over the span of two minutes took these five photos.
I'd like mornings better if they started later. ~Author unknown
Overlooking the paddock at the racetrack. The colors were brilliant purples, pinks, and magentas.
“Let every dawn be to you the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close.” -John Ruskin
Within seconds the colors had softened. The trees silhouetted are coast oaks.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD's name is to be praised. ~Psalms 113:3
One minute later the sky had taken on an orang-ish hue. The arc over turn seven at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is silhouetted in this photo.
I can find God in nature, in animals, in birds and the environment. -Pat Buckley
A flock of birds took to the sky just as I was snapping this one.
“With each sunrise,
we start anew” –unknown
Just two minutes after I took the first of the five photos dawn had already started to soften and wash out the vibrant colors. The curve may have been a contrail from a jet taking off from the Monterey airport – I’m not sure.
“You don’t need someone to interpret for you what a beautiful sunrise it is.” -Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
I have always wished I could be a morning person but know my internal time clock is not set for mornings. But I did truly enjoy this particular morning with its special sunrise.
Are you a sunrise or a sunset person?
When not on the road we are live-on volunteers and are also involved in the track rental events at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in our home base city of Monterey, California. I am a Course Marshal and do decibel testing. and Gary is Track Rental Supervisor. 
This 1955 Mercedes SLR is apparently VERY VERY valuable because the event organizers advised us to be diligent about assuring that none of the other cars on the track came even close to it! Rumor had it that this car was raced by the famous racecar driver Stirling Moss in several big competitions. How expensive is this car? I’m guessing that is falls into the “priceless” range!
And that was my day at the race track, surrounded by VERY VERY expensive automobiles!
But for all intensive purposes it is not happening until January 2nd!
I watch the Rose Parade on TV every New Year’s Day morning but, because January 1 falls on a Sunday this year, it has been moved to Monday.
It just won’t be the same! What will I do on New Year’s Day morning while I am drinking my Mimosa?
Most years I take my Christmas décor down on New Year’s Day. But. . .New Year’s Day is not the New Year’s Day holiday so what’s a body to do? 
One of my favorite sayings is “I’m flexible” so I will be flexible about this frustrating New Year’s Day holiday situation!
Happy New Year
&
Blessings to my blogging friends
Yesterday we met our Fresno Five at one of our favorite restaurants Espanas Southwest Bar & Grill. Los Banos is a half-way point for us to drive from Monterey and Russ and Denise to drive from Fresno and perfect for our Christmas lunch.
It is always interesting to observe what young ones order. Stanley ordered white rice, Mary cheesy nachos and Will, as usual, ordered dino chicken nuggets from the kid’s menu. Will always checks his dinosaur nuggets and identifies each: “yes, this is a bronto…, this a t-rex” etc. This year he ate them unlike last time when he wrapped them up to take them home for his collection!
It was a fun few hours of visiting (everyone talking at once- “I’m in Girl Scouts, I’m playing basketball this year, I read this book. . .”,) eating and unwrapping the presents their older cousin Jorden had bought for them. It made our Christmas pretty complete; all four (of the most wonderful) grandchildren in one place! We are seeing Gary and Vivian tomorrow but will miss Kelle and Joe who live in Texas. Just hung up from talking to Kelle where we compared our nearly identical Christmas Eve dinners: chili, tamales and cornbread, the same Christmas Eve meal we had while she was growing up! Traditions. . .
Before we parted ways, us back to Monterey and them home to Fresno Denise pulled a a pan of her famous lemon bars out of their van. Another tradition. She makes them every Christmas for me! Everyone likes them but I absolutely LOVE them!
Did you buy new p.j.’s for your children each Christmas so they would look good for Christmas morning pictures? This is Gary, Russ and Kelle on Christmas morning a bunch of years ago!
Wishing you a
Blessed and Merry Christmas!
