Home alone

Tags

adventure, finding new horizons, Home alone, Oregon, travel, Washington

Well, Day #1 of Grammy and Girls:  Home Alone, has ended (for the girls, at least) successfully.  They stayed with their cousins while I worked tonight, and had a delightful time.  When I brought them home, we called Mom and Dad to say “goodnight”, and they were asleep less than five minutes after prayers.

I’m thinking about doing the same thing.  Morning came VERY early today, as Georgia and Nick hit the road shortly after 6:00 a.m.  They are safe and off the road in Oregon, and Georgia was raving about how nice everyone was, and how beautiful the country is.

Sweet dreams, weary travelers.

A walk by the creek

Tags

adventure, Los Berros Creek, morning walk, palm trees, wildflowers

Wednesday morning while Daddy was sleeping and Melody was still at her hotel, I went for a walk.  It was a glorious  morning, warm for the coast, but not uncomfortably so, and once I did my circuit of the neighborhood, I ventured across Valley Road and down along Los Berros Creek.

This is the same creek that used to lure my little brother on Saturday mornings when the adults were trying to sleep in a bit, the creek that was off limits for a little boy and his bicycle, the creek that was home to his favorite creatures.

Of course, the creek bed is dry now.  When the rains come it will fill quickly, but that is rather hard to imagine.

Los Berros Creek is completely dry.

Even with so little moisture, I found flowers all along the path.  This Queen Anne’s Lace was growing in a clump of dandelions.

Queen Anne’s Lace

Looking rather like weeds themselves were these “Petroleum Pipeline” warning signs.  I had no idea there was a pipeline going across the creek and up through the neighborhood.

Warning: Petroleum Pipeline

I would love to see this sunflower in full bloom — it was so lovely still in bud.

Sunflower bud

There was a massive bed of wild daisy-like flowers…probably thirty feet across and at least ten feet deep.  They were a lovely soft blue with grey-green foliage.

Wild daisies

My most surprising discovery as I followed the creek path eastward was a grove of palm trees, edged with young grape vines.  They can’t be seen from Los Berros Road; I had no idea they were being cultivated nearby.

A grove of baby palm trees off Los Berros Road. Who knew?

The palms were paired with young grape vines — a perfect crop for a “gentleman farmer”.

By the time I got back home I had logged 2.25 miles on my Fitbit, and it was just barely 9:00 a.m.  Melody arrived shortly after, and Part II of my lovely day’s adventure began.

Convention, here I come!

Tags

adventure, Close To My Heart, CTMH Convention 2015, Cuesta Doll & Study Club, Disneyland, Disneyland Hotel

This is Day #1 of my 2015 Close To My Heart adventure.  My bags are packed and ready to go (but not by jet plane).  After work this afternoon I’ll be off to the Coast for an overnight stay with my dad and brother, and tomorrow’s meeting with the Cuesta Doll ladies.

And then the fun really begins…my first trip by train alone, cruising along the ocean through Santa Barbara via the Pacific Surfliner, ending up in Anaheim — a mere 1.5 miles from Disneyland!

I will be posting pictures and updates from the Disneyland Hotel and the surrounding territory all week, and of our 5K run/walk on Saturday benefiting Operation Smile.

Last year was such an amazing adventure, an “Artistic Adventure”.  This year’s theme is “Make it From Your Heart”, which is how our founder, Jeannette Lynton, ends all her correspondence to us.

See you later.

T is for “travel”

Tags

A-Z Challenge, adventure, Close To My Heart, Eastern Caribbean Cruise, Making Connections

According to Dictionary.com, “travel” means “to go from one place to another, as by car, train, plane, or ship; take a trip; journey”.

One of the benefits of my Close To My Heart business is that I get to travel to see my customers, to attend corporate trainings, to get away to scrapbooking retreats, and (best of all so far) to the annual Close To My Heart Convention.

Last weekend my up-line Jen and I traveled to Three Rivers to explore the site for our Winter Wonderland Retreat, to be held next January. Next weekend we are headed to Sacramento for an all-day scrapbooking play date with many of our colleagues, and then a Corporate-sponsored Making Connections event that night. There are four of us going together, which will be great fun — and there is sure to be someone who can keep Jen awake on the drive home at the end of a long, busy day.

In July we will turn our wheels towards Disneyland for “Make it From Your Heart”, our 2015 Annual Convention. What can be more fun than spending a week in a room with three other creative women, as well as a thousand or so others, celebrating our successes and being challenged by creative sessions? Would you believe a Caribbean Cruise? One incredibly lucky attendee at “Make it From Your Heart” will be selected to receive a pair of tickets to this year’s incentive trip, an Eastern Caribbean Cruise aboard the Norwegian Escape.

That winner will truly travel in style…and there is absolutely no reason it couldn’t be me!

Where will you be traveling next?

It’s official!

J is for “journey”

Tags

A-Z Challenge, adventure, challenges, change, circumstances, journey, travel

Merriam-Webster.com defines “journey” as “to travel over or through”.

Whenever I think about journeying, I first think of traveling to new and exotic places, as in “to journey through darkest Africa”. But we journey every day as we come to terms with each new stage in our lives, each new set of challenges and circumstances life throws our way. Where are you journeying today? Is it an unknown future or one filled with comfort and ease?

Or do you know?

C is for “comprehend”

Tags

A-Z Challenge, adventure, cancer, death, God, Team Josh

According to Dictionary.com, “comprehend” is a verb that means “to understand the nature or meaning of; perceive.

Tonight I am trying very hard to comprehend how and/or why a bright, enthusiastic 15-year old boy should have to do battle with cancer, and trying even harder to understand his death. I don’t remember a time before I believed in God, and Heaven has always been a very real concept for me, but I still struggle with the reality of children dying young. I had the privilege this morning of attending the funeral of Josh Villarreal…football player, son, grandson, brother, cousin, friend…and was amazed by the joy shared by those who spoke about Josh and his young life. From his grandfather to his coaches to his best friend, every speaker took comfort in Josh’s faith and in their knowledge that their loved one was no longer sick, but was in the presence of God.

It is more than I can comprehend.

Knott’s Berry Farm Revisited

Tags

adventure, Camp Snoopy, carousels, family memories, ghost town, grandchildren, Knott's Berry Farm, roller coasters

About sixty years ago a little girl went on an adventure with her parents. They visited a working farm in a town called Buena Park, a farm that grew wonderful berries and made them into even more wonderful jams, jellies, and syrups. There was a ghost town there, too, that recreated scenes from California’s not-so-long-ago past. But the most magical thing was the carousel, because it not only had horses, but zebras, ostriches, lions, roosters, and all sorts of exotic creatures.

Over the years, the town called Buena Park grew older and melded with the surrounding communities. The working berry farm grew more and more famous, and added carnival rides for children of all ages, restaurants, more old Western buildings and artifacts, and had less and less room for growing berries. The carousel remained, though, along with too many roller coasters to count and a special section, Camp Snoopy, for younger children.

On Monday this little girl (sixty years older, of course) returned to Knott’s Berry Farm with her daughter, granddaughters, and a special friend. The weather was perfect…not too cool, not too warm…the lines were short, and the adventures were many. Granddaughter #1 rode her first roller coaster early in the day (and loved it so much she went back at day’s end), and added four more to her repertoire throughout the day. Granddaughter #2 rode her first carousel with her Grammy, and then also her first roller coaster (she was not thrilled by the roller coaster), and later her first water coaster. She LOVED the carousel. They both “drove” race cars in Camp Snoopy, and watched while Mom and her friend rode the BIG SCARY old wooden roller coaster.

Over in the ghost town, they discovered rifles, branding irons, and an amazing collection of fossils. The one-room school-house was so different from their own classrooms; the teacher there told them how school was “in the olden days” when students could be spanked if they didn’t follow the rules. They watched glass blowers and a wonderful Native American dancer.

And throughout the entire day, they laughed and danced and loved being together having new experiences.

As the day was ending, they visited with Snoopy and his friends, and assured them they would return soon. No sixty-year waits between visits for these girls, no way!

Adventure

Tags

adventure, family, Southern California

We are off on a Southern California adventure today…two little girls, the big girl, and the old girl. We have left the big boy (and the dog) to hold down the fort until we return tomorrow. Watch this space for the story of our adventure!

The amazing sister scrapping adventure

Tags

adventure, Avila Lighthouse Inn, beach getaway, Close To My Heart, papercrafting, scrapbooking, sisters

After many months of plotting and planning, and great an…tici…pation…the amazing sister scrapping adventure begins tomorrow. I will pick my precious sister up at the airport around noon, go to Daddy’s for a short visit, and then check into our beachfront hotel (The Avila Lighthouse Inn) for the weekend. Rather like our Hawaii adventure two years ago, we will have no rules, no responsibilities, no children, no husbands. Just each other and a few (30 or so) similarly minded scrapbooking ladies gathered together for inspiration, creation, and just plain fun. And it all starts in only 12 more hours.

In preparation for our trip, hairs have been re-colored (mine), nails have been done (hers), suitcases have been (or nearly) packed, and projects have been gathered. Since she is flying, I am hauling tools, papers, albums, etc., by car. I have had as much fun guessing which papers she would enjoy as I have had choosing my own. Picking for someone else is always a kick…kind of the way we choose a special present for Christmas and then wait to see if the recipient is as thrilled with it as we were!

The only downside is the great possibility of waking up to a world enshrouded by fog tomorrow morning; we had rain today after nearly three dry months, so the fog is lurking. With any luck at all, it will get cold enough tonight to discourage it. It is rather ironic that, after praying so for rain, it comes just in time to potentially wreak havoc on my travel plans. But I refuse to stress out about it.

I will be doing updates throughout the weekend…watch this space for glimpses into our adventure.