My Grama's Soul

We have one of these......yep.......a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Here she is.....doing what she does best.....hogging the sofa and the pillows.  She will soon be nine, and it seems as though she is becoming so much more demanding as she gets older.  (Kind of like me.....I guess).  Anyway....she is a love and is such a gentle creature, one would hardly believe how she has changed over the years. Each year seems to bring out yet more personality.....she now barks when she wants company on the sofa or the bed....she has to have a lick of my lip balm before we go to bed and she refuses to drink water from her bowl.  She prefers a glass....with ice! Our vet recommends we feed her a raw diet mixed in with vegetables and potato or rice.  Well.....she now has decided she doesn't like potato....so if I add a little to her food.....she picks out each piece and sits it down on the floor....beside her food dish.  My friend tells me ........ she WANTS GRAVY....

I don't know whether I do ....... or not.  There is a spot on the web you can access that will give you YOUR OWN FAIRIE NAME.  You can find it here  My fairie name is Bindweed Rainbowfilter. This is the description of me. She brings good fortune She lives at the bottom of tangled gardens and in hedgerows She can only be seen on midsummer's eve She wears tangled multicolored skirts made of petals and has multicolored wings like a butterfly. I would like to think fairies exist, doing their work during the evening hours when the world is fast asleep.  Spreading their magic over the earth like so many raindrops, yet never leaving a trace that they have been here. I really don't know much about them.....do you? Please let me know where I can go to find out more. Blessings to you, Jo

Many of you have been artists for most of your lives. I HAVE NOT ~~ In fact, my artistic journey did not begin until a few years ago when I started blogging.  Oh I had dabbled a bit in water colors and drawing....but always got side tracked by life. Now, at 65, I have finally given myself permission to be an artist.  I have always been creative in my cooking and decorating, but never really considered those artistic pursuits. Blogging, on the other hand, IS an artistic pursuit.  You can do ANYTHING on your blog.  The sky is the limit with how artistic you desire to be. In 1996 I began reading "The Artist's Way" and signed a contract with myself to find my creative center.  It is now 2011 and I can honestly say that I did not begin my real creative path until a little over 2 years ago, when I started this blog. I try not to beat myself up too much over wasted years ~~ they were necessary for me to work through things.  I am so grateful that I have fi...

Where does one's love of gardening come from? Is it something you learn....or does it come from that deep well inside oneself? My mother was not a gardner.  The only thing I can ever remember her growing was a sweet potato vine.....you know when you put the potato in water and it sprouts.  On the other hand, as soon as I was able, I began acquiring plants.  At one point in time I had about 150 of them growing in my house.  I had every kind you could think of.   My first husband built me a three tier hanging shelf that was suspended right in from of my living room window.  My current soulmate.....did the same thing.  This shelf was also suspended in front of a large window. The shelves were painted varying colors from a sunny yellow to tangerine to orange.  I even loved orange back then. I have long since abandoned amassing such a plethora of indoor plants as we travel so much now,  but I do have a few old faithful "friends" wh...

This is a little spot on the coast of California.  Moss Landing has a population of approximately 800 people.....oh I love a small community. We were here for three days.....foggy most of the time...but that does not bother us one bit. One thing I love about gardner's is that they will put flowers in almost anything, and they will put anything in their gardens.  How about that cannon?? Lots of succulents.  Also there is a what appeared to be a little rental cottage painted in the most charming blue. See the purple door.....gads....I love this. More garden art above. We at at this little restaurant called the "Haute Enchilada". The food was fabulous and the interior of the spot was incredible...they had an antique bar and incredible art on the walls. Had fresh strawberries and artichokes.  I haven't had an artichoke since I was a kid.  My mom actually made them often....she loved them too.  Strawberries and artichokes wer...

We are currently in Oregon visiting a friend...and I finally am able to take a little break and give a little update.   Beautiful Julie Marie of Idyllhours  did, in fact, guess correctly.  It is the Hearst Castle located in breath taking San Simeon. Here are a few more shots around the estate "Casa Grande" , as the castle was called, was built between the years 1919 to l947 by William Randolph Hearst in collaboration with the female architect Julia Morgan.  It was surrounded by 127 acres of gardens and several guest houses.  On the estate were zoo's housing exotic animals, such as zebra's and white polar bears. It has an outdoor olympic size pool, built in the Greek style.  Hearst was an big believer in swimming for exercise, There also is an indoor pool built in a pavilion. The tiles are inlaid with gold flecks throughout. "Casa Grande", The Big House, has 56 bedrooms and 61 bathrooms.  It was constructed of reinforced concrete, to...

This is........... Just a sneak peek..... at where we have been...... Can you guess where dear friends???? More to follow........ Jo

We all have stories.  Are you the type of person who thinks your's isn't worth telling?   One day, while visiting my beautiful aunt Ruthie in Kansas, we were talking about blogging.  I commented that I wasn't exactly sure why I started my blog; and my aunt piped up and made this statement.   "I know why you blog.....you want the world to know that you existed."  Perhaps that is it.  Oh....there are other reasons but I do think she may have hit a vein there. Our stories matter...and they matter to more people than just close family or friends.  They matter to the world out there. Your story....told through your blog....no matter what your blog is about will touch someone else today. If you told your story ~~ what would it be about? Your adventure Your humor Your survival Your creativity Your romance Your illness Your growth Your happiness Your soul searching Your everyday life Your pet's life Your recipes Your decorating Just to name a few....

Happy birthday dear USA.......Happy birthday to you..... Ok....for the next celebration Another birthday to celebrate....my beautiful Daughter Shannon....Yep...she was born on the 4th of July....and she HAS BEEN a firecracker for sure!!!! Here she is with her beautiful son....this was taken over 7 years ago...He also is a July baby and he will soon be 8.  Oh how the time has flown . Happy birthday...Shannon....we love you, Mom and Brad Have a happy and safe 4th of July everyone, Jo Photos: tinywhitedaises~tumbler