An Ending and A New Beginning

This time traveling I'm doing gets exhausting. Attempting to keep memories in order, and true. Like, "I did do that, didn't I?"... We were laughing, happy and unknowingly keeping memories to heart, right? Jumbled, foggy thoughts are friends of mine lately. But, here? now? I can mostly keep track of time by the photos that I savor.

Back a few journal entries, I shared a family party that was held for my sister-in-law, nearly in lieu of Christmas - as the entire family was present that evening - and we were going separate ways for December 25th.

I went the email route for sending good tidings and embracing the coming New Year... memories of the abundant life I share with my Hubby ~

Traditional Christmas it WASN'T this year (similar to Thanksgiving). A portrait with Santa was about as traditional as we got - albeit this Santa was my brother-in-law.

Always and forever Christmas Eve is with Hubby's family.  Gift giving and opening takes on an entirely different  joy when there are children in the room. It makes me happy to have our nephew and his family grow to include two young ones. Our great nephew is like a bouncy ball that hops from plaything to not-so-plaything while smiling, laughing, and singing his ABC's. We don't share photos of these beautiful beings... unfortunately....

my kitchen in December

Brother #1 celebrated endured Christmas in Southern California, as his mother-in-law passed away. Brother #2 was content at home with his family for Christmas and had to work.
Brother #3was dutiful and kind sharing Christmas day with other family.
And, my parents were home, at their place in the woods. They made plans with friends for holiday dinner, yet my Mom was still not feeling well. That flu bug was hanging onto her.

Yes, quite separated we were and equally as nontraditional.

Off to the beach on a whim, because of the niceties from my Goat Hill boss...  Hubby & I would dig toes in the sand and watch sunsets for Christmas.

even the bird came along

Sunshine filled perfection!!


2013 coming to an end - we headed back home. A small celebratory evening with friends to welcome all that the beginning of a new year can mean... resolutions - maybe, dreams - surely, hope for a year of abundant joy and magnificent memory making ALWAYS! Isn't that the truth for each of us? That we have eternal hope each and every time the calendar reads January 1st? Life is all about the beauty of sunshine perfection, isn't it? Otherwise it would be hard to rise each morning. Who of us would sit and ponder dreadfulness? Not on my watch, anyway! Eternal optimist (mostly), that is me.


Let us celebrate a HAPPY New Year ~

art on our fridge for incoming 2014

Try as I might,  I cannot come up with a clear picture in my head of the first week in January. A lot of vague recollections. Checking my calendar, there are entries about the 3rd, 4th, 5th being spent in Los Angeles, and San Francisco at funerals. Deaths that needed to be acknowledged, loved ones that needed support.


Very soon after, acknowledgement, love and support would be needed to heal my heart. The art I chalked on the refrigerator said IMAGINE.... but, imagine what exactly? Thinking sunshine, I got rain...

Back in Time...

Time travel with me.  There was a brief little mention of Christmas once on December 23rd.... then when last I wrote, we were in more current time. Happy thoughts I intentionally put to paper, as I recall I mentioned. Instead of heading straight to some sad times. I'll head back to winter, now that I feel I can relive the harsh realities of life. It will take a couple of storylines to get to where I stand today, but progress is being made...


Quirky Thanksgiving plans, beach, crab and dinner (not made at home) was shared with my parents in their mountain home.

crab to bring to my parents for Thanksgiving



just the 4 of us - Hubby, me & my parents

 December jumped on the coat tail of fall, and the Christmas celebrating extravaganza was begun.  Joy is counted in pleasurable moments. A favorite tradition of mine is a Christmas party with girlfriends of some 35 years. That amazingly beautiful group of women from San Francisco whom I speak of now and again.Time with these gals is intentionally carved out and anticipated. It is a great jump-start to holiday events for reminiscing and ending another year.


For the second time, we chose the glorious, stately, historic Fairmont Hotel to stay for the night and stage an ornament exchange party. {25 years of ornaments makes quite a collection}...

Of all times to be ill!  While it doesn't seem so in the photo above ^ . I was coughing half my lung at this point. I even took the precaution of seeing my doctor prior to heading to San Francisco. Alas, ill I was, and even though prescription drugs were packed inside my satchel, the flu bug-du jour of the season, had struck. I had a great time though! Just on the return to regular life did I have a problem.

This winter, many folks seemed to have a harder than normal time with coughs, cold and the flu. I won't go all Center of Disease Control on you, but statistics were high! I ended up in the Emergency Room in order to breathe. Never before had I needed an asthma inhaler. An asthma patient to whom I'm closely related was to have an exceptionally hard time during December.... my Mom.

If I may, the time-travel-train is going to stop here. I've broached the subject that is coming...
With more days spread between me and the winter, spring is fluttering it's beauty in my face, and I look forward to the cathartic release of taking thoughts, spreading them on these pages, and releasing them to the breeze. More tales, trips, trial and tribulations soon....

Gathered

How could we know? There is no crystal ball to give us future insight. We love, and live, and do as we do routinely... all the time hoping for continuance.... all the while taking advantage of the years that pass.

As a family, our gatherings take place pretty frequently. There is always some special event to celebrate, and some greatly loved person to place in a spotlight. How could we know this fete would later hold a particular reminiscence? Nary a hint from the party-prop tarot cards.

Christmas, was in fact, going to take a back seat to the celebration of our Colette, my sister-in-law. Themes and planning, decorations and menus had been written in emails, laughed about in phone calls and shopped for with enthusiasm. A casbah rather than a Christmas tree this year.

We gathered, my family and our friends, as we would have soon for the holidays, instead for a fiftieth birthday. The house bedecked in a riot of color. A tent raised in our best effort to emulate a Moroccan hookah lounge. Tunes rang out. Noise bounced from indoors to a fire on the cold wintry patio. There was dancing - first in heels, and then in later hours with barefeet. A friend attempted to lift my Mom from the sofa and carry her to dance... oh, the laughs that got! Mom nearly peed her pants. Hilarity a constant with the particular dear friend that sought Mom's dance turn. Her love for him and his partner forever a part of our family's lore.



Faces of so many that we hadn't seen for a time. Smiles to engage. Kisses to be exchanged with a cousin whom we swear to see more often, yet never quite bridge our calendars. History to be rehashed and remembered with the honorary "fourth son" and his family. Much fawning of the young and beautiful in their club-style attire. Celebration of life in all forms on this night!

Gathered together and our joys shared  - then, come morning - each of us went back to our homes and routines, until the next time we bask in an other's special gloriousness. Fully confident that this next gathering will come.....  as it always has ~

 

 

 

 

 

Note and Gift to Self....

How is it that I seem to purchase myself gifts at Christmas time?? Happens... every year... each time I set-out to shop for others. I'll give myself a little break this time...hhhaa - I've seen the writing on the wall, knowing that this old (by Silicon Valley standards - ANCIENT) computer of mine that I tap away on for this blog was set to collapse any moment. It needed to be done - computer shopping - the "pulling of teeth" of the technology world. I detest this sort of shopping.. yet, here I am doing my first post on a beauty of a new laptop... NOTE TO SELF: computer shopping has some benefits!!


This is one gift that won't make it under the Christmas tree.... gifts to self are best used immediately!

I have plenty to learn on this new gadget. Time to play. Well, actually time to get ready for the next round of Christmas parties. So, I hope to get back here soon.....

Christmas Greetings

 

 

 

Much Merriment

 

 

 

 

Back soon.....

Short Days of Winter

Winters begun, nightfall came early today. While reading, I found this lovely piece of poetry and found it perfect for this near-to-Christmas day ~

                                                                         ***

I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

                                                                          ***

Our home is decidedly non-traditionally decorated for the season. As I wrote previously - it's somewhat "organic" this year. Here's the very little rest that I've arranged. It's not much!

 

 

The ironstone pitcher on the right is filled with flowers from Pops' funeral - they just got plunked in the ewer and I never re-touched the bouquet.... sorta sad looking... oops!

notice the white paint splotches still on the walls - so lovely! :-)

again with the unfinished paint

the minimalist look

Boughs of green, wreaths of boxwood, orchids, ferns, paperwhites and pine cones...organic - some straight from our yard -  SIMPLE & BEAUTIFUL and all that will happen for this holiday!

A White Winter {of a sort}...

A white, foamy, sea salt winter....
{back to the story of the beach get-away}

It was rainy...
There were King tides...
We walked... well, we may have relaxed quite a bit too...

Christmastime at the shore ~

silly brother

fresh fixins for a cioppino dinner

Night walks were lit in an especially unique way - the lighthouse with streamers of Christmas bulbs
                                    {excuse the blur - at dark I should've used a tripod}

BARE - ly Christmas

O, Christmas tree

O, Christmas tree

How naked are thy branches??

how blurry is thy photo?  :-) early morn ...

Our tree is Neck- Id! The rest of the Christmas decor in the abode is spare too. Mid-way through the month of December, yet decorating elves haven't stopped in with their spirit and given me a shove.
I have though decided to call this lack of Christmas decor by a new name - the theme for my styling of the house this holiday season will be ~ ORGANIC....  yeah, that's it!  minimal and so use-what-you've-got-in-the-yard 

Happens to be that I've been forcing Narcissus bulbs.... and they're of the Earth ~ ORGANIC...

It's a good thing I've got bulbs...'cause that's about all I've got!  hhaaa

Working on changing the bare-look tomorrow, and I'll be sure to share...

Goat Hill Puttering

An afternoon photo shoot for a proposed holiday article that will be in our local newspaper...


The theme, and the message we tried to portray with these images is ~ *simple yet creatively sublime.. *inexpensive to manage, yet with a look that says scrumptiously ornamental.... * utterly easy shopping, without leaving your home - use favorite objects found in your cubbies & shelves...  *bring the outside inside - scavenge the garden..  *repurpose - find myriad uses for the simplest of objects...  *tell a story, follow a theme, let humor have a place...

At the end of the day each of us wished to curl up under a blanket atop a holiday-colored pillow ~
just like this...