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...

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 ~

 

 

 

 

 

Using the Word Thankful.. STILL....

Turkey leftovers and forgotten mash no longer sit upon the shelves of the fridge. Thanksgiving has come and gone. Christmas seems to be "hot topic" now! Maybe I'm slow on the take... but, I'm still pausing to reflect and give thanks for all that I've been gifted with.

Non-traditional observances aside - Hubby & I enjoyed a beautifully warm, seaside to mountain top week of Thanksgiving observance. What began as a "time to unwind" post-Goat Hill getaway to the ocean, ended up being the start to our holiday.

Just past the hills, and sitting in the low-lying farming area of the California central coast is a cluster of tiny towns that are quite the slow paced, verdant, oceanic paradises of my dreams. We visit Half Moon Bay when our bodies say "rest".  Hubby & I frequent this place, and my parents traveled over these hills to bring their four children to sandy playgrounds when I was young. Their fist home was nearly purchased here.

 

Hunkered down in the San Benito House, an inn that hasn't seen much updating in years, we plopped ourselves on wooden benches and watched the world go 'round us. Taxidermy heads-'n-horns line the walls of the pool hall. A happenin' pub serves up a mean Bloody Mary. My brother joined in for an ale at the outdoor fire pit, and a lobster roll down the Highway.

 

Ocean smooth as glass ... the oddest of sights! I don't know that I've ever witnessed nearly nonexistent wave action at this portion of the coast. We took in some local fare.. as in - artichoke soup from Duarte's (I've posted on this before), and we backroad-ed to see country stores, shops and... here's another strange curiosity - fence posts trimmed in dried fish heads!!  what?? yep....

Two days of beachy bliss! Thankful for every minute of it...

 

Travel with me to the next Thanksgiving stop....

I hope to continue regular posts.. at a much more regular pace! Until next time...

Thanksgiving & Three....

Abundant Life...

Abundant Love...


Thankful for all that I am blessed to have, and all that I work for ~


ABUNDANT PICNIC...  on this Thanksgiving day, my words here have reached their 3 year Anniversary!

Three years ago on my first post {click link here} I spoke of having three Thanksgiving festivities to attend. This year I am sitting in my parents warm ( a tad too much so) house in the pines. Hubby & I have walked through the pinecone and needle laden streets. We've watched the New York parade, and now the television is tuned to football. The four of us will join a few of my parents friends for turkey dinner out. A whole new experience - and just such the sort of thing I consider the filling of an ABUNDANT PICNIC!

As time passes it is easy to reflect and wish for more time with our loved ones, many more hours on this earth, and in this beautiful life. How very thankful I am that my parents are still here.  How sad it makes me feel that my other Pops has left a wistful feeling in our hearts, as we near the one year anniversary of his passing.


Blessings of abundance and wishes of joy to all....


Shari

One Red Hen

The garden I tend at the back of our home is long, shade-filled and barely manageable. Full days can be spent outback and one would never know that work had been done. A happy pleasure of mine while toiling is to have the next door neighbor chickens cluster 'round my shovel to see what delicacy I may gift them. These girls are a delight - ruinous - but, a delight!

Years ago the first hen to breach her confines and master an obstacle course path over the fence to a ladder on my side was a statuesque, snow white clucker. Hubby named her Clarabelle. We decided to name the hens, since no one on the other side of the fence had. I always felt Clarabelle to be a daring, independent adventuress!! My, she solo-ed the rough terrain and decided our garden was the place to forage and dust-bath in the sun - that is worthy of an Amelia Earhart flying-wings pin!

News traveled over-top of the neighbor fence last night, as I gardened. Clarabelle and another hen {we called her Maria-Tomasa-Conchita-Alonso-Vergara} tussled with a nighttime stalker, and LOST! Tears welled in my eyes while I spoke over the fence to sweet Italian neighbor-next-door. This stalker that we're sure is a raccoon, had been to the coop on another occasion - but I always felt that Clarabelle was a strong fighter girl and with her hearty spirit would find her way out of the clutches of the bandit. I was wrong. And it took another with her.

 

 

our Biloxi
 

Our very own hen, Biloxi, went missing more than a year ago. Funny that chickens in your yard become family in your heart.

 

Penny - the One Red Hen

Maria-Conchita-Tomasa

3 hens all in a row...

One red hen - Penny - alone in her sanctuary spot (our garden) watched me last night, waiting for the worms I would dig. She was skittish - and rightly so! The sweet-Italian-lady neighbor says Penny isn't eating, and won't go back inside the coop. She darn well knows what happens in there, me thinks ! Penny left via the ladder, back to her home and stayed there amidst fig leaves that shelter the rooftop while the sun began to set. If she won't go inside -  that rascal raccoon will take my last garden pal.

A melancholy morn at the ol' home today.

Butcher, Baker... Where's the Candlestick Maker?

More stores need fresh butcher shops! I'll put my request in now! Something about them that  I find so fresh, yet so old-school. I think I've spoken of this place : el Salchichero in Santa Cruz? It's a small but finely stocked charcuterie. I adore the owner and his fellow-choppers - they're dynamic, informative, and tattooed! Tiny place, big + for a perfect food field trip with the Organic Chef!
{Cousin Rick}

Hubby kissing the ceramic pork

Meat was bought! Cousin was happy. Butcher ... then Baker... in the same courtyard is Kelly's French Bakery! Yuuuummmmy  decadence...

this little starling had his "sweet" spot staked-out

 Next?  other California scenery - especially while in the Santa Cruz area. One must visit the beach - of course !!

Pleasure seeking, food indulging, and completely seizing the day - we truly DID!!

Darlings of Fast Food ? Our Family Chef Would Perish the Thought..

Taco trucks seem to be the hamburger stand de rigeuer. At least that's how I've come to see them. A hip way to get authentic food quickly. While our cousin hasn't lived in the U.S. in years, his craving for this simple dining experience had not wavered. Rick requested we hit a taco truck on his first day here.

Scrumptious street-style tacos!! soooo yummy...

The interior (^ where we did not eat) was wildly colorful and displayed vintage posters that I found oh so photographable!


No pictures of the food - but I did get the cousins sitting together ~

Did I mention that our days revolved around where to take Rick to eat?

 No, we didn't eat the chickens!

Again - no capturing of the organic food take-out excursion, just a glimpse into where we dined....
our BACKYARD...

Here's the part where there was no way in hell I was going to have a professional chef try to slice&dice with my unsharpened cutlery, nor try to find a pan that would suit his needs. Let alone attempt a meal prep in a kitchen the size of some closets......  uh uh

lamb was a fave pick

We happily chose our own customized pleasure cartons of edibles from Whole Foods. Then, I did supplement and served a homemade galette from plums off of our trees. (the least I could do)
And, believe me - I don't think I impressed the cousin!

We listened to stories of Japan...

and opted for ~ a la mode~  just to top off the evening with more goodness ! ....