Resplendent Fall!

Just some lovely pictures taken from my backyard... and a quote to match...

Have a wonderful Autumn everyone!

(sorry I've been away so long.... the days seem to fly by...... trying to catch my breath!)

Oh No! Retirements Looming! Where To Put Down Roots? Consideration # 1 Spokane Washington

Retirement........
I'm still trying to get over the fact that I'm turning 50 next year and then this old age stigma looms in the near future!  Oh no.... AARP is knocking on the door!  Not sure how to feel about all this!

We as a family have pretty much lived the nomadic life... not living in one place for more than 4 years at a time.  The military life has been good to us, I must admit, they have taken good care of my family for many years now.  They pay for our moves, send people to pack up our household and unpack us at our new home, give us long transition vacations and put us up in nice hotels along the journey.  We have excellent insurance and housing allowance.... they've just about done everything but wipe our snotty noses through the years and now that it's time to cut the apron strings.....  I think I'm getting a little nervous. 

So!  It's time to find a place to put down roots!  You'd think it would be relatively easy, I mean, you pretty much should have an idea what kind of house you want, towns you like etc..... but no..  I've lived in many towns across the US and not one of them fit all of my criteria for the perfect retirement location!  That's not good!!  OK... I have approximately 2 or so years to figure this out!!  Where to begin.....

I guess a good place to start would be to make a simple list of my "must have" requirements for a perfect new home.

Must haves:

Must be on the West Coast!  It's were I'm from... and plus, I've seen the other side and I don't think I could do it long term.

Must be near a relatively large city and near a fairly major airport.  I don't want to live in the city but I want to be close enough to take advantage of all that it provides.

Must be "military retirement friendly".  It can vary from state to state for the military retired when it comes to taxes and health care so that would make it a major factor on my list.

I want to be near beauty!  Meaning trees and parks and mountains and flora and fauna... you know, the great outdoors.  Places to hike and just breath in the fresh air!

This is a big one for me...  Must not rain for months at a time without a break!  I grew up in Oregon so I know rain, and this California native can't take it anymore!  Ok, I know it's necessary, and I don't want to scorch the earth but.... enough already!  Just give me a place that I can count on sunshine for most days in the summer and I'll be a happy camper!

Must have good shopping!  I've lived in places that have the best malls and great stores (including an Ikea which is one of my favorite places to just browse), places to go antiquing and, oh yeah, must have craft stores! And then I've lived in places where Walmart was considered the "mall".....  I prefer the aforementioned please!

Blah, blah, blah,  I could go on with this list forever!  Let's get right into it shall we! 

First place my husband and I are considering is Spokane Washington!!  Anyone know anything about Spokane??  Cause I know next to nothing about it.  My husband came home one day and said "why not Spokane, people at work tell me it's great!" and I said "It's part of Washington and Washington has more rain then Oregon!"  But apparently not, at least not this part of Washington.

Spokane is considered the sunny side of the state of Washington.  Spokane's annual rainfall is 18.8 in. as opposed to say Astoria Oregon, (where we previously lived), is 67.13 in. a year.  CHECK!  It averages about 174 sunny days a year.  Portland Oregon only 68.  Not bad!  It does get cold and snows in the winter but I don't mind that so much.

In my research of Spokane I went to a forum where someone else asked the question "What's it like to live in Spokane?".  Well from what I read, quite a few responses were negative.  The city is dirty... there's lots of crime... the economy stinks.... there's no nightlife.... it's too hot... it's too cold.... there's no work.... there's nothing to do!  I was starting to get discouraged and I got close to discounting Spokane all together.  Then another person who retired in Spokane and has lived there for 5 years just loves it!  Couldn't say anything bad about the place!  Hmmmm maybe the negative people are trying to steer us potential invaders away so they can keep Spokane to themselves!!  HA!  It's still on the table then!!

Here's a few pictures I found from my research of the area to give you an idea what it's like.

Hmm, looks decent.  Typical mid-sized downtown.

 

Traffic doesn't look bad at all!

 

Now that's a river!

 

Mount Spokane State Park.  Beautiful!

 

River Park Square mall looks pretty nice too.

 

Ahh and there's the airport! 

 

 

 

Well.... It looks pretty nice to me!  But any place could look nice in pictures.  I guess the next step would be to take a little trip to Spokane and actually experience it first hand.  It's only a few hours from where we are now so it would be an easy trip. 

So the hunt for a permanent home begins!  I think it's going to be tough to decide, but the first prospect looks promising already!  Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted on future location choices!

And Now....... A Moment With Maru

This cat makes my day........

Boy....... Where does one find a pet that's cute, cuddly and has personality out the wazzooo.....

Shorty... you used to be cute... What happened?? 

Nuts For Nuts 'N More!

I was looking on my facebook newsfeed page the other day, sifting through the usual mundane posts when I came across someone's "like" page that had an advertisement of a product that caught my eye.  All I saw was the word "peanut butter" and I had to click on it since I'm pretty much a big fan of the stuff. 

Peanut butter isn't known for being the most healthy food, it has saturated fat and salt, blah, blah, blah... but this product claims it is fortified with protein, has no sugar added, no sodium, high in fiber and lots of other stuff that sounds to good to be true!  Well I had to jump on that!!

http://www.nuts-n-more.com/

 

I did a little research and found that the Nuts 'N More company was founded by fitness and nutrition experts looking for healthy sources of protein and they came up with these nut based butters.  So I decided "what the heck, I need a healthy snack food that'll help curb my sweet tooth and maybe this will fit the bill!"  The flavor choices are peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter, almond butter, chocolate almond butter, chocolate coconut almond butter, and their newest flavor, cinnamon raisin almond butter.

I decided to try the chocolate peanut butter and the chocolate coconut almond butter, just to see what they're like.  I ordered them from their website here and after a few long weeks they arrived at my doorstep.

I couldn't wait to dig in!

My first thought was "YUM"!  The chocolate peanut butter was not really that chocolatey tasting but it was smooth and creamy and reminded me a bit of Nutella, a healthier alternative though (I had an unhealthy addiction to Nutella a while ago.  Darn you Costco for the mega containers of the stuff!!).  It was also nicely sweet.  It doesn't contain sugar but it has Xylitol, a natural sweetener which they claim has many health benefits as well.  The consistency is a bit looser than normal peanut butter but if you refrigerate it it thickens up nicely.

The chocolate coconut almond has a bit of a grainier texture.  I'm not a huge fan of almond butter but this one has coconut and chocolate and who could refuse that combo!  My husband said the flavor was like a cookie and I could agree with that.  The new cinnamon raisin almond butter sounds intriguing and I might have to try that next, the site claims it is a new favorite flavor for their customers.

I've been enjoying these two treats these past weeks, so much so I think I will order more!  They are both good for dipping apples in for breakfast and sometimes I eat a spoonful for a pick-me-up snack between meals.  A great source of protein, omegas and fiber.... what more can you ask for from peanut butter!  Thanks Nuts 'n More!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Little Classical Chill-out Interlude

Do you ever have those days when you just want to forget your day.... the details of it.... what you did, what you have to do, what you'll never have time to get done...  You just want to stop the chaos!!!


Well if it's that kind of day for you then I invite you to chill out with me and enjoy a little interlude for your day.  As you've probably guessed from my previous posts, I love art, namely the classics which you will find in abundance at the Web Gallery of Art .  One of my favorite stops on the web for taking in some of my favorite fine art pieces!  One of my very favorite artists is Jacques-Louis David, a French painter from the Neoclassic period.  Talk about fantastic stuff!  His paintings tell a visual story that's dramatic and stunning to look at! 

I also have those days when I want to listen to music that is also dramatic and beautiful to the ear, just like the art is to the eye.  I have a favorite song that I have on my music list that fits the bill!  It's called "En Aranjuez con tu amor" by Fernando Lima.  I've heard it means in Aranjuez with you my love, a place of dreams and love... and so on.  One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard!

So here is your interlude....  Sit back and relax, play the song, and feast your eyes on some beautiful art, check out more at the Web Gallery of Art!  The stress will just melt.......... away............................

Patroclus 1780

Portrait of Antoine-Laurent and Marie-Anne Lavoisier 1788

The Intervention of the Sabine Women 1799

 

                                                Leonidas at Thermopylae 1814

A Little R & R at the Folks House!

Sometimes it's just good to spend time with the two people that brought you into this world!  I spent a whole week with my parents the week before last and I had a great time!

We didn't do much... but we didn't really have to!  It was just nice to see how they were doing, we don't talk too much during the week so I needed to catch up on what's been happening in their daily lives....

My Dad, who's an avid reader, turned me on to a series of books he'd read that I'm really enjoying!  The best part is there's a whole lot to read and he gave me just about every book in the series!  Nothing like getting lost in a good book, and this series will keep me going for a long time!  The author is Daniel Silva and I started with the one I deemed to be the first in the Gabriel Allon series "The Kill Artist".

http://danielsilvabooks.com/about-daniel/faq/

Click on the link below the picture to get the info on the complete series.  You won't be disappointed with this author, I'm hooked already! So I had a good book to read when I had the time, and we had lots of siestas during my stay, so I got in a good amount of reading!  Thanks Dad!

It helped a lot that Oregon is having a stellar year for weather!  Oregon is known for it's wet weather, even during the summer months, but this summer we've been treated to a beautiful summer right from the beginning!  And you don't know how much we needed it!

 So my mom and I would head to the hills for a little hike in the woods, one of our favorite things to do together!  It gave us a chance to do more catching up, (she also tried to scare me by throwing things in the brush cause she knows how much I get freaked out by snakes and other such things, one of her favorite things to do on a hike! But don't worry, I got her back good... another story!)

Mom and I have always liked the scent of lavender, so we checked out a local lavender farm to get some sweet smelling treats! 

 

My wonderful mom

It smelled heavenly, and it was so beautiful!  Such a lovely way to spend time with my Mom!

During my stay we also ate some of my favorite meals that my Mom has always made throughout my life!  She is Hispanic and she makes the best refried beans and tortillas and a dish we call savory meat... mmmmmmm the best comfort food you could ask for!  Of course I've tried for a long time to get her recipes down on paper so they don't get lost forever, but she can never give me exact measurements, it's all instinct, dishes that were taught to her by her mother,  all done by feel and taste.  So me, having no instinct for cooking at all, I watched and jotted down every ingredient, and every stir and how much time it took, and I rolled out dozens of tortillas.... hopefully I will preserve some of these precious recipes that would be lost forever if I didn't take the time to write them down!  Thanks Mom for the fun cooking lessons!  Here's the recipe for Mom's Savory Meat if you'd like to try it.  I haven't tried it since I wrote it down that week so let me know if it works or if it needs tweeking!

The rest of our time we spent watching movies, laughing and joking as we've always done as a family.  I went through old photographs... remembering my life as a kid, all good memories.  And when the sun went down we took our evening walks, enjoying the warm breezes, the colors in the sky, picking blackberries and sweet plums, watching the airplanes and birds fly by through binoculars...


But really our time that week was spent just enjoying each others company, which is something we don't tend to do as much as we should.... especially with our aging parents.  I consider myself very lucky to have my parents, they gave me a good life and brought me up right and I want to spend as much time with them as I can!

My only regret that week is that my brothers weren't there to share it with us, that would've made it complete!  Oh and I didn't take more pictures!!  I'll leave you with my all time favorite picture of my parents!  Newly married, young and happy...... just like they are today... just like they taught me to be!  Thanks Mom and Dad! 

 

 

 

Joyous Summer!

Took a little sunset drive last night in my husband's convertible..... top down, warm breeze blowing in our hair..... that herbal smell from the flora and pine trees.....

Got a picture of Seattle over the water in the distance on one side......

 

 

And Mount Rainier on the other.....

 

All while listening to the cool sounds of some great music like "Snowbound" from Donald Fagan

 

 

(Ok so it's the wrong season... who cares!  It's a sweet song!)

 

Enjoying the peak of the summer with great songs, great views, and in even greater company....

Good times my friends...... good times!

 

 

Masterpiece Take # 2

Ok I can already tell this project is going to take more than a few posts!  I finally settled on the big floral design for my floor cloth so I bought all the paint and laid down a buttermilk crème color for my base coat

I used some blue painters tape to mark off a small border all the way around just to frame the picture a bit, I'll add that border when I finish the main picture.

 

I also started drawing out the design in pencil and boy is it going to be a process!  It's a simple concept, just large flowers and leaves and other little doo dads, but it'll completely fill the canvas from one end to the other and it's a pretty slow process for me, I guess it doesn't help that I'm a bit of a perfectionist!  I tried out a little of the paint too, all it requires is lining out everything in the different colors, no shading or filling in.. but look at all the lines, and I'll have to go over them a few times if I don't want the pencil to show through.

Well.... it might take a few more posts to finish this masterpiece...  maybe till take #32?  Oy I hope not!!

 Oh well....  What is that saying?  Any job worth doing, is a job worth doing well!  And this job will be a masterpiece!!  Stay tuned!!

What The Heck Is An Epiphany Anyway?

 

My good friend sent me a short video the other day that got me thinking....

It's an interview with the actor Dustin Hoffman talking about his experiences trying to become a woman for the movie "Tootsie".  Through his research into what it takes to transform himself from a man to an actually believable woman he had an epiphany, and it was very moving to see how that insight affected him.  Watch it, it's pretty short....

 

I can't remember the last time I had an epiphany, or an "aha moment" as Oprah Winfrey calls it..

 I wanted to understand what having an epiphany actually meant  so I looked up the dictionary definition of it and this is what came up:  "A sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience."

I guess it's about finding the real truth of life in a deep down, spiritual way.  Why we are the way we are in every aspect of life.  And when we have that moment of realization we can act on it with understanding and sympathy and tolerance!  What a great thing!

So with Dustin's epiphany, he came to realize he couldn't become the woman he wanted to portray for the movie.  He wanted to become what we've been brainwashed to believe is the "ideal" woman, a woman he would be attracted to if he could meet her in reality.  And when he found out no amount of makeup wizardry would ever make him that woman he started to realize, this is a woman's plight in life!  You could see that he really understood what we as women struggle with everyday of our lives, and for a man to finally get it and gain understanding from it.....  boy that's priceless!

 

Well, I need to strive to have more "aha moments" in my life like Dustin's.  It makes you a better person, a person who appreciates the things you don't understand or even want to understand.  I think we could all benefit from that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling So Good..... I Think I'll Give Away Something!

Ahhhhh the start of another beautiful Summer day....  We finally have perfect weather, not too hot and not too cold!  Don't you find that when the weather is great everything in your life seems a little better too??  I think the sun must have some magical properties... and boy am I benefiting from those properties now!

Took a walk the other day in the woods...

Foxgloves were in bloom.....

Even spotted one of these little guys atop a bear cookie! (man I didn't think they really exsisted!)

Anyway, all is well in my neck of the woods.  I hope you are experiencing the sun's "magical properties" where you live too!

How bout a little challenge!  Since I'm feeling so good today I thought I'd give another person a chance to win another one of my Mini Masters pendants like the one I gave away in this post.  (sorry Gary, it'll be on it's way soon... I promise!)

This one depicts the painting by Botticelli "The Birth of Venus" on one side....

and on the other side "The Allegory of Happiness" by Agnolo Bronzino...

A little hard to see but who wouldn't want to wear a classic piece of art around your neck... to view a little piece of beauty any time of the day!

So....  how can I win this treasure you might ask, well here's how! 

I created a little game for you to play... it won't be difficult... maybe a little bit of a challenge for those not Google savvy.  But most will find it a breeze... the trick is who can get through the quiz the fastest with the final answer posted in comments right back here... where you might claim the prize!

So take a trip around the world!  Find the destinations and collect all 7 gold coins.  Just click on the link below and have fun!

(WARNING!  This game is my first attempt so if it doesn't go smoothly, or the questions don't make sense to you then, well..... don't blame me... I'm new here!)


PLAY GAME HERE!

Singring, Take Me Away!!

I was in the shower this morning thinking random thoughts like I usually do about my life..... the past...... and music I used to love.  One song that popped into my head was from Todd Rundgren's band Utopia, from the album called "Ra" ... man I used to love their songs!

One of the awesome songs from that album is called Singring And The Glass Guitar (An Electrified Fairytale).  This song tells a sweet little fairy tale using instrumental solos by these four very talented guys from the group.

 I remember way back when... lying on my bed, headphones on, volume turned way up (maybe that's why I'm deaf now), and just letting the music take me on a journey to find the four keys, smash the glass guitar and free the spirit of Harmony!

So here's a nice treat for you.  Lay back and listen to a great song, all the way to the end... cause that's my favorite part! 

Smash it, smash it, smash it, smash it, smash IT, SMASH IT!!!!!!!  aaaaaaahhhhhh!

Enjoy...  and oh yeah.....  Happy Fourth everyone!!

Masterpiece take # 1

Gesso you'll know how I'm progressing!  (did you catch the pun?  What?  You don't get it??  Ok... moving on.)  Anyhooo....

The first step in the process of making my masterpiece vinyl floor cloth is prepping the surface.  So I drove on down to my local Michael's craft store and grabbed me some assorted supplies for the painting process, including a big bottle of gesso (hence the pun above).






In case you're wondering gesso is the base coat
that seals your surface before painting and it provides "tooth" for the paint to adhere. 

So, I used a nice foam roller and painted the first coat.  I think I'll put on 2 coats so the little marks on the vinyl won't show through.  I'm putting it on the reverse side of the vinyl if you remember from my first post, the other side has the raised faux tile design on it.  This side is nice and smooth for my painting pleasure!  I'll have to wait 24 hours between coats.... gives me more time to decide on what to paint! (no, I haven't a clue what to do yet....)

Ok, finished!  Now to decide the design, hmmmmmm.  Still think I like the rug from anthropologie, it's got a nice contemporary graphic, not too hard I should think and I can choose what ever colors I want....

 But we'll see!  Stay tuned!

The Joys of Motherhood?

Why is it that every time my son leaves the house with keys in hand I feel like this:



http://hahasforhoohas.com/

My son (to be 21 in October) started class today at a new community college.  He was nervous, and that's to be expected, we've all felt that way in new situations, it's perfectly normal!

  But he's practically an adult now (wow, in my eyes he's still 3) and I still go out of my mind with worry! Shouldn't I have "cut those apron strings" by now??  Why is it so hard to let our children leave the house without feeling like we're dying a little inside? 

I mean, he has a valid drivers license.  I saw him put his wallet in his pocket myself.  He communicates well with people... he's a very capable young man...  so what is wrong with me?

 It's been this way from the first time I sent him down a slide and then on down through all 12 different schools he's attended and many, many other occasions in between!  I died a little bit through each one of those times... I should be dead by now!

Well.... maybe it's because I love him more than life itself.  And because I remember what it felt like to have my stomach tied up in knots entering a classroom for the first time..... and I don't want him to ever feel the way I remember I did... at least not without knowing his Mom will be right there with him every new step he takes in life!  (in spirit of course.. he would kill me if I was there in person....sheesh)

Here's to you Chris, and every new adventure you take in your life!  I'll be right there with you!  (no matter how fast you run from me!)

My Next Great Masterpiece!

Ok, so I may not be Picasso or Monet (not even close), but I love to paint.  Of course I haven't done it in a few years but I think I'm ready to tackle my next masterpiece!  I finally have enough room to spread out a large canvas, pile up some paints and brushes, really mess up the place without having to clean it all up when I'm done with a painting session!  I'm ready!

Where to start...  A few years ago I saw a segment on some show (that is no more) about painting floor cloths.  Ok first a little about floor cloths before I continue.  As early as the 1600's early Americans were using painted heavy-coated sailcloth or canvas to decorate their floors, a sort of painted carpet.  They used geometric patterns or free-form designs and some were stenciled like this one:

http://www.earlyamericanfloorcloths.com/?p=3846

 

Ok enough about the history, back to my plan!  So instead of going through the process of binding and priming a piece of canvas for a floor cloth which is a project in itself, this segment I watched showed how to use a remnant piece of vinyl... you know the ugly stuff you see in some kitchens and bathrooms.   I had my first attempt at a painted vinyl floor cloth a few years back and it's been with us through quite a few moves and it still looks good!  They're durable, they protect your floors and, (if you aren't Picasso and would be ashamed to hang a piece of your art on the wall), they can be as simple or elaborate as you want.  A nice piece of your own handy-work under your feet!  Art you can walk on if you will!  Here's a picture of the one I painted, I use it in my kitchen.

So I went out to look for a remnant of vinyl and I found a large roll of a nice plain vinyl, not much pattern which is what you want, for $50 regularly $115!  It was a great value, I can make beaucoup floor cloths from this! 


Now I needed to find out how big I wanted my floor cloth to be so I could cut it to size.  I really needed something on the wood floor in front of the door.  I wanted a small carpet but the door wouldn't allow even the shortest pile carpet to pass over it, but the vinyl turned out to be perfect!

I measured the space and decided on a piece about 25" by 50" would be the perfect size.  Here's the vinyl cut to size.  And what it looks like on the front, I paint the picture on the back.

 Well, that's where I'm at right now.  I've still got more supplies to buy and, (hardest part for me) I've still got to figure out the design.  I'll be showing you the process from beginning to end in later posts.  Just be patient with me, I'll get through the steps when I can.

Hmmmm...  I want to do something with an interesting pattern like this pretty rug pattern I found from anthropologie.  But I also would like something vibrant and graphic kind of like a painting by Frida Kahlo, whom I just love!

I know... a little ambitious!  But that would be a fantastic floor cloth!!  Maybe I'll just stick with good ole early American folk art style (couldn't find a good picture).  But... I guess you'll just have to wait and see what my masterpiece will become!  I hope you'll follow me through the process, it should be fun, (I hope)!


When You've Got Those Rainy Day Blues

This is how my week started...




Hard to tell but it was raining cats and dogs.
 

A typical Pacific Northwest summer rain is coming down, it's grey and dreary and that's the direction my mood ends up going too. 

The house is dark and even the skylights can't lighten the mood in the room.   Nothing feels joyful on a day like this...  Why does the weather seem to affect my mood this way?

  I read an article  on the affects of weather on our mood which basically said it's really all in our head and that "We can and should take proactive steps to strengthen the brain's system against weather-driven mood changes."  They suggested reading a good novel.  Great!  But I'd just finished "Inferno" by Dan Brown which was a really great read and now I have to go through the process of finding another book that can hold my interest.  Not an easy task!

Exercise, which I did but it was like torture getting through, although I did feel better afterward.  How about listening to uplifting music?  On a day like this I tend to like music that follows my mood... something with a slight bit of melancholy.  Like Gilbert O'Sullivan's Alone Again:

 

A little sad, but it's a really great song!

You know...  in my experiences with rainy day blues (and we get ALOT of rainy days here) I found that it's best to just... ride it out.  Go with the melancholy, let it wash over you like the rain.  Look at the rain, go outside and smell it, it's really quite beautiful...

 It makes everything fresh and clean and if you take a deep breath you'll feel it too!  Go inside and if you've found that great novel grab a soft blanket and wrap yourself in it with a nice hot cup of coffee and lose yourself in the story!  Sometimes we have to just take care of ourselves when our mood is low... it's kind of like taking medicine when you have a cold, if you deal with the symptoms you'll find that it's not so hard to ride it out.  And if you just look ahead...

You'll see that the sun is right around the corner!  (Thank you God for that!)

  Have a fantastic week everyone, come rain or shine!!

 

 

 

 

Have a Dreamy Weekend!

I'll leave you this week with a snapshot of one of my dreams.  What do your dreams look like?  I hope they come true for you this very weekend!  Enjoy yourselves!



Greece