It is Spring Break for me! Yippie!

It is spring break for me! That means V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

Today my daughter Diandra and I took a drive to Murphys , Queen of the Sierra! It is a quaint and charming goldrush era town located in Calaveras. If you ever get a chance to visit you can find Antiques, Art Galleries, Bakeries, Dining, Entertainment, Salons, Shopping, Wineries and much more to mention. We strolled through many shops, laughed and really got to enjoy each other! We had lunch at a restaurant called Grounds.... her treat. I have to tell you, this was hard for me. It didn't feel right for my little girl buying me lunch. Is this what my mom feels like when it is "my treat"? Could it be that I was uncomfortable because it is a sign that she is truly growing up?

Here are some pictures I took today while we were in Murphys.














I have more pictures, but sweet blogger will not let me post them! grrrrr :(
I think it might be time for flickr :)

The Mermaid

An old weather vane on top of a barn ... excuse the generous gift's from the bird's!

The Mermaid

Who would be
A mermaid fair,
Singing alone,
Combing her hair
Under the sea,
In a golden curl
With a comb of pearl,
On a throne?

I would be a mermaid fair;
I would sing to myself the whole of the day;
With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;
And still as I comb'd I would sing and say,
"Who is it loves me? who loves not me?"
I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall
Low adown, low adown,
From under my starry sea-bud crown
Low adown and around,
And I should look like a fountain of gold
Springing alone
With a shrill inner sound,
Over the throne
In the midst of the hall;
Till that great sea-snake under the sea
From his coiled sleeps in the central deeps
Would slowly trail himself sevenfold
Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate
With his large calm eyes for the love of me.
And all the mermen under the sea
Would feel their immortality
Die in their hearts for the love of me.
But at night I would wander away, away,
I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks,
And lightly vault from the throne and play
With the mermen in and out of the rocks;
We would run to and fro, and hide and seek
On the broad sea-wolds in the crimson shells,
Whose silvery spikes are nighest the sea.
But if any came near I would call, and shriek,
And adown the steep like a wave I would leap
From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells;
For I would not be kiss'd by all who would list
Of the bold merry mermen under the sea.
They would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me,
In the purple twilights under the sea;
But the king of them all would carry me,
Woo me, and win me, and marry me,
In the branching jaspers under the sea.
Then all the dry pied things that be
In the hueless mosses under the sea
Would curl round my silver feet silently,
All looking up for the love of me.
And if I should carol aloud, from aloft
All things that are forked, and horned, and soft
Would lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea,
All looking down for the love of me.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Here is the full picture of the weather vane with her friends. :)

~ Happy Easter ~

Good Friday

Taken in Texas (link)

Love Hung on a Cross

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life.
John 3:16

He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind.
Men clad in soldier's garb sat on the ground near the trio....
Woman clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill,... faces tear-streaked.
All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command.
"It must be done..." he said, and withdrew.
The angel spoke again. "It would be less painful..."
The Creator interrupted softly. "But it wouldn't be love."

In the Eye of the Storm by Max Lucado

God Bless you

For more information on this cross I took in Texas you can go here.

Never underestimate....

Several years ago, My husband and I decided to gut our main bathroom and remodel it starting with the built in tub. Growing up, I always had an old fashioned iron claw foot bathtub. My mind was pretty set that this is what I wanted to replace our existing tub. We found one in the paper for only $150.00. It needed some work, and needless to say my husband is always up for a challenge! It turned out beautiful!

I also wanted to replace the counter sink with an old buffet side board I had found at our local Tuesday Flea Market for $75.00. My husband cut a hole for the sink, painted it and replaced the counter with Corian that looks like marble. Also beautiful!

I had this wall paper picked out which I had found in a magazine. They introduced it being vintage and an anniversary for this particular print. It had me at one look! The only thing was that it was black and had BIG flowers on it. Very different from what my friends were picking out for their homes. I didn't care. I knew it was right for me.

I ordered it, finally got it home, and up on the wall. Charlie laid the black and white tile and marble squares on the floor. It was ready to be shown to my mom. I felt I had to get her stamp of approval. I was nervous. What was she going to think or say about this black big flower wall paper?

My Mom finally arrived. As we were walking towards the bathroom, I was preparing her for the black color I had picked out, saying, "I know it is different.... but I really loved it!"

She was listening to me, replying, "Well honey if you like it, that's all that matters!"

We turned the corner and then into the bathroom and the look on her face was exactly like the words that came out of her mouth.... I knew she was not going to like it!

This is what my mom said "Angela, What have you done?"

My heart dropped. I said, "You don't like it?"

All that she could say shaking her head in disbelief was, "What have you done?" Now I was thinking, 'Now this is just rude!!' She then told me to get my photo album out with my baby pictures in it. My mom grabbed the album flipping through the pages knowing what she was looking for. She found it and pointed. As I looked at the picture, I just said, "What have I done?"

She proceeded to tell me that after I was born, where we lived, my crib was against this wall for the first nine months of my life. I got the biggest hug from my mom and then she kissed me.

Picking out this wallpaper... was it a coincidence? I don't believe in coincidences. Never underestimate what a baby at any age takes in.

This Weekend.....

This weekend I took pictures of the "man on the moon!" If you didn't notice the moon last night, it was just glowing! Beautiful!

I called my girl-friend who lives in Ohio, we caught up a little before she went to her daughters soccer game. It is always so good to talk to her. sigh.... I miss her.

I also ironed my husbands clothes
did laundry
changed the sheets on my bed
hosed off the front porch while I watered the plants
took some pictures of my flowers that are starting to bloom
got caught up on my e-mails
I watched the movie "The Godfather" for the first time
went through more of my "clutter"
made a stew for dinner
etc.

I hope that everyone had a great weekend!

Breathe deep ~ Let Life in!

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED
TO ENTER THE LONG
BLACK BRANCHES?

by Mary Oliver

Have you ever tried to enter the long black branches
of other lives
tried to imagine what the crisp fringes, full of honey,
hanging
from the branches of the young locust trees, in early summer,
feel like?

Do you think this world is only an entertainment for you?

Never to enter the sea and notice how the water divides
with perfect courtesy, to let you in!
Never to lie down with the grass, as though you were the grass!
Never to leap to the air as you open your wings over
the dark acorn of your heart!

No wonder we hear, in your mournful voice, the complaint
that something is missing from your life!

Who can open the door who does not reach for the latch?

Who can travel the miles who does not put one foot
in front of the other, all attentive to what presents itself
continually?
Who will behold the inner chamber who has not observed
with admiration, even with rapture, the outer stone?

Well, there is time left
fields everywhere invite you into them.

And who will care, who will chide you if you wander away
from wherever you are, to look for your soul?

Quickly, then, get up, put on your coat, leave your desk!

To put one's foot into the door of the grass, which is
the mystery, which is death as well as life, and
not be afraid!

To set one's foot in the door of death, and be overcome
with amazement!

To sit down in front of the weeds, and imagine
god the ten-figured, sailing out of his house of straw,

nodding this way and that way, to the flowers of the
present hour,
to the song falling out of the mockingbird's pink mouth,

to the tiplets of the honeysuckle, that have opened
in the night.

To sit down, like a weed among weeds, and rustle in the wind!

~

Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?

While the soul, after all, is only a window,
and the opening of the window no more difficult
than the wakening from a little sleep.

~

Only last week I went out among the thorns and said
to the wild roses:
deny me not,
but suffer my devotion,
Then, all afternoon, I sat among them. Maybe

I even heard a curl or two of music, damp and rouge-red,
hurrying from their stubby buds, from their delicate watery bodies.

~

For how long will you continue to listen to those dark shouters,
caution and prudence?

Fall in! Fall in!

~

A woman standing in the weeds.
A small boat flounders in the deep waves, and what's coming next
is coming with its own heave and grace.

~

Meanwhile, once in a while, I have chance, among the quick things,
upon the immutable.
What more could one ask?

And I would touch the faces of the daisies,
and I would bow down
to think about it.

That was then, which hasn't ended yet.

Now the sun begins to swing down. Under the peach-light,
I cross the fields and the dunes, I follow the ocean's edge.

I climb. I backtrack.
I float.
I ramble my way home.