58:365:2012


Let my soul smile through my heart
and my heart smile through my eyes
that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.

--- Paramahansa Yogananda

56:365:2012




Today I relaxed. 
I played with my granddaughter (and got her eat some lunch and to nap for a couple hours).
I visited with friends and family.
I set up a french inspired buffet on the counter to nibble on throughout the day.
I looked at TONS of blogs from my fav bloggers.
I got some cool art in the mail off of Etsy.
... and I made gumbo for dinner.

54:365:2012


I have been writing Haiku for over a year now..... sporadically at first... and this year... I have started a "Haiku a Day" sort of project for myself. Amazingly... it is very meditative... very relaxing.. and I find I really enjoy it.
As a surprise... I completely filled up my pocket sized Moleskine that I bought specifically for writing them in... and now I hope to add a bunch of little sketches and such to the pages to finish it off.

In the meantime... tonight I made a special trip to Barnes and Noble to get "Haiku: Volume2"... another fabulous black pocket Moleskine. 

_____________________________

Do you like Haiku?
Here are some neat links on the art of Haiku poetry...

and Here

52/53:365:2012



Today has been sort of a mess. I've been trying to solve issues with blogger/ GoogleChrome/ gmail...
Apparently, I had to buy more storage space for the photos on my blog.
To do that... I had to purchase via credit card.. and wait for it to be accepted. That took over 24hrs.

Then... Blogger said I had to load GoogleChrome in order to see my blog features as they normally are... because some of them are older... and some of my features were dated. So I did that. 
Apparently... this is a whole new browser system... and it was very confusing to me (I am used to MSN).

Anyway. I could log onto my blog... but I couldn't post. Why>>>oh why>>>

Well... turns out GoogleChrome goes hand in hand with Gmail for account access. So I had to open a Gmail account in order to access my blog and post to it. I guess I can only access my blog now thru Gmail passwords and such.
So now I have 2 emails... and 2 browsers.... and some confusion.

Eash. It's been a day.... or two.... or three.

But it's good to have my blog back :)

49/50:365:2012



I have this horrible fear of failure.
And I procrastinate.
And .... well ... I'm sure you've all been there at some point.

I have been meaning to open up a website in order to sell my photographs for a couple of years now.
I tried years( and years) ago on Ebay... but Ebay really isn't a good marketplace for photography.

I tried listing some of my photos on Etsy (back in 2008).....
But they got lost in the OCEAN of fabulous photos on Etsy.com

I tried (unsuccessfully) to figure out how to start my own domain/ website.
(I'm not that techie savvy)

But, because I am stubborn... and still want to make this work... today I opened up a SmugMug account... where I hope to list TONS and TONS of  my photos so that people can see them... and buy them if they wish...

I have a lot of tweaking to do as far as the look of the site is concerned... and... of course... I have lots of photos to list... and pricing to do... but it's a start.

46:365:2012


Today was a day filled with running a few errands... listing a couple things on Etsy... offering some free stuff on Freecycle... a little cleaning... doing some laundry... resting.... and we even made a trip to Starbuck's for a treat.
Life is good.

About the photo for today's post: I took this shot in a fabulous store in California.
The ladies who own it gave me permission to take some photos... and I am very grateful.
Their displays were lovely... and I wanted everything in the shop!
The shop's name is "Summer Cottage Antiques"... and it was featured in Cottage Style magazine.
You can find the store link: HERE
And their blog link: HERE

45:365:2012


“I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.”





44:365:2012



hanging out and organizing a bit today... catching up on laundry... going to the post office and such...
It's a Monday.

43:365:2012


... thinking of Valentine's Day coming up...

... and wishing my son a VERY Happy Birthday today...
(seems like only yesterday when he was born)

42:365:2012


It's amazing how even a short trip can change your perspective.

Whenever I come home from somewhere... it seems like my house is cozier... cleaner... cooler than I thought it was when I left. And I feel fresher... clearer... more optimistic than when I left.
Situations haven't changed... but my optimism about it has.

And so... I am continuing in the path of clearing out my house... organizing my stuff... making art... and more.
Today I decided it was in my best interests to leave FlickR... my Amazon selling store... and a few other groups. And I will be concentrating more on selling my art and photography. To that end... I am hoping to open up a site to sell my photography... and I hope you all will check it out when it is up and running.

I will be listing alot of stuff (in the near future)... on Ebay... to clean out a bit...
And I will be continuing to list cool vintage items, supplies, and handmade treasures in my Etsy store.
Here's to an art filled 2012!

41:365:2012


And today we headed from Williams... all the way back to ABQ.

Just outside of Williams, was a very cool old cemetery... so we stopped to look around.
We also stopped in Gallup... and a couple other places along the way... but it was good to finally get home :)



40:365:2012


Today started off with a hearty breakfast at the Pine Country Restaurant in Williams, AZ.
WOW! It was really good... and I wish I had had room for their world famous pie...
which all looked incredible.

From there... we did a little shopping and wandering around town... although at this time of the year; alot of the stores and such are closed down. And so... we decided to drive out to the Grand Canyon and spend the afternoon.

The canyon is just as gorgeous as I remembered from our trip back in September. There were quite a few people there... in spite of the cold... and I was able to chat with people from Switzerland, England and a large group from Japan.
Upon entering the park... I was able to get "up close and personal" with 3 bucks that were wandering about and snacking on some grass. Stunning!
We stayed until sunset... then enjoyed some wonderful food from Dara Thai Cafe in Williams.




39:365:2012


Today was all about the driving.
We went thru some fabulous Southern California scenery... farms... ranches... mountains...



Then thru the Mojave Desert... which can seem never-ending...



We stopped for dinner in Needles, CA at the Burger Hut on Route66... which was totally cool...
and (finally) made it to Williams, AZ for the night.

38:365:2012


It was awesome waking up this am to the sound of the waves from Half Moon Bay.

We packed up our stuff... and headed down the coast highway towards Santa Cruz... weaving in and out of a few little towns... some gorgeous farm lands (berry farms... horse ranches... artichokes!.. and more)... then came across the gorgeous sandy beach at Pescodero Point. And so we stopped.



After drenching ourselves in salty sea water... ( and changing into something dry)... we went to Pidgeon Point. There is a lighthouse there... and for those of you who have known me for a bit... you know I have a huge thing for lighthouses. This particular one is under construction... although... even in it's dilapidated state... it was hauntingly beautiful.


From there... we headed to Santa Cruz for a wonderful meal at Las Palmas Taco Bar... the food was excellent!  ... And then we stopped for coffee at the Java Junction.... which totally hit the spot :)



From there on... it was a scenic drive to Fresno... where we stayed in a Ramada Inn.

37:365:2011

 Last night we were able to stay at the Metro Hotel in Pataluma, CA... long story short... they normally do not accept pets... but we got lucky. The hotel is fabulous... and I will probably do a post on it separately; another time.

From there... we wandered a bit around Petaluma. We saw the Mystic Theatre... where they did some of the shooting for the movie "American Graffiti".... we saw tons of fabulous shops (more on that later).... and we ate at probably the best Indian Fusion restaurant ever... Avatars.




From there... we drove south thru a small portion of San Francisco.... and were fortunate enough to see the Golden Gate... parts of the city... and Alcatraz in the distance.
We were "sorta" rushing... to meet some family in Half Moon Bay, CA.


Which is where we strolled on the beach... waded in the ocean...
and had some fabulous seafood at a  local pub.

Truly an excellent day.