Snapped this photo as I was driving down the street in the early early morning just after first light. I like the stark, grainy, gritty, almost blurry perspective.
All straight lines, no curves, even the lettering, and I think that only enhances the powerful message:
LOVE WILL WIN.
This seems to be a lovely way to herald spring and the time change on Sunday.
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:—
A Poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the shew to me had brought:
For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils.
I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden Daffodils;
Beside the Lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
William Wordsworth – 1770-1850
There’s a full moon, the air is warm, the sky is blue, birds are in joyous song during their gathering of nesting material, and this soon-to-be sunflower is in its cocoon, tightly wrapped and protected until the flower of the sun bursts open.
Sunflower/Flower of the Sun
This is funny.
A certain website I needed to access for an important document had been giving me a consistent error message to close out my browser every single time I input my password. No matter what I did, I encountered the same message.
I couldn’t figure out what the problem could possibly be, so I called the company tech support number. I wasn’t angry or frustrated; it seemed like this could be easily solved if I took a deep breath and asked for help.
An hour later, I have a new friend.
She instructed me to close out my ENTIRE browser, not simply the tab that was open to her website.
I said, “Oh my goodness, not that! All those tabs? That’s going to ruin my life!”
She started laughing and told me I made her day, and then I started laughing, and that in turn opened up a conversation about life, the weather (she’s on the east coast), and our kids and grandkids. We shared that each of our moms had lived with us and we both took care of them while they were sick up until they died, and what a blessing it was to have been able to give back some love and kindness.
She asked me why I was laughing about the tech issue instead of getting angry and yelling at her (which is the emotional state she usually encounters) and I explained to her that in the grand scheme of life, this seemed to be a minor blip on the screen of my universe.
She told me she had been depressed and I cheered her up and that in turn made me happy.
Oh, and she solved my access problem so I was able to get into the account and acquire the info I needed.
If I hadn’t had a problem, if I hadn’t made the call, I wouldn’t have connected with a beautiful soul three thousand miles away, and I wouldn’t have been able to shine a light and a laugh into her darkness. In my opinion, this was a win-win scenario.
An outstretched hand.
Friend/ship.
We’re enjoying a wintry Santa Ana wind event here in SoCal. It’s warm and sunny with gusty winds about 15-25 miles per hour–not bad enough to cause damage. I hear it’s much windier north of us.
The National Weather Service defines a Santa Ana as “Strong down slope winds that blow through the mountain passes in southern California. These winds, which can easily exceed 40 miles per hour are warm and dry and can severely exacerbate brush or forest fires, especially under drought conditions.”
It makes for beautiful ocean views and a bit of spindrift, spray blown from the crests of waves by the wind. Also one of my favorite words because it sounds magical.
Spindrift.
Even though there were no whales or dolphins this time, it’s still the ocean and that’s plenty to be grateful for.
I found these three adorable dresses for Angel Girl at our local resale shop. I brought them home to wash, disinfect, and iron.
But something was missing. They needed an embellishment to become perfection. The kitty cat dress didn’t seem to need it, but the other two did.
They needed a collar! While Peter Pan collars add a modern yet retro vintage touch, in order to be called a Peter Pan type, it would need rounded edges. What I created is more of a “Chelsea” collar with pointed edges.
This was a fun and easy project. I downloaded a free template and then I had a brilliant thought. To make this project even easier, I could simply cut out and attach different types of lace. This would keep the actual sewing to a minimum; no fabric, no turning of the collar. EASY!
I went to Jo-Anns and found the right material to complement both dresses. Thrifty girl that I am, each piece cost about two dollars.
The next step: Cut out and pin the collars to the dress. Make sure to allow enough room to turn/sew the raw ends under.
Finally, sew the collar to the dress at the neck. It can be done by machine or by hand. This time I used my sewing machine. I have a very old machine and it needs a tune up as it’s acting up a bit, but since it weighs about fifty pounds, I haven’t wanted to fight with it to bring to the repair shop.
This is the finished product. I added the contrast of narrow blue satin ribbon and a bow.
I love this one too. The eyelet lace perfectly enhances this bright and beautiful party dress. With Char’s titian hair, it will look AMAZING.
Now I’m searching in my own closet for a dress that needs an embellishment because I’m obsessed with collars!
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you,
and the storms their energy,
while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”
“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while,
and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.
Wash your spirit clean…”
John Muir
Only about twenty minutes away in Escondido, there’s nothing like the Daley Ranch nature preserve for an array of views on a mostly clear, sunny day.
My favorite ceanothus in blue.
This ranch house that we see today was built in 1925 as a summer cottage for the Daley family.
Visit http://daleyranch.org/ for all the facts and other interesting info about the land that was designated as a conservation mitigation bank to be preserved in perpetuity.
Is it a feather or a cloud?
I looked up and there it was displayed in a beautiful horizontal position in the blueblue sky, so I ran inside to grab my camera and my phone. When I returned, it was still there, thank goodness.
My question is this: is it a feather or a cloud? A cloud or a feather? What do you think? Is there symbolism or is it simply a cloud that looks like a white feather?
Even taken from different perspectives, still the same.
I have found a few white feathers here and there and I wonder if a sky feather symbolizes these same spiritual qualities???
White feathers imply purity, peace, love, hope, heaven, angels, and protection. It’s also a message from our ancestors that everything is well on the other side and is a blessing of wisdom in connection with the moon. White feathers significantly mean that everything is okay; a reminder to keep the faith and stay strong.
(https://www.speakingtree.in/allslides/white-feather-meaning-and-symbolism/the-feather-implies)
Have a wonderful weekend!
For #ThrowbackThursday, I reached into the vault of previously written posts and found this one from 2012.
I reworked it a bit and added a few more photos of the seashell bouquets that I’ve crafted since then.
At the time, I needed a new project and somewhere. probably on Pinterest, I saw a bouquet of seashells and starfish and thought that it looked easy enough to re-create, so I did!
An added benefit to the seashell bouquet is to make as a gift for anyone who’s allergic to flowers. The irony here is that I’m allergic to roses. With a name like Rosebud, that’s pretty funny, not that I’d toss them out if someone wanted to send me a dozen, but we can’t be in the same room at the same time.
How to make the seashell bouquet:
1. Get craft sticks of all sizes; I even used chopsticks.
2. If you don’t have a glue gun, get one! I can’t live without mine, that’s for sure. For this project, you don’t have to be perfect, obvs you need to use more glue for the heavier starfish
3. Florist’s foam, that would be a good idea and it’s easily available at craft stores and the dollar store, which is where I got mine.
4. It’s pretty simple: glue the seashell or starfish or sparkly treasure to the stick.
5. Insert into foam cut to fit snugly inside the vase.
6. Done!
Voila! Here’s the finished product. This vase is at the bottom of our stairs up to the second level and is the first thing you see when you come in the front door. 
Are you crafty? Let me know what you’ve been doing all the many months of being isolated during the Covid Pandemic. The next time I get to see Angel Boy 2.0, I think he’s old enough to help me make one, and I think he’d love to create a seashell bouquet. Of course, he’s still too young to use a glue gun, other than that, it’s a great project for children.
