Author Archives: Enchanted Seashells

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About Enchanted Seashells

Also known as Princess Rosebud! MIDlifestyle blog. Mom of Professor Angel Boy and Grandma to Angel Boy 2.0 and Angel Girl 2.0. Love to camp and hike. I've been in a few films, am obsessed with seashells, sea glass, and rocks; gardening and baking, Hello Kitty, Chanel, Leon Russell, and anything sparkly. Veg since 1970 and an ardent animal activist forever. Fashionista...veganista...animal activista. I'm still trying to find the perfect shoe!

Sunday Snaps

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After all the rain we’ve had here in Southern California, every bit of land is awash in springtime color.

A picturesque view of the lagoon, train tracks, and Pacific ocean through Purple Mustard, an invasive weed:

I call this plant Beach Daisy, definitely a weed, if not also invasive…

And finally, I’m impossibly happy because the wildflower seeds I planted last year in my native garden decided to sprout and present me with lovely spires of lupine:

**All photo credit belongs to Enchanted Seashells.

Earthquake! NOT An April Fool’s Joke…

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Yesterday at 6:16 p.m. I was on the sofa eating a bowl of yummy rice and veg when I felt the entire house shake with an incredibly SHARP jolt like the house was trying to fall off the foundation accompanied by a deafening loud noise.

Did the Wicked Witch of the East crash into my house?

For half a second, I looked around thinking something had fallen outside on the deck. The windchimes were all going crazy and with no discernible wind. I was a bit confused for a minute, then a lightbulb went off in my brain and I hurriedly checked the earthquake app on my phone and sure enough, we had just had a 4.5 earthquake, subsequently downgraded to a 4.2.

There was no damage at Casa de Enchanted Seashells other than a few pictures that weren’t secured with earthquake gel became a little askew, but nothing broke, I’m glad to report.

Again this morning a little after 5 a.m., I sort of half woke up with the same sort of sharp jolting sensation but went right back to sleep without checking the earthquake app.

I slept until almost 7 a.m, and when I got up, I remembered that feeling and wanted to establish whether there WAS another earthquake or if was it just a dream, and I discovered there was a definite 3.2 earthquake at 5:10 a.m. in the same location.

It was real, not a dream!

Maybe it was a joke on all of us from Mother Nature, right? Did anyone else feel it?

Happy April, everyone!

National Mermaid Day

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How could this day be halfway over and I forgot to observe National Mermaid Day?

Mermaid Day is observed every year on March 29. It’s for lovers of the fabled creature who appear in literature, mythology, music, films, and pop culture.

Gazing at me while I write…

Maybe mermaids ARE real; at least that’s what I want to believe as I see the world through my rose-colored glasses.

Mermaids
Believe in magic.
Play in the waves.
Know how to weather a storm.
See life’s beauty.
Dive for their soul.
Ride the tides of life.
Know there are treasures in the deep.
-Unknown

…the butterfly

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I love butterflies. I’ll stop whatever I’m doing to point and say, “Look at the butterfly!”

Gifts From Above

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My crow cousins have been leaving gifts for me all around the garden and deck.

Shiny and sparkly!

So far I’ve discovered these four baubles. I always look up to see if I can catch the gift giver; so far I haven’t, but I say thank you out loud as I pocket my treasures.

Crows are known to give small gifts to people who pay attention to them or feed them. The phenomenon is actually called “gifting”. I don’t feed my local crow family as there is plenty to eat without my intervention, but I do talk to them and generally love their presence, so maybe they feel that emotion and return the affection. I’ve read that crows (and other corvids) remember the faces of those who are mean to them and those who are especially kind.

Some of my neighbors don’t appreciate our community of crows as much as I do, and I’m positive they aren’t receiving the same kinds of gifts like I am.

I’m full of gratitude to my bird family Thank you, cousins!

Check out another crow post:
https://enchantedseashells.com/2023/01/25/crows-crows-and-more-crows/

Nature and Nietzsche

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“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” Friedrich Nietzsche

I like the sensual undulating ribbon dance of this little creek at the lagoon.

“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” Friedrich Nietzsche.

I can’t disagree with that!

“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” Friedrich Nietzsche ·

For me, nature IS art and I’m grateful for it, especially this lagoon, one of my happy places.

The Good Doctor 🩺

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I know that’s the name of a TV show (I’ve never watched it), but I’m talking about a very good doctor I saw today, and that helps to balance the poor experience I had with the orthopedic surgeon last month.
https://enchantedseashells.com/2023/02/18/not-the-bees-knees-%f0%9f%90%9d/

A few years ago, I had a series of white flashes that warned of a retinal tear in my left eye–DANGER AHEAD!

Fortunately I caught it early, so it wasn’t yet detached and therefore able to be repaired by a laser. https://enchantedseashells.com/2022/03/16/i-see-you-eye-health-seriously/

In a roundabout way, that’s how I ended up meeting Vice President Al Gore. https://enchantedseashells.com/2015/11/04/i-met-vice-president-al-gore-at-the-apple-store/

Every year, I return to the retinal specialist for a comprehensive check of both eyes.

This was a completely different situation to the ortho; night and day.

Usually I see the female specialist but she wasn’t available, so I was warmly welcomed by one of the senior doctors in the practice.

We exchanged pleasantries and courteous chitchat while he readied the tools to see behind my eyes.

Continually gentle and respectful, with reassurances and explanations during the exam, including me in the process to let me know what, if anything, had changed since my last visit.

There was none of that disdain, no eye-rolling, no rush to get me in and out. He kindly explained the details of the exam procedure, answered my questions, and eased my worries about any deterioration or new tears or leaky vitreal fluid.

After the exam, which revealed that everything appeared healthy, he shook my hand and told me not to worry and he’d see me next year.

That’s the way to do it. Thank you, Doctor R! Peace of mind is priceless.

Boketto: Word of the Day

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Boketto is one of those magnificent Japanese words that doesn’t seem to have an exact English translation. 

Boketto is the act of gazing out into the distance with no specific thoughts, to lose oneself in the vast, mindless, horizon. 

I do it a lot, and for me, it’s a sort of trance; a spaced out, zen-like calm and meditative state.

Couldn’t you lose yourself right here above the Salish Sea gazing at the cloud-shrouded Olympic Mountains?

Rainy Rocky Vibes

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This is my one of my dry riverbeds. (The other one is in the front garden.)
I proudly carried each and every rock and placed them with loving intention.

It’s not so dry now! Yesterday’s relentless rain had other ideas.

Today is World Poetry Day | Anne Sexton

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Every year, World Poetry Day is celebrated on March 21st with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression.

Here’s one of my favorites by Anne Sexton, elegantly illustrating our shadow side, at least that’s how I interpret her words.

Her Kind

I have gone out, a possessed witch,
haunting the black air, braver at night;
dreaming evil, I have done my hitch
over the plain houses, light by light:
lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.
A woman like that is not a woman, quite.
I have been her kind.

I have found the warm caves in the woods,
filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,
closets, silks, innumerable goods;
fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves:
whining, rearranging the disaligned.
A woman like that is misunderstood.
I have been her kind.

I have ridden in your cart, driver,
waved my nude arms at villages going by,
learning the last bright routes, survivor
where your flames still bite my thigh
and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.
A woman like that is not ashamed to die.
I have been her kind.