Hearts and Sons

My son is the classic dictionary definition of an absent minded professor (which he is). His beautiful brain has multiple trains of thought all speeding along at the same time, so sometimes, day-to-day mundane tasks fall by the wayside.

It was early morning and he had returned from a dawn patrol surf sesh. We were having a lively “discussion” about where to put his surfboard…”Mom, Mom, I’m going to leave it right here, don’t worry. I’m going to surf later, too.”

Whenever he says “don’t worry”, there’s an eighty to one hundred percent chance that it’s something I SHOULD worry about. I learned that after forty-three years of being his mom.

I told him I’d prefer it if he took the extra few minutes to put it away in the garage where it belongs.

This discussion took place as we’re standing in the driveway. It could have been today or a couple decades ago; some things never change!

We were at an impasse. Hands on my hips, I stubbornly stuck to my position that the surfboard needed to go back where it belongs or I would end up trying to lift up a longboard that’s twice my size. Something would break; either the board or me.

Finally, I said, “Look how much time you’re wasting. If you had simply put it up instead of trying to convince me to allow you to leave the surfboard in the way, you’d already be in the house eating your breakfast burrito!”

Well, that’s the kind of logic that works with him. He finally put his board away. Like I told him his entire life, he should take his arguing and debating skills and become a lawyer like his grandfather.

As we wrapped up a twenty minute negotiation, I looked down and found this perfectly formed heart leaf. I took a picture, picked it up, brought it in the house, and I’m looking for a suitable frame while my (annoying) child inhales his breakfast.

It’s all about love. It always has been, and always will be. That child IS my heart, whether he’s being annoying or not.

My Wish For You

I hope everybody survived the powerful energies of the 8/8/8 Lion’s Gate Portal! It was intense, wasn’t it? And still is…

I always return to the simple things to realign myself on life’s journey; a little course correction of some vitamin sea at the beach with sand and seashells.


Art by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite
Quote by Nicollete Sowder
Text over art by Enchanted Seashells

Seashells in Bloom 🐚

From Casa de Enchanted Seashells….Happy Father’s Day to all the good dads in the world! 🐚

Whether it’s a Chanel or a seashell, they both bring me joy.

Since I’m woefully allergic to most cut flowers like roses and stargazer lilies, I’m rarely able to have vases full of sweet smelling blooms to decorate every room, but I do have hundreds of seashell treasures, collected by me or presented as gifts.

This is the very last freesia of the season; she’s so precious that I had to bring her in so I could marvel over her color and fragrance, but I had to place far away her from me or I’d start sneezing. As you can see, she’s happily resting among a few of my other seashell friends.

I’ve never really figured out why I love seashells as much as I do, but I learned that some people associate seashells with love and fertility. Some also believe they represent the safe journey between the physical and spiritual world, while seashell jewelry is supposed to bring good luck and to protect the spirit of the wearer.

I’m not super creative like everyone on Etsy and Pinterest, but I do like to embellish almost everything with shells and rocks.

Here’s how to make the seashell bouquet:

  • Get craft sticks of all sizes; I even used chopsticks.
  • 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.
  • Florist’s foam (the green stuff) makes it really easy to place the sticks exactly where you want them and they’ll be stable.

I’m pleased with the results.

I liked the idea of a seashell bouquet so much that I made another one; more rustic, in a vintage frog vase (Majolica? McCoy?) from an antique store. This time I used sticks from the garden to attach the seashells.

And because I was inspired by the seashell bouquets, I started a more intense project. With my handy glue gun and a lot of glue sticks, this entry mirror took a longer to complete than I thought it would, but I’m happy with the outcome.

From The Beach

What sparks joy? Two beach visits in the same day, one in the morning and one as the sun set.

No whales or dolphins I’m sad to report; but it was still a gorgeous spring morning in SoCal.

Later, the ocean was wild and loud and exhilarating.

A close up pic of the holes in the coastal beach bluff, where I sat during high tide.

Sunset surf sesh. The line of surfers parallel the horizon.

All photo credit to Enchanted Seashells.

Vitamin Sea Therapy

“The sea is a desert of waves, A wilderness of water.”
–Langston Hughes

There was a high surf advisory and I really wanted to see the big waves which were supposed to peak on Sunday, breaking 6-9 with 10-12 foot sets.

More rain is on the way, but the ocean was electric with healing energy. The beach was packed with surfers and onlookers. I took a lot of pics and sent them to the original Angel Boy to make him feel bad for missing out on a great surf sesh, ‘cos that’s the kind of mom I am, haha.

“I need the sea because it teaches me.”
–Pablo Neruda

“The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.”
–Vladimir Nabokov

“The sea cures all ailments of man.”
Plato

“But the sea which no one tends is also a garden.”
–William Carlos Williams

“There is, one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea,
whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath…”

–Herman Melville

“Protecting the ocean is not just about saving marine life; it’s about safeguarding our own future. Our fate is intimately connected to the health of the ocean.”
–Greta Thunberg

If Thoughts Were Clouds

If thoughts were clouds…what would these say?

As I cleaned up the garden from leaves and branches and other debris, I looked up and snapped a photo of the very last of the clouds from that atmospheric rain event that brought us four+ inches of rain in a short period of time.

It’s warm and the sun is drying out the soggy earth.

Rise and Shine

Even while it rains, my early morning view from an east-facing window was otherworldly and spectacular.

No filters or editing, just a landscape filled with rain, the break of day, and a sun who continues to rise and shine, no matter what.

There might be an inspirational message here about the indomitable will to survive in adversity or it’s simply a sunrise. Either way, it brings joy and gratitude on the first of February.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Did you hear about the unprecedented, record breaking rainfall we had in Southern California?

The area of Pt. Loma received nearly five inches of rain, half of its normal yearly amount. The last time San Diego received this much rain was ninety-six years ago. It rained 3.23 inches on April 5, 1926. The San Diego River is at the minor flood stage at 10.86 feet and still rising.

The news showed video after video of flooded homes and streets, people standing on top of their cars, and paddleboarders on the 78 freeway where the creek ran over the road and they had to close it down.

At Casa de Enchanted Seashells, a bit north of the city, we received about 3.5 inches of rain in four days, which was enough to turn parts of the backyard into a lake, but no water damage to the structure or foundation.

I was forced to brave the worst of the storm to get fresh gauze and compression pads (bad timing!) so I was actually driving around, but only locally.

It was pretty hard to see at times, and careless drivers were speeding, but I managed to hobble in and out with my wound care items and safely return home.

My curiosity almost got the better of my (not very) good sense and I was going to stop and take pictures of the flooded freeway from a vantage point on El Camino Real, but the windshield wipers were having a hard time keeping up with the heavy rain so I thought better of it, and drove back home.

It’s starting to dry out and warmer days are forecasted, but there might be another storm next week, so I hope everyone prepares for possible extreme sky water!

A Lagoon Swan and a History Lesson

A few photos to memorialize January 2024.

This is my favorite, a swan pedal boat on Agua Hedionda Lagoon. It’s an activity high on the list when the Angels visit this summer. Doesn’t that look like a lot of fun?

Now I’m standing on a path with a view of the trestle bridge and a peek of a blue Pacific ocean. Do any locals know my specific location? I bet not, ‘cos it’s a secret.

After walking all the way around the lagoon, this is a look to the east and a very low tide…

If you block out the electrical poles and the road, it’s easy to transport yourself back in time to when this land was the home of the indigenous Kumeyaay Indian Nation.

This is where they lived, fished, gathered berries, wove baskets, and buried their families. They lived in small family groups which had to move frequently to find new sources of food and water. Each clan wintered in a sheltered valley and migrated into the mountains in the spring.

It’s sacred land and should stay that way in perpetuity.

Learn more here: https://www.kumeyaay.com/the-kumeyaay-millenium.html#:~:text=Kumeyaay%20fished%2C%20hunted%20deer%20and,created%20watersheds%20and%20stored%20groundwater.

Daybreak With Crows

A dramatic sunrise always makes me think of Romeo and Juliet:

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

From the front door looking directly toward the lagoon, this morning’s spectacular sunrise showcases the clouds that brought a little overnight rain.

Those black specks are hundreds of raucous crows heralding another new day.

Leonard Cohen said it perfectly:

The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say

Happy first Sunday of 2024!