Many years later, still puzzling things out.
Still the paramount focal point of any photo.
Still fabulously attired with beautifully coiffed and beribboned hair.
Still unable to fit round pieces into square shapes.
And yet, still, the world revolves around me.
And most importantly, still adorable.
P.S. I sent this post to hub and he emailed back that this has always been his favorite pic of me and it’s because I look so determined.
indigothrowpillowspolyvoer
Did you hear?
Indigo is the hue we need.
I love saying it: I-N-D-I-G-O-GO-GO.
Sounds all boho and hippo-ish and kind of exotic, like a trip to the south of France or something.
I’m obsessed with indigo.
It’s not simply BLUE; it’s blue-specific.
A dark, inky purple-y midnight-y blue that’s a chameleon in different kinds of lighting. It’s intense and soothing all at the same time.
When I was in Crete and on Hydra ( I went to Greece a LONG time ago), there was a lot of indigo – against the Aegean, against bright white walls and chairs and grape leaves overhanging patio latticework.
These shelves of indigo remind me of my travels…
In my never-ending quest for fashionable finds, I discovered the most delicious scarf with elephants walking all over it.
I already had a gauzy loose fitting shirt with a hint of indigo…Woodstock, anyone?
Now I’m looking to add some indigo to our outdoor decor. There’s that creepy little split stone plant and a citronella candle.
Miniature pomegranate tree in a Mexican pot with hints of indigo. (Never mind the ugly electric cord.)
Decorator tip 1: Group an accent color for drama and flair!
Decorator tip 2: Easy! Get a small can of indigo paint for outdoor planters.
Get some indigo. GO.
Just a picture of one of our pretty backyard doves, that’s all.
How about a smoothie for your face?
This zesty homemade mask will freshen, nourish, and brighten up your winter-weary skin.
When my tugboat man is home (and when son/DIL are here) we enjoy “Family Facial Day”.
To be honest, “enjoy” is a relative term, the boys describe it as “endure”.
Of course hub and son don’t participate without a lot of whining, but DIL and I can be fairly persuasive. There’s nothing funnier than using a scrub on a couple of men who’re complaining about how much it hurts like they’re being abused. Men are such babies even though they’re always pleased with the results.
For those of you that had to endure skin-drying heating all winter along with harsh snowy weather, this is a perfect mask to nourish and brighten.
In SoCal, we’ve had our hottest March ever recorded — coupled with low humidity, my own face was looking as parched as the Anza Borrego Desert.
Probably because it’s been so unseasonably warm, the first of our loquats are ripe.
As soon as enough of them are ready, I’ll make jam with our harvest (RECIPE HERE) but I thought I’d experiment creating a mask.
Loquats are full of vitamin-A — looking around our garden, I picked a lime for vitamin-C and a few leaves of white sage for cleansing and purifying. (If you live in an area where loquats don’t grow, you could use apricots or even peaches.)
I tossed it all in the blender with bananas, avocado, and a squeeze of agave nectar.
Then I spied the secret weapon: Emergen- C!
With all the C and other vitamins and minerals, it’s like a healthy smoothie for your face. This is the one I used, but any flavor will work. Hopefully, it won’t tint your skin pink; it didn’t do that to me.
I didn’t invent the Emergen-C facial; my research revealed others have discovered its benefits, too.
Facial Tips:
Nourish + Brighten Facial Mask Ingredients:
Loquats: Three small, remove seeds.
Lime Juice: Squeeze half lime
Banana: One half.
Avocado: One half.
Emergen-C: Half or whole packet.
Agave or honey: A teaspoon or two, just to make it sticky enough so the facial doesn’t slide off your face.
Sage: A few leaves (optional if you don’t grow it in your own garden.)
Try adding a few shakes of ground turmeric or cinnamon, too.
It’s been a couple of days since I did it; I’m very pleased with the results, and will absolutely make this again when the rest of the family is here.
It’s so much fun to torture the guys!
Like most moms (and dads, of course) I never thought to prepare myself for what it would feel like to lose a child.
I’m not talking about losing him in the mall or losing him in a crowd; I mean to lose him forever.
We were so immersed in the business of living that it never occurred to me that anything life threatening might happen to my Angel Boy.
Health and fitness has always been a priority.
I made his baby food, did all the recommended baby exercises, and as soon as he could, we walked every day; no sitting in front of a television for us…
This was a typical school day at Casa de Enchanted Seashells:
I woke up at 6:15 a.m. to make a hot and nutritious breakfast for my little guy. I’d wake him at 6:30 with a kiss and and a song — “New day, time to wake up!” At 7:30, we’d leave the house to walk our dog for about thirty minutes, chat about the day, and practice spelling or math as we made our way to his school for the first bell at 8:00.
I figured if I did everything in my power to build a healthy and strong human, he’d be that way forever.
Do I even need to state the obvious that he was (is) my entire world?
I never thought of how dreadfully painful it must be to look at the calendar every year and know that your child’s birthday — the date of his birth–is approaching and all you have is a memory.
I honestly can’t imagine the pain.
How does anyone survive that kind of loss?
At 9:52 on March 23, 1981, my most amazing boy child was born.
Since then, I’ve cherished every breath he inhales as much as the first one.
April 29, 2014 might have been the date of his last breath.
It doesn’t matter where I am; even when I’m asleep — in my dreams, I’m transported back to the hospital.
That feeling of helplessness — In the surgical waiting room and then (with DIL) the ten days of twenty-four hour round-the-clock bedside vigil.
For vigil it what it was…
…not taking one single deep breath for months, actually.
On that day, that dark day, those dark days, none of us were sure we’d be celebrating anything ever again.
My mind replays that what if tape all the time, even though the nightmare is over. Really over.
Only now, almost a year later, I think I can finally
exhale.
That’s why this birthday is a very happy one.
He runs, he bikes, he camps, he hikes, he surfs.
He EATS. He BREATHES.
Life. Is. Good.
(My heart goes out to families who don’t make it to the other side. For me, the door opened just a crack, and I experienced a mere glimpse into that world, and it’s impossible to imagine being able to ever smile again.)
♥ ♥ ♥ On a happier note, what does an #emptynest mom do when she can’t be there in person to bake her Angel Boy’s birthday cake?
She finds a a vegan bakery in New Jersey, Bear Hug Bakery, and commissions a cake to be delivered to his office today at #Rutgers.
One layer of vanilla cake, one layer of chocolate, raspberry cream filling, and covered in ganache. YUM!!!
Mom Tip #276…it’s never too late to embarrass your child.
Happy 34th Birthday, Angel Boy!!
POSTS ABOUT THE SURGERY:
1. That Dreaded Call at 3:00 A.M.
https://enchantedseashells.com/2014/05/01/that-dreaded-call-at-300-a-m/
2. Time To Exhale
https://enchantedseashells.com/2014/05/06/time-to-exhale-hospital-update/
3. Full Circle From Hell to Happiness
https://enchantedseashells.com/2014/05/10/full-circle-from-hell-to-happiness/
4. What Does a Cosmo, the Trauma, Unit, and Mother’s Day Have in Common
This was sent to me by an animal loving friend.
I thought I’d pass it on because where we donate our hard earned dollars really ought to go directly for the care, protection, and defense of animals, not to fund outrageous salaries.
That’s why I donate directly to places like Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary, Wolf Mountain Sanctuary, and Rescue from the Heart.
Mar 12 2015
HSUS Still Puts Pensions Ahead of Pets
When people find out that Humane Society of the United States isn’t affiliated with local humane societies and doesn’t run any shelters of its own, they usually ask where the $130 million HSUS receives in contributions goes.
The answer: Not to local pet shelters. Instead, it funds HSUS’s fat cat CEO, pays for lobbyists and lawyers, or gets socked away at Caribbean hedge funds ($50 million in 2012 and 2013 alone).
It also paid millions to settle a federal racketeering lawsuit.
Here’s a metric of just how rotten HSUS is: In each of the past four years, HSUS has funneled more money to its own pension fund than it has contributed to help local pet shelters care for pets – you know, the shelters that actually provide care for the animals HSUS claims to love so much in their commercials.
Since 2010, HSUS has dumped nearly $10.7 million into pensions – 3.7 times more than the $2.9 million it has given to local pet shelters.
Here’s the most recently available data:
Year Pension contributions Shelter Donations
2010 $2,693,201 $528,676
2011 $2,493,898 $307,708
2012 $2,978,586 $1,028,586
2013 $2,520,588 $1,012,142
Total $10,686,273 $2,877,112
It doesn’t take long to see that HSUS is really all about one thing: Helping itself.
HSUS itself acknowledges that between 3 and 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized in American shelters every year—about half of all pets that enter their doors.
While HSUS claims it’s “about protecting all animals,” it appears to prioritize lining its own pockets.
It’s little wonder that HSUS is under investigation by Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt for deceptive fundraising practices and consistently receives poor marks from charity watchdogs like CharityWatch and Charity Navigator.
If you want to help pets in your area and not HSUS executives’ bottom line, give to your local shelter.
Take a walk with me around my garden where we once again have temps in the 80s. (Don’t hate.)
Birds are nesting and everything else is blooming and growing.
Bringing a twig to her babies. I think she’s a Warbling Vireo.
Lucky mom, HER nest won’t be empty this year like mine is!
A fragrant freesia.
Nectarine in bloom.
Marguerite Daisy.
The veggie garden, lots of lettuce, radishes, kale, and beets.
Yummy, spicy radishes and spring onions.
Sweet Pea Bush
Happy Pansy!
Happy Spring!
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved wolves.
This little Jewish girl from Detroit dancing around in a pink tutu and satin toe shoes harbored a secret desire to live among the wolves and become accepted as a pack member.
Crazy, right?
Crazy because the only wolves I encountered in Detroit were the hormone-addled little boys at the Jewish Community Center.
“The gaze of the wolf reached into our soul.” Barry Lopez
It wasn’t until we moved to California and I was in college that I did anything about it.
Back in the 1970s, I joined the fight to save the wolf from extinction by advocating for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
In college, I studied predators and made plans to accompany research scientists and live with wolves in Minnesota and Michigan but never fulfilled that dream because I couldn’t (obviously) bring my dog, and I didn’t want to leave her.
Another dream unfulfilled. Oh, well.
Wolf print, Yellowstone
I was lucky to finally get to Yellowstone National Park and see IRL several of the wolves who make up the Lamar Valley pack, but we never heard the song of the wolf, probably because we camped right on Slough Creek and the water, while beautiful, drowned out most animal sounds.
I’m still involved in the never-ending fight to save, defend, and protect this magnificent animal; read about my experiences in Sacramento when I testified at the Fish and Wildlife Service‘s wolf delisting hearing: Saving Wolves.
From my testimony: “At 6:00 a.m., a few miles outside our camp at Slough Creek, we followed others to a bison carcass, and our efforts paid off with a multiple sighting of many wolves, including 755. There was an overwhelming sense of awe among the dozens of us who silently watched him cross the road and then a collective sigh of relief when he disappeared safely over the ridge.
Last weekend, we took a drive to the Mojave Desert town of Lucerne to spend a few hours at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary, a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Tonya Littlewolf.
Eleven wolves call this sanctuary home, and while I finally heard the haunting song of the wolf, the whole experience could only be described as sad.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Why sad?
Sad because these magnificent creatures NEED to be rescued.
Sad that humans think they have the right to try and make pets out of these wild animals. (Not gonna work.)
Sad that the wolves can’t roam free, sad they’re hunted, tortured, hated, vilified.
Wolves are among the most intelligent species.
HOW DARE WE DESTROY THEM.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
So yes. Sad. Very sad.
From Wolf Mountain Sanctuary website…all volunteer educational organization dedicated to the preservation, protection, and proper management of wolves in the wild and in captivity. We are a forever home for all of the wolves we rescue. We rescue wolves from the movie industry, private owners, and from breeders. The impression a 180 pound wolf leaves on you is everlasting. To look into their knowing, wise, amber colored eyes is a moving, spiritual experience. When you look into the eyes of a wolf, you see your soul…
“We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself.” Farley Mowat
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
He’s a beautiful wolf with a golden sand coat. Denali’s personality is very sweet, curious, and friendly.
The wolves at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary seem to be well cared for and healthy.
When I met this handsome guy, Holan, he immediately jumped up, put his front paws on my shoulders, and licked my face. See my joy? This is the smile of someone who loves wolves.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“The wolf is neither man’s competitor nor his enemy. He is a fellow creature with whom the earth must be shared.” L. David Mech
Look at him. The eyes. Amazing.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Sniffing around where we had been seated.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“Throughout the centuries we have projected on to the wolf the qualities we most despise and fear in ourselves.” Barry Lopez
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
“Inescapably, the realization was being borne in upon my preconditioned mind that the centuries-old and univerally accepted human concept of wolf character was a palpable lie. On three separate occasions in less than a week I had been completely at the mercy of these “savage killers”; but far from attempting to tear me limb from limb, they had displayed a restraint verging on contempt, even when I invaded their home and appeared to be posing a direct threat to the young pups.” Farley Mowat, Never Cry Wolf
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Awesome Wolf Howling Compilation
http://youtu.be/op7fRsvWowA
A Man Among Wolves
http://youtu.be/j4vFBXOoHs0
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
From Wolf Mountain Sanctuary website:
WHY SAVE THE WOLF? Look at them: they are so noble, so beautiful. The wolf, as well as other endangered species, are ecological indicators. It is by studying these species and learning how to preserve them that we learn the main factors affecting our environment.
Perhaps in so doing, we will learn undiscovered ways to benefit mankind!
Unfortunately, there are those who deny the wolf’s place in the ecosystem. Wolves are gunned down from airplanes and snowmobiles (which some consider “sport”). Sometimes the fur is taken; however, more often than not, the animal is simply left to decay.
The wolf is poisoned “en masse,” trapped by leg-hold traps, used as adornments for the idle rich.
Today, the wolf’s range is limited to Alaska, Canada, the upper Midwest, and in Yellowstone National Park. Some of the YNP wolves have traveled into adjoining states, which allow hunters to kill wolves on sight and for little to no reason. In the 1930’s, there were approximately 50,000 wolves roaming the North American continent. By the 1940’s, that number had been decreased to 1,000. Today, mostly because of conservation efforts, there are approximately 3,000 wild wolves on the entire continent. They have made a small comeback, but because of the recent delisted from the Endangered Species Act, wolves are once again under attack.
Wolf lovers need to band together and do all we can to help them. TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
Only you can save the wolf from extinction. Proper management procedures must be put into action.
Won’t you join us in the wolf’s campaign? Please help the wolves any way you can: sign all petitions you can to stop the wholesale slaughter of wolves and donate to organizations focused on protecting the wolf!
And here’s something else we can do NOW.
It’s important to help out those wonderful humans who devote their lives to protecting wolves like Wolf Mountain Sanctuary and Dearborn Wolf Sanctuary.
I’m back from Wolf Mountain Sanctuary in the Mojave Desert.
I’ll post about our experience at the sanctuary, but it was mostly sad. Sad that these magnificent creatures NEED to be rescued. Sad that they can’t roam free, sad they’re hunted, tortured, hated. They are among the most intelligent and evolved species. How dare we destroy them. Sad. Very sad.
Check out this amazing outcropping of rocks.
The Mojave Desert is also known as the High Desert because of its elevation, between 2,000 and 4,000 feet above sea level. 
Blue sky and rocks.
Ick.
LOVE this pic.
Rock climber Not me.
#highdesert #mojave #desert #wolves #hiking
Since I now focus most of my baking to please Angel Boy 2.0 (the new and improved version), this was the winner of all the chocolate cakes I ever created, so I thought I’d share it again for those of you who do still currently turn on the oven and combine ingredients to conjure up lovely confections (not confessions). At 15 months, AB 2.0 can’t have chocolate; for now he’ll have to be happy with sugarless teething biscuits and kale smoothies.
No eggs and no dairy, yet this cake is super moist, fluffy, and fudge-tastic — with a hint of French roast coffee and almond-y Amaretto.
I was inspired by a recipe I found in my mom’s old cookbook — as always, I transformed it into my own version.
I know I use Amaretto a lot, but I ran out of vanilla and it’s a great flavor enhancer with chocolate and coffee.
Moist #Vegan Chocolate Cake With Amaretto Coffee Frosting
Directions Grease a nine-inch pan. Bake on middle rack of oven for approximately twenty-five to thirty-five minutes. Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. Don’t over bake or it’ll dry out. Cool and frost. Amaretto Coffee Frosting In a medium bowl, sift sugar and cocoa. Blend with vegan butter. Add 2 teaspoons Amaretto or other flavoring, and 3 tablespoons cold coffee, Blend until desired consistency. If too dry, add more coffee or Amaretto. If too wet, add more powdered sugar.  |
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 