Almost Wordless Wednesday- Jellyfish at The Monterey Bay Aquarium

"The sea is as near as we come to another world." ~anne sievenson~

Avlia Beach, California

... and yes, I did walk all the way out to the end of the pier and back. I'm getting much braver about these things, even though I was praying to the God of natural disasters the whole time: Praying that we would not have a major earthquake or any another kind of geological upheavel while Sis and I were out there. The Gods were listening....

While I was gone....

The Wisteria exploded over the back porch...

The new babies learned the Hokey Pokey...

And sweet little pupster, Cutter, found a new resting place in the garden.

Pismo Beach and the Workshop

The photos above are literally,"postcards from the edge". When I made these reservations it didn't look like the hotel was THIS close to the ocean. IT WAS! . The evening that we walked into this second story room and I walked out on to the balcony, I about had a heart attack. But, after 3 days of sun and storm, I actually got use to it. I was hanging off the balcony taking pictures and sitting out there watching the sunset. I have reached another level in my acceptance of this monstrous, body of water.
This is the Best Western Shelter Cove Lodge in Pismo Beach. I would give it 5 stars for the view alone.

THE WORKSHOP
I don't even know where to begin. We had so much fun and we learned so many new skills and techniques. Our fearless leaders are both wonderful jewelry designers who really knew how to teach us the basic skills of PMC(precious metal clay), etching 101 and cold connections( wiring, riveting and attaching one piece to another. Now I know the difference between round-nose and a needle-nose pliers; what Ferric Cloride is; and what you do with a ball pien hammer. I feel like a well informed beginner and I'm inspired to learn more.
The workshop was all day Saturday and Sunday. We worked on making charms Saturday and etching metal on Sunday. Riki and Diana served us a wonderful lunch that fortified us for the intense work that ensued. We really worked hard and each day brought us a huge sense of accomplishment. As you can see, I didn't take many photos of the class because I was too busy working on
THESE...

The small silver charms are made with PMC clay and fired in a small kiln. The brass plating went through an etching process that is amazing to watch and can be cut up to use in all kinds of jewelry pieces. I will be making a couple of necklaces and a charm bracelet with these pieces, adding some of my own found objects and old jewelry to create a one of a kind work of art that will be worn with all the memories of this weekend and a wonderful workshop that made friendships between 2 women and a whole new group of creative jewelry makers.
Our thanks to Riki Schumacher(www.RikiJewelry.blogspot.com) and Diana Frey(www.dianafrey.blogspot.com). You two are AWESOME..., and if you want to see what true artists Riki and Diana are take a look..., they both have featured articles in the new issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine. Check it out!

More photos of our trip tomorrow....

Friday-Cambria and Morro Beach

This town is so charming that we decided to go back and visit ,again, soon. It's just one beautiful store after the other and each one has its own "something special". Birds of a Feather is an eclectic antiques store where Julie Whitmore (the friend who was entertaining relatives) shows some of her beautiful Faience pottery. We talked to the proprietor,Bonnie, and I left Julie my card and a note. I bought some cotton ribbon with sea shells on it..., yes, one yard of ribbon. Could have gotten all carried away in there but this was the first store and the first day . Didn't want to overdue my spending. LOL.
Then we walked into The Garden Shed...

I think this was my very favorite store, and they had a resident cat that greeted you and followed you around the store. Again, I was prudent with my spending. I bought a package of Moulin Rouge Sunflower seeds...,beautiful deep red sunflowers to plant in my garden..., a reminder of this trip. I wanted the TRUCK( in the picture) but they wouldn't sell it to me. How rude! It would have looked wonderful in my driveway garden area. Don't you think? Can't you just see me TOWING this charming old truck behind us all the way back to my sister's house and then towing it behind my Toyota Rav 4 up to the mountains to my house? I would have tried..., if the price was right. Yes, I would have.
We went into a lot of shops and a huge Antique "co-op" mall . This is where I finally found my piece de resistance ( that means; thing that you can't live without or walk away from..., a rather loose translation.) I finally found a bluebird plate, actually a soup bowl , that is antique ironstone with blue birds flying on it and has blue transferware framed pictures on it. I will show you the plate next week. I want to do some research on it first. (Yes, Julie, just like over your stove and there's ANOTHER ONE in the back left corner of the store~Antiques On Main~ too. I couldn't afford both.)
We ate lunch at Linn's Restaurant down the alley, in the back. We sat outside, enjoyed the warm weather, then headed on down the coast.

This is Morro Strand State Beach. This beach is a coastal frontage park. Fishing, windsurfing, jogging, and kite flying are popular.
The beach is a three mile stretch south of Cayucos where the highway runs right along the beach. We stopped at Torro Creek Rd. where there was off highway parking.
This is Sis, in her own little heaven. I swear she must have been a mermaid in a former life. She was IN HER ELEMENT. You will notice that I took all the photos UP BEACH, with a clear view of the waves. I will never let them sneak up on me. They do that you know.
This was a beautiful beach with lots of shells, driftwood and rocks to sift through. Folks were walking or jogging up and down the beach.., some of them with their dogs. Oh, we did missed our dogs! Carl, Cutter, Lucky, Lily and Fozzy Bear would have loved this beach. It was lovely! You can see Morro Rock in the distance behind Sis sitting on the beach and in the photo on the bottom right.

Tomorrow post: We arrive in Pismo Beach....

Hello There!

Well, Hi there!
Sis and I drove back from our mini vacation on Tuesday and I returned home yesterday afternoon. I had all good intentions of doing a post when I got home but I collapsed in a heap and curled up with my husband and dogs for the rest of the day.
I spent this morning transferring almost 350 photos to my computer. Got a little carried away with the beauty of this area. It's one of the most gorgeous photo opportunities there ever was.
This little California Ground Squirrel greeted us in Cambria last Thursday, posed for my camera (I think the city pays these little guys to entertain the tourist) and pointed his tail in the direction of our hotel on Moonstone Beach Dr.

Starting at the bottom left of the photo above. This was our first view of the ocean as we drove over from highway 101, west, on highway 46 from Paso Robles. That big old ROCK is called Morro Rock in the town of Morro Bay. There are a lot of "big, old rocks" in this area. They crop right up out of the hills and valleys like huge monoliths or sentinels, guarding the small towns that line the historic El Camino Real, the royal road, and the 21 missions built by the Spanish monarchy.
When we reached highway 1 ( the Pacific Coast Highway) we turned and drove north toward the little town of Cambria.I had not been here in many years. The town has grown bigger but it has maintained it's wonderful artist colony ambiance. It's just charming!!
We were not able to connect with my artist friend, Julie, who had company visiting from out of town ,so we will have to try again some time.  We took a nap, cleaned up and went out for a late dinner, in town.
The photos below show the wonderful charm of this town. Our cell phones didn't work here, but the food was great and the weather was the best of the whole trip. We had dinner, fashionable late, at Robin's and I would recommend it to anyone. The food was to die for. We walked around until after dark and felt very safe. It is that kind of town.
Back at the hotel on Moonstone Beach (I just love that name.)..., we ate some candy, watched about 15 minutes of TV and fell asleep.., like rocks.

I will try to post this trip one town at a time. It's hard to pick the photos..., I have so many. This will be a challenge.
Tomorrow we will go SHOPPING on Cambria's Main St. before we drive to Pismo Beach.

Visionary Notions

These are two of the 4 baby chicks that the Easter Bunny brought us. Actually the Easter Bunny bought them at the local Feed and Supply store last week. I just want my grandsons to think of these little guys as "gifts"..., a special delivery from the great bunny in the sky.

Our broody hen, Squeeky, doesn't like having to share HER hen house with 4 new, noisy baby chicks. Look at the expression on her face. She is so cranky and tired..., and then I heard her squeak, "They had to bring these young whippersnappers in here when I'm trying to do some serious business. I get no respect. Farmlady keeps taking the eggs out from under me and then she scoots me outside. What is this world coming to. I can't help it if some of these eggs belong to the other hens. I found them, so they are mine." Do you think she has made the connection between those eggs she's sitting on and these noisy, baby chicks?

And then there is this.....

When my sister was here a few weeks ago I came into the guestroom and she was sitting on the bed trying to repair something. Do you see what I see? I could not believe it. I did a double take and grabbed my camera.
(The photo is a bit blurred because I was laughing so hard.)
This woman wears contact lenses and has prescription glasses. She never goes out in public without her makeup on. She is college educated and I rely on her good judgement. Sometimes you just have to assume that necessity is the mother of invention and not ask too many questions.., but
TWO PAIRS OF GLASSES AT THE SAME TIME?
She made no excuses. She just said that this works.
And she is going to drive us down the coast to Pismo Beach on Thursday?
Maybe she's gone all "broody" on me too.

See you next week.

A Charming Workshop and Frozen Charlottes

I'm leaving in 2 days for the southern coast of California. Sis and I are going to attend a mixed media jewelry workshop in Pismo Beach.
The workshop will be taught by Diana Frey and Riki Schumacher and we will learn many jewelry techniques like using PMC(precious metal clay) embossing metals, molding found objects and making pieces for a bracelet. This well be so much fun. We have been looking forward to this trip for a long time.

I have everything I need and probably more. We will be staying the first night in Cambria, a wonderful little town near San Simeon Castle. Julia Morgan, a renowned architect at the time, designed and built Randolph Hearst a  beautiful mansion in the hills overlooking the Pacific Ocean, that is now open to the public. I had to laugh when I read this...
Hearst first approached American architect Julia Morgan with ideas for a new project in April 1919.  Hearst's original idea was to build a bungalow, according to a draftsman who worked in Morgan's office who recounted Hearst's words from the initial meeting:

"I would like to build something upon the hill at San Simeon. I get tired of going up there and camping in tents. I’m getting a little too old for that. I’d like to get something that would be a little more comfortable."

A LITTLE MORE COMFORTABLE?? If you have ever visited this "Castle" you would understand why I laughed at his idea of a bungalow. It's one of the most over the top, amazingly beautiful, luxurious, enormous "bungalows" you have ever seen.


We hope to meet Julie Whitmore, in Cambria. She is the artist who made my MOKE plate for me. She is a Faience pottery artist who has become a good blogging friend but we have never met face to face.We really hope we can see her.
Then we will head down, on Friday to Pismo Beach and walk the beach all afternoon. The workshop is Saturday and Sunday.
I'm very excited about this workshop because I need some serious skill building for my jewelry making and Diana and Riki are professional jewelry artists. This is such an opportunity.
Sis and I are making this into a mini-vacation so we won't be back until next Tuesday and I won't be home until Wednesday.
The Farm will be in good hands, as usual. The Prospector, Carl and Cutter will hold down the fort until I return. I may have to let my sweet husband take a vacation somewhere soon. He's being so good about all this coming and going, but it's definitely his turn next...

This is a bit off the subject but I do plan to use this little doll ( the one on the left) in a necklace someday soon. These two dolls are called, I think, Frozen Charlottes. The story behind them goes back to Germany and England in the 1800's.and is a big part of early American folklore.
The story is a cautionary tale about a young girl called Charlotte who refused to wrap up warmly to go on a sleigh ride to a New Year's Ball and freezes to death during the journey.
When I started researching them, I found that the really old ones had arms that didn't move and were sold like penny candy to children. They are usually bisque and have been hand painted.
Mine are more from the 1920's or 30's and are made in Japan so they may be "knock offs"..., but I think they are cuter than the old ones. I never liked these dolls because they didn't have arms and I thought they were kind of strange, but these two are rather cute. I got them both at out local craft faire, a few weeks ago, packaged together for $3.00. I love the way they are looking sideways at something and these look like they are clasping their hands behind them..., doesn't look so "dismembered". The holes where the arms should be are perfect for a necklace, almost like a big bead that can be easily strung.
I'm going to take them with me and ask the jewelry experts (Riki and Diana) what they think these little dolls are. I sure can't find any "Charlottes" that were made in Japan and look like they were born in the 20's or 30's. It's kind of a mystery.

Happy Easter Everyone

Part of Easter is child-like and fun...

Another part is the idea of a new life coming to redeem us...

And then..., there is the unbearable happiness of being here on this earth..., at this moment.
Freckles and I are saying a prayer for Madeline, in Alabama, and wishing you all a peaceful and happy Easter Sunday.

Friday Shoot Out: Bokeh

Bokeh? Never heard of it? Well neither had I.
The definition is:
In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or (derived from Japanese word "boke", meaning 'blur') - In photography, refers to the creative use of lens blur as a composition.

This is an interesting idea.., that the unfocused part of the photo is as much an integral part of the picture as the focused area and that the unfocused area is sometimes the most important part of the image that you are trying to capture.

This one is my favorite, not only because it's one that includes both snow and my old dog, Maggie, who passed away a few months ago, but because I created Bokeh without knowing what it was. No photo manipulation was used to create the effect.
I'm still not sure what this technique encompasses but I'm going to use my depth of field more and practice this way of photographing things. I need more information. It's always good to learn something new.
There are more examples of this photo technique at Friday My Town Shoot Out where I learn from other photographers how to use and create photos that are interesting and different.

Have a GOOD FRIDAY.

Sometimes things just turn out great.

This is how I feel today. Happy like sunlight....

Relieved.., like after the storm when the sun reflects on a flower in the late afternoon.

And a tulip becomes something so beautiful that it takes on an inner glow of peace..., even though we are reminded that our life is very fragile.

It's been a long day.., but I found out that the early morning drive to the hospital, a dreaded procedure and the results were all worth it. The details are not necessary. It's just that some days are so much happier than others. This was one of those days.

Wordless Wednesday: Last Day of March.., Snow?

Being Five

You go to Soccer practice and learn how to play the game and be "cool".

Then Noni comes to visit and shows you and Bro how to plant pumpkin seeds to make little plants to put in the garden.

Then Mommy and Daddy throw you a big party with all your friends, at the local kid gym. You get to jump, climb, fall into foam blocks , bounce, hang upside down and then...,
have everyone sing Happy Birthday to you..., and blow out candles...,
and feel so happy inside that you can hardly wait to be six..., next year.