Life On The Central Coast

The Picture - Half Empty or Half Full? Many of you who know me know I've been fighting a battle with Graves' Disease for about a year and a half. It was diagnosed in February of 2007. I was so very sick back then I actually thought I was going to die! One of the main symptoms was a rapid heartbeat and mine was probably 110 beats a minute. I was put on Methimazole, about 40 mg. per day to knock down the worst of the symptoms. That has gradually been reduced until now my dose is 5 mg. a day. Then I got some really bad news this week, my numbers are beginning to rise again. My Dr. called on Wednesday and told me he wanted to do the radioactive iodine treatment. I just don't feel ready for that at all. He gave me until the 7th of November, my next appointment, to "see the numbers change". He says to take the medicine every other day and in two weeks go off it all together. Yeah, the numbers will change and it won't be for the better I'm sure. So, I went on the

Remember how special those first couple of days back to school were? When my 4 kids were all school age, we used to start our school year out right with a trip to the Apple Farm for breakfast. It was usually the day before school was to start. I'd have them get up early, dress in a new outfit for school and we'd head off for a fun, wholesome breakfast of hot apple cider, bacon & eggs and those wonderful biscuits complete with Marionberry jam. Then we'd all go down and take "school pictures" in front of the Old Mill. Each year they'd grow a little taller and more mature, but the Old Mill backdrop remained the same. Some of my all time favorite pictures were taken there.  Now my kids are 32, 29, 27 and 23 but they haven't outgrown their love of the Apple Farm breakfast. We went this morning with husbands, fiance's and our one and only grandson. What a good feeling! I'm glad some traditions never die! This mill was built August 1, 1871 by Nordyke

This morning I heard the sound of school buses practicing their morning routes. School starts next week, back to school shopping is in full swing and the crosswalks near the schools are getting fresh paint. All signs point to the beginning of Fall. Here in the United States, Fall begins on the 21 of September. But did you know that in old farming cultures, August 1 was Lammas or the harvest of The First Fruits of the Season? I'm sure this harvest included many different kinds of fruit, vegetables and grains. Last week I was at our local Farmer's Market and saw apples fresh from See Canyon, tables of bright red tomatoes and basil and bins full to the top with corn. During Lammas, early wheat was the focus, milled and mixed with yeast, water and salt to make fresh, hot loaves of bread. So when was the last time you made bread? For me, it's only been about a week. I was "inspired" by Margaret over on YouTube. Here are a couple of her bread making Vlogs . ( Part 2 ) Y

No picture today, just a teaser about what I've been up to. I love to set goals at this time of year rather than the first of the year.  I've been thinking about what I would like to accomplish over the next 12 months. There are so many areas I'd like to make changes in! The first would have to be a little home remodeling.  The last of our 4 kids moved out in June and Wes and I need to go in and clean, paint and redecorate 2 bedrooms and the hall bathroom. We've already decided that the bathroom will be the first room we tackle. It's small and SHOULD be quick to do. Tonight we are going to make the list of things to replace and fix up and get going on it. The larger of the two bedrooms will have a Queen bed, dresser, TV area, a guest room kind of feeling to it. The smaller bedroom is going to have either twin or full side bed. It will be for the grandkids that come over to spend the night. It will probably have a place for toys and games but "hidden" so

Aren't these just beautiful flowers! There is a Gazebo near the Swinging Bridge in Arroyo Grande, CA and these beauties are in a bed there. Weather on the Central Coast is usually mild with just a handful of super hot days per year. I think our average temperature is probably somewhere in the low 70's. We zipped over to have an outdoor picnic lunch near the bridge and luckily I had my camera with me. I just LOVE the colors of late summer!