Life On The Central Coast

Happy Halloween "My Pretties." Hope your day is filled with fun, laughter and loads of sweets! Stay tuned.... Putting the final touches on my closet!! I KNOW! Mike finished work on the "skeleton" part and it looks FABULOUS! I'm running out to Marshalls and Ross today to see if I can "flesh out" the insides with some organizers and hangers. Then everything that has been lying around for the last month will have one last sorting of "do I really need this" and then placing back in. It's funny when you ask yourself that how much you can part with. No more "3 sizes of clothes" stuffed in there... if it doesn't fit today, it's outta there!! I'm even going through things I was keeping as sporting equipment to make certain I only keep what I plan to continue doing. No more excess just space, space, SPACE. I'm loving the feeling of emptiness and openness. It's freeing!

Summer Solstice began this year on June 21 at 7:28 EDT in the morning. Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words meaning "sun" + "to stand still." It is the longest day and shortest night of the year. The sun will gradually begin making it's way down to its southernmost point resulting in the second Solstice, the Winter Solstice, which will be the shortest day and longest night of the year. Morgaine's Wheel Tarot Layout This year I decided I'd have my tarot cards read as a gift to myself. On Etsy, I found Helene, Intuitive Goddess , and had her do a reading for me using a layout called Morgaine's Wheel. She asked for my name and birthdate and that is all. My friends, THIS GIRL IS GIFTED! First, I received a lovely PDF with a photograph of the entire layout. Then each card is identified and she writes about its meaning and how she intuitively feels about it. She also begins each reading with a meditation and automatic writing giving the re...

2009 was a very memorable year. Fast and Furious. Something going on nearly every month and not little things either.... BIG things. We started off the year with my son, his wife and their dog moving into our guest room "for a couple of months." Thankfully, we had a room for them to move into and our dogs get along with theirs because the couple of months turned into 11. That does NOT mean it was a bad 11 months. We had a bunch of fun, great dinners, rides on the beach and plenty of laughs. It was almost bittersweet when they moved out.... almost. I think my neighbors were relieved that Wilhelm the weiner found "new digs." He was a bit of a barker. But they bought a really nice home in Atascadero and are now busy decorating and fixing it up in their spare time. Willy loves his new home and has lots of property to run around on. January was also the month our daughter, Tiffany, decided to get married.... in two weeks. Yes, you heard that right, we had two weeks notic...

"This Christmas mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Write a love letter. Share some treasure. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Keep a promise. Find the time. Forgive an enemy. Listen. Apologize if you were wrong. Think first of someone else. Be kind and gentle. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love. Speak it again. Speak it still once again." ~ Anonymous As this year comes to a close, I would like to thank you for visiting my blog, leaving encouraging comments and sharing my life's journey and to wish each and every one of you a Season of Joy & Peace. I Love You! Yes, I do! Yes, YOU!!

Thank you Joanna Powell Colbert for such awesome winter photography and Craig Olson for your rendition of the song, In The Bleak Mid-Winter. Blessed Solstice everyone!

(If you click on the picture, you can read what I've written better)

At the beginning of the week, I like to consult Tarot cards and get a feel for what may be coming up. Today, I used Joanna Powell Colbert's deck, The Gaian Tarot Oracle found HERE . This deck has such beautiful, expressive pictures, it makes a visual translation easier. Looks like I need to, wake up, embrace imminent change and surrender to the flow. The OPPORTUNITY The CHALLENGE The RESOLUTION 20 - Awakening Getting conscious You have the opportunity to raise your consciousness and "wake up" in some way. Perhaps you will make a commitment to eating locally-grown organic foods, or perhaps you will begin a new spiritual practice. You now perceive yourself to be part of the global community. You know that your choices and actions affect the entire web of life, and you live your life accordingly, as best you can. As you continue to open yourself up ...

Olallieberries Not Quite Ripe Yet! What do you think of when you think Spring? Nice weather, Baby animals, Spring flowers and vegetables? I think of ALL those things and more! And we have had some really nice weather lately all through March. A couple of weeks ago I was going to go down to my local Farm Supply store and buy about 3 or 4 hens. We have a small dog run that I was going to turn into their cage and have Wes build a henhouse. Ummm, fresh eggs!! But I do live in a neighborhood and unfortunately, it is against the city ordinance here. With hens at least you don't have the early morning crowing, but somehow, I could just see my neighbors complaining about something. Next... Gardening, now there is something I CAN do! Last Saturday I planted some vegetables in my container garden; tomatoes, pole beans and pattypan squash along with a big bin of herbs. And after sampling my very first Olallieberries of the season today, I went and bought a couple of 6 packs of Chandler stra...

Now isn't this a cute little furry animal AND a weather predictor as well! Today is February 2, Groundhog Day in the United States and Canada and Candlemas in other areas of the world. It is said that the cute, furry little groundhog emerges from his burrow today and if he fails to see his shadow because of cloudy weather, winter will be over soon. If he DOES see his shadow because it is a bright, sunshiny day, he will be frightened and run back into his hole and winter will continue for another 6 weeks, until approximately the first day of Spring.  Groundhog Day originated in Punxutawney, PA on February 2, 1887 and is derived from a little Scottish poem that goes like this:  If Candlemas Day is bright and Clear, There'll be two winters in the year. Now, what is Candlemas you might ask? Long ago, before organized Religion/Christianity, the Northern European farming cultures celebrated the seasonal Wheel Of The Year. In that calendar, today would be called Imbolc (In The Belly) ...