Category Archives: Beauty

Show & Tell ~ Napkin Rings

For Show and Tell today I’d like to share some of my napkin rings. I’ve always enjoyed using cloth napkins and napkin rings when we have friends over. I have some of my collection with me at the condo in California. Some of the rings I collected before Dear and I were married. We bought two matching antique silver ones when we were in England together with a Christian Rock Band Tour before we were married.

 

The ceramic white and blue are Dansk rings that I picked up at Goodwill. The pearl ones I got at clearance from Target. The dark bronze swirly ones were a gift from my son and his wife for Christmas. The silver with the scrolled design are antique sterling silver ones we bought in England in 1974. The snowflake ones I bought at K-Mart Christmas clearance 90% off. The 4 seashell ones are antiqued pewter that I bought before we were married.

 

It’s always fun to change up my table settings with all these great bargain napkins and napkin rings.

For more Show and Tell head on over to Kelli’s at There’s No Place Like Home.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Winter Flowers in California

The theme for this week! 

January 23 – 29. Wildflowers in Winter, a winter image of a flower in your area.

 

Bird of Paradise (Camarillo, California)

I live in the city and wildflowers are out of easy reach for me. These Birds of Paradise seem to grow with absolutely no effort around here. They pretty much bloom all year long from Winter to Fall. The Hummingbirds love to come and visit these. I’m still trying to catch a photo with that little bird visiting. This one is just outside my bedroom window. Today it’s pouring down rain here and this splash of color caught in a bit of sunlight is cheering me up.

  The Bird of Paradise is one of four plants in the genus Strelitzia.  The plant most often referred to as the Bird of Paradise and the one pictured above is the orange flowering Bird of Paradise, Strelitzia reginae.

For more winter flowers around the world visit Wildflower Morning.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Wildflowers in Winter ~ Blog Carnival

So many fun bloggy things so little time. This is a busy week with lots of posts. I hope to visit lots of my favorites and lots of new places too! Enjoy. The phrase for this week is keep on scrolling, there’s more to see.

Wildflower Morning is having a Wildflowers in Winter celebration for the next few weeks. She has posted a wildflower related theme for each week and will have a Mr. Linky to add your blog entry.  Here’s what she has to say about her celebration and give away:

Every winter I find myself longing for spring. I just love the warming rays of sun and the wildflowers that start to open. It is my favorite time of year. Wildflowers bring me so much joy.

So, I propose some wildflower fun this winter to take us into the first days of spring. I will have a different theme each week through the middle of March. Join right in by making a post on your blog fitting the theme. You may copy the theme image for Wildflowers in Winter onto your blog entry, and link back to this blog so others will know where to look for more information. Then come back to my blog and enter your information in the Mr. Linky at the bottom of the page, so we can all see your post. Late entries will be accepted up to March 12. My daughter wants me to make sure and let you know that children can participate not only in the children’s art contest, but in all aspects of the Wildflowers in Winter Theme, if they have the photographs or skill to do so, and thus be entered in the drawing

Please do spread the word so your friends can also enjoy Wildflowers in Winter. I would love to see lots of entries. It will brighten up my gray winter days.
The theme for January 16 – 22 is: Your favorite wildflower photo from your files.   Here is my favorite photo/oops photos!

 

This photo was taken on Whidbey Island in the State of Washington. The photo was taken in July of 2007 on a walk at Greenbank Farms. We are looking back to the city of Everett across the Puget Sound. Unfortunately I can’t tell you the name of these wildflowers.

Just one more please…

 

This one was taken on the grounds of Chatsworth House in England (where parts of Pride and Prejudice were filmed) My little wild flower is in the midst of these daffodils that are now growing wild on the grounds. This was taken in April of 2004 when we took our daughter to Great Britain for a graduation gift.

Click on the links above to see more wildflower entries…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Photo Hunters ~ Important

So many choices for this theme. Family, Faith, Traditions, Learning, etc.

 

“For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.”

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

For more photos on this theme click here.

Surfers Point ~ Ventura, California

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY. SURF 6 TO 8 FEET WILL PERSIST ALONG EXPOSED WEST FACING SHORES.
62°F at 2:00 pm

We took a short drive up the 101 Fwy to Ventura on Saturday morning. We parked at Seaside Park and started our walk along the beach at Surfers Point.

 

We walked along the Promenade.

 

The Surf was exceptional today and there were tons of surfers and photographers waiting to catch the perfect wave.

 

 

The waves were so much more dramatic than my photos can show.

 

We were on the pier for these shots. The foam tells the story of the power of these waves.

 

Some of the waves were high enough to spray onto the pier.

 

The calm before the next set of waves. This is on the Ventura Pier looking back on Ventura.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

What color flower are you?

It’s Saturday and time for some Saturday fun. Dear and I are off for a walk along the beach this morning. Have a great day!

You Are a White Flower


A white flower tends to represent purity, simple beauty, and modesty.
At times, you are dignified like a magnolia.
And at other times, you represent great ecstasy, like a white orchid.
And more than you wish, you’re a little boastful, like a white hydrangea.

What Color Flower Are You?

Let me know if you take this quiz! I’d like to see some other flowers out there.

Christmas Tour of Homes ~ 2007

 Boo Mama is hosting a Bloggy tour of Christmas homes. Come join the fun.

Christmas Tour of Homes

Please do come in and enjoy my home at this beautiful Christmas time. Jesus has prepared the way for us to love and enjoy this season. There would not be a Christmas worth celebrating without Him!

 

The wreath welcomes you at the front door. Please do come in and make yourself at home.

I’ve been busy preparing for your visit.

From a Christmas past on to Christmas present…

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care…

and lighted garland is placed here and there…

 

Some Christmas decorations handed down from years gone by…

Now here’s a Caramel Pecan treat before we go any further. If you enjoy them you can find the recipe here.

 

Now to some tables set for my friends. First red and green on cream.

 

or how about gold with green?

 

Here’s the fun Christmas breakfast table set for the family with placecards and placemats from long, long ago.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my home. It would be so much fun to see you in person and share a cup of coffee, cocoa, eggnog or tea to go with the Caramel pecan cookies. We could sit by the fire and enjoy the lights on the tree. Blessings on your day touring other homes. Click here to continue your tour from Boo Mama’s.

Photobucket has blacked out all my photos I was storing on their site and they are holding them hostage. I am working on updating my more than 4000 posts.

Christmas Tour at Chateau Ste Michelle ~ 2007

A wonderful place to visit if you travel to the Seattle area is Chateau Ste Michelle in Woodinville. We enjoy the beautful grounds. The summer concerts on the lawn here are exceptional. Their wine has gotten lots of acclaim. We are part of their wine club and we get 2 bottles of wine 4 times a year. I enjoy going to pick up the wine especially at Christmas when everything is decorated so nicely. Enjoy my little tour….

 

 

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone. Hope you have some peaceful moments.

Photobucket has blacked out all my photos I was storing on their site and they are holding them hostage. I am working on updating my more than 4000 posts.

Thursday Thirteen #13 ~ Handel’s Messiah

The Messiah, Handel’s most successful and best known oratorio, was composed in the 1741 in 24 days. It was first performed at a concert given at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, on April 13th, 1742, Handel conducting in person. For more history of this first performance click here.

Here are thirteen lines from this amazing work…

1. “And the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed”

2. “For He is like a refiner’s fire”

3. “and shall call his name Emmanuel: God with us”

4. “arise, shine, for thy light is come”

5. “For unto us a child is born unto us a son is given”

6. “and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

7.  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

8. “He is the righteous Saviour and he shall speak peace unto the heathen”

9. “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, and He shall gather the Lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom”

10. “Behold the Lamb of God, behold the lamb of God, That taketh away the sins of the world.”

11. “He was despised and rejected of men: a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”

12. “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of glory.”

13. “Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

I’ve only seen the Messiah performed twice in person. If you never have you should put it on your list of things to do. It was an amazing experience. I hope to be able to enjoy a live performance again…

For more TT click here.