Blue Monday ~ Beach and Antiques!

Time to visit Sally who is always smiling for Blue Monday!

 

We took a trip to Ventura on Saturday to see the surf and couldn’t help stopping to visit some thrift stores and an Antique store going out of business on Main Street. Here’s what I couldn’t leave behind for 50% off…

 

Have a good week everyone!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Mosaic Monday ~ Stormy Surf…

Time to check in with Mary at the Little Red House to see mosaics from around Bloggy World.

After breakfast on Saturday we drove to Ventura to check out the powerful surf. Because of the storms that have pushed through Southern California we have been seeing rough seas pounding the shore and piers. Several piers have been shut down to pedestrians because of the chance of damage. It was an amazing to see these waves up close. I’ll be posting more photos over the coming week.

 

After the Mist and Shadow ~ Hymn

After the Mist and Shadow

After the mist and shadow,
After the dreary night,
After the sleepless watching,
Cometh the morning light;
Beautiful, soft and tender,
Leading the soul along,
Over the silent river,
Into the land of song.

After the thorny pathway,
After the storms we meet,
After the heart’s deep longing,
Joy and communion sweet;
After the weary conflict,
Rest in the Savior’s love,
Over the silent river,
Safe in the home above.

After the cares and trials,
After the toils and tears,
After the time of sowing,
Reaping thro’ endless years;
After the pilgrim journey,
Rapture that ne’er shall cease,
Over the silent river,
Rest in the land of peace.

Words: Fanny Crosby

FFF ~ Light In the Midst of Storms…

Time for a look back over the last week to choose some favorites. Click over to Susanne’s at Living to Tell the Story to join in.

What a weird week here in Southern California. It always throws things off a bit when you start the week off with a holiday and then throw in rain and everything goes amuck. On Monday the U.S. celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

 

1. On Sunday I traveled across L.A. with storm clouds looming and threatening to spend some family time at my sister Kathy’s house. This is her Son-in-law Ryan with his new little daughter Avery, my grand niece. It was a fun time seeing family and meeting Ryan’s parents who were here from Michigan. My drive home was very slow due to rains and spin outs on the freeway. It was good to get home safe and sound.

2. Dear was away over the weekend and wasn’t arriving back home till Monday night. I decided to give myself a rare treat of an In-N-Out Burger. Yes it was yummy!

3. Knowing that Dear was in Seattle having some great Father-Daughter time over the weekend was a big favorite. He also was able to spend some time with Josh and Laura and deliver Josh’s birthday present. Both our son’s celebrated birthdays this past week…

4. Being able to stay at home during most of the storms and nursing my nasty cough that just wanted to hang on forever. Lots of tea with honey and lemon…

5. There was some light at the end of the day today, promising that the storms will soon pass. My cough has also diminished enough that I can sense healthier days ahead. It’s good to know that there is good in the midst of our struggles and hope at the end of the day, especially on that final day…

Hope all is well in your corner of the world…

 

Webbed Feet?

It’s time for Finding Beauty on Friday hosted by Claudia at Dipity Road

Aren’t the feathers on this duck beautiful?

~There are a lot of people here in Southern California that are checking to see if they are developing webbed feet. The storms that have blown through the Southland over the last few days are causing lots of havoc and closed roads and evacuations due to fast moving water or standing water or mud slides. We are all ready for a dry day…

Tablescape Thursday ~ Checkers Anyone?

Time for table setting fun. Please click over and visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch to see lots of great tables around the world.

I’ve set the table early in anticipation of my brother and SIL’s visit on Saturday. We will be celebrating my brother’s birthday.

I’ve decided on Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder for sandwiches. We’ll have a salad alongside. For dessert we’ll have a choice between both my brother’s favorites…carrot cake or cheesecake.

The martini glasses are Target clearance and the cut glass are hand me downs from my aunt.

 

The napkins are Martha Stewart K-mart clearance. The napkin rings are from Pier 1 and were a gift from my kids.

The dishes are from the thrift store and are Royal Stafford. The flatware is from Target clearance. The chargers are from Tjmaxx.

The candle holders are from a garage sale.

Hope you are all having a good week. I’ve been staying close to home out of the storms that are hitting Southern California one after another…

OW ~ Calleguas Creek

This creek is generally bone dry most of the year.

After one day of rain it flows like this.

This is a storm drain/culvert in our neighborhood that is always bone dry, too, except after the kind of rains we’ve had these last couple days…

Two more storms are pushing through on Wednesday and Thursday that promise even more water. I’ll have to get out and see how much more water comes flowing down our creek…

To see more Outdoor posts please visit Susan at A Southern Day Dreamer!

 

Flashback to the Summer Olympics 1984!

For my Canadian friends, especially Marg who is going to experience the Winter Olympics in her own backyard and Susanne who kind of  missed the torch going through her city, I decided to pull up this photo of my husband with an Olympic Torch from the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. I’ll have to dig up some photos of him doing his actual run in Ontario, California. He entered the chance to represent his company and his name was drawn. It really was an exciting time for our family.

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We also were able to see some Olympic rowing events at Lake Casitas.

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Today I’m off running to take care of some things for Dear and then I’m driving across town again for an evening event with my family. Hoping the rain doesn’t interfere too much with my visibility while I’m driving. It doesn’t mist here in Southern California or rain lightly like in Washington. Rain here is always an event of ginormous proportions and ramifications…

UPDATE: ellen b. is staying put at her condo. We cancelled our event in Huntington Beach because the weather is deteriorating and a tornado watch has been issued! Yikes..

 

When it Rains it Pours…

After all the fires that burned so many hillsides in Southern California a rain event here can trigger mudslides and flash floods without much warning. The rain here in the Camarillo area has been coupled with heavy winds so eucalyptus debris is just flying through the air. The air smells of eucalyptus which is a nice change from other smells we can get because of the extensive farming in this area. Weather advisories are streaming across the television.

Looks pretty scary! Hopefully the predictions won’t come through…