How I wish these pink beauties bloomed longer...

Alas, they bloom once a year for about 3 weeks. Unlike their purple counterpoint, which blooms 2-3x per year and for several weeks each time. Funny, eh?

I will never grow tired of looking at this...

even when my beloved canyon changes from my favorite hue of green to brown.

Thistle Thursday

“A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.” ~ A. de Saint-Exupery

Oh yeah - I'm a total wine connoisseur.

In recipes that call for "cooking wine?" I don't use no stinkin' cooking wine. I use the real thing! And how do I go about choosing just the right wine for the recipe? Well, since you asked ... I choose the proper wine based upon a few considerations: a pretty label on the bottle, perhaps a quirky design detail or two, and whether or not it's on SALE. Following are some of my more recent acquisitions:




So. Knowing what you now know about me ... which of the following bottles do you suppose I contributed to my parents' pretty wine refrigerator?






Hmmm.... cute, quirky, cheap. Check, check, check. :-)

Foolin' Around with Photoshop...

Hey! Did you know you can use Photoshop to get a tan ... without all that UV exposure, skin cancer risk?!? ;-)

1 Chronicles 16:8-12, 23-36

Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples.
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders.
Glory in His holy name;
Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.
Seek the LORD and His strength;
Seek His face continually.
Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done,
His marvels and the judgments from His mouth...

Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and joy are in His place.
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Tremble before Him, all the earth;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD;
For He is coming to judge the earth.
O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Then say, "Save us, O God of our salvation,
And gather us and deliver us from the nations,
To give thanks to Thy holy name,
And glory in Thy praise."
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
From everlasting even to everlasting.

Words cannot begin to describe the beauty of this day.

Of course, the day after this beach extravaganza, the weather totally changed, and we've had clouds, wind and sporadic rain ever since. Weird weather here. But for that day? Glorious.

Anyone in the mood for a little Scrabble?

A dear friend called out of the blue desiring a friendly game of Scrabble ... at the beach. Here's my opening move (bonus 50pts!!) and the board at the end (for those who care about these details...)



And here's the view from where we were playing.



It's a rough life here in SoCal.

(ps. Photography note: these were taken with our small p&s camera (and spiffed up with Lightroom). Because we were hauling down 2 chairs, a table, an icebox, an umbrella, sand toys, and the game, I didn't feel like additionally juggling the big camera.)

So. What does religion look like in YOUR neighborhood?

photo credit to the Big Dude, who shot this ostentatious vehicle on the sly with our p&s camera

The Lizard Chronicles

Every mom of boys has a Creature Keeper on her kitchen counter, doesn't she? DOESN'T SHE?!?

He keeps me company when I cook dinner. ;-)

Hey, Mom! Look what I found in YOUR kitchen sink!!!!

Don't worry - the boys set the little guy loose in the great wide wilderness of your front yard, where he'll have a much better chance of survival than in your sink.

Ever wonder what SIX busy boys look like at the end of a full day at Legoland?

Wonder no more.

Lego Racers...

See my poor, despondent child. The same one who cried when he got wet on the pirate water ride??? Here he's almost in tears because he doesn't want to go on the cars he just asked to go on (now picture me getting more than just a little bit exasperated!).




Being the bad, mean Mommy I am ... I forced the issue and "made" him ride the cars...






Poor kid. Clearly, he had a miserable time on the ride. ;-)

The Grass withers, the flower fades....

Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. For,

"ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ABIDES FOREVER."

1 Peter 1:22-25 (quoting Isaiah 40:6)

Legoland + Boys = a Match Made in Heaven

Happy.

Happy.

Happy.
This soaked lady and her 5yo son who begged to go on this ride and couldn't wait til Daddy arrived to take him on it and then cried when he got wet??? NOT so happy.

ORANGE.

Orange, a close relative of red, sparks more controversy than any other hue. There is usually strong positive or negative association to orange and true orange generally elicits a stronger "love it" or "hate it" response than other colors.

So, do you love it? Or hate it?

I admit: I'm a little partial to it. :-)

Laguna Beach