winter porch

 AND IT'S ABOUT TIME - SHEESH!

It took me a looong time after the holidays, to even think about my porch - I'm not even sure why.

Usually my porch is a favorite thing of mine to do, but I felt overwhelmed and under motivated :/ 

Several weeks ago, some ideas finally floated into my head - and boy was I grateful!

I needed to get outside and DO something, and golly, it was a fun project (thank you John for helping!)

My main mantra was: Color, Texture, and Levels.

So this is what I came up with - - - 

(and a new gnome... I mean a gnew gnome)

TA-DAAA! :)

Beach Day

On Monday my friend Shannon and her son Trevor took Matthew and I to the beach. This was no easy task. Every summer Shannon tries to get me to go to the beach, and every summer I blather on about the smell, the crowds, the drive, the bother, and last but most definitely not least - one of the banes of my existence - the SAND. Yes I, who was raised at the beach until I was 14, have had enough sand to last a lifetime. It's hot. It's grainy. It's hard to walk on. Things live in it. It finds it's way into everything. I hate it. But Matthew is my one and only son who actually likes the beach, and Shannon never gives up. Plus, she knows how much I loathe the heat here, and she knows I love dolphins, so she had a few plusses up her sleeve to lure me in. She even told me my Ruffles would taste better at the beach. Hmmm
Here we are! Yes, I brought my camera so I could document to one and all that I was actually here, sitting at the beach, with a smile on my face, and my feet in the sand...... AND the earth kept rotating! Shannon is a good friend and a good sport. Most of my friends have given up on me over the years, but not Shannon. She bought an umbrella and everything :)
There go Trevor and Matthew - they had a blast! It was a beautiful day - 74 lovely degrees. We went up the coast to Carpenteria, which is north of Ventura, and south of Santa Barbara. No dolphin sightings, but we still had a great time talking and watching the boys.
That's them way out there on that big float. Now, by the looks of things you'd think we had the beach to ourselves. Well, think again - just a few other people decided to come join us.......
Surprise! Here's what it looked like if I turned to my right. Oh yeah. Seriously, right? Sheesh!
Here are our guys after hours of coastline fun :) We had a great time and want to thank Shannon & Trevor for making it such a terrific day for us!