Me? In the band?

Here is one reason why I haven't had time for crafting or decorating...I found a new hobby. Or it found me. I joined a band. I didn't even want to admit this. It's crazy!! Here is the shortest version I can come up with.

I went to an open session to learn to play guitar. A friend told me about it. She is a singer with the band that the teacher, John has. I enjoyed learning guitar, but I did not like it when he told me to sing along with my playing. In fact, I even complained about it and he gave us all a lecture on "self sabatoge".

Then, my friend found out she would be moving away and John asked me to learn how to sing. Was he CRAZY? Or just hard of hearing???? I said yes (why did I do that?). The next thing I knew, John was giving me a crash course in vocals. I had so many moments of doubt and terror!! I was asking myself "what am I doing?" and "am I crazy?". But, John kept telling me to trust him and I did. And, I'm glad. I have faced a fear so huge....I cannot even express it.

On Wednesday, I performed in public. It was scary, and thrilling at the same time. It was at the Farmer's Market and honestly people weren't really paying attention, so that was good!!


I didn't tell anyone I know that I was doing this. I think my biggest fear was that someone I know would see (and hear) me. Well, of course lots of people were there that I knew. And, I survived.


I learned so much. About music, about life, about myself. When that day finally arrived, I wasn't nervous anymore. I just got so tired of worrying and being nervous. What possible good can come from those feelings? Besides, I had my mentor, John, right there and the lovely Sarah. Sarah is a fabulous musician, her guitar playing is so beautiful, it will bring you to tears! And, her sweet support was so special to me!! If you are reading this Sarah....thank you!

When the moment of truth arrived, I felt like I had jumped out of an airplane and it was FUN. Exilarating! More please!!

I have committed to the entire summer and I'm actually looking forward to the next time. I never saw this coming, I never dreamed about doing something like this, I never thought I COULD or WOULD. But, somehow I knew that the journey would be worthwhile and that I would learn valuable life lessons along the way. And, I'm looking forward to more of the same.


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Countdown...6 days to Vacation!

I'm pretty excited!! I can't believe it's almost here!! VACATION!!

After my kids grew up, I knew that it would be hard to get them to participate in vacation....UNLESS it was something they could not resist, right? I knew that I could not afford to take the entire family on an expensive trip every year, so, I came up with a wonderful idea...camping! We used to take the kids camping when they were little and our favorite destination, hands down, was Yosemite. We used to camp outside the park to save money and we truly "roughed it". When we would drive into the park for the day, we would sometimes treat ourselves to a shower (for a dollar) at a place called "Housekeeping Camp". We used to laugh at those folks with their "flush" toilets, canvas tents with a cement pad, a store right in the camp. "That's not camping!" we would say. Hmmm. Guess where we stay now? Yep. You got it.

It isn't easy to get in. The place gets booked up. I always manage to get in, but it's very touch and go until I have that reservation. You can book as early as 1 year and 1 day ahead. I called right when they opened that day and it was already sold out! So, I have to wait until the time comes and pick up the cancellations. My kids just assume it will work out....while I am going crazy with worry. I just got my reservation LAST WEEK!! I guess they were right. It DOES always work out.

We are all MORE excited than usual. We had SEVEN of these vacations for seven years straight. Until last year. We missed it because of my daughter's wedding. It was just too much for all of us to do a vacation too. So, THIS year, we are more excited than ever!

We have a lot of our family history in these trips. It has grown into something really special.

The first year we went to Housekeeping Camp, we found out that there was an electrical outlet in our tent/cabin. So, year number 2 we brought our coffee pot....wow! we thought we were really living then! The next year we really went all out and brought our blender. One day, some new campers were unloading their stuff next to us, and they brought EVERYTHING; microwave, griddle, coffee pot... are you getting the picture? NOW, that is US! We bring it all!! We have decorations, lights, flags and every kind of appliance we "might" need.

Right now I am working on my LIST. I am big on lists! I make the list and hubby makes it happen.


We have lots of camping stuff that we have accumulated over the years. But, somehow, we always NEED something more!



I can totally imagine myself lounging around camp, just relaxing!!


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Pink Saturday

It's Pink Saturday at Beverly's!!


Today I went to the airport with my Mother in Law. She is a pilot and she also volunteers with "Young Eagles". It's a program that pairs pilots with kids who would like to have a ride in an airplane. They learn about aviation, how things work and they get a fabulous ride. I went along to help out. Sadly there were no pink airplanes there. But, I found this cute pink plane on the internet. I guess it proves you can find just about anything on Google Images!!


For some personal Pink, here are is a rose from my garden. They are lovely!


I hope that your Saturday is filled with PINK!!

To get more Pink, head over to Beverly's and take the Pink Tour!!

Pink Saturday

Yay! It's Pink Saturday! Time to celebrate.....all things Pink!!



A friend of mine made this vase. When she donated it to a charity auction...I was happy to snap it up!!! That was many years ago and it has continued to be a favorite of mine. I love how the pinks graduate into a coral color on the top and a purple on the bottom. The texture is very interesting too. She is very talented!!


I keep it in this corner. It just fills up the space and makes it HAPPY! I don't profess to be a flower arranger, however, I have heard the advice to decorate to please yourself....and this pleases me! I hope it pleases YOU too!

Now. Time for the PINK tour. Go to Beverly's and visit all the lovely pink...it will truly brighten your day!

Happy Pink Saturday!!

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Lightning Show

Last night we were on our way home from the valley. As we drove up toward the mountains we were treated to an enormous Lightning show. It was bright and far reaching. It was all hubby could do to keep his eyes on the road.

When we reached the foothills, we pulled over to a spot that we thought would have a nice view and parked the car. It's just a place on the side of the road. We looked around and there was at least a dozen other cars doing the same thing. People were standing, sitting and talking. Someone had a radio playing. It was like being at a drive in movie!

The lady in the car next to ours asked me if I had ever seen anything like it!! I said "not around here". I've seen those kind of storms in other parts of the country...but it's out of the ordinary in this area.

I tried to video tape it, but it was all black. Leave it to the outstanding artistry of my photographer husband to capture it:



In the foreground was the lights from a car nearby, the bright light in the sky is the lightning.

Even today, people were talking about it.


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Bright Spot

It's turned overcast, cold and even a little rainy. My friend Connie from SoCal calls it "June Gloom". How appropriate! I thought I would post some pictures of my flowers to brighten up Lulu's Cottage.


This is the view from my kitchen, standing at the sink. I'm not a gardener. I suppose it's apparent to those who are. I think of it as beautiful chaos. Mother Nature is the main organizer!


When I moved in here, lo those many years ago, the red rose bush was here and it was already old. I have stuck trimmings in to the flower bed over the years, and the red bush has spread. I planted the 2 pink roses. They get more flowers every year.


I love the daisies! I tossed some wildflower seeds in the area one year and at some point a small daisy grew. Every year the daisies multiply. I just love them!! Wish they would last the whole summer!!




While we were all celebrating Rhondi's porch party, these 2 fellas were having a porch party of their own!!


This new flower hasn't been planted yet. It's going to go outside my office window. The cool thing is that I saw this flower on a blog and I just loved it. So, when I saw it in the store...I knew I had to have it. The Real World and Blog World collide again!!

I hope you are having a bright day!!


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