U is for umbrella

                                                         vintage smiley face umbrella

    I was about 9 or 10 years old when I was blessed with this umbrella. With the rainy season approaching, I had hoped that with my birthday in October and Christmas in December, that I could have the one thing in the whole world that I so badly wanted - a smiley face umbrella. I must have seen it in the toy section of the Sears catalog or perhaps advertised on TV. All I knew was that I wanted it! I would dream of the day I could glide through the school yard one morning with my smiley face umbrella, for all to see,  protecting me from the rain; the world! 

    Well, the day came and I cannot honestly remember whether I got it for my birthday or Christmas, but this umbrella was gifted to me. Then, I prayed for rain. The rain finally came. On that morning, from the back seat of my mom's car, I opened the door and carefully stepped out, popped open my smiley face umbrella and I would continue to promenade through the school yard of St. Mary's School and enter my classroom. My life was complete. 

    That's all it took... an umbrella with a bright yellow handle.

    My, how times have changed. The memory of this season in my life, takes me back to a much simpler time.

    

    

T is for the three amigos...

 

                                                                     the three amigos

    

       Here is a picture of my first three born: Aaron, Daniel and Joseph (Joey). It's one of my favorites. They look like little gangsters or renegades. They kept me on my toes, but they're really good kids and were a blast to raise. It's an honor being their mom. 

    This was taken during Aaron's first year of college at California State University at Monterey Bay. Daniel and Joey were in high school. This was taken on a spur of at the moment trip to Disneyland. We called Aaron at his dorm on Friday morning, told him to throw some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag; "we're going to Disneyland!" and we were out the door with the rest of the family by late Friday afternoon. The eight of us piled up in the suburban, bigger kids with their headphones on and a bag of snacks in hand for the younger ones on and we were off.

    We had a great time. We stayed at the Embassy Suites (best place for large families), not far from the park. We especially love their happy hour snacks (unlimited popcorn and pretzels) and drinks. We ventured over to California Adventure Park after a day at Disneyland. That was probably the last time we went on a trip as a family.

    Aaron transferred and graduated from University of Nevada Reno, Daniel is in the construction business (like his dad) and Joey earned a degree in microbiology at San Francisco State. Aaron is marketing online and Joey is my little surfer-scientist, working for a bio-tech company. 

    Love these guys. I think I'll give them a call today 🖤🤍🖤

S is for "Sara" by Fleetwood Mac

 

    I consider Stevie Nicks to be a part of my life growing up. There is a lot of music in my family. With a brother 14 years older than me, who was a drummer and a sister 10 years older than me who was a Beatles fanatic - I grew up listening to and absorbing music.     

    My sister turned me on to Fleetwood Mac, before Stevie had arrived. I loved their sound and when Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham came on board...it was magic. I've seen Fleetwood Mac in concert 3 or 4 times. When Stevie broke away from Fleetwood Mac and went solo, I continued to follow her music.  Bella donna was probably my favorite solo album of hers. I saw her as a solo artist in concert several times also. All were phenomenal shows.

    Fleetwood Mac is my favorite band of all time and Stevie Nicks my favorite female artist. This is the official video for "Sara."

    "Sara" is written by singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks and a single from the 1979 Tusk album. She states this was a very personal song for her; a combination of things that were going on in her life.

                                  "....and when you build your house, call me home."

R is for Rocky and Rosie

 

                                                                Rocky and Rosie

    I had six kids and two of them in diapers. I'm at home and my husband calls me and says, "hey, you gotta' come down to Pet Pals and see these Boston Terrier puppies." I am thinking - "you've got to be kidding me." All I need is a puppy to potty train and clean up after. Those were my first thoughts instead of thinking about the joy a dog could bring to our home.

    I pulled the double stroller out of the suburban, put my two little ones in it and went into the pet store. There was a puppy play pen with half a dozen baby Boston Terriers scampering about. "oh my goodness, I thought." This was a play pen full of black and white adorableness! After observing for several minutes, we noticed this one little guy who kept picking on his brothers and sisters...harassing everybody. He was a gangster alright and he was the one for us. After the paperwork (and writing a check), he went into the stroller with my other two babies, and back to the house we went. Well, now I had 3 in diapers (so to speak).

    Rocky was a gem. He was house trained in three days. Yes, three. He was just the cutest little thing. He indeed brought joy to our home. He was our family pet 🖤. A few years later, we decided Rocky needed a friend. At the time, we were living in Carmel Valley. We contacted a Boston Terrier breeder from Santa Cruz, who agreed to bring a litter of pups for us to choose from. He brought a group of 6 or 7 pups into our back yard for us to observe. They were running around playing and having a blast. We noticed the smallest pup that didn't seem to mesh with the rest of the gang. She was just off to the side sitting by herself. Naturally, we were drawn to her. We held her and kept her. We named her Rosie. She didn't house train in 3 days. It seemed more like three years. She had more of a nervous and shy temperament, whereas Rocky was a "ready to go party" kind of guy. They got along beautifully.

    Rosie is now 15 years old and sadly, Rocky passed last year. He died a natural death. In the end - one early morning, he was in far too much pain. We called the vet to immediately bring him in so he wouldn't have to hurt anymore. He took his last breath in my husband's arms as he lifted Rocky out of the jeep to take him inside. This is the hardest part about having a pet.

 There is no way to measure their gift of friendship and unconditional love they give.

                                                                 Rocky in his prime

                                    

    

Q is for question

 

                                                                       Q uest

                                                                    U nderstand

                                                                    E xplore

                                                                    S eek

                                                                    T hink

                                                                    I magine

                                                                   O pen

                                                                   N aw

I haven't written an acrostic poem in years. Mine are done swiftly without too much thought.

P is for pens and pencils

     So, I have a little fetish for all writing implements. I do! In my defense, I do use them and I know how to use them properly. (But, I have too many of them).

    I love to free draw, portrait sketch, do zentangle, calligraphy...I even like to color - kid coloring and adult coloring. Since the first time my tiny little hands ever met a pencil and paper, I was in love. When I got my first coloring book and crayons - well, I basically thought I died and went to heaven. My life was complete.

    On a serious note, I find a freedom in the creative outlet of writing and drawing. It's like a form of meditation for me. It is a personal journey into another part of myself, where I enjoy to be. 

    I find that the hardest part of doing the things we love is finding the time do them. I think if we look hard enough, the time is there somewhere in our day - we just need to reserve it for ourselves.

    By committing to doing this A-Z blog, I have done just that. I am carving out a little time from my day to write and create a blog. I love this medium of writing, it just flows from my mind to my fingertips and onto the screen before me. It feels good to connect with the things I love; for what I love is who I am.

                           

                                                      Pencil sketch with a no. 2 pencil

                                                  Zentangle with micron 01 ink pen

    If there are any fellow artists out there, would love to see some of your doodling or drawing too!

    

    

O is for Ocean

    I mentioned in an earlier blog that I live along the coast here in Santa Cruz County. To be precise, I live 10 minutes south of Santa Cruz, in Aptos.  Many people around here call Aptos "paradise." We have a beautiful forest on one side and the ocean on the other; with what I call, perfect weather. Even a foggy day here is gorgeous. 

                                                            

    Our favorite walk at sunset starts out at Rio Del Mar State beach and also covers Seacliff State beach, which is right next door. It's about a 5 minute drive from my house. There lies the "Old Cement Ship," an icon in Aptos history. It used to be the US Palo Alto. It is a concrete ship and what is left of it sits at the end of the Seacliff State Beach Pier. It just had its 100th year birthday. It was built in 1918, designed to refuel other warcraft at sea during World War I. The war ended a few months after it was launched, never being able to be of service in the war, it sat in the U.S. Navy shipyard in Oakland until Seacliff Amusement Corp. bought the ship in 1929. It has weathered some heavy storms over the years and taken the blows of many massive waves, but its remains are still afloat. It is now a haven for marine life.

                                              The old cement ship at the end of the pier

                                             and referred to as the "Guardian of Seacliff"

                        

    Back to our sunset walks - there is a promenade for walking and biking up from the shore. From one end and back is 2 miles. It's a nice walk. I enjoy passing by the campers in their RV's, critiquing them all, like we were in the neighborhood of shopping for one. The joy they're having from their beach experience is transcending. My favorite beach sign reads, "the best part about being at the beach is doing absolutely nothing." Isn't that the truth! 

                             You can see the campers on the left as we are heading back   

                                         The star of the show in all her dramatic flair

                                                                         Sunset

    I'll leave daytime ocean fun for another blog. We're headed for some amazing weather soon and I'll share a day at the beach with ya.'

*photo credits: me