WELCOME FEBRUARY

Heart's Ease

Yesterday I rode with John back up to Cambria..and while he worked..I did a little side trip to my favorite shop...Heart's Ease. I wanted to share it with you, dear ones...and most especially I had my dear friend, Dawn from May All Seasons Be Sweet To Thee in mind. I really wanted her to see it and knew all of you would enjoy it as well.

As some of you know..it was started nearly 30 years ago by my friend, Sharon Lovejoy... I was Heart's Eases's first employee..and it is still my most favorite job I ever had...and it really did change my life. I have to give credit to Sharon for showing me the ways of a New England lifestyle. She taught me about gardening and herbs and decorating and always making time in you day for making small fresh flower and herb bouquets in your home...for all things New England really.

Sharon sold the shop several years ago, and it isn't the same as it was.You can tell Sharon is gone, but the building is so wonderful..it's an old home that sits on Burton Drive in the downtown of Cambria.It is filled with soaps and lotions and cards and potpourri, candles, books old and new and gardening supplies. Out in the back is a nursery section with herbs..many of them that are very hard to find....

It is a shop filled with charm...I have always loved Heart's Ease. But as I was telling my friend Julie Whitmore yesterday it makes me sad too. I remember the days when all of us would laugh and giggle and run across the street to Robins to share a bowl of soup for lunch on a rainy day..my mom would come to Cambria every Friday..we called it 'The Friday Loop'. We would all go to Robins for lunch then hit the Friday Cambria Farmers Market and then ...we saved the best for last. We would always go to Heart's Ease late in the afternoon to see what treasure we could bring with us back home. I looked down the street where we would all walk together. And I was alone. Sharon was no longer there. And I lost my mom 3 years ago to pancreatic cancer. And me too. I don't live there anymore. All memories of good times....that are no more. I told Julie last night about it and I told her it made me sad. She said, "yeah, it makes me sad too".

Is It Over Yet?

Only 2 more days to go till it's finally over. Why do i dislike January SO MUCH ! I try. Tell myself it's cozytime. Time to make hot chocolate and heart shaped cookies and get cozy by the fire. It doesn't work. I don't like it. So as I was hanging around the house ...John said ride with me to Cambria. So I did. And we took Buddy too. Cambria is about a half hour north of San Luis Obispo on the Senic Highway One. It runs along the Pacific ocean on one side and beautiful green pastures on the other. And with all the rain we have been having I thought we might see some wildflowers. And we did. The skies had cleared and all that was left were the big high puffy clouds. Somebody called them strawberry clouds.And when the sun hits them late in the afternoons..they sometimes do look the color of strawberries. We saw the yellow mustard coming up alongside the road. The story on that is when the priests were establishing the missions here in California, they would drop mustard seeds to form a path of yellow so that others following knew where to go...and now..in the spring it is all over...all over hillsides and vineyards....i just love it...i also saw a tree in bloom here in Cambria....and coming back down the coast we saw lovely views of Morro Rock sitting out in the sea....the ride was nice...actually it was a breath of spring air.....

The Simple Things

Today is the day that we all share THE SIMPLE THINGS...which is being hosted by the lovely Christina from Soul Aperture. It is my pleasure to take part in such a wonderful event...and for such a worthy cause. You see...for each person that participates, Christina is donating a dollar to Doctors Without Borders to aid the people of Haiti.

The Simple Things

the hundred voices of a january wind * cream puffs

cinnamon sugar doughuts * wearing clean cotton * cherries

my warm bed * the love of my dog * pizza in my oven * books

the sound of footsteps on fallen leaves * the christmas tree

barnswallows * being barefoot in summer * candy canes
herbs in my garden * vermont maple syrup * quiet * pancakes on my griddle * woodsmoke * an unexpected phone call from a friend *


the beauty of Big Sur * fences in snow * olive green velvet *

good things coming your way * village church bells * twilight *


planting by the moon * warm tomatoes * foods that mean love


things that are quiet and simple and ordinary and old and real


all of you

praying for Haiti

Being Home

I"m Done With January

I know....still one week to go before we can say good bye to this sorry month. I guess along with everyone else...I don't like January. Try to keep myself from going into a real bad slump after Summer, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and then this. Cold, dark, rainy.....BOOORING. So since we are close to leaving it behind..I decided to nudge things along and pep up my kitchen window. Got my kitchen curtains back out this morning..aren't they cute? Got them off ETSY. So I ironed them and got them back up for spring, the little cup in the window with the lady and the rosemary branch was a Christmas gift from my dear friend, Julie Whitmore at ETSY. Her work is just charming. I have collected it for years..and I love and treasure every piece. The napkin holder with the strawberry on it is also from Julie and the tiny little chicken in the easter bonnet sitting in the napkin ring is vintage. As is the vintage pancake flour box. I got it when Julie and I were antiquing one day in Los Gatos.....maybe antiquing and spring aren't that far off....we can only hope.

Speaking of hope...you might notice on my side bar is a button from the wonderful and beloved Christina at Soul Aperture...one of my most favorite people and blogs. If January is getting you down too...go over there on Wednesday, January 27th. Christina is hosting a day of posting THE SIMPLE THINGS in our lives.And for each one that participates...she is donating one dollar to Doctors Without Borders...We're still here Haiti..as Christina would say. Be sure and check it out. It makes everybody feel better.....

Outside Looking In

There she is. My homeless kitty. I named her Pixie cause she used to hide in and around my garden like a Garden Pixie.I have 2 others. All abandoned by people who moved. And it makes me sad. How can you adopt a pet..and then leave it behind . How could you sleep at night? I never stop thinking about my pets..Buddy and my kittys. They mean the world to me.

Pixie has been here since Labor Day of 2008. For one year she hissed at me everytime I went to feed her. I know she had to have been abused. After about one year..of feeding her every day..twice a day...slowly..she let me pet her. And now we are pretty good buddies. She is such a sweet little cat.We have been making it through the storms pretty well.I have kept the shed door open for her with a bed in it and feed her morning and night. The others still come too. But Pixie looked so cute there this afternoon. The picture is through the screen door.

The other thing that got my attention today was that heroic dog rescue down in L.A.

I very rarely watch t.v. in the day, but turned it on to see if I could get a weather report..and then I saw it. The Rescue Attempt...I just happened to be flipping by and saw it on Fox News. I stopped and stood right in front of the t.v. My heart in my throat. It didn't look good. And then some beloved L.A. firefighter was dropped from a helicopter into a raging river.....to save a dog. Some people were emailing in coments questioning if L.A. firefighters had better things to do. I think not.

To Brighten Rainy Days

This has been incredible. It hasn't stopped raining since Monday.Day and night. As I write this Buddy and I look like 2 drowned rats. The sky cleared for a minute and I thought it was over. My poor little outdoor stray kittys came running when I walked in the gate from the grocery store. They were hungry.... been kinda watching them and trying to sneek out food between downpours.

I tried to take Buddy for a quick walk...and it was quick..we didn't make it very far and we were in a downpour. I didn't take an umbrella..good thing you can't see us.....

Yesterday at about 5 o' clock I thought the world was coming to an end. The sky turned this really weird orange sherbert color..almost transparent...have never seen anything like it..and then....a double rainbow. I thought I was going to see angels any minute coming down from heaven. It was strange...I was talking to my brother, Mark on the phone..and I said, Oh, let me call you right back...I've got to get a picture of this..so I grabbed the camera. Boom. Dead Batterey. Bummer.

The little tiny treasures are from my one minute walk with Buddy today. Love the red rose petal, found some more green pods, a grape leaf leftover from my zinfandel grapes stuck to the fence,a branch with red berries, a branch of rosemary with the blue flowers still on it,some flowers...I think it's called "Kiss-me-over-the-Fence"..well, that's what I've always called it...I'm sure that's not the name.And the pine is falling all over cause we have by the steps going up to our bedroom a HUGE pine tree. It kind of had me worried. If that went over Farmhouse would be toast.

I needed some spring color and found this kale..even though it is winter..i couldn't pass it up..the green looks springy..and it looks so cute on my drainboard in the kitchen. I have had the blue hyacinth for a while...Oh, it smells so good....and the bouguet was a filler bouquet but I loved it..so simple and green.No flowers. I added the big green pine branch that was on my doorstep when I got home today.

Our rowboats are packed and loaded. We're ready .....