GOT A MINUTE OR TWO

It's been five years since I sketched this dog on a napkin and named him "Boob".  Some of you were with me back in 2009 when I had my breast cancer journey.  Many of you were not.  Monday morning I'm scheduled for an appointment with my oncologist and this will mark my five year survival.  I was fortunate that mine was caught at stage one.  Two lumpectomies, 8 weeks of radiation and now still cancer free after 5 years. But "Boob" is a funny story and I wanted to celebrate 5 years with him and hope you get a chuckle as we did that day. This is what I wrote back March 2009 : "A week ago Monday I had my annual Mammogram.  On Tuesday evening I got a call from St. Joseph Breast Center that they needed further pictures and possible a sonogram.  I was scheduled for those pictures on Friday the 13th.  (Good thing I'm not superstitious)  After several hours of pictures, waiting, pictures, waiting, sonogram, waiting for another sonogram we were ...

After dinner, my dearest said we were having a wonderful sunset.  I grabbed my camera and this is what I got from the back porch.  Beautiful! I baked a head of cauliflower.  Seasoned it with my rosemary kosher salt and olive oil.  After it was tender, added some shredded Mexican Mix cheese which melted and it was delicious! Remember my new calendar for 2014 featuring Disney characters.  Well look how cute February is ~~ Ain't Love Grand? We have breakfast and devotions every morning at the little glass table in the kitchen.  The wicker chairs are cute, but very hard to sit on for very long.  Today at the Thrift Shop I found these two cushions.  They are not the perfect shape, but they look nice and boy it sure makes sitting a lot more comfortable.  It was also Senior Day ~ 30% off everything.  It was a good buy.

What a crazy Monday.  Not at all like a normal Monday around here.  Sunday was a very busy day.  Sunday School and Church in Montrose, a quick lunch at CoCo's and then off to an Annual Church Meeting in Long Beach.  Long day. Driving at night (not one of our favorite things), especially in LA. Lots of different freeways to get home.   My dearest ended up with a stiff neck and couldn't move his head without pain so I took Molly for her walk. The funny part, I thought I dreamed it, because I don't leave my house without hot rollers, hair done and make up.  But so my husband tells me.  I put a skirt and sweater over my nightgown, slipped into my clogs (no make up hair not combed) and took Molly for a walk.  When I got back took off the skirt, sweater, clogs and crawled back in bed.   I woke up at noon, staggered into the room where my dearest was, and said "I can't believe it's noon.  I had a crazy dream that I took Molly for a w...

Looked around the living room and decided it needed a touch of "Romance" for the Valentine "Love" Holiday.  My watercolor of the "Girl in White" has always touched me as being a romantic painting.  The original concept, was a girl kneeling in worship, wearing white linen as described in Revelation.  I added one of my rose tea pots and cup and saucer.  A string of pearls says romance to me and a rose and button shoe.  My old kerosene lamp and the lace scarf.  What do you think? A close up of the tea pot and cup. The metal rose and button shoe says romance to me ~ especially since my dearests pet name for me is "Rose". On the little table by the corner window I added another set of rose dishes and teapot.  The teacup frame and the pictures of me sipping tea and a couple candles completed my  touch of romance.   Tonight, it took on a different look, and I decided to make a candlelight dinner! Marsala C...

February isn't that far away, is it??  When Don and I were doing some cleaning in the garage, I saw my Valentine decorations so brought them inside.  That was a mistake, because I couldn't leave them in the bin.  So Happy Early Valenine's Day.  The nice thing about my February decorations go with the splashes of red I used for Christmas.  Just added some "Pink" and walla ~ decorating done. Had to pick up a few things at Trader Joe's and bought a couple bouquets.  One looks nice in the kitchen window..and the other in the living room. The bouquet in the living room works with my splashes of red. (Notice Molly in the corner on the red throw on the couch).   For you tea drinkers ~ have you ever had PG Tips from England.  A blogger friend that hosted Creative Tuesday some time back had a giveaway that I won....In the box of goodies was this box of PG Tips pyramid teabags.  It's very nice black tea, and with a spoon of my vanilla su...

Wasn't expecting a Summons when I opened the mail, but then who would??  I received one a couple of years ago, but ended up not having to go in after calling in every day for a week.  They said then, I'd probably be called in a couple of years...I had forgotten ~ but it's been two years.  It's downtown Los Angeles...traffic and parking..I hate that!  Have you ever served on a Jury?  I had three taco shells in the freezer, and decided I'd make Taco's for TWO tonight.  What do you put in your taco's.  My dearest like everything ~fried up the shells and filled them with shredded beef, re-fried beans, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Jury Summons and Tacos...Interesting combination.  But that is what my Tuesday was all about.

Today lunch and dinner just tickled my taste buds.  Lunch was Roast Beef Sandwich with tomato, avocado, lettuce and Swiss cheese on 7 grain bread.  A few pretzels and a fresh strawberry. The strawberries are from Costco, and they are big and sweet and juicy!   Today we were busy cleaning and re-arranging the garage so I made an oven dinner.  So easy and so good.  Tilapia fish, sweet potato slices, asparagus and sweet onions.  Coated them all in a plastic bag with my rosemary fused olive oil and salt and pepper and placed them on a cookie sheet, bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. The end result, a delicious and healthy dinner.  Dishes are done, some decaf coffee is brewing and I'm going to get comfortable, relax and watch a little TV.  Then sweet dreams....sigh***

 Since Christmas break is over, Kaleb will be heading back to college next week, so we spent the day watching the play off games and enjoying being with family and Kaleb.  Elijah was off at a Winter Camp with his church so we miss him this trip.  All eyes were on the TV to see if our favorite teams would win.  Well, not all eyes were on the TV.  Molly and Max could have cared less and found places on the couch to take a nap. Grandpa and I feel so small when taking a picture with Kaleb.  He's still growing, and it appears we are shrinking!  It was a wonderful day, and now I can get back to making goodie boxes to send to Kaleb back in college in Illinois. How was your Sunday?  Did any of your teams win??

My Thoughts for Sunday, remind me of the many years we served in the ministry, and I had a weekly article in our Church Newsletter.  Many of those came from my personal devotions in my Vineyard. (for any new readers ~ my Vineyard was a corner of my living room where I met with the Lord early each morning.  A verse in Song of Songs 7:12 talks about meeting the Lord early in the morning to receive His love so I called it my Vineyard. In our little home now, I've found a little spot on the end of the couch in the morning sun.  You can have a "Vineyard" anywhere. Do you ever feel like a tiny flower on a huge mountain side?  Is life sometimes overwhelming?  I too face these things and so we pray: "O Lord, my strength amounts to nothing.  I am like a tiny flower planted on the side of a mountain, facing into treacherous winds.  But Your love fills me with the power to live as You did: to bloom like a rose among the thorns of human callousness, to sh...

This crazy hot weather in California is messing with Mother Nature.  A poinsettia that has been sitting in a pot in my back without a leaf or bloom decided to bloom this week.  I was hoping it would come back and was going to throw it out after Christmas.  The neighbors tulip tree thinks it's Spring and is in full bloom.   All this unusual hot weather has also cause some terrible fires and damage to property and homes.  I hope it goes back to normal soon. 

NEED A "SHOT" OF COFFEE? Our kids love to give "crazy" gifts.  It's been happening for years.  This year our daughter Julie thought her Dad needed a "Shot of Coffee" for his birthday last month.   The handle looks so real.  I don't know how you feel about guns...but this one has no bullets but it's big enough to hold a pot of coffee and that should give me quite a jolt!   Actually, it so big my dearest will probably put pencils in it on his desk. Does you family give crazy gifts??  

 Our son's wife, Chelenne is the daughter of my heart.  She has a wonderful collection of bunnies and rabbits.  She has some very unique ones, and some warm cuddly ones, but I have been finding "Bunny Plates" for her over the years.  Today on our trip to the Thrift Store, tucked under some plates was this darling bunny plate. I haven't found one for a long time, and can't wait to give it to her. I talk about our Grandsons Kaleb and Elijah on my blog, and have shared pictures of them at football and water polo, but today I wanted you to meet Chelenne.  She is a wonderful wife and mother, and with our son has raise two very responsible young men.  She home schooled them when they were young, and along with our son Myk, they support and encourage the boys in education, work and play!

Sunday's Los Angeles Times ran this article in the Business section, and it took me back to my High School days.  1955 found me working summers cutting apricots in the orchards or in the cannery putting cling peaches on a pitter.  Growing up in the San Joaquin Valley in CA, where at that time, it was the Peach Capital of the World and supplied canned peaches world wide.  Then came the over abundance of peaches and farmers started pulling out the peach trees and planting almonds. The farmers that made this change became overnight successes it seems.  As this article related that 82% of the global almonds are from California.  800,000 acres of trees that stretch 400 miles up and down the valley. The 27 years we ministered in Northern CA, many of our congregation were almond farmers.  We became the recipient's of almonds every harvest, and those dear friends still keep me supplied.  It's nice to know my native California roots are the "toast of the...

Oops! I hope the Lord got a chuckle from my mistake Sunday morning on the way to Church.  I needed to call our daughter, so had my cell phone in my hand, and was thinking out my call when Don said "Honey, pray for the day and a safe journey to Church".  So I said a simple prayer, asking the Lord for a good day to worship Him and a safe journey there and without thinking ended it by saying "Talk to You later, Bye."  Don looked at me, I realized what I said, and we both cracked up.  In all the years I've been praying I've never said that!!! Silly cell phone!! Mr. Boddy's office in the Boddy House Boddy House is the original 22-room house built by E. Manchester Boddy, publisher and owner of the former Los Angeles Daily News, and designed by James E. Dolena in the Hollywood Regency style in 1937. Boddy originally owned the property on which the Descano Garedens is now situated. In 1953, Boddy sold his estate—including his house—to Los Ange...

Our grandson, Jon (going to be 13 in February) took my little Cannon Power Shot and got this magnificent picture.  We took a walk through Descanso Gardens, and  this time of year, very few flowers or colors.  As we were walking up a path I spotted this one Camellia on a bush, off the path in the dark except for a ray of sun that was hitting it.  Jon took the camera, and when I downloaded the pictures, I was amazed at this one. All the other kids are back in school, but his doesn't start back up til next week, so he spent the night, we baked cookies, watched a movie, ate popcorn, and then today had a trip to the Thrift Store, Dollar Store and Desconso Gardens.  It was a VERY good day!

The East Coast has beautiful birds.  Betsy, Linda and Martha are always sharing lovely photo's and I'm feeling quite left out.  Today I decided to share my West Coast birds. These two little birds sit in my kitchen and are discussing how warm it is in California, and how happy they are to be here.  It's very nice when you can have your birdhouse "indoors" so I have a happy little camper here. These two are "stoned" ~ Just can't them them to change their ways. This little guy is consumed with time.  Stares at this clock all day long ~never tweets or sings, just sits there! These four little birds are my Security Guards keeping an eye on my jewelry. Thanks for letting me share California Birds. Have a great day!  

You know how much I love wandering through our thrift store.  Lately I've been taking the time to dig through bins in the back of the store with many odds and ends.  Today I found a roll of Rubbermaid Shelf Liner for 99 cents.  I've been needed to organize my drawers and shelves so it was fun to give it a new look.  Amazing the paper is red checked...and you know I have red in my kitchen. Also found two more little jars, one for the fused rosemary salt, and oil.  It had been months since I just sat down, put up my feet and watch a "chick flick".  So that's just what I did and if you haven't seen this one...be sure to get your kleenex for the ending!!! Had one tortilla left so made Don a Tuna Wrap for lunch today.  He said it was really good.   Jill sent me a new picture of Tristan.  San Diego Chargers have a new fan.  Jill and her husband lived in San Diego for many years before moving to Oregon.  So they are still fans...

We enjoy enchiladas with white sauce and this is a very simple and tasty recipe.  I'm going to include the recipe if you care to try it.  It makes enough for us to have a couple meals out of it. To complete the dinner, I added some re-fried beans and avocado slices. WHAT YOU'LL NEED 10 soft taco shells 2 Cups cooked, shredded chicken ( I used canned chicken breast from Costco) 2 Cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used Mex. blend) 3 Tablespoons butter 3 Tablespoons flour 2 Cups chicken broth 1 Cup sour cream 1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies WHAT YOU'LL DO 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13x9 pan 2.  Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan. 3.  In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly. 4.  Stir in sour cream and chillies.  Do not bring to a boil; you don't want curdled sour...

MISSIONS AND WATERCOLORS Over the years one of my passions in painting watercolors was "Missions."  Finding pictures of children in Mission magazines, brochures or calendars were always where I found my subjects. The little boy in the first painting is thrilled to have some running water.  Fresh water is one of the first things missionaries try to bring to the people they are ministering too.  Fresh water to some is a real luxury. This is my favorite of my Mission paintings.  The picture from a Wycliffe Bible Translators calendar.  Thinking of my word "giving" for 2014, missionaries give so much.  And many have even given their lives to share the precious Word of God.  That is what this picture is all about...Sharing God plan of Salvation with someone who has never heard. I fell in love with these two little girls that were on a Samaritan's Purse Brochure for Operation Shoe Box several years ago.  I'm not sure how I captured...

This beautiful stained glass window was the back drop for our 24 hour prayer vigil at our Church yesterday.  It was a very meaningful time knowing that different members of the church would be praying non stop for 24 hours. During my time slot, I did pray for all my wonderful blog friends. Since I have left splashes of red in the house after taking down the Christmas decoration, I was glad Trader Joe's had a bouquet of fresh flowers that were red.  Looks very nice on the coffee table. I always have my eyes open for little glass jars now that I'm hooked on making the fused rosemary salt and olive oil.  These will work out perfectly.  (Thrift store...50 cents each) I have two friends that have supplied me with rosemary, but when I saw these little pots of rosemary and cilantro at Trader Joe's I decided I'd grown some of my own. Last week I shared a post about my mom's clothesline and many of you left wonderful comments about your own exper...