December's Song

 The month has dwindled down to the last hours of the year. Weather wise we are heading into a wet  end of the year. New Years plans are to cozy up and watch the ball drop at midnight, and hell yes we plan on yelling Jumanji! Oh what a year it has been. Resilience & perseverance have been the key words in my mind to describe this years journeys. Here is the rhyme & reason to our December's Song.

A LETTER OF HOPE

{M} was required to write a letter to Santa as one of his assignments. Needless to say when he read it out loud in class quite a few fellow students were offended at his ending statement. My children learned about the truth a few years back when we had fallen on really hard times. They were more mad that we had fibbed every time when asked about Santa, Easter Bunny, and etc. But this right here is a letter of hope from a 10 year old boys heart.

CHRISTMAS CRAFTING

This mini over the kitchen table chandelier was inspired by a grand chandelier in Whimsy's Muse shop at the Texas Renaissance Festival where I work seasonally. Mine was made with grapevines from the yard and Dollar Tree accoutrements. Thinking about doing this for other holidays and seasons.

Holly Fairy wings. I originally made these to wear as part of my Christmas garb the last day of work but it was too cold and I needed to cloak up which would make wing wear impossible. These are Tink wings from the Dollar Store which I bent into holly leaves, painted with Christmas Green acrylic, and attached sparkly red ball ornaments as berries. Displayed on one of my dream catchers.

Bath soaks for Solstice and gift giving. Himalayan sea salt, lavender from the garden and crushed rose petals from roses given as gifts throughout the year on romance occasions. I did a limpia bath soak in this on Winter Solstice.

Love & Luck Bath Soaks

BAKING & MAKING

This year I made gingerbread and royal icing from scratch using a Pioneer Woman recipe. The kids prefer we do it the old school way next year, which is graham crackers and frosting from a jar. Some made houses, some made spouses, a plane was made for good measure.

WINTER SOLSTICING

Welcome Winter Solstice & Merry Yule. May we open our doors to a new season of change, sweep out the old and welcome the new beginnings that hibernate in the cold dark days of Winter.

Our Halloween  pumpkin from the porch has finally been made into celebratory food offerings. Pumpkin pies, breads, and soup was made.

So much puree, we had to bag up for the freezer for future meals.

Pumpkin Puree Face Masks are a must.

Our decaying fruit in the house was dried out.

Pinecones were slathered in peanut butter and strung up in the trees for the birds.

I spied some squirrels enjoying them as well.

Solstice Fire. Flickers become flames and the light shall illuminate. Hope quote for 2021.

This is the best picture we could get of the Saturn / Jupiter conjunction to create The Christmas Star.

{M} however captured an amazing picture of the moon.

CHRISTMAS EVE LIGHT WALK

On Christmas Eve we drove to College Station Texas and walked through Stephen C. Beachy Central Park. There is an option to drive through but we braved the 45 degree weather by foot. Many different light displays to behold. When we got home, the kids were sent to bed or at least their bedrooms, and the Renaissance Man and I put on "It's A Wonderful Life", while we did our "Santa" duties.

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Christmas morning was spent opening gifts. The greatest gift this year is having a full nest at the moment.  Our family is healthy and thriving, that is all my heart can ask for. I do have a Universal wish for Peace & Prosperity for this upcoming year. As I write this last post of 2020 I'm grateful we still gather as a blogging collective to continue to share our lives, I'm sending love & light to you all.

🥳CHEERS TO THE NEW YEAR 🎉

Holiday Night Lights

 

Christmastime in Downtown Navasota Texas is a sight to behold. The drive into the main downtown area is a splendid display of old Victorian houses dressed with holiday decor and twinkling lights to the nines. Every year a Home For the Holidays event is held, which includes a hometown night parade and lighting of the Christmas tree at city hall. This small town southern charm has me feeling like I'm in a Hallmark movie. Happy Holidays from my corner of the world to yours.

Furry Festivities

 

Today we celebrate 4 years since Rico has become a member of our family. Cupcakes were had for breakfast and Rico made a wish for all his years to come. Rico's rescue story can be read here Our Rescue Rico.

Hello....is anybody out there ?

First Things First- Thoughts on Blogging

 Hello from my real world into bloglandia. Does anyone do this anymore? Social media has the quick connect and content sharability, but is also is a dangerous rabbit hole. The new layout of this blogging has me immensely frustrated when I try to compose and post. I miss my true blogger friends that have been with me through the years, I apologize for not making the rounds, and many are no longer on the platform of blogging. Planning to make space here and timeline travel a bit because there are photos and thoughts that stay only in memory that I want to document ...... even if its just garden photos {wink}. Just wanted to say hello...is anybody out there?

L.A. Times - Venice Beach

 

Since moving to Texas whenever we mention we're from California ,everybody ask or assumes we're from Los Angeles. Actually in all my 37 years of being a Californian I've never been to L.A.

Last month we went on a  mission during a hurricane approaching our gulf coast, heading to wildfires in our home state ,smack in the middle of a pandemic! Time is of the essence when life grabs you by the throat, and Mama Bear don't play when it comes down to protecting the tribe at all cost.

On the return trip back home as we were heading out of California, I asked my daughter how far was the nearest beach. Santa Cruz and San Francisco were out of the question because of the fires and we were in So Cal already. Red Hot Chili Peppers singing about under the bridge and a 45 minute away response from the back seat had me mapping us down to Venice Beach. We didn't come all this way not to touch the sand and feel the power of the Pacific Ocean we miss so much.

It's crazy how  Pandora just kept playing music as we were driving through L.A. about the places we were passing by.  A spiritual journey pathed us on the destination. When life gets so synchronistic you stop questioning if what you chose to do was right. Go with the flow, time is but a construct at some pivotal points in life.

Friday morning work traffic in Los Angeles is crazy, but we made it down to Venice Beach.The first thing you see is homeless tent cities everywhere, and the transients roaming around. Being from the hood, we knew what to expect. We were called Rats and asked if we were having a nice f*$%ing day from a woman who thought we were following here. In retrospect we were also blessed by a man who showed gratitude for $2.00 towards a cup of coffee.

First kiss of the day, with gratitude that we are all together as a family again. Behind us is a Mark di Suvero sculpture called "Declaration".  I declare that nothing about this day was planned, but I was feeling blessed as the sea breeze filled my lungs under clear blue sky's at the beach, under the golden California sunshine.

SKATEBOARDING

VENICE GRAFFITI WALLS   Location- Ocean Front Walk Venice, C.A. 90291

FLAGS FROM DRUM DANCE PRAY- ONE LOVE

GRAFFITI WALL COLUMN

CALIFORNIA LOVE

SANTA MONICA PIER  Location-200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, C.A. 90401

 

PRIDE LIFEGUARD STATION  Location-998 Ocean Walk Front 90291

SURF & MANGONADA

LIFEGUARD STATION & ROOMS WITH A VIEW

"LUMINARIES OF PANTHEISM"  Location-2201 Ocean Front Walk -Paradise Project

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS location- Speedway & 19th Venice, C.A.

"MORNING SHOT"  JIM MORRISON MURAL

 Location- 1811 Ocean Front Walk Speedway & 18th Place, Venice C.A.

So now when it comes up as us being Californians in Texas we can say "no we are not from Los Angeles but we've been there"........... and Arizona & New Mexico. They are the roads that lead back home in either direction.

P.S.  Although California was and still is on fire, we didn't encounter any flames directly, the hurricane had missed our neck of the woods, and the mission that spurred this roadtrip is an ongoing journey.