A Visit to a Garden

Some friends of mine invited me to go to the Botanic Gardens but I declined because I am not into viewing different types of plants. Strange how we never know how a day will turn out. I had lunch with a friend and after eating we drove to see the backyard garden. What a peaceful and colorful yard.

We sat and talked on the back patio. In the shade it was cool but the thermometer in the sun was showing 106 degrees. What a pleasant afternoon enjoying the flowers and relaxing in the beautiful yard. I hated to leave but I said good-bye to my friend with a big thank you for sharing the flowers with me.

Seeing the flower garden made me feel like I should really do something about my weedy yard.

"Every flower blooms

at a different pace."

Suzy Kassem

My Social Life Is Killing Me

After spending one week in California with my granddaughters and going to daily mass, a beach, a Fair, Asian Market, swimming, dinners, movie, walking dogs, and working on my computer, I was happy to get home and rest. Well, I tried to rest but on Monday I had to find someone to mow my lawn, pick up my mail from the Post Office, pay bills, buy groceries and work on a booklet for the Young at Heart group of Spirit of Christ Catholic Community 40th Anniversary.

Tuesday I met three friends for lunch at Las Delicias and drove to Commerce City to locate a place where a fund raiser would be held, shopped at Costco for items needed for a South Dakota travelers' party, delivered the non-perishables to the church and visited a friend in rehab. Wednesday I picked up three trays of sandwiches and two vegetable trays and took them to the church. I began setting up for the party and making sure a video of the trip would work. I never could have done it without two kind ladies who came to help me. On Thursday I went to lunch at a friend's home with four other friends. Loved her Corn & Pea Salad:

Friday I was on the bus to Blackhawk taking fifty-two persons to gamble at the Mardi Gras. Saturday I stopped by to visit my friend in rehab and then joined six other persons to attend Our Lady of Visitation fund-raiser. Food, dancing and friendship were fun.

Sunday I took our church bulletin and a Facebook note to my friend in rehab. Later, I met five other friends for a fun dinner. One friend brought us all surprises from her visit to Paris and if the gifts did not come from Paris they were purchased at a French Bakery.

Today it is another Monday again and I never got out of my pajamas and was on the computer most of the day working on the booklet. I also took a nap. I waited until it got dark to go get my mail and hoped none of my neighbors would see me.  It was one lazy day for me!

"Keep busy at something: A

busy person never has time

to be unhappy."

Robert Louis Stevenson

Remembering Friends While on Vacation

Is it true that when you care for someone, things pop up that remind you of them? At the Orange County Fair I was at an art exhibit and darn if some of my friends didn't pop into my mind. I was in the quilt section and a beautiful African blanket brought to memory a friend who had just traveled to Africa. My thought was, I bet she would like this blanket!

Then a pineapple quilt brought to mind a friend who had spend time in Hawaii. At one of our lunches she had brought a pineapple with banana dessert. I know she would have liked the many colored pineapples in the quilt.

The cat quilt made me think of a friend and her cat Ralph. There were many other quilts but these three made me think that my friends would love these quilts!

Quilting has been in existence since time began but usually it is considered an American way to decorate a bed or to be used to keep warm. On the Internet:  Throughout history women have used the art of quilting to keep warm, decorations like wall hangings, expressing a view or remembering loved ones. As pioneers traveled west one of the much needed supplies they brought were hand made quilts. Later, quilts were made to give as gifts to a new born baby, an up-coming wedding, or to express a political view. 

I recall my mother making quilts out of scraps of material and hers were not fancy but more to keep us warm. I did not know that a blanket could be bought in a store because growing up I thought all blankets were made at home. Imagine my surprise when I spent a night at my grandmother's house and she had a light blue down blanket that was warm, fluffy and light!

"I've embarked on personal 

adventures with each of these 

quilts. I want to teach you how

to do the same."

Paula Belyea

Abba Still Sounds Great To Me

The Swedish group of the 70's and 80's was a favorite singing group from my past. Today I saw Mama Mia, Here We Go Again and for a movie that did not get raving reviews, I found myself enjoying the movie, the actors and the singing!

It was neat how the cast consisted of younger actors portraying how Donna (Meryl Streep) met up with the three men and why she did not know who the father of her daughter could be. In this movie she is deceased and the daughter (Amanda Seyfried)  is redoing the hotel in her honor. The older cast members reappear in the movie and it is interesting to see how the movie goes from the young cast from the past to the present one. I enjoyed seeing the characters, past and present, side by side.

A new character, Fernando, is played by Andy Garcia and he is one handsome man that turns out he had a fling with the grandmother played by Cher. A fun movie with great songs!

"Life is short,

the world is wide.

I want to make

memories!"

Young Donna

Eating in the Dark

A suggestion for us to go to 626 Night Market was given by one of my California granddaughters. No one had been there before so it would be a learning experience for all of us. It was described to me as "Sort of like the OC Fair but with more food and it's at night."

The Internet blurb described it as: … largest Asian themed night market in the United States with over 200 food, merchandise, crafts, art, games, music and entertainment attractions... Sounded like a fun place to go!

Driving on the crowded highways is stressful for me but the scenery of large mountains was beautiful. There seemed to be a lot of traffic and I found out we were headed toward Pomona to a town called Arcadia. After seeing many red tail lights, we found the place, with the help of the wonderful GPS, and a gigantic parking lot full of cars awaited us. We parked and walked for what seemed like blocks until we found the entrance and paid five dollars to get in.

Once in, I noticed that the majority of people were young people. The trees were trimmed and looked interesting but from then on nothing looked too exciting for me. Booth after booth of stuff being sold and an huge area with food trucks and tents advertising any kind of food our hearts desired; shrimp, corn on the cob, tacos, Vietnamese food, funnel cakes, steak on a stick, or veggie bowls were some of the one I saw. Many kids carried drinks in large baby bottles or Mason jars. I supposed it was a favorite phase to carry the odd drinking vessels. The one thing I noticed was that everyone seemed happy and having fun. I felt like a sour puss because I did not like the place. I do not like to eat in the dark, and it seemed so noisy and crowded. One granddaughter and I sat down to wait for the two grand kids that had parted company and had gone looking for food. The balloons with lights inside were pretty and a popular item because many persons carried them around!

We saw people carrying containers with food. Some ate as they walked. I found it interesting that it was being held at the Santa Anita Racetrack and in the center of the track were benches arranged in an oval shape for people to sit and enjoy the view. After about half an hour I received a text telling me that the two wandering souls had ordered "elotes" (corn on the cob) and were waiting for their order to be prepared. When we finally met they had small card board containers with corn kernels and deep fried Oreos that cost them $8.00 each!

We decided to leave and as we exited, I was amazed at the hordes of people arriving. More people were coming in than were going out. It is a very popular place!  We wandered through the huge parking lot trying to find the car and I had a sinking feeling we would be there forever! Looking at row after row of cars in the dark was not an easy thing to do.  Finally, when I wanted to give up and sit down on the cement until the car was found one of the girls spotted it. We than began our journey home. To me, it seems like a long way to drive to see any event in California!

I was curious as to what 626 means and on the Internet I found a few meanings: Slang to identify the San Gabriel Valley, Street gang sign of San Gabriel Valley or the telephone area code.

"There is a time for everything 

and a reason for every activity

 under the heavens."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

This was not my time or my activity!

A Pool In A Backyard

Weather in California has been hot. Eight-six degree is at the low end and ninety four at the high end. Inside the house it is cool with air, but outside the sun seems to burn right through you. One alternative of being hot is to go swimming. Luckily, having a pool in the back yard is a plus. The water is cool in the morning but by afternoon it feels lukewarm. Either way, it is refreshing to jump in or (walk slowly down the steps) into the blue-green water.

My granddaughters spend more time in the water than I do but I like that I can get in whenever I feel like it.

Not only is the pool fun but being with two of my grandchildren is heaven on earth for me. We laugh, sing, watch movies, and what ever strikes us at the moment. My memories are when they were little girls and I have to keep reminding myself that they are young adults!

"When I was a child,

our summer days were

spent swimming; chlorine

in my hair was like perfume."

Patti Davis

The Largest Fair I Have Ever Attended

My granddaughter suggested we go to the Orange County Fair. I have been to the Pueblo and Greeley Fair in Colorado and thought it would be similar. Boy was I wrong! The OC Fair is huge with something for every one; artists, farmers, culinary people, entertainment, crafts, quilting, livestock, live music, food booths, garden and floral areas, carnival rides and clothing. We were there over two hours and I still wanted to see more. I may have covered one fourth of the fair.

There were booths with socks, hats, t-shirts, lamps, massage chairs, gourds, hot tubs, a canning section, how to cut up a watermelon, wine and beer booths, honey for sale, a museum of Agrarian Art, among other interesting things to see. I felt as if my eyes were twirling in my head because I did not want to miss anything. For sure, there was something for everyone from toddlers to an eighty year old and any one in between!

My granddaughters left to go ride the carnival rides while I toured the different exhibits. One lady tried to get me to take crochet lessons and the watermelon man asked if I wanted to learn the fancy ways to cut a watermelon. If I hadn't wanted to see everything I may have taken him up on his suggestion and learned fancy ways to cut a watermelon. But there was so much more to see I had to keep moving!

A Chinese act of balancing chairs straight up to the sky had a man doing acrobatics at the top of all the stacked chairs.

A gourd section attracted me because my daughter is a gourd artist and I wondered if she had ever entered a contest at the Orange County Fair. Somehow, the gourds my daughter creates are more professional looking than those at the Fair.

Fun At The Fair

In and Out Burger

My granddaughter from Colorado and I flew to John Wayne airport about a week ago. Among the many plans of what to do in California, we wanted to try an In and Out Burger. Today we drove to the red and white building and ordered the all famous burger. The place seems to always be busy and luckily we found a booth as we waited for our order of fries, pop and burger.

We enjoyed our lunch in the air-conditioned restaurant and watched people from every walk of life. Business looking people, casually dressed people, sports looking persons, old, young, and what looked like a variety of different ethnic looking people entered and left the restaurant. It seemed that everyone loves the In and Out burger!

As we were leaving, four young men, wearing McDonald shirts with the arches, were entering and I figured they must prefer the In and Out burger to the McDonald's one!

"Cups and burger wrappers

used In-N-Out Burger chain

are printed with references

to Bible verses."