Things That Are Yellow

Hang Ten

Montana De Oro State Park, San Luis Obispo, California.

I snapped these pics on a recent trip this past February to visit my niece and her family.  Up ahead on the trail are the family.  There were several surfer dudes enjoying the huge waves.

You can almost see the horses in the wave below.

I was about to snap this guys pic when I had his profile in focus and then he turned around and faced me.  There wasn't anyone else on the trail at the time so I completely felt conspicuous aiming my camera at him.  I snapped the pic anyway and then motored on down the trail. 

On the way back, there was another guy on the rock and his wet suit was stripped down to his waist.  Oh my was he ever ripped.  He completely posed for us and I just could not bring myself to take his pic. I'm still kicking myself over that.

Love this shot.  I got about 8 pics of this guy staying on top of that wave.  It was amazing to watch them.

This last shot gives some perspective on why high the waves were that day.  I have never seen anything like them in my trips to the ocean.  Simply spectacular.

I am inspired to begin posting on my blog again and the first thing I found in starting again is how much Blogger has changed.  I love the layout options and found this one that allows a picture in the background with the posts in the front.  The background picture is from our last trip to Boyce Thompson Arboretum. 

While I was at it this morning, I also decided to change the name of my blog and my URL as I wanted something fresh but will still represent my life's mission, to be ever optimistical.

I will be working to revamp the look and have made some slight changes already.  Since photography is really my aim whenever we go "hiking", I created a Photos page.  Click here on Photos for more pictures from Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  Enjoy. 

Ciao!

Abby and Coz

The other night, my cats were acting as my personal centurions.  This is something they do often, following me wherever I go around the house.  They seem to know by my rituals whether my movements around the house signal it is their time to follow me or if they should stay put. 

This particular evening, they knew that I was just moving around in the back of the house and would be coming back out. They stationed themselves where they could watch and wait for me to return, in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. 

Something about this ritual of ours struck me as funny and I felt a need to grab the camera.  It seems that by my retreating back to my bedroom, Coz thought it meant that I was going to stay back there and he followed me.  Abby stuck to her post until I laid down on the floor with the camera and then both cats got weird. 

Their expressions are priceless. 

 

Abby and Coz thought it was going to be all snuggly time.

My babies are amazing. 

I love that Abby and Coz need to be around me.  They constantly talk to me.  Coz especially has this range of sounds that he uses when he wants certain things.  Abby has the need to procure anything that is small enough for her to run off with and play kitty hockey.  They have one job function.  They are the exterminators and they are great at it.  They are my furry little compadres.

Okay, this just sounded a lot like that crazy cat lady who everyone grew up with on their block.

Off With Her Head

While shopping at one of my favorite scrapbooking stores in Mesa, called Mystic Paper, I spotted the most enchanting dolls made out of paper clay.

I knew from the class schedules that the artist occasionally will teach a class in how to make these dolls.  I wasn't that interested in learning how to make them, but I was curious if the artist would possibly make me an Alice in Wonderland doll.

Thankfully from there everything fell into place and I received my Alice and Queen of Hearts dolls earlier this week.

Enchanting!!

How I spent My Summer Vacation...

My husband and I spent several days over the July 4th weekend at one of our favorite spots in Arizona, Kohl's Ranch. See my Summer Getaway page for photos of Kohl's Ranch and our outings.

We had such a wonderful time getting away from the heat and being back in a place that holds many happy memories.  From sitting on our patio enjoying cool evening temps and great wine to treking around the Kohl's Ranch property to some fantastic scenery at the Mogollon Rim and Woods Canyon Lake to enjoying time spent with my son Jimmy and also some fun shopping.  It was great.

The most amazing and somewhat humbling experience was spotting the bald eagle at Woods Canyon Lake.  The most surprising experience was finding a really decent Thai Restaurant in Payson.  The funniest experience was locking the club on my car after leaving the key to remove it back at the lodge, then having to hike from across the highway to the lodge to retrieve it.  The best food experience was the Rainbow Trout at the lodge.  Simply to die for!!  The best shopping find, my new amethyst ring.  Oh, and the Tim Holtz stuff I found at the scrapbook store in Payson.

The entire trip was absolutely fantastic and left us wanting to visit again soon.

Cooking Puerto Rican

Last weekend we were treated to a wonderful dinner at my Father In Law's house.  His fiance is Puerto Rican and she prepared chicken fricase, rice, salad with all kinds of veggies and fruit in it and a squash flan.  It was such a fantastic meal, that I decided I wanted to attempt the chicken, rice and salad this weekend while the experience was still fresh in my mind.  We invited our hosts to dinner last night, along with my step sons and their girlfriends. 

Unfortunately, this is the only picture I took.  The wine and the company took my thoughts away for the remainder of the evening.  But I think this picture shows off the main dish well.