Goodbye June

I had a personal request for an update mentioning it has been two weeks since the last one. It feels like I just wrote it and I am left wondering where did June go? We drove over to Fallbrook the middle of June to break up the summertime heat. We stayed with an old friend and it was a good visit. Jerry got to play with their train stuff and Grace and I got to enjoy the 70 something degree weather. On Thurs we went to the SD fair with Timothy and Jammie, something none of us had done in quite a while. It was a beautiful day and its always fun to spend the day with them. I would have to say my favorite thing we saw was the woodworking exhibit. Beautiful furniture and art made by these wonderfully patient craftsmen. The pieces reminded me of some of our antiques that have so much more fine detail and superior workmanship than anything we can purchase today.
This is my other favorite part of the day...a photo of us and especially Timothy being silly. Check out the plant behind us! It was crazy big and beautiful and I cant remember what Jammie called it for the life of me!!

The other cool thing was while we were walking thru the sewing/quilt exhibit I could hear singing. I knew Martina McBride was the headliner for that night. I decided to open a door to the sound and it went into the stands for the concerts...and there she was! She is just adorable and tiny and was in the middle of doing her sound check to the show. Great fun for free!

Last weekend we did the Sunnylands tour in Rancho Mirage with some of our neighbors. This is a 200 acre estate built by the Walter Annenbergs and now run by their family. They were extremely wealthy philantropists that built Sunnylands for their winter home in the 60s complete with a golf course and ponds stocked with trout. Their guests included presidents, royalty, dignitaries and movie stars. It was an amazing home tour and I loved how willingly the Annenbergs shared their fortune with so many.  It was also a beautiful not too hot day and we both really enjoyed the tour.
( please don't notice I am wearing the same shirt again!)

Something I have talked about doing forever is driving up to Pasadena for the day and checking out my roots. You know a Kunta Kinte kind of thing. So I asked my mom and of course she was willing to go anywhere cooler. We drove by old family houses and then went into old downtown Pasadena for lunch.
First stop was Glendora where I lived from 2-5 yrs and the house still looked about the same. Really darling tree lined old fashion downtown with diagonal parking. Only bad thing I saw was getting on the freeways to go anywhere...AGH!

Second drive by was Monrovia where we lived when I was born until 2 yrs...2 bdrm 1 ba and 3 small kids... After they sold it a freeway went in across the street. Yikes!

We then drove by my grandparents, great grandparents, great aunt and uncle's and my parents homes from the 40s..  It was cool to see none of them had been torn down, but instead fixed up. The neighborhood was old craftsman style with big porches to sit and cool off in the evenings.

I also loved that each house of ours still had the brick planters my dad made. I started thinking of all the homes we have had in the past 33 yrs and only one has completely removed all signs of us...Lake Carlos house. Not bad considering how often we have moved! Its comforting to see part of you remains behind to show the world you lived here long after the moving trucks have pulled away.

Isn't it darling?!?

I am happy to say I was one of the chosen La Quinta residents to participate in their fall art exhibit.

There will be an artist reception on Oct 10 and our work is exhibited until Jan. The director was hoping for a desert theme from the artists but said very few submitted any. So of course I am now her favorite because my big ol Kokopelli piece will go to the show!  Sure I'd be happy to show you it again!

We have had some record setting June temps going on this week. Everyone is a bit nervous this is a sign of what our summer is going to offer up. Dont even mention it being a dry heat because it has been hot and humid and feeling like Mississippi! This was my phone yesterday...crazy huh?!

Seriously its not that bad if you only leave the house to float in the pool....Gracie and I both got short haircuts so we can swim all day maintenance free! If I let this heat make me miserable I will want to move away and we have run out of places to go!

This week we have Ky busing over from PHX...still no big job so good time to visit us. Rande is getting dropped off by his band at Timothy's for 2 days before flying to Europe with a different band.  Throw in the 4th and you have a darn good reason to have a family party! PLUS we get out of the heat and back to ocean breezes! Yea! Happy 4th of July!!

I will end with an update on my last post about 'is this all there is'. I have had lots of interesting conversations with friends and most have at some point shared these same feelings.  I have decided maybe we dont have to have such big dreams and goals anymore. Maybe just being the best version of you is enough. Volunteer to make a difference but it doesnt have to be about saving the world or curing cancer. Little things can be big too. Random acts of kindness to others and constantly striving to be a better you. Keep learning new things and trying to be the change we all want to see. 

My friend that was recently told she has about 6 months to live said she wished she didnt know. How does she live well if she only hears the clock ticking? My brother said if he was given the same diagnosis he couldn't think of anything he would do differently. That to me is someone doing it right...if there is no bucket list there are no regrets and each day is well spent. Choose the life you want whether is be simple or grand and live it well. 

God bless America~

Thanks for dropping by.