We Always Knew She Had Royal Blood

 She just needed the ceremonial robe to re-activate her status...

 And confirm her celestial lineage...

 As daughter of Heaven...

Dowager of all small creatures...

 And benevolent ruler over all palace servants. 

Long may she reign!

Waiting for the Man

  

Waiting for Santa is still very exciting and joyful around here. Having time off together and having slow mornings relaxing around the house is pure heaven. 

Wishing everyone peace, joy and connection to the source of light and life!

It Only Takes a Girl

Don't let the title of this blog fool you. I think both boys and girls will change the world, men and women. And what group or force might be that massive influence? The one that finally tips the scale on a grassroots level and begins the eradication hunger, ends the cycle of abuse and suffering of living beings, cares for this beautiful planet earth as it so badly needs?  Girls! I know it's just one strategy, but it is one that gives me A LOT of hope! Girls.

During this season so focused on giving and getting, I've been really proud of my girl and how she wants to give. After seeing this video and feeling the outrage and disbelief of the plight of girls around the world, she pledged all her Christmas money to show her belief in girls, and deep desire to make the world beautiful for all.

I'm pledging too because it's the very best strategy I've heard of.

While this video may be too heavy for young kids, you may want to take a moment and see if it makes as much sense to you as it does to me. And maybe those few dollars that you might spend on our own daughter or son, you could flow it out, into the world.

Below are some great links to contribute, there are many organizations to choose from.

http://www.girleffect.org/question

http://becauseiamagirl.ca/

http://internationalhf.org/contribute

http://www.globalgiving.org/leaderboards/girl-effect-challenge/ 

The previous post, below, has a very compelling video too.

The Girl that Changed the World

Don't let the title of this blog fool you. I think both boys and girls will change the world, men and women. And what group or force might be that massive influence? The one that finally tips the scale on a grassroots level and begins the eradication hunger, ends the cycle of abuse and suffering of living beings, cares for this beautiful planet earth as it so badly needs?  Girls! I know it's just one strategy, but it is one that gives me A LOT of hope! Girls.

During this season so focused on giving and getting, I've been really proud of my girl and how she wants to give. After seeing this video and feeling the outrage and disbelief of the plight of girls around the world, she pledged all her Christmas money to show her belief in girls, and deep desire to make the world beautiful for all.

I'm pledging too because it's the very best strategy I've heard of.

While this video may be too heavy for young kids, you may want to take a moment and see if it makes as much sense to you as it does to me. And maybe those few dollars that you might spend on our own daughter or son, you could flow it out, into the world.

Below are some great links to contribute, there are many organizations to choose from.

http://www.girleffect.org/question

http://becauseiamagirl.ca/

http://internationalhf.org/contribute

http://www.globalgiving.org/leaderboards/girl-effect-challenge/ 

The previous post, below, has a very compelling video too.

The Dance of Gratitude

A big thank you to Bill, Annie & Mary for making Thanksgiving day just perfect!

Plus the wonderful calls from the Kern's, Hinz's, Sieler's and Carrillo's.

Color and Warmth

Our recent visit to LA for some pre-Thanksgiving visiting with family and friends was full of color and warmth.

The accommodations were excellent.

We visited the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaur exhibit. Fantastic! 

The Crane's met us on Alvera Street for a great meal at La Golindrina.

 

 

A perfect visit. 

Plus, Annie got to visit her friends Mathias and Asher who she LOVES to play with.

Thanks Calvin

 Calvin & Hobbes have played a huge role in Annie's life. 

For years now Annie has found him hysterical, outrageous and admirable. I believe these comics have contributed to Annie's excellent vocabulary and reading skills. In one comic, Calvin did a report on bats, so Annie decided she wanted to too. Here she focused on her mission

 And here she is after she recovered from the shock that there probably needed to be a second draft to fully bring her points home.

Can you just imagine the moaning and groaning we endured

trying to support her in her goal?

And here she is trying to deal with the fact that there is, most likely, a third draft in her future. We're saving it for another day. Our writer needed to regain her strength.

Can you believe I posted again?

Still Beating

I'm flexing my creative and energetic muscles so much in my life, blogging has falling into a deep ditch on the side of a remote country road. Blogging has been so wonderful to me! I hate to call it quits. So, here I am. I have just this small offering; pics of my sweet Annie in a moment of forest bliss.

Sending out my best wishes to all of you!

Some Summer Highlights

The magic of sparklers!

Gulp! Can you see how much she's grown? The hair pulled back might be throwing me off, but she looks older than I'm comfortable with right now. And where does she get that leg + hip pose from?

Bill above Lake Tahoe on a gorgeous day.

Zooming in and capturing a moment of Annie up (way up!) in the tree house she and Bill have been building together.

Listening to Bill and Hollis talk while soaking up the sun in Big Sur.

Annie modeling one of the many fabulous nighties that LaLa has made her. She says she's flying out of lava in this photo. She looks like Marilyn Monroe to me. (That pose again!)

True Summer Highlight; Seeing the Getty Villa permanent collection with LaLa and Annie! Amazing.

Hiking with the entire Hinz family, including Uncle Pete.

Feeling so proud as I rode behind Annie as she rode "Dot" along the beach in Big Sur.

Having one of those deeply grateful moments as I watched Annie and Bill on the trail ahead of me.

Little House in the Big (Sur) Woods

The packing, planning, pet sitters and pushing-to-get-out-the-door are all worth it the minute we arrive and meet up with family in our favorite cabins in the Big Sur forest.

This year the cousins joyfully roamed the river, forest and beaches, on this years summer solstice/birthday trip...

...enjoyed the "matchy-match" pajama's that LaLa Pat made them...

...and lounged around in the wonderful weather.

We found a wonderful fuzzy caterpillar amongst the poison hemlock, wild mustard and abundant wild flowers on the trail down to the beach.

We found the perfect spot where the Big Sur River meets the ocean...

...and collected special rocks and shells to remember our trip by.

And then, after we said our goodbye's, we stopped at a local stable and Annie and I took horses through some beautiful meadows and trails, through the Big Sur River, and down onto the beach. What a thrill!

Beautiful & Amazing

Beautiful for how they got along so swimmingly.
Amazing for how much they've grown.

The smokey eyes, ratted hair and the threatening poses were especially for the Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA. These were taken as we were just about to walk in the door.
They loved it!

French Fantasies

My dear friend Mary just returned from a fabulous trip with her two high school friends, Anne and Connie. They visited London, Paris and Amsterdam! They had a terrific time. Mary reports that the gals in Paris, even those very casually dressed, all wear wonderful scarves to top off each outfit. I thought to myself, what a great economical way to enhance my wardrobe and stay fashionable with the seasons. Who knows? Maybe I'll be touring the continent soon.

Since Pat and I share this French fantasy, I plucked these perfectly sized pashima's for the two of us. The lime and the purple/blue for you Pat?

Making Peonies-W.I.P

So, I'm taking a week off!

What do I do?

Start a new mural, with the help of my trusty sidekick.