Hearst Castle

 Well, last week was a planning week, and this week I'm on my way out.  Taking a short trip to my hometown, and it's only three and a half hours away, but I'll be driving, so hopefully it's a pleasant trip.  I'll take it slow and make stops along the way, and thankfully, my son will join me in the travels.  I will see my family, my siblings, some of my high school friends, and attend a fundraiser dinner, which I'll have to squeeze it all in one trip.  I have the little girls' bags ready, and the big girls' bags ready. 

Along with their papers, I threw in some goodies too....keepsakes I wanted to pass on to them, and some mint chocolate cookies and wine.  I like to find a wine with a delightful label, and I thought this was just right for Jess, as she loves the flamingo.  I thought Nel could have hers with her sister on a sleepover sometime.

I went to A's Home shop to see if I could find any jewelry for my trip, and was hoping to just get in and out, but she had some new things, so I browsed.  I found some pretty pearl earrings, a candle, a coffee cup, and a big chocolate bar.  The fundraiser dinner is casual, so I usually just wear jeans, but I always like to dress it up with a nice blouse and jewelry.  Pearls are a classic choice, so I bought these.

I loved this coffee cup with the special words.

And when you find a candle that has your granddaughter's name.....you buy it!  The words are Joie de Charlotte, which means Charlotte's Joy.  I will give it to Jess.

Mia had a dance performance, and it was a Hip Hop dance.  It was so funny to watch because she's already a good dancer. 

Since I'll be traveling this week, I thought I'd share with you some pictures of Jess' visit to Hearst Castle and camping.  Hearst Castle is an estate located on the central coast of California.  The castle was built between 1919 and 1947.  Before Jess started teaching elementary school, she got her degree in Interior Design, so she was very interested in the architecture of this castle.  I have to tell you that Charlotte looks exactly like Jess did at her age in this picture. 

I'll see you when I get back!

Francesca's Toy And Bookshop

 I am getting ready to take a short trip soon, and have been gathering things I need and running errands.  It's all part of travel, which I dread, but has to be done.  There's so many little details that goes with traveling, and I'm a "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of gal, and planning is not my thing.  So, I've been going into town a lot lately, from store to store, picking up the things I'll need for the trip.  I will see my love birds soon.

We had consistent rain all last week, and thunderstorms rolled in.  When they send booming sounds through the skies, they can be scary sometimes.  One came in and was so loud, it made me jump.  I love how the rain cleanses and purifies, washing away dirt and leaving the earth fresh and clean again.

Along with the thunderstorms, our state bird flew in.  This looks like a juvenile male.  The females don't have the cluster of feathers on their head.

The purple flower bed seemed to sprout up over night at my church.

I thought this was the most unique and pretty pink blossom tree near the post office.

The last of the red tulips.

A piece of blueberry pie and a hot cup of coffee were just what I needed through the storm.

I was going through a box of stuff to see if I wanted to give away anything, and I only found a couple things to donate.  These I'll keep always.  Yes, I love little things. 😉

Speaking of giving things away.....

Jess signed Francesca up for the Kids' Swap Meet.  It was a success, and she made $120!  Rain was in the forecast, and they had an outdoor space, so they were glad it stayed clear.  She gathered lots of toys to give away, and was great with the customers.  She learned a lot too.  They have been gathering toys for her "shop" for a couple weeks.  And Jess feels so much lighter giving away stuff.

Our California Poppies.

And a batch of chewy brownies through the stormy week.  These reminded me of the many batches we used to bake for the fundraiser dinner years ago.

Pope Leo urged, "Come back to the table.  Let's talk.  Let's look for solutions in a peaceful way."

I appreciate you very much, our Pope of Peace.  

Have a beautiful spring week!

🌸🌷🌼🌹🌸🌷🌼🌹

Sweetness Of Spring

 I hope you had a lovely Easter.  Mine was very nice, with my son baking a wonderful ham dinner - garlic mashed potatoes, cranberries, asparagus, along with a lemon cake that I made.  We watched the movie Peter Rabbit on Netflix over the weekend too.  Here's a few pics of our Easters in no special order.  I've been recovering from this awful cold, and with lots of tea and soup, I'm finally starting to feel like myself again.

My brother-in-law came into town right before Easter and brought me a gift bag of goodies - chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, flower seed packets to plant, and this pretty card.  I thought it was perfect from the three in-laws.

If you remember Mia's pioneer days, Nel sent me this picture, and I wanted to share some of the stations that were set up with different kinds of pioneer-era activities for the kids to do: building a log cabin out of milk cartons and pretzels, square dancing and music making, pancakes, games, and more!  Nel volunteered at a station where kids made rafts out of popsicle sticks and yarn, and tried to support the weight of a floating apple.  Mia had so much fun.  I'm glad she learned about this time in history.

On Good Friday, me and my son went to the creek, and I wanted to get some fresh air and spend some time in nature.  There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but the creek was filled and everything was so green and growing.  Soon, I will see dozens of California poppies growing along the ridges.

We had some rain last week, and we're supposed to get more in April.  I'll leave you with this, just because I loved it.