WW & #iPPP { Walk the Bridge }

Saturday morning, I got a text from my best friend asking if I could meet her when she comes into town Sunday morning...for a (((hug))).

And of course I said yes!

It gave me an opportunity to finally walk across a bridge I've driven over thousands of times before.

A li'l change in perspective and the mundane & routine become beautiful.



Would you believe I was oh so not a fan of bridges when I was a kid?!  I wasn't.

Thank goodness that changed!



Don't forget to look up!



And a li'l peek at the water under the bridge.


 

Revisiting the beach!

I love where we live!  Country, city, farmland, hills, and the ocean are all nearby.  And the mountains are pretty darn close too.

The weekend before last, we headed out to the coast for a Family Day that was quite smile worthy.

The Northern California coastline is gorgeous!  While I've never been to any kind of tropical beach, I've been to both the East & West coasts and of all the locales I've visited, I just love the northern half of this state's coastline.  I start relaxing before we're even out of the car as the terrain and the air changes.

This is a no swimming beach, too many rip tides.

But, that didn't stop our fun!

There was chilling and playing in the sand to do.

And digging.  Lots o' digging.

And sand flying (she had more sand than hair on the top of her head by the end of the day!).

One dug a very narrow, uniform hole longer than the arm's length, while the other made some sand angels.

Hubs adventure walked with our boy, several times, seeing what the ocean had washed up.  And in between adventure walks, Hubby grabbed some smooth stones to create stacked sculptures, reminiscent of our dating days when one of our ocean visits treated us to a woman creating these all over the beach.

And me?  I hung out, clicked away with my cameras, looked at the kids' sand creations & holes, picnicked with the fam, got a wee bit obsessed looking at this weathered & worn log, tracing the lines with my eyes, and simply relaxed.

This was the best family beach visit ever.  The kidlets are old enough now that we weren't spending the whole time chasing them or conversely, forced to cop a squat when our arms tired of carrying a baby.  We've always loved our visits to the coast, but now, I think we'll love them even more!

Where do you like to go as a family?  Where do you relax?

Love the Ocean, Dig the Beach recycled and revisited for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop!  Hope you're having fun this summer...we are! :>

Smile!

"If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it."

-Andy Rooney

After taking the kidlets to their respective schools, I had to zip that red envelope (aka Saturday's Netflix) to the post office and then proceeded to take the back way home.  And I'm so glad I did!

On the side of the road there was a puddle.  And inside that puddle were four birds.  They were splashing water more than a foot up in the air, gettin' their groove on, shakin' their tail feathers and all.  It looked like a pool party in that puddle only big enough to hold the four flocked friends.

And you know what?  Watching them in the mere seconds I had as I drove my car by, spread a smile wide across my face, high up into my eyes, and low into my heart.  And there it stayed all day today.

In fact, as I write this tonight, it's still there.  Who knew four frolicking puddle loving birds could be so smile worthy?!  One thing is for sure, I am mighty glad they were!

What has made you smile today?



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#iPPP ~ Bird Ribbons

We see these small birds every year, sometime in November or December, scavenging the remains of the harvested vineyards.  The way they fly together and abruptly change directions make it look like there are ribbons dancing across the skies.

 

Last year, my brother snapped a couple pics on his iPhone to show me.....because he thought they were bats.  Nope.  Tiny little birds, flocking together.

I'm usually behind the wheel, driving when I see them and have never been able to take a photo, so I was stoked that he did.  Aren't they cool?  Their movement drops my jaw in awe, every year, every time.

Love the Ocean, Dig the Beach

I love where we live!  Country, city, farmland, hills, and the ocean are all nearby.  And the mountains are pretty darn close too.

The weekend before last, we headed out to the coast for a Family Day that was quite smile worthy.

The Northern California coastline is gorgeous!  While I've never been to any kind of tropical beach, I've been to both the East & West coasts and of all the locales I've visited, I just love the northern half of this state's coastline.  I start relaxing before we're even out of the car as the terrain and the air changes.

This is a no swimming beach, too many rip tides.

But, that didn't stop our fun!

There was chilling and playing in the sand to do.

And digging.  Lots o' digging.

And sand flying (she had more sand than hair on the top of her head by the end of the day!).

One dug a very narrow, uniform hole longer than the arm's length, while the other made some sand angels.

Hubs adventure walked with our boy, several times, seeing what the ocean had washed up.  And in between adventure walks, Hubby grabbed some smooth stones to create stacked sculptures, reminiscent of our dating days when one of our ocean visits treated us to a woman creating these all over the beach.

And me?  I hung out, clicked away with my cameras, looked at the kids' sand creations & holes, picnicked with the fam, got a wee bit obsessed looking at this weathered & worn log, tracing the lines with my eyes, and simply relaxed.

This was the best family beach visit ever.  The kidlets are old enough now that we weren't spending the whole time chasing them or conversely, forced to cop a squat when our arms tired of carrying a baby.  We've always loved our visits to the coast, but now, I think we'll love them even more!

Where do you like to go as a family?  Where do you relax?

Come take a {Country Drive} ~ Writer's Workshop

I'm playing along with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop again this week! With five prompts to choose from, I've got my foot on the gas for the number two: A photo journal entry…show us what winter looks like in your town.  Except, rather than IN town, I'm rollin' just outside of town and taking you with us on our one of our daily country drives!  Do hope you'll come along! :>

Roll your windows down, the sun is shinning, no fog in sight!  Tuesday we couldn't see more than a few feet ahead and the next morning the thermometer read fifty degrees, by the afternoon, we had passed seventy!  See?  Perfect day to get out & into the country!

We have numerous routes we take for our country drives, but you can bet there will always a vineyard or two...or three or four or more!

Gnarly old vines capture my attention each and every time, looking like hands erupting from the earth with tales to tell!

I loved gazing up at this tree, from below.

Loved it so much, couldn't decide to dress it in color or B&W!

You might remember these trees from their photo op back in November.  They were all dressed up in shades of gold & crimson and while many have shed their party clothes, it does look like there are a couple still hanging on with to their attire.

Hope you've got room for one more tree to see on this drive, but this tree hides its whispers the rest of the year beneath a coordinated skirt & shawl of verdant leaves.  Listen closely now, surely there's secrets to be shared.  I wonder what they'll be?

And our country drive for the day comes to an end.  But, just before entering my front door, the Nandina bamboo berries called to me.  Aren't they pretty??  But, they're just for looking, no tasting now....when I went a Googling, I learned they are poisonous!  But, that's okay, they're feast enough for the eyes...at least, I think so. :>

Would love for you to come say hello and tell me how the drive was! 

{Thanks}giving Autumn Love

We are celebrating Thanksgiving today, in the U.S. and I want to wish you a fantastic one!

And as we are extremely grateful for our beautiful surroundings, I thought I might take this chance to share a little autumnal love before we usher in winter and the Christmas season!

We have so enjoyed watching this tree on its autumn journey!!  For quite some time, half the tree was a vibrant green, while the other half turned a gorgeous crimson red. 

The contrast was so striking and caught our breath every time we passed it.  After several breathless moments on our almost daily country drives, the kidlets & I came to call this beauty, 'Our Tree'.

'Our Tree' deserved a little up close love as we checked out the variation in colors.  It looked like a fantastic fiesta as we got closer.

And this, this small moment on one of our many country drive routes, had me smiling from ear to ear, each and every time.  From burgundy to deep reds to shades of crimson, rust, orange flames to gorgeous golds and even a couple summer green holdouts, I breathed autumn in deeply each time we passed by.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate and whether or not this is your holiday, may your day bring you joy and the spirit of gratitude!

From a Lizard to Done to The Bridge

When evening arrived today, I was done. 

What?  What's that you say?  I still needed to get the kidlets dinner, finish encouraging, teaching, and cheering on a kidlet who was finishing up homework, showers, chase down a lizard that decided to appear in my living room today (well over a decade here & there has never been a lizard inside my house, I rarely even see them outside...definitely stripped me of my zen) and did I mention that before any of this, I was already 'done'?  Done. 

But, I kicked in the Mama gear and ticked off the required activities of the evening.  And even though I was looking forward to watching Monday Night Football with my family, I needed a Mama break.  And thankfully, Hubby recognized that need.  (As I headed out, I realized that it has been over a year and a half since I've made this little solo escape!)

And off I went.  Where to?  Everywhere.  Nowhere.  Out.

Country drives are uber peaceful for me.  And I love this one lane bridge....when no one is behind you or in front, waiting to cross, if you pause in the middle, with only the water & setting sun's movement, everything stops, I breathe and my mind begins to quiet. 

On the occasions that I can't escape on my own (which is most of the time), when I've got that 'done' feeling, we listen to music, find quiet activities (coloring, painting, collaging, reading, etc.), or even head out together for a drive (I'm not the only one in this house who responds to a country drive! :>).

Always on the lookout for more deal with the 'done' mode methods, I'd love to know what you do to relax. 

What do you consciously do to dial down your day, when your day is not yet over?

Edited to add:  Mama did it!  Wee girl casually mentioned she sees the lizard. I caught it with a kidlet's Seahawks snack bowl that was sitting out.  Turned the bowl over & trapped it.  When I tried to move it, the little lizard escaped. I moved fast like him (her?? how to tell??!) and caught him/her again.  With wee girl's help, we got it outside & let it go. Phew.  Happy lizard.....OUTside.  Happy Mama.