It's Weird

 "It's weird being the same age as old people." 

 

 

Write It On Your Heart

 "He said, "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, 

and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety. Finish every day and be done

with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in. Forget them 

as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit to be cumber

ed with your own nonsense. This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays."  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

Even Now

 "Even now, all possible feelings do not yet exist, there are still those that lie

beyond our capacity and our imagination. From time to time, when a 

piece of music no on has ever written or a painting no one has ever painted,

or something else impossible to predict, fathom or yet describe takes place, a 

new feeling enters the world.  And then, for the millionth time in the history of feeling

the heart surges and absorbs the impact."-Nicole Krauss The History of Love.

Things We Can't Buy

 

Time

Happiness

Friends

Dreams

Hope

Love

Health 

Don't Fall

 

 

 "Don't Fall for sweet words.

Fall for Sweet efforts."

When My Kids Are Grown

 "When my kids are grown one day,

I want them to look back at their

childhood and think,

"Wow, Mom really enjoyed us."

I want them to know that the privilege

of being their mom was always greater

than any hardship, annoyance, or

inconvenience.   I want them to know

what a gift they were to me

every single day." -Casey Huff

Venice Memories

 

 

 

This picture makes my heart beat faster. All kinds of adventure memories come to mind: my first trip to Italy waiting at the American Express office for aero gram letters from home, taking my boyfriend to Venice (it was Mike) and drinking two bottles of wine sitting by a canal watching the world go by, taking both my teen daughters to Venice and letting them go out the first night there alone and then kicking myself thinking I hope they can figure out how to get back to the apartment. (Before cell phones). Many wonderful memories.

 

I loved the movie "Summertime" starring Rosanno Brazzi and Kathryn Hepburn.  I fell in love with Venice seeing this film.

 

President's Day

 

Spending President’s Day imagining a bright future with a strong woman at this desk.

The Sorting Hat

 

Pen Pals

 

 

 

"When I was eleven my mother urged me to get a pen pal. "It will be fun," she promised. "You can learn about other countries." I was  nervous because I had been burned by her idea of what was fun and what wasn’t. Like with the opera.  She showed me the two tickets for Aida and added “There might be elephants.” She made a long dress for me to wear which was already embarrassing. I couldn’t understand any of the words and there were no elephants. When we got home Dad wanted to know how it had gone. I heard her say, “Well, we won’t have to do that again.” The next day I went around the house singing songs all wobbly and it made her laugh.

I was eager to please especially when it came to mother and my teachers, so I brought home the name and address of a girl my age in another country. Most of the countries didn’t sound as good as America but I wrote to a girl who was also eleven. I told her I went to school at Kinloch Park in Miami, Florida that my favorite color was blue or sometimes red. My best thing to eat was a fried egg sandwich with mustard. I signed it "Yours truly, Claudette Sutherland. PS If you want to know what it’s like here, we have lots of beaches.” Eventually, I received an airmail letter back written in big printing with a different kind of stamp. "See you can keep the stamp in your memory book,” Momma said. She was practically levitating.

What brought this to mind was a similar experience I had on FB. For the past couple of  years I’ve been following a woman I met only once through family friends. She posted the standard fare about her husband, children and grandchildren. I found myself falling in love with her granddaughter. She and this little girl played pretend games, dressed up and acted out parts on zoom. I saw photos of the special dinners her husband made for her. They walked the beach together, took the train to downtown, shared books. I began to look forward to her postings, ordinary in nature and so relatable. I began to wish I had a marriage like hers, and even better, I began to feel like we were close friends. Momma would have been pleased." -C. Sutherland

Same Same But Different

 

Birthday Reflections

 

 "Count your life by smiles, not tears,

count your age by friends, not years." -John Lennon

 

It Takes A Little Longer

 

 

 "The difficult it what takes a little time;

the impossible is what takes a little longer." -Fridtjof Nansen

All The Things You Are

 You are not your age,

Nor the size of clothes you wear,

You are not a weight,

"Or the color of your hair,

You are not your name;

Or the dimples in your cheeks,

You are all the books you read,

and all the words you speak,

You are your croaky morning voice,

and the smiles you try to hide,

You're the sweetness in your laughter,

and every tear you've cried,

You're the songs you sing so loudly,

When you know you're all alone,

You're the things that you believe in,

And the people that you love, 

You're the photos in your bedroom,

And the future you dream of,

You're made of so much beauty,

But it seems that you forgot,

when you decided that you were defined

by all the things you're not." -e.h.

Happy Valentine's Day

Not Just About A Book Club Hosts A Surprise Birthday Party for Barb and Reads "Has Anyone Seen Luis Velez?"

 On February 10th our book club surprised me with a grand  birthday party.  

 

Complete with "two" birthday crowns!

 

It was a beautiful day, sunny and filled with love.  What a wonderful surprise our book club planned.

 All 11 members were there.

 

Lynda, Kathy

Jo

Karen and Judy

Jeanette and Donna

Maria and Sharon

Barb and Sherri

 

 

 Everyone brought food and drinks.

 

 

There were Galentine presents galore for everyone.

 

And a wonderful chocolate cake and flowers and gifts for me. 

A special cake to blow out my three candles (past, present, and future)

I made a wish

and blew out the candles

 

 

A special thank you to Sharon who hosted the party at her lovely home.

 And to all the book club friends who planned such a wonderful party for me. We are a wonderful group of loving friends.

 

L-R Kathy, Jeanette, Sherri, Jo, Barb, Sharon, Karen, Maria, Donna, Judy and Lynda

 

 And we even managed to have a great discussion about the chosen book "Have You Seen Luis Velez?" by Catherine Ryan Hyde. 

Thank you everyone for making my birthday so special!

                                                     

                                  I love you this much!

 

A Surprise Birthday Celebration

 These covid years have changed the way we all organize many aspects of our lives. The book club I belong to use to meet monthly at one of the members homes with clever book themed luncheons. That changed to zoom meeting after March 2020. In time that dwindled to once every two months. Somewhere in 2021 on the roller coaster of ups and downs of covid cases we met occasionally in a park with masks and air hugs. It was just good to see one another from a distance. Who knew it would come to this. Time marched on. We celebrated birthdays of members by drive bys, honking and waving and blowing kisses from our cars. Unimaginable, for we who were used to celebrating in a big way. The future is still unknown but now we are all vaccinated and boosted and still guarded but seeing with hopeful hearts a light at the end of covid's dark tunnel. Today was a planned book club meeting in person, outdoors on a summery hot afternoon at our member Sharon's  home. Little did I know that my book club friends had planned a wonderful belated birthday celebration for me. It was the most touching and thoughtful surprise. The book choice turned out to be most apropos because it dealt with friendship and kindness and the ways in which relationships can change your life. It was "Has Anyone Seen Luis Velez?" by Catherine Ryan Hyde.  

I wrote this to my fellow book club members:

Dear Book club friends,   Thank you from the bottom of my heart for each and every thoughtful gesture of love in celebration of my 75th birthday.  I have to admit that is a bit of a hard number to accept but you all make it more than okay to say these years have added up to a life which can embrace friendship in the deepest most enriching manner.  You each know how precious your friendship means because each of you has these very friendships in your own life. We are all blessed beyond measure!  Thank you for your generous gifts for my birthday and for "Galentine's day".  All gestures representative of your thoughtfulness and love.  The book turned out to be perfect for this day because of it's theme of kindness and caring.  Each of you has that in your heart and that is the thread that connects us all.  Thank you for all you did to make this "big" birthday so grand!

Love Barb

 

 

Dressed Appropriately?

 

"Once again, I'm not dressed appropriately for the weather."

Happy Birthday Aria

 

 

 "Walking the 

uncommon path is not a certain

victory, but it

does provide the 

greatest possibility

for fulfillment." -Yung Pueblo

May your year ahead continue to bless you with many wonderful adventures and new opportunities for personal happiness and fulfillment. 

 

I love you with all my heart.

 

 

 

 

 

An Angel Earns His Wings

 Written by Eden Balbuena

A friend,Brad changed his address to Heaven yesterday. February 5th.

I met Brad about 25 years or so ago… Online! He was hosting a Divorce Chat Room in the Bay Area. His theme, that I can remember was mostly Financial Survival After a Divorce. He was really good at it although some sessions he probably felt like he was “herding cats”.

Around that time, he met Palma. They fell in love, moved to La Quinta, and got married.

I was one of the lucky ones along with Kathy

who were invited to the wedding!

We have been friends ever since. I try to see Brad and Palma when I visit the desert.

Brad was always the gentle man, kind, soft spoken, and ever the welcoming host when I went to see them… from Redwood Shores, to La Quinta, to Palm Desert, to Indio!

He was gentleman personified!

I always loved to watch him shower Palma with his love… he truly adored her… from the symbolism of the penguins loyalty to one love… to the joy he showed in this photo at their wedding!

He walked in / waltzed in to “Going To The Chapel Of Love” !

He was so happy, so full of joy, his personality just shows how glorious it was for him to be marrying Palma, and such positivity for their future together.

They had 24 years together and that just don’t seem long enough.

Brad, you’ve been a great friend to so many. We will miss you. Palma earned an Angel yesterday!

Palma, I, along with many, send our love to you.