Ms Ella

I am glad to report Ms. Ella is doing fabulous.  Look at her cheeky chops - hahaha!

Praise the Lord - she is doing swell !

the moon and the sun rose together this morning

magnificence - hope you didn't miss it......  are you alive or are you not home?  the new moon showed her coy flirtation with the earth and the rising sun today November 4th, two thousand and ten.....

Fresh as a Rose

so its October and we are getting a smattering of rain to freshen things up - rain is God's paintbrush for it colors the landscape with new growth.  my beautiful roses this morning were a sight to behold

arent they lovely?

Revelation.....

I just figured out that i'm smart.  and I have given myself permission to be smart. all my life, i have heard the mantra, spoken and unspoken, that i am not smart.  it all started with immigrating to US from UK when i was a child and going into the school system at a - yes believe it or not - language disadvantage.  i could not for the life of me make heads or tails of what the teachers/children were saying! that coupled with discrepancies in teaching programs, and my parents' penchant for taking me out of school for vacations, put me behind in math. but only math. but if you arent good in math it irritates you and leaks over into other areas! but guess what, i have evolved into inherent smartness and i just now get it :-)  hallelujah and on with the show!!!!!

My Friend Ella

when i first met Ella it was like a lightning bolt went through my heart and bonded us together.  she sat on a chair by the elevator in the assisted living home clutching a big blue cloth bag with everything she owned in it.  socks, undies, pennies, cotton, old paper. nothing really. and i immediately loved her.  as i got to know her i recognized her as Jesus.  giving, loving, putting everyone else first, innocent, simple.  i cut her hair, i took her for coffee, we laughed, we sat and looked at the water, i even took her to wade in the sea, i took her home to meet my kitties, i looked for Lithuanian recipes to remind her that Lithuania was not lost to her.  she has the best sense of humor, she has the best understanding of the simplicity of life, she appreciated everything she had.  the first time i cried was when i looked in her closet. it had nothing but ill fitting, old, crummy clothes. i compared that to my closet.  it was humbling. when i visited her i always had her brush her teeth first. dementia patients dont remember and those last coupla teeth i know she needed to keep. so we brushed and then she would take my hand and gleefully, like a child, she would walk with me and i would take her into the sunshine. she would swing herself up into my "white wagon" as she called it "like a monkey" i would tell her and every single time she would throw back her head and laugh. every single time at the same old joke.  and yep, i laughed too.  if only for an hour. and we would talk, the same old subjects, and i would repeat my reassurings to her.  we had 3 good years together.  and now Miss Ella is in the hospital - pretty weak and beat up - she fell and now doesnt seem to be able to swallow. St Mary's is doing what they can. i just wanted to let you know that Ella and her kind came to us to show us and teach us. can you all just do what you can for old, decrepit, throw aways? please. even if a smile, even if you bring a pot of flowers anonymously to a home. someone will keep that in their heart for a long time to live on.

Tea at Huntington Library Rose Garden Tea Room

how lovely the Tea, the Roses and my friends:

June 5th at Huntington Library. Very summery day with all the delightful earth smells and blooming roses in prevalence.
Fresh scones and lots of china black with rose petals. How appropriate.  We surely didn't want to exit the gates that day.  It was so magical. 

Blue Sky, Nothing But Blue Sky......

....Coming my Way......

wow! what lovely sky views we had on our blustery day....

sure, we all had tousled hair and had to dodge palm fronds, but if you looked upward there was the majesty of ~~~

Blue skies smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies do I see
Blue birds singing a song
Nothing but blue skies from now on.

Never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
Noticing the days hurryin' by
When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue days, all of them gone
Nothing but blue skies from now on.

Blue skies smiling on me
Nothing but blue skies Do I see
Blue birds Singing a song
Nothing but blue skies from now on.

I never saw the sun shining so bright
When you're in love things going so right
Watching all the days Hurrying by
When you're in love, My how they fly

Those blue days, all of them gone
Nothing but blue skies, Nothing but blue skies
Nothing but blue skies, from now on.