My GardeNN of EdeNN can be my bath. I love the scent of floral's to fill the air. Anyone can buy oils for a hot bath, I prefer the petals of roses when I want to spoil myself. Hey, if it's good enough for Beyonce and J-Lo, it's good enough for me. At least I don't demand them. I go right out to the garden and pick them.

My GardeNN of EdeNN is where ever I make my home. Care to live in my world?

Aaaaaaaaaah, my feet up at the end of the day.


Care to grab a petal or two?


This was not only fun, but it was also beneficial to my skin. And guess what? I didn't get stung by a bee! Win win!

Please visit the other players. They work so hard at taking their pics.
VTCali, RoxanneS, tight_wet_lips, guitartxn, _amuseyou_, Innate Lovers, undisclosedid1, MrsUnderdog, tickle_me_elmo

Come along with me. I can guarantee that there won't be a dull moment. Last weekend I took a drive through the Ortega's but that is for another blog. I can go from the mountains to the sea in no time. I am surrounded by both (again). How great is that? I am engulfed in beauty.

For now, let's take a walk along the shores of San Clemente. I am able to visit this favorite little town of mine anytime I want. When you walk along the shore, the dolphins are visible from the sand. They play and jump and can make you forget about the people walking around you. You can even tune out the rush of the Amtrak Train. That is how peaceful watching the dolphins can be.

When I was finished with this stroll, I made a call to one of my favorite NNer's. I told him about the white sunsets that happen from time to time. He wanted to see them through my eyes. Sunsets come in a rainbow of colors. I have seen so many colors in quite a few states, ranging from orange, yellow and red here in Cali, to Purple and Blue in Arizona and Silver to Gold in Texas. I cannot choose a favorite from among the many states I have had the pleasure of visiting.

But when you gaze upon a white sunset, it stops you in your tracks. So Tux, these are for you.







(I do not use filters or flash. All of my photos are natural light. I prefer them that way)
I'll make sure to take you along on another walk. xoxoxox

I spent a number of days thinking about this.
What it comes down to is that there is so much to be Thankful for.

1. My sons…my wonderful strong sons
2. The man who provided me the sperm for those sons. My ex and best friend.
3. My Pops. *rest in peace* Even though he is in my heart and soul, he still teaches me to this day
4. The women who are with my sons. They make my sons happy and my sons make them happy.
5. The career that I have worked hard for and train for. It’s been a blast and I wouldn’t trade it for the world! (Well, I would if I won millions of dollars or Topcat)….*giggles*
6. The weird family that I was born into. They keep me laughing.
7. Good Friends. The few that I have allowed into my world (and vice versa) They mean a great deal to me. Some have passed on, but they remain my friends in my heart,
8. My health. This year was the 7 year anniversary of having a healthy and cancer free uterus. Very thankful for that! During my physical exam (minus the fixed rip in my knee) the doc told me I had the health of a 30 yr old. YAH!
9. The pain and heartache that have come and gone. Yes, I am thankful. We learn from pain and heartache. Hurdles make our legs stronger just in case more come our way.
10. The life that I have carved out for myself. It’s mine and I do not take for granted what I enjoy every day.
11. I am appreciative and thankful of my freedoms. I can come and go as I please and travel at the drop of a hat.
12. Being a woman. Thank you Mother Nature.
13. My home(s). I have had the pleasure of providing for myself the roof(s) in some comfy and amazingly beautiful places.
14. My 9 lives. I have used more than my share….lol
15. NN. It’s a part of my life and I thank Mr. NN for providing us the social activity of being nude and not afraid to show it.
16. YOU! I am thankful for all of you fantastically odd, humourous, loveable, annoying, irksome, snarky, sexy pervs. I thank you for being you. I thank all of you for being my friend. Good or bad, you are what makes NN….NN.
17. And last but not least. I am Thankful for the year 2001 and the special man I met. This very same man would eventually create my name and introduce me to NN in 2004. We are apart, but still joined in memories and we remain on NN because we both have it as a part of our lives.

I hope everyone had the best Thanksgiving.

xoxoxo

Sunday was fun day for me. Well basically, pretty much everyday is. Ever since moving from Pacific Grove to the boonies last year, I am now back living near the beach. On the weekends that is where I can be found. Hell, even during the week, I am on the shore watching the sun set over the water.

I meandered over to Surf City to enjoy the warm sunny day. I travel lightly when I hang out on the sand. A beach chair, a small bag with snacks, a towel and a sheet. I positioned my chair and put the bag down next to it. I shouldn't have done this and I do know better, but I walked towards the water forgetting about the seagulls. As soon as I was about 20 feet away, the seagulls pilfered the small tater chip bag out of my sack! Little thieves! I ran up, grabbed it from them just as one of them punctured a hole in it. They were still edible, so I put them underneath the towel.

The gulls didn't go away, they just stood around me waiting to be fed. Well screw them! Steal from me will you? So, I decided to get a giggle. As I pulled out the bag, they came closer and closer. I opened it...and then closer. I put a chip in my mouth and said "mmmmm, yummy......mmmmmm....yummy" As I reached into the bag, they got closer. I pulled out another chip and pretended to throw it.....and they jumped for it. I laughed....lol. Then I got another chip and started to lick it like Homer Simpson licks a donut........aahahaha. I was even making slurping sounds. I was cracking up laughing!
Who says I don't know how to entertain myself?

I am really shocked that those gulls didn't pull a Tippi Hedren on me.....hahaha. I would have deserved it.
The gulls trying to steal my chips reminded me of one of my favorite You Tube Videos. Sam the Seagull. I wonder if any of you remember him? Look him up.

So at the end of the day, I was in heaven.

As the sun decided to bid me farewell, I blew it a kiss and watched a lone surfer trying to catch the last wave for the day. Then it was back home to watch the end of the Packers/Vikings Game.

Life is good to me. I am so blessed.

Do not do try this at home.

Last Friday was very busy. Things popped up that shouldn't have and after a long day of work, unpacking and then helping clean up a spill in the garage, I was exhausted. I wasn't in the mood to cook, but everyone wanted my famous mashed taters. So I obliged.

I used the hand masher first and then I finish the taters off with the electric beater. I wasn't paying attention and put the beater tongs in the wrong holes. So when I started to mash the taters, the beater tongs fell off.

I pulled them out of the potatoes and put one tong in and then was having difficulty putting the other tong in. So I pushed real hard and in doing so, my right hand slipped and pushed the On Button to high. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeellllll, here is where it was dicey. I didn't unplug the beater before I did this......aaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnd it happened.

When my right hand slipped up and turned the beater on high, my left thumb and left index finger got mangled in the beaters. Man oh man did I scream! Both were stuck and the beater was roaring and not going anywhere. No one was around me, so I mustered up, stopped screaming and calmly pushed the beaters in reverse and got them unstuck.
*I remembered seeing this on kitchen accidents*

I had never done anything like this before, nor do I hope any of you feel that sort of pain. It was unbelievably unbearable. I sucked it up, made the potatoes and then cried.

In the end, the potatoes were good, the Prime Rib and Gravy were to die for and I ate with one hand.......lol

I show my Admiration to our Veterans.
My respect is given to our Veterans.
I'll always show my undying Love to the Veterans.
I am Grateful that they served in a job that makes them Veterans.
My family members, friends, those I do not know, friends of friends....I am Proud to know you have served. I am Proud to be a small part of your lives. You are Veterans. Hold your head high. Your bravery and service is commendable and I will never forget the sacrifice for all that you have done for the US and for other Countries in need.

Our Veterans.
We Owe Them a Lot.
The preserve liberty.
They sacrifice.
They do a job that is unimaginable.
The men and women who have served fulfilled a need when asked or ordered.
Our Veterans gave us so much more than we gave back.

How lucky are we that there were men and women (and still are men and women) standing in front of us, in front of those who cannot fight back........in order to give us our comforts, our freedoms, our safety.

We are damn lucky!
Thank you to our Veterans.

I can see my kitchen counter!
Not only can I see it, but it now has a toaster and a blender on it. And they are plugged in ready for use!
What's taking me so long to get things settled you ask?
I'm not in a hurry....that's it.

So much has happened since moving closer to family and friends.
2 very good friends and an Aunt have passed away.
My sons have been handling work and wrapping up their degrees. I do my best to assist with what they cannot get done.
My youngest sons fiance got a promotion, she is going for her Masters and her Mom was put in a facility. So we are all pitching in for her as well.
Work keeps me busy. But you know I love it!
I am happy to be closer to the father of my sons (the ex) because when he is sick and cannot walk, it's only 30 minutes to him, not 2 hours.

I predict that the apartment will be ready for visitors in about 3 weeks.

YAH!

Funerals and those who attend. We all attend for different reasons. The first funeral I attended was my sisters. I was in my mid twenties. When she was killed it was devastating and I didn't think that I could attend or even want to attend another funeral no matter who had passed away. One of the reasons I didn't know if I could attend another one was because I laughed at G's wake. Some of you members will remember this.

All of my sisters, my brother and I were holding hands as we walked up to the casket. We were not expecting to see Sister G in make up. She never wore it. Not even lipstick. Anyhoo, we walked up, looked in and were speechless. No one spoke and we all looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Then we looked back down at her and Sister J (the oldest) said "What the fuck did they do to G?" Then we started to laugh. G had this big bouffant hairdo and so much makeup on that she made Tammy Faye Baker look like a natural beauty.
During the funeral and the wake, our Aunt S kept telling us that we shouldn't have come if all we were going to do was laugh. Of course we didn't laugh during the prayers. That to me would have been crass. Anyhoo, we were asked why we were there if we didn't take it seriously. G would have wanted us to laugh. The woman was a hoot! My Aunt S has since passed away. And guess what? Her daughters didn't show up.

The topic of this is: Why are you here?

I heard that question again during the wake and the funeral of a very good last Friday and Thursday. It was dejavu and I was thrown back in time to my sisters funeral.

A woman of 95 yrs was in attendance. She was the woman who held the Bible Study Classes on the block. The deceased had been her neighbour for over 40 years, so of course she would be there. W. sat in the corner of the viewing room and read her bible. So when the question arose as to why was she there if she wasn't going to talk to anyone or view R, it lead me and others to say that we're all there for different reasons.

Out of all of the funerals I have attended over the years, I pretty much know the reasons why people attend them.
*They have to attend.
*Want to attend.
*Love
*To see old friends.
*To meet new ones.
*Business contacts.
*The one who passed was a dear life long friend.
*See who has changed over the years.
*Curiosity over how the deceased looks. (morbid but true)
*The food afterwards.
*The booze afterwards.
*Work acquaintance.
*Get out of work.
*A chance to get out of town (if you live out of town)
*Meet and pick up others. (I was hit on at a funeral 12 years ago by the deceased cousin)
*Respect.
*To make sure an enemy is really gone (yes, it's true)
*To spit on the grave (another twisted but true reason)
*To see fashions.
*Pretend that they liked the person who died.
*To commit a crime.
*See how much was spent on the funeral.
*Criticize other family members and friends.
*Look good in front of other family members and friends.
*And if it's a celebrity, the photographers show up for headlines and who's who of stars.

Did I miss anything?

I hope R tells his wife, my friend, hello for me and gives her a kiss for all of us. Rest in peace, R. You're home and back in bed with Delia.

I was with a group of friends tonight and a subject was brought up about kids. During a conversation with a friend of a friend, I was asked how many children I have. I said "two sons" When the conversation was over, my personal friend asked me why I didn't mention the son that was still born? I was taken back by that. It has never been brought up to me bfore. Not even by my family. My friend thinks that I should say that I have 3 sons but one passed away. She asked me why I didn't say that? I asked her why should I? Her thoughts were out of pride. My thoughts are all about my privacy and the fact that I don't feel the need to open up a wound. I haven't forgotten about the child who would have been my first son. I spend a quiet moment with him on Mom's day, but that is just for me.

Thoughts?

One of my favorite hobbies is photography. I have dabbled in it for years. I had given away many of my photos, but when I was commissioned in 2012 by the department for some of my photos, it gave me professional status. I had put my hobby on hold when I moved last year and it has been hard for me to not carry my camera around. But things are about to change! It is time to spend my weekends and nights looking and discovering new sights. There is a reason why I am getting back to my fun.

Today I received a text from a woman in Pacific Grove. She said that she was a friend of a friend and that she was interested in seeing some of my sunrise fog photos. I adore natural sunlight because it shapes the photo for you. It's a random draw on what the sun will show or hide. It can be a silhouette, a partial view, a surprise scene that you didn't notice in the lens or it can be abstract. You can never plan for a natural sun photo. The sun chooses it for you. I like that roulette will of photography.

The fog photos are some of my favorite views.
There you are walking along the sand and everything is dark and murky. The mist is dewy and sweet on your skin. But then the sun starts to rise and it becomes clear that a fight will ensue. Slowly and teasingly the sun parts the mist. The tease is warm and the fight between dew and light take on a battle of wills. The sun always wins out, like a lover fighting to kiss your skin as if it has been years since you last saw them.

Anyhoo, back to why I am blogging. The buyer is interested in putting 4 of my photos in her office.

Here is just one of the photos I am sending her.
Taken in Santa Cruz, CA. 2013.