Memorial Day 2009

Every year for the last 5 or 6 years, we have gone over to Los Osos to attend the Memorial Day ceremony at the Los Osos Valley Cemetery. It's always very inspiring.

There are patriotic songs by the Gold Coast Choir,

Patriotic music by the SLO County Band,

Sky Divers

Vintage Planes flying overhead

Laying wreaths

Gun Salutes

And of course, lots of flags!

Then we find a nice place for lunch afterwards! This year it was the Bayside Cafe in Morro Bay.

Maverick, the official Bayside greeter, was stressed out as usual!

It was a very nice outing!

Here are some ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) I have received in a trade. Pretty cute, aren't they!

Paso Robles Art Festival

Today we went to the Paso Robles Festival of the Arts held in the town park. It was a lovely day for an outdoor festival, sunny, but cool. This was the first time the festival has been held - it replaced a vintage car gathering which was held every year on Memorial Day weekend, but was cancelled a couple of years ago because it grew a little "rowdy". (Meaning, it was costing the city more to hire extra police to take care of all the drunk and disorderly participants.) This new event was very well mannered and calm! No liquor was sold, so people had to get intoxicated by the art!

It coincided with the opening of a new art center, housed in a previous auto parts building. It will be studios where artists will have their workshops, and will have classrooms and exhibits. I was really impressed with the studio. It's large and airy, and will have 15 or so studios where artists will be creating their art. I loved the "desk" in the entry - the front part of an old car, keeping with the original use of the building. I think this will be a real asset to Paso.

Downtown Paso is looking very chic.....The two building destroyed in the 03 San Simeon earthquake have been rebuilt. One of the them is the "signature" building - the old clock tower building. They did a good job of making the new building look very similar to the original.

And the original Carneige Library, which was used by the historical museum, has finally been repaired and retrofitted after the earthquake. It's good to see the construction fences removed from around the building
This building is right across the street from the park. It was originally a hot springs spa....Paso Robles was famous for it's mineral hot springs. The 03 earthquake cracked open the parking lot of the present library and opened up another hot springs there! They haven't quite decided what to do with it, so it's in the middle of the parking lot, fenced off. Some days you can smell the sulphur when you go into the library. This building now has a lovely quilt shop, and a wonderful candy store.
I couldn't resist taking a photo of these lovely ladies, who were performing with a Ballet Folklorico. Their dresses were spectacular.

There were many wonderful paintings - most of them landscapes . I hope the artists had a good day and sold many of their paintings. I thought the following artist's work was most unusual - she calls it "Aerial Landscapes" - very abstract. This painting was of the Salinas river going through Paso Robles.

Anyway, I was impressed with how vibrant Paso is looking nowadays. There is a new boutique hotel just a block away from the park, and many wine tasting shops have opened downtown. Paso is surely trying to live up to being the "Next Napa"! Last weekend was the Paso Robles Wine Festival - one of the largest outdoor wine events in California. There are many excellent restaurants (we do our best to try them all out!) Anyway, it's becoming quite a charming little town.

Lucky Duck

This is a great story that I received as an email from a friend.

True Duck Story from San Antonio , Texas Something really cute happened in downtown San Antonio this week. Michael R. is an accounting clerk at Frost Bank and works there in a second story office. Several weeks ago, he watched a mother duck choose the concrete awning outside his window as the unlikely place to build a nest above the sidewalk. The mallard laid ten eggs in a nest in the corner of the planter that is perched over 10 feet in the air. She dutifully kept the eggs warm for weeks, and Monday afternoon all of her ten ducklings hatched.Michael worried all night how the momma duck was going to get those babies safely off their perch in a busy, downtown, urban environment to take to water, which typically happens in the first 48 hours of a duck hatching. Tuesday morning, Michael watched the mother duck encourage her babies to the edge of the perch with the intent to show them how to jump off. Office work came to a standstill as everyone gathered to watch..The mother flew down below and started quacking to her babies above. In disbelief Michael watched as the first fuzzy newborn trustingly toddled to the edge and astonishingly leapt into thin air, crashing onto the cement below. Michael couldn't stand to watch this risky effort nine more times! He dashed out of his office and ran dow! n the stairs to the sidewalk where the first obedient duckling, near its mother, was resting in a stupor after the near-fatal fall. Michael stood out of sight under the awning-planter, ready to help.As the second one took the plunge, Michael jumped forward and caught it with his bare hands before it hit the concrete. Safe and sound, he set it down it by its momma and the other stunned sibling, still recovering from that painful leap. (The momma must have sensed that Michael was trying to help her babies.)One by one the babies continued to jump. Each time Michael hid under the awning just to reach out in the nick of time as the duckling made its free fall. At the scene the busy downtown sidewalk traffic came to a standstill. Time after time, Michael was able to catch the remaining eight and set them by their approving mother.

At this point Michael realized the duck family had only made part of its dangerous journey. They had two full blocks to walk across traffic, crosswalks, curbs and past pedestrians to get to the closest open water, the San Antonio River , site of the famed "River Walk." The onlooking office secretaries and several San Antonio police officers joined in. An empty copy-paper box was brought to collect the babies. They carefully corralled them, with the mother's approval, and loaded them in the container. Michael held the box low enough for the mom to see her brood. He then slowly navigated through the downtown streets toward the San Antonio River . The mother waddled! behind and kept her babies in sight, all the way.

As they reached the river, the mother took over and passed him, jumping in the river and quacking loudly. At the water's edge, Michael tipped the box and helped shepherd the babies toward the water and to the waiting mother after their adventurous ride.All ten darling ducklings safely made it into the water and paddled up snugly to momma. Michael said the mom swam in circles, looking back toward the beaming bank bookkeeper, and proudly quacking. At last, all present and accounted for: "We're all together again. We're here! We're here!"

And here's a family portrait before they head outward to further adventures...

Like all of us in the big times of our life, they never could have made it alone without lots of helping hands. I think it gives the name of San Antonio 's famous "River Walk" a whole new meaning! Maybe you will want to share this story with others.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's..........a blimp

We were working in the yard this morning, when I noticed this blimp silently floating by! Here are some photos of my little garden patch. The hollyhocks are almost ready to bloom, the coreopsis are going to be awesome, and I have sunflowers and cosmos coming up. Most everything in the garden survived from last year, but I did put in the sunflower and cosmos seeds. I also planted the poppy strips that Jane gave me awhile back - hope they come up! They're in that bare corner.

My vegetable garden consists of 2 tomatoe plants and 2 parsleys and some chives. I got tired of feeding all the bunnies and deer in the neighborhood!

And one last photo - I had to crop this one a lot so it's not too clear, but here is a shot of Wiley Coyote trotting across the hill near our house. He looks pretty well-fed - I hope it's from ground squirrels and grophers, not kitties!

Day in the Shade - Templeton Park

Once a year in May there is an art/craft show in the park in Templeton. It's always fun to go and browse around. My favorite booth is the guy who takes old silverware, and items and makes windchimes, lawn ornaments, jewelry, etc.

I really liked this carved roadrunner!

These are photos that have been enlarged and printed on canvas, then stretched on frames like paintings. They are really interesting.

A photo of 3 pelicans that I thought was quite nice.Ponies to ride Reflective Art

Trip to Nipomo

I still go to the same dentist in Nipomo, so once every 4 months I trek down south for a cleaning and check-up. Here are some photos I took along the way.

Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise tweaked in Adobe Elements Bales of Hay - round and rectangular. Mom says that cows don't like the round bales of hay. Are you ready for this...........................................?

It's because they can't get a square meal!

And last, but not least, the beach at the end of Grand Avenue in Grover Beach. This is one of the entrances to the State Park. You can actually drive your car/truck/ATV on the beach for a couple of miles.

Fusing Plastic Bags

This is for Janie - this will show you how to fuse plastic bags. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNziDXtm1SA

Another FAT Trade

I belong to a group called Fiber Art Traders (FAT for short!). The latest trade is called a "trashy clutch". The challenge is to make a clutch bag out of recycled plastic bags. So, you begin by fusing plastic bags together by ironing (between paper or you'll end up with a real mess on your iron and ironing board!) The resulting piece can then be painted, sewn, etc. Here is my first attempt at a "trashy clutch". I painted my clutch turquoise, then used 2 stamps to stamp designs using burnt orange acrylic paint. I sewed fabric on the back, then sewed on different ribbons and silver rickrack and used an old earring for the dangle on the closure. Oh yes, a little glitter paint to finish it off! and TA DA.....a trashy clutch for trading!

Dancing in the Station

You've heard of dancing in the street, but how about in the Station. This is fun to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM

Saturday Farmers' Market in Templeton

Every Saturday all year long, there is a Farmers' Market at the park in Templeton. This is the best place to get fresh, beautiful produce that's in season. Mom and I went over this morning to pick up some beets, snap peas, cabbage, lettuce and strawberries. Booths line two sides of the big park, and besides veggies and fruits, you can get organically raised beef, honey, roses, baked goods, tamales, nuts, plants, handmade soaps, listen to music, watch people and generally have a fun morning! This park is a great meeting place - in the summer on Wednesdays, there are free concerts underneath the big shady trees. There is a public swimming pool in one corner, and a playground in another corner. It's a well used and loved park and a center of the community. Next weekend there will be a big art show in the park.....we'll be there!