The day.,,

And the result

Now for the borders

Mid-Year Report Card and Goals

My NUMBER ONE post in January (1/1/12) listed my goals for the year. I said that I was bypassing the moon and shooting straight for Jupiter. So how'd I do?  In a word: FABULOUS! I have not met even one of the goals I set for myself! Why is this fabulous?  Because of what I've learned.

I've learned that I like to take a picture to document something or another, but that I'm just not that into photography. Really. And that's perfectly OK with me!  I've learned that being a non-consumer is not part of my being. There are many things I have to be strong about: buying fabric, yarn, and new clothes for a smaller me are not included in the "be strong" arena.  I've learned that the only way to de-clutter successfully is to make sure I don't add anything new to the pile. I've gotten really good at this part, and really HAVE de-cluttered A LOT so far this year. As for the quilt-of-the-week, well, that really suffered a set-back when I was traveling for 3 months - and THAT is perfectly OK with me!! The travel was just so great! Most importantly I've learned that setting outrageous, Jupiter-like goals will help me weed out what is and is not important to me.

So here it is at mid-year and I'm ready to set a new goal. FINISH! I'm going to work on finishing up the stacks-o-projects that accumulate around those of us that love to sew/quilt/stitch/journal/and-just-about-any-other-craft. Of course I certainly would not be able to finish all the stacks by the end of the year (which speaks volumes to what I have sitting around, doesn't it?) but I AM going to work on making a rather large. I'm also going to try to avoid starting anything new, which will be very hard for me. Will I make it? Stay tuned!!

xoxoxo

The Act of .....

I've discovered that I like "the act of" doing something. I like the act of writing when I do my Morning Pages each day. It doesn't matter that most days there's nothing but drivel in the MPs: the physical act of writing with pen and paper is enough to satisfy me.

I walk 7 miles most days now. When I started (NOT at 7 miles! just 2), it was to lose weight. Now I walk because I enjoy the act of walking. I like feeling my muscles move. I like being outside with no distractions (I'm not an outdoorsy person, but I enjoy the walks each day) (make that "most days").

I enjoy the act of making quilts. (OK not ALL the steps involved - but most of them.) It doesn't matter to me that they have no intended purpose. It's the act itself that is vital to me.

I've learned that "the act of..." is sometimes all that matters. I've stopped feeling weird that some act I do has no purpose other than the act itself.

If you're "beating yourself up" like I used to .... STOP!

xoxoxo

Day 27 - My morning walk

I thought I'd take you along on my walk thru Pacific Grove this morning.

I love interesting trees! 

Calla lilies grow wild here, as well as all the cultivated clumps. They're everywhere.

I have no idea what this plant is, but I love it!

 I also love it in this color.

Almost all the houses have these wonderfully neat gardens that require very little water. Water conservation is a big, big thing here in California.

The houses are tiny, but adorable!

Even the businesses fit into the landscape of the town.

This is one of the "main drags" here in PG. Parking is in the middle of the street as well as along both avenues.

The most fun store (or .... "funnest", in the current slang) you'll ever visit! (Find them on Facebook - Tessuti Zoo)

The concrete whale at the museum. You can see whales offshore here.

See how tiny the houses are? Of course there are some large ones, but most are about this size.

The two-stories look bigger, but they're really just taller. So cute!!

Could you just eat up this adorable place?

Or how about a tiny little hacienda?

I've finished the "through town" part, now it's on to the beach!

See the mountains across the way?

This is "Lover's Point"

Looking back to town from the point

The tip of the point. I think you can click on the pic to enlarge. The first "thing" on the rocks is a fat squirrel. Way out is a man fishing. Yikers!

Two more guys fishing. Man they're brave!!!

Just capturing all the houses along the road.  They are all across the road from the ocean. Only 1 is on the ocean side.

There's a lot more to my walk than this, but this post is gonna be pretty big because of all these pics, so I'll leave you here at about the halfway mark and pick up again tomorrow.  Are you starting to see how easy it would be to live here? So beautiful!!! Until tomorrow .....

..... thanks for stopping by!

Day 25 - My Morning Walk

A beautiful walk here in Pacific Grove, CA this morning. Clear skies. Chilly and windy. But beautiful! Some eye candy for you:

Just couldn't resist this pic

Taken from the beach walk. What a house! What a view they have!

Beautiful but treacherous!

Don't slip while walking!!!!

Yep ... the walk is right along the waves and rocks

....except when it's not

Earth guts everywhere! But beautiful blue-green seas

I have always loved how the wind shapes the trees. Just as beautiful here as along the Florida coast.

I think I could have kept walking for another 2 hours! So beautiful! How I would love to live here!!!

Not much going on except sewing and classes, walking and seeing the deer. I'm trying not to go out to eat too often but there sure are some great places to eat in this tiny burg! Tomorrow I will go have a splurge breakfast at First Awakenings in Monterey (3 minutes to my right - Pebble Beach is 3 minutes to my left) - AFTER my walk!! (Hmm.... maybe I should walk after that breakfast as well!!)

Two more weeks here. Heaven! Then off to more heaven in Carmel-by-the-sea.  Ah .......

Thanks for stopping by!!

Day 20 - Pacific Grove, CA

Actually I've been here since Sunday (day 18). The drive south from San Ramon to here is another spectacular one. If you have never been the Central Coast California, you cannot imagine the beauty you see here. Lush green rolling hills everywhere - with the occasional cow (how do they keep their balance up there??). It's indescribably beautiful.

Now I am in the middle of the first quilting class here at Asilomar Conference grounds, thoroughly enjoying myself. The grounds are on the Pacific, on the Monterey peninsula. More spectacular scenery. Every day!

My journey so far: jacksonville to pacific grove  Miles traveled: 3029  Gas costs so far: unknown!!!! (but worth every penny).

I'm in Pacific Grove until April 13. I'll keep you posted on my class projects, the deer roaming around, and anything else that might be interesting.  I just started reading "The Hunger Games" (there's no TV here - it's very restful.) I just have to know what all the buzz is about, so I'm off to read a little more. Till the next time ....

Thanks for stopping by!!

Days 14 thru 17 - San Ramon, CA

Man these past few days have flown by! I left Las Vegas & ended up driving all the way to Kathy (Burkle)'s house in San Ramon, CA ...

.... (a little over 500 miles) and we've been going non-stop ever since.

The scenery between the two points is really beautiful. From Las Vegas to just beyond Tehachapi all looks like this:

 .... how could you not enjoy the drive? Take I-15 out of Vegas toward California sometime - it's gorgeous!

It's very chilly here, but we are headed out again! So I'll cut this short here and post more later today.

A couple of shots from our walk yesterday (this is where Kathy  lives - beautiful, huh?). I broke my phone on the walk,

which let to quite the day at the Mac store, but I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!!