Today is the Day

Sunday, June 10th, 2012, our son, Jon graduated 

from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo!

Song - Pachelbel's Canon in D 

The graduates filing into the stadium....Jon is on the left with a blue tassel....do you see him?  I don't!

Jon waiting to present his speech

It was a beautiful, sunny day. And after the large assembly at the football field, we returned to a smaller, more intimate group at the IT (Industrial Technology) School of Business.

My new sun hat...

...modeled by Tyler!

Hats were a must ..... as it was HOT!
For all generations.

Grandpa Cal & Grandma Betty

Mr. B

White doves were set loose but I wasn't prepared with my camera and by the time I took a photo, they were in front of the sun.....kind of an arty photo!  Let's just call it that and pretend that I designed it that way!!

Speeches were made, diplomas were given out, photos were shot and hugs & handshakes were everywhere.

Jon receiving his diploma

Grandpa Cal, Jon & Grandma Betty

Megan & Jon

Jon & his brothers - Tyler & Andy

The whole happy family

Jon with his money lei that I made for him!

Me, Megan, Tyler, Grandpa Cal, Jon, Grandma Betty, Andy, Ashley & Mr. B

After the ceremony, we celebrated at a little outdoor restaurant across the creek from the Mission. Yummy food, great service and lovely ambiance!

The bridge takes you to the Mission and there are walking paths along the creek.

My baby boy is growing up - sniff!

Just when did THAT happen?

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." --- Alan Wilson Watts

Tapas, Bubble Gum & Cosmos

Song - Bazooka Bubble Gum by Tha Heights


It is so exciting and emotional to have your son (or daughter) graduating from college.

Jon is our middle son and the first of our children to graduate from college but I just didn't know.....How ....special....this would be!

All three of our sons are in San Luis Obispo for Jon's graduation as well as their girlfriends and my parents. What a quaint little college town!

We walked around downtown and shopped this afternoon.
We went to Luna Red for dinner tonight at the base of the SLO Mission. It was an eclectic mix of Tapas. Very tasty!

It was great to be with the family and to share old stories and reminisce
.
Afterward Mr. B went out with the youngsters. I took my parents to buy a hats, since tomorrow's graduation will be hot and out side.

Dad bought a fedora like Frank Sinatra and mom bought a light weight garden party hat! Very cute!!! I'll try and snap a photo tomorrow.


But.. Just after dinner we took my parents to.....

"Bubblegum Alley"

Lets leave it to say that they were not impressed!
Years of students leaving their bubblegum essence. Mmmm....

 

Some consider it historical, some consider it a landmark, some think it terribly unsanitary and others think of it as art!  

According to Wikipedia.....

History

According to the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Improvement Association, the history of who actually started this gum fiesta is "a little sketchy"^[3]. Some historians believe that the tradition of the Alley started after WWII as a San Luis Obispo High School graduating class event^[4]. Others believe it to have started in the late 1950s as rivalry between San Luis Obispo High School and Cal Poly students. As soon as the Poly students suspected that the high school was trying to out-do them on the gum walls, the college students stepped up their game and immediately became more creative, thus launching Bubblegum Alley^[3]. In any case, by the 1970s Bubblegum Alley was well under way. When shop owners complained that it was "unsanitary and disgusting"^[5], the alley underwent a full cleaning. The gum graffiti survived two full cleanings in the '70s^[3], but when, in 1996, the BIA attempted to have another full cleaning, it was not passed.

Recognition

Throughout the years, San Luis Obispo's Bubblegum Alley has been featured on a number of television shows, news programs, and in newspapers around the world. Newspapers such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have addressed the disgusts and delights of the gum wall visitors. Other newspaper articles have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Grand Rapids Press in Michigan, the Times Union from Albany, New York, and The Guardian in the United Kingdom. KSBY Action 6 News did a story about the alleyway and broadcast it nationally.^[6] TV crews filmed the alley for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, That's Incredible!, Real People, and on PBS^[5]. MTV featured Bubblegum Alley in the show Call to Greatness.^[7] The crew picked Bubblegum Alley to film the episode on breaking the world record for largest bubblegum bubble. It featured record holder Susan Montgumery Williams, or as she's known in the business, "Chewsy Suzy", and at the end of the show a graphic was shown that said that while she was there she blew a 24-inch (610 mm) bubble, which wasn't shown on TV (Her record bubble, which was blown on national TV in 1996, was 23 inches). ABC’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not also aired a story on October 14, 1984 about the alley. It was also featured on an episode of The Girls Next Door on E! and mentioned in an episode of "United States of Tara".

________________________________________________________________________________


We also celebrated my birthday when we returned to our hotel in Grover Beach.

Me (one year older) and Ashley!

Glow in the dark Cosmo shakers! What every girl needs.......

Brought one home - Come on by to help me celebrate!

Tomorrow Jon was asked to give a speech to the I.T. graduates.

I can hardly wait!

"The tassel's worth the hassle!"  ~Author Unknown

Dreams be dreams...

"When you change your choices, your circumstances change.

Small steps have a big impact.

Miracles happen regularly."

– Morgana Rae

What if?

What if we could change our planet one person at a time?

 

 Song - It's Not Easy Being Green - Kermit

Chive flower

I have a friend, Taya -  who just began a blog about composting, cooking and giving back to the earth.

http://meandmygreenbin.blogspot.com/


Hope you will check it out and say "Hi" to her for me!

A little friend on my tomato stakes

Meanwhile, I have had several friends and family members dealing with various surgeries and healing.


So last week Mr. B and I did up a few dinners to try and help out.

Mr. B marinaded flattened chicken overnight and then grilled it the next day. It was super moist and tasty.  Here is the link for Ina Garten's Tuscan Lemon Chicken

I made a Orzo Salad with Asparagus and tomato.  It was good but needs some livening up.  I would probably add more garlic and some Champagne Vinegar next time.

Orzo Salad with Tomatoes and Asparagus

I also found these cute little candle holders just that morning and they added a "Tuscan" feel with some garden Lavender and Lemons. 

So to bring it full circle....Taya inspired me to start composting again!

Go world!

 

“Grace is available for each of us every day - our spiritual daily bread - but we've got to remember to ask for it with a grateful heart and not worry about whether there will be enough for tomorrow.” - Sarah Ban Breathnach

Something Squirrely is Going On

Song - The Sounds of Spring - Bird Song

This is really a story of determination verses stupidity.  I am not sure which side I am on!

How do you keep squirrels away from your bird feeders?

I have spent - well, a lot on anti-squirrel devices.

It is not like I don't like squirrels as they are funny little characters but I am going broke buying birdseed! They will just hang upside down on one of my feeders and drain an entire feeder in a day or an hour.

Getting ready to attack a freshly filled feeder

Fill 'er up!

They lay in wait to see what I will come up with next.

Watching me through the kitchen window

I have bought domes and caged feeders.  I have even had two that would spin and supposedly send the squirrels flying.  I kinda liked that image - ha!

SloMo Squirrel Flung

I have tried pelting them with ice cubes figuring that it would at least water my garden when melted.  After breaking some garden lights, I decided that I needed a new approach.

"Hey Charlie, what do you suppose she will do now?"

I don't want to hurt them but I really want to discourage them from eating the birdseed.

Super Soaker to the rescue!

My two new anti-squirrel devices

The first one I bought was the pump action kind and by the time I got it pumped for power and firing, the squirrel would be gone (after having a good laugh at me!).


Then I decided to buy a battery operated one.  Perfect, I just pick it up and shoot.  Only problem was that the water was just a little light spray. 

Just waiting for the perfect moment to attack

The squirrels just lay on our pergola laughing and enjoy the cool mist that I am providing for them.  Ha Ha - the joke is now on me.

This one is giving me the "skank eye" and wondering what lame idea I will come up with next!

Shhh......

Don't tell them.....I have attack dogs.....

"But tomorrow, dawn will come the way I picture her.

barefoot and disheveled, standing outside my window

in one of the fragile cotton dresses of the poor.

She will look at me with her arms extended,

offering a handful of birdsong and a small cup of light."

--William Collins

Begin Again and Again

Song - John Lennon "Starting Over" 

This weekend I began three paintings.

I was so happy to have three full days of uninterrupted painting and I rushed in with a childlike eagerness. 

My reference materials were ready.

I had lot's of blank canvases and plenty of paint.

I was pumped up and was swimming with ideas.

Only thing was, none of them turned out like I envisioned.



Painting number one....was of two Peacocks outside a Parisian Orangery. After working on it for a full day, it just felt flat.  I want to paint something fun and different!

Painting number two....very different for me.  A combination of two photos.  One of the beach in Lake Tahoe, with the beautiful colors of water in the background and a sea shell from my collection that I photographed outside on my deck Sunday morning.  Voila!  Not quite. Something doesn't feel right and I am not sure what.  Is the shell too large?  Is it too "fussy"?  Maybe the shadow is too dark....or the wrong shape?  Since I was having trouble trying to figure out where to go with it, I went forth to a new large scale painting.

At this point it kinda felt like "Romey and Michele's High School Reunion" where they are going on a road trip but the car keeps dying on them.  It starts up, they turn on the radio, put it in gear and it dies again and again.  I just love that part, they have such enthusiasm....it has me laughing all over again! 


Oh yeah, back to my "backfires".





Painting number three.  Combining about five different photo's.

Never, ever a good idea........

All of the photo's are shot under different lighting.  How can I combine them and have it look natural?

Arrghhh...  I wanted bigger Adirondack chairs.  Maybe I should of turned it vertical instead of horizontal?  

So this morning my sweet "hunter-gatherer" - Mr. B took me to the Nursery.  I think I will go out and garden to get a new perspective on my life!

Maybe I should paint this pretty little Daylily? Mmmmm.....

“The problem is acceptance, 

which is something we're taught not to do. 

We're taught to improve uncomfortable situations, 

to change things, 

alleviate unpleasant feelings. 

But if you accept the reality 

that you have been given- 

that you are not in a productive creative period- 

you free yourself to begin filling up again.” 

― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life