Herend hand-painted tureen with lemon finial...I love to set a beautiful table on Thanksgiving--a favorite thing. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! This is a wonderful holiday without bounds of creed, politics or location. I'm so grateful for the blessings in my life today and hope you take a moment to reflect on your blessings as well. There is much to concern us in the world today, but just a moments reflection can put them in the proper perspective. Just for today, count your many blessings one by one--it may help you to see things differently tomorrow and beyond, as well. We tend to get caught up in the 'thick of thin things' and forget those people and things that matter most. Smile--life is beautiful!

Hugs to all!

Oh Fractious Days

My secret garden--a respite of peace on a difficult day.......

Oh fractious days! I feel like I'm watching a mob of two year olds throwing temper tantrums because they didn't get their way, so now they want to change the rules again! Freedom of Speech is a wonderful liberty, but roving mobs of hatemongers defacing and damaging private property, threatening businesses, churches and individuals, and generally throwing a 'hissy fit' ,as my mother used to call it, is wrong and irresponsible. People can disagree without being disagreeable, acting with dignity and restraint. I can't help but think that these gangs of intimidators need a mother and father to put them into time out, until they settle down, stop being bullies in the schoolyard, and learn to behave like responsible adults and good citizens...well, I'm not going to hold my breath on that happening anytime soon!

I'm not Henny Penny and the sky isn't falling...but it's sad, really, and my sorrow, watching from the sidelines such unbecoming vitriol spew forth, has really brought me down this week..but, I've had my good cry and I'm going go do something beautiful, nice and uplifting...and maybe make something of beauty from my stash to brighten my outlook. I'm also going to remember that 'pretty is as pretty does', and to look at the glass 'half full' and do the best I can to make the world a beautiful place of peace, serenity, comfort and love. Bah humbug to fractious days and fractious people!

Spectacular Saturday

Calm, sunny and warm today--a perfect Saturday for football! I might have mentioned before that my husband's family are huge USC fans--an over 70 year tradition in their family! So, it's off this afternoon to the USC-CAL game. The leaves on the oak trees that line our street are beginning to change, and my grape vines are browning, but other than that everything is still green and lush. Autumn is very subtle here in Southern California--we'll call it autumn-lite!

Gee, I didn't mean to go a whole week without checking in to say hi! The early part of the week--Monday and Tuesday, I spent working on 'get out the vote' here in California, but the rest of the week I have no excuse. I just wasn't too productive. I'm not sure you'd call it a 'well deserved' rest, but I was definitely deflating after a pretty intense political season. I'm glad to step away from all the hub bub. One of the wonderful traditions here is the peaceful transfer of power especially given the diversity of opinions and the strong feelings about the candidates and issues. I love my beautiful country and wish our new president elect well. There have been so many promises to so many, it will be interesting to see how we move forward from the tumult.

Ah, yes, jewelry--that is why you come here...nothing new yet, but I hope to get a few pieces ready to share this next week. In the meantime here is a bracelet I made with USC colors to wear to the game. Beautiful boro from Kim of kimbeads, citrine and pearl dangles. Fight On!

Rainy Saturday

Our pumpkins from last night--carving them is a family tradition we all look forward to!

We finally got a taste of autumn today with a windy, rainy day, and even some thunder and lightening--which we consider a rare treat along the coast of southern California. It wasn't quite a blustery day, but almost! My back yard is full of leaves and the dog and cat have been snuggled in the warm house all day, not at all interested in spending the afternoon outside and I couldn't agree more! My hubby and daughter went off to the coloseum to watch the USC Trojan's play football--it's that time of year, but I happily stayed behind with a cozy blanket and cup of hot cider for a lazy afternoon! I hope you are having just the kind of weekend you enjoy whatever that is. I'll try to have some new eye candy for you before this next week is over

Have you noticed that my blog has gotten several embellishments in the past couple of day? That is thanks to my friend Tiffany McCoy. You might know her for her fabulous lampwork--she's a superstar with reactive glass, and also a wizard on the computer. She's set me up with all sorts of widgets and I'm feeling much happier now about moving my blog and starting over. She has some pretty snazzy blogs of her own and a beautiful website--check out her goodies at http://tiffanymccoy.com/ (see that silverglass seashell--I have some of those!)