The Temecula Rod Run

I have always loved cars.  I drove a Maverick when I was seventeen.  It raced like a dream.  It wasn't as pretty as the cars we saw at the rod run, but it was fun.
My nieces and nephew went too.  My nephew loves cars!  But he was intimidated by the large size of the automobiles in comparison to his matchbox's.




MAVERICK!!!!

My niece's well they loved the sunglasses.  Actually so did my nephew.  All in all we did have a fun time of it. We saw lot's of cars.  And enjoyed each others company.

Cute Little Boys

Here he is... my son the rock star.  Then about nineteen, now he is twenty-five.  I can't hardly wrap around the fact that he is a quarter of a century old already.  It feels like of course only yesterday, that I labored those thirty-six hours to reap the rewards of a beautiful bouncy baby boy.
He was a good baby for the most part sleeping through the night at two months.  But a bit of a monster walking at eight months being a marker for the many things he would do in life.
He jumped on a two wheeler at four and took of like a pro but  later in life was stunt riding and did what is called a cross over and landed hard enough to break his shoulder needing surgery he was seventeen.
He also rode skateboards from the young age of four, but at the age of eighteen decided to do a trick including a inner tube and landed breaking his other shoulder but did not require surgery this time.

continuing to be a daredevil of sorts he decided to walk on crutches like stilts.  I don't recommend this, especially if the cork is missing from the end.  He slipped and he sliced his finger open needing stitches inside and outside if his finger.  around thirty-six. severing nerves and all.  He also cracked his head real hard and needed stitches one night while play fighting with a buddy, boys are fun.  All in all he has been hardy and full of life, fun to have and a real challenge. To make matters worse he decided well I guess he didn't decide but he did get an appendicitis when he was seventeen.  This to add to his collection of scars.  Yes he has been a boy through and through.  You would think he was done now that he is twenty-five, but he still rides bikes, rides skateboards and scooters.  And he rides them with a vengeance.  Yes he was a cute little boy.  But... look out for those cute little boys!

A Love for All Times

It all started when she was about twelve.  She read a book, then saw a movie.  It was called the Outsiders.  She loved Pony boy, but really loved Johnny played by Ralph Macchio.

  A love affair of devotion and admiration soon began.  As she watched the Outsiders repeatedly until she could recite the dialog verbatim.  She read the book over and over again as she loved the story as well,  She loved the message of the outsiders story, but she actually was wanting to see her Ralph in action over and over again.

After a bit of time there came another movie it was called The Karate Kid.  Now she had a whole new way to enjoy her favorite actor.  He did wax on wax off like no one else could.  and his stance in the eagle kick was one of a kind!  She watched Karate Kid one, two, and three, with me actually, and oddly enough I was about five months pregnant each time.  So I guess I was having a love affair of my own.  Lourie hung pictures of Ralph all over her room.  She found him most delicious.  His boyish looks and hero type rolls made him number one in her eyes.   

     For years a torch was carried and sincere adoration for this guy she didn't even know.  Now grown he showed up on Ugly Betty a show Lourie watches.  I am sure her heart fluttered and she felt a tug when she got to see her old friend.  The part seemed short lived.  But Ralph still played a hero, an honest, kind, person.  And he still has his boyish charm and good looks.

 Oh for the days of the Outsiders.  When Johnny saved the children from the burning fire.  The days of childhood crushes, of loves you thought where real and would last forever.  And if only you could actually meet this guy it would be magic.
    Oh how Ralph was her dream date.  But no more.  She still loves the Outsiders though and passed that love onto her daughter.  Now there is a love that has last forever.

Aunt Geoff and Uncle Phylis

Many years ago, as was this photo taken, however the picture is older than the names, my then little girl, Nicole, age about four called these two Aunt Geoff and Uncle Phylis.
The little guy in their arms is their first born Chris.  Anyway I bring up Aunt Geoff and Uncle Phylis on Valentine's Day becuase I learned a sweet story about them. 
It is almost as sweet as their names.
Uncle Geoff told me that when Phylis' Grandfather came home from ww1 it was on Valentine's day and they had a special celebration. 
They made fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and a special two layer heart shaped devils food cake with pudding filling. 
Well the tradition kept on with her parents on Valentine and I was speaking to "Aunt" Geoff this morning and he was looking for the heart shaped pan for the cake as they have carried out the tradition of Phylis' family as well all these years.  I didn't ask but I do wish I had I wonder if her daughter Joann keeps it up?

A Family Affair

 

This is a family portrait of my dad's family taken around Christmas time 1946.  It is complete minus the youngest child Shelley born late in life in 1951 as a complete surprise to her parents.  Now going from left to right we have Annie second born, A kind and loving mother of four she ended up having to move back home after a bitter divorce and so I got to know her and her two daughters well.  Her sons stayed in New York with their dad.  next in line is Ruby, oh how special she was fifth born but a twin to my father she never married and kind of adopted my brother, sister and I as her surrogate children and showered us with love and attention.  Sadly she died from cancer at the age of 40 we all missed her greatly.  Next comes Emery he was born sixth he was a showman.  He always seemed to be quoting Shakespeare but was actually just being eccentric in speech.  He showed his love, but was a quiet and private man.  Again we lost him to cancer as well only last year.  whose next?  My dad He is a twin, He is funny he has a great sense of humor.  He takes good care of his family.  He always makes sure their needs are met.  He was fourth born but only by minutes.  then My uncle Bud, His real name was Frank junior but we always called him Bud affectionately.  He was third born.  Now he was always ready with a joke, a corny one, but a joke.  He too never married, or had kids of his own and cared for my brother a sister and I with extra love and attention.  Believe it or not He died only three years ago from cancer.  we were all very sad at the loss.  Finally is Freda, first born, she died of cancer at the age of 27  and none of my siblings or I ever met her.  I was told she was very vibrant and full of life and very fun to be around.  The aunt not in the picture is my Aunt Shelley she gives great bear hugs and rode skate boards when they were new. she fell in love with a man who died in the Vietnam war.  she is currently marreid and living in Arizona with her husband and three greyhound dogs.  She rescues them.

 

I tell you this tale not to make you feel sad for those we have lost but to share with you all the love we have had.  this is a picture from 2003  when we gathered to celebrate the life of a super great lady my grandmother.  We weren't all there in fact two of my own children weren't able to come just my youngest Nicky came with me and my mom, also my brother and dad and mom came.  It was a day of honoring the memory and family that had been so special and the family ties that proved to be special still.  

The children, the grandchildren, the great grandchildren, and the great great grandchildren that were there all shared a common bond.  And yes my Grandma had lived to meet everyone who was in attendance that day.

It is amazing what happens when two people fall in love and join together to become one, they may become many.

Don't do this, Do do that

I'm new at this so I am giving Mama kat's writing Prompt a try.  I decided to write a list of do's and don'ts.  Now I am a fairly serious person although my family might say I more so am a person with a big sense of humor.  Which is true, I do like to joke around, but I like to look at life as though I could learn and teach from every thing in it.  So bearing this in mind here is my list.

Don't kick your sibling so hard you break your bones

don't be so afraid to fail that you don't try to succeed

don't be in a hurry and miss what is right in front of you

don't run in the rain you'll get wetter than just walking in it 

don't think one cookie spoils your whole diet

don't underestimate the power of a mother
don't back up your car without looking behind you
don't take the blame to cover up for someone else
don't marry someone you only met through the mail
don't throw rocks at people just in rivers
don't put yourself down
don't settle for less, you are always worth it         don't smoke if you do stop if you don't don't ever start!!!

Do love your Kids(family)                       do live life, don't just exist
do love yourself                                       do all you can to be all you can YOU CAN
do be brave                                             do be silly, or funny people will laugh with you not at you
do know you are not alone                       do exercise  the sooner the better
do play, laugh, and love everyday             do eat healthy and be strong in body
do read, watch t.v., relax                          do what you can to believe in yourself 
I think these are pretty good do's and don'ts  I hope to strive to live by them myself some I already do some I am working Towards.  As far as smoking I quit and it was the best thing I have done for myself in years.  

Trying to keep up... Wordless Wenesday tada!

Back when there were film camera's

yes, film and even black and white. My two year old was a perfect model when I took a photography class and used a sinlge reflective lens with thirty-five millimeter film.I also developed the negatives and the print myself. It was difficult to expose the print at her arm because it was so bright. The answer was to dodge and burn a technique of the darkroom. I loved to take, and develope my own pictures. I wish I still could It's even better than photoshop.

more rain droplets

As the wind blew softly through the trees
the clouds billowed brilliantly through the sky's sea
then with gales forces came the wind and rain
softly then the drops fell on the petals waiting for a drink
when the cloud bursts were over, and the wind stilled
the rose petals glistened in the shining suns glow
with each drop of water that touched the precious rose.

oh what beauty was beheld, from such a torrid storm,
the rose stood like a reminder The calm after the storm

my kitty "Patches"

My kitty, Patches, well you have to know she is the best right? she is also the prettiest. She never would cause any trouble no never. Actually she is very particular she only likes me. She rarely let's anyone else pet her.
Also she hisses at the other two cats even Sativa which she has known from when Sativa was a kitten. Patches was queen of the house and the only cat for the first seven years of her life. She is now ten and thinks she still needs to rule the roost.
You can just look at her picture and see it in her demeanor that she thinks she's all that and more. oh but I do love my kitty.
When she was six months old she got out of my apartment. She was missing for a whole week. When a neighbor showed up at my door with her asking if she was mine I cried I couldn't believe my eyes or luck!
She has never ventured outdoors again, I think it scared her sufficiently, all three of our cats are completely indoor kitty's, and could you imagine if they were to get out right now in the rain???
why they would melt!!!

introducing Sumo

Introducing Sumo!! He is actually my brothers Cat, but needs to be introduced. I feed him, I clean his poo, I clean his hair ball barfs, occasionally I brush him, and I of course daily give him love and attention. For all intents and purposes he is as much mine as he is Micheals.
I love him as if he were mine. I have photographed him many times. He sleeps real funny. He wieghs a whopping 16 pounds and could actoully grow some more even though he is four years old already.
He is a maine coon with his wild cat features and long thick coat, he loves to play and often play fights with the girls (sativa and Patches), Sativa returns the fun, Patches just hisses at him and asks him to go away.
Sumo looks very regal, but don't let that fool you he is a very silly cat in fact he thinks he is a dog! He greets everyone who comes to the door and will even jump in their laps. He always wants to be in your lap and in your face. He follows you around like a puppy, correction he follows me around like a puppy.
He also begs and wants his belly rubbed, silly cat! I do love him though. He is a very cool kitty.

heres looking at you...

A black cat is supposed to be bad luck... well she is just about the sweetest little girl that there is.
She crosses my path often but mostly she sits in my lap. She is easy to photograph she loves the camera and the camera loves her.
It has been determined she is part Bombay, I don't think she is pure bred, she is a mutt but she definitely has some of the breed in her.
Her copper eyes glow an eerie green when light shines in them, they are pretty either way. This close up shot of her face is a favorite of my Micky Mouse which is my daughters nickname, it is her cat sort of, I gave her an eight by ten of the picture for her birthday and she loved it.
she doesn't mind if this black cat crosses her path either, she just thinks that this sweet kitty is special and good luck all around.

my best friends

I was born five years before my little sister. It made me feel great disdain for this little intruder who was taking over all of my moms time and energy. And to make it worse this little monster cried and made messes. She was a tool.
As she grew it seemed to get worse because her cuteness improved as her crying lessened and she began to speak. One might think when she started to play I would have liked her more, but no she stole my best friend. Who unfortunately thought she made a good toy.
As years turned my little intruder into a teenager I was becoming a young adult. I started to become friends with our mother. Best friends. I still felt a burning Jealousy for my sister and fought so viciously with her that I broke my big toe kicking her and she broke her finger defending herself from me.
slowly however there came a time when we started to talk, to share moments. And we were even in each others wedding. I think the time we spent apart was when we began to grow the closest.
Now that little intruder is one of my best friends. I don't let much more than a day go by without talking to her. We go out to lunch with our other best friend (our mom) and we also go shopping and to museums and other fun adventures.
I am so grateful that my parents had the thought to have this little intruder come into our lives. though there were many bumps and bruises, I am so very Grateful for her now.

Ten things I learned since I became a Mother

I heard there was a writing prompt to name ten things you've learned since you became a mother so I decided to take that challenge.
The three loves of my life... what I have learned from them is priceless.

1. first of all I learned unconditional love knows no bounds
2. I learned that your example is only so much they become their own individual person.
3. your child does become your friend
4. only fight the battles worth fighting
5. it cost a lot of money to raise a child to 18 and so on
6. children can really make you smile
7. you lift them up but they also lift you up
8. giving to them is easy and simple cause all they really need is love
9. letting them grow up is hard
10. and from my grandma I learned, first you worry about your kids, then your kids kids, then your kids kids kids, and I am really looking forward to that.
    

every drop a thing of beauty

after a harsh rain the tree was full of droplets of water and the sun was perched perfectly to shine through everyone. It was difficult to get a good shot of the tree to show what was really going on. But I sure tried. This is one of the better shots.

The legend Of Sleepy Hollow revisited

The fog had drifted in only to make a mask of fear drift over the morning as well. There were creaks and squeaks, there were frightening sounds coming from the blankness that hovered in the woods this morning.

A trip to the duck pond

MY cousins little girl is sure cute, Alex is a great model. we spent the day at the duck pond and I took lot's of pictures of this picturesque little girl. she Played with feeding the ducks leaves. and giggled and laughed the whole time. She makes every outing fun, and every picture perfect!

The Girls

This is my favorite photo of patches and sativa. I took it when in a rare moment the shared the same space.
Patches has grown up with me I got her when she was six weeks old she is now ten years old! Sativa well she is still a baby at three years old but we have had her since she was just four weeks old.
Both are very loved, Sativa is the more lovey cat, while Patches prefers her Independence. But she definitely chooses me as the person to be with. So you know who's who, Patches is the pretty one.