the end of summer campfire

 

 On the last Friday before the nephew a-go-go returned to school, we a-go-gos packed up a plethora of snacks, beverages and other bits of goodness and hit the beach for an end of summer weenie roast.

 

 

 

It was overcast and cool, then hot, then cool again and then cold once the sun set. We were prepared though with umbrellas, sunscreen, jackets and a campfire.

 

 

 

 

There was digging and reading and chatty-chat chatting with a walk to the pier and a gape at the mad number of pelicans diving into the sea. Sadly we were too far north to see any whales but we did see some sea lions and the aforementioned pelicans.

 

 

 

 Hot dogs were roasted, s'mores were enjoyed and ghost stories were read. It was the perfect tribute to the summer's end...a-go-go style.

in gammy beaujolais 's garden

 Last Sunday mister and I drove down to Los Angeles to bid farewell to a woman who has greatly inspired me. Mother to my roomie and dearest neighbor-friend, Carol (who wished to be called Gammy Beaujolais by her grandsons) was a laugh and a half. Full of humor and creativity, Carol gave me a home when I needed a safe place after a heartbreaking time. I spent many days in her garden, surrounded by cats, the sound of wind chimes and fountains, drinking icy-iced water with lemon as I sat in her shabby chic garden chairs before shabby chic was a household phrase; chatting with her as she simultaneosuly cared for her plants and pulled at her hair. I spent almost a year hunkered down in her spare room with a hippie bedspread tacked across the wall full of windows, my quilt topped bed as my throne, a trunk as my bureau,  and a rolling rack of vintage dresses ready to be worn. I had no phone and no plan and loved every minute I spent there. It was a time of reflection and figuring out who I was and I do not think I would be the me that I am had I not had those lovely days spent in her company and in her garden (even when she would talk me out of my vintage as it looked better on her anyway). This post is for you roomie and for you Gammy, may your garden be in full bloom for always and forever.

love,
squeak 2

it was just like christmas

 my sister sent me a very large box full of vintage goodness. she was clearing out her space and knows me well enough to know that i am just the person to enjoy a motely crew of vintage odds and ends.

 

it was like the best christmas morning ever!

only better!

here is a smidge of a smidge of what was in the box. man, Oklahoma has good finds (it helps that my sis has an excellent eye and an inborn compulsion to shop. i think we got that from our mother)! 

scenes from the 4th...

 mister a-go-go and I joined the sister a-go-go jr. & family for a July 4th picnic and fireworks adventure on the beach. With the adventure bag full of picnic food; quilt and camera in hand, we were off! I didn't actually take many pics and only wished I'd wandered up to main street with it in hand to capture the splendidity of red, white & blue. Instead, you get happy colors and sand...

 Earlier in the day there was a sandcastle contest. Most of the sculptures had been washed away and/or destroyed by the time we got there. It didn't stop the nephew from a lickity-split tour only an eight year old could deliver. He dashed about from one to the other faster than we could approach the first one. Reminded me of a zoo adventure with some nanny charges years ago. Ah, the attention span of a child who has many interests and too much to see. It was especially nice to see him holler out "Hey! That man is destroying the crab!" as we watched an adult kick in a sand sculpture with barely an expression on his face. Ah, humanity (I know, my punctuation is horrible, it always has been).

 I wandered up to the main street once to accompany the brother-a-go-go (in law) for a cuppa. The tiny coffee shop we wandered into had almost been cleaned out. I wish I had remembered to bring my travel mug as they were all out of lids. However the cup did make a nice receptacle for our cherry pits.

 And I only slightly regret drinking that coffee as I forgot about beverage consequences and the need to relieve one's bladdery-bits. Relievance of such kind is never a walk in the park when at a happily populated event and portable privacy chamber (pots). Have I told you how much I love my p-style? Seriously. I really do. If objects could be married to, this would be my honey-bunny. Girlie-friends, if you do not have one, you MUST remedy this (and you, my friend, consider yourself remedied, times two).

 The nephew a-go-go dug himself a fox-hole in which to observe the fireworks (which were spectacular). He spent the entire day digging away and assisted a neighboring group of older boys in a hole so deep it filled with water and we were quite a ways away from the waves. My favorite moment was overhearing him scold an older boy who was throwing, THROWING  a real honest-to-goodness sharp-tippy-tipped shovel as if it were a missile. His words were..."Dude, seriously, you need to stop throwing the shovel. Seriously!" The boy has been hanging around me too much.

hope your 4th of July and/or Monday was dandy!