Top 12 Places I Want To Go

1.   IRELAND

Virgin Airlines, simply the best airline  ever.  They made me feel like a child whom has a mommy to care for her and tuck her in.  I was given a bag after a scrumptious supper of prime rib and potatoes, salad and a soft roll and green beans with slivered almonds.  Then the little pouch came as they were slightly dimming the lights and announcing that they would be coming around with this goody bag, which held an eye mask, an itty, bitty tube of Colgate, complete with an itty bitty tooth-brush.  A pair of red sock booties with the Virgin logo, and a tube of lovely scented cream.  We were then told as we looked out at the frosty sky through a snowflake covered window, that someone would be coming around with blankets and a warm cookie or pudding; your choice.  After our desert they dimmed the lights some more and you could sleep the night away, or watch a TV show on the screen embedded in the back of your seat, or indulge in a nice chick flick that your hubby wouldn't be caught dead watching at home.  'Under The Tuscan Sun' - here I come again!

2.   Ireland.  Cairde. (Friend).  Meeting Sue Booth-Forbes who was to be my hostess and become my friend over the next month.  She is so special that it would be hard to put into words how much I grew to love her whilst in Ireland.  She is the heart and soul of Anam Cara, the Artist's and Writer's retreat at which I resided.  Everything she cooks goes down like cream, electrifies the tastebuds, and again, makes you feel that you have someone who cares for you.  She can also dole out much needed advice and have intelligent, stimulating conversation regarding absolutely anything.

 3.  Ireland.  The long and winding roads that lead from nowhere to somewhere.  Hardly a soul to be seen except when you do pass one, you are assured of a conversation full of blarney, information you will surely need during your stay, where the best pubs are and probably an invite in for tea!

 4.  A feisty little dog named Jack Russell Spunky Sparky Booth-Forbes, whom loves nothing more than to travel the roads, scratch up dirt in with more machismo than your most La-te-da, latin dancer, and he can show you all the best paths in town.  Not only that, he greatly appreciates each and every walk about.

 5.  Ireland.  The rows of wild gorse, the calm of the sea, the distant farm houses all painted in creamy, buttery colors.  The patchwork of the Irish land and the ever changing Irish sky.  The idyllic view from my bedroom window.

"Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon.  We have the stars."
 Voyager (1942)

 6.  Ireland.  Jesus himself.  He lives there.  He really does, I saw him with my very own eyes and felt him deep inside my heart.

Sometimes God calms the storm...sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child.

7.  Ireland.  Anam Chara.   (Soul Mate).   Anam Cara.  This is where I came to retreat, to read and write, and rest and paint.  To garner material to stimulate my mind and my senses.  To take lazy non guilty naps and long, quiet walks with Jack.  I was made to feel like my art counted, I have talent.  I learned to water paint from Maine Artist, Evelyn Dunphy. Evelyn is one of the best teachers and most stimulating artists anywhere in the world.  She gave me the inspiration to paint with Veredian and Sap green and Phthalo.  To make magic with Yellow Ochre, Lavender and Ultramarine. Where Raw Umber and Cerulean Blue make the sky and the falls come vibrantly alive in your mind and your heart and spill out onto your paper.  Evelyn made all the colors come alive! She taught me to paint with no fear!  And we laughed.  We all laughed for hours with the mirth of stimulating conversation, silly situations, and good food and wine!

 8.  Ireland.  Eyeries, Cork, Ireland, in the Beara Penninsula.  The little town which was voted, Tidiest town in Ireland.  Where every house is painted a different creamy, dreamy, bright color which you don't know whether to gaze at, or to eat! Where there is a church, a pub or two and a grocery and post office, and where the motto is, if you can't find it here, you don't need it.    

 9.  Ireland.  Isn't it obvious?  Quintensential Ireland.  It's the real deal.

 10.  Ireland.  The Cascades at Anam Cara.  A magnificent, raging, waterfall.  Flowing over huge lichen and moss covered boulders from mountain inlets and the river above.  An experience to cry for, as you rage at injustice and perhaps the pain of your past.  A place to rest in the unfiltered beauty which by vision and sound alone will blow you away.  A retreat to think thoughts which stimulate your mind to write the book or the poem that lives within you, which you find suddenly you can put into words.  I could feel my heart beating in my chest, because sometimes you might come to this place because your heart has found a crack.  This is a sanctuary to rest and release all the pain.  This heaven on earth exists for many things, but for me it exists for hope lost, hope searched for, and hope found.

"Yesterday, the sea shone like a mirror, and today it shines like a mirror... it has been years since I have known such peace, twenty years, perhaps thirty years, possibly in an earlier life." 

-Hamsun (1859-1952)  

11.  Ireland.  The geese which I could never remember to call geese, instead calling them ducks, which became a standing joke.  The chickens whom eggs I gathered every day for breakfast and to use in cake for desert.  I was a gentlewoman farmer for a month and I do miss it so.

12.  Ireland.  Ancient ruins ever still standing, tall and proud.  Wondrous tales of their beginnings.  You would never be able to count them all, or the pride of the Irish as they tell their lyrical histories. 

"Like the wind, grace finds us wherever we are and won't leave us however we were found."
-Ann Voskamp

IRELAND, I found my grace there.

My wish is that you too, experience Ireland someday. 

Blessings,

Tia

Is It 2013 Or Am I Late?

Last Solana Beach Sunset of 2012

Where have you all been for the past month?

Where have I been?

Taking the baby to her new digs at University and getting her all checked in and cozied up.

How's that going you ask?

I'm fine, really I'm fine.

Whaaaaaaaaa!  No, mom's, it doesn't get easier.

Just let me keep you one minute longer...

It will only be 3 months, 2 days, 13 hours and 15 minutes until we see her again.

And our philisophy is, we only count sunny hours here at the beach cottage.

It shouldn't be that hard - we have lots of em.

Went to visit my daughter in Seattle last week.  Glad to be home to sunny skies but, Seattle rocks in its own special way.  More about that next time.  And until then,

Love you more than a mothers heart is always w a i t i n g.  

Blessings,

Tia

Our Goofy Girl Goes To College

Remember this Goofy Girl?  You can read about some of her antics over at the "Skateboard and Goofy Girl Post."

She's still skateboarding while multitasking, only she's doing it far, far, away.  Last weekend we took our grown-up beach Girl to University in the frozen tundra of the Midwest.  When we went into Orientation and came out again into that cold Illinois weather,  our water bottles were frozen!

Maggie and her Irish Twin Dylan, are the last of my five to fly the coop.  They were the cutest babies ever and just look at them as toddlers. This is a photo of their graduation from preschool.  Cute right?  That's how we like to remember them...because, oh, those teenage years — whew...

 My baby was born with one foot out the door.  She's always been my independent get me the heck out of this house, kid.

 Maggie, has a bucket list.  Number 14 had her off to the mall to sing in front of hundreds of people to win tickets to a Justin Bieber concert!

 Yep, she and her dad waited in long lines, got wrist bands and name tags, and then we waited in line again until it was her turn to shine, and our shy daughter was able to check off one of the things on her bucket list.  That's our "baby".

 Singing in public - CHECK!

 And she did it and did it well.  She's a super star.


She's pretty too.

Like, model pretty.

 She has two sisters.

And two brothers who love and miss her already.

She lives lived in a cottage by the sea, until she moved into a University dorm in the flatlands of the Midwest where it's burrrrr cold.  And she couldn't be happier!

Our girl never even looked back; and for a momma and papa who love their baby, to see her happy means we couldn't be happier!  Isn't that what we all want for our kids?  To see them happy makes our hearts soar. 

Maggie loves the pups and they love her.  After only a week they are still pouting around the house looking for her.  In and out of her room, especially at night, because she was their bunk mate.  Now they've been relegated to my studio upstairs for night-night time because, she's gone away to school hubby won't let the pups in our bed.

My baby loves babies.  She was the most sought after babysitter in our home town,  and the family she was nannying for before she left cried actual tears when she went away!  Besides that, they gave her a sweet tip.

 Maggie's nephews and nieces are really gonna miss her too.

 How sad is this?  This pretty princess looks blue about living without her Auntie nearby to play with her.

 Yep,  our Maggie is all about the babies.

 Big ones,

 Chubby ones,

And all the ones in between!  Abigail is not only Maggie's niece, she's her goddaughter too.

Maggie's friends old and new,  are gonna miss her and all her silly antics.  Her college friends have some good times coming their way!

 ???  Her nephew Cael is upside down with grief gonna miss her!

Hopefully the pups will lose their forlorn looks when spring break arrives.  I don't know if I can stand the sadness until then.  They kind of look how we all feel!

And Mags, if you're watching, thumbs up on that looong trip home.  So many people who love you will be waiting!


(You silly's - you didn't think I was finished yet, did you?)

Your surfboard misses you.

Your car misses you, although since it snowed in Southern California today you might say, it feels like it went to Illinois with you!

But all in all, and most of all, your Papa and Mommy miss you.

 Have fun in snow country making angels!

 I promise some sandy beaches and good surf when you come home.

And of course those gorgeous sunsets at our Cottage By The Sea.

I love you more than all the miles we're apart.

Bless your heart,

Mommy

Out With The Old-In With The New

What you see before you here are two (almost empty nesters).  We started out as just youngsters, raising our family 36 years ago.  One little baby led to two and then three, four and five.  In between those there were five foster babies and toddlers in the mix and we relished in our 'career' as the parents of a big boisterous family.

Now we are two oldsters, with six grandchildren.  We're tiiiiiiired as you can see as you can imagine.  It may take us 36 more years to recover, but we'll have a nice empty nest to do it in.   Our nest is getting roomier.  Or the rooms are getting emptier.  Or there is more room in our rooms.  Regardless, we now have room for you guys to visit us!

It's a new year and we rang it in with style.

This was our New Year's Eve view to the East.

This was our New Year's Eve view to the West.

I'm writing this from Illinois where I'm now taking my daughter to University.   I'm looking out at snow and it's 27 degrees.  The above two locations - I'll take either one.   No offense to those living in cold climates,  I'm just a big baby with cold issues or issues with cold.  I just know that I'm burrrrrr cold here in the Midwest!

Okay though,  I can get behind this.  This and many more literal and proverbial sunny hours, how about you?

Adieu 2012, can't say I'm sad to see you go.

Welcome 2013 and bring it on!

May you be blessed by all you do and everyone you meet and may you bless them too!  I hope you stay happy, healthy and w a r m!

Blessings to all in 2013.

Love you more than all the sand on the beach!

Tia

P.S.  More to come on leaving my youngest baby behind in Quincy, Illinois.   No one deserves it more than her!  Bahaaahahahahah.