San Diego, Part 1

San Diego. I've always heard it has the best climate in the U.S., and I must admit, it was pretty nice. The temperature was a moderate 75 with cooler nights, the kind of nights for a lightweight jacket or sweater. The sun shone and the smiles flashed. What a week!

My friend, Mark, a 40 + year transplant to San Diego, picked me up at the airport, and we were off with conversations about San Diego and what I wanted to see. After he dropped me off at my hotel, I settled in for the night and the stay. He was to pick me up at 10 a.m. the next morning. And I wanted to get some rest from a day of traveling and to ready for the next day.

I really had few expectations --  just had a list of to-sees, and the anticipation of a week of wonder.

First on Mark's list of what I needed to see was Point Loma. High on a hill overlooking San Diego is a statue of Cabrillo, the Portuguese-born navigator who found what is now San Diego (Spanish for Saint Didacus) in 1542 and claimed it for the Spanish empire.

Also close to this site is a lighthouse overlooking the ocean, so if you are into exploring lighthouses around this great country, plan to visit this one.

What was neat was the trip to Point Loma -- overlooking the ocean and the bay, on both sides of the road were rows and rows of tombstones. It was a national cemetery and it reached so far and so wide, I was mesmerized by the number of stones that seemed to be one with the sea.

I asked Mark who was buried there, and he explained that any one who served in the armed forces could be buried there. What a nice view!

The second stop for the day was at LaJolla Cove where people from all over the world stop and watch the seals and sea lions bask in the sun.

The coastline is comprised of a jagged shore where waves slap the stones and coil back for everyone to see the majesty of the sea as the waves rise in triumph.

The city has recognized the beauty of this area and has provided many benches where people can simply sit and enjoy the scenery and the people who are there to admire the coastline.

Along with the coastline, the seals, and the sea lions and birds, we watched people surf and some who braved the cold waters to tell everyone they swam in the waters of  LaJolla. There was a very small beach area that was designated for children, but on this fall day, the seals hid in the corners, basking away.

Mark also took me for a drive around LaJolla, and what I could not get over was there was a lot of building and yet not an inch of ground left. He told me that even a small condo would start at $1 million. Too much for my pocket book. And there was no ground. Seriously.

The third stop for my first day was Mt. Soledad, which is basically a tribute to the armed forces and the servicemen and women who have died defending our country.

If you look closely around the edges of the perimeter, you will see pictures of service men and women who have died defending our country. It is quite something to see, and it also extends far and wide with hundreds if not thousands of pictures. (Sorry about the shadows, but it was simply that time of day).

Story about this site. Mark told me that it was previously owned by someone (can't remember the entire story), and the atheists insisted that the cross be removed. What a pity for our right to free speech! I thought this country was for all, not a select group to have their say. But, the owner solved the problem by giving the land with the cross to the veterans organization, and today everyone can enjoy and give tribute to our armed forces and the men and women who serve our country. Smart owner!

It was a great day and I returned to my hotel room by 6 p.m. to ready for the next day. Tomorrow, I am going to take you to Balboa Park, a harbor cruise, and the San Diego Zoo with the panda bears.

Until then...have a great day...

Why Is Travel Important?

Last week (actually, the past two weeks) I have been traveling. The first week I was in San Diego, and the second week I traveled to Illinois for Thanksgiving. I was able to post to this blog during the first week, but fell short last week. In other words, I am back...

Later this week, I am going to show you around San Diego, California, and upfront and right now, I am going to say if you have not been to San Diego, go. It is an awesome town.

As I was traveling back to Florida from Illinois, I was already planning my next adventures (notice the "s"). My feet were not even on the ground yet, and I was ready to start again. Why is it so important to me to travel? Why are there tugs heading me to continue to move and see and do?

I have traveled before. Quite a bit, but it was confined to short weekend trips around my home state, and then the one or two week or sometimes three week excursion once or twice a year far from home. Now, though, it could be all the time, every day. And I must admit, I'm giving it the old college try!

In the beginning, while I was working that 9 to 5 +, five day + a week job, travel was so important so I could disconnect from the woes of everyday life. Even a simple two day get away made me feel as if I had been gone forever and I came back renewed, re-energized. Then, I needed to disconnect, to clear my mind, to forget about the daily or weekly problems that needed to be solved.

The longer vacations introduced me to different places, see different people, and sometimes helped me understand other people's customs and rituals.

I was 8 years old when we took our first vacation (that I remember) to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. It was a fun time at the beach. A few years later my grandmother took me on my first plane ride to New York City. Now that was different for this small town girl. There were tall buildings and more people gathered together than what I could have ever imagined. I saw landmarks I had read about. And I was hooked. I wanted to fly around the world and see everything I could. But, I was in fifth grade. My desires would have to wait. We did go to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, and that was cool because I saw what the inside of earth looks like. But I wanted to fly. When I was young, my traveling was done by car, not ships or planes, not even a train (although we would take many short day trips by train.)

Now, everything is different. I have the time, and I realize I don't need a lot of money to travel. So, I am. When I was growing up and a young lady, travel outside the United States was done with tours -- few brave souls traveled outside of tours, and for a young lady to go alone -- that was not even thought of. (I thought of it, but never had the knowledge on how to do it alone -- thank you technology.) Now, many, many people are doing it. And me? Me, too, I'm doing it. I have no qualms about traveling alone across our United States, and this past year I have traveled enough with people outside of the United States that I have few doubts that I can travel alone outside of America. Even when I am 60 something. I am healthy and strong; that is all that counts.

I expect to find what I have found before. We are all the same, we all want the same -- to connect with another to enjoy an experience. I found before that people are basically nice, and I have to admit, some of the people in foreign lands are sometimes nicer than the people in my land. Let me explain that a bit further. We are nice here, too, it's just that people in America are too busy to enjoy life, to stop for a moment and smell the roses. In other countries I have visited, people are actually helpful about me getting to know their country. They stop and smile.

What has this taught me? To help someone out who is not familiar with my country. I have learned by the kindness of the people of the world.

I want to think that I put the travel bug in some of my nieces and nephews. A couple of them have done pretty good with their travels. And after one of my grandchildren graduate college, I am taking her to Europe -- her choice. I hope to instill that same travel bug in her.

What I hope to give to the people who come behind me is to travel and to see the world a bit different from being strictly from America. There is so much to learn from the world. Of course, there is history, and I love history, but it's eating a pastry outdoors in Canterbury, England, which is inside the walled fortress of yesteryear, or looking at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris and realizing how small this painting is  compared to the enormity of its significance, or riding through the Alps in Switzerland to catch a glimpse of a chimney sweeper in the early morning hours. It is stopping to have a conversation with a person and find out that their expectations of safety and comfort are the same as mine. And it is also finding out that many rooms in Europe do not have the on-all-the-time air conditioning that we are used to here, and you know what, it's not that bad. (But then again, I did not grow up with air conditioning, we had fans.)

And sometimes travel will give you a purpose. One of my nephews (a time ago) did not know what to do once he graduated college, so he headed to Europe (with little to know money) and worked his way around for a year. He had fascinating jobs, met interesting people, and after a year of traveling, he found a purpose.

That is part of life, too. Finding a purpose -- maybe to give to another, help another, do something different with your own life.

And in the end. I found out that there is no place like home. I love to go, and I love to come home. To my bed, my pillow, my friends, my way of life. I love to go, and I love to come home. That is the best of both worlds.

Until Wednesday...have a good one.

The Hot Spot

Yesterday, I began to tell you about The Hot Spot. I found it by mistake surfing the internet. Since I am learning about stain and fused glass, and since I saw the Chihuly gardens in Seattle, I wanted to see if the Chihuly collections was close to me. I found that they were opening a display of this master's glass work at the Morean Center in St. Petersburg. I was thrilled. And as I researched further I saw that there was a girl's night out on select Fridays. I contacted them, and I was in luck. One of the select Fridays was when my friends were here for our slumber party. We had to go. Just had to. I figured it would be something that no one would really do on their own, and it would be a momento from our weekend to last a lifetime.

We decided to go to the St. Petersburg art district where the Hot Shop was located and walk around. The Hot Shop was inside a fenced area adjacent to the shop featuring all the glass works from varied artists.

We were in for a treat.

We found out that in order to blow glass we would have to be on our knees, so we decided to make a paperweight. We were to select two colors for our paper weight.

I selected two shades of blue. Others selected red, vanilla, and gold.

Below, Danielle (our instructor) walked each of us through the process by first gathering the glass and putting it into the furnace. She handled the glass at first, and then we turned and turned the rod as the hot glass was gathering the colors that we selected. The picture below shows Danielle manipulating the glass for it to be even. Further below, we are putting the color on the hot glass.



Once this was finished, we individually sat on a chair and turned the hot piece of glass while she shaped it with a huge pair of scissors.

To the right, Danielle is sitting and working the hot piece of glass forming its shape into a paper weight.

Once we finished, Danielle put the paper weight into a kiln and we could pick the paper weight up another day.

It looked like someone had finished making a beautiful bowl. Our paperweights were in the same kiln.

Of course, there were many more steps, but if you ever get the chance to work with hot glass, do. It is scary and so much fun. But now that I have done it once, it's not so scary any longer.

Here we are -- I am the one with the wild hair. Can't do a thing with it since moving to Florida. It's frizzy and unruly due to the humidity.





And here are our finished paperweights. Each one is different and all, oh, so cool.

Until next week...have a great weekend....

A 50 Year Slumber Party!

A few weeks ago, there were four friends who came to visit me. We planned it -- two came by plane from Illinois, and two came by car from other parts of Florida. We had a slumber party!

I would show you pictures of slumbering but I think they would not be too happy with me, so, tomorrow, instead, I will show you the five of us when we went to the Hot Spot to blow glass.

What a time we had! Earlier in the year, the class of 1966 celebrated our 50th class reunion. I could not attend because I was traveling (to Seattle and Alaska), but I did the next best thing -- had a mini reunion. We talked and laughed and ate the entire time. And then we talked and laughed and ate some more.

We also tried to figure out technology. Out of the 5 of us, 4 are semi techis. The final one can not figure anything out, so we just tell her what we have found and then if she wants more, we tell her husband. It works.

Three of the semi techis are pictured here (and I am taking the picture).

We don't look too bad for graduating high school some 50 years ago. What's age, anyway? Just a number. I have heard that people look at you differently when you turn 70 so I thought I would be 67 for about 4 years. It's no one's business what my age is anyway, as long as I can go with the best of them. That is all that counts.

Really, we did very little except talk, laugh and eat. Friday we went to St. Petersburg and walked around the art district before our night hot glass class. I could get hooked on this art form.The art district is one place that I need to revisit. It is so cool with the artisans wares being sold in the many shops that line the streets. We ate at the Acropolis Greek Taverna on Central Avenue, and I was so impressed with the food. I would eat there over and over, and try different dishes each time.  Of course we had Saganaki. It wouldn't be going to a Greek restaurant without ordering the flaming cheese!

Saturday we didn't dress until it was time to go to dinner and then we stayed closer to where I live and ate at Circles in Apollo Beach. (The best of food and atmosphere) We sat inside and right outside sat four girls having dinner together. Through the glass windows we communicated with the girls as they kept leaving their table to look at the sunset -- we were watching their purses for them. When it was time for the girls to leave, we waved goodbye and then they came inside and we chatted. They were having a reunion of their own and they loved the idea of the Hot Spot in St. Pete. They couldn't get over that we were still friends after so many years. Yes, it does happen. Sometimes people do not leave, or if they do, they come back.

Until tomorrow...

Finishing my Master Bath and onto my Master Bedroom

Yesterday, I showed the beginning of the update to my master bath. I left off with the glass backsplash.

After letting the project dry for the night, I started taking the film off the tiles. Ruthi was coming back and the glass was due to arrive. I am getting excited now.

What was going to happen on this day was to put the mirror back on the wall and then put beveled glass around the mirror to hide the black wear marks. Also, the shower doors would be replaced with a seamless door.

I have workmen and Ruthi all over the place. It is hectic and exciting at the same time. My bathroom will be complete by the end of the day.

This is the end product of the vanity space with mirror and lights. Notice the beveled glass around the mirror. It is so cool and it should last a long time.

The glass guy did tell me not to use any spray on the mirror as the solution would not be good for the glue to the mirror, so when I clean the mirror, I should spray the solution onto my rag and wipe the mirror from the rag.



Below is the finished bathroom with the seamless shower door. I absolutely love the shower door. My bathroom may not be new, but it surely feels new to me. I am so pleased with the final product.

The final cost -- yesterday I totaled $1810 and today's products are a bit more expensive. I paid $420 for the beveled strips and to have them installed (have leftovers, too, so I can make something with the leftovers) and $1389 for the seamless shower door and the installation. That makes the grand total for my bathroom as $3619. Plus I paid Ruthi.

That is not bad for a master bath. If I would have gutted the bathroom I was looking at around $20,000 or more. If I would have replaced the vanity, mirror and lights, I would have spent around $1500 more but I would have had the floor issue so the tile would have had to either been matched or completely replaced, which could be in the ballpark of $3000. So I could have either spent $20,000 and upwards, or another $4500 (let's ballpark that to $8000) or what I spent, around $4000.

I feel a trip coming on.

My master bedroom was easy. My walls match the color of the bathroom so they are baby blue. Really, besides the carpeting (which I can't replace until after the kitchen in complete) the only item I needed in here was drapes along a wall. I found these fantastic white drapes on Overstock.com, and thought I only needed four panels in the beginning, but after Ruthi put up the rod and the four panels, I discovered I needed another four panels. Time to reorder.

She completed the project yesterday. And now I have a wall of white lined drapes. So beautiful.

Since I was finishing off the bedroom, I decided to change out the ceiling fan. Don't want to deal with the popcorn ceiling, but this is a beautiful ceiling fan. I do not like the light cover -- too darkening to the room, so now I am on the quest to find a clear cover.

My bedroom is complete, calming, and a joy to wake up in every morning.





Until next week...have a great weekend.

Updating my Master Bath

I have been updating this villa I bought when I moved to Florida two years ago. It's basic updating -- paint, flooring, and I did an entire redo on the guest bath (that was shown on 3/11/16), but really the basics. So far, I have completed the guest bedroom, guest bathroom, and my study (still need to put up pictures in those rooms). I was ready to tackle my master bathroom and bedroom.

I thought of many ideas for the master bath, from gutting it and reconfiguring the space to a simple replacement of the vanity. To gut the bathroom and rework the space I knew it would cost a lot -- a lot, and I do not want to spend that kind of money (would rather spend the money on travel), and I wanted more than replacing the vanity's countertop.

 Originally, I started with a tired looking vanity.

And then I had my niece painted it with Louis Blue chalk paint.
The counter part of it had two sinks, and I only needed one. I also wanted a glass backsplash instead of the same material the countertop was going to be made from. I noted this nformation for my idea on how I wanted my bathroom to look. Really, really needed a new faucet and the mirror was showing signs of wear with black showing around the edges. I had also been taking note of the seamless shower doors and really liked the look.

I did not need to replace the toilet nor the tiled floor. The walls had previously been painted, but I decided to have my handy woman Ruthi give the walls another coat of paint. Same pale blue that was already on the walls. I also talked with Ruthi about adding a splash of color to the room, and I wanted it to have the same colors of a painting Al completed years ago and hung in the bathroom.

With these colors in mind, I decided to have the vanity painted again to match the royal blue in the painting. Talking over my decision with friends and the person in the paint department at the store I decided to go with Rustoleum's high gloss enamel paint. It would give me the effect I wanted.

I learned about the high gloss effect before I decided on the rustoleum. First, a friend of mine said she knew a lady who had a dresser and instead of painting it, she talked with Maaco (who does the auto painting) and they painted that gel type paint on the dresser and, supposedly, it looks awesome. I thought of contacting Maaco, but it was too much trouble. (Remember, I like things nice and easy).

I also could have bought regular glossy paint to match the color in the painting, and then I would have had to seal it with polyurethane to give it the high gloss I was aiming for. (Still, too much work, too many steps.) Rustoleum won. Two coats and done.

Here it is in process with Ruthi painting the cabinet and the doors placed elsewhere (you can see one inside the cabinet. By this time I had the countertop replaced with one long slab of Corian with one bowl and faucet. Really like the product but because of the vanity I could not have a deep bowl, which I was disappointed about.

Major work is completed. The next step was to put the backsplash up.

I found this really cool glass backsplash at the local flooring store. It had all the colors of the painting and I thought it would go really good with the royal blue paint.

This was so easy to put up. Both Ruthi and I worked on this. The flooring store said to simply buy GE clear silicone caulk for bathrooms and kitchens. All we did was measure and mark where we wanted to place the glass tiles, put the caulk on the wall and hold it in place for a few minutes before going to the next piece to place on the wall. What was different about this glass tile that I bought was the back side was wavy and the front side had a protective film on it that was to be left on until the tile dried to the caulk. (We left it on overnight before taking the film off).

Also, I learned this from redoing my kitchen in Illinois. I bought the square glass tiles because they are easy to work with. It's easy to replace one tile rather than an entire strip. I love the square glass tiles.

So far I've got $1600 into the countertop and faucet, $10 for the paint, and $200 for the backsplash. I am not doing bad with my budget.

I will continue with the project tomorrow. It does look awesome and I am getting used to the pop of color in my house.

Until tomorrow....have a great day....

Mental or Emotional Abuse as a Story Line

I started this topic because I want to write a story incorporating this type of treatment. Because of this, I have been talking to women (mostly) about how this abuse has affected them. It happens to all of us at some point in our life. Through the years, I was treated well by the men I knew and dated, but I can remember two of them who taught me what emotional abuse was. Each scenario happened once, was a huge red flag for me, and I walked away. I simply didn't like the feeling.

One was this guy I dated for some time, and I knew he suffered from low esteem, but one day we had planned on going golfing, and it rained outside. He was so mad at me because it was raining that he put his fist through the wall. I told him he needed to take the rain up with God, not me, and I left to not return. Scared me.

Then another time was this guy I went on a couple of dates with and he told me that if I did not do what he wanted me to do he knew how to punish me -- quit talking to me. Punish me? I don't think so. And that was that.

But I was older, had been in the dating game for a long time by the time I met those two different men, and I knew what made me feel good and bad in a relationship. I always figured those guys had the problem, not me. But then, again, I was older when I experienced these behaviors.

This behavior is as old as humankind -- one person wanting to dominate another and the only way they can do it is to intimidate and humiliate another through verbal abuse.

You know, the phrases "You'll never be good enough to...", "You're too fat...too skinny...too ugly".

Previously, I taught at a university as well as being a tutor there. You would never believe how many women I met who were threatened by their husbands because they were going to school to get a degree. I met women who left school because the intimidation was too much for them. I met women who left their marriage because they wanted more for themselves and the husband got the better of them. I met women who struggled through the degree taking the verbal insults to obtain the degree and to get a job with a good living wage.

But, it's just not women who are abused. I know men who have been abused by women. They don't talk about it a lot because it would hurt their pride (you know, the man thinks he has to be the breadwinner, the hunter of the group, the fierce one, the fighter and protector, the one who can take anything and keep everything bottled inside.)

But, they are there. The man who has been yelled at, screamed at that he is not making enough money, that he is not a good provider, that he drinks too much beer, that he... And then what happens? The internalization a man has makes the screaming a reality.

Just like the woman, the man, too, gives up. Lives with it. Starts to believe they are not that good, and lives a life that mirrors the words. The hurtful words. The words that steal the soul. And then steals the life.

There is so much to consider when I write this story. Yes, there is the self-esteem issue, but then there is the isolation issue, the altering of a person's reality, and the depression that follows.

Then, does my character live in poverty or with money, does my character have a job and what type of work, are there money problems, drug and alcohol problems, does my character move around a lot? Who is my character?

My story is forming. Is there another angle that I am missing? As I've said, I have had only two experiences with verbal abuse and I knew to walk away before there was a second time, but I am learning from the women and men I have been talking with that people live with this abuse sometimes their entire life.

All suggestions will be considered.

Until later...

Getting Ready to Update my Master Bath

I did not want to spend an arm and leg on my master bath, but I did want to update it. I decided to have the vanity painted (my niece first painted it with chalk paint, but after living with it for months, it was not enough, and I knew that I would either have to give it a coat of wax again or do something else. I decided on the something else.

Besides the painted vanity, I ordered a new countertop and faucet, then the big ticket item was the seamless shower door. But first, I had to get ready. So, what did I do? I wanted to see how the colors I selected would look.

What I did do was to paint a magazine rack I picked up at the St. Vincent de Paul's resale shop for $3.

It was in good shape, so I wiped it clean and lightly sanded it. I was going to chalk paint it the same color the vanity was painted.

I had the Annie Sloan brand on hand (left from the vanity that was previously painted with Louis Blue chalk paint). Working with chalk paint is just so easy to use. It hides all the blemishes with using different techniques, but with this piece there were no blemishes, so I was good to go.

I decided to let it sit for a few days (I had the time waiting for all my orders to come in and for the workmen to schedule the time).

After living with it a few days, I decided it was too dull. I wanted the magazine rack to stand out a bit.

I decided to paint the top and the 4 end spindles (2 at each end) with the same royal blue color I was going to have the vanity painted. A pop of color.

I went ahead and applied MinWax Polycrylic (clear semi-gloss) to the bottom and the spindles (except for the end 4) so I would have a finish on the magazine rack. I opted not to use the wax suggested to use with chalk paint because for it to be efficient you really need to reapply the wax every six months, and face it, I am a bit lazy. Once I have a project completed, I do not want to keep going back to it. Besides, with the Min Wax, depending on how many coats you put on, you can have it as dull or as shiny as you want.

By now, Ruthi, my handi woman, was painting the vanity. (Bathroom story to be featured next Wednesday and Thursday.} So, I had her paint the top of the magazine rack. We found out that the paint I selected ran, so there was no way I could have the four spindles painted the royal blue.

After the royal blue was dry, I then waxed the four spindles that I had not waxed before.

I now have a magazine rack for the bathroom that has a pop of color and only cost me $3 and some paint that was sitting around the house.

Not a bad deal!








I always say, first see what is around the house to repurpose, and if there is nothing to fit your liking, go to the consignment stores, then to the discount stores and make a piece your own with a bit of paint, glue, imagination and elbow grease.





Until next week...have a great weekend.

How to Stuff a Pillow

I was traveling and saw this pillow cover that would be perfect for my house. But it was just a cover. And, I bought it. Actually, I bought two covers.

Once I was home, I took a good look at the pillows I had around the house and discovered none of my pillows fit my new pillow covers. Now what was I going to do without spending a fortune. I believe the pillow covers cost about $10 each. So, I went shopping at discount stores. I had the measurements for the pillow covers and decided to buy a pillow about the same size. I did find 2 pillows for $3 each at the discount store. Then, I went to Michael's and bought pillow stuffing for about $12 (it was good for the two pillows). So, I have $19 in each pillow. Not bad considering how much pillows cost today.

This is what I started with -- a cheap pillow, the pillow cover I wanted to use and the pillow stuffing.

At first, I thought I could just stuff the stuffing inside the pillow. No. Not unless you want a lumpy pillow. There is a right way to stuff a pillow to give you the professional look and feel.

I found this out through my handi woman, Ruthi. She is a gem and knows just about everything and how to do it.

 The first thing to do is to make sure the stuffing is flat and you are going to lay it flat against the pillow inside the cover. You are not going to tear any of the stuffing apart at this point.

Continue to do so until you have a nice layer inside the cover.

See how it looks, then proceed until you have the desired fluff you are looking for.

At this point you need to look at the sides and the corners.

If there are any gaps on the side, continue to lay flat stuffing along the sides.

Corners tell another story.

If the corners are flat, that can not be, so now take a part of the stuffing (here you can make the pieces smaller) and stuff into the corners.

Always work the stuffing so it has a nice smooth layer and look.

Notice how the pillow, at this point, is wrinkled and not looking full at this point. Time for more stuffing, but we know where to put it. We need more stuffing on the bottom sides and the bottom corners.

Notice the difference. It looks good and there are no lumps. No one would know this pillow was hand packed to look professional.

We continued with the next pillow, and walla, I have two new pillows.

Not only two new pillows, but these are covers with zippers, so when they get dirty, I can make them new again...

Until tomorrow...have a great day.