Moments at Sea World

There are moments in time that stand out, clear and unblemished on their own. And every time it happens I am reminded of the verses when Jesus said for us to come to Him as a child.
It is a child like wonderment. The few minutes that you loose completely "yourself" and become totally absorbed in the wonderment of what is before you.

That is what happened to me, and it was the walrus that drew me into his world for a time. This fellow had a definite pattern that he was determined to follow, and follow it he did. He would swim from the left side of his tank all the way over to the right side. Down to the bottom right below this window and up past the glass. I watched him for I can't even say how long. I was lost. Amazed at the size of his body, huge really, and yet he was so graceful. He had scars on his skin and I wondered what had caused them. One of his tusks had been broken off, halfway, and I wondered if he even noticed. I wanted to know how cold the water felt and if he was bored out of his mind. I could see every detail, so close, every whisker, and I could see into his eyes.

As I watched his gentle ballet, completely lost, the most amazing thing happened.
He STOPPED!!!!!! Right in front of the window. I couldn't believe it. I was so excited. I could see him so well. Now I could count the whiskers. I think I may have even squealed, because it was broken, the spell that was cast over me. I was shot back to reality. Ah and sadly , yeah I was embarrassed to realize that I was the only adult with my face as close to the glass as physically possible. All the other people around me were beautiful children.
Snapped back to "adult mode" I was then able to watch the wonderment that the kids had. It was GOOD. I enjoyed the rest of my day with the memory of that time. I think of that time every now and then, and I know, It changed me.
Flamingos really are a special type of animal. Truly amazing. I have to admit though, that my main thought while watching these guys was "how am I going to duplicate these colors"
Wishing you the blessing of many child like moments, Sue

A little wine (whine) Kinda long....

I have debated several times over the last few months whether to keep writing on here or just continue in my regular paper journals only.
You see sometimes I don't feel like being cheerful and I don't always see the glass 1/2 full on certain days. I like to eat my cereal plain with the milk on the side if I feel like it. And yeah last night I ate almost 1/2 a bag (big bag) of peanut butter m&m's. The dog pukes on the floor and everyone pretends not to see it, so mom has to clean it up. You know regular real life stuff. But then I got to thinking about why I started this blog in the first place. I really enjoy it... that's why... I like to see my pictures on here and I like to think that I'm sharing with "friends" and family, and even just to remind myself of some of the really cool things that are going on in my life. So my decision has been made. I will continue, plodding along. Writing about whatever I feel like. Sharing pictures and stories. And on the days when the glass seems 1/2 empty we'll just pretend that it WAS full of Ice cold White Merlot. Deal??? Susan and I took a road trip earlier... I'm going to say spring time, since we saw a brand new baby, to A Simpler Time Alpaca Farm. Its located in Crest. Funny thing I realized once out there was that I used to teach her son California History in home school. (small world) ANEEEWAYYY......
Look at these faces. What lovely animals. Really.. The sounds they make are so soothing. Quiet, gentle and just plain sweet.
This is a baby I especially liked. He or she was tri-colored. His little rump was darker then his shoulders. Him and the other babies with him were so curios. They came right up to the fence to see us and snuffle our hands. They're eyes are beautiful, with long eyelashes.
Look at this guy...... He reminds me of some of the Amish men we saw in Pennsylvania. ( no offence intended) As a spinner I see the amazing colors in these animals fur. The quality of alpaca fiber is outstanding. The fiber itself is actually hollow making it much warmer then sheep wool. It doesn't have much "memory" meaning that it doesn't bounce back into its original shape as a completed garment. Sorta like if you were to knit a scarf with the yarn it would "hang heavy".
Sometimes I like to mix my fibers together, using a fine merino sheep wool with the alpaca. Not this time however. Susan and I bought some yummy fiber and this is what I spun. Its about 6.something ounces and I got 512 yards. Its a heavy fingering, light sport weight. It is amazing to the touch. So soft..... Its 3 colors, same animal. I tried to spin it from light to dark, so that the stole I am going to make with it will go from light to dark as well.
I wish you could feel this. It really is heavenly.
Well thanks for reading. Please leave a comment. Its encouraging. And if you have to leave it anon. sign your name.
Till next time.. many blessings, Sue

Lazy days of summer.......

My eye......hahaha... Our summers always go by really fast but this one was a real whirlwind. I have so many pictures and stories to share and now that things are settling down a bit.. ha.. like your going to believe that old line..huh?..
This is the our latest camping adventure. We had to squeeze it in at the very last minute. Allison has already started high-school ( first year at public school, doing well) and Jennifer is back at school as well. So Daddy and Jennifer set up camp on Weds. and Allison and I went up on Saturday for the day. Daddy cooked us a yummy, must have camping breakfast... bacon and scrambled eggs... yum!
Allison and Lily soaked in some hammock time. Ahhhhhh no chores!!!
Jennifer helped Daddy out of the chair after the fabric gave up. Farewell beloved lawn chair. You have been good to us.
And we got to the top and watched a most beautiful sunset. The colors on the mountains were amazing. I tried to capture it here but you just can't see it the way it really was.
This is it...... This is Cuyamaca Peak from the east, looking west. We don't see this side very often as we live on the other side. We watched and snapped pictures until the sun was completely gone... sealed it with a kiss... and headed back to camp for the main event... SOMORES!!!!!!

More later... Wishing you the blessing of many more beautiful sunsets, Sue