Seaglass...The Ultimate In ReUse, Recycle...

I love sea glass...I've collected sea glass, and given it away at pretty much every coastal area we've lived in.


This area is unique...there were many glass and pottery factories here around the turn of the century and before there were laws about dumping...they dumped the trash from these factories into the bay. And pretty much continued to until 1979 when the practice was outlawed.


The abundance of sea glass here makes the Santa Cruz sea glass and sea art festival one of the most popular on the west coast. Artists from as far away as Australia came to show the creative ways to turn this found treasure into art, jewelry...even home accessories.


Rich and Molly chauffeured/chaperoned me to the festival yesterday and I got to meet many of the artists I chat and trade with online at the sea glass artists and collectors forum.



When we came home, the girls and our 3 neighbor kids went through the glass we have collected over the summer. Mattie, Tory and Katie had no idea about sea glass...so Molly and Nora and I explained the rarity of colors, thicknesses and what types to look for here on our beaches.



I've just corrupted, I mean initiated 3 more into the sea glass obsession.

Better Never than Late...

At this point y'all know how I feel about hurricanes. And Mother Nature.

We've met.

Seems a late season storm is knockin' on the door of our old neighborhood. One that's standing, but not exactly on stable legs 4 years after Katrina.

Ida is due to blow in sometime Tuesday...we hope all our friends and neighbors South bound are getting ready...

The bitch is back.

The Advantages Of Living Near A World Class Center...

This morning the Monterey Bay Aquarium released the 5th great white shark it has displayed successfully in captivity back into the wild. It seems the juvenile female was becoming agressive and stalking the other sharks. Well, yeah...what's she supposed to do?

The Aquarium here has been the only one to do this successfully and allow the public to see them on display...all have been juvenile sharks and all have either been caught in fishing nets or gear or found in distress in the wild and released healthy and tagged and tracked for future reference.

Our kids have had the pleasure of seeing 3 of the sharks on display...it is quite a thrill to see one up close. They have a distinct swimming style.

For more information on great white conservation...go to http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_whiteshark/whiteshark_ours.aspx

Are You Wearing Purple?

It isn't just a fashionable color this Fall. Or Autumn. Depending on which side of the Atlantic you are reading this from.

Purple is the official color of Pancreatic cancer and Carcinoid cancer...November is the awareness month for both of these cancers...(I have Carcinoid of the pancreas, kidney and now liver...but I think I may speak for both groups.)

The other fashion option is zebra print. Animal prints are also hot this season. I am not, however, suggesting you wear the purple and the zebra together. People will think you are on the same medications I am. Or, if the mood strikes you...go for it.

Zebra is the other symbol for this disease because of it's rarity...doctors are taught in med school that when they hear hoof beats, to look for horses...not zebras. This cancer is a zebra...diagnosed often way late in the game, no cure and less than a 5% survival rate at 5 years from diagnosis.

Many of you may have those purple lights left from Halloween...donate them to your local cancer society in the name of Pancreatic or Carcinoid cancer...people will ask about them and this will spread the word. Our local cancer society thrift store has them strung from one end to the other.

I met someone in the restaurant today who was wearing a purple ribbon...we immediately hugged each other.

The color purple...not just a movie anymore.

A Plate Full...

These days we have our moments. Everybody takes turns...so far. Can you imagine if all of us broke down at once?

Trying to keep everybody going and the house in shape and managing the emotional roller coaster we are on is exhausting. Sometimes I feel like one week bleeds into the next and I am either in the doctors office, pharmacy, lab or trying to keep up with stuff at home. This wife needs a wife. Maybe the polygamists are on to something. Or I need to clone myself...only a better version this time.

People keep asking me why I am working. Because it keeps me sane. And because it keeps me from strangling people that ask me inane questions, make comments that make me feel like a burden to my family and it keeps me from curling up in the fetal position and giving up entirely. Yes, I know it takes up time and energy...but what it does for my spirit comes back to me three-fold. I am a big girl, and when I can't do it anymore, I will make the call.

I understand how difficult I am to live with, I am an expense incurred that was not planned...that things are so not how I played it in my head. I don't need anybody to tell me this.

I know I am selfish with my time...especially with my kids. We had ice cream for dinner and pizza for dessert. Yes, you read that correctly. (We don't do this every night, but I will defend this meal to the ground).

I appreciate the support my readers and close friends and family have given during this time...and I know this post seems a lot like a rant...I just had one of those days, or weekends as it were.

As my Southern belle friend in Mississippi would say...I had an "occasion".

As Scarlet O'Hara would say "Tomorrow is another day".

I'm Not The Animal I Used To Be...

That had to be the quietest Halloween we've ever had. The girls trick or treated with Jacob in his neighborhood, then ours, then over at Nana's...they hit a total of about 10 houses and declared themselves "exhausted" and refused to go any further. Back in my day...we trick or treated until we couldn't walk anymore...these kids are wimps.

Rich and I then sat in and watched a movie...Meg had a sleepover at a friends house. And that was it.

Gone are the days of costume party hopping until 2 a.m. I was lucky I stayed awake through the end of the movie.

To top that off...on our dark and scary tree lined street...we had a total of 3 trick or treaters. Molly, Nora and Jacob. I think it's the abundance of creepy cypress trees and vacant weekend holiday homes. I now have 30 treat bags left over either for next year or as a head start for gift bags for someones birthday.

I think my party animal days are behind me...

I know Way More About This Subject Than I ever Wanted To...

On top of all the medical drama surrounding me, we had an incident with Vinny the cat. He has some issues surrounding an injury he received before we adopted him. He was hit by a car and had a broken hip. So long term, he has special dietary restrictions and a dietary supplement he has to take once a day.

I know, but he's a really nice cat. And frankly, he fits in with the circus.

So, right around the time of our big windstorm, Vinny stops eating normally. This isn't a characteristic of any of the members of this family, furry or not. And to top that off...he decides he needs to poo in odd places. Rich thought it was some sort of cat rebellion...I thought he didn't like the new cat litter...and then we discovered, Megan had run out of his supplement and didn't tell us. (officially it is her cat).

Off to the vet we go, right after a doctor's appointment for me...and in the middle of Marnie's visit. The vet says he's super constipated...then we discuss how much he needs to poo to avoid surgery. She laughs when I tell her I am very familiar with these terms...and know way more about the gastrointestinal system than I ever wanted to know...

Good news is Vinny is on the mend, back on his meds and back to eating voraciously. And pooing where he is supposed to.

Frankly, though...the dog was rather disappointed to see him return from the vet.