Halloween 2021 - Baby J and Baby Rose and their Nana

 A quick post just as a remembrance of Halloween this year. 

Last Halloween was sad because of Covid. We hard-core sheltered in, we have to because mom is 85 and her lungs are compromised. So no one was allowed in the house. They could visit, but outside, everyone with a mask and they had to sit 10 feet away from mom.

This year we've both had 2 vaccines and a booster and we feel like we can be a little bit more daring...not crazy daring, we're not hitting the clubs or anything, just opening up our home to family again. Maybe we will even host Christmas again this year...we will see, baby steps Alicia, baby steps.

So we got to see our beautiful, sweet, smart Baby J! I posted this photo on my blog on September 2014. She was about 5 months shy of becoming two years old. She's the first great grandchild my mom has been blessed with and she continues to be a blessing to us all. She's the daughter of my sister Lisa's firstborn son who is shown in the picture at his swearing in ceremony for law enforcement. He's still a peace officer today.

Well Baby J is mostly all grown up now. I believe she's going to be 9 in Feb of 2022 and she has a sidekick now, her little sister Baby Rose! Here's a picture of them this Halloween as their daddy brought them to visit their Nana. And even thought Baby Rose has not been as lucky as Baby J to visit Nana every week, there is still a strong bond. My dad used to say "la Sangre llama" which translated means "blood calls" and there is a strong call to my mom with all her grand and great grandchildren. 

Baby J is the big girl with the Mickey Mouse ears. She closed her eyes in this one, but I loved the expression on Baby Rose's face so I had to share it. Doesn't my mom look so happy!

Baby Rose was so cute, she would shout "Trick or Treat" and then reach into her bucket and give US candy! You can see my mom is enchanted with Baby Rose in this one. I should have taken a video so I could know what they were chatting about.

The face of my mom says it all! And guess what??? Next year for Halloween, there will be a new member to this family! A little man! Can't wait to meet him. Thank you Sean for always sharing your beautiful family with us! We love you all!

The Artist in Me

So it's been a while since I've done a post and my excuse is I've been busy living life and having fun! When I do get some down time, I'm too exhausted from living life and having fun to blog, I just want to sleep!

One of the things that has been keeping me busy is my Monday Art Class. I love it! Oh my gosh! Where has Art been all my life? I thought writing was my calling! I thought I was going to write the great American Novel or at least be Blogger of the Year at a Blogher Convention someday! But now...now I know that I am meant to be the next Bob Ross! Remember Bob Ross? I loved watching him paint, it was effortless for him and I knew that I could never do anything like that!

But I think I can! Well, maybe not be the next Bob Ross, but I think I can be a halfway decent artist. Well, maybe not "sell my art for a million dollars" kind of artist, but a happy artist that can create some nice little pieces to give as gifts to friends and family (if I can ever make myself part with them)!

I need to share some of these with you all.

First, my owls. I'm not an owl person, but somehow I keep getting owls in my head! I love these two little guys and the way they are cocking their heads. It reminds me of our dog Chorizo and the way she cocks her head when you ask her a question. These were drawn free hand from a photo. 

On the weekend of October 6th, my sister Lisa and I went to her semi-annual conference in Lake Tahoe. The last time we went was October of 2014 and you can read about that adventure HERE. 

I took my drawing pencils and pad hoping to get some time to sketch, but we made a stop at a Ross Store and I was able to pick up a set of Acrylic Paints, a set of paint brushes and (2) 12 x 12 canvases for about $20! One afternoon while Lisa was in her classes I set up a little paint studio for myself in the hotel room and came up with this pretty little background. I almost wanted to leave it like this, so bright and cheerful!

But that was not what I had in store for this canvas so the next day I added a bit more in the morning ...

and a bit more in the afternoon ...

I had not really had time to do anything further until last night when I finished this little guy up. I say little guy, but with those flirty lashes, this has to be a girl owl right?

And in keeping with the upcoming Halloween Season, I've done two more paintings. Our instructor wanted us to do something abstract, so I did this painting and then at the last minute added the pumpkin just for fun!

As I kept looking at it afterward it looked to me like a blue sky with a harvest colored mountain, so I added a witch flying through that beautiful sky.

And I loved her! Flying on her broom just enjoying the harvest night without a care in the world; but it looked a little bare. I needed something on the bottom and once I added some headstones I realized that she needed some flying companions and Voila! Bats!

My mom, who does not like Halloween things because they scare her actually loved this so much that she went Goodwilling and found me the perfect frame for it. This was so much fun! And the more creative you get, the more the creative juices flow!

This past Monday our instructor wanted us to paint a Sugar Skull. It's a two hour class and this is as much as I completed. He needs a dental visit badly, but other than that I think he's kinda cute!

The first picture is almost the completed project. I say almost because a friend asked me to try adding some white dots around the eyes. I was at work and didn't have the actual piece with me, so I used a computer program to appease him and he had a great idea because I loved it with the white dots. I don't have a picture of the white dots I actually did, but they are almost identical to the computer generated dots shown below.

You can see how that one detail really made those eyes pop!

So you can see why I've been too busy to blog. Not to mention that I have been taking a line dancing class on Tuesday nights as well and planning a surprise birthday party for my mom, plus a full time job! The job, I'm finding is really cramping my style! Can't wait for retirement!

Our Halloween and October in a Nutshell

Well today is the 1st day of November and October was a blur! Not sure why starting in October the day's just fly by!

But it was a great month. The weather is finally feeling a little bit fallish, even though today is back to 82 and sunny.

We had some great times this month. We had Baby J all to ourselves one Saturday so we took her for a walk in the neighborhood! She loves to walk the dogs, even though you can tell in this picture that Chorizo is not too sure about Baby J walking her!

We also were lucky in finding my cousin Art outside cleaning out his Koi Pond. Baby J loves the beautiful fish and I thought she would be scared of them but she had no problem petting them! Child has no fear! You can see that her grandmother who Baby J calls Nini is full of fear, fear of Baby J falling into the pond! See her grabbing the back of J's shirt? 

After our walk we headed to the Little Bear Pumpkin Patch. There is nothing like seeing the holidays through the eyes of a little one! She loved it and we loved watching her!

Baby J and I in a pumpkin cutout!

Baby J and I and my mom. Baby J is my moms only great granddaughter.

Baby J and her Nini at the Pumpkin Patch!

Then last night of course was Halloween and Baby J came trick or treating to our house. The funny thing is she tried to give us her candy, silly baby! She looked adorable as Minnie Mouse and she loved Chorizo's costume, a big red lobster!

And now we're in November. Thanksgiving, changing of the leaves, football and hopefully more Baby J awaits!


 

Baby J Sunday - Pretty in Pink and Candy not Apples!

We had the pleasure of seeing Baby J two times this week. On Halloween Night her mommy and daddy brought her to visit her Great-Grandmother, Nana. Baby J was adorable in a Doc McStuffins costume, only Baby J was rocking pink cowboys boots, not sneakers.

Do you know who Doc McStuffins is? I sure didn't. The last biggest craze I knew of was Dora the Explorer. While Dora is still popular and loved, Doc McStuffins is Baby J's favorite.

Doc McStuffins is an animated children's television series produced by Brown Bag Films. It was created and executive produced by Humanitas Prize and Emmy Award winner Chris Nee and premiered on March 23, 2012 on the Disney and Disney Junior Channel.

Doc McStuffins is a little girl who wants to be a doctor, just like her mother. So she fixes broken toys and dolls and stuffed animals. When Doc puts on her stethoscope, the toys come to life and she can communicate with them. I haven't watched an episode but I can already tell why Baby J would love Doc McStuffins and the show itself. I'll have to pick up a DVD of the show and watch with Baby J someday.

Unfortunately I did not take one single picture of Baby J trick or treating at our house that night. She was not feeling well, nothing serious, just a small bout of constipation which made her particularly cranky. I'm sure her mom and dad took tons of pictures though so Baby J will have those memories when she grows up.

The second visit from Baby J came yesterday, Saturday. It was a Baby J Saturday instead of Sunday but that was just fine with us! Any day with Baby J is a good day!

Just look at that face! At that Dimple! At those curls and those beautiful eyes! And the girl can rock PINK! Check out which character that water bottle is? Yep...Doc McStuffins! She and Baby J could be twins!

I tried to entice Baby J with some of my left over Halloween Candy stash!

In that first picture she's looking at me like "Candy"??? And in the second picture you can see her little mouth watering! Yummy Skittles and Nerds and Laffy Taffy! "All for me??" But her Nini throws us a curve ball, removing the candy and offering Baby J a nice healthy green apple. She's such a good Nini!

She gives it a try. She takes a little lick of it first, then tries a small bite and then...nope and puts it back into the fruit bowl! What a character!

It rained and stormed on Friday night! We had not seen rain and thunder and lightening like this in a long time. You do know California is suffering one of the worst droughts ever right now right? Well we were unable to head outside for Baby J's normal activities of playing with the dogs and with her sidewalk chalk because of the wet cement, but also because we lost a part of the fence between our house and the neighbor and it wasn't a good idea to send her out there to play!

My moms dog Chula is not very happy about the whole situation, even though I have caught her visiting into the neighbors yard! So now on top of everything else I have a fence to fix! *sigh* Being a home owner isn't always all it's cracked up to be!


 

Baby J Sunday! Fall is in the Air!

Any day with Baby J is a good day, but starting out Sunday morning with her is especially wonderful. This child is a bundle of energy and keeps us all on the go but my gosh is she adorable and funny! Such a great little personality! Her Nini (grandmother) and her Poppa (grandfather) and I all went to a Halloween Costume party last night. Her Nini was just dying this morning to give her the orange thingy she wore on her head last night. Needless to say Baby J loved it.

Nini and Poppa on the top picture, Baby J dancing in the kitchen and with her daddy.

Then she cracked my mom and me up when I tried to get a picture with her next to a little Halloween decoration filled with fall leaves. I asked her to stand next to the "flowers" as she calls them and she thought the best way to take the picture was for her to just lay her head on the table!

I had to scootch her around and show her how to stand alongside the table, then she gave me the cheesiest smile!

What a character!

Here's just some random pictures that I thought were adorable. This child is just like her Nini, super photogenic!

When it was time for her daddy to leave he asked if I wanted to spend some time with her without him and Nini around and I jumped at the chance to have her all to myself. You can see in the picture above that she just loved standing inches from the TV watching Scooby Do! Another great Baby J Sunday!

And the day before wasn't bad either. Lisa and I went to a surprise Wedding Reception for a dear friend Rebecca and she was thrilled to see us and we were so happy for her! We met her new husband and their baby girl Natalie. We had some great food and are so lucky to have a such a great friends. Wishing you and Matt and Natalie every happiness and joy in the world Rebecca! Love you my friend!

That evening Lisa and her husband G and I all went to a Halloween costume party hosted by relatives of G. We had a great time and I'll end this with a picture of the three of us in costume. Thank you Connie for inviting us! It was a Blast!

 

Baby J Sunday - Decorating for Fall with my Favorite Little Helper!

Had my son take my boxes of Fall decorations out of storage and decided since it was Baby J Sunday it would be a great day to start putting some decorations around the house to get everyone into a holiday mood. It is so fun to see things through the eyes of a child! She was just mesmerized by all the fun things in the boxes. Had to watch her though as many of my things are breakable. She did find a few things to play with that were Baby-J-Unbreakable!

She loved this plush little pumpkin. She had just been to visit the Pumpkin Patch yesterday and she was all about the Pumpkins! Love how she balanced it on her head!

Then she found a plastic bag filled with my fall leaves, so of course she had to take them all out of the bag! What else would you do with a bag full of fall leaves?

So once you have a whole bag of fake fall leaves on the floor what do you do? Why you toss them up into the air just like I showed her how to do with the real ones we raked up in the backyard! After all, daddy was there to pick them up!

But even with all the wonderful distractions of my lovely little helper, I was able to somewhat get some fall decorating done! Baby J will have to wait until next week to see the end results and I shudder to think what's going to happen when she wants to play with the plush pumpkins and the fall leaves again!

You can see the plush pumpkin in the middle here on my dining room hutch and I artfully tossed the fake Fall leaves and placed decorations on top. She hasn't even see the turkey's yet...that's going to be an adventure!

I know she's going to want to play with this little witch house! She's going to love the little shoes!

Maybe the ghosts will keep her curious little hands away! BOOOOOO!

Another great day with Baby J!

      

Love your Neighbor as Yourself, But Don't Take Down the Fence!

"Love your neighbor as yourself; but don't take down the fence."
 Carl Sandburg 

I gotta tell ya...I'm not loving my neighbors today!! Last night was Halloween night of course. We didn't get many trick-or-treaters so we expected an uneventful night. Unfortunately that was not the case.

Around 11 pm some kids in a car decided to drive like maniacs down the alley on the block adjacent to ours. They came out of the alley at a high rate of speed and lost control once they got on the street and they came crashing through the fence into my backyard!

My son happened to be outside with the dogs and was quick enough to move out of the way before they could mow him down as well. He remembers hearing the car's engine and seeing the headlights and thinking "Oh crap, they're not stopping" and moving out of the way.

They broke through the fence...the fence that my daddy built! I think that is the worse part, that dad built this fence and now part of it is destroyed and will have to be rebuilt by a stranger, someone that didn't put his heart into it.

I'm grateful that no one was hurt. I know that is numero uno! But now that my son is safe, and our doggy's are safe, I can grieve for the fence and the memories of my dad putting it together and his opening the gate to park his RV.

The stupid kids put the car in reverse and fled the scene. My son said he heard the passenger yelling, "Put it in reverse, put it in reverse!" Hopefully they were not hurt, I wouldn't want them to be hurt. Hopefully it put the fear of God into them and they won't ever be that reckless again! And hopefully their parents will see the damage to the car and do the right thing...hopefully.

A Halloween Story - La Llorona - The Weeping Woman

The Weeping Woman - La Llorona

by Joe Hayes

 

 

This is the story that the old ones have been telling to children for hundreds of years. It is a sad tale, but it lives strong in the memories of the people, and there are many who swear that it is true.

Long years ago in a humble little village there lived a fine looking girl named Maria. Some say she was the most beautiful girl in the world! And because she was so beautiful, Maria thought she was better than everyone else.

As Maria grew older, her beauty increased and her pride in her beauty grew too. When she was a young woman, she would not even look at the young men from her village. They weren't good enough for her! "When I marry," Maria would say, "I will marry the most handsome man in the world."

And then one day, into Maria's village rode a man who seemed to be just the one she had been talking about. He was a dashing young ranchero, the son of a wealthy rancher from the southern plains. He could ride like a Comanche! In fact, if he owned a horse and it grew tame, he would give it away and go rope a wild horse from the plains. He thought it wasn't manly to ride a horse if it wasn't half wild.

He was handsome! And he could play the guitar and sing beautifully. Maria made up her mind that he was the man for her! She knew just the tricks to win his attention.

If the ranchero spoke when they met on the pathway, she would turn her head away. When he came to her house in the evening to play his guitar and serenade her, she wouldn't even come to the window. She refused all his costly gifts. The young man fell for her tricks. "That haughty girl, Maria, Maria!" he said to himself. "I know I can win her heart. I swear I'll marry that girl."

And so everything turned out as Maria planned. Before long, she and the ranchero became engaged and soon they were married. At first things were fine. They had two children and they seemed to be a happy family together.

But after a few years, the ranchero went back to the wild life of the prairies.  He would leave town and be gone for months at a time. And when he returned home, it was only to visit his children. He seemed to care nothing for the beautiful Maria. He even talked of setting Maria aside and marrying a woman of his own wealthy class.

As proud as Maria was, of course she became very angry with the ranchero. She also began to feel anger toward her children because he paid attention to them, but just ignored her.

One evening, as Maria was strolling with her two children on the shady pathway near the river, the ranchero came by in a carriage. An elegant lady sat on the seat beside him. He stopped and spoke to his children, but he didn't even look at Maria. He whipped the horses on up the street.

When she saw that, a terrible rage filled Maria, and it all turned against her children. And although it is sad to tell, the story says that in her anger Maria seized her two children and threw them into the river!

But as they disappeared down the stream, she realized what she had done! She ran down the bank of the river reaching out her arms to them, but they were long gone.

The next morning, a traveler brought word to the villagers that a beautiful woman lay dead on the bank of the river. That is where they found Maria, and they laid her to rest where she had fallen.

But the first night Maria was in the grave, the villagers heard the sound of crying down by the river. It was not the wind, it was La Llorona crying. "Where are my children?" And they saw a woman walking up and down the bank of the river, dressed in a long white robe, the way they had dressed Maria for burial.

On many a dark night they saw her walk the river bank and cry for her children. And so they no longer spoke of her as Maria. They called her La Llorona, the weeping woman. And by that name she is known to this day. Children are warned not to go out in the dark for La Lorona might snatch them and never return them!

Halloween for the Dogs

It was a busy weekend! Yesterday I spent the day with my mom. She loves to go thrift store shopping but yesterday was definitely a bad day to go as EVERYONE was there trying to find last minute Halloween costumes. So we just had a nice lunch and picked up some groceries and came home.

Then today I went back into Bakersfield with my sister and we hit the Goodwill Bookstore and I found five interesting books! We had our favorite salad at Cocos Restaurant, the Asian Chicken Salad. It was so good! Then we did some grocery shopping again...well she did, I had gone the day before so I just went along to keep her company.

When I got back home my daughter reminded me that I had told her I would go with her to the Self Serve Pet Spa Halloween Event. So there I went...back to Bakersfield. But we had a good time. I hope you all remember her little Shih Poo puppy, Chorizo. She was a banana for Halloween.

She loves being around other dogs, and there were so many! It was a nice event and I hope they raised a lot of money and that some of the dogs that were up for adoption found good homes!

We then went to Banducci's Family Pumpkin Patch. In the mosaic above, the photo of Chorizo in the wagon was taken there. She loved being there because there were so many smells. They had pumpkins, other dogs, sheep, pigs, chickens and pony's. Her nose was working overtime. Plus I don't know if she had ever been around hay before but she loved the smell and the taste of it.

 

 

Here I am with Chorizo. I love the photo in the top right corner where I'm trying to take some hay out of her mouth and she's not at all happy with me!

 

 

She was one tired little puppy on the drive home and I was pretty tired too. So April and I took Chorizo home and then we went to our local Mexican food place and had dinner. It was a busy but fun weekend. Hope you all had a good weekend as well!

 

 

Linking up to Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.