Estate Sale Shopping Purchase!

Give me a bad day, and I will go dig out my collection of jewelry and try on pieces and handle the various sparkly bangles and bling until my hearts content! Seriously, I'd ten times rather go garage or estate sale shopping than hang out at the mall. Today I had the best of two worlds. Andrea took me to a fabulous estate sale where I was able to pick up 4 nice pieces of jewelry including the above Kirk's Folly choker style necklae. I got a great parure by Coro (1950's design); and sparkling rootbeer rhinestone necklace and earring set and a wonderful Florenza pin and earring set also. I'm addicted to sets - must have earrings to match every other piece of jewelry. Anyway, these will be added to my collection - and I will probably wear the Kirk's Folly a lot over the next year!

Peek-A-Boo!

Drew Bunts the Winning Run...

 

...and BayLee pitched some great strike balls! It was an awesome game tonight. The coaching was fabulous, the kids had a great time, BayLee got the game ball for excellent pitching (following his coaches suggestions) and Drew played an important roll in being the catcher at the end of the game. Drew and BayLee make a great team - I wished they could appreciate each others talents as much as everyone else in the stands does! BayLee is recognized for his quick and strong style both in pitching and catching. Drew is a strong catcher and works great as a baseman. Drew is also well known for his ability to bunt the ball. See the video below to see that Drew's Bunt brought in the winning run!!! YEP, THEY WON THE GAME!!!!

Guilloche Enameled Rose Jewelry

Click the title to this post to view pictures of the Enamel Rose Jewelry that I have collected over the past 10 years.

The story of how I began collecting this jewelry starts with a pair of earrings my mother has. They are the first jewelry that I remember noticing. When I see this rose enameled jewelry, it makes me smile, thinking of my mom wearing the earrings and seeing them in her jewelry box. My mother is a woman who could simply put on a pair of earrings and some lipstick and look fabulous. The memories that are my favorite are of her getting ready to go some place and taking a few minutes to add the lipstick, comb her hair and put on a pair of clip-on earrings.

From Guilloche Rose Collection

Off to the Races - Easter Day

With Gramma Sharon, the three boyz, Andrea and Tracy, Al and I had a fun day at the horse races! We arrived in plenty of time to get great seats - and it was "Dollar Day" so all the food we wanted at $1 each!



We got great a box seat with seven chairs and lots of room. We were right on the finish line, and above the stables where the jockey and horses were prepared for the race. That way we could check out the horses before we headed up to turn in our bets.



It was an absolutely beautiful day - warm and sunny with a slight cool breeze!



BayLee was a little down on his luck and out of money. I was going to be the next one to run out of money, but I had a good hunch on the next race - I thought I new which three would come in on top. The problem is that I had no confidence in placing them in order. So, I enlisted BayLee in putting them in order for me. He told me what order, and I told him that if we won, I would share the winnings. Bottom line is that together we won $160!!! He was in seventh heaven when I gave him his half.



Drew wanted to give it a try with me. So we took our $6 up and bet the same sort of trifecta boxed (that means we didn't have to take the risk of putting the winning horses in any sort of order - but the payoff wouldn't be as great). The problem was that we weren't as lucky this time around....it was a good lesson for Drew, BayLee and Papa!



We all left the races feeling like we had a pretty fun day. On the way home, Tracy took us up to a site where we could overlook the city - oh my it was so beautiful - much prettier than these pictures show. My lesson here was NOT to take pictures with the camera facing the sun! Even if the view is pretty from that direction!






It was a fabulous end to a wonderful day. My only wish is that if it could have been shared with My Oregon family!

Traveling on the Train

I always say that having my daughters in two different states is bittersweet. In a long 16 hour train ride, my emotions bounce between excited and happy to sad and back to excited and happy again. Excited to get on the train and see the kids I've missed, sad to be leaving my DH or whichever family I am leaving at the time and then excited and happy to see the kids I am visiting. It doesn't matter which family I am leaving or going to. I've been very lucky to have my girls close to me and the grands all in one city until this past 6 months. So, here are a few pics of my arrival in Eugene in March. Simply put - it was cold and wet - I love the rambuncious greeting I always get from the little girls....they always seem like they are so excited to see me...so do Kesch and Dale - what a wonderful feeling.





When I get back to California, I'm always greeted with lots of love and open arms also! It's so wonderful to be able to spend time with my loving family. It won't be long, and hopefully Al will be traveling along side me!

Sometimes its just about Grammy thinking your cute!

An Easter Treat . . .

. . . would she really eat a FROG???

Alameda Fleamarket Fun!!!

I was in the height of glory at the Antiques on the Bay Fleamarket! There were over 800 merchants and there were thousands of people attending. It's every month on the first Sunday of the month.



The pins were what I purchased. I really did well with those rabbits. I bought them at a fraction of what one would have cost to buy online! They will both go into my personal collection. One is signed Karu Fifth Avenue, and is copyrighted 1940. The other one is not signed - because Karu often made jewelry to be sold by lower end department stores. The higher end stores sold the signed jewelry.

The bird pin is not signed, but shows signs of being quality jewelry with the heavy rhodium backing and excellent quality stones (even though they show some black spotting - so I will have to replace them eventually). This pin will also go into my personal collection. There is such a thrill when I find a great peice of jewelry - the "hunt" is so much fun...and then the research of what it is....it's all what collecting is about!


Al had a great time also - he loved seeing all of the old antiques, and loved being on the military base. The fleamarket is held on Alameda Docks near where the USS Hornet (a retired aircraft carrier) is located. The docks were once runways. There is some amazing history in this area! On a side note, this is also near where I was born - nearly 58 years ago this year! Ugh, I think that qualifies me as an antique? Or am I just vintage?

Baseball Season - BayLee is Catching and Pitching

When BayLee isn't catching, he's either pitching or is first base man. He's got speed on his side, so they like to put him in the catchers position. He loves the sport, and is good at it - I think it comes natural to him, as both Scott and Papa Emery were great baseball players. The team plays twice a week, and Tracy is head coach. It's fun to go to the games, because both Drew and BayLee play on the same team. Sometimes, BayLee pitches and Drew catches...that is when I love watching them play!

KC's Walking

KC is really finding his independence! He loves toddling around finding new things to look at. This is a Saturday Baseball game day. It was about 80 degrees, and he was too hot to wear his heavy sweatpants that we put him in that day. He must have walked 50 miles this day....and I must have videoed most of the 50 miles!

Crafting with Cali

It's been a cold afternoon today. About 1:30 or 2 pm it started to snow - nice pretty wet, Oregon type snow. It didn't stick, but I definately knew it was time to stay home and snuggle in. I've had either my heating blanket covering my legs or I've been setting by the fire. The girls and I have watched TV while Kesch worked on getting her pictures into albums - and it was definately a lot of work. Zaide is having breathing problems, and has a little fever. Maisy seems to have cabin fever today. Cali and I escaped into her bedroom to do some crafts.












The picture on the left is of a braided bookmark that Cali taught me to make; and the one on the right is the yarn cutter that I use for crocheting.

Cali and I worked together to make this memory necklace to wear with this pink blouse!

Cali "Miss Slamma Jamma" the Basketball Queen

I'd like to tell you that I am spending a lot of quality time with Miss Slamma Jamma, but she is out with the guyz shootin' hoops! She loves most sports and can keep up with the best of the boyz! I kid you not!

Cool Jeans

Kesch made these cool jeans for Maisy's b-day. They are just perfect for Maisy - TOTALLY her style!

Girls can beTechno-Geeks too!

Maisy is my little Techno-Geek. She loves anything that has to do with modern day technology! She loves computer games, X-box games, Movies, music, and has really good math skills. A new discovery this week-end is that Maisy also is interested in the Twilight Saga. She was on a bike ride with her dad, and he said she kept looking at him. He said, "why are you looking at me like that?" She said, "Because I think you look like Edward!" How cute is that! Maisy and I spent some time hanging out doing a Math game on her computer. We also looked through the Twilight Movie Companion. Most of the things that I do with Maisy are quiet games. We like to play dress up of her dolls and play quietly. I think one of the most exciting things I've done with Maisy this so far this week is have her read to me. The last time I was here she didn't seem to want to read at all, but this week she is really showing signs of being a really good reader! Maisy is really into the Tinkerbell series, Doll People, The Meanest Doll on Earth and the Junie B Jones books. She also loves fashion, and so, you can see a picture of her in her "New" Jeans her mom made for her birthday!

Gardening with my ZeeCat

Zaide and Cali came home from Breakout with flowerpots last night. Denise gave them a couple so that they could plant this some seeds for spring. So, Zaide and I planted spinach this morning. It was a fun project, because first we colored the pictures on the planter, and then we filled it with moist dirt, poked holes in the soil and planted seeds, covered the seeds with dirt and then she sprayed the dirt with water. She is an excellent little gardener! After we got done, she took pictures of me and the fish! So those two pictures she took - not bad, eh?
I know, I know, I didn't comb my hair when I got up this morning - because with Zee, you just wake right up and get busy with the days work that she has planned out - and trust me, she does indeed have plans for the entire day - the girl doesn't stop talking!!! No complaints from me though...I love it!These are her fish - named Tom and Jerry!

Birthdays - Zaide and Maisy

The video shows Maisy's outfit and Zaide's bouncing ball both gifts from Andrea.
The girls love their gifts from Auntie, and wanted to show them off on the camera so that Auntie could see how much they love them:) I'm really enjoying my stay here...it's so fun to be around the girls. Kesch and I laughed last night until Dale got up and shut the door...which of course made us giggle even louder.

Maisy"s Birthday

I arrived in Eugene, after riding the train for 12 hours. It's Maisy's birthday, but she is one sick little girl! She's got this congested cough, but she was determined to meet Grammy at the train station. I was so happy to see the girls. Zaide and Maisy walked over in the rain to greet me, while Dale grabbed up my luggage and Kesch took pictures. It's all I can do to hold my tears in, as I so miss the girls when I am in California. My heart is tugged between California and Oregon, that is for sure! After arriving, Kesch and the girls and I went shopping at WAlmart to pick up a few things. While we were shopping we saw Amy, and talked about Twilight. Then we headed home for a cozy birthday celebration with cupcakes and birthday songs.

Relaxing on Sunday Afternoon

We got up this morning and went to breakfast at Sweet Tomatoes. It's a great salad bar with soup and breads. On Sunday mornings they do a breakfast bar, and my DH loves it! I'm not really big on buffets, but this is a good way to deal with his appetite on Sunday mornings, and I get a chance to eat my favorite salad tastes!

After we went to breakfast, we met up at Andrea and Tracy's house and Andrea and I took off to Ultra's to get a haircut for her. While we were there, I decided to go ahead and get one too, that way I wouldn't be wasting time at the salon instead of hanging out with Kesch and the girls when I visit Oregon.

Tracy invited Al and I to hang out and wait for dinner at their house - fillet Mignon - BBQ by Tracy - oh num num! Andrea marinated it in something over night and Tracy BBQ'd it. It was fabulous! While I was there, I caught up all my laundry so that Al has a week of clean clothes while I am gone. Here are some pictures of how the Zoobies relax while Grammy and Papa hang out after dinner.

Retired - A New Life

We retired last year, and are now living in California. It's not the place that I thought I would ever want to live, but there is a method to my husbands madness. He went back to work....short lived retirement, eh? So, I travel between Oregon and California. Why? Well, my three sparkling grandgirls are in Oregon with my oldest beautiful daughter and her handsome husband; and my three macho-man grandsons live in California with my youngest beautiful daughter and her handsome husband. So, that leaves me traveling between the two residents grappling with the ideea that someday we might be able to live within a few short miles of one another someday soon. In the meantime, I'll take a train, plane or automobile to be able to spend a little time with them.