The Essential Beachcomber

North Jetty Park in Nokomis,Florida or as the locals say "no shirt, no shoes, No komis" - hey it's a fishing village Some things never change.  I have never been an early riser. I can do it but it is physically and mentally painful. I am definitely not a morning person. I'm not crabby just not really conscious.  I call it "climbing out of the cellar". As a kid my mom would have to drag me out of bed for school.  Now, if we were going somewhere good...... like Disney World.... I wouldn't even need an alarm clock. I'd be up, dressed, & sitting in the car ready to hit the road.  My work schedule rotates my days off.  Every once in a while I have to work 9 days straight.   The good news is - you have the week end off! The bad news is - your schedules bump together and you won't have a day off for 9 days . So, as I left work last night at 10:30pm and squealed out of the parking lot, I had every intention of going home and getting some much...

Awww, Mary Engelbreit has been sick.  I have admired her work for over 20 years. I recently started following  her blog .   Mary is currently writing from her home where she is resting & recovering from a " weird form of pneumonia". Sending blessings your way Mary - get well soon. Funny, how we are each drawn to different types of art or collectibles. Anything ME has been a passion of mine that has never waned since buying my first little card of hers years ago.  The quotes she chooses are always inspiring, her illustrations touch my soul, & her decorating style makes you want to snuggle down and never leave home. The 1st print that captured me as a collector I have picked up most of my ME collection from garage sales & thrift stores.  They mean even more to me when I can get them at a bargain. I had one wall in my house that I had left blank. I just didn't want to hang any ole picture there just to fill the space.  I wanted some...

I just hate it when work interrupts my beach combing.  Yesterday was  my hump day.  I am on a 9 day work stretch with 4 more to go before a day off. Look at my jar! The last time I posted it was at about 1 1/2 inches.  A handful here and there and I'm still making progress. I flipped my calender to October this morning and the title quote wacked me awake.... don't hurry, don't worry, just do the next right thing in front of me..... The jar is filling up

My mom is the type of person that justs makes you want to do nice things for her. After my dad passed she lived alone in the huge house they shared for 35 years.  The upkeep and maintenance were overwhelming for her. I lived 120 miles south and couldn't just pop up every time there was a need.  Like the time her neighbor called and said "Hey, your mom is on the roof with a chainsaw".  A family meeting was held and it was mutually decided that mom just needed a base camp to operate out of. She & my dad became ministers late in life. Her heart was to continue working in the migrant camps outside of Tampa so we sold her house or the mini-storage as I call it. She only lived in half of the bottom floor. Most of the house was cram-full of the family's stuff.  That was a hard process for her. Going through her life and deciding what to keep, give away, or sell. So she moved the 120 miles south and has lived with us for 10 years now.  She had never felt well and...

Buttprints in the Sand One night I had a wondrous dream, One set of footprints there was seen, The footprints of my precious Lord, But mine were not along the shore. But then some strange prints appeared, And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?" Those prints are large and round and neat, "But Lord, they are too big for feet." "My child," He said in somber tones, "For miles I carried you along. I challenged you to walk in faith, But you refused and made me wait." "You disobeyed, you would not grow, The walk of faith, you would not know, So I got tired, I got fed up, And there I dropped you on your butt." "Because in life, there comes a time, When one must fight, and one must climb, When one must rise and take a stand, Or leave their butt prints in the sand." -- author unknown It's just been one of those weeks. Lots of drama at work & lots of stuff to do at home. My mantra is "I'm too bles...

The decisions have been made Big gull & baby gulls We are rolling up our money gift inside the treasure map The blue sand won . She was right. 

Let me introduce you to my mom. This is GeeGee .  We follow that long southern tradition of calling our grandmothers something odd. Her mother - my grandmother was called Other Mama.  My mother acquired her grandma- handle because the first born grandchild could not say Grandma Ginny and she would call for GeeGee .  Don't let the sweet smile fool you.  No one in our family calls her by her given name which is Virginia. She is known on her side of the family as Aunt Tootsie (pronounced Ain't Toooot-say). GeeGee comes from a long line of crafty women - crafty in a nice way (most of them) Her mother was a florist, tatted (not inked for you youngin's) and crocheted, and off the subject could out fish any man.    GeeGee's Aunt Annabelle was the first woman in Clearwater in the 1940's to have her paintings shown in a "real" gallery.  Aunt Annabelle was a shell  crafter as well. All my sisters either collect something, grow something, or mak...

This was the vehicle in front of my parking space at the beach today Come on!  My finds from Manasota Key Beach tonight. (added 9/20/10) This is the jar I'm filling up with shark's teeth.  It's about an 1 1/2" deep. It took me a month the fill it this far.

Sophia & Vito I swore I'd never have a dog. Too much responsibility, too much money.  Well that all changed when the hubby came home with our first little fluffer -muffin. He was so tiny & it was love at first sight for me. I never had kids so  Vito was my little baby. He loved to play with his ballie . He loved to play hide & go seek with me. We'd sit together on the couch eating House Special Fried Rice. Vito would always wait his turn for his little nibble of pork.  He really didn't know he was a dog until after 3 years I found Sophia and brought her home.  Sophia loved her little food bowls Vito's favorite place - right next to the fridge A good little alpha-female, she taught Vito real quick who was boss and what dog life was all about. Those were the best 12 years of my life, even the last 2 while  we nursed them both through their heart problems. Sometimes the everyday trials of  life have a way of shutting our hearts dow...