Card Donation

Before the pandemic I donated cards to an online card maker friend who started a card rack at her church in memory of a friend who passed away. The money supports one of the outreach program they both were involved in at the church. I wasn't sure if it was a program still going until Susan posting asking for more cards. Last week I sent off 75 cards which didn't even make a dent in the cards I have for sale at CCB. Even I was surprised how many cards I had! 

I plan to send one more box once I'm back home and have time to get my extra cards put in clear shelves. 
 

Trying to get in the creative groove.

Since I'm suppose to be here at the beach house for an art retreat, I found this book at my favorite thrifty bookstore for $2.  Thought it was appropriate for those times when I'm just sitting around not doing anything, which is most of the time. :) 

I did stop by the Safeway thinking maybe they have fresh crabs. I heard they're now in season around here. They didn't look too good so I asked the butcher if they were fresh. He gave it a really good sniff and said, it's gone south. I thanked him for his honest opinion and just brought popcorn.  

Low Tide and Crafting.

Little Sandpipers at low tide

I couldn't decide if I should spend the money and come back down to the Carmel house. The super low tides are happening in the afternoon, which is my favorite time to walk the beach. I went back and forth about it when I decided to call my trip a crafting getaway. This was something I would pay for back in the day.  I loaded up my some of my art supplies and plan to do some rock and water coloring painting. I have to say it was a perfect day to walk the beach and get my 10,000 steps in less than an hour. :) It's also the big golf tournament (don't know which one since I don't golf) at Pebble Beach so I'm guessing it will be crowded in town all week. 

 

Lasagna Finally

 

Not the best photo but I've been wanting to make a gluten free lasagna for a while now. With everything packed away it's been challenging. I was hoping a pyrex pan would come into the store but no luck so far. I'm house sitting, really it's more a retreat away from my tiny place. My friends are gone for about a month and I have full access to their house. They have a wonderful kitchen so no more excuses in not making a full size pan. Most of it will go into the freezer as part of my meal prep plan. Next up is my sewing projects. :) 

Lucite Candles Worth It?

Lucite candles are a thing in the resale market. Don't ask we why, I think it's right up there with plastic fruit. The candles (copper flakes) and copper candle holder came into the store this past week. It's the first time I've seen a pair in the wild. There was a debate on pricing it. I voted (insisted) we go almost full retail at $75.00 as all the big Youtube resellers go crazy when they find the candles. So I'll test the theory they know what they're talking about. 

 

Pin Cushion Workshop

Went to a pin cushion workshop at FabMo today. It was so much fun as we had access to a warehouse of fabric! A variety of containers were provided and after the first test run using cotton fabric it was game on. I liked the look of velvet but it was a little too thick but I went with it anyways.  The linen and silk were easier to work and with all the samples there was no limit to how creative you could get. My container was on the big side so I could use bigger prints. My project looked like a royal crown when I added a lace doily and some pearls. :) 

Beach Time

Where I find peace is walking on a quiet beach looking for treasures. Maybe it's all the negative ions floating around but it's my happy place. 

While the boys were here we collected a lot of beach treasures, mainly rocks. I started make dioramas and Christmas ornaments. 

Now that I'm back home I have to decide what to do with all the "treasures" I have. 

I think I will need some more beach time to help my creative mojo to kick in. 
 

With patience I can find almost anything.

Patience isn't a virtue of mine but I've learned I will always find what I'm looking if I'm patience.  When people ask me to look for something, I always say I will find it at some point if they can wait. I'm now being super patience looking for a new place to live. 

I follow a watercolor artist on Youtube and she said "the artist way" was a must have book. I asked the book person at the HD to keep an eye out for me. It's an old book and I think I had a copy years ago. Anyways, a few hours later the very last book she took out of a box of donation was "the artist way"!  It's a very old copy with the paper all yellow but that means it was free. Now I'm looking for "writing down the bones" which people think inspired the artist way's author. 

 

Restaurant Ware

I'm a sucker for restaurant ware. Do I really need it, no. All of my kitchen stuff is packed up and living with no bowls it's just a little inconvenient. While I was down in Carmel I found these at the Branches Thrift store for $1.75 each. It was a little more than I wanted to pay but I don't find them too often. 

Good Luck - Moon Rising

The moon coming through the big oak tree in the backyard of the Carmel house. I've been visiting a lot of open houses while here and I have to say all the homes have been show stoppers. I was asking Henk if he would buy a "sprinkle" house here when he got older. He said yes, he loves sprinkles. I'm sure he thinks we're talking about donuts.  :)

It been a very good week for me. Starting the week off  with find another rare item I love,  the perfect beach weather with the low tides and a bakery that doesn't cost an arm and leg. I like to think about my full moon rising is making it happen. :) 

Sweet Reba Bakery Is It Worth a Visit?

I was told there was a new bakery (new to me) in the Crossroads shopping center down here in Carmel, Sweet Reba. They gave it rave reviews but they are very positive people and love everything so I was skeptical. :)  

I stopped by to check it out as soon as I got into town.  They had three gluten free items which I picked up to review. In my world if you can bake something GF well, you know what you're doing. I then ask for them to pick something, knowing it was going to be reviewed. Being that they mostly have cookies, I was surprised they picked a slice of chocolate cake. Their prices are fair for being in Carmel and a tourist town.  It's a very friendly shop and worth a stop if you just want a little something sweet that doesn't break the bank. 

Peanut Butter Cookie - $3.50 It was good but with only a few ingredients I would expect to be good.

Lemon Bar - $3.50 Sorry I had it upside down in the photo, it was much prettier in person. It was the best of the bunch. Chewy and lemony.  Had a nice powder sugar icing. 

Carrot/Spice? Coffee Cake Muffin with a Cream Cheese filling. - $3.50. This one was interesting and different from the normal GF offerings. It was good but not to my taste.  Happy I tried it but I won't get it again. 

So to the Chocolate Cake  Slice - $5.00 (?) The cake part was good but the frosting and filling was just a little bit off. This wouldn't have been what I would have picked to be reviewed. The frosting also had chucks of something (maybe cream cheese?) that wasn't blended well or that's their style.  You can sort of see in the picture.  And yes my stomach said it was a really bad idea to sample the cake. I can normally tolerate one slice of cake but this one sent me over the edge. It's not the bakery's fault as I knew I was taking a risk. 

Perfect Beach Day

I wasn't planning on spending the whole weekend at the Carmel house. I couldn't get all my stuff back home after the holidays. This week opened up so I came down. When I found out the extreme low tides were happening in the afternoon. I decided to stay a few extra days.  I love walking during low tide as it's easier and most people for some reason don't walk that far out. It was the perfect combination of warm sunny weather and a low tide. On one of my walks, there were a ton of seagulls on the beach. I've never seen this many on the shore before let alone on a busy weekend. Lots of people and dogs. I was able to get really close (not afraid of the people) when I thought it would be great if they all flew up at the same time. Out of no where a small dog took care of it.