A New Year, Happy

Ah, the Famous Resolutions

One year ... That's a lot of time to pray for peace, a lot of time to work for peace. 365 days is definitely enough time to make a difference in someone's life. You can live every day the same, or you can live extraordinary days doing for others. It's a lot of time to make resolutions and promises, or ...

In just 60 Seconds (more or less)

you can call a friend and say, "Hello, I was just thinking of you."

(Thinking about texting? It's just not the same.)

you can say, "I love you!"

give Thanks

enjoy the love and laughter of a friend

day dream (might need a few more seconds)

pick up a book to read

sit down to play the piano

watch the grass grow or fly on a trapeze. really?

put your walking shoes on

put a stamp on a postcard

jump in a puddle and make a splash

follow the countdown to 2011

Art to Appreciate

What Do You See?

I See "A Rainy Day"

I decided to make 2011 Desk Calendars for the family from my youngest grandson's original crayon drawings. I selected 12 from a few months of drawing fun, named them "My World at 2", scanned them and now we have something wonderful to look at all year long. 

And then, this Original Silkscreen Print is amazing art
"Lines in Architecture" by Ben Kafton

Reminiscences and Recipes

December 2002 ~ A Christmas Cookbook: It started with the cover design. What could be more perfect than a collage of family Christmas photographs? This was a heartwarming experience in itself. Next, I delved into all the boxes, albums and drawers where I kept my favorite recipes, and selected the most yummy food creations. The final touch was a line or two beneath each recipe to reminisce. 

Inside the Cover I wrote: 

"This collection of recipes and reminiscences is the beginning of a keepsake for your most treasured recipes, and along the way I am hoping that you, too, will add your memories to the list of ingredients."

Humor

Just thought I'd send a little humor this morning.  Recently we took a family trip to Texas. We had a great ride to the airport. Traffic? No problem. Parking? No problem. Shuttle? No problem. 

AIRPORT SECURITY: For convenience there are two lines and as luck would have it my family goes one way, and I get routed the other way. My husband had our 2 carry-ons and went through scanning. No problem. My daughter had her carry-on, laptop, phone, cosmetics, purse, and went through scanning. No problem. My son had his phone, ipod, computer, carry on, and went through scanning. No problem. And then, it was my turn.  Can you tell what might be coming next?

All I have is my purse with cosmetics in the required plastic bags, my cell phone, and my daughter's camera bag. BIG PROBLEM. The bells started to ring, red lights flashed and a security guard came up to me and pulled me (verbally) over to a clear glass enclosed area and started questioning me. I'm asking, "Is it my ring or my watch?", and the guard says something about "the Infrared Alarm". After a few more questions he asked me to identify my belongings. He said he just wanted to know about all my electronics. "Electronics? You mean my flip style phone?" Then he pulled my stuff off the line and we went to another side area. "Palms up", he said. So I did that and he swabbed my palms for who knows what. Now I'm thinking, "Oh, gosh, I sure hope I washed my hands after putting my make-up on this morning" when a young guy walks by all this , and says to me lol, "If you're a terrorist, I know I could take you down so easy." "I'm not", I said quietly, "and I'm here with my kids." 

As soon as I was cleared as a terror non-threat,  I looked around and saw my husband and daughter in deep conversation. They saw nothing. My son finally turned around to see where I was and says, "Mom, c'mon, what's taking you so long to put your shoes back on?" 

Just another typical Zahigian story. THE END.

Home Decor

I have to admit that I have a lot of stuff on my bookshelves and I mainly just dust around everything. I am also definitely used to the sight and sound of the domino effect: CD's knock over the family photographs, which knock over the little pottery Mother's Day Gift from my granddaughter, which sends the little wooden gingerbread boy tumbling off the shelf and onto the floor.

My son-in-law, Josh Ganshorn, and my daughter, Jen, designed a unique storage bin that is just right for storing varied and unfettered clutter. The vintage book spines were up-cycled with dignity. Made right here in Southern California by Able + Baker. Check it out!