Nothing says Summer more than the beach. The beach and more importantly, the classic scenic view with a lighthouse which is paramount to the vision of summer. When I visited my friend in New Hampshire I had the pleasure of seeing a lighthouse. Somewhere in my pile of non digital photos is that picture I took while standing on the beach. However with the magic of the internet I found a similar picture.

Did you know August 7th is National Lighthouse Day.

Here are some facts about lighthouses:

There are 779 standing lighthouses in the United States.

Michigan boasts the most lighthouses of any US State.

Lighthouses have different color patterns to help the mariner identify them during the day.

Lighthouses height range from 50 to 200 feet tall

The light from a lighthouse can typically be seen 20 miles away

The height of a lighthouse takes into account the curvature of the earth, so the higher light above MHW (mean high water), the further away it can be seen at sea. But the light should not be so high up that local sailors will not see it. This is why you will frequently get shorter lighthouses on the top of cliffs and taller lighthouses built nearer the water surface.

These days, lighthouses are run by machines and remote monitoring. The automatic sensors decide if there is extra moisture in the air, and if so turn on the fog signals. Radio signals are used to communicate with the ships. But some lighthouses are still manned by people.

Lighthouses are great tourist attractions. I can vouch for that. When I know there is a lighthouse nearby, I want to see it.

Lake Havasu’s 400 miles of stunning shoreline hosts an impressive collection of 28 scaled-down lighthouse replicas. All are actual functioning navigational aids. 

Many books and movies feature lighthouses. The below are a few movies. What an interesting backdrop to a movie. Lighthouses have such history and let’s be honest they can be a bit spooky.

The Lighthouse (1998)
Pete’s Dragon
The Vanishing
The Fog
Lighthouse
To the Lighthouse

Some of my favorite lighthouses:

A classic striped lighthouse.

A lighthouse at dusk sitting on rocks.

Split Rock Lighthouse, Silver Bay Minnesota

St. Helena Island Lighthouse, St. Helena Island, Michigan

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Lubec, Maine

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Oregon

Tourlitis Lighthouse, Greece

So many unusual and beautiful lighthouses that have saved countless lives. Thank you for checking out my blog and the mini lesson on lighthouses.

Finding a summer poem I would like was not so easy. Generally I am not about the hot days or summer activities. But when I saw this poem by Emily Brontë I knew this was perfect as it spoke of cooler nights and the magic of the moon.

‘Tis moonlight, summer moonlight, 
All soft and still and fair; 
The solemn hour of midnight 
Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere,

But most where trees are sending 
Their breezy boughs on high, 
Or stooping low are lending 
A shelter from the sky.

And there in those wild bowers 
A lovely form is laid; 
Green grass and dew-steeped flowers 
Wave gently round her head.

The moon and all its magic works hard at night to bring sweetness to the earth come morning dew.

Such a pretty poem to be read.

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Nothing says summer like sunflowers and lemonade. When I ran to the store to grab a quick item I saw a woman coming out of the store with several bouquets of sunflowers. I beelined to the florist shop and saw the sunflowers were on sale. I grabbed a bundle knowing it would brighten the kitchen.

The flowers are so sunny and friendly.

On a recent Bath and Body works order I received a free candle and I chose a lemon scent. It was called Sugared Lemonade. How yummy sounding is that. The fragrance notes are fresh lemon juice, sugar crystals and crushed ice. The scent is heavenly. Really reminds me of lemonade.

Speaking of lemonade. I bought a bunch of lemons with the intention of making homemade lemonade. I have never made lemonade with fresh squeezed lemons. I tend to just buy the stuff premade.

The recipe was super easy.

1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Heat on the stove to dissolve the sugar. Once desolved, cool down for at least 10 minutes.

Squeeze fresh lemons to get 1 cup of lemon juice. Hint: roll the lemons back and forth before cutting in half. This helps release the juice.

Add lemon juice and sugar water together. Add 5 cups of water. Chill. If you cannot wait, pour over ice and drink up. It was so refreshing.

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I love a good jigsaw puzzle. Usually every Christmas I will pull out a holiday themed puzzle to do. This time I thought I would do a mini one since I really don’t have the space to lay out a large puzzle.

I thought I would do this mini California puzzle since I do live in California. It was small enough I could do it on my wool pad where I iron for quilting. With only 100 pieces I figure I could do it in one night

And I was correct.

Amazon sells these puzzles and there are multiple states. Very cute and not so easy with its odd shaped borders.

I might do one of the Puzzle Professor literature puzzle since it is small. I bought two of them for less than $5.00 a piece. Not exactly summer themed but very enjoyable. One side is a page from the book, and the other is an artist rendition of a typical scene.

I got both Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein. I might wait to do Frankenstein around Halloween.

Looking at this puzzle reminds me I do have that Neil Patrick Harris game Box One that is a puzzle solving game that I started but did not finish. I do so enjoy a good puzzle.

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I can usually find seasonal coffees at Aldi’s and this summer had their Summer Blend. A medium coffee with a fruity kick. I was able to get the ground coffee as well as the k-cups. I made some the other day and it was a nice mellow coffee. Not sure I can taste any fruit, but it had a nice smooth taste. It did not disappoint.

I actually tried a cold brew drink from Starbucks which I normally do not branch out and tend to stick to my favorites. I like a tried and true classic. It was worth the try.

Besides my coffee I was able to start a new book. This book was one of my Book of the Month selection by Abby Jimenez called Just for the Summer.

I am only 100 pages in and so far I am enjoying it. I like the characters and the premise.

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it’s now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They’ll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.  

Emma hadn’t planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It’s supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma’s toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they’re suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected–including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Not a bad start for the summer.

I have never been a huge fan of Summer. Maybe if I lived somewhere else where the temperature was not so high and just doing anything results in sweat pouring off my face. But I live in a hot area, and electricity is sooooo expensive in the summer months. So many time I just sit and sweat during the day until after the magic time zone starts again where I can turn on the air without having my bill double.

But summer does have its charms. When I think of Summer in the traditional way, I think of going to the beach, picnics, pool parties and enjoying long days of sunshine. When I was a child, the summer vacation was the best. No school, just fun. But when you are an adult, you work thru summer and there is no block of time to just have fun. I think we ought to implement this type of schedule in the workplace. I would vote for that.

For the first time ever I am doing a summer bucket list. Maybe it will get me to embrace Summer and all its charms. I may not be able to go hiking anymore but I can do virtual hikes and enjoy the scenery. I can also learn about lighthouses which I associate with summer and beaches. Not to mention the pretty flowers and summer drinks.

I have already started a few of these items and plan to finish all of these by the end of August. So basically I have a few weeks to finish out my summer and start on my Autumn bucket list.

Going to go read my summer book and watch a video or two before going to sleep for the night.

Enjoy your day or evening!

Last night in bed, I glanced out the window and saw a beautiful moon. Not quite a full moon but a bright, large moon, glowing low in the sky.

I normally cannot see the moon from my bedroom window except certain times a year.

Every once in a while I see a moon that appears incredibly large, all orange and aglow. It always leaves me in awe on the wonder of it all.

There is such magic at night. The night critters strolling around looking for their evening meal, the occasional night bird or Owl letting us know they are watching. Looking up in the sky to see the wonderful stars.

I often think of my father when looking at the sky. My Father worked at JPL and often brought to me pictures of the night sky from NASA. Once when I was about 16 years old we went out to the desert in Lancaster to watch the Perseid meteor shower on an August night Lying on a cot looking up at the sky seeing meteors shooting across the sky, trying hard not to miss the occasional streak of light. I recall asking my Father what that cloudy, misty smear was in the sky, He looked at me like I was a dope telling me it was the Milky Way. Hard to believe that I had never seen the Milky Way before. Living in the city, where dark rarely takes over, I had never actually seen our Galaxy before.

What a delight.

I used to know some of the constellations but not any more. I do still search for the Big Dipper when I am out in the dark. It does provide comfort that it is still there. In a world that rapidly changes seeing this constant star in the sky is calming. Yup, it is still there.

THE MOON by Robert Louis Stevenson

The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise

Perhaps tonight I will see my old friend the moon again.

Sleep tight everyone.

It seems this year Winter has been dragging its feet. Here we are mid April and we still have random rain storms and cold spells. Today was a nice, warmish day, but I am not convinced that Spring is here.

I do see some of the trees in the neighborhood are starting to bloom, so maybe it is being shy. Let’s bring on Spring by posting some beautiful Spring pictures.

I like to think of Spring as green gardens with blooming flowers. Sitting outside reading a book and wearing a feminine flouncy dress with a light cardigan on a picnic quilt, maybe a puppy or kitty playing in the grass. All things new and fresh. The scent of flowers filling the air.

Somehow Spring does make me want to sip some delicious Spring tea blends, dainty cups on lace doilies. Of course there would be baskets filled with warm muffins or scones next to crystal glasses and china plates. I long to have a set of mismatched plates and tea cups for such an occasion. Makes me want to pull out my Mothers vintage snack sets which were so popular in the 40’s-60’s. I do not recall the pattern I have as it has been a few years but this looks familiar. I think I have a few different sets.

My puppies are not blog/instagram stars and so I post this random cute puppy. I did find a photo of Penny enjoying the spring grass.

Just a little words of Spring to bring in the season.

Thanks for viewing my blog. Happy Spring.

I do not really do anything for Christmas and even more so as I have gotten older. Decorating the house is just too much for me. But I do like the feeling of Christmas so I do little things that don’t require a huge effort on my behalf.

I wrote up this “non bucket list”. Basically meaning maybe I will, maybe I won’t. But it does help me celebrate the season.

I probably spent more time trying to get my old computer to rev up so I could use some of my Christmas pngs to create the art work on this document. Please excuse any misspellings on the document. It fought me tooth and nail that old pile of electronic junk and I ran out of patience trying to get the programs to open and work, more or less typing them out. But I think you get the idea of the things I do during the Christmas season.

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I do not celebrate Christmas like other people do. I do not buy presents and put up a tree. I might on good years make handmade cards but it is getting harder each year to do that. I tell myself to get ready in July so they are good to go in November but I rarely do. Looks like this will be another years without an annual Christmas card. I certainly hope people don’t think I kicked the bucket. It just takes a ton of work.

But there are things I do to get in the mood. I like looking at artwork with Christmas themes. I am a huge fan of Katie Daisy. Her art is so special. Here are some of my favorites.

You can buy her art prints from her Etsy shop or maybe get a set of cards. Her prints are so nostalgic to me. The pint and mint colors and the shiny bright ornaments.

The one year my Grandmother came to stay with us during the holidays and we made a Gingerbread House.

The ribbon candy reminds me of my Grandmother and her bowls of hard candy just waiting for little kids to suck on them with sticky fingers.

Pictures of snow and winter critters with their warm coats exploring their territory with a cold stillness.

Such nice images to bring in the Christmas spirit.

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