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A Day of exploring beaches-

Saturday we decided it would be a day of exploring the many beautiful beaches on St. John.  I have to say the water is just the right temperature which is crystal-clear and calm, possessing a wide assortment of colors ranging from light turquoise, to green and dark blue.  The beaches could be found in small protected bays, surrounded by green hills and bordered by tropical vegetation. 

We tried to visit each beach on the north shore- Salomon Bay, Honeymoon Bay, Caneel bay, Hawksnest bay, Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Maho Bay, and Francis Bay.

Salmon, Honeymoon and Hawksnest were our favorite beaches.

Here's a little look at our ride and attire for the day- =)

You drive on the left side of the road in St. John- kind of tricky, we finally came up with a plan that helped....the ones riding in the back seat would call out "Left" when we started the car {that seemed to help}

and yes, we found ourselves driving on the right more then we like to admit. 

A look at some of the beaches-

It looked like a man made pool...so clear.

Now, I'm just going to get carried away and post tons of beach pictures....seriously how do you pick which ones to share? 

Snorkeling was amazing!  Hawksnest and Honeymoon bay were our favorites- at Honeymoon bay we saw coral, sea turtles and their friend the sting ray and lots of fish.

Most of the time we would have the beach to ourselves....at the bigger beaches maybe 20 people.

As we were driving from beach to beach- we took the time to stop and look down trails or jungle paths....at one such time....we stopped to look down an opening in the jungle,  just as we were about to leave, a dear man drove up in his car, we found out that his home was down there.   He invited us to see it. {never past up a good adventure.}

He lives in a Tree house....yes, a real tree house that he built himself.  His shower was outside and his bedroom was just enclosed with netting.  Everything else was open air.  We stayed and visited with him for awhile, he told us that he has terminal lung cancer, but is doing better.  What a dear man and a wonderful life story.

He is a artist {working with metals} We actually stopped in town and looked at some of his art....amazing.

His attitude was uplifting....here is a quote he had under one of his art pieces-

"Rejoice in your life- Whatever

Do not allow a bad attitude to cause early; your demise.

For life was never a permanent prize." -William L. Johnson

Billy if you see this- thanks for making our day.

 Some things we saw everyday- just part of St. John.   The donkeys walk at the sides of most of the roads in the country.

(sorry about the lighting}

After a day of exploring- we came home cleaned up and headed downtown for dinner- We ate at an open air restaurant {Rhumb Lines} with live music....beautiful sounds, great food- soft breezes. 

(I'm taking a few days to go visit my Dad in Utah- then I will be back to share the rest of our adventure....I have so much to share.....we had a blast!}

 

 

St. John- Traveling there-

We just spent a week in St John with some good friends- Sandi and Steve.....awesome fun.

 Over half of St. John is national park land; the rest is small towns, shops, homes and territorial or private lands.  Everyone says it reminds them of Hawaii 40 years ago.  St. John is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands.   We stayed at the Westin resort in a 3 bedroom villa overlooking the bay.

(view from our room}

This is the first of several post about our trip {documenting =)   The saying, "one picture is worth a thousand words." is especially true for St. John beaches.  It is for this reason that I will rely more heavily on photographs then the proverbial thousand words to describe our trip.  =)

So, here goes-

Traveling there-

In Puerto Rico getting ready to board a very small plane to St. Thomas.   Getting to St. John was an adventure in it self.  Two and half hours to the airport in SF, two planes in the States, One tiny plane from Puerto Rico to St. Thomas....how tiny do you ask, well, they ask your weight before you board....every oz. counts.  Yikes!

Once in St. Thomas we took a  35 minute ride on a Westin water ferry to St. John.

Preparing to land in St. Thomas- a little scary!  We landed safe and sound....and the ride was actually very good.

Once in St. Thomas- the Westin arranged to pick us and our luggage up.  Awesome!  This is the bay where we picked up the Westin Ferry to St. John.  Also had a quick bite to eat at Tickles.

Our view on the way to St. John.....Happy Day we are finally here- {From the time we left to the time we entered our villa 24 hours.}

They met us at the dock with cold drinks, our keys and a shuttle ride to our villa....no checking in....sweet.

 The beds were awesome- no back pain the whole week- Thanks to Westin's Heavenly Beds...( that's what they call them....and they are right.}

 

 

The end of our first day.  Looking forward to our awesome stay.

Can't wait to share more with you- and Oh my, the beaches!  The sand is soft, powdery and a little sensual =)   More later-

"...out to the windy beach, Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow..." -Bob Dylan, "Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man."

 

Roses-

The garden is changing- Roses are coming on big time and in my hummingbird garden which I planted to attract fairies, hummingbirds, songbirds, and butterflies...  poppies are starting to bloom.

The garden in May-

 

St. John Style-

{Cover up For walking to the beach}

We are going to be going away soon on a little St. John vacation.  Part of  the fun for any vacation, at least for me is the planning and dreaming before we go part.  =)

 {I love looking at old photos of my Mom and Dad ....the clothes they wore are especially fun to see....so, I thought it might be fun to document some of the clothes I will be wearing on our trip.}

This is what I plan to wear for the flight to St. John and then back- we have late flights...so, I think I may be a little cold.

For some serious shopping in the Marketplace. 

Everyday casual wear-

I'm bringing three different types of white shirts- so I can mix and match. Also sticking in my bag a few bright colored Tee's {there is a washer and dryer where we are staying....making it nice so I don't have to pack as much.}

Evening wear-

Saving this Blue dress for this place. Dinning in the ruins.

A couple black dresses....just to be safe.

 

For Riding on a white horse on the Beach at Sunset Wear.

{a girl can dream can't she?=)

 

Beach, snorkeling, sailing and dinghy wear.

Accessories and Bags-

The first bag will be used as my main bag, the second is lined with plastic for wet clothing etc. the blue striped bag is for walking to the beach etc. 

I think I'm ready.....ready, set go!

Happy Day

Where I shopped-

Most of the items were from my trip last year to Hawaii.

New this year- Travel outfit, Blue evening dress and bright colored skirt- Boston Proper, Charming Charlie jewelry, Target shoes,  shopping outfit from Anthropology.  

 

Feel the Love

Thank you Dear Children- for your calls of love, notes of gratitude and acts of service-

You bless me more than you know.

   Children, I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know:  if you continue to search and find ways to serve as you do now, your life will be filled with happiness..... It is almost as though you are on the Lord’s errand; and you will then discover that, when you are on the Lord’s errand, you are entitled to the Lord’s help. Serve always-

Thanks for all you do for me.

Love you tons- Mom

Kaleidoscope; Cottage, Mason & the Garden.

Before & After

Needing a little color in my life I took about an hour and changed up the Cottage kitchen a bit.   Nothing big , just new bamboo shades and a touch of blue.

Before & After

I had about a quart of blue paint....so, I decided to paint the back of the open shelves at the Cottage blue.

Just wanted to change things up a bit...kind of wanting a little bit more color.

 

Mason and the Razors

Before & After

It doesn't really show up ....but Mason and the Razor were a muddy mess.

Mason amazed by a wild mushroom.... 

also coming up the hill.  He had to pretty much eat our dust the whole day.

The river to the left looked like it was filled with gold. 

Beautiful day.

The Garden 

With the warmer days the roses start to bloom.

Our days are a kaleidoscope. Every instant a change takes place in the contents. New harmonies, new contrasts, new combinations of every sort. Nothing ever happens twice alike. The most familiar people stand each moment in some new relation to each other, to their work, to surrounding objects. The most tranquil house, with the most serene inhabitants, living upon the utmost regularity of system, is yet exemplifying infinite diversities. - Abhinav Bindra

Yes, a post about My Hair-

Hair is just hair...right?   All my life I have dealt with frizzy, wild out of control and curly hair.   As a child my Mother would perm it .....yes, perm it....at least we would then have a little control of what the curls did.

 {remember...I grew up before the days of hot irons and curling iron or even blow dryers...yep, I am just that old. }

I remember in high school before important dates like the prom...girls would wear curlers to school all day, so, they looked nice that night....I never did that....I was always like... really, look funny all day, so you can look nice tonight... yep...I didn't get that.

I would have to sleep in curlers so at least in the morning I would have some control of what my hair would do for the day. 

I've never been one of those girls who could wake up and just run a brush through my hair and walk out the door.

 No, I wake up with lion hair.....and the only way to look presentable was to either wash it and start over.... or put it up  or pull it back.  

My hair in the picture above was washed, blow dried, flat ironed and then curled.....and  I still have the fuzz halo.

Just to do my hair each morning would take at least a half hour.

But that all changed yesterday-

After Brazilian blow out- via Becca at Inspiration salon.

Wash, dry, curl- 10 Min.

Oh sweet Happy Day!   Plus, I really could of just walked out the door this morning without all that....but wanted to see how it would do after washing it.

Bonus with the blow out- my hair color looks richer- {notice the first picture...I did not change my hair color....it always had what I called the "fuzz halo."

 

 

We are going on a little caribbean island getaway next week....and that will be the real test to see how my hair does.

In humidity my hair grows like a chia pet. {the more water you add to it the bigger it gets.}

Truly scary.

I've been told I can step out of the water and just run my fingers through my hair or just lightly toss it and I'm good to go.

{man, I'm going to feel like a movie star =)

Who can do that.....I never have!  

So, yes, I'm excited about my new hair.

 

 

 

 If you have ever dealt with wild, curly, try and make me behave hair....then you know how I feel.

Hence the post about my Hair!

Wish me luck next week.....I'm hoping that  humidity is no longer my enemy. 

Happy Day

 

 

 

 

 

"My life"

Ellie, Papa and Grammer

With respect to our stewardship for our families, I've heard some teach that when we report to the Savior and He asks us to give an account of our earthly responsibilities, two important questions will relate to our families. The first will be our relationship with our spouse, and the second will be about each of our children....and may I add Grandchildren.

My Family is my life.

I journal here about much of it.....things that are close to my heart or  deeply personal I keep carefully else where.  This blog is a little piece of me....an autobiography if you will. =)

..... there may be incidents in my experience that are more noble and praiseworthy then some that I share here. I try to share a little  "flash" of my life and stories of faithfulness....I try to truthfully record my real self and not what other people may see me as. 

I know much of what I write may be ordinary events and places...maybe a little boring....but I'm hoping that somewhere here, there will also be rich passages that my posterity will quote.=)

 {I can dream can't I?}

So, I write my goings and comings, some of my thoughts, my achievements , associations and triumphs, my impressions and my testimony.

Boring sure.... but if nothing else comes from this blog.....but that my children and Grandchildren know I love them dearly....then Happy Day, all is well.

 

 

When I was younger I remember President Spencer W. Kimball {Yep, I'm that old} saying something like this...

" Remember, the Savior chastised those who failed to record important events."

 

That's enough to keep me recording. =)

Sorry, about this random thought.

 

Miami off road trails-

 

Friday night we decided that we were going to take "Razor" out for a little off road fun on Saturday.....Danny and I thought it would be fun just the two of us to get away for a day to ourselves.

So, I packed a lunch-

Using some left over paper items from the Vintage Spring Sorbet-

Lunch

• Chicken salad sandwiches
• Red Velvet cake stacks in a mason jar
• Fruit

Loaded up the back of "Razor" and headed off the road.

Most of the trails looked like this....lots of bumps and turns and a few  obstacles...like these.

We just barely fit under it.

Most of the drive was just beautiful scenery.

We found a quiet little grove of trees and had a wonderful picnic.

 I think "Razor" quite enjoyed getting off road and dirty.

We saw streams and waterfalls, dogwood blooming, snow flowers, and lots of manzanita blooming. I didn't know they had a pretty pink blossom.

We so enjoyed our day....prefect little date not far from home.

Garden in May-

Whats blooming-

• Foxglove
• stock
• peony
• some roses
• forget me not and other wildflowers

Path to Le Shed-

Beautiful May day.

Vintage Spring Sorbet in the Garden.