So, what do you do with all that sea glass?

 Sort it...

 Display it. The far left has my yellows mixed with white sea glass, the middle jar has reds with white and the far right contains my lavendar and purples with white sea glass.

 More of my displays... jar on the left has large white pieces of sea glass, the middle has pottery shards and the little container, blues and whites.

 This is the collection on top of my bookshelf.

My friend B.H. made this candle holder with sea glass on the outside. It is the most classy by far of all my display pieces.

 More collections. We got these glass containers for our wedding. I finally put them to good use!

I am in the process of filling these glass containers with all of the same color.

 I liked how these look in this heart box that my son made for me for Mother's Day some years ago.

 I tried my hand at earrings. They are o.k. but nothing special. I don't like that you can see the post through the front. Unless I learn how to drill the glass that will be the end of my jewlery making!

Sea glass is a great filler for vases - add water and those short flowers are longer or use it to position the flowers.

June 6th (for lack of a better title)

This was the first beauty of the morning.



The rock wash just waiting to be looked over!



Wish I could rotate the photo - it was my favorite find this morning.

This lady and I have met before on the trail. She lets her dog run on the trail without a leash which is a no-no! (And there are signs everywhere that say "no dogs on the beach!!" (I added the exclamation points.) I have asked/reminded this lady to keep her dog on leash. Her response was "for what?" Which I promptly stopped running and looked at her and said, "because I don't want to get bit!"

But the great thing was this morning I didn't say anything - I don't know if she recognized me or not but justice was served!  As this lady turned to leave the beach, who should come down the hill? But a California State Park Ranger! She quickly tried to put her dog on leash but it was obvious...1. A dog on the beach and 2. A dog without a leash! Double no-no!

He stopped his truck and talked to her. Now..... I know that dogs off leash and on the beach are the least of a Park Ranger's worry but it is nice to know that she got an old fashioned reprimand.

I know she most likely will keep the dog on leash for a few weeks and then in a week or two resort to her "above the law" behavior (most locals around here do). But I hope that she'll be more respectful of the law and of other people's uncertainty of dogs off leash.

And on a more pleasant note, this evening I took a quick walk to see the sunset and to get some fresh air. I had a busy day! -It started with a me sea glassing this morning, then I made breakfast, cleaned up, went to the gym, cleaned up 5 underwear accidents (two involving poop), made lunch, went grocery shopping, made 6 "freezer dinners", made dinner for a friend and delivered it, made dinner for our family, gave two baths, cleaned the kitchen again, did a load of laundry, got family home evening started and did the lesson for our family home evening, and put two kids to bed.

It was a quiet night with a brilliant red sun sinking behind the hills. It was misty and foggy and the sun setting was only visible for about 7 minutes before the clouds shifted and the brilliance was gone. It was nice to walk in the sand thinking about life and my frustrations, disappointments and expectations.

On my walk home I glanced out to the waves (I don't look at the ocean enough. So often I spend my time looking at the sand searching for treasures the ocean has washed up) and what did I see? Dolphins! A big pod of them!

As I watched them I realized that is is moments like seeing their fins peeking out of the waves that I am reminded of that vast underwater world. A whole universe that I can't see yet, I know is there. Teeming with life. Things I never will see.

How often are people like that? So much going on underneath but we don't know it, we don't see it, until something little comes up to indicate so much more. Just some thoughts for June 6th!

Kirstin

Amazing moments

I had a friend tell me of her recent experience of losing her daughter in a crowded public area. We all know that horrible feeling when your heart begins to pound.

And all the places your eyes scan looking for that little familiar person.
It happens to every mom and when it does it is awful.

But in this story, when my dear friend found her child, (at the entrance to the building) before she even had a chance to scoop up her baby and cover her with kisses- she was yelled at for all to hear. And called a terrible mother. Already near tears, she agreed and thanked the man for not letting her little girl wander out.

I have been thinking about that experience and the very harsh words that were used against my friend... thinking that is unfair that so much attention was drawn to her minor mistake. What about those amazing moments that she has had, that all women have had? But were never shouted about or recognized?

I mean those moments when you have absolutely had it with a child and you continue to show patience and love waaaaaay past the point that they really deserve it?

Or the times you put energy and love into a project, a dinner, a lesson and then have it flop or no one seems to notice how great it was?
Or how about the fact that you can understand a child's words or story when others thought they were hearing gibberish?
These moments and a list of them could go on and on.

As I have thought about the amazing moments that women have, the ones that no one ever recognizes and shouts about, I thought of these remarks made in April. They were given by Elder Quentin Cook, a latter-day Apostle as he spoke of the great service that woman do.

He said, "Many of these responsibilities do not provide economic compensation but do provide satisfaction and are eternally significant."

Satisfaction and Significance.

The world looks at money and position and power as payment for amazing moments.

But the currency that teachers, mothers, nurses, social workers, caretakers, fathers, counselors, grandparents, guardians, and so on are paid with a different currency.

The currency with which they are paid has no tangible value because the currency of love, compassion, and respect are are heavenly virtues. And as such will be recognized and acknowledge by Heaven.

I do feel that the goodness and good things that individuals do through out their days will be rewarded, but not usually in the currency that we expect.

 Soooooo with that thought in mind, I hope to hear a little shouting - about all the amazing things (big and small) that women have done.

Photos of Sea Glass

 This is what has awaited me for the past two mornings! I've heard them called "rock washes". And that makes sense, it is where the rocks (and sea glass) have washed up onto the beach.

I finally remembered to bring my camera and was able to capture a few of the peices before I plucked them up and  slipped them into my pocket.



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Can you see the piece of brown sea glass in the middle of the photo?

 

Piece of pottery. There were two peices almost right next to each other. Pottery is a rare find for me!





  Seeing pieces of sea glass as I walk along is like going on an Easter Egg hunt,  but with a twist. No eggs, no candy, just little gems that glow in the sun, hide in the rocks and sometimes roll away in the waves.


This one was a peice of green glass that had fused with a piece of brown glass. They must have been in a fire next to each other.



This shows how lovely sea glass looks when the sun shines on them.

This one was just washed up. I was able to photograph it just before the next wave came and tried to roll it away. It didn't succeed - I was able to scoop it up!

This is my collection from today. It was another successful morning.

Best photo yet!

I have joined some other ladies who are trying to improve their photography skills. Nothing formal, but a few in the group have more experience and are willing to share some tips. I have lots to learn. Since I missed the first meeting, I promised I would do my homework and read the manual for our "little point and shoot" camera. It has me baffled all the time. So I have read and played around with the different options. I found one option labled "custom". I have set it to photograph things up close without ruining the light. I am hoping this photo is an omen of things to come.

This is my collection of "yellows" (don't mind the aqua bottle base, I used it as a contrast piece). And I realize that there is a small greenish (citron) piece in there. Not sure how it got so lucky to be included. But I love that you can see the textures and various color hues in this shot.

A Morning's Work

 We've had some low tides lately and I've been out before 7 AM looking at what the ocean has washed up. Good stuff!

My favorite pieces were the darker aqua piece on the left and the orange piece of pottery. I don't find pottery very often.

Natural Habitat

Hopefully, my next post will include some photos of where I find my sea glass.
(Not the actual beach, I don't want to give away my secrets) but I want to try and capture the way sea glass looks just before I pick it up. In my mind, that is when sea glass is most beautiful...to see it laying right where the ocean waves have left it. Mother Nature is the classiest artist around.

Thinking about sea glass in its natural "habitat" brought to mind people.
(So many connections between sea glass and people).

I love seeing a great family portrait (mostly because ours never turn out) but the photos I like best are the ones that capture a certain look or catch them unaware. Something about a photograph in a person's "habitat" really catches who they are.

I was thinking the other day about how Princess Diana and Mother Theresa died around the same time (six days apart). They were such beautiful people. But it was the photos of them caring for others (Diana with her boys and her charities and Mother Theresa with the sick and invalid) that made them more than just an interesting face.

Sunday afternoon, my husband came home from church. He was wearing his white shirt and Child #1 was wearing his white shirt. It was a sweet moment, as the two of them were hugging and sharing how much they loved each other. It was a mental picture I don't want to forget....Father and son, their matching white shirts, sharing their mutual adoration.

I don't think a posed picture could capture such natural beauty. I'm blessed to have such beautiful things in my life.