Beauty For Ashes

Some pictures that Jim captured over the weekend:

Early in the day, before it was really bad...The view from our street (still early on in the day)...

Jim got closer to take these later on in the day...

Our weekend was rocked by the fires around us.  Literally all around us, on all sides.  There were no fires in Placentia (none that were newsworthy at least), but there were serious fires in the cities that surround us (Brea, Yorba Linda and nearby Chino and Diamond Bar). 

Our house and yard ended up covered in ash, and for the last three days the air has been incredibly smoky.  So smoky that we run straight from the car into the house and slam the door fast.  And so smoky that we haven’t been able to open any windows. 

But what we had to go through was nothing, actually less than nothing.  It was a cakewalk compared to the devastation that so many have faced.  Many of our friends were evacuated and many of their neighbors lost their houses.  Such huge devastation.

Yet through it all, it was amazing to see the kindness, camaraderie and selflessness that rose through the devastation.  I heard stories of neighbors that stayed in neighborhoods that were evacuated and continued to fight the fires and ended up saving many houses… I knew so many that offered their houses as refuge for those who were evacuated…. And in church on Sunday it was such an amazing spirit of community.  The church is going to help anyone in the congregation who was effected and in need because of the fire.

All of this kind of made me think of those verses in Isaiah: 

(The Lord has sent me to) provide for those who grieve in Zion—
       to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
       the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
       and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
       They will be called oaks of righteousness,
       a planting of the LORD
       for the display of his splendor.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins
       and restore the places long devastated;
       they will renew the ruined cities
       that have been devastated for generations.    Isaiah 61:3-4

Im “it”

I was tagged by Momma Shoe in the game of “Eight Things About Me”. 

The rules are: 1. Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their name.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

So here they are folks.  I don’t promise to captivate or amaze… only to follow the rules.

1) Chocolate?  I can take it or leave it.  Give me Jelly Belly’s or any kind of gummy candy any day.

2)  From an early age, when pink and purple were all the rage with my little friends, I declared that my favorite color was green ( and it has been ever since).  However, in more recent years my love for green has expanded to include many different shades.   In fact, if we ever end up remodeling our kitchen (or ever move to a new house) I would love to decorate my kitchen with accents of lime green. 

3)  I love to travel and have been to 12 countries, and 49 of the 50 states.  (Have yet to do Alaska, but it is on the list for sure.) However, according to my “Where I’ve Been” application on Facebook, that still means that I have only been to 19% of the world.  I guess that’s what I love about travelling, there is always somewhere else to go…

4) I can do a cool trick where it looks like I flip my tongue completely  upside down. 

5) I  think the 80’s got a bad rap as a decade.  Secretly it was my favorite decade.  (Guess it’s not a secret anymore…)  White Lion was my favorite (just found out they released a new album this year!!!).  Also loved Erasure, Tears For Fears, Depeche Mode…

6) I am not pleasant to be around before I have had my morning coffee.

7)  I am a natural night owl although motherhood has almost completely squelched this tendency.  (But  you can still occasionally find me reading or on the computer at odd hours of the night when I am yielding to my wild side…)

8) I love to read but strongly prefer non-fiction to fiction.   (The only fiction I really care for are some of the classics I suppose.)  In fact, I can’t remember the last fiction I read.

So there you have it.  Now I am tagging my friend Emily at Boo-Nanna.  You’re “it”!

A Clean Day

I don’t usually review products on my blog (in fact, I don’t think that I have ever done that), but today I think I will.  To give you some background, my mother has always been a phenomenal house keeper.  Growing up, our house was always spic-and-span to the highest degree.  I don’t really have the “gift” of cleaning, nor sometimes the desire.  Still, I like my house to be orderly and fairly clean.  So this product makes me smile and sometimes even (gasp) makes me want to clean!

This is Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Lavender Countertop Spray.  I had seen it in several high end stores but could never imagine paying so much for “just a cleaning product”.  However, when Target began to carry it, my tune changed and I bought a bottle to try it.  My counters will never be the same!  Here is the description from the Mrs. Meyers Clean Day website.  Great website and all, but it fails to mention just how amazing it smells, which is the reason why I love it.  (Although the products are advertised as “Aromatherapeutic”. I guess I didn’t know that was a word.)  Anyway, it is not an old fashioned, stale lavender smell but an amazing, maybe-I-could-learn-to-love-cleaning lavendar smell.  Let’s just say my counters have never been cleaner.  Maybe it’s because of the amazing cleaning power of the product.  Or maybe it’s because they are cleaned several times a day so that my house can smell like a spa.  The point is… they are clean.  Just don’t look at any other part of the house…

There was much rejoicing… (or “It is finished!”)

There was much rejoicing this weekend in the Hale household, because the mosaic table that we have been working on for 3 years now (that’s right, three years) has finally been finished!  We never thought this day would come. 

The project all started when Jim’s parents offered us an outdoor table that Jim’s grandpa had made. We liked the metal work that he had done on it, and thought it would be fun to have such an heirloom.  But because the top was a piece of worn out wood,  we were trying to come up with ideas of how we could refurbish the top of the table.  After shooting down various ideas such as roof shingles, paper mache and AstroTurf, we came up with the wonderful idea of making a mosaic with random things that had been broken (such as pots, dishes, tiles, etc.)

This was one of those projects that we started heartily, but then lost the interest and motivation to complete.  We have been working at it little by little, here and there, but really wanted to have it done in time to use and enjoy this summer.  Now we can!

I would like to thank my mom and dad who brought us numerous interesting tiles from Italy, Spain, Arizona, and Mexico, and put in at least 2 hours each helping to lay the tiles;  my Grammie for donating broken tile direct from her condo in Maui; Greg H. for his grouting skills and labor; Kristen H. for keeping me company and keeping my mind off the heat, my husband for his artistic vision and for accidentally breaking one of my favorite Italian bowls -helping me to realize that it probably looks much better as part of the table than being used to serve pasta; and the numerous friends who motivated us to finish it by making comments such as “That will be such a conversation piece when it is done.” and , “Wow, that is different.  What is it?”

To you we say thank you, and come over soon so that we can sit around it and enjoy each others company!            

Finishing the grout

 

The cheering section

 

Finished product

 

A different angle

 

yet another angle

 

He is not here…

Happy Easter!    These are the words to the last stanza of one of my favorite hymns, “O Sacred Head Now Wounded“

What language shall I borrow 
To thank thee, dearest friend,
 For this thy dying sorrow, 
Thy pity without end?
O make me thine forever; 
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never 
Outlive my love for thee

Welcome to my 1994

As I was stashing a few more items away in my hope chest this past weekend, I noticed something that made me laugh.  Something I had forgotten about that might possibly be blog worthy. 

It was a mixed tape I had made in 1994 (the year I graduated high school).  As soon as I read the titles of the songs on the tape I was transported right back to the days of my first car, Homecoming games, youth group, choir concerts, and hanging out at the coffee shop with friends while we were cutting class. 

It might seem strange to you that Petra, Tiffany and White Lion would all make it onto the same tape.  But this is who I was. (Or who I am, since 1994 will always be a part of me.)  So although I feel just a wee bit vulnerable (no laughing, okay?),  I thought I would share it with you, since it might spark a memory of your own.

(In fact, feel free to reciprocate by commenting with your own retro mixed tape version from high school.)

Side A

1)      More Than A Feeling –Boston

2)      Love In The Light –Michael W. Smith

3)      Book of Days –Enya

4)      Beyond Belief –Petra

5)      Little You Know/In My Life –Les Miserables

6)      St. Elmo’s Fire –John Parr

7)      Chorus -Erasure

8)      Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus –Newsboys

9)      To Know Him –David Meece

10)  It’s Not A Song –Amy Grant

11)  Rise Like The Lion –Violet Burning

12)  What Am I Gonna Do –Steve Vai

13)  Tell Me –White Lion

Side B

1)      Time Runs Wild –Danny Wilde

2)      True Love –Kim Boyce

3)      Dance –Petra

4)      It’s Only Forever –David Bowie (from Labyrinth)

5)      Undone –Violet Burning

6)      Whenever There’s A Night –Mike Reno (from Dream A Little Dream)

7)      Hungry Like The Wolf –Duran Duran

8)      Feelings of Forever –Tiffany

9)      Farewell To You –White Lion

10)  Don’t You Forget About Me –Simple Minds (from Breakfast Club)

11)  Sad Face –The Choir

12)  Always With You, Always With Me –Joe Satriani

13)  You Surround Me -Erasure