Dreaming of Someplace Warm

The majority of the United States is getting pummeled by snow and cold.  Up here in northern Utah it's a week full of snow storms with a tiny break on Thursday.  Next week it will be partly cloudy and in the 40's, so nice and toasty. :P

All this snow has me craving warmth.  It happens every Winter, and then in the Summer, when it's super hot, I think a little snow wouldn't be so bad.  :\

I've just been craving the beach so bad recently.  It wasn't until yesterday when I realized the last time I was at the beach was when I visited the Ring of Kerry in Ireland, May 2019!!!  That's the last time!!!!!!  And I visited California four times after that British Isles trip.  It just so happened that all four trips to Cali was to Disneyland.

On one of those Disney trips, July 2019, my Mom and Aunt decided to visit Newport Beach.  I could have gone with them but decided instead to stay at the Disney park and spend the day with my Dad running around California Adventure.  We did soooo much!  I got so soaked on Grizzly River Run I might as well jumped in a pool fully clothed.  That final geyser did me in.  It was so bad.  That was a good day.

But at that point my Mom and I booked a trip with Steven and Ty to do a Disney Cruise in the Caribbean for late February 2020, so I was planning on seeing the ocean then, then Steven lost his job in January, so we canceled the trip.  In hindsight my Mom and I regret the cancellation, but if we had gone we wouldn't have taken my two older nieces to Disneyland instead, and I'm glad we got to experience Disneyland in all its glory one last time before everything closed down.

This is the longest I've spent away from the beach.

I'm aching for the sound of the surf.

I close my eyes and imagine Cambria CA, walking along wooden paths.  That's my favorite place, my happy place, even more than Disneyland.  So many wonderful memories.  Thankfully my imagination is strong enough to whisk me away to those beautiful sights.  Every now and then I feel Cambria in my memories.  Hopefully I'll get to see the ocean again, sooner rather than later.

Sarah

 

Getting My Fortune from Zoltar

 When I visited Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara last week, I found good ol' Zoltar hanging out in a shop on the pier. For fun I decided to get my fortune read.  After feeding him a dollar this card came out.

 My Fortune:

 "You've been wondering what to do with all those benefits you have or are about to receive.  Just remember as the branches of a tree return their sap to the root, from where it comes, as a river pours its streams to the sea, where its spring was supplied.  The heart of the grateful man is delighted to return a benefit received.  You are basically a kind and good person.  You may be pleased to know that there is many a good man to be found under a shabby hat."

So . . . a glorified fortune cookie, mixing fortune with good advice.

I'm going to receive a great benefit.  Be grateful.  Give back.  I'm a good person.

Not a shabby fortune.

And here's the shabby hat I was wearing when I read it.  Proof that good people wear shabby hats?  Just wearing my Cambria love.

When I Met James C. Christensen and Saw His Art Studio

Around a decade ago my Mom, brother Steven, and I had the opportunity to visit James C. Christensen in his home.  It was thanks to a family friend who had been Christensen's home teacher for a few years that helped make this happen.  When we went I thought it was just to chat with him, and that would be it, but thankfully it wasn't.

He was so generous with his time.  Gracious.  Humble.  For those who don't know James C. Christensen, he's a painter known for his whimsical fantasy art, inspired by the renaissance.  Honestly, I don't own any of his pieces, though I wish I could.  I first learned about him when I was much younger, visiting my favorite beach town in Central California named Cambria.  There were a few art galleries down its quaint main road, one of which housed several of Christensen's art.  At first I didn't even know he was LDS, I was just in awe of his imagination, and every time we would visit I always went to look at his new pieces on display.

When I transferred to BYU in the early 2000's there was a collection of his latest paintings featuring woman of the medieval/renaissance, encased in the most gorgeous frames.  It was on the main ground level of the Harris Fine Arts building, H-FAC for short, where rotating art displays are shown year around.  My Mom and I marveled over thirty minutes looking at each piece, wondering who the artist was, until we discovered it was James C. Christensen.  We were both amazed.  They were all so beautiful.

When we visited with Christensen we got to sit in his living room, and he just let us ask all these questions.  My Mom and Steven asked him several questions about art and its process.  I spent most of the time just listening.  But there was one thing he talked about that has stayed with me.  He talked about when he was younger he always feared that once he used up his good ideas there wouldn't be any more.  But he has found that as he's created, more ideas would come, and after he used those ideas, even more came after that.  If you're afraid to use ideas and keep just those to yourself, that's all you'll ever have.  You have to be willing to create.  Don't be afraid of running out of ideas.  This is a fear I have now as I've started writing fiction and working on stories, so this advice from someone so creative is very inspiring.

I can't remember how long we talked with him, but it seemed like over an hour, after which he took us to his art studio in the attic.  It was a large space, much larger than I thought it would be, with work tables and art scattered about in various stages and trails.  Large windows letting in delicate light, perfect for painting.  He was working on a painting similar to The Yellow Rose; I just remember him working on a piece with a woman, face in profile, holding a flower.

I'm very thankful for that day and what I learned.

James C. Christensen passed away a couple weeks ago, which has brought all this forward in my memory.  I pray his family is doing okay with his passing.  In heaven I bet he's creating the most wonderful art.

Dreaming of California

I just realized that this is the first year in my life I haven't visited or lived in California.  It's where I was born.  When I moved with my family to Utah at 19 I've somehow managed to visit good ol' Cali every year since the move.  Well, 2016 is the year I avoided California.  Not by choice, but out of circumstance.  I can't complain, really, as I've done an amazing amount of travel this year, but I miss it.

My Mom, Grandma, and I were suppose to visit Atascadero, Cambria, and Santa Barbara this week.  But the trip fell through.  Financially it's all for the best.  My Mom and I were taking my Grandma to visit her brother.  Hanging out in Cambria was the fringe benefit.  I miss Cambria most of all.

Well, I'll visit Cambria in my dreams.  Disneyland is my second favorite place in the World for me next to Cambria.  I love it that much.  (Is it sad I love Disneyland so much as well?)  Still, salty air, scent of pines and herbs, walking above and along Moonstone beach, hearing the waves and otters crack shells in the distance.  Heaven on Earth, really.  I'm just glad I've had so many opportunities to visit.

A Trek to the Coast: Moonstone Beach

 At the end of June my Mom, Grandma, Aunt, and I visited the California Central Coast.  It was mainly a chance for us to visit some extended family, as my Grandma's sister just passed away, but the trip also afforded us a few chances to visit the Ocean.

Here we're visiting Moonstone beach, which is located next to Cambria.

I never tire of those wooden walkways, nor those super friendly squirals, which are always a source of great amusement.

 A picture of us taking a picture :P

 My 1st cousin once removed, Mom, and Aunt.

 Breathtaking, isn't it?

 Cambria, you will always be in my heart.

This is where I visit when I dream.

My Favorite Place in the World: Cambria CA

 Yes, I love Disneyland.  Love, love, love the place, but Cambria CA is my favorite place in the World.  I discovered this quaint little town in the seventh grade, when my class in middle school took a field trip to Hearst Castle, San Simeon.  We drove through Cambria, and I knew I had to return and explore.

These pictures are from a trip I took with my Mom and Grandma last year.

 Where I like to buy old books and look through the art gallery.

 Super yummy BBQ.  I crave central California tri-tip.  I miss the smell, and at this grill you can smell the tri-tip cooking down the street.  Honestly, this is one of the things I miss most living in Utah.  There was a fantastic tri-tip grill in Porterville, where I grew up.  So yummy.

 . . . Have I mentioned how much I love Cambria's quaintness?

 All along Moon Stone beach there's a walking path.  It's necessary during high-tide, but really nice to walk along.  On this trip I didn't photograph any squirrels.  There's so many!!  And they're crazy friendly.

 Moon Stone beach is my favorite beach in the World.  Granted, there's not a lot of beaches I've visited, but I love this stretch of Ocean.  During low-tide it's fun to walk over the rocks and look at the tide-pools, seeing crabs, shells, sea urchins, and other fun things.  Sometimes you can hear an otter in the distance trying to crack a shell on a rock.  And the "sand" on the beach are little stones.  You must wear shoes.  It's fun to shift through the tiny stones to look for different colors, or find "moon stones" which, here, are white agates covered with calcium.

 It's so cold that my Grandma brought a blanket.

 A sign reminding you not to feed the seals.  During certain times of the year you can see them hanging out on the beach.  It's really fun.

 Some of the extended Linn's shops behind the restaurant.

They're all about the Olallieberry.

 My favorite shop.

 It's a tradition to always fill a sachet with potpourri.

Apparently, according to my Mom's cousin, my first cousin once removed, Cambria is really getting hit hard with the California drought, which is really sad.

But I hope to visit one day soon.

Cambria and Moon Stone beach is beautiful in the Spring with all the spring flowers. I love to visit this place in my dreams.

My Moms Amazing Jewelry and Paintings on Etsy

 My Mom has an Etsy shop.  Her passion is making jewelry and Painting, and I wanted to show off some of my more favorite pieces of hers, which can be found in the Talea Studios store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TaleaStudios

And the last one is my absolute favorite!  I want this bracelet.

 And my Mom even paints!  She's talented like that:0)

This painting:

Is based on this picture I took while visiting the Grand Tetons:

 This next painting is so tranquil

 And the last is a painting of my most favorite place in the World.  Cambria. (You thought I'd write Disneyland :0)

 All of these amazing pieces of art can be purchased at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TaleaStudios