Thursday, December 13, 2012

Cecile Ryden Johnson


Cecile Ryden Johnson (1916-2010), internationally known painter, passed away on November 26, 2010. Famous for her watercolors, the paintings reflect a spontaneous joy of life and are prized for their luminous qualities, sense of immediacy, power and intensity. Selected as the official artist to paint five Winter Olympic Games, Johnson was frequently broadcast live painting on the slopes and at rink side by ABC Wide World of Sports, the BBC, CNN and others. Her paintings are found in numerous museums and private collections. 

( Source: Published in The New York Times on March 6, 2011)

Today, my mother-in-law and I visited our favorite hangout place, the Goodwill.

My new treasure find:
The Base Lodge, Northstar   by Cecile Ryden Johnson A.W.S.
watercolor painting


Thursday, December 6, 2012

My Little Girls's Christmas Ornaments ( part 2)

Eighth Christmas : 2007

Ninth Christmas : 2008 ( Remind us on the Barbie Nutcracker DVD we watch together that season.)

Tenth Christmas : 2009 (She want me to buy this at her school, Baden Powell fundraising  catalog.)


Eleventh Christmas : 2010

Twelfth Christmas : 2011 ( Her sixth grade Christmas project at La Rosa Elementary School.)

Thirteenth Christmas : 2012 (This year is different. We had Santa Claus,bird and angels. Now....a BELL.)

         I don't know how long I'm going to do this. I suppose until she'll start a Christmas ornament history for her own child someday.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

After The Rain

It has been raining for a few days, and finally, it stopped last Monday. Thank God.

This was while driving to school of My Girl, who is now in middle school here in this part of California.



Hi, Sun! It's nice to see you again!

My Little Girl's Christmas Ornaments

These are the ornaments that reminds me of each Christmas have gone by that my little girl would soon be a lady.

First Christmas : year 2000

Second Christmas : 2001






























Third Christmas : 2002

Fourth Christmas : 2003































Fifth Christmas : 2004
































Sixth Christmas : 2005 (She was holding this the whole time we were in the store.)

Seventh Christmas : 2006


































These are all for now. There'll be few more ornaments coming in tomorrow!


Beginning To Look a Little Christmas!

The spirit of Christmas in this little house

























the little Christmas tree

little Nativity scene






Happy Holiday Everyone!

My Fun Finds!

My fun finds!


      Like my sisters, and so many out there, I love finding vintage stuff. I love old glasswares, china, and oil paintings. I has been hard to find stuff I like at thrift stores but the thrill comes when you find at least one treasure or two once in a while. It is maybe a good thing since our house has little storage space.

      These are my latest finds:

                                a Fenton satin compote


                               a moon and star clear glass cake stand


What's your latest treasure find?

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Spring is here!


WOW.....SPRING.................is here................. ;)


 GORGEOUS......................  ;)


 BEAUTIFUL............................... ;)

ALLERGIES...........................  :(

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

PART 2: it's been 12 years!


            Castillo de Amorosa is in Napa Valley. One of the well visited winery in California. We drove passed the gate and up the hill.........




         And then you see this. Lots of chicken walking around and a few sheep.









           As you walk towards the entrance you see this....
         This is the door to go inside the castle.



          They celebrate Latin mass here.
          This is the formal dining room.
          Most of the ornaments are of dragon design.



        So many stairs that would lead you to the roof tops and down the basements.






     to the wine tasting........Kids are given a glass of juice.


 other than selling wine they have gift shop too.

 Like this candle stand/case on the floor.






 Looks like crowns of a Virgin Mary statue.







 I can only drink sweet wine . This is sweet red wine. Therefore, we bought this.


 I like this trash cans.
It's time to drive home...


Tours in the place is from 9:00am - 4:30pm during weekdays; and 9:00am - 5:00pm during weekends and holidays
They have many tour packages that starts at $33.00. We took the cheapest one, the general admission of $18.00 adults and $9.00 kids. This is without tour guide.