Farewell,....

A childhood friend of mine is being laid to rest this week.



Yes, he was from 'Mayberry'.

(How I lovingly refer to the small town where I grew up)

Mike was one of the 'Good Guys'.

Always there if you needed something, didn't know a stranger, had a fun and ornery sense of humor, and he was the dare-devil growing up (and even till his passing) that we all wanted to be. 

To say he will be greatly missed is a huge understatement.

For those of us who knew him, whether when we were kids or now, it's pretty clear there's a void,...be it in our memories or our day to day lives. 

My heart goes out to his wife and children and I hope that the many friends and family they have surrounding them will be of some comfort.

I'm sure he's up there in the clouds, cracking jokes, riding his bike with that sheepish grin on his face,...showin' them all how to have a great time!

Oh and,...."Yes Burleson, I have a car where my feet actually touch the peddles and no,...I don't still look 'through' the steering wheel to drive!"

(Only time I think I've ever seen him look just the tiniest bit scared!)

Mike - 1978

Rest in Peace My Friend!  See ya on the other side,.....

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Fond Memories!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Did You Hear?

Andy Griffith passed away.

Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor on the
Andy Griffith Show

He was a favorite of mine.  

He was a good actor and made it all look so easy!

 

I loved his voice.

My hubby, son and I like to watch re-runs of the Andy Griffith show. 

It’s a reminder of simpler times and a more relaxed way of life.

I've lovingly refered to my small home town in central Illinois as “Mayberry” for a long time now because it’s very quaint and everyone knows each other. 




That's my home town library back there. 
Old Route 66 runs right through the midle of town.  It really is Mayberry!

Kinda like Sheriff Taylor's town.

This is the post office where my dad worked.

It’s a place that as a teenager I couldn’t wait to move away from, but it was the best place to grow up in!

I’m gonna miss Andy Griffith,
but I will always cherish those reruns.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Good Ol’ Memories!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the

Fathers out there!!

Treehouse my hubby built. Sitting under it w/our son!

Celebrating with one of the 'Cool Dads' today!

Logan and Mike surfing in San Clemente, CA

Missing this one,....

Me and my Dad on his 60th Birthday!

Happy Father's Day!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Celebrating Dads!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

The Cat's Outta The Bag!!

Okay - here's the scoop. I love pearls. I mean I REALLY love them! (As if you didn't know!) I love to touch them, see their fantastic lustrous finish, feel how cool and smooth they feel in my hands,...yep,...I'm obsessed, let me tell you!  I love them so much that I attended the Gemological Institute of America and got a Pearls Diploma in them saying "Shelly Knows - And Really Loves - Pearls!"

I like to hand knot them in non-traditional ways, put them in designs with silver, gold, leather - you name it. I like to wear them with everything from my jeans to my dress-up jeans (I don't really get 'dressed-up"!), and I think they're the most amazing gemstone ever!

My quote (aside from my very over used motto of  'Peace, Love and Pearls, Baby!') is "I don't think there's a pearl I've met that I haven't fallen in love with." That's true!  Each one is unique and special, stand alone beautiful, one-of-a-kind, like no other; dreamy!  It's okay to drool. I drool all the time just taking photos of these gorgeous little creatures!

Metaphysically, pearls represent purity, faith, charity, innocence, focus, spirituality and wisdom. Pearls are the preferred gemstone of Queens, (and princesses, too!), at weddings and as handed down heirloom jewelry. Pearls are believed to bring about wisdom, protect the wearer from harm while at sea, encourage open, heart to heart communications and connections and to allow you to see the 'good' parts of yourself,...enabling you to love yourself more!  Pearls are, quite simply, astonishing!

 

I guess this should really have been my blog post for June, since the Pearl is June's birthstone, but I just couldn't wait. I was reading this great article over on Etsy by Johnny B. Truant about how you have to tell stories with whatever it is you're selling and was inspired to write up this little bit to tell you how much pearls are loved - at least by me, anyway! To tell you that pearls are my story. Well, part of my story at least.

 

So, what's my purpose, focus, point of this whole ramble? One thing the article pointed out was that our entire lives are stories. Each individual moment is a tid-bit, a morsel, a speck and a pinch of our whole, complete and amazing story. Maybe each and every single second isn't worth being documented, written or blogged about, video taped or recorded, but some moments are. And, when we find things we're passionate about, these stories should come easily for us. (doesn't always happen that way,..but hey,...we can dream, right?!)

 

I'm writing this to encourage you all to challenge yourself a bit and write a part of your story. Now, the other article I read today on Etsy was about a 'challenge' (an assignment really) of how you had to tell your story in 6 words. They had to make sense, they had to make up a complete sentence and they had to be true to you and tell your story.  (You can tell that I have failed miserably at this second one - to say the absolute least!)  Okay - so now, here's your challenge from me,....go ahead and post 6 words (or a whole paragraph!) and tell me a bit about you - your story! I want you to think about your life and if you had to choose bits and pieces to write about,...what would your story be?  I bet it comes a lot easier than you think!  Give it a try!

 

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Stories (about pearls!!)  LOL!!

Cheers,

~Shel~

  P.S. The pics in the blog post are: Pearls purchased at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show last year; Some of my designs using gorgeous pearls; The Tree House my hubby and son built at my sis and bro-in-laws cabin;  The historical library in my hometown where I'd go to read books as a little kiddo along with the Route 66 sign in the forefront (Route 66 was the 'main drag' in town!); and a pic of me,....before I was the "pearl girl" that I am today! 

So see, I bet you have a story,.......why not share a tiny slice of it?