An unexpected event - the Monterey Pop Festival

Being in Carmel this past New Year's, reminded me of when my twin sister and I attended the Monterey Pop Festival during the "Summer of Love" during the summer 1967. Over 200,000 people descended upon the fairgrounds for the three-day concert. The song San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in your Hair), written by John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas and sung by Scott McKenzie, was initially designed to promote the Monterey Pop Festival.

Our grandmother's friend drove my sister Cathy, me and heir daughter, who was our age, and dropped  us off at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. Little did we know, this concert was a ground breaking event, a very calm pre-cursor to Woodstock. There were three dozen singers and bands, some well-known, others new on the scene, like Jimi Hendrix. It was huge who was there: Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, the Who, the Byrds, Hugh Masekela, Joe and the Fish, Canned Heat, Steve Miller and Ravi Shankar. The Animals,  Jefferson Airplane and The Association were also there. The groups I remember being excited to see were Simon and Garfunkel, the Association and the Mamas and Papas.

The three of us had no idea how truly awesome the concert was and how significant it would become. It was definitely fun -  nothing out of the ordinary happened there, just great music in beautiful surroundings.

Luminarias to Glow on Christmas Eve in Point Loma

Elaboraborately decorated houses and grand Christmas trees are definitely staples of the holiday season, but there's something to be said for the understated simplicity of the luminaria.

A luminaria, or farolito "“ the Spanish word for "little lantern" "“ is a brown paper bag weighed down with sand and illuminated from within by a lit candle during the holiday season. Luminarias originated in New Mexico and were traditionally displayed on Christmas eve to guide the spirit of baby Christ to one's home and heart.

In the Point Loma neighborhood of Loma Portal, particularly Plumosa Park, this tradition has been going on for years and is known as the Plumosa Park Festival of Lights. It's been going on for over 50 years. If a resident is out of town then their neighbors will make sure the luminarias get placed in front of their house.

I, for one, am attempting to do my part in carrying out the tradition a little further into Loma Portal.

This is last year's photo of our house with the luminaries out front. We live on a corner so we have quite a bit more luminaries to put out, but that's okay. I'm looking forward to this tradition.

Honoring and Remembering

 Honoring and remembering . . .

My father in law, Bennie Mendoza (far right), who was drafted into the Navy, leaving Bob's mom at home with his two sisters and him, who were very young children at the time. 

We're thankful to him and to all those who have served and are currently serving for our country. 

Cordelia

Corner Cupboard Painted and Redecorated!

I finally have been able to finish my cupboard project. As posted earlier on my blog, I was going to sell my collection of flow blue, which I've just about completely sold on eBay. There are still a couple of pieces on eBay, but most of it has sold.The corner cupboard is a creamy white, which I like but I was so over the bright yellow interior. It was painted yellow when I got it. It looked great with my Flow Blue collection, but it was time for a change. I gathered up some of my white ironstone and Staffordshire pieces and put some of them in this cupboard.

Last weekend, I cleaned the interior of the cabinet and started painting over the yellow. The color is a very pale mocha or an oatmeal color. I don't know the name of the color, but I like it!

I painted the mullions on around the window panes on the door, and started on the interior. My husband offered to finish the job for me, while I gathered my white Staffordshire to put into the cabinet.

I love the new look - it turned out great. Very simple, subtle and soft. I love white on white or shades of cream and natural colors.