July 23, 1948...62 Years of Wedded Bliss

  

July 23, 1948...my parents said "I do". 

 

They were young and in love, and after 62 years of marriage,

 

They still are!

We are very blessed :-) They are wonderful parents and grandparents. ( Yes, I know that cake says 60th, but I just had to share that kiss!)

(Me, My brother Kevin, and my parents, Jay and Sara)

Happy Anniversary  and Congratulations, Mom and Dad. 

 

We all love you!

Love, 

Your family

Queen Mary Weekend

I promised photos from the weekend wedding we attended. The beautiful bride was my cousin's daughter. I was maid of honor in her parent's wedding :-) Although the wedding took  place at 6:00pm, it was still pretty warm. Southern California is in the midst of a heat wave, just like so much of the country. 

 The Russian Submarine

The Promenade Deck. There are signs all along here that say, Be Careful, Uneven Floor.

 The Veranda Deck, where the wedding took place, with a view of Long Beach. I told my kids that the round building at the right is where I saw Elvis Presley in concert. 

They weren't impressed either :-)

The new Mr. and Mrs.

Our Family

 Some former guests :-)

The hand beaded dress! My cousin made this dress. She's a very talented seamstress. Many friends worked on the beading.

Dancing with the man of my dreams :-)

Isn't he handsome?

 And another one of my favorite guys.

One of the old deck chairs. Wouldn't we all love to have one of these?

And one of the old signs. I decided to show it in black and white, because I think if there had been a photo back in the day, that's how it would've been.

One last photo of The Grand Lady at night.

Congratulations Nikki and Chris. We love you!

Blessings,

Marcia

My Scary Camp Story

Several of my kids went to summer camp a few weeks ago. They went to the same camp I grew up going to.  A place called Hume Lake. Isn't it a beautiful lake? It always bring back memories of the first time I attended camp there when I was eleven years old. Most of the memories are wonderful, but I had one night that really gave me a scare.

We arrived at camp and were given a very small cabin. It had 4 bunk beds, very close together. My friend Janice and I grabbed top bunks, right next to each other and put our pillows head to head so that we could chat at night.

However, Janice wasn’t the night owl that I was, and the first night she went to sleep very quickly. In fact the whole cabin was asleep and I laid there listening to every sound.

Janice snored.

It was a just a bit annoying at first, but she kept getting louder, and I started fretting about ever getting to sleep. Somewhere in the back of my mind I seemed to remember that if you plugged someone’s nose, they would start breathing through their mouth and stop snoring.

I needed her to stop snoring.

I reached over and grabbed her nose and held it. She didn’t wake up. Lo and behold, when I unplugged her nose, she was no longer snoring. Oh good, now I could get to sleep!

Then I started to listen and I realized that I didn’t hear anything. Nothing at all. I started to worry.

What if I’d held her nose too long?

What if I’d killed her?

Remember I was only 11 years old. I really thought she might be dead.  Now, I desperately needed Janice to be awake. I wanted to know that I hadn’t committed murder.

I thought about trying to wake her up, but what if she didn’t wake up, and someone else did? Then they’d know, that I knew, she was dead already, and they’d suspect me. Isn’t that awful? I was trying to figure out a way to get out of the crime I might have committed.

Then I started to wonder...what  if they fingerprint her nose?

Seriously, I did.

Oh no, I thought. They’d find my fingerprints and I’d be put in jail. My parents would visit me and shake their heads. My mother would cry. My mind was really getting the better of me.

After contemplating my life in prison, I started to cry. Quietly, of course, I didn’t want to wake anyone up. If they found her dead in the morning, they might not suspect me! Talk about wanting to cover your tracks. Guilt was strong, but self-preservation was stronger.

The awful thoughts went on, but I finally drifted off to sleep...with my friend's “possibly” dead body, laying right by me. Yes, it was a fitful sleep, to say the least.

I woke up the next morning after everyone else... as I’d been awake half the night. Janice was alive and well, getting dressed and telling me I needed to get up, it was almost time for breakfast!

I never told her about her brush with death…or about the fact that I wasn’t really a very good friend. It sure made me realize a few truths about myself though, and I wasn't very proud of them.

And if someone is snoring now?

Well, my husband might tell you that I have a mean kick to get him turn over on his side, but I can guarantee that I’m not going to be the one plugging anybody's nose :-)

We’re headed to a shipboard wedding on The Queen Mary this Saturday. I’ll try to take some photos while I’m there and bring them back to share.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Blessings,
Marcia

Disneyland and "Tours Departing Daily"

We had passes to Disneyland for two years. We went there alot. It's such a wonderful place. There are many reasons it is called "the happiest place on Earth". We haven't been back in about 2 years now, and I'm ready for passes again. The photo above wasn't taken by me. It is from the blog of a friend of my son's. This blog, called Tours Departing Daily, has the most incredible Disneyland photos, done in something called HDR, which I can't begin to understand, but I am awed by the results. Disneyland is a perfect place for this type of photo because the colors there are amazing. 

 Here's a photo of the bridge on Tom Sawyer Island. Well, that's what it was called for years. Now I believe they call it Pirates Cove.

 and then another one of my family coming across one of the bridges there :-)

The same castle, decorated for Christmas. It was really cold that day :-) That's me and my daughter, Serena.

So pretty at night.

This photo is right next to my favorite ride. It's in the California Adventure park and it's called "Soarin' Over California. If you go to Disneyland, go on this ride!

I hope you've enjoyed these beautiful photos as much as I have. If you get a chance, please go by and say "hi" too. It's a new blog, and I know the 3 young people taking these photos would love the encouragement. I've provided a link on each of their photos :-)

Blessings,

Marcia

A Sweet Bounty

"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato."
Lewis Grizzard

For all things produced in a garden, whether of salads or
fruits, a poor man will eat better that has one of his own,
than a rich man that has none.
-   J. C. Loudoun

"A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins.”
Laurie Colwin, 'Home Cooking'

I'd love to share some of my tomatoes with you; they're really sweet and tasty. I found that one strawberry hiding under the leaves. I thought they were all gone. 

Well actually, now they are :-)

On the sweet blog,  The Farm Chicks, I read a recent post where Serena wondered about who was reading her blog.  It made me start wondering the same thing.
Who's reading this and where are you from?
I'd really love to know.

Have a wonderful weekend my dear friends.

Blessings,

Marcia

Vintage 4th of July

When I was growing up, we had fireworks every year. All of the neighbors came out and took turns shooting off theirs, while the children played with sparklers, under their parents close supervision, of course :-) However, most cities in California no longer allow fireworks at home, so my children don't even know what sparklers are. We go to the local fireworks show every year, and it's become a family tradition. Over the years "our spot" has become the place to meet friends and enjoy the show.

 I'm joining Joan over at Anything Goes Here and her Vintage 4th of July party. Her parties are always lots of fun, and another place to meet friends and enjoy the show. 

 Here's an inside view of that card on the right.

 I put vintage and newer items together, all with the red, white and blue patriotic theme in mind.

I also pulled out some vintage books to show you. I love the Honey Bunch books, and have quite a few of them. I think they're perfect, because this sweet little girl seems to dress in Independence Day colors.

Do you think the makers of this tray were trying to get her likeness?

I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July and get to spend the day with the people you love :-)

Blessings,

Marcia