The Peacock on Shelldrake Circle

 The Peacock on Shelldrake Circle

When I was in preschool at Wesley Methodist Church, we were asked to choose or maybe our preschool teacher chose for us, a lamented circle that we put on a hook to let our teacher know we were present in class. It might have been with our name on it and it might have had white yard on it as well, but I remember that the one thing for sure was mine had a colorful peacock on it.

So last week when a Peacock showed up at my boyfriends’ Shelldrake neighborhood, excitement in the neighborhood ensued!

There’s nothing like a peacock which flew in out of nowhere to change a neighborhood for the better.

Already an exciting and fun semi-cul de sac, news that a peacock adopted us brought smiles to all of the neighbors.

The peacock has a special call it makes, my boyfriend asked me if i heard it at 5:00 am in the morning. 

“Did you hear it,” he asked?

For whatever reason, I didn’t.

But after enough prompting, and really kinda waking up, I heard an unusual call, not like any I’ve heard before. 

Yesterday while serving wine in Oakhurst at the Art & Wine Hop, I met a biologist who studied species of birds in Sequoia National Forest for a summer back in 2023.

She told me that there are over one hundred different birds in Sequoia National Forest like four different woodpeckers. I’ve never really studied birds, but the idea of happening upon a bird’s nest or discovering something not yet identified sounded kinda cool. I had no idea there were tiny you need binoculars to find them at the top of the Giant old Sequoia trees. For a moment, it made me feel like fairies truly exist as does fairy dust, alongside birds.. And of course Peacocks!

The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Revisited by Gina Meyers

 The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Revisited

By Gina Meyers

I still have my Richard Scarry books. My all-time favorite story in my Richard Scarry book is the story of the country mouse and the city mouse.

Now the country mouse decides to visit her cousin the city mouse in the BIG City. The city mouse welcomes her cousin to the city by offering a scrumptious meal of fine cheese on a large dining room table, the spread went on for miles. What the city mouse failed to tell her cause the country mouse was that there was a rather fat and angry cat who was not after cheese, rather was after mice, they were the meal!!!! The cat lived at the house in the city as well. In the end, the moral of the story was that the country mouse would rather dine in peace than be the potential meal and she quickly resorted back to her quiet and peaceful life in the country. I’ve always loved the hustle and bustle of the city. And I’ve always loved the peace and quiet of country living. I’ve never agreed with the moral of the story because country life has a lot of unknowns and hidden hazards as well. 

Mission Possible: Mission Santa Barbara by Gina Meyers

 Mission Possible 

Mission Santa Barbara

by Gina Meyers

Over the past couple of months, I’ve taken an interest in revisiting some of my favorite missions in California.

I’m discovering and uncovering a history rich like the soil on which the missions were established.

Converging simultaneously, new and old, a mixed vibe of tradition and upbeat newness tied together with a Santa Barbara vibe, the scent of the ocean redolent in the air, with a slight breeze and  yarny green grass which subtly asked for me to take off my sandals, which I obliged. Here in this atmosphere lies a mission built in 1786. With a chapel built for our King, Jesus Christ. 

The journey like the pilgrimage from France to Spain, “The Way of James” or The Camino Santiago, you get to taste the Santa Barbara culture with a vintage Volkswagen van selling coffee outside the mission, wafting through the air, a strong scent of freshly roasted coffee beans, a washing basin larger than any I’ve ever seen has a placard on it describing its history and is situated kiddy corner from the Vintage van, a working fountain with lily pads and fish swimming about,  and a rose garden with the most fragrant roses and one of the largest species of roses I’ve seen in a long time. The only other time I’ve seen that expansive of a rose garden was in Portland, Oregon. 

And then there’s the mission, and a butterfly garden and beautiful tiled mosaics with the 12 stations of the cross outside. 

The inside of the church (chapel) also is powerful looking if power has a look. It’s opulent with a richness in artwork that makes you really feel timeless. A statue of Mary adorns the altar of the church. I saw outstretched hands, some type of large statue and Fransican Friars in the traditional garb are present at the mission. 

Due to our tardiness, we stood in the back, right next to the holy water. The holy water brought great comfort to my surroundings as all of us pilgrims who were standing in the back quickly picked a spot on the massively red clay quarry tiles  to which to stand. 

As a third generation native Californian, our missions are part of the history of California. As a Christian Catholic, I also find the missions are a spiritual place and a divine respite from everyday life. 

They truly take you back in time which is what happened this past Sunday when I was treated to a traditional mass in the sacred halls of The Mission Santa Barbara. With the bishop in attendance and catechisms making their way to the altar. As I saw the young women wearing their beautiful silk long organza dresses with colorful flowers inlaid.  I was reminded of a time in childhood when I fought with my mother over what to wear to my 8th grade graduation from private school. My pink silk dress was reminiscent of the one Molly Ringwald wore in the movie,  Pretty In Pink, which came out a few years after the dress debacle.

Days like these remind me of why I am a Californian, why I gravitate towards tradition, and the uniqueness that missions provide to everyday potentially mundane life. A spark of imagination and reinvigoration in days ahead with solid souvenirs of memories. 

 

Low Fat Dessert by Gina Meyers

 

1 tub of low-fat cottage cheese

1 tub of cool whip lite

2 small jello *sugar free or 1 large jello any flavor

1 can sugar free fruit.

Follow directions on how to make the jello and add the other ingredient, drain the fruit, mix all ingredients and refrigerate. 

The Little Things, by Gina Meyers

 The little things. 

I took in the recyclables this morning. At my new house, I’ve been mainly throwing them in the recycle bin but at my significant other’s house I recycle. And, take it into the recycle center. 

It’s been a minute since I have done so, but it was fun to get back into a routine of sorts. 

So as I was leaving the recycle center, I realized I was one quarter away from the $3.00 I needed in order to do the $3.00 car wash, without breaking a $10.00 or a $50.00 bill.

So I decided I’d go to the Dollar Store and get a couple of things to break my $10.00.

Once I was ready to return to the Car Wash, I chose the only open spot to wash my car.

I walked up to the machine to turn my dollar bills into quarters to use the car wash. 

As I got ready to put the quarters in the machine, I noticed that the previous user left 6 quarters, a pay it forward of sorts.

Or perhaps forgotten quarters?

Whatever the reason, I smiled and was overjoyed to know that I didn’t need to worry about having enough quarters. I paid it forward and left a few quarters as well.

If The Devil Wears Prada, Then God Must Wear Gucci, by Gina Meyers

 

If the devil wear Prada, then God must wear Gucci was a random thought that I had. As a serial entrepeurner, I love combining food with fashion and anything in mode. Here are a few recipes that you can sink your teeth into. 

 

Easy Red Velvet Cake

4 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 ounce liquid red food coloring

3/4 cup water

1 yellow cake mix, with pudding in the mix

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon butter

4 tablespoons buttermilk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions: Preheat oven to 325°. In a large bowl, mix cocoa powder, red food coloring, and part of the water to form a paste. Next, add all of the other ingredients except the white vinegar. Blend for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes with a mixer on medium speed. Then add the vinegar and mix with a spatula. Pour the batter into a bunt or round cake pan, and bake for approximately 35 minutes. This recipe can be made into cupcakes as well.

Strawberry Blonde Cake

1 box of white cake mix

1 box, 3 ounces of strawberry gelatin

1 cup of oil

½ cup of milk

4 eggs 

1 cup of strawberries, mashed sweetened, not drained

Frosting

1 stick of butter, softened, unsalted, ½ cup

1 box (1 pound) of powdered sugar 

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all cake ingredients together and pour into a 9 x 11 inch pan or two smaller pans, the batter should not fill pans to the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Frosting: Cream butter and sugar together, add mashed strawberries until frosting is of spreadable consistency. Mix together frosting ingredients. If it is too thick, please add strawberries until it is the right consistency. You may also purchase strawberry frosting if you don’t want to prepare it.

The Empty Nest, by Gina Meyers

 The Empty Nest

By Gina Meyers

This morning, on my walk around the lake, I saw a dove on the fence. It was perched for an instant and then did a little dance and fluttered away. As I started to pick up the pace after reflecting for a moment, enjoying the doves dance, I saw a fluffy ball on the ground by a tree, I knelt down to pick up the brown, lighter than air ball. There was a covering made out of twigs, fluffy material and I picked it up. I immediately recognized that this was an empty bird's nest and as  I peered inside, seeing the white feathers inside this bird’s nest left behind, no longer needed. There was no shell, but there was a distinct feeling that what was once in this bird's nest no longer needed its nest. 

In my mind, it was no longer a tragedy, that some dog had eaten a baby bird, or some squirrel tossed the nest out of the tree, its’ safe harbor.

It was a new thought that I had never had before, maybe from a grateful, yet slightly bruised heart. 

The metaphor “empty nest” makes its way into my life as a familiar tome.

And memories from the past, flooding my present reality with the cruel reality that some baby birds never make it, and that their wings never get to see the light of day, a morning dewy morning, slightly foggy like the one I was experiencing this morning.

It also made me better not bitter for not fully seeing the baby birds struggles and how for some the journey towards flight isn’t always smooth sailing.

We focus way too much on “the empty nest” just like as we are entering the forty days of lent and we focus on “the empty tomb.” 

But the message of the empty tomb is one of hope in the end.

In Matthew 28: 1-10 The guards were afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. An angel said to the woman, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified, he is not here; he has risen, just as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay.”

As silly as it sounds, the empty bird's nest brought me great comfort. I was able to ascertain any story I surmised about the future of the baby bird. But I was not concerned in the least for the mama bird or the daddy bird and their nurturing, what they were up to or where they had flown to.

The empty tomb conceptualizes the profound meaning of being victorious over death and the living resurrection of Jesus, his promise to us for eternal life. 

So maybe the empty nest can symbolize new hope and validate that some of those baby birds will grow up to build their own nests someday, the triumph of hope, power to believe in new beginnings and a redemptive spirit for all who believe.