Red Sun At Night - Part II - And Something New

I have wonderful house guests right now and a few days ago we were driving home from
antiquing/thrifting in Santa Barbara.  I stopped to take a few pictures and remembered
that last May I had done a post about pretty much the same thing.  So if you will forgive
me, because I do have several house guests and need to spend time with them, I will
include some of the same things I wrote several months ago.  I have added several more
tidbits and more pictures. I know I should be writing about fall but it is over 100 degrees
in Southern California right now so we are holding on to summer a bit longer.

It was a glorious, sunny and warm day. My guests and I were late in leaving Santa
Barbara after a lovely day of antiquing/thrifting so we decided to take the coast road
home instead of the freeway to avoid the late afternoon traffic.

Actually, my intention was to show my guests the changes in the sky as the sun would
begin to set.  We were not is a rush.  I guess the surfers around Malibu were not in a
rush either.

The sun was still bright and a wind had kicked up. We passed lots of surfers but our

attention was drawn to the beautiful kites and those people flying above the water on

boards!!!

The kite surfers!

 

We had to pull over and watch these athletes letting the wind pull them around the
ocean with only a kite above them and just a board at their feet. The strength these
guys have is amazing. They surf the ocean and a minute later they are jumping up in
the air as they maneuver kites so they can fly over the water.

 It is truly incredible to watch these extreme sportsmen. I was absolutely in awe of their
strength. We were totally mesmerized as they lifted up in the air..

Exhausted at the end of the flight...

As we drove along I could tell the sky was beginning to change and the sun was casting
shadows and a glimmer on the ocean water.

It seemed like every time we looked toward the ocean the sky was beginning to 

change hue...

Slowly but surely...

Now it was more and more difficult to keep our eyes on the road because our attention
was on the magic light show taking place in the sky. Finally, we just gave up trying to drive.

We quickly parked the car, sat back and enjoyed another magnificent sunset over the
Pacific Ocean.

It certainly looks like the sun is begining to fall from the sky...

A big round ball coming to earth...

Lower and lower...

Kissing the mountains...

And now the sun is saying goodnight with a glow behind the mountains...

Another sweet gift in life.  A gigantic Thank You to Mother Nature!

As they say, "red sun at night sailors delight".  Tomorrow will be a delight for
surfers, sailors, kite surfers and perfect for me to work with my roses.

A Very Hot Saturday...

It was so hot today!  But that didn’t stop my friend “J” and I from doing a little
antiquing/junking.  When we left my house early this morning we didn’t know
we would be driving into such high heat...106 degrees to be precise.

We had been planning to take this Saturday and just relax and check out a few
places, both old and new to us.  We drove down to Escondido, Ca to the grand
opening of La Maison Rustique Urban Barn.  They have just moved into their
new location which is about 8,000 square feet of vintage pieces.  This was an indoor
and outdoor event today.  They had over 20 vendors and all kinds of festivities for
the opening of the new location.  Did I mention it was 106 degrees!?!   My hat is
off to all the vendors set up outside in the parking lot in the hot sunshine.  I'm sure
you can feel how hot it was just by looking at the pictures. 

Among the vendors was Rita Reade with her Mammabellarte art signs.  Rita is
absolutely the nicest person and everyone loves her work...

More to see...

 Can't you just feel the hot sun and heat on the pavement!

Going inside now...

Let's take another look outside again... Here is Retreat Style...

Some of artist Denise Adams Chafin's handpainted work...

We had a grand time and found a few special things (don’t we always???) and then
realized it was time to grab an ice tea and drive on to our next stop.

We headed out to one of our favorite places which is Matilda’s Mouse on the old
Betty Crocker Estate in Valley Center, Ca.  “J” and I always spend lots of time
when we visit this location.  Matilda’s Mouse is named after a Wire Hair Fox Terrier
who is always the hostess for the day, but it was just too hot for her to be outside in
this heat.  The location is fabulous.  It’s an old huge barn on what is known as the
“Betty Crocker Estate”.  Betty Crocker was/is a fictitious person but the woman
who lived here was actress Agnes White who created “Betty Crocker” and
developed and tested recipes in the kitchen here.  She had turned it into a commercial
kitchen which has now been restored to a kitchen with beautiful copper countertops.
The barn is the place for antiques!   Everyone who works here is fabulous and helpful
and fun.  We walked in looking hot and sweaty and right away they offered us ice water
to help refresh our spirits.  Many thanks!

I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves.  But to be honest, my camera was
really beginning to feel the heat.  Even inside the barn you can see the much too bright sun
streaming in through the upper windows.  Did I mention it was 106 degrees!?!

Yikes, it just too bright today! The heat and humidity are wrecking havoc with my camera.

Matilda is so famous that she has her picture painted on the barn.  However,

I understand she doesn't like to sign autographs...

Let's go inside...but please remember that it's hot and my camera is really not enjoying

the heat...

I think I'll sit in this big wicker chair while you look around...

Of course we found several special things (don’t we always???) because this is one
of our favorite places to visit and you can find Matilda's Mouse  HERE.

Well, it was time to head out and find a cold ice cream.  We made a few other stops
along this Saturday's antiquing/junking adventure and naturally found a few other
treasures (don’t we always!?!)!

It was a 12 hour hot, hot day of fun and we were so tired and now glad to each be
heading to our own homes...exhausted, hot and having had a fun day.
Thanks for coming along with us.

I also want to thank A New England Life for the guidance she gave me in enlarging
my pictures.  Her blog is beautiful and I get homesick each and every time I view and
enjoy her posts. Take a look  HERE.