Bluebirds and Butterflies

Beachtime is coming!

Almost time to start packing for my upcoming trip back to Florida!    My dear husband has a business trip to Cocoa Beach coming up very soon, and was sweet enough to get me a ticket to tag along with him.   As many of you know, I grew up as a child in Titusville, Florida (pictured above) and always enjoy going back "home" again.   I love going back to Playalinda Beach in Titusville which is very near Cocoa Beach where my husband and I will be staying.

Playalinda Beach has looked the same forever!   I love that about it!   In the 50's, there were some houses along this beach, but the government bought the homes from the people who owned them and demolished the houses at the beginning of the space race.  They did this because you can actually see some of the launch pads from this beach.  For safety reasons and for fear of sabotage at the time, the government took over the property.  I am glad they did because this beach has remained in the natural state with the dunes and palmettos surrounding the beach. 

Playalinda Beach closes down when there is a launch but is open to the public at other times.   When I was a child, the wooden walkways were not there.  In order to get to the beach, you had to walk over dirt paths and sandbags that went up over the dunes of palmettos.   There was some improvements made several years ago and the wooden walkways were part of this process.   

Each section of this beach, or each walkway, has a number to identify the area.  This section shown in my photographs is known as "Number 5."  

When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time on this beach.   There was a section on the beach where you could still see a bit of a slab from one of the old houses that once stood until the government bought them.   The kids referred to this area as "the houses" and everyone knew exactly where this spot was.  Sometimes, people would tell you to "meet me at the houses" as a way to identify where you would meet along the beach.  

I have fond memories of being in highschool and hopping into my "VW Beetle" and driving to the beach which was a short drive from my parents home in Titusville. 

Armed with my blanket, my small radio, a bag of chips and a container of water and maybe my camera, I would find my perfect spot on the beach and plop myself down.  After that, the slathering of baby oil would begin.  In those days, we did not know that the sun was so bad for you.  I am lucky that I have the skin I have today because we never wore sunblock in those days, and we spent hours and hours in the bright Florida sunshine at the beach.  Getting a dark tan was important to us in those days.  I even, like many gals, combined iodine with my baby oil for optimum tanning.   Our bikinis were small and our tans were dark in those days of the late 60's and early 70's.  Thank you, mom and dad, for the good skin genes I got from you......because, based on my long days of tanning, I should look like a dried up prune today who spends a lot of time at the dermatologist's office in surgery.  I have been very lucky but I cannot help but think that if we had known about the sun damage then and I had protected my skin, I would probably look a lot younger than I look now!  Luckily, I started wearing hats and sunblock when I was in my early 30's....thank you to Dr. Kronberg in Houston....and have, at least, saved myself some additional aging due to sun damage in the second part of my life.  But, can I say............and be honest..............that I MISS those days of sitting there for hours in the sun on the beach getting a dark tan.  Alas, those days are gone but I have very good memories of sitting on the beach with that baby oil on with my girlfriends while watching the guys surf and waiting on my boyfriend, who is now my husband, to come in from hours of surfing.   The gals didn't mind waiting on the shore.  We had fun chatting and walking the beach together.

After all these years, I still love going to the beach.  My sister, Jeri, and I used to collect shells and place them in a bucket when we were kids.  It is something we still love to do....

My sister, Jeri, and I used to spend hours walking the beach looking for shells.  We still love to do this together after all these years....

My sister and I joined by memories...   

Joined by love....

And in our old hometown....no matter how old we get....always known as "the Thompson girls."

Playalinda Beach will always be a special beach to me...

(Pictured above beyond the palmettos....the VAB...Vehicle Assembly Building at the Cape Canaveral/Cape Kennedy)

I am so looking forward to being in Cocoa Beach with my sweet husband in a week.  Looking forward to being back on the beach together.  Can't wait to walk the beach together and look for shells...

I am looking forward to walking the beach just like we did when we were young.....and will continue to do as we get older....

Hope you have a beautiful day today.   Thank you for visiting my blog. xoxo Kim

Easter....a time of reflection and remembering

Happy Easter to everyone!   I hope that you have a very special and blessed Easter weekend with those that you love.   Easter is a time of joy!   It is a time to focus on all the many blessings that we have in our lives and give thanks.  It is also a time of renewal.  For myself, being a Christian, it is also a time to reflect on my faith and renew my baptism vows at the Easter Vigil.  

This year, at the Easter Vigil, I will thinking of my beautiful daughter-in-love, Amy.  She has been faithfully participating in RCIA classes at the Church that she and my son, Brandon, attend in Houston, Texas.  At the Easter Vigil on Saturday night, Amy will be receiving two very special sacraments.   Sadly, I can not be at the service that night but I will be thinking of her and my son that night when I attend the Easter Vigil at my own church with my husband and son, Elliott.   I am so happy for Amy and Brandon.  They seem to have grown even closer since they were married in November.   I am happy for them both as they grow in their faith and feel very blessed to have her as my daughter-in-law.  I had an opportunity to attend Amy's last RCIA class before her special day while I was on a layover visiting Brandon and Amy in Houston recently.  I made this photo of them with the RCIA instructor that they have enjoyed getting to know, Mary, after the adoration service I attended with them.  I was happy that I got to be a part of one of Amy's classes while I was visiting.  The cross that Amy is wearing is a very meaningful one....not only because of what it symbolizes, but also because it is one that contains a tiny lock of my mom's hair.  The cross belonged to my Aunt Ruth that recently passed away.  It was one of a few special crosses that my sister and I had made for loved ones after our dear Mother passed away in 2008.  

I have always loved crosses and angels.  This angel keeps watch over the creek behind my Aunt Ruth's home in Kissimmee, Florida...

Palms are a big part of the Holy Week....   I made this photo of a palm while I was at my Aunt's home in Kissimmee, Florida.  These type of palms are very common in Florida.  This palm is in my Aunt's back yard.  Part of my Easter tradition each year, is to attend the Palm Sunday service at my Church.  A basket of Palms are always at the back of the Church and each person attending receives a section of palm to take home with them.

Going to Church at Easter with family has always been a part of my holiday memories.   When I was a little girl, we always got a new dress, new shoes (usually black patent leather), white gloves and an Easter hat to wear to Church on Easter Sunday.   You don't see as many Easter Bonnets as you used to in Church today.  I kind of miss the old style of dress that we had when I was a child.  While I was in Florida over the past couple of weeks attending services for my dear Aunt Ruth that passed on March 9th, 2012, and assisting my sister in handling her estate, I had the opportunity to visit my sister's boutique/antique booth.  On display and for sale were several beautiful hats that my sister had made.  I think she has a real knack for designing hats and told her that she should have her own hattery some day.  I can picture her shop in my mind with beautiful hats on display and costume jewelry along side it.  I picture one of those old fashioned, English-style, shops.  When you see the photo of the hat, I know you will agree that they make you think of the beautiful Easter Bonnets that women used to wear to Church years ago.   Here are a few of her hats....

Like many, I also remember waking up on Easter morning to an Easter basket filled with candy and maybe a stuffed animal or toy.  Even after my brother, sister, and I got older, my Mother would always buy us a large fruit and nut chocolate egg at Easter.  I cannot see these in the stores without thinking of my dear Mother and my Easter as a child.  

Besides the traditional Easter rituals, the other thing I love about the Easter season is the change it brings to nature.   I love to hear the birds begin to sing.   I love to see them flutter around my birdfeeder and birdbath.   I love waking up to hear the chirping outside my window.

 

I love to see the buds turn into beautiful blooms on the trees around me...

Easter is the season of fresh, new beginnings....everything is renewing itself...through our renewal of our baptism vows and through nature.   Open the door to your heart and look at the world through new eyes.  Each day is a blessing....

and, we are truly blessed to have our family and friends.  Thank you to my own family and friends for walking through life with me! My life is a happy one because of you.    I love you all....  Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  Thank you for visiting me today on my blog.  This post is dedicated to my Aunt Ruth that passed away on March 9, 2012, in Kissimmee, Florida.   I love you Aunt Ruth and have so many fond memories of being a school girl and walking the beach in summer with you! xoxo Kim

Have a beautiful day! xoxo Kim