Writings by Diane

Oh coupon, I found in the bottom of my purse Promising $1 off an item in my cart Just before going to the checkout I gaze upon the coupon Aghast! Its expiration date is the day before yesterday! Fie! I crumple up the now worthless piece of paper Fellow shoppers, do not stare at me in puzzlement Feel my pain!

This morning a memory washed over me, a vital turning point in my life. It took me back to high school junior year. I was on the phone with my best friend and we were talking about the preparation for our Confirmation.   We were to perform 20 hours of volunteer work, which broke down to 4 hours a week for 5 weeks.   Her mother had found us volunteer work.   We weren’t sure what the volunteer work was going to be, only of the location. We arrived at a historical house in Santa Monica CA. Once inside, it became clear was our work was going to be—the house was in the middle of restoration. The woman who owned it was converting it to a museum and needed volunteers to paint the walls. I felt my stomach drop—I had no idea how to paint, other than my finger and toenails. Our stunned and panicked look must have been her clue, because she gave us a crash course on how to apply paint to a wall with a paint roller. For the next couple of hours we painted. I’m here to tell you it was...

Yesterday, I was sitting at Church and I became aware of a pattern, namely in the congregation’s clothing. Perhaps this wasn’t the best time to be debating why sometimes we match in what we wear. My thoughts should be on a more spiritual level.  Then again, maybe it’s not so bad—after all what I was pondering involved a form of harmony and unity.  Okay, I admit that may be a bit much, but what was going on around me got me thinking.  I was wearing a dark purple blouse. The woman’s shirt in front of me was of a lighter shade. Lastly, the woman before her had on an even paler version of lavender.  Then, I scanned the room and began to see clusters of colors. On the left side, people were wearing variations of turquoise and on the right, shades of green were abundant. Coincidence, or is there some underlying force that caused people wearing the same shade of colors to sit together? There are times at my work when I’ll run into other women that are wearing the same color...

Back in April, I posted a blog called Lavender Memories, where I wrote about looking forward to the reopening of Lavender Acres at 2000 N McDermott Rd. A couple of weeks ago, I was thrilled to receive a postcard from them, announcing they were open for the months of June and July. I was out there today, enjoying the fragrance of all the different types of lavender. The owner, Donna, is so sweet—she makes everyone feel welcome the moment you step on the farm. Also, she is very knowledgeable about lavenders. She leads a tour of their 80 varieties of plants and I learned so much. For instance: Lavender is part of the mint family. There are 300 different types of lavender Lavenders have square stems They also have a quaint gift shop that sells lavender lemon shortbread, cookbooks, and lotions. If you didn’t think you could eat lavender and enjoy it, you will definitely change your mind when you sample lavender lemonade and iced tea. Also, conversations out there start up ...

Fountains are my favorite type of fireworks, as well as my family’s. They come in tall tubes with dazzling names like Sparkling Wonder or Spinning Panda. Once the fuse is lit, the tower explodes with a mini light show of random colors, sparks and whistles. Since I am so budget conscious (feel free to substitute the word cheap) my biggest beef is spending the money on items that will eventually go up in smoke.    My husband constantly reminds me it’s only once a year and have a little fun.   So, we compromise and buy them on sale. Last year, we thought we hit a pretty good deal. Normally for ten fountains, the cost is around $40-$50. However, we found a bag of small fountains at the store for $5! They were cone-shaped and named TNT, not that exotic a name. We figured since they were bargains, they would appear a little different, but would still do the trick. On the evening of the 4 th , my husband lined up the ten fountains on the street in front of our house. Our son an...