Has anyone ever talked you into volunteering for something?  If you haven't, let me stop right here and say:  "Go for it!"  Don't wait to get talked into it.  Just throw yourself to the wolves of working with other people.  Complete strangers at times. 

  Volunteering to help make something  happen is a life experience.  How much you can let go, and just do what is necessary to help is a lesson with magnificent outcomes.  You really have to be prepared to work at your best level no matter what happens in the cycle of your event.   You can look upon your involvement and see who you are as a person.  As you journey through the tasks are you offering your people skills a chance to bloom? Do you need to be in control?  All the time?  Are you flexible with people and their skills?  Are you willing to train on the spot and focus for a cause?  When you start answering the questions, you see a dimension of yourself that might not have ever been so apparent.  I started volunteering years ago and got the best feeling inside myself that I didn't want to stop. My people skills started clicking in!   I started with the Central Coast Wine Classic as a volunteer loading buses for the Hearst Castle Dinner four years ago. 

  "The phone's for you Lyne"

  "Hello?"

  "Hey, it's me.  What are you doing next Thursday?"

  "What do you want me to do?

  "Talk to people and put them on buses after checking them off a list.  It's for the Hearst Castle Dinner and I'll need someone on Friday for the winery dinners."

  "You mean I get to tell people to: "Get on the Bus?  Give me the times and I'll be there."

  I put people on buses for two years and then I got another call about coordinating the site for the Hearst Castle dinner.  I came with experience as my husband and I had a catering company years ago where he was the back of the house (Chef) and I was the front of the house (planning, decorations and some times; crazy people)  

  Now Sister L is the woman that I didn't know existed until last year in the planning process of the castle dinner.  I was doing the walk through for the event up at the castle, when the coordinating chef; James Sly of Sly's in Carpinteria, mentioned that I should get in touch with L.  She was my guide and sanity through the first year.  She was gentle with her information giving as my responsibilities got larger with her input to my job description.  She helped me get organized for what was to come and baby it came! 

 L and I worked together along with many other side projects to get the bistro set up along with our volunteers.  We can be sarcastic and silly and make faces at each other as we work our buns off.  We can also have excellent on the spot ideas for handling a situation.  We have a wonderful communication during the dinner that at times is totally silent.  This is an asset to the day.  She's a sister of mind and spirit.  Everybody needs an L. 

  This year, I hitched a ride and sister L was driving.  Save gas, conserve energy, and have conversation.  It was a good plan.  I was going to spend the night at the Cambria Pines Lodge the night before the event and the night of the dinner.  It's just crazy to try to drive home after 15 hours of constant work as I had learned the previous year.  The leg cramps were the telling sign.  Sister L had told me that her brother and sister-in-law were working the event too.  Now when we got to the lodge, L informed me that they didn't get to visit very often and they were all having dinner together to get caught up.  I hadn't thought about how I was going to spend the evening.  I hadn't expected to spend it by myself.     

  At first I went to my room and unpacked.  What the heck was I going to do with myself?  I'm not a big TV fan.   It was about 6:30pm so I decided to wander around the gardens.  I had no idea that this is what I'd find.  Can you say: "Mini Mind Vacation?"

  To the right of the bed is a lamp and a dresser with ivy and flowers.  This was the first thing I saw.  I knew I'd come to the right place.

  Through this door were hummingbirds, bumble bees and flowers.  A water fall with experienced hands willing to share the secret to giving and receiving: Just show up, be willing and it happens.

  I went through gates and doors in the garden and found many opportunities to "chill out".  It helped me set the tone for what was coming and my willingness to be in the now. 

  Okay this is getting long winded.  Next Up:  Into the Lounge or Chair Dancing for One.  The day is here.  Go get into it! 

  The best thing about this day is that many things happened that I had to make go away or fix or change quickly and at "show time" no one knew what had happened.  The patrons arrive and have no idea what it took to transform and create the elegance of the evening.  They just experienced a magical event. That's exactly what we wanted them to feel. The magic.  The amazing energy and creativity that comes when people connect.  Then as an added bonus, the energy builds when people connect to make things happen for a higher good.  I honestly wanted to roll in the swirling waves of good vibes among people.  That would have probably been a little over the edge huh?

  They don't know that security wouldn't let us up on the hill when we got there.  Eight vehicles waiting.  I was so prepared with every ding dang phone number I would possibly need right smack on the front of my file.  A couple of phone calls and the gate opened and let us in.  They don't know about the grey water run off problem and the only tank in the county that we had to have brought in from another event. They don't know, that we had ash falling from the sky part of the day.  When they arrived the wind shifted and the ash drop moved away from the castle. 

     As the sun set and the party progressed, people connected with others in such excellent ways.  People who had only met that day were working together.  Each tabling their own stuff to create a flowing energy. 

  You can't really tell from the above photo, just how much smoke was in the air.  The sun was a fiery red and the smoke looked like fog.  Good thing we did the dance of positive thinking.  Maybe that moment when I went to the side and gave thanks and gratitude for the day and took that deep cleansing breath made a difference.  It sure made a difference as I set my sights on a wonderful evening rather than a problem filled panic attack.  It was amazing.

  There were so many little side stories that came from this and I will sort them out and bundle a few up to share with you.  Until then...It was great to be up in the clouds, but it's sure is nice to be home.

Weekly Photo Challenge

Hidden Suggested by Eneventure

Everyone is welcome to join in.  All you have to do is post one or more photos regarding the subject and once you've posted then go here and leave a comment so others can come by and take a look.

Final posting day is Thursday.  Each Friday there will be a new challenge as long as you keep sending in subjects.

The photo challenge is not a contest.  It's not about who comes up with the best photo or the most expensive equipment.  It's about people from all over the world who love to take pictures.

 

A hidden face?  A hidden smile?  A hidden thought?

Hidden from society?  Hidden truth? 

Do we need to get a wish in order to help? 

   Dream a little dream of me.

  1968.  I was traveling with my family on the way to the Sierras where we had a cabin in the mountains.  As we traveled down the road I was day dreaming.  The thing you need to know is that I had a history of car sickness. Probably because I spent so much time in my head and when I came back to the real world I was dizzy.  Maybe an inner ear thing. One time when going on a road trip, I had gotten sick in the family car.  They were all a bit gun shy so to speak. 

  So... we're driving down the road and I'm playing out a dream in my head and I was at a part where I gasped for breath and brought my hand up to my mouth.  My older sisters (I have four), in the back seat with me throw themselves to the other side of the car and one of them yells:  "She's going to be sick Dad!"  Dad, who had to clean the car out the last time pulls over to the side of the road, jumps out and holds the door open for me.

  Now, I'm overcome with fear of day dreaming confessions, so I get out of the car and run toward the bushes and wait there a minute then come back.  I think I might have coughed a bit and taken some deep breaths, then told him I was okay.  We got back on the road and I sat there feel guilty for not telling them that I had been dreaming in my head.

  As a dreamer, I have had intense dreams.  A few times I've had conversations with friend's parents who are no longer with us.  I'd pass the information on to them calmly and hoped that they didn't think I was crazy.  They didn't, but on later thoughts, I realized the messages were really for me not them.  The people were familiar for my comfort.

  When I was pregnant with Teen Dude, Hoops and Miss A, I had dreams that took me so far out that when I woke up, I'd be disappointed to be back on Earth.  I'd roll over and feel the baby inside, and come back to consciousness.  I honestly believe that the kids took me to the outer ether.  I dreamed Teen Dudes future and have never told him what I saw, because it's just not for me to do.  I have applied some of the information to my raising of him and it has been a wonderful thing.

  The King and I have shared a dream (he's a dreamer too.) We both sat bolt upright in bed raising our hands over our faces at the same time. We both shouted: "Look out!" We looked at each other in shock.  There was something coming at us and we woke up trying to protect each other. It was during a very stressful time in our lives and apparently released itself into our dreams.

  The King is a retired chef and sometimes it's fun to hear his dreams as he tastes food and makes comments about it in his sleep.  He'd wake up with amazing recipes and they'd taste dreamy on this plain.  Just recently, when Jerry's Berries got liquified by the heat and they told us at the farm that there might not be anymore this season or at least for a few weeks if the plants recovered. The King dreamed that we went to the field with five stones.  Teen Dude, Hoops, Miss A and I each went to a corner of the farm, placed a stone and said a prayer for healing.  The King went to the center of the field and placed the last stone.  When I went to the farm at the end of the week there were strawberries for sale.  Cool huh? 

  My Medicine Card book tell a story of Lizard that goes like this:  Lizard sat lolling in the shadow of a big rock, shading himself from the desert sun.  Snake crawled by, looking for some shadow to coil up in and rest.  Snake watched awhile as Lizard's eyeballs went from side to side behind his enormous closed lids.  Snake hissed to get Lizards attention.  Slowly Lizard's dreaming eyes opened and he saw snake. 

  "Snake!  You scared me!  What do you want?" Lizard cried.

  Snake spit his answer from his forked tongue.  "Lizard, you are always getting the best shadow spots in the heat of the day.  This is the only big rock for miles.  Why don't you share your shade with me?"

  Lizard thought for a moment, then agreed.  "Snake, you can share my shade spot, but you have to go to the other side of the rock and you must promise not to interrupt me."

  Snake was getting annoyed.  He hissed, "How could I bother you Lizard?  All you are doing is sleeping."

  Lizard smiled knowingly.  "Oh Snake, you are such a silly serpent.  I'm not sleeping.  I'm dreaming."

  Snake wanted to know what the difference was, so Lizard explained.  "Dreaming is going into the future, Snake.  I go to where the future lives.  You see, that is why I know you will not eat me.  I dreamed you and I know you are full of mouse."

  My point in all this is to encourage you not to ignore your dreams.  If you remember them, think about the messages or images.  They might just be giving you hints about the future.  You won't know until you give it some attention.

  Sweet dreams!

  If you've never been to Oso Flaco Lake, you have no idea what Mother Nature has in store for you.  You might have heard that the Ten Commandments was filmed on the dunes in 1923.  Well..this was the place.  The set is still buried under 6 feet of sand, the length of two football fields.  Apparently the mapping and excavation plans are still waiting for funding. 

  I know I live in a very special place.  Not a day goes by that I don't thank "all that is" for all that I have.  All around us are day trips full of adventure and beauty.  The King got a well deserved day off, and since it's summer and Teen Dude gets home from summer school by ten, there was still plenty of time to get the heck out of the house.  Miss A wanted to go to the beach, Hoops wanted to go to a lake and Teen Dude wanted to explore the dunes.  What do you do?  Well..The King is a very wise guy in more ways than one which is why we call him The King. 

  "Let's go to Oso Flaco Lake," he said.  "There's a lake, a beautiful beach, and the dunes all in one place."

   You might have also heard about the dunes area beyond the lake and the plight of the Snowy Plover.  It was on the news quite a few years ago.  Well...this is the place.  Their nesting grounds are there and before they were protected, they were getting wiped out by the people walking on the dunes and stepping on the eggs.  You see the tiny birds lay their eggs on the sand.   No grass or twigs for a nest.  The indent in the sand is their nest.  Now that the area on the dunes is protected.  The birds can raise their families in the dunes and you can enjoy the beach area in front of them

  "Why am I standing here talking.  I'll talk on the way.  I can multifunction with the best of them.  See this pathway?  Willow, a bit of poison oak, and wild berries grow along the sides.  Many flowers to see so keep your eyes open.  Let's go!

  Up the road a piece, you turn to the left and step onto a walkway that takes you across the lake. 

  We went in the afternoon in hopes of catching some of the wildlife out in the open. I had no idea that we would find white pelicans. They are so graceful on the water.  I tried to get a picture as one flew over my head and I almost threw myself over the side.  I settled for this one.

  At the end of the walkway over the lake is a wooden trail that takes you out to the ocean.  Along the way are benches where you can sit and enjoy the quiet, listening to the sounds of nature. It's very peaceful and the vegetation is interesting.  Remember now, it all grows in sand. 

  When we arrived at the beach about a mile later, it was a sight to see.  The King loves the sea foam green water.  I love the way the sun glints on the waves.  We both sighed at the same time.

  We shared the beach with a big flock of seagulls, but that was it.  No people until we were leaving.  I enjoy how I can wander the beach looking up or down and find visuals to please my senses.

  We did not see the Snowy Plover nesting but they were alive and thriving.  Didn't get a picture of them due to camera batteries.  I did speak to two young guys about 9 and 10 years old as we left the beach.  They were all over the dunes in the protected area.  They just stepped over the roped off area.  I asked them if they'd seen the signs that are posted all the way up the path to the beach.  I spoke to them as their parents walked passed me taking no notice of the boys bounding off the dunes.  

  Anyway...the boys were just a little hiccup along the path.  The rest of the day was wonderful.  Personally, every step was a release of tension.  The beauty that filled my vision and the sounds that filled my ears, lifted my mood and deeply soothed my spirit.  I like watching my children enjoy a place of nature.  How each of them discovers something and shares it in a hushed voice or a squeal of surprise.

  So what do think?  Cool huh?