On Vacation -- see you mid-September

After one year and two months of running this blog, I am actually amazed. It has, as I have expressed before, been an illuminating process. I've so enjoyed meeting you via your generous and colorful words and ideas. This time has been a special treat for me. I never planned to have a blog. The truth is, this blog was an accident. During my exploration of a blogging web-site, out of curiosity, I inadvertently created one. And I'm probably more surprised than you are that I've kept it going ever since.
Right now, I'm feeling almost organically like I need a good, long break -- a hiatus, if you will. I have resisted the urge to do this in the past. But now, the time not only feels right, but necessary. And so, I plan to cast "Santa Barbara Sketches" into the realm of summer reruns.

I don't plan any new posts until mid-September. I'm thinking, September 15th. I will check in from time to time, and perhaps change a photo in the sidebar. But all in all, it's time for my vacation.

I know I'll be thinking of you, as you have played a special part in my life, and I know that after being with you for over a year now, I will see things and have ideas that I will long to share. I surely hope to see you when I return.

And so, even though this blog will be quiet, these months we have shared will be with me, that is certain! I want to wish you a summer that delivers cool breezes. safe enclaves and beautiful surprises. Sending you all my Warm Regards, ~ Anitra

These Days (with an advance notice of my summer vacation)

These days, we've been getting fog -- lots of it. Every morning, on the hill where I live, gray buffers the sky. The good thing is, it tamps down the heat that's been grilling the better part of the U.S. And also, on most days (not all,) the fog burns off by noon. And as the dense layers of mist dissolve, our fence lizards, Huey, Lady Gaga, Slinky and the new baby dino on the block, Bennie, appear on the rock wall.

August spreads before me like a smorgasbord of undiscovered treats. What will develop, I know not. Just that each day and each breath (even in the midst of crazy, world chaos) is a gift.



***I want to give you a little advance notice of the fact that I'm going to be taking my first break from this blog. It will be a long summer vacation. I know I will miss you greatly, as you, Dear Readers, enrich my life. I also know that I need a revitalizing break. And so, today, I'm airing my regular post, which will be followed some time towards the end of the week, by my last post before vacation.

Residual Images From Santa Ynez with author's flight of fancy

Supermodel Karina Fabuloso
on the runway in Paris
modeling the latest creation
by Jean Paul Gaultier

Rocks

I love them, simply love them.

Even as a child, the pebbles in the driveway drew me in. I found them fascinating. The textures and the colors of those tiny fragments seemed to me like secret and unrecognized jewels.

And later, on the beach, searching for smooth moonstones and jade, I could loose myself for hours.

I think of rocks a testaments of time, miracles of nature. Some are miniature mountains, others have fantastic shapes, and many exhibit images and patterns that I find as remarkable as paintings by Picasso.

Hello Summer!

There's a saying that the sun always shines in Malibu. My experience is that it always shines on Santa Barbara's Summer Solstice Parade as well.

Every year a community of artists and volunteers creates this exquisite parade. The non-motorized display of flamboyant floats proceeds up State Street powered by the sturdy resolve of strong arms and legs alone. This year's theme was "The Jungle." In our city with its population of two-hundred thousand, the Summer Solstice Parade often draws an extra one-hundred thousand people to our town. I could write pages of description on this joyous celebration, but instead I'll let the photos tell the story and offer a short list of words.


Music
& reverberating drums
Dancing
Smiling children
Happy oldsters
And everyone in between
Bicycles
Roller skates
Brilliant color
Costumes
Glitter
Feathers
Cheers
Applause
Laughter
Tears of joy

On this Fourth of July weekend...

with the sun shining brightly, and the sky, a blue swath above, I'm thinking about this blog, now one year old. I'm also thinking about the two sides of Anitra. The person she used to be: passionate, driven, dedicated to her career, and the person she is now, after 35 years of going deeper, beyond the image in the mirror.

Today, I'm a woman who has found a certain freedom in learning to blend into the crowd and whose greatest happiness comes from living in the here and now. In this blog, I dance between the two Anitras, grateful for both the preset and the past. And, on this weekend, I'm especially grateful for my freedom to experience and express the full range of who I am. I'm also grateful for you Dear Readers, for the ways in which you contribute. Your presence opens my eyes to what's around me and illuminates my days.

Wishing you a bountiful and inspired Fourth of July, ~ Aneet