Category Archives: My California

Compassion: 99 Word Flash Fiction

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Sherri Matthews

Gather your eggs and flour, load up on lemons and sprinkle the sugar, for today is Pancake Day! I missed celebrating Pancake Day when living in California. Even though I made my English pancakes (thinner and larger than American pancakes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Traditions, Flash Fiction, My California | Tagged #1000Speak, California, Childhood memories, Christianity, Compassion, England, Family Traditions, Flash fiction, Lent, Pancake Day, Shrove Tuesday | 87 Comments

Pumpkin Patch Americana and a Happy Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Sherri Matthews

The first time I set eyes on a pumpkin patch in California, I was utterly mesmerised. This was my idea of true ‘Americana’. For me, growing up in England, pumpkins belonged to fairy tales and I had certainly never carved … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood Memories, Family Traditions, My California | Tagged Americana, Black Cat Photo, California, Childhood memories, England, Family Traditions, Halloween, Jack-O-Lantern, Pumpkin Farm, Pumpkins, Seasonal Traditions, Suffolk | 113 Comments

A Sign Of Things To Come

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Sherri Matthews

This week’s Weekly Photo Challenge prompt is ‘Signs’. WordPress kindly let me know that Girl In A Pale Blue Dress was my 200th post, a good sign that I’m still managing to blog away. Then I thought of the plight … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Memoirs, My California, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged California, Church, Daily Prompt, Driving, Family Memories, Photos of Signs, Police, postaday, Rambling Roses, Stop Signs, Weekly Photo Challenge | 86 Comments

A Spider Bite And A Flash Fiction

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Sherri Matthews

The fear of public speaking is stronger than the fear of death itself, ‘they’ say, but in my research for this post I discovered something very interesting: according to an online article which cited the results of a recent survey … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash Fiction, My California, Nature & Wildlife | Tagged Black Widow, California, Death, Fears, Flash fiction, Insects, Nature & Wildlife, Photo of Spider, Rattlesnakes, Spider Bites, wasps, writing | 124 Comments

Jurassic Park, Graduation And Goodbye To A British Icon

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Sherri Matthews

Kindness. Thoughtfulness. Compassion. Words we all know and understand and hopefully act upon as often as possible. Yet while bombarded daily it seems with news reports of terrifying and sickening acts of violence, depravity, murder, and unimaginable human suffering from … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life, My California | Tagged Boxing Day Tsunami, Brighton, California, Dinosaurs, England, Family Life, Graduation, Grief, Jurassic Park, Kindness, Movies, Richard Attenborough, University of Sussex | 79 Comments

Thoughts Behind A Silhouette

Posted on August 21, 2014 by Sherri Matthews

The word ‘silhouette’ is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as: ‘The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.’ This week, we’re asked to post a photograph showing a silhouette for … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood Memories, My California, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged Beluga Whales, California, Childhood memories, Children, Photography, postaday, Sea World, Silhouette, Weekly Photo Challenge | 75 Comments

Are We Nearly There Yet?

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Sherri Matthews

“Are we nearly there yet?” How many times as kids did we ask this question of our parents during inexcusably long car journeys? When it came time for my own children to ask me the very same, my answer was … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life, Memoir, My California, Writing | Tagged A Horse With No Name, America, Book Writing, Family Life, Las Vegas, Memoir, Mojave Desert, Road Trips, Summer, writing | 89 Comments

June in England: Glastonbury, Stonehenge And A Country Garden

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Sherri Matthews

There is something in the air at this time of year, and I’m not talking about the pollen. For one thing, I am reminded by strategically placed, temporary road signs that once again, our home turf is about to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life, My California, Travel | Tagged England, Family Life, Glastonbury, My California, Peter Rabbit, Photos of English Gardens, School, Somerset, Stonehenge, Summer Vacation, travel | 98 Comments

WPC: Author Eric Hill going the Extra, Extra Mile

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Sherri Matthews

One of my greatest pleasures in life was reading stories to each of my three children. Those times of cuddling up together, giggling and being silly, or waiting wide-eyed to turn the page to find out where the adventure took … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Life, My California, Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged Brit, Central Coast of California, Childhood memories, Children's Books, Emigration, Eric Hill, Family Life, postaday, Reading, Spot The Dog, Weekly Photo Challenge | 69 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Work Of Art Is An Abalone Shell

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Sherri Matthews

The theme for this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge is ‘Work of Art’. Michelle defines it this way: “Art” isn’t just paintings and sculptures, it can be anything in which we find beauty and meaning — even food. Show us a … Continue reading →