Blue Skies Smiling at Me ~ Sky Watch

 

Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see

Bluebirds
Singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds
All day long

 

Never saw the sun shining so bright
Never saw things going so right
Noticing the days hurrying by
When you’re in love, my how they fly

Blue days
All of them gone
Nothing but blue skies
From now on

 

For more Sky Watch head over to Wiggers World.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

The Butterfly

 

I was so happy that a butterfly stayed still long enough on my walk yesterday with Willow so that I could get a photograph. This is my first butterfly shot. I’d love to be able to get closer to one to get a clearer shot sometime. I had to zoom in fearing it would flutter away if I got too close. Dear tells me this is a Swallowtail butterfly, smarty pants!

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Top Chef Finale???

 

I really like this show! Tonight is the finale.

Please no! Not Lisa as the winner…

Richard would be great as the winner.

 

Stephanie would be wonderful.  My personal favorite…

UPDATE: Yahoo!! Stephanie is Top Chef!!

I was so nervous because Lisa really put out a great meal tonight…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Saint Barnabas Day ~ June 11th

Some June Mottoes

“A dripping June keeps all in tune.”

“June damp and warm
Does the farmer no harm”

“St. Barnabas, mow your first grass.”

…the cloudless sky

JUNE

“A cloudless sky; a world of heather,
Purple of foxglove, yellow of broom;
We two among it, wading together;
Shaking out honey, treading perfume.
Crowds of bees are giddy with clover,
Crowds of grasshoppers skip at our feet,
Crowds of larks at their matins hang over,
Thanking the Lord for a life so sweet.”
~ Jean Ingelow

Now for my poetic license with these photos to go with this fun poem. Not the exact plants but mostly the right color….

 

…a world of heather

 

…purple of foxglove

 

…yellow of broom

 

…crowds of bees are giddy with clover

 

…crowds of grasshoppers skip at our feet

 

…Thanking the Lord for a life so sweet!

Have a wonderful St. Barney Day and don’t forget to mow your lawn…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

WFW ~ 1 Corinthians 13

 

I Corinthians 12:31b, 13:1, 13:4, 13:7 ~

“And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”

“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Colossians 3:12 ~

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

For more Word Filled Wednesday head over to The 160 Acre Woods.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Pampering Myself ~ How to Eat Out Alone

 

I have learned over the years to pamper myself when the time is right. I also can rationalize a dinner out any day of the week. So…because Dear has been in Seattle at a Pharmacy conference since Friday and I’ve been home alone I decided to have a treat and go out to dinner on my last night alone. I started the eating out alone experience when I was out of town at sports tournaments, etc. I learned that it’s OK to eat out alone. The first couple times it was awkward but I’m “way over it”. I like to eat early so Happy Hours are ideal for me. You can eat at a nice restaurant instead of a Fast Food Joint!

Tonight I hopped into my car and drove a short distance to the Safire American Bistro in Camarillo. The bar has great tables for two for a single person to feel comfortable at. These tables were out of the main hub bub and not real conspicuous. They have what they think are deals on their happy hour menu. I’ve had better deals elsewhere but this was nice never-the-less. (Is that one word?) I ordered their Safire Salad which was wonderful $5.00. I love that it had garbanzo beans (chickpeas) in the salad and Parmesan shavings. The tomatoes were grape tomatoes and not the scary salmonella tomatoes that are causing havoc across the US right now. Sheesh the $7.00 gourmet pizza was a medium size not a personal size so I brought 3/4 of it home. I suppose $7.00 for a medium gourmet pizza at a nice restaurant is a good Happy Hour price…

Ummm, I wasn’t going to mention it but since it’s in the photo collage the gin martini was $6.00.  And since you are eating out alone, only have one drink please. 🙂 Now how do I rationalize this meal that cost me $23.00 with tip you ask, yes I generally tip 20%. I figure since Dear’s company is paying for all his meals the last 5 days we’re way ahead even though I splurged. Do you see my reasoning?

The pampering didn’t stop with dinner. When I got home I brewed myself a cup of tea and had a slice of Amish Friendship Bread that Willow sent home with me yesterday. Very yummy, Willow!

 

This is a new brand of tea I’m trying from St. Petersbourg, actually made in France. A Russian blend of China, Ceylon and India teas with natural scents of bergamot, lemon, lime, orange, mandarin, and flowers. (Earl Grey, citrus fruits and flowers). I love the little muslin tea bags.

Dear comes home tomorrow, yippee!

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Snatched from Deena!

Because I love to see my kids I snatched this from Deena’s blog. I’m going right over there to her blog to confess right now. And while I’m in a snatching mood here they are at the Woodland Park Zoo.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

ABC Wednesday ~ U is for

U is for Underwood Family Farms, U-pick Blueberries, Uitility Poles, and the U.S. Post Office

I sure wish there was someone with me when I was taking this shot so I could have a face to go with one of these animals.

The Underwood Farms sell fresh fruit, produce and flowers at this roadside stand. They are also known for their U-pick Blueberries.

 

While at the Underwood Stand I looked down the road and noticed all these Utility Poles.

On the way home I passed this U.S. Post Office. All they seem to want to send me these days is lots of USELESS mail and very few meaningful pieces of mail.

For more ABC’s head over to Mrs. Nesbitt.

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

The Bridal Shower

My extended family came together to host a bridal shower for our future niece, cousin, granddaughter. June 28th is the wedding day. I put together some photos from the event. Good food, Fellowship, and blessings all around. A lovely colorful afternoon.

 

Can you guess the color scheme we chose for the shower? Yep, lavender, green, and cream.

 

I’m happy to say the fondant cake turned out and if the fondant had been fresher (confession time: I had this box of fondant in my cupboard for over a year) it would have been easier to work with and a lot more pliable. I will try fondant again, fresh fondant.

 

We had savory blintzes filled with chicken and broccoli, tabbouleh, fruit salad, Italian Wedding cookies, and Kefili cookies filled with apricot and plum jam. My mom made the cookies. The Kefili are one of her russian recipes. Growing up we had a great Italian friend living across the street, Lucille. She always made these Italian wedding cookies for showers and weddings. My mom hunted down her recipe to make them for this shower.

 

Jessica ~ Jessica and her mom, Connie ~ Jessica with Kelly (my Sil) and Kelly’s mom, Lynn ~ Jessica with my mother.

 

My niece Michelle getting the Mojito Punch ready. We love details, so my niece Melissa made ice-cubes with mint in them. That’s my niece Debbee in the kitchen. Sadly the Mojito Punch was virgin (no rum), but it was very good and refreshing.

Speaking of nieces, here they are ~ Jessica, Michelle, Debbee, and Melissa.

 

Details, details, we placed sprigs of lavender on each of the blintzes.

 

My sister Kathy had these great vintage snack trays that we used for the food.

 

 

 

 

 

I love this photo of my mom.

The shower was wonderful. We ended up making each other cry (a good cry). Don’t you think that sometimes if there are tears that are shed we are being real with each other? We thanked God and prayed for Jessica and Tim and prayed for all of us. We wanted to give God the honor for all He has done for our family and friends.

I was exhausted but happy that everything came together well. I had left my condo at 9:30 am and returned at 8:30 pm. 181 miles round-trip. Today I’m a little brain dead. I hope to get around and see what you are all up to sometime today after I empty my trunk and put everything away…

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.