Tag Archives: Travel

Back to Emma Wood With the Tide Out…

We had a wonderful sandy walk at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California last Saturday. We were so pleased to see the tide out far enough for a true walk on the beach.

These little Sanderlings were scurrying about in full force digging in the sand with their long narrow beaks.

I was excited to catch this Pelican with my camera.

 

And these Cormorants were an added bonus!

We had fun exploring some of these pools.

We saw many sea anemones

We also saw crabs, mussels stuck on rocks, and a Jellyfish!

Lord willing this coming Saturday we are going to try to do a walk here again at dusk.

My Sweet Niece and Me and Vitiligo

I love this photo of my sweet little niece with her Aunty ellen b. Look at her great eyebrows. After we left Dallas she cut two bottom teeth within the week. She’s just 3-1/2 months old. Before we left for Dallas I had my first ever trip to the dermatologist because my face was discoloring. I thought I was getting brown spots. At my visit the dermatologist discovered that I’m not getting brown spots but instead I’m losing the pigment in my skin, a condition called Vitiligo. It’s the same condition that Michael Jackson has. I’m not wearing any cover-up in the photo above so you can see my loss of pigment especially next to my dear niece’s perfect baby skin. So from now on if I post any photos of myself out walking you’ll see me with my Dallas souvenir on…

Here I am last Saturday at Emma Wood State Beach with my new UPF50+ hat with a 3″ rim. The areas of my skin that are losing pigment are very sensitive to the sun so I need to add extra protection. A sunblock with helioplex broad spectrum uva-uvb and avobenzone 3% are highly recommended for protection. I’m using a Neutrogena product that has both of these ingredients in it. The only downside to this condition for me besides my vanity, is the fact that I don’t wear hats well and then the added condition of bad dented hair from the hat after my walks!

Between my back issues and my face issues I was happy to have memorized ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ~”Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Have a wonderful day y’all and keep on walking. I’ve had a good week of walking and I’ll be posting my average steps every Monday from now on.

Mother’s Day 2008 ~ Whittier

Our Mother’s Day Celebrations started early this year. I was away from all my children this year so they got together and created the best gift I could possibly ask for. Each of them wrote to me and included a photo of themselves. Each note was unique just like they are. They were put together in the book cover you see in the center of the collage. I was in Mom heaven! On Mother’s Day morning Dear was very sweet and took me to the Rose Bowl Flea Market with a pocket full of cash. I’ll post more about that later. After we walked the isles and isles of goodies at the Flea Market we headed to Whittier for a smaller family gathering with my Sister’s Family and my Mom and Dad. My brother Steve was able to come, too.

As we drove through Whittier to my sister’s house we were greeted with the beautiful purple blooms on the Jacaranda Trees.

My Father and Jackson (Great grandson)

Jackson with his friend.

We were surounded by beautiful blooms on potted plants and fresh bouquets.

We started lunch with my mother’s Borsch and then had fondue. Main course of beef, chicken, cheese, bread, and vegetables. Then a dark chocolate and milk chocolate fondue mix for our fruit and wafers and biscotti. Everything was very good.

I brought my mom, sister, and niece these Johnson Bros. mugs filled with 3 kinds of Tea.

My nieces gave me the potted pink hydrangea in the top collage.

It was a beautiful day of honoring mom’s and enjoying each others company. Thank you Len and Kathy for always opening your home to family. Len’s 95 year old mother was able to join us at the table for a little while and had us in stitches with some of her remarks. How lovely the day was. Thank you Lord.

Mother’s day and I’m missing a photo of the mother’s! Oye.

Photo Hunters ~ Anything Goes!

This little replica of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in Stratford-on-Avon was built at the Dallas Arboretum. The roof is an authentic roof thatched by Irishman William Cahill. We were in Dallas, Texas last weekend and got the chance to stroll through the beautiful grounds of the Arboretum.

For more Photo Hunters head over to Tnchick.

Dallas Arboretum ~ The Star of Texas

It was a beautiful day at the Dallas Arboretum last Saturday.

Just in case there’s any confusion as to what state you are in here’s the Star of Texas, a Longhorn, an Armadillo and a cowboy hat to set you right.

It was so lush with pinks, purples and many shades of green.

Lots of beautiful trees. The crape myrtle had such smooth interesting bark.

We were a little late for the wisteria but I can imagine how lush this was about a month ago. On our way out I bought a souvenir here that I will share in a future post. The afternoon was so lovely, sunny but not hot.

 

ABC Wednesday ~ P is for…

P is for Pioneers

My husband and I were in Texas this last weekend and we were able to stroll through the Dallas Arboretum (more photos from the Arboretum tomorrow) This is a replica of a Texas Pioneer Village at the Dallas Arboretum. Pioneers settled in Texas because of the availability of land. As the poplulation increased they’d add a general store, church, school, etc. to the village.

P is also for Palm Trees…

These were all taken in Southern California in my neighborhood or close by.

For more ABC Wednesday click over to Mrs. Nesbitt’s.

Recovering from a Fun Weekend

All the travel fun and time we spent in Dallas this last weekend has zapped all the creativity from my brain. I’m blah, blah, blah. I’m sure I’ll recover soon and then I’ll post the wonderful photos. I got permission to post photos of the “one who it’s all about”, our precious little niece. I’ll leave you with this shot and a promise of more to come plus some classic Texas shots soon!!

Have a great day y’all!

 

My Bag is Packed ~

We’re headed to Dallas to spend the weekend with my brother and his wife and we get to meet our new niece for the very first time. Yippee! We are excited to see her face to face and get acquainted with this new little person in our family. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and Lord willing I’ll visit on Monday…

ABC Wednesday ~ O is for…

O is for Oban, Scotland ~

Oban is the gateway to the Isles.

Oban is on the west coast of Scotland.

Oban is the frontier between the West Highlands and the Islands; the meeting place between land and sea. A perfect, sheltered harbour makes it the principal seaport for the Isles and the capital of the West Highlands. It has a mild, temperate climate, warmed by the Gulf Stream and washed (too often, some might say) by the soft rain that often falls hereabouts. This misty, briny character, with a background of heather and peat, is perfectly echoed in the malt whisky produced at Oban.

We travelled to Oban in May of 2006 and enjoyed a couple nights here. Our favorite part of this stay was our day trip to the Isle of Iona via the Isle of Mull. Our tour of the Oban Distillery was an extra treat for Dear…

For more O posts visit Mrs. Nesbitt

ht: Dave for Oban photos…

Hospital-i-Tea Blogathon ~ Favorite Tea

April 27 – May 3
Tell about your favorite tea. How do you prepare it and serve it? Milk and sugar? Plain? What are some of your best memories of serving or sipping on this tea.

Truth be told I generally enjoy tea steeped with a tea bag. If I am going to steep loose tea I enjoy a good Earl Grey or English Breakfast Tea. I always have to make sure I have good ole Lipton tea bags around for my family especially my brother Leonard. Some of my sisters have moved on to herbal teas. When I was younger I put lots of sugar and milk in my tea. These days I drink most of my hot beverages black with no sweeteners. In honor of this weeks assignment Dear and I went to Cost Plus bought a tin of Twinings Earl Grey Loose Tea and steeped ourselves a cuppa this afternoon. Lovely…

My best memories of tea are from my childhood when I’d have tea with my maternal grandmother. Also whenever we get together with my side of the family we enjoy tea at the end of our meals together. Sometimes I’ll have it black, sometimes with lemon, and sometimes with milk. Then the next best memory of tea is when I travelled to England for the first time in 1973. We were part of a Christian Rock band singing at local schools and churches. We would be housed by local families who were interested in our ministry. How very special it was to have a knock on the bedroom door in the morning, open the door and see a tray with a teapot steeping and tea cups and milk to get us started in the morning. What a wonderful treat and memory. I also love how when staying at Bed and Breakfasts in England we’ve been greeted with tea upon our arrival. This next photo is of our daughter enjoying a cup of welcome tea in our flat in Edinburgh.

I’d love that beautiful blue and white tea set! Tea is always a welcome refreshment when I am tired and after travelling a long way.

For more Tea Posts visit LaTeDah at Gracious Hospitality.