Hubby left for Indy the end of October for a week long business trip.  But his business trip was extended into the second week of November.  That’s when he called to see if I’d like to join him.  We rushed out to secure my flight and I was on that plane the very next day.  That was the best unexpected trip a gal could ask for.

An early morning view of Indy from the balcony of our suite up on the 20th floor.

Another shot of the city

Indy after the sun went down

A little night shot.

Staying downtown provides great shopping during the day while hubby is away at work  There’s also great restaurants for our evening dining experience.  Love those evening strolls with hubby.

Indy is not too far away from family either.  We were able to spend time with our handsome son Ryan and his sweet girlfriend Abbey.

We also got to visit with hubby’s brother and two of his sons and one of my favorite sister-in-laws.

After a fun filled weekend with family, hubby and I made our way back to Indy for another work week.

I had another highlight in the middle of the week.  I got to spend the day with an old friend that I haven’t seen in 11+ years.  We spent time shopping, eating and mostly visiting.  I love how some friendships have a way of reconnecting no matter the distance or span of time between visits.  Our visit truly did my heart good.

For an unexpected trip, I’d say I was blessed to not only be with hubby but to cover some pretty awesome ground that wasn’t planned.

You never know how your plans can be altered and the unexpected can turn into some of the most amazing journeys.

Blessings – Debbie

Blue skies greeted us first thing this morning.

Such abundant blue

Early morning shadows stretched across the lawn

And storm clouds vanished for a little while.  By late morning, the clouds rolled in and our pretty blue was once again hidden behind a sea of fluff.

But nothing stood in our way of getting things done

• Lots of boxes in the garage were sorted through
• Many things got pitched while other things went into the donation pile
• We watched football and enjoyed working and playing side by side all day

After cleaning up, hubby took me out for dinner.  I’m using this picture because I like it, we were joking and I snapped it at the right time.  It’s a shame the quality of the picture isn’t any better.

And we enjoyed the atmosphere from our viewpoint.  Taken without flash.

 

After dinner we hit the mall.  We might be joining the “real world” with smart phones soon!  I keep telling hubby “I’m just dandy with my dumb phone”.  I don’t text and can’t imagine why in the world I would need anything other than what I already have.

TBD on my take of the phones they call “smart”.

And that wraps up my two cents for the day.

Blessings – Debbie

I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.  I could burst into that verse right now, but I won’t.  Oh I want to!  But I’ll spare you.

Way beyond the clouds is the prettiest blue sky and that beautiful sunshine that’s been hiding for days!  It was overcast again this morning mixed with a little rain.  But this afternoon the clouds parted revealing the deepest blue.

This was taken on my way home from a wonderful lunch date with my hubby.

Exciting, it was so exciting to see the sky again let me tell you!  As soon as I got home, I made a beeline for the backyard.

and relished the pretty sun-kissed flora.

It takes the rain to enjoy the prettiest blue skies and takes the prettiest blue skies to enjoy the rain.  But there’s something to be said after the rain.  It makes all things look fresh and new.

As with life.  Sometimes it has to rain in order to see new growth and appreciate the blessings all around us.

Blessings – Debbie

I had a nice little spontaneous stroll through the backyard.

The air was crisp and sounds of raindrops fell from the surrounding foliage.

Flowers of all sorts appeared a deeper shade and I seemed to notice colors I hadn’t seen before.

The roses were bathed in raindrops

and this lone wet bench in the backyard is looking out to beautiful views.

The path may at times be slippery but well worth the journey.

We have a chance of showers.  Considerable cloudiness with a high of 67°.

Until we see the sun again, I will continue to enjoy our rare blessing of rain.

Blessings – Debbie

Shocker, I know, but we here in southern California rarely experience what a nice rainfall is all about that we forget it’s part of the forecast.

This was yesterday…

We forget the sky looks anything other than blue.

And don’t recall the last time water trickled off the roof.  That’s actually a little trickle there on the left.  The fine line can be seen in front of the bushes.

Then came an actual waterfall.  This was a first since we moved into this home last May.

Between downpours, I ventured out…

And saw lot and lots of water-drops everywhere!

Dark skies and beauty…

at each turn, what more could I ask for?

What’s more?  Raindrops again today!

I love this quote.

The rose is not the only beauty with thorns.  The key is to enjoy beauty without getting hurt.

and don’t sit on top of fences like this…

But do appreciate the goodness of all things!

Blessings – Debbie

Hubby and I filled out our ballots last evening and slipped those babies in the mail today!  Yay for not having to stand in line on Election Day!

We had plenty of material to cover, just in-case we were unsure of the issues and we made our voice count.

And we used it such that we didn’t leave anything blank.

Read the instructions and got busy filling out the “Official Ballot” – This is such a great way to vote!

On the down side, I don’t have a sticker to wear today.  But if that’s the only bad thing I can think of, I think I’ll continue voting like this whenever possible.

Blessings – Debbie

There were no immediate plans for myself this morning.  As I went about my morning ritual of making hubby’s lunch and started a fresh pot of coffee.  But there was one thing on the counter that particularly caught my eye…

And there they were looking all ripe and begging to be useful.  I thought, how perfect do these guys look for banana muffins?  Yes, that was the next great adventure on this cool damp autumn morning.

Luckily I had all the ingredients necessary.  The star of the show (IMHO) would be the sour cream.  Oops, I don’t have the vanilla extract in the picture, sorry vanilla, I didn’t mean to leave you out of the pic.  At least you made it to the batch though.  Clearly that’s the main thing, right?

Once everything is mixed, it looks like a beautiful large bowl of creamy goodness.  And it is, I tasted.

Then we have the batter evenly portioned into muffin cups.  This was a recipe for banana bread, but I much prefer individual muffins these days.  So muffins it is.

Then I popped these into the oven and let the heat do the rest.

Lets just say, these are over the top creamy moist and flavorful!  Thank you very much Mr. Sour Cream, I believe that’s your doin’.  Good Job!

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 medium bananas, sliced – (I used 3, just because that’s the way I roll)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas. Spread evenly into the prepared muffin pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  (I did none of the above mentioned as I had mine piping “HOT”!  Just saying, I don’t always play by the rules.)
4. If your baking bread, allow 60 min of baking time in at 350 degrees F oven or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

• Calories: 192
• Total Fat: 8.6g
• Cholesterol: 48mg
• Sodium: 219mg
• Total Carbs: 26.9g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.7g
• Protein: 2.6g

From the time I can recall, this has to be my absolute favorite time of the year.  Autumn provides the best kick off to the holidays and a celebration is in order.

To start with, I dug out my favorite little Pilgrim s and p shakers.  These shakers have special meaning as they are one of the first of the precious little things we’ve collected as a couple.  And I think these were perhaps our very first e-bay purchase.

This little set was sold in the local Publix grocery store, but they were all gone by the time we got around to getting them.  We were beyond excited to find them on e-bay some 11 years ago.

Pumpkin, that’s one of the very first things I think of when autumn arrives.  And muffins/pumpkin bread are in the works around here.

Paradise – Living in paradise this time of year is another blessing.  Hubby and I enjoyed time at the beach this past weekend.  We also enjoyed a lovely meal, my (meal) pictures didn’t turn out for whatever reason.  But yummy none the less.

And Coffee Mugs – This is the best pottery mug I’ve ever laid hands on.  It happens to be the piece of pottery I scored while in Alaska last month.  Check out the nifty little opening there for your paws to slip in.

Cheers to Autumn and all these blessings and more…

Blessings – Debbie

I was beyond excited that my Great Aunt and Uncle were more than up for us to come over for a visit in their lovely log home.

 

Aunt Ida Belle shared her coat so that I could see and experience what a “real” winter coat was all about.  She even zipped it all the way up to enhance the experience.  For a moment in time, I was a real Eskimo.

Uncle David has played the violin for (I believe he said) 65 years.  We enjoyed listening to his wonderful tunes while there.  Amazing talent I might add!

My beautiful Great Aunt Ida Belle

We truly had a great visit all the way around.  Aunt Ida Belle shared our family genealogy with me.  She had an amazing book all put together and I even got to see a picture of my great, great, great grandfather.  What a delight that was to see and read all about our family history!

After our visit, hubby and I headed back to meet up with Dan and Rita for a lovely dinner on the river.

Loved our table and view.

Dan and I went out on the deck while we waited for our meal and took a few shots.

What a peaceful lovely evening.

And after we finished our meal, we enjoyed the pretty sunset.

and this view just outside the restaurant.  This made our very last day and evening in Fairbanks, Alaska. What a great day filled with so many blessings.

We were both very satisfied with our stay and everything we experienced while in Alaska.  We trust we can make it back one day.

In other news:  I apologize for allowing the blog to collect dust.  This Alaska trip sure did a number on me as far as all the pictures go.  I averaged 250 -350 pictures a day and sorting through them became burdensome.  Now I just need to finish wrapping up all the things I need to say and share about Alaska and then call it a day.

I’m hoping to finish up in the next 3 days so that I can continue on with life and times.

Blessings – Debbie

Denali National Park is one of the most amazing places I’ve been in my life.  A place we continue to talk about and already look forward to our next visit.

The lowest elevation in the park is 240 feet and the highest is Mount McKinley at 20,320 feet

Here we are enjoying our visit.

The colors were so beautiful.

Check it out!  Zoom little camera, ZOOM!  This is the best I could do with him.  This would be a caribou.

Bus Driver, stop this bus!  Well it didn’t go quite like that but this little guy was spotted and the driver gladly stopped the bus.  This little ground squirrel was right below my window.

This is my best shot of the moose.  We saw about 6 of them total but didn’t always have my camera ready.  We even saw a bull!

Another Caribou sighting!  Talk about a bus load of happy people.

We saw more than I can count of these guys in the wild and we even saw some domesticated ones which are called reindeer.  Of course the domesticated ones were not found in Denali.

Each view was worthy of a shot to remember

The Three Grizzly Bears – There was a momma (blond bear) with two black cubs and bear bait aka a human.  See photo below.  So the driver pulls over after someone on the bus yells out “BEARS”!  Some of the people on the bus begin to freak out when they see the human walking closer and closer to the bears.  He even crossed that little body of water and walked along side the bears.  The little cubs were curious and walked over to the edge of the brush but the momma just held her ground.

About that time the bus driver was ready to pull away saying the human knew what he was doing.  But no, the people insisted we wait right there to see to it that he was safe.  So we waited a little longer for all the freaked out people to calm down…Guess you had to be there.

Sorry, this is my best shot, it’s time for another camera for these shots.  Luckily the driver had a camera hooked to overhead monitors and we were all able to get a nice close look.

This sign has nails all around the edges to keep the grizzly’s from chewing up their signs.

Oh, we spy a glacier!  We didn’t have a nice clear day but we took in as much as we could from this trip.

And another

Oh my word, this Dall Sheep was resting right along side the road.

Quite fascinating to see these creatures climb and live on these steep mountains.

Again, there’s a big bird in there too, I forget what it is though.

Dall sheep with glaciers in the background.

One more shot…

Our narrow winding road.  Some of the folks on the bus had to switch sides as they did not like looking down over the edges.

We traveled 58 miles into the wilderness.  And thoughts of returning seems to be a daily occurrence.

The dense clouds still leave a little eye candy up there.  Would have enjoyed seeing a little more of the glacier and mountains.

Simply beautiful, here the sun came through and highlighted a small portion of the mountain.

Autumn was in the air

The night sky as our bus tour came to an end.

 And that wraps up a very short overview of our 8 + hour drive in the park.

To be continued…

Blessings – Debbie

September 4th would be the exact day for this adventure.  We went back to Pioneer Village where we spent a good portion of the morning/early afternoon.

My brother-in-law (Dan) is head Engineer of the train (Engine No. 1) at the Village and here he is in action.

Lets get acquainted with Engine No. 1 – It was built in March of 1899 meaning it has already celebrated its 111th birthday.  Pretty Amazing!

Engine No. 1 in transit

How exciting it was to be there on the rare occasion that the Park uses it.  I think in the summer it runs 2x’s per month and on holidays.  Lucky us to get to see it in motion.

Hubby was the Guest Engineer on the first ride through the park.

Dan knows just what to do to keep that engine chugging on down the tracks

Choo Choo…

Engine No. 1

The Captain doing his thing…That’s my sister-in-law in the center as she was on her post preparing for the opening and ready to greet the passengers…I think it’s so cool that they donate their time to this Village.

After our train ride, hubby and I toured the grounds a little while.

Loved the old buildings on the property and the flowers.

This particular bush/flower was spotted all over Alaska it seems.  I really like how it drools that deep vibrant fuchsia.

An old wheel with antlers next to an old building – Quite clever.

A row of historic buildings – I like how they are all outlined with color.

We visit the Air Museum on the property – and I find my hubby to be my favorite subject.  This was right up his alley.

Some of the same pictures used above but thinned out a bit – you may click on any of the pics to enlarge.

After our tour at the Village, hubby and I visited the local Farmers Market.  I fell in love with this place!  There were so many talented artists and farmers with all their goods.  It was such a great way to spend the late afternoon/evening.

And this wraps up another day in Fairbanks…To be continued…

Blessings – Debbie

This post holds quite a few pictures, so I’ll try to keep my words simple and let the pictures speak for themselves…for the most part.  Since I forgot to bring my camera with us on September 2nd, I’ll move along to September 3rd and share our visit with Dan and Rita in Fairbanks.

Our first stop was the Great Alaska Pipeline

A sign stating distances of where things were in terms of where we were at the moment.

I liked the Visitor Center distance at the top stating “not exact but close enough”.  As you can see, the Visitor Center was pretty much a stones throw from the Pipeline.

Dan has a lot of knowledge regarding the Pipeline and we were happy he shared with us

On to the next stop – Creamer’s Refuge – Creamer’s Farm took on a new meaning when they made available grain the Migratory birds in the 60’s.  Each year 1,000’s of geese and sandhill cranes gather to store up enough energy for their flight south.

Hubby and Dan check it out

Preparations for a long flight

Next Stop – University of Fairbanks Museum known as the Museum of the North – What an amazing structure.

Flowers – oh how they do stop me in my tracks.  The group was way ahead while I held flower studies on the grounds.

Oh dear flowers, I can’t pass you by without capturing a little snippet of your beauty

And so it goes – I took pics at the speed of lightning so my hubby, bro and sis-in-law wouldn’t have to wait long.

Just one last picture before heading into the Museum

This is the guy who was in charge of meet and greet at the entrance – I offered a friendly smile

And hubby offered his wallet while I continued to smile and hang on…

Moving right along…Here we have the skeleton of the woolly mammoth – I had no idea these creatures existed and well adapted to the glacial environment.  Fossil remains can still be found in Alaska.  The Mammoth could be as large as 14′ at the shoulders with tusks as long as 13′.

A male steep bison – this body was discovered in the summer of 1979.  It was then excavated and stored in a freezer until the mid 1980’s.  Then the taxidermy was performed.  How amazing is that?

An old Alaska Kayak – I love how this is showcased with paddles ‘n all.

On into the museum we enjoyed many works of art.  Here is Rita checking out this massive painting.  I really like this picture of her.

Next stop:  The Georgeson Botanical Garden – It’s used for research and provides food banks with produce.

Simply amazing

and beautiful

and full of surprises – It’s huge!

Pretty pumpkins and such

Such a pretty pansy – Love the color

The garden is well thought out and flowers and vegetables grow in harmony

The splash of pretty blue sky made such a beautiful background

and again

I don’t know what I expected but I certainly didn’t expect all of this in Alaska

Flower box – overflowing color

I enjoyed the unexpected

But this big blue eyed beauty was the prettiest of them all.  Her mommy let me take her picture and I didn’t hesitate.

What a little sweetheart – I wonder if her mommy made that beautiful dress?

Next Stop – University of Alaska Large Animal Research Station – A little visit with the musk ox – We got there too late for a tour but we enjoyed these animals.

Next on the list – First Friday aka Gallery Night!  Rita fell in love with this lovely painting and her hubby purchased it for her.

And what better cross street to find her painting than on the corner of Well and Good?

Off to the Alaska House art gallery

Loved this place – I brought up the tail end all the time as I lagged behind taking pictures.  There was never a question if I were in the front or far behind.  I was always the last one.

Onwards to Pioneer Park’s art gallery – but first things first, pictures!

I don’t know about you but I was so surprised to see so many beautiful flower gardens in Alaska.

I realize these pictures have nothing to do with gallery night.  But we were in Pioneer Village and when something cool shows up, pictures are sure to follow.

Nenana is her name, she measures in at 237′ long and was the largest sternwheeler built this side of the Mississippi.  Here she rests as a National Historic Landmark.

The Harding Rail Car – resides at the park.  It was used by President Warren G. Harding in the 1920’s when he visited Alaska.

The Harding Rail Car rests below that beautiful shelter.

Back to museums and goodies – I was specifically looking for a pottery piece.  The candle holders on the right intrigued me but they were not the ticket.  I think it had to do with a certain piece I saw the previous day and was not able to get it out of my mind.  Oh the choices…

After visiting 5 or so galleries we moved along to Wolf Run Restaurant for dinner.  For some reason, I got so tickled with this picture as you can see my hubby turning around to make sure I was still with them.

Loved the stained glass door of Wolf Run but didn’t like how the picture turned out.

But what I can say – Great place, delicious food and amazing atmosphere – What a nice day!

To be continued…

Blessings – Debbie

That was the question the gal asked as she was finishing up my pedicure.  Without hesitation, I said “sure”.  It’s always fun to walk away with something totally unexpected and not get charged for the extra.

So I feel like I’m going in circles today.  I’m thinking excitement has a lot to do with it.  The errands kept me going pretty much all morning and for the early portion of the afternoon. Now if I can look at my task list and focus.

All I know is that tomorrow this time, we’ll be headed for Alaska.  And all the stuff on my to do list will be “History”!  YAY!!!

Ready or not suitcase, here I come!

Blessings – Debbie

The ivy could very well be my favorite house plant.  I love the way it sprawls all over the place and trimming it should be a crime.

So this weekend hubby and I wanted to switch a roo a certain decorative piece on this coffee table.  I had no problems removing the item but I did want to replace it with a little somethin’ – somethin’.  Hubby requested the certain something be nice and low profile.

We had a little list of things to do, so while we were out shopping I picked up this little fella.  So happy hubby likes.

And the pot was just the ticket too.  On the list, I jotted down a sandy brown pot as I wanted a nice contrast with the dark Asian furniture.  Not only was it a nice contrast but it picked up the dark too, big perk for me.

I also scored some candles for the candle holders.

I’m so partial to these candle holders as my mom gave these to me a few years ago.  And they finally made themselves to home next to this Asian piece of furniture.  The candles are vanilla scented but I can’t express how many times I picked up the pumpkin scented candles and debated over the two.

And this little ivy made her way to the other coffee table in the family room.

I forgot to water my houseplants before our last trip and the little plant in this pot did not make it while we were out of town.  I like this ivy all sprawled out a lot better than the other plant I had in here.  So sorry the watering and care after our trip didn’t revive the other one, I’ll just have to take better care of this one.

Speaking of trips, we’re getting ready to leave for Alaska in just a couple days.  The excitement is building and we are so looking forward to this time together.

The tip of the week is to water your plants before your trips, unless you want to replace them.

Blessings – Debbie

After such a wonderful time at the beach yesterday, it seemed the place we wanted to be again today.

So Karen and I took our hungry tummies to a different beach where we enjoyed a wonderful lunch and let the time go by without a care in the world.

That’s actually glass behind us that reflected our ocean view.

The view from our seats – Loved the open windows and cool breeze

This passion fruit tea was so refreshing – very nice treat.

We started off with the Crispy Calamari – macadamia nut crusted, sweet & sour glaze – I would get this again, it was that good.

I had the Beachside Veggie Sandwich – cheddar & swiss cheeses, tomato, avocado, mushrooms, cucumber, sprouts, onion, lettuce, and squaw bread – this was such a good sandwich with the yummy seasoned taters and grilled onions.

Since we knew we were both having desert, we left food on our plates saving room for our sweet tooth.

And for desert, I had the Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie, chocolate peanut brittle with vanilla ice cream – I will positively get this again.  Had not quite 1/2 the brownie, all the ice cream and chocolate peanut brittle.  WOW!

It took a little over two hours to work our way through lunch.  It was so nice to not have to be anywhere or do anything but just enjoy the experience.

After lunch, we walked out back for a little afternoon stroll along the beautiful coast.

Karen – We still have one perhaps two more visits (tomorrow and ?) before she heads back to the east coast.

Oh what another wonderful day.  When given an opportunity, take advantage of it as we only have one shot to make the most of today.

After such a fun filled food day, this is the only thing I wanted all evening.  There was no twisting of the arm for this cup.

And now that I finished the last drop, I kinda could go for another.  I think I’ll use my better judgment and call it a day.  G – Night All!

Blessings – Debbie