Nature and Fun Discoveries

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Debbie

What a glorious day, filled with fun little treasures. I trust your week is moving along in a good direction.

I had to cut back to 1.5 hours in the garden this morning. I made time to water the potted plants and sprinkled a little love to the fishes too. And I had just enough time to shoot a few things that make me happy.

The orange rose-tree is a one of my favorites. But then again, all the roses in the garden are my favorite.

This is the gateway to the little table and chairs for two.

Just past the arch, at the foot of the second terrace, is this lovely spot for two.

The society garlic, is dotted on the hillside leading to the upper terrace. I’ve worked to populate many of these beautiful grass like bunches with deep purple blooms throughout the yard.

Time outdoors was cut a little short, due to an appointment at the salon. No haircut, just a color touch-up.

I took the liberty to add a fun dimension to this image, shot with my cell phone. This is a great way to pass the time.

While sipping this Coke.

Once home, I tried the new MAC lipstick I purchased. Where in the world have I been? This is the best brand of lipstick I’ve ever tried. Not that I wear makeup much, I really don’t. But still, This has my vote.

I was also in a pinch for some new foundation. Clinique has been my go to since my 20’s. Unfortunately, or shall I say fortunately, they no longer have a color match for me.

The Clinique department at Macy’s, introduced me to my new best (makeup) friend Estee Lauder. Hello Sweet Estee, I’m smitten with the coverage and overall feel on my skin. Farewell Clinique.

What a delight to stumble on a few little things that compliment the oh so little things in this wonderful life.

So my little thought of the day is “If we never try new things, we may never know what we’ve missed”.

Blessings – Debbie

I’m Coming Back

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Debbie

I knew it would be a matter of time for me to return to the blog, I just didn’t expect it to take this long, well over a year. But I’m back and eager to post about our life and times.

For starters, I would like to share my goals on the health front. For the last couple of years, I’ve tried to find ways to inch good health into my lifestyle. As of late, I have a goal to reach a 25 pound weight loss. And thought it would be fun to put it out there, as I can use all the accountability that I can get. Perhaps there is someone out there looking for accountability too. I’m here for you, holler. I’ll be sharing more on this in the coming weeks.

There are other points that I would like to share as well. I have some gardening, home improvement projects as well as things on my wish list that I would like to make room for.

I plan to take the blog slow. And not fret that there is so much between my last post and now. I just need to get the ball rolling where I am.

With that being said, the day started like every other day, with coffee and cream.

And my go to breakfast lately, is a little bowl of Fiber One with a glass of Vanilla Soymilk and maybe a mid morning banana.

I had a few morning errands and finished up with my shopping by early afternoon. By the time I got home, I was starving! So I put aside my original lunch plan and picked something a bit easier to assemble. Bananas, crunchy peanut butter and bread, made all things right with the world.

I spent some quality time in the garden this afternoon. I can’t seem to get enough of the pretty flowers in bloom. It would seem a waste of time to not stop and smell the roses.

One of my favorite flowers, the plumeria, bloomed for the first time. We were gifted a small cutting from our neighbor, a couple of years ago. What a joy to witness our plant blossom and reach full maturity, from the tiny clipping.

A picture of the plumeria flowers up close. This shot was taken yesterday.

Our evening was a bit chill. We had a little nap, crazy how the weekend caught up with us. And I tried to make up for my lack of veggies thru the day by making up for it at dinner with a lot of vegetables and a little turkey for my protein. The fruit and veggies did not stack up to the best today, but I’m striving to work them in.

While this is such an exciting season of cinnamon, spice and all things nice. It’s a season that I do not wish to avoid health. So here I am, going all in and putting it out there. And by the end of the season, may we look back with no regrets. Who is with me?

Blessings – Debbie

Catalina Island

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Debbie

Our nieces spring break, continued as promised.

The next day, we were off to Catalina Island.

Getting ready to board the Catalina Express (boat) directly behind us. Such fun to make a little 1 hour and 15 min. journey across the ocean to the island.

As we approached Catalina, we passed the Carnival Imagination docked at the island. It made our boat feel so small.

Once we arrived, we decided to do a little walk about to search for lunch. We decided to stop at the first place that called our name. A seaside lunch seemed the perfect choice.

Our view was spectacular!

And lunch was so yummy.

With full tummies, we were off on our next great adventure. We rented a golf cart, such that we could cover a lot of territory.

And territory did we ever cover. Love my nieces panorama!

We made a stop at the Wrigley Memorial.

What a great place to visit.

And much to explore. The girls loved the doors, me too!

It’s hard to take everything in in one day. But we sure gave it our best shot.

Back to our cart to cover a little more ground.

And stopped at will to enjoy the views and take images of selfies in progress.

With the time we had left, we stopped for a cool beverage and made time for a little souvenir shopping for the girls. They each picked up a Catalina shirt and a couple of things for a special friend.

The end of our glorious day on Catalina, but I have more spring break to cover.

To be continued…

Blessings – Debbie

2/52 – Storytelling

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Debbie

Wow, we are already into the second week of the New Year. The project this week is “Storytelling”.

I snapped this image yesterday in keeping with storytelling. Doesn’t it look like they’re telling stories?

This is potentially the last few shots of me with my favorite frames. I should be getting my new frames next week. The story regarding new frames has everything to do with me needing a little larger frame such that I have more room for the progressives.

Roses in January and new polish today. The story behind the polish. While doing a bit of food shopping, I noticed a large section of nail polish 50% off. So I came home with three new bottles.

I’m really excited about my 52 week project this year. It has a way of helping me to focus on photography while I tell my life story on the blog.

How fitting. Who knows, I may be back with a few more stories this week.

Blessings – Debbie

Dear September

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Debbie

You went way too fast! And I did not get my act together to keep up. However, I’m back to recover some of little things in life last month.

Catfish – Our latest edition in May. They (we have two) were about 2″ + when we got them, now they are approximately 9″ – Finally I got a shot this month – These guys love to hide under rocks and come out of hiding for breakfast – The perk = we don’t have “fry” this year – While the fish did spawn, the catfish took care of all the eggs. Nice edition if you were to ask me.

September school assignment – The lesson called to shoot 6 different categories in the Urban Environment with a total of 42 images. Then select two of our favorite images to print out on 11 x 17 for critique. And hand in the other 40 images compacted on two 8.5 x 11 contact sheets.

The six different categories – 1. Bench where people come and go – 2. Absence of people 3. Twilight 4. Collection of things (anything) 5. Non sequitur, something that looks out of place 6. Nature and manmade blended together

One of my favorite images printed on 11 x 17 and mated it for critique in class. Category = Bench

The second image I used for my final urban assignment. Category = Twilight

On a good note – the professor was so thrilled with our work that it was all hung in the school gallery.

What my contact sheets for the assignment (printed on 8.5 x 11) look like…

Next…. I still don’t have my grade, but I hope it’s a good one.

Guess who thought it necessary to be there with me, as he did not want me alone out there on my urban assignment…Makes my heart smile…

He’s the BEST!

Friendship – Lunch with friends at the beach, is always a good idea. It’s times like this that I kick myself for not having my camera. But ever so thankful for the trusty cell phone.

Fresh cool air – sipping soda beachside with friends – enjoying the visit – more than a girl could ask on a summer day.

Truly a glorious day to remember…

Happy Fish and Cloudy Water – We’ve had the pond guy out a couple of times to try to help us figure out why we can’t seem to get the clarity back. Turns out, I’m cleaning it TOO MUCH and backwashing TOO MUCH. Jokingly he said, this is not a pool, it’s a pond. And you need to allow the algae to grow on the sides to develop a good ecosystem. And he said “don’t touch it ’til I come back the end of the month.” On a good note, the fish are happy and the water ph is just dandy. But the clarity we are used to seeing is just not there. My bad.

The get this thing clean and backwash mentality is hard to let go, but I must.

New Frames – The hubs is up for new frames. The supposedly really nice frames he picked up the last time continue to have a screw loose ALL. THE. TIME.

We’ve shopped a few places and took a pic the last place we visited over the weekend. Now to go back to the other place to compare notes with the other frames we liked.

While I still love my frames, it’s a growing concern that I could use bigger frames do to wearing progressives and the need for a little more room to see. Totally not something I’m thrilled about.

But I think I found something that may fill the order next year. I think…

October Class Assignment – I spent the last couple of weeks in september working on images that could be used for my upcoming assignment. Images were not to be taken in direct sunlight.

I was quite fond of the bubble I captured as it was moving down the waterfall over the stem of the leaf.

But this image captured days later caused my heart to sing. Getting ready to print this guy and mat it next week.

I must say, this semester has brought a lot of doubt. Doubt on the days we have a solid 3 hour lecture.

And I come home feeling discouraged that I’m unable to carry out the task. And when I tell the hubs all about it, a tear or two may trickle down my cheek. And he listens, while the look on his face tells me that he wished he could make it all better. And that’s what makes everything better.

And it’s weeks like this (in class) when we’ve had a solid 3 hour lab, that things begin to sink in. Somehow when we as students get to sit at the computer and begin to work on our assignments, ask questions and put to use what we’re learning, the process kicks in. And somehow I’m able to grasp what he was saying all along during those lectures.

And now I could practically do the assignment with my eyes closed. And I smile and say, it wasn’t that bad after all.

Cheers to learning new things!

And may I remember that it’s alright if I don’t come home from school knowing everything the professor finished lecturing about. Somethings take time to process.

On a Happy Note – Happy October! Puts me in the holiday spirit already. Yup, I’m one of the crazies that love to blend Pumpkin, Thanksgiving and Christmas all into one.

Blessings – Debbie

Gardening + Beach + Root-Rot

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Debbie

Just so you know (up front), the root-rot has nothing to do with gardening. And everything to do with “my” roots, literally.

This past weekend was one of those really nice three day weekends with the hubs. It’s the kind of weekend I love where we spend time gardening, living outdoors, cooking on the grill and eating outdoors.

The hubs picked his first round of jalapeño peppers.

And our first round of corn. Actually, we had fresh corn a couple of times over the weekend.

He seeded his peppers + added a concoction of cream cheese + spices + sharp cheddar cheese + bacon. He said they were yummy. I do know this, they had to be good. And I wish my tummy were able to handle these things like it used to. Oh well…

The corn was yummy too! In fact, the hubs did a fine job serving up yummy meals over the weekend. Trust.

Then Monday rolled around. First up, I had plans to visit the fair with my girlfriend. However, we learned (over the weekend) the fair was closed on Monday.

Then I made a plan to have my blood-work done. The reminder (see image below) was attached (Sunday evening) to the right source as a reminder to stay away until after my blood-work was finished. Somehow I forgot about my reminder early Monday morning as I was making breakfast and lunch for the hubs. And then is when I accidentally tossed some fresh watermelon my way while making his lunch.

Oops!

May as well bring on the coffee too after a stunt like that. So I did.

And just like that, I made a new plan, while enjoying my coffee. It’s my philosophy, when one plan fails, make a new one.

Worked for me, as I went to the beach.

Enjoyed a little sand between my toes.

Truly enjoyed shopping along the boardwalk.

Does shopping get any better? Well for me, I’m not much of a shopper to begin with. Should you see me at the mall, you know it’s one of those once every six month sort of visits, when I really need something. And once I nail what I need, I’m out of there.

However, should you see me in and out of old shops filled with antiques, or shops with pottery and art, or any sort of funky cool stuff. Look out, I could stay in places like that for days…

Then Tuesday rolled around. I was so excited for Tuesday! Never-mind the image, I did some crazy stuff to it in Photoshop ~~just for fun~~ cause that’s the way I roll.

But the reason I was so excited is…it was time to take care of root-rot! I love the fact that my hair is growing, but those pesky grays have a way of making themselves known. If you know what I mean. Now that that’s taken care of, I’m sure I’ll be sharing some more stuff soon. Stay tuned!

Blessings – Debbie

To Do

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Debbie

As in to-do list.

I started the day with a number of things on my list of things to do.

First up – Clean the pond. I don’t believe I’ve talked too much about how I like to keep the pond free of debris. But it’s one of those things I strive to do daily. Not because it’s a necessity, I just enjoy it better when it’s clean.

The daily cleaning = netting out any leaves or debris that may have blown in overnight.

Today was the day to actually get in with the fish. During the summer months, I like to dip in about once a week to clean out the lilly pads and flowers that are no longer bloom. Something like deadheading the lilies and pads.

It also tickles me that the fish actually come swimming right up to me the moment I get in. They let me pet them and we’re like best buddies. And if I stand in one place for a while, they begin to nibble on my skin. The whole experience truly makes my heart happy.

Here’s an image I shot of one of the babies. I can hardly believe they are a year old this month. Yup, he was born in the pond last year.

I also wanted to give the roses some attention. I gave some a little extra TLC with a dose of coffee grounds. And while I was at it, I thought I’d shoot an image of the roses, but in a different perspective. I love the array color throughout the garden.

And I took an image of this plant. It bloomed this week for the first time this season. Soon it will be loaded with pretty flowers.

And then I had other things on my list.

Things like returning an item back to the store. It wasn’t a painful task, but it sure felt like it. It’s one of those things I’ve been procrastinating. So it’s a relief to have that little pesky thing crossed off.

And picking up some items at Bed Bath and Beyond. I was particularly excited with this stop as I had three 20% off coupons + one $5.00 off coupon + one $25.00 gift card. I’ll say I made out really well today.

One last stop at the grocery store for some much needed grub and then home sweet home.

My list also included some household chores, laundry and ironing. Done, done and DONE!

And then I got to do something that wasn’t on my list. I took a nap. Because my peepers were heavy, so I gave them a rest. And that sure did a body good.

And now we’re heading into a nice 3-day weekend. I’m really looking forward to it, as we have a few fun gardening things on our weekend list of things to-do.

Cheers to To-Do lists and getting things crossed off.

Happy Weekend Friends!

Blessings – Debbie

Let There be Cheesecake + Projects

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Debbie

After a week filled with progress and change around the home, it was nice to chill this weekend. Plus it was good for the hubs to get his rest to shake that nasty cold.

It was good to have friends (Julz and Jerry) stop by Saturday evening for a nice visit.

And do you know what they did? They brought us some chocolate cheesecake…

From The Cheesecake Factory. Now that right there is Sweet Love!

And over the weekend the hubs and I spent time in the garden and spent some more time at the local “Home Depot”.

I picked up a boatload of color samples for the guest bath.

Then came home and scattered the paper samples all over the bathroom. And spent a day picking out 5 different samples that I thought would work in the room.

Then went back to the Home Depot and picked up the samples of paint and splashed it in swatches over the walls.

And guess what happened next? Well it seemed to take a split second to decide which one I liked the best. And I was astounded with how easy the choice was in this room.

And then I asked the hubs what he thought about the one I liked the best and he agreed with my first choice. Let the joy-bells ring!

So folks, this is the room where I will be spending quality time this week.

And I plan to tackle those baseboards with paint while I’m at it.

Fingers crossed it makes my heart sing in the end.

Until next time…

Blessings – Debbie

Hey ~ Hey

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Debbie

Hey Peeps! It’s been too long. What’s up? I hope all is well in your world.

We just finished enjoying a nice 3 day weekend.

To kick it off, the hubs sent a message Thursday afternoon, asking if I would like to join him for a dinner date.

This is me (ready for my date) waiting for the hubs to get home from work Thursday evening. What a wonderful way to start the weekend!

We also spent a good deal of time at Home Depot. I think we made 3, if not 4 trips over the weekend.

I picked up a handful of green samples.

And pretty much picked out the (green) color for the walls in the guest bath and powder room.

The painting part of this chore is for next month.

Another run to Home Depot – This is the run we purchased the rock for the retaining wall in the backyard. It should be delivered sometime this week.

Hopefully we’ll have another backyard update soon.

Saturday Morning – I went to check out our neighbors yard-sale. I came home with a beautiful rose tree and 3 nice rose bushes. Now to find just the right spot in the garden for these beauties.

And Sunday, we went to our neighbors St Paddy’s Day party. What a treat!

We took this pot of gold for the host.

It was a also a weekend infused with a whole lot of dining out.

Thursday = Mexican
Friday = Pei Wei
Saturday = Panera Bread
Sunday Lunch = 5 Guys
Sunday Dinner = St Patrick’s Day dinner party + dessert

Um, I hate to even tell you what is going on with my healthy eating journey. But I think I just made it pretty obvious.

Let’s just say, I hope to be back on April 1st with a much better report.

Cheers to a wonderful weekend with the hubs and a new week with a fresh start!

And here’s wishing all of you a glorious week.

Blessings – Debbie

Skeptical

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Debbie

I’m skeptical to use a 20% off the entire purchase coupon, when the coupon expired 5 months ago.

But it was a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon.

And I’m told that Bed Bath & Beyond redeems coupons that have expired. News to me! I was still skeptical.

However, I thought it was worth a shot when I uncovered the expired 20% off entire purchase, coupon.

So I went to BB&B to stock up on my K Cups.

Then on my way to check-out, I noticed a hat (atop my head in the above pic) on a rack next to the check-out lane.

And it looked like just the hat I was looking for. I was in need of something to keep the sun off my face and neck during outdoor activity.

So I thought to myself, I may as well scoop it up with my coupon. So I piled the hat on too.

Guess what? The clerk took my coupon and applied the 20% off to my entire purchase.

Am I the only one who was not aware that BB&B redeemed expired coupons?

Goodness knows I won’t be tossing expired BB&B coupons in the future.

Cheers to expired discounts!

Blessings – Debbie

December Blurbs

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Debbie

Early December, I enjoyed a “Monday Funday” with my girlfriend down in the heart of San Diego = Seaport Village

Lunch at the Fish Market

And the hubs and I enjoyed a lovely dinner date with this couple last weekend. Love spending time with friends…

The hubs and I enjoyed a beautiful Christmas program – Weeks ago.

We enjoyed the view and music from our front row balcony seats. After the program, we had a lovely time at our neighbors party.

“At Christmas I no more desire a rose than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth; But like of each thing that in season grows.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour Lost

“Shakespeare may not desire a rose in December, but he didn’t live in San Diego” – From the diary of the previous owner of our home.

A December rose is a wonderful treat. And these roses are left for our enjoyment from the previous owners.

A beautiful night sky – I was admiring the sky one evening while out cleaning my paint brushes and roller. Go me! I finally finished painting the last hallway a few weeks ago.

December 19th = the hubs last day of work thru 1/6/2014!

The babies are happy. Although we think we lost one to that egret, as we only count 9 of the original big guys. But they are happy and loving life – Image shot a week or so ago.

Last Friday, the hubs took me Christmas shopping in LA. I thought we were going to do some shopping in the Fashion District. But that was just a little “white lie” as the hubs had other plans. Plans to surprise me with diamond earrings. And surprise me, he did.

I told him I really didn’t need anything for Christmas. However, I did tell him I could use socks (mine have holes the size of quarters), a sweater and new hiking shoes.

But this is what the hubs thought I needed and what I got to unwrap Christmas morning.

Arriving to Christmas Dinner at The Hotel Del.

Carving the turkey

Sand in my toes after dinner, was just what I needed.

Sandcastles

A Sandcastle for Christmas.

The view – looking out to Point Loma.

Ice Skating – It was fun to watch…

Remembering Christmas Past – The silver ornament revealed a hidden surprise on Christmas morning, 1998. I said yes! And we’ve lived happily ever after.

This Christmas – A day we – enjoyed sandcastles, time together on the beach, Christmas Dinner at Hotel Del, the afternoon and evening with friends, more presents, a bonfire, roasting marshmallows and visiting into the night.

Feeling Blessed and enjoying these days with the hubs.

Blessings – Debbie

Family Days in Florida

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Debbie

This post is going to be a bag of family images during the week stay in FL. I still have so many images to process. But for now, I’m ready to get a few out there.

A few of the things we did that week = had the famous roast beef sunday dinner at mom and dad’s, with the family. I got to play with my nieces hair, did their nails, got plenty of rest, played poker, played backgammon, enjoyed a nice river dinner out with my little brother and his wife (my big bro was not in town as early as we were for this), enjoyed Cold Stone, went to Bass Pro with the family, enjoyed pumpkin pie every day from Thanksgiving – December 1st, purchased fudge, went to visit my grandma, aunt and uncle + cousins, enjoyed lunch with my aunt + uncle + their family + my mom = a total of 11 of us family members, had dinner with friends, went shopping with mom, I’m a heavy on the olives kinda gal and had all of the olives on my Thanksgiving plate disappear from a certain brother :), helped mom with Thanksgiving preparations, enjoyed a dinner out with just my parents, enjoyed watching my parents get surprised by one of the twins (she said she was not able to come as she’s in the middle of exams following Thanksgiving = she lives in Washington), having her there made our family complete, I got to take amazing pix of everyone, enjoyed a big family dinner with everyone at my little bro’s (guy on the far right of the first image in this post), met quite a few of my nieces and nephew’s friends, visited my parents church and enjoyed listening to our nephew play the piano and sing during service, talked to my nephew about coming out to Cali, to take his Sr pix this year and much much more.

Meet the family

My two siblings + parents. My older bro on left, he’s a year older than me and my baby bro on right, he’s a year and 1/2 younger than me. Feeling blessed to be right smack dab in the middle.

Pop and me

I love how he just cracks me up!

My niece all the way from Washington State.

And her twin sis in Florida.

And their baby bro – He’s the senior who mentioned coming out to So Cal for me to take his senior pix in the spring.

My nephew from North Carolina

And his little brother from North Carolina – This guy is also a senior this year. And he’s also the nephew who plays the piano and sings.

While enjoying the cool of the evening with friends, aunt Deb (that would be me) told the girls to “work it ~ work it” I just love the result!

Our three nephews – There is never a dull moment with the fam. As you can see, the proof is in the pudding.

My nephew and his buddy – Boy’s certainly know how to work it too!

When friends arrive late one evening – Hot chocolate + a bon fire in the backyard, made for the best way to spend the time with friends.

Here we have pops enjoying the cool evening hours as I was out shooting the grandkids. It is then when they brought my attention to grandpa. As this shot begged to be taken.

I don’t know where the funny bone genes came from, but I think you are looking at two possible candidates.

There are a lot more images to share from our Florida travels. But I’ll leave you with our Thanksgiving dinner picture, gathered ’round. I love my family and so thankful we could all be together. Even if my little bro took all my olives. 😉

Blessings – Debbie

Raindrops

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Debbie

There’s something magical after the rain.

When every living thing is coated with magical beads.

I woke to rain a couple of times the last two nights.

And sometime in the middle of the night (last night) I opened the window to see what I could see. While I could not see much, the sound was magical. Perhaps it’s because it’s such a rare treat for us.

And it provided an abundance of things to shoot, the last two mornings.

Off the subject – True story, I’m on my 4th phone case in the last 4 days.

It’s been a crazy buy a case, return a case frenzy these days. But I “think” I found the “one” today. I hope I found the “one” today. And I pray I don’t have to do any more case hunting.

I think cheers are in order.

Wishing a blessed day to you, rain or shine.

Blessings – Debbie

Week in Review

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Debbie

A quick week in review, before I get too far behind.

Back to the weekend of September 7th.

The hubs and I did a little shopping for things around the house. And we worked a bit around the house as well.

One of the things on our shopping list, was a smoker (BBQ). We visited the grill store near us and checked out a number of smokers and gathered plenty of literature to help us pick the one to meet our needs/wants.

The hubs and I also worked a bit in the garden. The hubs chopped some wood and I got the easy job of stacking it.

This little guy grabbed my attention and I “had” to take a break and shoot him. What a Nice Weekend!

September 8th, we did a little star gazing at the Moon and Venus. Image shot from our home.

Twas a busy week, last week. Early in the week, I made a pot of bean soup. It turned out really good.

And the hubs came flying home on Tuesday the 10th. He said, “I just found our smoker!” He went on to say something like “I found a store (on Craigslist) in San Diego that is going out of business. They only have one Big Green Egg left. And it’s a bargain. And It’s just the size we want. And if I don’t go now, it’s not going to last.” And so he went and picked up the last brand spankin’ new egg in the store.

And the rest is history.

I can say that I was quite intimidated by this big guy. But excited to learn what it can do.

Brisket – The hubs called the butcher (Wednesday the 11th) and placed our brisket order, I picked it up Thursday, we put a Texas rub on it Friday morning (the hubs had Friday off) and here’s the hubs firing it up around 9 PM Friday night. He set the thermometer to ding if the temp got too high or low during the night.

This is a choice cut 12.5 pound full brisket (flat + point).

The brisket went into the Egg at exactly 9:55 PM Friday night. And oh what a busy (in and out of bed to check on the meat) night it turned out to be. Let’s not talk about that part, m’kay?

We had a little company arrive around noon (Saturday). It’s always fun sharing the excitement with others.

As the hubs reported “Parts of the brisket were tender. Other areas were tough. Clearly, I have a lot to learn. I get a C for this effort. Next time, I’ll do better.” And I report he was a little too hard on himself.

Then we put the tough parts into the crock pot and covered them with BBQ sauce. And they came out the most amazing, pull apart tender, sink your teeth into, goodness. What a yummy Sunday dinner!

I picked up my annual (small) bag of candy corn over the weekend. I love the Autumn Mix variety. There’s something about these little candies that take me back in time. And I love the autumn time travel each year.

I played with the camera, taking different angle shots of the pumpkin candy jar. Here we have the lid/stem of the pumpkin in focus.

Today I’m working on a little catch-up in the house. I’ll spare the detail, but know things are taking shape over here today.

Blessings – Debbie

Britches

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Debbie

I couldn’t think of a better title, as I’ve used that word more than any other word in this post. So there you have it.

There were a number of things I wanted to conquer today. One being my toes.

They have not seen a pedi in over a month. And they were in dire need of a little TLC. This is not the time or place to share before pix. You just have to trust me on this.

I love the blue polish I picked up at the grocery yesterday. It’s just the “right” color of blue.

The name of this polish = Blue Me Away! Yes, there is an exclamation point on the polish bottle after the name. Seems fitting as it really blue me away!

While my toes were drying, I got busy on Google Reader and caught up with my reading.

Then I got busy throwing laundry from the washer to the dryer.

While busying myself around the house, I noticed little sprinkles on the surface of the pool.

And then I remembered that we forgot to put the grill cover back on from our BBQ last evening.

Then I realized I needed the camera. What the camera has to do with covering the grill is beyond me. I just wanted the camera with me when I stepped outdoors as I didn’t want to miss anything.

Perhaps it’s a good thing I brought it out. Because this vine will be all trimmed nice and proper when the gardener comes over this weekend.

Look!

And then there were two.

I’m glad that there are times in life when goodness shows up. Sometimes we have to be prepared and on the lookout.

When goodness comes, stop and enjoy the moment.

So the grill did eventually get covered.

The laundry is behind me.

My toes are finally dry.

I had a manicure as well. My nails are pretty happy now that they are up to snuff again.

I made a run (in the car) to get new walking britches. I love saying britches. My grandma calls em britches and I love the word.

One time when I said britches to my step-daughter, she thought I was referring to underwear. I hope she knows the difference now.

As I was saying, I got new britches and it turned into such a great experience.

Can you believe that this is the first I’ve replaced my hiking britches since I started losing weight? Me neither. I guess I have it in my brain that I do not want to buy every stinkin size as I go down. So I just doubled my britches over in a couple of places and used safety-pins to hold them up. I’m resourceful like that.

How fun will it be, in the morning, to put on my new britches, sans safety-pins? It’s going to be epic!

Blessings – Debbie

I Call The Shot – one picture at a time

My world of art, life and health thru a lens

Category Archives: Shopping

Nature and Fun Discoveries

Like this:

I’m Coming Back

Like this:

Catalina Island

Like this:

2/52 – Storytelling

Like this:

Dear September

Like this:

Gardening + Beach + Root-Rot

Like this:

To Do

Like this:

Let There be Cheesecake + Projects

Like this:

Hey ~ Hey

Like this:

Skeptical

Like this:

December Blurbs

Like this:

Family Days in Florida

Like this:

Raindrops

Like this:

Week in Review

Like this:

Britches

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: