New Season New Projects

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Debbie

It’s such a pretty time of the year. A magical time when things begin to appear after a little nap. Like the gladiolas, day lilies and water lilies. The water-lily pads are leafing out and we look forward to the pink, white and yellow flowers to be on display any day now.

The backyard has been an ongoing project. A fun project. A labor of love. The arbors are fairly new but the one on the right is the latest edition.

See the bird houses up top? They’re not new, but I applied a new coat/color of paint to make them pop. And each of them have been moved 3 times. I think I like the spots they’re in this time around.

The yellow bird house, zoomed in a bit.

And the green bird house with a new splash of paint. See the yellow dragonfly, flying thru the lavender? I painted him not too long ago as well.

This arbor is the second (matching) arbor added to the upper terrace. I’m super excited about the little project that will complete the area. It’s probably weeks out, but still, exciting.

After working several hours in the garden, I craved a nice tall glass of sweet tea, made with honey.

I took my nice cool beverage to the patio and sipped and thought about the next project I would like to tackle.

I “think” it involves paint.

I’m happy to report that we had a glorious spring day. And I look forward to sharing as I go along the way.

Blessings – Debbie

Good Bad and Ugly

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Debbie

Lately we’ve bumped into some good, bad and downright ugly situations. But first, I’ll start with the good. Actually the good part of this should be more like GREAT!

Great in the sense –

Weekend dates are wonderful!
We’ve had a hankering to try this new restaurant in town and we finally got around to going.
They have ribs on the menu. (I love ribs, really good ribs)
They advertise fall off the bone ribs.
I’ve been searching for really good ribs since our move to So Cal a little over 6 years ago.
I need look no further for my rib fix. Finger licking good, let me tell you. We’ll be back!
The hubs had their filet and from what he said, it was really good too.

The Good – Another wonderful thing this past week was the girls book club get together. It was our first meeting of 2016. We had such a wonderful time discussing the book – Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

The bad – We had quite the storm over the weekend. Wind, rain, power outages in the area for up to 6 hours. Our friends, a mile or so up the road, brought some important frozen goods over that evening. Luckily our power, powered thru the storm.

The Good – During the storm, the hubs and I did a little more binge watching of the old but new to us show Downton Abbey. Love that show! Where have we been? We are caught up thru season 4 already.

During the stormy and ever so windy night, I thought the wind was going to literally carry us away. The hubs slept right thru it.

The Good – The morning after, we woke to pretty sunny skies with a little sprinkling of hail left over from our storm.

The Good – A pretty red rose in the garden for the “love month”.

The Ugly – Late yesterday afternoon I noticed a bit of a waterfall on the upper terrace. I quickly sent the hubs a message saying that it did not look like a sprinkler gusher, but close. I then made my way up the terrace and quickly took this shot with the cell phone and sent it to the hubs saying “we have a problem”. Then he gave direction for me to turn off the water main.

The Good in the midst of Ugly – In true hero fashion, the hubs came home and saved the day! And we had running water once again last night.

The Ugly – The “root” of the problem. It’s pretty crazy the amount of trouble roots can cause. We plan to have more roots removed and new pipe put in the ground.

Life is not always roses and sunshine. But it’s what we make of it thru the storm.

Blessings – Debbie

New Growth and Color in the Garden

Posted on January 23, 2016 by Debbie

Happy Weekend!

It’s an exciting weekend. We’re relaxing, enjoying each other and the fruits of our labor.

Early this morning, I snapped a few pictures to remember some of the things in bloom late January.

Last weekend we started our annual garden. We are thrilled to see our tomatoes already! Each day we take note of how much they are stretching towards the sunshine.

Our little daisies made an appearance too!

Out in the garden, the blossoms are many. The ice plant in full bloom.

What a delight to watch the ground cover that we planted last year. It is filling in beautifully.

Our birds are in full bloom too.

Even the tiny flowers on this rather large bush are so delicate yet colorful.

The honeysuccle adds such a punch of color on the upper terrace.

The roses tend to bloom year round in So Cal. Another bud getting ready to share its beauty.

While we enjoy the growth and beauty, it’s still a little on the chilly side to stay too long out doors in the early morning hours. We have mid to upper 60’s in the day and low to mid 40’s at night. Welcome to winter in southern CA. But we are not complaining.

While the seasons change, I’m thankful to find beauty along the way.

Blessings – Debbie

October

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Debbie

Time is on the move. And I better do something on the blog, as time is not going to wait a moment.

So October rolled in with my friend wanting to use me as a subject in her photography class.

And 9 x’s out of 10 she asked me to take off my glasses. Something I would never do for a photographer or anyone. But for her and her assignment, I obliged. But I still can’t figure out if it was the way she bribed me or not. She kept telling me that I looked like a 12-year-old school girl. The bribe seemed to work. But looking at the image, it just doesn’t feel like the “real” me. I’m a glasses wearing gal from the time I rise and shine to the time I fall asleep. And if you are one of the few to catch me without glasses, it’s a rare happening. So here ya go.

No smiles she would say. Looking for that serious side of you. Here’s what she captured. We had such a fun day in her studio.

We had a nice little rain early October. I captured an image between raindrops.

I would say this past October was one of the warmer ones we’ve had since we moved here. Can you believe we’ve already been here 6 years this October?

My little mid October stroll in the garden one “cooler” morning.

I got so excited this particular morning to see the orange rose-tree in full bloom. It’s a tree I hand-picked to sit next to the pond. There’s just something about the color of the fish and rose that makes me smile.

Enjoying my new mugs from Costco and coffee as the sun comes up.

In other October news. We had a little minor issue in our bathroom. Floor tiles needed replacing, toilet needed replaced (well not really, but we wanted a new one) and I decided while we were at it to go ahead and paint the baseboards and paint the bathroom. It’s great being on this end with all things fresh in our master bath.

Cheers to a wonderful season with the hubs and getting things back to normal around the homestead.

But wait. I still have a big project to finish this weekend. A reminder that there will always be something to do and there is no such thing as normal. Or is there?

Blessings – Debbie

To Blaze a Trail

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Debbie

On our last day, we decided it would be a good idea to take an early morning hike.

It was worth taking a time out from time to time.

Hey ~ Hey!

Sisters are special and having them for nieces is extra special.

Another spot to note…

What happens when we reach a locked gate? Find a way around…

And when you reach an old car, naturally, you stop to capture the moment.

Some run ahead…

While I capture the moment.

After our cool spring morning walk, we girls hit up Starbucks for a nice treat.

And to wrap up our day, we could not think of a better way to end our day, than to enjoy dinner by the beach.

A great time was had by all…

And there is something to be said about our evening visit around the campfire.

What a great way to spend one on one time with the girls.

And that concludes spring break, 2015.

Blessings – Debbie

Early March – In Like a Lion

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Debbie

Well good day! Finally, I’m back!

Yes, I’m back to bite off early March, bit by bit. I’m not so thrilled when I get this far behind, but I refuse to carry on as if nothing happened. There is so much to catch up on and there is no better time than now to start. Well, all of those yesterdays would have been a good time too, but they’re gone.

So here goes…

The date, March 2nd. – There was a crazy loud boom as March unfolded. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. We were blasted with hail.

Totally in like a lion.

I don’t think the fish have ever experienced this much commotion. I know I haven’t.

And I know the palms were probably in shock. This just doesn’t happen in So Cal. Or does it? It was a first for us in the 5 years we’ve lived here.

It was a month of fire too. Nice evenings spent around the fire pit. This was another early March weekend evening. (actually, this shot was taken the morning after) I still remember the day, it was one of the many days I had spent 99% of my time outdoors. And looking up into the clear night sky peppered with stars and planets, was glorious.

During late February – early March, we had the old plantings ripped out of the immediate left side of the waterfall. I had been working on transplanting things from around the yard to the area. It will be fun to watch the ground cover spread and the plants blossom. I also planted 4 roses in various areas on the upper terrace. Meals were also enjoyed on the patio. This is pretty much where I spent a good deal of time…

An early foggy Monday morning. Note the purple wisteria in bloom.

As mid March drew near, I was beginning to think of all the stuff that needed a little sprucing before company arrived on the 14th.

So I started Wednesday, the 11th at the car wash, then salon.

The hubs wanted a smile. Much better he said.

Then we waited for our guests to arrive.

Oh wait, one more lil thing!

On the 13th, we had the electricians over to add LED lights in the kitchen and dining room. “What were we thinking” were my thoughts, when company was due to arrive the next day. So much dust, oh the dust…But in the end, we were so happy to have the job done. And all the dust bunnies were put to rest before company arrived.

To be continued…

Blessings – Debbie

Happy New Year

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Debbie

I’m still here!

Whew tho, I have a lot of catching up to do over the last couple of months. So I’ll try to make it as brief as possible.

November was pretty packed, as I was learning a lot (in school) about using the paintbrush and tools in Photoshop. That’s when things began to fall off my plate. Like the blog, unfortunately.

And things were added to my plate.

I joined the girls for a day trip up to Rogers Gardens. It was great way to step away from my school work. It was the best distraction and just what I needed to kick off the Christmas season.

After my much needed day away, it was time to refocus on school work. The image below is one of the two paintings I finished in Photoshop.

Then Thanksgiving rolled around. We dined at the Hotel Del.

The view from our table.

Everything was cooked to perfection.

After dinner, we watched some ice skating beneath the blue sky and palm trees.

And we took a selfie to remember the day.

BobbyandMeFB

Then it was time to plan for our annual Christmas party. Hors d’Oeuvres, dinner, white elephant gift exchange, and a bonfire with s’mores – those were the highlights of the party. But it was our friends that made the party so special. If I remember correctly, we had 14 guests in all.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take that many pictures. But the Starbucks mug with gift card was a big hit.

By this time, the month of December was in full swing. And the churn of my busy schedule kept right on churning.

We had a lot of rain and I found that to calm my nerves as I planned my next and final school project. I had to give a speech. There was a lot of planning and the hubs helped out so much with my powerpoint presentation. He’s the BEST! Then I rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed some more. Finally the day came (mid December) and I was ready to present to the class my evolution and passion for art From Crayons to Photography.

And then, as time marched on, we only had one weekend to do our annual Christmas newsletter. I was inspired after all the rain to take an image of our ornament in a puddle. Turns out, we liked it so much that we made it our 2014 Christmas card. The only regret, we did not have a lot of time to review our newsletter and we found some type o’s. For shame!

Finally, we got to relax while the December dust settled. And I found the time to put my nose in a book called Delicious by Ruth Reichl. What a great read!

Our dear neighbors brought the most delectable plate of homemade yumminess over on Christmas Eve. What a treat!

Soon it was time to celebrate Christmas.

The hubs and I, along with our friend went back to the Hotel Del for Christmas dinner.

The image below was taken on our stroll along the pacific after dinner.

I kicked my shoes off to enjoy the soft sand between my toes.

And to check out this sandcastle.

A close up – it truly was a marvelous work of art, all the way around.

Our friend came back to the house to spend the late afternoon and early evening visiting. And we watched The Christmas Story together.

Then, the hubs and I found ourselves alone and made a mad dash for jammies!

Our Christmas picture later that evening.

On the day after Christmas, we decided it was time to put all the decorations away for another year. It actually took 1.5 days to get everything put away, cleaned up and back to normal.

The only thing resembling Christmas, are the candy-canes tucked in the bud vase.

I’m ready for the New Year. And ready to add more things to my plate. Like family/company coming from Alaska this weekend and the blog and other things of importance.

Until next time – Happy New Year and many blessings to you this year…

Blessings – Debbie

Lately

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Debbie

Cardinals fans are in the house!

I had my critique last week – One of the two images printed and matted for the assignment.

The babies continue to change color. It truly has been a joy watching them turn from dark brown into these colorful pretty guys and girls.

The hubs and I spent a couple of days in LA to help the daughter get her things ready for the movers. Yup, she moved to IL last night.

She is so pumped to be close to friends and to be in the place she’s wanted to live for years. We’re happy for her.

View from our room – yesterday morning.

The power plant in LA captures my attention.

Mainly the painting on the side of this building. Finally captured it on this visit. Images in LA were shot with the cell (didn’t want to be responsible for my camera with everything going on this weekend.)

The last dinner (last night) with the daughter was spent here. And she was off on a midnight flight to Illinois last night.

I feel like I’ve been thru a whirlwind the last couple of days.

And I’m thrilled the hubs brought us home sweet home, safe and sound last night. I slept pretty much all the way home.

It’s good to be home.

It rained last night – And I took advantage of free diamonds glistening on spiderwebs this morning.

Beauty after the rain.

And leaves beneath the web blanket.

And rest, much needed rest for me and the hubs today. Have I mentioned how good it is to be home?

Blessings – Debbie

When Company Comes

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Debbie

My baby brother and sis-in-law arrived at noon (in San Diego) from the east coast, one week ago today. What a treat!

An outdoor lunch (by the beach) at the Hotel Del was in order.

Day 2 – We gave them the scenic tour of our surrounding areas. My sis-in-law shot this stunning image from Point Loma.

Brother and sis enjoy Point Loma.

There are days I wish I had taken more images, but the memories we made are priceless.

On over to Balboa Park – image of the Japanese Gardens. The only image I took in the beautiful park.

Day 3 – The couple took off for a day-trip in San Diego. They enjoyed breakfast on the harbor, strolled thru Seaport Village, took a 2 hour boat cruise, had lunch on the water and enjoyed their day.

Day 4 – We all took a little drive up into the mountains to visit the town of Julian.

The lama on the street corner was pretty cool.

And hot fresh apple pie, it’s what we came for.

Served up with cinnamon ice-cream. Good eating under a nice shade tree.

We all got a little chuckle over the signs out front of one of the shops.

True story – The gal running the place asked us (after we took our shots) to refrain from taking pictures. We may or may not have wanted to meet her family – read signs below. All in good humor, of course.

Sis with a bear cap…Truly a fun family day of shopping.

Day 5 – Enjoyed spending a bit of time in La Jolla – What a beautiful hilly seaside community. Cute couple too!

And then we went to our favorite spot (Jake’s restaurant in Del Mar) on the ocean for dinner. My salmon dish was so good. And everyone’s plate was equally as good. And we declare they serve the best calamari on the face of the earth. Amen.

After dinner picture at the homestead.

Day 6 – The day we said goodbye. But the memories will stay with us forever.

Day 7 & 8 – I’m still trying to find myself. On day 7, I had two naps. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. And we were in bed by 9:30PM. A sign we had a lot of fun this week.

On a good note – I’m caught up on the laundry, the garden was given much TLC this morning and the weekend will be here soon.

Blessings – Debbie

My To Do List is Shrinking – Or Is It

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Debbie

Happy Friday! I hope you’re having a delightful day.

News Flash – IT RAINED TODAY! That’s big news out here in Southern California.

So this week is flying at record speeds for me. And I’m thankful my to do list is shrinking.

Finished editing (our nephews) Sr Pictures – will have CD in the mail tomorrow
Harvest tomatoes – I had a count of 78 ripe tomatoes (in the kitchen) yesterday. Big things are happening with our bumper crop!
The hubs ordered a food mill last weekend = we’re making a large batch of tomato bisque this weekend.
Spent 2 + hours each morning in the garden, it’s what I love.

One of the things crossed off the list, is a “hair-cut” appointment (yes, I’m cutting it off) scheduled for next week. Truth be told, I’m having second thoughts. That means I have plenty of time to change my mind another 10 – 20 times between now and then, right?

The little breakfast nook is coming right along. From the succulent pots in the window, the painted fork and spoon and the hubs hung the valances for me last weekend.

Afternoon Labor of Love – So we made salsa last Sunday afternoon. It’s something we could not wait to make with our fresh tomatoes, bell and jalapeño peppers from the garden. Good stuff right there…In fact, another batch is in the works.

Since this is not the hubs Friday off weekend, it’s my day to play catch-up in the house before the weekend.

Cheers to crossing a bunch of chores off the list such that I can have a nice weekend of rest with the hubs.

I suppose that means it’s time to add more things to the list of thing to do. Isn’t that the way it goes?

Blessings – Debbie

Summertime

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Debbie

Is For…

Enjoying nice long days
Dinner on the patio
Firing up the grill for things like shrimp, chicken and burgers…

I cleaned up a mess of these guys for dinner last evening.

Finding my way to bed somewhere around 9PM and waking sometime around 5:30AM. I love my waking hours in the light and sleeping when it’s dark.
Changing nail polish every 4 or so days. This was the color applied yesterday.

Enjoying sunset hikes with the hubs. Images taken this week with my cell.

Bumping into Neighbors – It’s fun to bump into neighbors (on our way home) on these summer sunset hikes. They were interested in seeing the progress in our backyard, so we had them over + she brought us a nice sack of fresh fruit from their garden. We shared tomato plants + red pepper plants with them.

We’ve had several neighbors check out the place this week.

No AC needed for the month of June – Loving our cool So Cal breeze
Fresh produce from the garden
The hubs planted pumpkin over the weekend – Here’s what it looked like yesterday.

Here’s what it looks like this morning. We are big fans of these little greenhouse type trays to start plants. We pick them up from Home Depot.

Beverages and visits on the patio
Reading good books – This month, the book club is reading “The Art Forger by Barbara A. Shapiro – two thumbs up = I’m loving it! It’s where my nose will be a good chunk of today.

Happy Summertime, Everyone!

Blessings – Debbie

There is Always Next Week

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Debbie

That’s what I said last week about digging out the Christmas Tree with sore aching muscles.

Remember? I had been painting this room while the hubs was out-of-town.

And when he came back into town, he helped get the rest of the furniture moved back into the living room. In fact, he moved the furniture one evening after I had gone to bed (early) exhausted. And when I woke the next day, it was as tho somebody took a magic wand in there.

Then over the weekend, “the Tree” made an appearance as the hubs got it all set up for me. And we enjoyed the lights and flickering flame in the fireplace while relaxing during the evening hours.

But this new 9′ tree took many days to fluff the branches and decorate. Well wort the effort, if you were to ask me.

Wednesday afternoon, we had the opportunity to see rare drama here in So Cal. Image shot from my neighbors driveway. We’ve had rain on and off ever since.

Wednesday = morning book club meeting with the girls. Words are few, but my heart is full of the love we have for each other in this neighborhood and group. Then we went out for the end of the year luncheon at Olive Garden. Good times, laughter and visits = My heart beats joy. Then I had a little Wednesday afternoon scoot over to Costco with my neighbor and friend. Amazing day all the way around.

And then is where “There is Always Next Week” comes into play.

On Thursday (yesterday), I finally finished the Christmas Tree!

I must say, I’m so delighted I took the painting of the house chore on before the holidays. It’s not only nice to have it done, I finally have the paint color of choice on our walls after many many years of wanting to paint the place we get to call home.

It truly is a blessings making this place home sweet home. Hopefully for a very long time.

Blessings – Debbie

It Rained Last Night

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Debbie

Although we didn’t hear the commotion, it was written over the face of the earth.

Beads were strung so beautifully.

What fun to notice the little things on my little morning stroll thru the garden.

Great things to report today:

The washing machine was repaired!
I’m on the second laundry load today. This is exciting people.
And I gotta tell ya, I was able to work in a little grocery run.

These are a few of the things that made my day.

Blessings – Debbie

Raindrops

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Debbie

A day of rain is in order. Much of the year we see blue skies laced with sunshine. And rain happens to be a rare event for us.

So when it rains, my soul rejoices.

And catching drops mid splat was one of the things I enjoyed this morning.

So while the skies are grey, I’ll carry on.

But it sort of feels like a mixed up day in a good way.

Plans have been changed for this day time and time again.

There were plans to hike (3 miles) with my friends to Starbucks this morning.

Those plans changed yesterday as I was going to take my nephew to the airport.

And then the girls who were hiking decided to have a nice little coffee/movie fest at my neighbors this morning, due to rain in the forecast.

And then my nephew decided to drive himself to the airport.

And then my hubs asked me to meet him for an early lunch.

And so my plans changed this morning to ready myself for an early lunch with the hubs.

As it stands, I’m still in my pj’s, working on my second cup of coffee, my neighbors are probably into their second cup of coffee while watching a movie during our rain, while I’m enjoying the rain and thinking about throwing another load of clothes in the wash.

But soon and very soon, I’ll be getting ready for my date with the hubs.

I love this day, I need this day!

Blessings – Debbie

Happy New Year

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Debbie

I’m so excited about 2013! But I’m not going to get all wrapped up into the New Year on the Blog just yet. As you know, I have some catching up to do before I can move on.

We have been quite busy bodies the last couple of weeks. And the plan is to take that one blog post at a time too. Small bites, that’s how I plan to catch up.

For starters, on December 19th, the hubs and I took a trip to St Louis to visit with family and attend our nephew’s wedding.

Disclaimer – All shots (in this post) were taken with my iPad and the last shot (in St Louis) taken with my cell phone. I wasn’t ready for the “big guy” just yet.

There is something about living on the West Coast and flying over the desert. Especially when snow begins to appear on mountain tops. I’m smitten.

Oh my word! Utter splendor as we approach our first stop in Salt Lake City. I’m one happy gal that the hubs insists I have the window seat.

photo copy 7

You should have seen me at the airport in Salt Lake that evening. I was PUSHING for our flight to lift off before sunset. As we continued to taxi out, the pilot would announce “we are 5th in line for takeoff”… Each time he would announce something new and all the time in-between, I would freak out, look out the window, check to see that the sun was still up. It’s crazy the things that drive me nuts when I want to photograph a sunset with snow-covered peaks.

But alas, this is all the light I had to work with once our feet were off the ground.

photo copy 5

Soon, I reclined and relaxed for the remains of our flight.

We were prepared for St Louis to be freezing cold. Instead, it was cold and raining that evening. And we were both so thankful that it was not ice.

That concludes day 1 of our trip.

Blessings – Debbie

I Call The Shot – one picture at a time

My world of art, life and health thru a lens

Category Archives: Weather

New Season New Projects

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Good Bad and Ugly

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New Growth and Color in the Garden

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October

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To Blaze a Trail

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Early March – In Like a Lion

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Happy New Year

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Lately

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When Company Comes

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My To Do List is Shrinking – Or Is It

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Summertime

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There is Always Next Week

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It Rained Last Night

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Raindrops

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