Category Archives: Car

Mama said there’ll be days like this

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There’ll be days like this my mama said. Such a smart lady my mama.

Some days beg for a little vent, a shoulder to cry on, someone to listen as we share little challenges, all in a day. That was yesterday and today we’re still without water.

First things first, we woke to no internet. Ok, no biggie, the hubs can get to it later.

Next, I noticed our sprinklers were not turning off and water was pooling.  This is the second ordeal with the sprinklers in the last week. Turns out we have a bad valve and we look to replace them over the weekend. But in the meantime, we have the water turned off for the entire household. Luckily we can turn it on for showers and such and then right back off it goes. I told the hubs this morning as he was getting dressed for the outdoors that it was as though he had to make a run for the well before he could shower this morning. And then it took me back to the days before me, when folks really did have to pump their water. And then I thought of how thankful I am that all we need to do is turn a knob for running water. It’s not so bad after all.

Note: this issue it unrelated to the broken/repaired pipe I shared last week.

So last evening, the hubs insisted we go out for dinner. It was a nice treat with all that was going on at home.

But folks, the shoe dropped once again after dinner. As the hubs went to start the car, it would not start. We both grinned, looked at each other and agreed that we were ready for the nonsense and day to end.

We were also delighted to have AAA to the rescue. They were by our side in less than 30 min., they came equipped with new batteries and provided the best service on the spot. And our car was good as new and back on the road within 45 min of our first call.

While the internet was down, I painted in Photoshop (yesterday). It’s the image that so inspired me to shoot the other day. I can’t express the amount of joy that comes from painting. And I can say it was good for the body and soul. Amen.

The first image on the left is a underpainting. Image in the middle is the next layer, what I refer to as intermediate strokes and the last image is referred to as detail strokes.

While the layers are far from finished, it gives an idea of the steps taken while in the process of putting the layers together as one.

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And with that, I shall continue to move forward. And feel grateful that we have so much to be thankful for. Even if we have a mound of dirty clothes in need of washing.

Blessings – Debbie

To Blaze a Trail

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

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

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Hey ~ Hey!

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

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Another spot to note…

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

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

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Some run ahead…

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While I capture the moment.

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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.

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A great time was had by all…

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

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

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And that concludes spring break, 2015.

Blessings – Debbie

A Flurry Of Events

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I chalk this week up to a flurry of events.

The beginning of May, is another story (a good story that I can’t wait to tell). But a story that will have to wait for now.

The Flurry starts Monday, May 12, 2014.

Monday – the hubs left on a business trip bright and early in the morning.

Monday – I took the day off to relax and to read my book (The Last Aloha) for book club this month. I’m so glad I did, as I’m not so sure I would have finished the book for the meeting (next week) otherwise.

Tuesday – I took our cars for the annual emissions test, they both passed.

Tuesday – Fires broke out in San Diego County. Pretty nerve-racking. Especially with the hubs out-of-town.

Tuesday evening I went to my girlfriends for dinner. Since our boys were out-of-town, she had me over to their new home (they just moved in last Saturday, May 10th) for a nice dinner. Grilled chicken, and shrimp on the BBQ and all the ingredients to make fajitas, rice and beans. It was such and enjoyable evening of patio dining + conversation + Hawaiian music = perfection into the night.

I made her card compliments of nail polish.

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Wednesday – It was hard to focus on much. At that time, we had six wildfires burning in San Diego County.

I could see smoke from the house – I’d watched fire tornadoes broadcast in the area – Heard of 15,000 evacuations in Carlsbad alone – Watched thousands of acres burn – registered for reverse 911 – By then we (San Diego County) were calling in state and federal reserves…

And I was so ready for the hubs to get home.

Image taken from the neighborhood, Wednesday evening.

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I stood watching flames climb the side of the mountain. If you look close, you too can see the flames highlighting the mountain in the image.

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Oh what a night…

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It seemed our little world was going up in smoke while daylight vanished.

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Wednesday evening – From a fire captain on the ground – about the fire near us. – “…The reinforcement of crew is still coming in. More planes and they are allowing them to fly which is unheard of at night. They will be busting their butt all night.”

All I could do that evening was pack my little emergency bag in the event of evacuation and pray for the best.

Thursday morning – These “Bad Boys” were flying over our home – Made me tear up as I watched plane after plane and helicopter fly into the wildfires.

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Below is a view from our neighborhood Thursday morning.

I wasn’t so sure what was going on in the news. I was busy preparing for the hubs to come home.

I picked up the hubs around 10:45 and from there, we went for an early lunch date. Have you any idea how overjoyed I was to have him home?

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By the time we got home, these guys were in the hood. The officers told me that if the fire reached the ridge, we would all have to go.

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I stood and watched a bit longer, watching what seemed to be an ever-growing fire. While plane after plane flew in and out, trying to gain control.

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What I recall in the next few hours…

Packing the car – watering the garden – ash beginning to fall in the yard – the hubs paying some bills – getting stung by a bee – feeding the fish – telling the fish that I loved them, I did – and making one more round in the house to ensure we had everything that mattered most.

Soon, the mandatory evacuation was in force. And the reverse 911 call came,  it was time to evacuate. We didn’t argue.

Image taken from our driveway Thursday evening. These guys were trolling the hood with their sirens and speakers – telling all of us we need to get out! I recall the hubs and I giving a nod of respect and a friendly wave to these men on duty.

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We had suitcases packed, boxes of pictures, important documents…

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A fragile keepsake from China – computers – and other precious things we didn’t want to leave behind.

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And I recall that special hug and kiss in the hub of the home, before making our way out.

Finally we were able to relax in our new home – the Residence Inn.

Although we hit a rough patch finding a room. The first hotel was booked (due to  evacuations) and there were only two rooms available at the next Residence Inn.

Once we kicked off our shoes, we were truly at peace with whatever happened after that.

Thank you friends for your thoughts, concern, prayers and many in the area offering your homes for us to stay.

Friday morning – We woke feeling rested. The mandatory evacuation was lifted for us = we were free to go home! But not before breakfast. Que the “Happy” song somebody!

Friday Fire Report In Our Area – While it was good to be home, the fire doubled in size overnight consuming 3,018 acres. Fortunately for us, the wind had shifted. But there are still so many facing the loss of homes and businesses.

Today – Saturday Morning Update: Nothing But Blue Skies and 68° – Feeling so blessed this morning.

We came home early yesterday morning to a few signs of ash in the backyard and the smell of smoke.

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Still praying for our firefighters and officers hard at work today. We’ve had – Eight Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, seven CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters and four UH-1Y Huey helicopters, 1,000 firefighters and 161 fire engines providing support to the fire in what we call our backyard. Note: This does not include all the firefighters/fire engines/planes/helicopters fighting the many fires in our San Diego County area. There are so many more…

May we not forget those where the fire has reduced homes and businesses to rubble.

The fire is now 70% contained per our latest update.

San Diego Fires May 2014 – For those not in the area, a few more details – “The 2014 San Diego County wildfires are a swarm of wildfires that erupted in mid-May, in San Diego County, California during severe Santa Ana Wind conditions and a heat wave. The severe weather conditions contributed to the spread of at least 14 fires, with 10 of them receiving names. At least nine of the wildfires are believed to have originated from the Bernardo Fire, which ignited on May 13, 2014. Igniting some 25,000 acres…”

Please remember those who are less fortunate. Those who came home to rubble. Those who suffered and who will continue to suffer loss in the days ahead…

Happy Note – I’ve been waiting for the daylily to bloom. Today is the first of many more blooms to come…

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Blessings – Debbie

Hopeful Green Thumb Gardners

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A few of the fun things we did this weekend.

For starters, the hubs had Friday off! I love our three day weekends.

It was a fun weekend to think about the garden and we talked more about the things we want to add.

Then we visited a nursery and had a very good vibe with the owners.

We shopped at the local Home Depot.

I picked up some plants and hanging baskets.

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And planted some lavender. I love the fragrance of these plants.

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Heck, I liked it so much that we made another run to replace the plant I potted in “the fish” weeks ago.

So far we’ve noticed – bees, butterfly and hummingbird attraction to this plant. I think we need more lavender.

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We picked up another hangar, hanging basket and geranium. I had a hankering for a little splash of red up on the hill.

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We hope to make this a happy home for the new plants.

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We also planted a basket of strawberries.

And then we planted some seeds:

  • Beefsteak Tomato
  • Heirloom Tomato
  • Red Cherry Tomato
  • California Wonder Red Pepper
  • Sugar Baby Watermelon
  • Crimson Sweet Watermelon

We still have a few more things to plant, but we’re waiting for the right time.

In the last week, I noted the waterlilies making their way back. One thing I learned this year, is that the lily goes dormant in the winter (lily pads and flowers die) then produce new leaves and flowers in the spring. Cheers to signs of pads returning!

Off the subject of gardening and “switching gears” to my car.

It’s all better and back in our garage! Turns out it was the fuel pump. We’re happy to have it back and starting on command.

I’m thankful for the glorious weather, outdoor living, outdoor dining, open windows and gardening with the hubs this weekend.

Blessings – Debbie

It All Started at 10:30am

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We’ve all had days like this. You know the kind of days I’m talking about. Or at least you may know what direction I’m going. It’s not the jolly of sorts direction. If you get my drift.

There were plans, yes plans to hit two grocery stores. Just because I can’t find everything we like in one place. And because I so happen to be out of things we needed at said two grocery stores.

Note the Bounty supply peeking over the back seat. That’s right after hitting up the said second grocery store.

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And when I finished up at the second grocery store, I was going to head home for the day.

Guess what? That’s when plans shifted ever so slightly. Turns out I wasn’t going anywhere, at least for a while.

My car would not start. So there I sat.

We try not to think the worst at times like this.

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And hope for the best.

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And smile because the hubs takes the damsel in distress call. He’s the BEST!

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And he rescues me by picking me up (after a little while, as he had a meeting to attend) But still, It’s always nice to know I can count on him for anything, any time of the day or night.

And so he arrives at the second grocery store and we pile all the groceries from said two grocery stores into his car. Then I drop him back off to work. Then I run the food from two said grocery stores home to the fridge.

I was feeling extra blessed to have AAA.

So I call to let them know I need a tow to our mechanic. Then drove back to car to wait on the AAA guy to arrive.

Bye Bye car! Hope you feel better soon!

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And I finally made it back home at 3:30 this afternoon.

Turns out I saved the best run of the day for last. As I have the hubs car and he’s going to need a ride home from work in a while.

I’m hopeful we have both cars back in the garage soon.

Blessings – Debbie

Six Days of Confession – Day 2

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I confess – blogging every day seems a bit monumental while spending precious time with our out of town guests (the hubs sister and bro-in-law).

And I confess, I did not use my nice camera yesterday. I don’t know how I forgot it. And it kinda bums me out.

But the blog and confession must go on! So I got up this morning at 6:30, to post about confession Day 2 (yesterday).

Our morning was filled with long visits, garden strolls, coffee, tea and breakfast.

I confess, we went out to lunch. And our table ordered this appetizer. And I was the only person at the table keeping my paws “out” of the yummy spinach artichoke dip and chips.

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The hubs sis trying one of his sweet potato fries.

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And the bro-in-law sampling one of the hubs shrimp.

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And the hubs confirming his shrimp po’ boy was amazing per usual.

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And I enjoyed this nice bowl of black bean soup. And we all enjoyed the patio dining.

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Then we were off to Point Loma.

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It’s such a pretty place to take in the views of San Diego and beyond.

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Too cute!

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And then we were off to the other side of Point Loma – where the ocean meets the cliffs. Actually, the tide was out…

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And nice enough to hike down to see the tide pools.

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Down – down – down…

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While we had a bit of a chilly day, we certainly enjoyed the sights and each other.

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Then we were off – Passing thru Harbor Drive.

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And snapping pix of whatever grabbed my attention.

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And over the Coronado island bridge, I snapped a pic.

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And we moved along to Hotel Del – one of the places we love to visit.

Anytime I see sandcastles on the beach, I have to take my shoes off to see what the fuss is about.

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I like the detail…

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And watching the artist carve love into his masterpiece.

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What a pretty ending to our day.

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What’s more? Well you know that car, the one everyone in your car is talking about? The one that stands out more than the rest? Well this is the car we chimed in stating it had the best paint job on the road. I secretly think its owned by an artist.

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Then we headed back home. Visited some more, enjoyed a nice healthy salad for dinner and more guests (our daughter and her boyfriend) arrived after 9pm.

And more visiting, laughter and family love carried on thru the late evening hours.

This ends Confession – Day 2.

Blessings – Debbie

My Car’s Battery Needs Some TLC

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My poor car died over the weekend. Well, it just wouldn’t start when we went to leave Saturday morning. All it would grunt out was a bunch of ticking sounds. When Hubby looked under the hood, the problem blared out and was the battery just like Hubby suspected. The battery had oozed out all kinds of blue salty looking stuff and completely coated the area where the bolts were.

This was a challenge for Hubby, my guy who has every tool known to man back home in TX. Off to Wal-Mart we went to purchase tools to get that old corroded thing off. We came home with all sorts of stuff including several different vice grips, WD-40 and who knows what else.

Hubby hovered over that battery with his brush and WD-40 cleaning and cleaning the threads and he was still unable to free the bolt with his new vice grips. He decided not to fool with it over the weekend and decided to take it in this morning to a shop close to where he works. So with his handy dandy jumper cables and the new battery he purchased for me, he was able to jump start it this morning and away he hobbled with my car.

We went downtown over the weekend and discovered that huge spiders are taking over a couple of the buildings.



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We enjoyed a wonderful date Saturday evening with our friends Doug and Evelyn. Evelyn and I had breakfast this morning and we hovered over our coffee and conversation until sometime around 11am today.



I’ll be off in a bit to run some errands and then I’ll be home in time to finish up my laundry before Hubby gets home for the evening.

Vehicle Hoopla

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What a wonderful weekend we had and this has been such a great Monday. I’m caught up on my laundry for the week and have everything all put away, took a nice nap this afternoon and got quite a bit of research done on-line regarding a place to call home.



Hubby and I are going to try to meet a little after 4pm in hopes to get our cars registered and get our new drivers license. I was not able to finish what I started Friday and Saturday we had trouble getting our vehicles registered. We printed out our proof of insurance but the gentleman at the counter would not accept it as he needed something with the bar code. I made another call to the insurance company requesting the information with the bar code and they faxed it over to Hubby. Hopefully we have everything we need in order to make it happen this evening. And we plan to be have our residence here soon.



I have a lovely appointment with the realtor tomorrow, and looking forward to narrowing something down. In all honesty, we are both narrowing it down to a desire we have to build our next home. And it’s so exciting to think about, unless of course if we find the place that’s already built and it calls us home.


Taking Care Of Business

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I’m taking care of more business today like the yucky stuff that needs to get done when one moves out of state. Today I’ve already:



  • Changed our car insurance – Do you realize we save over $300.00 per six months on our insurance premium. I was thrilled! (That’s another reason why we love driving here so much, there is NO traffic and we are so in love with that. And the perk is, we get to see that great deduction in our car insurance because of that!)
  • Called the DMV to see what we need to bring for our vehicle registrations and drivers license.
  • Spent who knows how long on hold
  • Called more people than I can remember
  • Finally got all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed
  • And once the insurance information is available on-line, I’ll be over there with my proof of insurance and all the other stuff I need to finalize what I started out to do.

I’ve had quite a full week and we’re getting settled in by the minute. It’s funny that now we feel like this hotel is home as we refer to it as home all the time now. This coming Sunday marks our 5th week here and before too long our vehicles and we will officially be residents here too!