What’s Going On

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Debbie

Well, I’ll tell you. But first, I hope you’ve had a glorious weekend.

So the clock of the New Year is ticking away and we’re getting ready to bid the second week of the new year goodbye.

For the last few days, I’ve been busy doing a bit of this and that.

For starters, I’m reading World Without End by Ken Follett – It’s the 1024 page book our book club is reading. Love the Kindle, especially for larger books!

And I had such a desire to add turtles to the pond. So I called my pond guy mid week and the girls (two red eared slider turtles) were delivered Friday.

They are as cute as can be.

And a lot of fun to watch them chill with the fish.

Along with the turtles, a couple of shubunkin goldfish were delivered too.

The hubs vision for his Christmas vacation project is now complete, as of early this past week.

The house now has gigabit ethernet to all PC’s and TV/Media Centers as well as 5G WIFI throughout. “It’s faster than I can keep up with!” I exclaimed, when I gave it a spin. He has not yet tested it to determine if he can really get 1,000 Mbps between PC’s; however, we can now watch a movie off the Office PC hard drive on the TV in the Family Room without any delays or buffering. XBOX also confirms that the network supports HDTV streaming as the network quality bars are pegged to the max. He says the true test will come when we start moving large files across the network. That took a long time on the old network, but should now be 10x faster. This house ROCKS!

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been busy working on editing Sr pictures. She is such a doll and so much fun to work with.

And I just blogged, that counts for something this weekend. Right?

The hubs and I played backgammon several x’s a day over the weekend. Still love daily games with the hubs.

And now I’m getting ready to watch our show (Revenge) and call it a glorious day and weekend with the hubs.

‘Til next time…

Blessings – Debbie

Togetherness = A Holiday Treat

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Debbie

Having spent the last 17 days with the hubs around the house, I was hoping he could retire today. Such that we could play house every day, for the rest of our lives.

Image below = one of the chocolate Dove candy wrappers from the holidays. They could not have said it better.

We worked and played and truly enjoyed our days together.

But today, it was the day for us to find the old routine.

So I got up, prepared the hubs breakfast and lunch, bid him goodbye at the door per usual with a great big squeeze and a kiss, grabbed my camera and took a few shots, missed the hubs, as it’s not the same without him, worked on editing senior pictures and found joy in my day.

A little snipped of what is in bloom around the house these days.

Slowly but surely, we will find our routine.

Blessings – Debbie

Happy New Year

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Debbie

Wishing a Happy New Year to all of you!

So the hubs and I have spent the last couple of weeks enjoying the holidays, spending time with friends and working around the house.

And working around the house has been right up there on the top of our list.

In fact, I painted the office on New Years Eve. And went to sleep for the night at 8:30 pm. I could not keep my eyes open for the dropping of the ball in Times Square (east coast time).

And on New Years day, paint was applied to the baseboards in the office.

*See Image Below for the hubs project* – The hubs tells me this is going to be our home’s new gigabit network, 5G wifi, telephone, cable, and audio distribution center. I have no idea what this means, but he says I’m going to like it when its finished.

News Flash, he has already shown me the volume control for the outdoors, kitchen and dining areas. He’s right, I’m going to like the goodies.

I don’t know who is having more fun, but I can tell you we are having a grand time.

I’m working on taking down the Christmas tree today. And I’m so thankful the hubs ordered special ornament containers for me this year. I can’t tell you what a delight it is not having to individually box the ornaments.

Our Lenox ornament this year. Our collection has grown over the last 17 Christmases together.

“It’s a day of rest – to rest up from my week of vacation and to rest up for another week of vacation” – Said The Hubs, last weekend. And here this weekend is almost here. And that means it’s back to work for him Monday. But let’s not talk about that now. We’re still on vacation!

One of my special places to spend time, is still around the pond. Lately, I started crushing up the “big fish” food for the babies. Just after a week of feeding, the babies swim up to me as if I’m their best friend. True, they spent their first 6 months eating algae. While they still feed on the algae, they obviously like to forage for new fodder.

What a joy it is to watch the little babies change color. Of all the babies (approx 70 from the spawning last spring), this is the only one who has completely turned orange. And we have one I call “Rudolph” he/she has a red nose and the rest completely dark, just like the other baby you see in this image. We even have a few with a blueish tint. We understand it takes six months for the babies to develop color.

Six months are up, so we expect to see some big changes in the pond this winter/spring.

I hope to be back soon as I hate to get so far behind on the blog.

Wishing Joy, Blessings and Happiness to you this New Year.

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

Work Work Work

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Debbie

And so it was, there were three full days of work + overtime during the evening hours this week.

Turns out, my body is physically exhausted and I told the hubs over lunch (today) that the heaviest thing I lifted all day, is the nail polish. But he questioned that saying, didn’t you lift the lid to the candy jar? Read on to “get it”.

Back to the work part of the post.

The hubs graciously moved all the furniture out of the living room last weekend.

And I started in on the painting of the living room. I was able to complete two coats of the cutting in – Monday.

Then I came up with the bright idea of biting off more than I could chew for the week. On Tuesday I started cutting in both hallways. What was I thinking? I know, right? I worked late as I tried to finish up the last hall.

Wednesday was the day to roll the paint. And by 10 am, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. The living room alone would have been just dandy. But adding two hallways? That was nuts and my wings felt like they were breaking. Nonetheless, I kept chipping away.

And before I knew it, the living room was DONE!

And hallway #1 = Done. I tell ya, I was on a roll and loving the fresh new paint.

By the time Thursday morning rolled around, I had my part in putting what I could back in place.

And the hubs was back home Thursday morning. And guess what he brought, just for me?

Makes me feel a little guilty as he didn’t take any snacks for himself the entire trip (on the plane). Each time they made their way around with the snack basket (chocolate candy included) he took one of these guys for me and didn’t take any for himself. That’s just not right.

Remember the fingernail polish being the heaviest thing I lifted all day? Turns out the lid of the candy jar is heavier. 🙂

Break Time – I had such an amazing break from work (yesterday). And it’s another nice break today. I had another Biscoff and coffee break this morning. Had the best lunch break date with the hubs.

And truly enjoying this Friday. I did have another plan for this week. But it’s just not coming to pass. I had plans to put up the Christmas tree today. I’m so excited about decorating, I can hardly stand it. But for now, the break is necessary. Next week people, there is always next week. Right?

It’s so nice having the hubs back in town. We look forward to a nice relaxing weekend around the homestead.

Who knows, that tree may find its way out of the box this weekend.

Blessings – Debbie

Work and Play

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Debbie

The last week has been one of work and play.

First up = Painting and more painting. The walls quickly went from the light blue tint to the light yellow tint.

Play – A play date occurred with my friend after a day of painting.

I still can’t get over how dark it is at 6:30 pm.

But a good meal was certain. I had the Buffalo Wings = Perfection!

Our boys were out of town on business – not a great shot, but it documents our lovely evening.

I’m happy the hubs wasn’t gone too long. And it makes me smile that he thinks of the littlest things he knows I like.

We’ve had 3 dates since his return Thursday. This is his Friday off week. And I consider this to be such a great weekend, it feels like vacation.

Now it’s time to wrap up this post, such that I can get back to our delightful weekend in progress.

Blessings – Debbie

Keep Calm and Blog On

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Debbie

That’s what one tells them-self, when said person is a bit more than two weeks behind on the blog.

When one needs to keep calm, it never hurts to have an extra cup of coffee. So I did.

And with this post, I thought it would be nice to say a few blurbs of what’s been going on around here. Sprinkled with a smattering of photos, to keep things real.

Things like – Taking an image of our hard work, what a beautiful wood pile. The hubs did the chopping and I did the stacking. A great big cheers to having that job finished and we will celebrate with many a fire in the fire-pit in the coming days/years.

We started hiking the hood again.

I especially love hiking, just before sunset with the hubs.

I’m back to painting the walls in the house.

Do you know that Christmas music has filled the space in our home, going on 3 weeks? I admit, this is a first. I really don’t know what’s into me, but Christmas is in the air and I feel it. And I’m shopping for a new Christmas tree. I think I found just the one. This is not a non-sequitur people. It has everything to do with painting, as it truly filled the air with every brushstroke and roll of paint with the roller.

Below – A finished image of the family room. The paint color is Behr – Summer Bliss

Don’t mind the stuff on the window ledges, I didn’t have everything back in place when I took this image.

After painting a couple of days in the family room, I took a two-day rest. And I read for two days. The great news = I finished the book for my book club meeting this month.

Fry – Who knew goldfish/fish young were called fry? And that they hatch a brownish color? And they can take up to a year to develop color? And they can change color up until they have fully matured? I’m pretty jazzed with the little yellow and black guy who is changing color before our eyes. And it’s hard to believe that some of the little ones look pretty close to 3″ in size already. I knew none of the above going into this, but it’s a joy learning as we go…

And one day while sitting at the edge of the pond, the reflection begged to be captured.

Speaking of the pond – The fountain sprung a leak and water was seeping out (a little drop at a time). Thankful for a good pond guy who was able to repair the leak for us last week.

Speaking of repairs – The washing machine broke last Thursday.

The best load for the washer to break = the last load. The load you debate even throwing in the wash. You know, a few sweaters that would be nice to have fresh for our cool San Diego nights. I was feeling a bit smug (Thursday evening) to have all the clothes put away and the ironing all up to snuff.

And it’s still in need of some tender loving care. But I have hopes that the appliance man will have things under control tomorrow. Fingers crossed…

I have to put in a big plug-in for the St Louis Cardinals, the hubs hometown and team since childhood. The hubs predicted (before the playoff series) that they would nail it in 6, in honor of #6. What do you know, he was right on the money! We’re looking forward to our Cards in the World Series!

We helped our friends do a little moving down here from LA over the last two weekends. And we enjoyed a nice dinner with them last weekend.

Snapped this guy on one of my little outdoor garden jaunts.

The garden is one of my favorite places to relax.

Let there be birthday cake! Red velvet birthday cake. I whipped this guy up over the weekend.

Our daughter came for a visit (down from LA) and it was her birthday. I couldn’t think of any other cake to bake, than her favorite red velvet.

And I decorated her card with fingernail polish. It’s my new favorite way to decorate the envelope.

Twas a big celebration weekend of whining and dining.

I spent a bit of time in the garden this morning. Remember? One of my favorite ways to relax.

And shot several images.

And sipped on coffee.

And spent some time on the phone with my pop.

And I’ve been really good about staying out of the leftover ice cream. I call that a big accomplishment.

And I’m ever thankful we sent “ALL” the leftover cake with Kristy. Lord knows I would have a hard time staying out of that.

And I feel blessed getting this new week started off on the right foot.

Blessings – Debbie

What Time Is It

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Debbie

So this sun dial resides in the backyard. It was left by the previous owners.

For fun, I thought it would be fun taking images of it at different angles.

While we have abundant sunshine, I don’t believe this will be the method of choice to tell time.

But it sure was fun to shoot.

It’s time to scavenge – while scavenging the backyard for things to shoot, I found this very old sunflower. Again, left behind. And I thought it was interesting enough to shoot.

It’s time for autumn to make an appearance – I spotted this leaf caught in the fountain. This image reminds me of autumn, even tho we don’t really see too much changing of the seasons in So Cal.

It’s time to get busy – A reminder we had errands This weekend. The hubs picked up this guy for the gardener. We hope it works like a charm and looking forward to making more improvements in the garden. Yep, were taking a few more trees out.

But the really exciting thing that happened over the weekend is this. I got my pumpkin muffin fix at Panera Bread.

And if I were to answer the question to the blog title, I would have to say “It’s time for pumpkin muffins!”

True Statement – I called 3 Panera Bread Companies in the surrounding area last weekend. I was desperate for their pumpkin muffin. Sad news, not one store had a P muffin left on the shelf. True, it was after 7pm Sunday evening. But that’s beside the point.

Yay to the hubs insisting we hit Panera Bread this weekend. And kudos that he insisted we get there in the morning, before the muffins sold out.

Whatever time it is for you, I wish for it to be a good time.

Blessings – Debbie

Paradise

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Debbie

Paradise – The Bird of Paradise – Home, it’s our Paradise

However you think of paradise, it’s the peaceful place where we find beauty and happiness.

Tonight, after a lovely dinner date with the hubs, I made a mad dash into the house to grab the camera.

The sun had already set.

And there was just a tinge of light left.

And all I could see were these beautiful reminders of paradise scattered about the front yard.

So I set out to capture every angle possible.

And framed this guy in front of the cactus.

But this could be my favorite image of the night. It was shot in front of the kitchen window. And the warm light in the background is the light pouring from the kitchen.

And just like that, the day turned to night.

But I’ve already decided, I need to run back out in the evenings to come. As I find something magical this time of the day.

I’ll be back with more experimenting in the days to come.

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

Labor Day Weekend

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Debbie

Turns out, Labor Day weekend was all about labor around the house. And from what I can see, a lot of love and hard work went into making things happen.

We had 7 trees taken down. Three cedar trees – It was sad to see those beautiful trees go, but the root systems were too close to the pond. Two Brazilian pepper trees – It was also sad to see these amazing shade trees go, but the roots were a problem around the pond and house. One willow tree – The willow is my favorite tree of all time, again, the roots were a problem. And one other tree, I can’t remember the name of it, but it was in a place where we would like a path, so it had to go.

Yay for us, we kept the wood from the willow and cedar trees. Looking forward to that fire-pit one day!

And have you any idea how beautiful it smells of cedar outdoors? And the fresh mulch is plentiful.

And 3 old (very old) large stumps removed + another 4 stumps ground down on top of that. We’re not sure why the previous owners left these mammoth palm stumps or the other stumps, but they did. So the guys cut them down and the stump grinder got busy grinding out the rest of the stumps. Note: the clothesline in the right of the image was taken out over the weekend too. Can you see my happy grin?

We have plans for this area and we’re having a lot of fun tossing ideas around.

These guys were scattered about the lawn. Some were knocked down by all the commotion.

I found it interesting to take images of the chopped willow.

I read a book in a day over the weekend! That is a first for me, worthy to be noted. This is the book we voted on (last week) in the book club for the month of September. The first sentence captured my attention and could not put the book down until I had read from cover to cover.

Loved reading this on the Kindle.

Our neighbor brought over a mess of beans from their garden. What a fresh tasty treat!

We hired our old gardener from the first place we rented. It was a joy to see him again. He did amazing things around the house yesterday. And I felt pooped at the end of the day, just by observing the hard work he put in.

To break up all the work around the house over the weekend, we had a wonderful dinner out with friends Q, Julie and Phil. Outback was the place for dinner as Phil treated the first big chunk with gift cards. I had the yummy grilled chicken and veggies. And to top off our dinner, the hubs and I had our own private date at Cold Stone. The hubs had the founders favorite and I had the peanut butter cup perfection. So GOOD!

I know this is trailing my back to good health post. But allow me to say, we’re all in favor of sweet treats in moderation. And we were right back to eating healthy following that treat. And let me tell you, there is no regret.

Then today rolled around. I wasn’t ready for the hubs to go back to work. But Tuesday morning arrived. So off to work for the hubs. And it was off to work in the house for me. It was in need of a cleaning and I was just the gal for the job.

It’s good to see home sweet home taking shape. I think I’m ready for Labor Day Weekend, round #2!

Blessings – Debbie

Weekend Update

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Debbie

Good Monday Afternoon! I don’t know about you, but the weekend seemed to go at record speeds.

I worked in the garden. The hubs worked in the garage. And when we came together at the end of the day, the hubs had both of our cars parked in the garage and he had all of his tools, workbench and such put in the 3rd car stall. And I had the fish pond all sparkly clean once again. The lily pads were cleared of all dead pads and any fallen leaves were cleaned out too. It was such a nice feeling of accomplishment.

But the most exciting part of our weekend was attending the annual neighbor block-party. All the neighbors (nearly 50 of us) gathered for hors d’ oeuvres, dinner, dessert and coffee. Our neighbor put on such a beautiful spread. All tables were covered with table cloths and dotted with pretty flower arrangements. It was another beautiful cool summer night to be outdoors, visit with neighbors and greet neighbors we had yet to meet. Torches were lit at dusk and we watched the sun set down over the mountains.

One neighbor mentioned that we need to get together on their patio one evening. And another neighbor said we should do dinner one evening. It’s a feel good feeling to be here.

I debated taking my camera to the party, I did. And since the party was held right across the street from our house, I thought I had ample time to get it should I decide to take pictures. As it turned out, as much as I wanted to take pictures, I was having a bit more fun. And decided not to bother this time. Next time…

In other news, autumn is running heavily thru my veins. And I’ve had the craving for the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte for the last three days.

This picture has nothing to do with this post. It’s just one of the images I shot in the garden after it was hit by the morning sprinklers.

Another early morning image from the garden.

Sigh, In the news about Jury Duty. This is my last week to report…I hope. I had to call in again last evening. Was told not to report at this time, but to call again on Monday August 26th. That’s today. It’s been one of those months where I wonder each day if I’m going to have to report the next day. Only time will tell.

I’m not sure how many followers I have. And not sure if any of you recall my search for good health. Well I’m still rockin’ it! And I plan to post in the near future, to talk about this journey I started back in June 2011. And where I am today. And what direction I’m going. And where I see health in the future.

Until next time…

Blessings – Debbie

Soft and Sharp

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Debbie

Good evening. I find this time of day to be one of my favorite. It’s that time of day when things begin to wind down. The hubs will be in soon. Dinner will be served on the patio in a while. And all feels right with the world.

But today was good too. Food shopping was achieved early morning. I worked on getting an estimate for having some trees in the back cut down. Actually 7 trees will be removed as they are quite invasive. And worked for a while with the camera.

This time last year, I was enrolled to take my very first photography class. I was so excited and could hardly wait for my very first assignment.

This year is a little different. I put my photography classes on hold, such that I can get caught up in the new house. And to take a little rest from school.

But I have no intentions to leave the camera on the shelf. I shot several different objects and tried to frame each one in a unique way.

Taken just before sinking my teeth into this really good melon.

Here we have some succulents. I’m fond of the way these things grow without any TLC to speak of.

Soft and Sharp – Beautiful and Deadly

So I joined a photography Macro Critique group and I love it. Soft and sharp – Beautiful and Deadly is one on the remarks I received on the image below. So I thought it made for a good title too.

Saving my favorite shot of the day for last. With this image, I spent a lot of time finding the angle and how I wanted the subject to be framed in the shot. I’m really happy with the way it turned out.

In the news about my ongoing Jury Duty, I called last evening as I was instructed. And was prompted to call back again this evening. So I just got off the phone and I have to call back again tomorrow. 2 and 1/2 weeks down and 1 and 1/2 weeks of Jury Service to go.

That’s all for now folks, have a lovely evening!

Blessings – Debbie

Gardening

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Debbie

Good evening! I hope all is well in your world.

I’ve been busy around the house these days. I spent the last couple of days working in the garden = I feel pooped with a capital P, but in a good way. And I suspect I’ll be right back out there again tomorrow.

Shot this image (yesterday) while working around the roses in bloom.

The babies still have me at hello.

As I was working in the pond today (I get in there about once a week) cleaning up the lilies, I got tickled all over my legs and feet. That’s because the fish nibble on me and it really does tickle, especially when 3 or more are nibbling at once. I can’t get over how they are getting a lot more friendly as the weeks go by. And I love that they follow me all over the pond while I work. It makes my heart smile.

In the news today – Have I mentioned how much we love our neighborhood? Well, it’s an ongoing wonderful thing that we truly have really nice neighborly neighbors.

Just today, as I was working out front, I hear the warm friendly voice of my neighbor as she greeted me “Hello Debbie”. As I looked up, I saw her across the way, working in her front lawn too. And from there we began to visit. She came over to my house to see all that I’ve been up to in the garden. And I shared with her the updated paint color in the kitchen area. Then we moved on over to her place where I got the grand tour of her lovely home and garden. It’s little things like this that made this day extra special.

Feeling extra blessed to live in such a friendly neighborhood.

Blessings – Debbie

A Month of Stuff

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Debbie

Where did the month go? Tomorrow will be a month since I last posted. And things continue to move at record speed.

So like the last post, I’ll begin where I left off. I’m using the images and comments I posted on Facebook and going by the date. Off we go!

July 15 – Image from the pond this morning – There are times I get the tendency to get really excited. Especially when this gal landed. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but she’s the biggest of the dragonflies I’ve seen yet. I believe she was laying her eggs and was not pleased with me.

Having a nice Monday ~ a little lunch date with the hubs ~ a little reading on the patio ~ and taking care of the babies. We went from 10 fish to well over 50 fish in our pond. Happy Monday Peeps!

July 16 – On Yer Mark, Get Set… – I’m having a lovely Tuesday. Fish watching and dragonfly watching and bird watching = Oh My!

July 17 – Nature Weeps – The image today is honoring the little baby fish I put to rest today. I found the little 1 and 1/2 inch guy on the bottom of the pond during my morning cleaning of the pond. Cause of death – It appears a larger fish was hungry for protein.

July 18 – Joy Comes In The Morning – We woke to the fish spawning this morning.

July 19 – Having a beautiful day – It’s the hubs friday off ~ we have a friend coming over for a visit ~ It’s another breakfast, lunch and dinner on the patio kind of day + another female is spawning this morning. Happy Weekend!

July 20 – Fish Lips – Good Morning to those on the west coast and Afternoon for you on the east coast.

I would like to spend more time taking images of these guys at meal time. They are so much fun to watch.

July 22 – Capturing things around the pond is such a delight. This is one of the images I snapped this morning.

It’s a busy day – Paid a visit to The Home Depot – Picked up two different samples of paint color – Picked up a nice paint brush – Sampled both paint colors – Made my selection – Finished applying the paint from one of the samples to the walls in the kitchen – Allowing paint to dry for a final decision – And hopefully we’ll have a fresh painted kitchen tomorrow! Happy Monday!

July 23 – Somebody’s touching me – I thought it was pretty cool to watch these two fight over the same post yesterday. And then the funniest thing happened. That blue dude landed right smack dab on the orange guy’s wing…

July 26 – Chillin’ – So the last four days, I managed to paint the kitchen and dining room. Well, almost, I’m almost finished. But for today and the weekend, all paint brushes, rollers, paint and equipment are on strike until further notice.

Just for today – I managed a nap – laundry in the works – fish/pond sitting – Tea infused with honey sipping – and enjoying our new paint color. Happy Friday and the best to all of you this weekend.

July 31 – We celebrate our 14th commitment to love and to cherish each other for life. As the hubs sat across the dinner table, he said “I still remember the first time I saw you across the room”…And we reminisced from the time we first met 17 years ago. This has been an amazing journey and I’m blessed to spend all my days with my very best friend. There truly is no place I’d rather be.

This image was taken in the backyard after our anniversary dinner.

August 7 – Question ~ Can anyone tell me what this creature is? He/She lives in water as I just scooped him/her out of the bottom of the pond this morning. And scooped many others out the other day. And it’s no more than 1/2″ in size.

Note: I discovered after posting this image that he/she is dragonfly naiad! Remember all the dragonflies I shot while laying their eggs? Well here’s one of many babies I scooped out (not knowing)…

August 7 cont… – In other news, It’s been crazy ~ fun ~ busy around here the last couple of weeks. I’ve been to book club ~ To a dinner party with the hubs ~ Neighborhood picnic with the hubs last weekend ~ Getting ready to have a few neighbor girls over tomorrow morning for coffee on the patio ~ Having fun with painting the “inside” of the house ~ spending quality time with the babies ~ fortunately, we’ve been able to keep the “big” birds out of the pond ~ All of the fish are still with us, sans losing a few babies ~ And the little fry are getting so big, some are over 2″ already ~ I can’t believe how fast they grow.

August 7 continued – Kitchen before and after images. Unfortunately, I did not think to shoot before images. The before shot was taken after I unpacked the kitchen boxes. So the lighting does not do justice to that dusty pink color. But the new yellow is so cheerful. Now to decorate the upper ledges on both sides of the kitchen…

August 9 – I had a guest back to back two days in a row. How fun to do round two for coffee on the patio with my new friend.

And that brings us to the weekend. The hubs and I enjoyed a nice weekend around the house. Trees were trimmed, the lily’s in the pond were divided up as they are getting so big – the garage was tended to and garage organization is well underway.

August 12 = Today already! My goal was to hit the grocery store first thing = check! Catch up on the blog = Check! And tidy up my office space = No check for that box, yet. But I still have the afternoon. And as soon as I hit “publish” for this post, I’m moving right along such that I can put a nice check in this box by the end of the day.

Blessings – Debbie

I Call The Shot – one picture at a time

My world of art, life and health thru a lens

Category Archives: Home Sweet Home

What’s Going On

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Togetherness = A Holiday Treat

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Happy New Year

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There is Always Next Week

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Work Work Work

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Work and Play

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Keep Calm and Blog On

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What Time Is It

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Paradise

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Week in Review

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Labor Day Weekend

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Weekend Update

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Soft and Sharp

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Gardening

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A Month of Stuff

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