MY PARADISE

I usually gripe about July.  The crowds (so hard to get into restaurants and stores), the traffic, the heat.   Our beach usually isn't as pretty as other months.  There is a chance of seaweed.
But this July has made a liar out of me!
And I'm happy to say I was wrong this year :-)
At least about the beach.  The heat and crowds are here.

It has been absolutely gorgeous most days.  And today was one of the best...from morning until night.

 I took this from the end of our boardwalk.

Home sweet home! I risked my iPhone and took this one from the water.

Once we came in from the beach, George and I sat on the balcony with our drinks and had the best conversation.  The temp was just perfect.

I took this last photo from our side balcony looking toward the bridge.

I love where I live and enjoy it every single day.

 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

FEELING GOOD

Thank you Lord for antibiotics!

I feel like a bird that has escaped her cage :-)
It feel so good to feel good!

I got out of the house and attended church this morning, came home and took a long nap and then we went out to dinner tonight.

Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

(nobody...nobody...sings it like Michael Buble!


 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

33

(This photo is 4 years old, but still one of my favorites.  It was taken by our DIL in their all day engagement photo session.)


I can't believe our baby girl is 33 today!

I can't stop thinking about the day she was born. I remember the day as if it was just yesterday. How surprised we all were that she  (so tiny now) weighed 9 pounds, 1-1/2 ounces! A head full of dark hair. Perfect in every way. Even the nurses were oohing and aahing. Her Daddy was smiling from ear to ear and positively glowing. She completed our family. A true JOY!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!  I love you more than words can express. 


 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

GREAT TRIP

I had a GREAT time with the grandchildren in Nashville while our son and daughter-in-love were on a cruise last weekend.  The kids are now 14, 12 and 10.  Easy peasy and so much fun.  We had great conversations, watched movies and played lots and lots of games.

Two nights before I left for home, I started getting a sore throat.  Not too bad, so I thought nothing of it.  But, it got worse and by the time I drove the 8 hours home, I was SICK.  Luckily, the doctor's office worked me in and I've been on antibiotics since.  Finally, this afternoon I've started feeling better.

Can't wait to get back into the swing of things, but I know I need to take it easy until I'm 100%.

 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

Well, my bags are packed (again) and I'm leaving in the morning.  This time for Nashville :-)  Can't wait!

It's not quite 9pm, but I'm already yawning.  

 It was a beautiful night right before sunset, no matter which way I looked :-)

Letting my hair grow out has been hard, but I'm gradually getting there. Maybe. I had a tiny healthy trim today and she blew it out rather than pulling it up like I've been doing. THAT lasted about an hour before I got so HOT I had to pull it up.   I'm aiming for the style on the right (yep that's Beth Moore). It might be December before that happens, but that's okay 'cause it will be cooler by then.

 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

GIRLS GETAWAY

Our family GIRLS GETAWAY was this weekend in Georgia.  
Lots of food, fun and frivolity!

And it was one of those weekends that I wanted to be in two places at one time, because our son George and grandchildren, Carson and Karrigan, came (from Georgia) to spend the weekend with George in Florida.  They had a good time too.

 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

GIRLS GETAWAY

 My bags are packed and I'm ready!

I'm leaving in the morning to go to my hometown for our annual Girls Getaway hosted by my Mom.  Every female in our family (over 18) is invited for the weekend.  Fun times ahead!  Can't wait!

 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

SHAKING MY HEAD

Yesterday -

I got out of the car to walk into a restaurant to join my Tuesday Lunch Bunch group and my shoe literally fell apart.  I hobbled in and all the girls had a good laugh at my expense :-)

But...believe it or not...my friend Anne said "wait a sec, I think I have some duct tape in my car".  What?  I couldn't believe it.  And, it was BLACK!  Amazing!  She went out and got it and I borrowed scissors from the hostess and voilà, I repaired my shoe and was able to enjoy the rest of my day.

Today:

I almost drove my car into a drive through car wash....with my top down.  (shaking my head)

In my defense...I had just left the tennis courts and even my brain was HOT!  I'm gonna blame it on the heat ;-)

The worst part is that there were witnesses.  Men...of course.  I'm sure they are telling the story of the blonde who..........

Sometimes, I'm such a GOOBER!








 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

IN THE SUN ALL DAY

My view when I stepped on the balcony this morning.  

I never ever tire of God's masterpiece.

Between tennis and a "girls day on the beach", I was in the sun all.day.long.  I'm not complaining though...it was wonderful.

But this girl is whipped and ready for bed :-)

 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

LESSON FROM A SEED

A few weeks ago I saw this sweet thing on my balcony. At first I thought the wind had blown a flower off a plant and it landed on the floor. Nope, somehow a seed blew into a tiny crack between the tiles on the balcony and this sweetie was blooming!

Just laying on it's side...and thriving.  I guess when I swept up my mess after potting some plants, some soil ended up in a crack and later a seed was blown into the crack.

This "crack baby" made me pause and think.  

It showed me something I think we all need to remember - 

Bloom wherever the wind takes you :-)

It bloomed again the other day.
I decided to use a clip that came on one of my orchids to make it stand up straight, so that the bloom doesn't rest on the hot tile.


Another lesson from this sweet friend: 

Don't give up. Even when it seems that we're in the wrong place, we can still shine!

Of all the flowers on my balcony (and I have quite a few), this is my absolute favorite. 


 

Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

OUR JULY 4TH

Our July 4th was awesome!  From morning until the fireworks, which we watched from our balcony since they were set off from a barge pretty much in front of us.  

Loud, thrilling, magical!

We spent the day on the beach (and I even took watermelon in the cooler).  We took a long walk in the afternoon and had fun visiting with friends up and down the beach.   When we came in, we had barbecue ribs, mac and cheese, corn on the cob and sliced tomatoes for dinner.  Oh...and strawberry shortcake for dessert :-)  A pretty American meal!

I hope yours was awesome too.

 GOD BLESS AMERICA!

 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."

A PERFECT BEACH DAY

 WOW!  What a day! 

We like to take our own chairs and sit close to the water's edge so the waves can tickle our toes :-)

 The water was bottle green and clear!

 We took a long walk down to the jetty.

And stood on the rocks and watched the boats... and the cars on the bridge.

We're looking forward to doing it all again tomorrow to celebrate the 4th!  

George picked us up a gorgeous watermelon to take to the beach.  

We've planned barbecue ribs, corn on the cob, mac and cheese and sliced tomatoes for our dinner before the fireworks.  

I hope you all have fun plans too.  Be safe.

God Bless America!  Happy July 4th! 

 
Hugs from the beach,

Kat

"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."