We live in a resort in the Florida panhandle. A beautiful place, for sure. A neighbor of mine likes to call it THE TINY KINGDOM. lolWe're near the beach, live on a golf course, surrounded by lakes and ponds and lots of animals. (Snakes, for sure as you all remember from my pool posts last year! grrrr) Almost daily, we encounter some type of animal and we hear about lots more that we never see, thank goodness...like cougars and coyotes.
Our king resort owner likes to keep adding things. He has planted all types of fruit bearing trees all over the resort...lemons, oranges, limes, etc. He wants the owners and resort guests to be able to just pick them at leisure. He has released I don't know how many coveys of partridges everywhere. I don't have a photo of them yet, but they sure are cute crossing the road.Here's his latest addition:
Peacocks!
(Photos are clickable)
As we were driving to church on Sunday morning, we crossed over the bridge by our house (called the The Princess Bridge by one of our granddaughters) and right in the middle of the bridge was this handsome fellow. George guessed his tail feathers to be at least 4 feet long.
I tried to get his photo from the car, but the sun was so bright that I couldn't see what I was taking. I'm showing this photo to show the wonderful color of his throat. I finally got out of the car and took the one above. He wasn't afraid of me...at all. Maybe I should have been afraid of him. lol
The weather has been summer like. Just gorgeous. I've actually been able to lay by the pool for the last three days. Wonderful! I'm hoping to get some color before we go to California next month. Anyway, we decided to start up our warm weather tradition and do our happy hour on the golf cart. Miss Daisy is always ready. She loves to have the wind in her hair!
Tonight one of the peacocks (I've heard there are four) was right down the street from our house.
He looked at me as if to say "what are YOU looking at?" LOLI think my neighbor is right. We DO live in a tiny kingdom.
What will our king think of next?
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
Can your furbaby talk?
Ours can.
Oh sure, it's not words, but Miss Daisy can definitely tell us what she wants. I was sitting on one of the bar stools this morning drinking my coffee and planning my morning and she kept at it until she bugged me to death convinced me that she needed to go with me. Somewhere. ANY where.
Our girl likes to go. We call her the go go girl.
So being the good mommy that I am, I took her with me to the library, the post office and the store.
Anything for you sweet girl.
She showed her happiness by giving me kisses off and on the whole time we were gone.
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
Good Morning!
My head is filled with lots of wishes and dreams and plans this morning.
What are YOU wishing for?
Let's dream BIG!
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
Feeling a little blah this afternoon...
I tried pouting and whining and it didn't work. My sister headed home right after church and lunch. I tried to get her to stay another day...or ten...but she couldn't do it. sigh
I've got LOTS of things I should be doing this afternoon, but I think I'm going to play Scarlett and say
"I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."
And if those things that need to be done try to make me feel guilty by reminding me that tomorrow might be a busy day, I'll play Rhett Butler and say
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
Instead, I'm planning to go now and grab a book and curl up on the couch. And if my eyes get heavy, I'm NOT gonna fight it ;-)
I hope your weekend was good too.
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
"Sister to sister we will always be,
A couple of nuts off the family tree."
~Author Unknown
My "baby" sister Kim is visiting us this weekend.
Love it! We truly have fun when we are together. Heck, the truth is, we have fun even when we're just chatting on the phone.
Let the good times begin!
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
"Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands -- and then eat just one of those pieces."
~Judith Viorst
Meet my new obsession:
I'm infatuated these days with sea salt. And let me tell you ladies... this is one incredibly terrific sea salt bar...dark chocolate with irregular salt crystals scattered inside.
Oh.my.word!
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
Gosh, it might just be a tease, but it feels like Spring today. Seriously gorgeous. I just took Miss Daisy for a walk and didn't want to come back inside the house. It's one of those "it's wonderful to be alive" type days. Every day is, of course, but I'm sure you know what I mean. Everywhere I looked, I saw beauty. The budding of trees. A butterfly. The clean fresh air. The feel of the sunshine on my face. Simple things, but beautiful and wonderful just the same.
And you know what? Beauty really IS around us all the time...we just need to be sure to notice it.
Hugs,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
I have a Valentine's date. Do you?
We don't give gifts anymore, only cards. We decided years ago that we really don't need anything and it seems silly to buy something just to be buying, so we take trips and make memories :-)
Speaking of trips, our California trip is next month. So excited!
I hope your Valentine's Day is extra special.
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
It's amazing how something really small can make a HUGE difference in your day. Something as small as a simple post-it note.
When I was in Nashville recently, I stopped by a $tarbuck$ and used the restroom before I left. On the mirror was a simple message just like the one I have re-created here. (I took a photo of the one I saw, but it didn't turn out well because of the lighting.)
Once I got home, I looked up OperationBeautiful.Com and learned more about this wonderful mission. It was started by Caitlin, a very beautiful, smart and thoughtful 26 year old in Charlotte, NC.
Such a simple and easy way to really make a difference. Check out her blog to see different messages others are leaving.
I plan to join her cause. Armed with a simple pad of post-it notes and a pen, I'm ready to start encouraging self love.
Want to join us?
Let's spread some love...just in time for Valentine's Day.
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."
~Dr. Seuss
I'm going to Atlanta in the morning with George. For another funeral. The 5th one since November 4th. Actually the 3rd one in less than 2 weeks. This one is for the wife of one of George's really good friends. She was only 61.
Dr. Seuss, that very smart man, is right. We can choose where we go (and how we look at circumstances and how we react).
So... deep breath
I will not go crazy.
I will not go into a depressive funk.
I will go to celebrate the life of a very sweet woman who fought with courage. I will go to support her husband and family and gather with friends.
I will go to celebrate Dawn's new life in heaven.
Hugs,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
...a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. In this economy, I can't keep doling out big $$$$ for a "fancy shmancy" cup of coffee.
Did I hear an AMEN?!
Photo is clickable, but here's what I enjoy in my favorite pink cup:
Grove Square light roast coffee in my Keurig (thanks Bree & Jay) I buy the coffee at Wally World.
Belladonna Gourmet Syrup. I like their caramel or vanilla. I found mine for a $1.00 at our local Dollar General. I know. Amazing. And NO calories!
I whisk some warm skim milk using my Bonjour Primo Latte "thingee" for the top and then add just a shake of Sugar In The Raw on top of the foam.
Perfect! Wonderful and soothing, especially since our crazy weather is VERY un-Florida like.
How do YOU like your coffee?
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes." ~Hugh Downs
I've had a little talk with myself. Have you ever had to do that? Sure you have! I had to remind myself of some things that I know in my heart are true.
Attending four funerals in three months just isn't right. It stinks. It really does. I'm not even going to try to convince myself otherwise. But I reminded myself tonight there is still reason to celebrate...as strange as that sounds.
I read something (somewhere) a few months ago that has helped. I think it was right after our great niece was killed and I copied and saved it. I wish I could give credit where credit is due, but like a dunce I failed to copy the source. Anyway, here's what they had to say and it's a great way to think:So, as with most people we miss when they're gone, we start to think of others in our life we've lost. I remember my grandmother and grandfather. When my grandmother passed away my grandfather was, of course, devastated. To make the anniversaries of her death less of a day of mourning, and more of a day of celebrating he announced that every anniversary of her "death" would be a birthday in heaven. The first anniversary was her First Birthday in Heaven. Then her Second Birthday in Heaven. He imagined how wonderful it was for her there, in heaven. Because he loved her so much, where she was (paradise) was much more important on that day than where he was (sad to be without her). You may or may not be helped by thinking about a "heaven," but we can all find it in our hearts to celebrate life, even after someone's gone. They will forever be a part of YOU, of your life's story, and of your now and future as you have been blessed with knowing—and loving—them. I would love to think people could be happy when they think about me after I'm gone. And I'm going to find a way to do that for my friend Rich today. Happy First Birthday in Heaven, Rich.I don't know who Rich is, but isn't that a nice way to think? I think so.
So....
Madison, Achilles, Carl and Marty Happy first season in Heaven.
You are missed!
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
We got the sad news this morning that our oh so sweet friend and former neighbor died this morning. Her funeral on Saturday will be the fourth I have attended in 3 months. sighI want to be like Marty when I'm in my 70s and 80s (she was 88). She was spunky. And fun. She was smart. She was kind. She loved to play bridge. She loved football. She loved her church and her family and friends. She was an excellent cook. Oh how I remember her blueberry bran muffins. She would ask what day we were going to be home for breakfast. (She knew we were always off early to play tennis or golf and she wanted us both to be home when she made them.) When I told her a day that would be good for us, she would show up that morning in her robe with hot from the oven muffins and I would have the coffee ready and the butter out. Oh, what I wouldn't give to have another basket and another morning with her! She also made the best homemade applesauce. She was a spiffy dresser and always had packages being delivered from Talbots, etc. Until she was diagnosed with cancer, she got regular manicures and pedicures, massages and facials. She always looked her best. She loved George's cologne and told him so every time she hugged him. He teased her about having boyfriends and she would blush. And guess what? She had one! I could go on and on, but it's hard...
I will miss you sweet friend.
Lord, you really got a good one today!
Hugs from the beach,
Kat
"Father, please let me be a blessing to someone today."
Peacocks! 
I tried to get his photo from the car, but the sun was so bright that I couldn't see what I was taking. I'm showing this photo to show the wonderful color of his throat. I finally got out of the car and took the one above. He wasn't afraid of me...at all. Maybe I should have been afraid of him. lol
The weather has been summer like. Just gorgeous. I've actually been able to lay by the pool for the last three days. Wonderful! I'm hoping to get some color before we go to California next month. Anyway, we decided to start up our warm weather tradition and do our happy hour on the golf cart. Miss Daisy is always ready. She loves to have the wind in her hair!
Tonight one of the peacocks (I've heard there are four) was right down the street from our house.
He looked at me as if to say "what are YOU looking at?" LOL
