Back From Our Second Honeymoon Cruise to Cozumel

The Sail Away

Here we are!  Married 45 years and decided to take a second honeymoon to celebrate!

Our first was quite short but a two day trip to Carmel California, a short drive away from where we were married.  

We took our car across the state and visited family, then took the train down to Miami!

What fun!

Here is a short little video of the train ride

We boarded the Norwegian Pearl 

And explored a bit.  The decks were all painted differently

This is the Lido Deck

We are on our way!

See the cute pilot boat?  The City of Miami is in the background.

The buildings are fabulous and we had a 

wonderful window seat in the air conditioned lounge to enjoy the Sail Away

Miami Beach up close!

After we had gone out to sea Bill and I walked up to the Sail Away party  up on the top deck

where

The Steep Canyon Rangers were playing

This band won a Grammy for their latest album this year

They also play and tour with Steve Martin

We lucked into a charter cruise where it was a Bluegrass Music Festival and 

most of the passengers had purchased expensive tickets that included shows all day and night for the 

four day trip.  We picked up an unsold room for peanuts.

We didn't have a pass to go to the bluegrass shows but did enjoy the free shows out on deck during all three Sail Aways. 

More tomorrow!

Isabella

 This is one of the new babies in our family, Little Isabella Gracie!  

I think she looks like the Gerber baby in this, her latest picture.

I am a poor example of a Great Aunt as her nice warm blankie was just mailed off today

even though she was born in the middle of July.

I love working with pinks!  

Here it is my Jeannie Beanie Bumpy Blanket folded in half and draped over my chair.

I love the pretty pink, orange and purple yarn!

The pattern didn't call for a border, but it looked unfinished to me so I added a couple 

rows of single crochet to finish it off.  

Too bad I didn't get it sent out before the cold weather hit North Carolina.  

It was finished December 8th

For the pattern CLICK HERE

Linking to

Pink Saturday

A Heigh Ho Silver and Away.

 I'm indulging Mr. Me this month. 

We took these from the guest room and brought them out for us to enjoy.

The Remington sculptures are inherited from my father in law

Not exactly a Feng Shui kind of decor but without a den they had to go somewhere!  

We have had return guests so the thundering hooves haven't disturbed anyone's sleep.

  We love the recreated vintage photos

I didn't realize I had so many!  

These were taken when my kids were quite young and we only had three.

From L.to R.  Dianne, Billy the Kid and Shelly

This is me

Mr. Mr was not into dressing up for a photo but I was willing to go it alone.

 My daughter in the above photo, Shelly

has produced these two desperado's Kyle and Kyra,

Both of whom are teenagers today

 My parents started the fad

This was about 1977

I believe it was an anniversary picture.

The holster is vintage

The rocking cowboy is a toy from the Museum Store

I may tweak it a bit with some other items I have and maybe not.


Well, I did  lower the picture so we could see the sculptures better
and I think they almost look like they are a part of the print.

What do you think?

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It's Fall In Florida

It's finally fall in Florida!  We lose leaves in the fall, specifically the Sycamore trees, but they don't turn colors.  The Oak trees and some other kinds in my neighborhood turn color in January and for just a short time.  It's the last hurrah for them and I really enjoy this bit of color.

The alternative and what is coming next is the horrific leafless Oak, with lots of dripping Spanish moss.  I have several trees in my yard and I feel like my house is in the middle of a haunted grave yard.... but no graves.  It can be really creepy sometimes.



Now....

I had to write this up as Mr Me was telling me the story my jaw kept dropping....

A Good Samaritan Story from Florida:

Highway 19 in Florida is infamous. If it was just crazy with traffic populated by senior citizens on the edge of losing their licenses, that would be enough to handle but that is just the beginning. In addition to the seniors are vacationers that do not have any idea of the traffic patterns. We have U turns everywhere and a surprising number of pedestrians along this busy five lane highway. Then we have the people who ride bikes, trikes, homemade vehicles, and motorized scooters along the sandy uneven surface of the roadside. It is the latter vehicle that this story is about. The scooter people. 

To read the rest: CLICK HERE

Coming home from North Carolina I saw new yellow blooms

and a pot full of red begonias by my front porch.  

Life is good.

Linking to

Show Me What You Got
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Treasure Hunt Thursday

Lunch in Cozumel at La Candela

While off the main street at Cozumel

we were implored by a street vendor to come into his shop but we were ready to eat lunch.

He promised to show us a great restaurant if we would come back and shop.

We agreed!

It looked fine!

Even more than fine when we got inside!

This courtyard was so unexpected.

I was charmed by the homemade step

into the dining area.

My sisters listening to the waiter....

And then noticing me!

It was warm and rainy but the breeze was cool.  These fans were wonderful.

The high ceiling helped as well.

The lovely room was painted Ruby Tuesday and Monday Mellow Yellow

It was a shock to realize after we ordered that the menu was partially in English...

Spanish on the left, and English on the opposite side.

That sounds odd that we wouldn't notice 

until you realize the food names are the same in English and Spanish.

Choices, choices!  

Instead of my usual ice water....My beverage was errr...a little more colorful

The chips came with a hot cheesy Salsa that was wonderful!

The dining was open air with a charming view.

Because we didn't drink the water, we ordered beer.  But Patty ordered tea.

It was only later that we remembered that tea begins as water.....oops!

Mom is game for anything, even a hike to an unfamiliar restaurant.

She turned 85 the day before.

Wow! Look at that guac!!

I ordered Grilled Fish Tacos.  To die for!

Served on pretty blue and white plates.

Yes?  I'll take three!

Patty and the waiter, David discovered they shared 

a birthday on Dec 24.  A picture had to be taken

of course with all the December birthday people!  The waiter loved us.

Soon the chef came out to see us after hearing how we were swooning

over the delicious meal.  We make friends everywhere, haha! 

Everything was first class...even hand crafted napkin holders..

Here is a map for those who travel to Cozumel.  

You do not want to miss this restaurant!

Now I've spilled the beans,  you can see we weren't that far off the beaten track.

OLE' !!!!

Linking to:

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Beautiful Sunday

Monday Mellow Yellows

Blue Monday

A January Thrifting Trip

Mom and I went to lunch and stopped in to a nearby thrift store.  We haven't done anything together since the cruise last month because I've been gone.  We had a very nice afternoon!

I don't usually buy Pyrex even though I love it because I don't have room

but this bowl was deep with steep sides and I just had to have it.

Especially on half price day!

$2.99

 Our Black Lab, Gracie might have to be jealous of this new

addition to the family.  She stands about 6" tall and is solid, maybe clay?  It's very heavy.

The figurine is darker than the photo shows.  No markings on the bottom, but it's professionally felted.

$2.99

 I love these rocks because they have a purpose.  They are good coffee coasters while looking beautiful

on the table.  $1.25 each

Forget the iced drinks.  They sweat too much and there is zero absorption.

I'm not sure what possessed me to leave all my little house books behind when I moved, especially my three

library hardback copies.  But I've been without a LIW book for 2 1/2 years now and I suddenly

wanted to reread this one.  Especially since I have actually danced on this very spot.  

 Inside the book, it's exactly like my library copies so it will be a fun reread

$..99

Linking to:

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Winter Jam 2014

Winter Jam 2014 was amazing!  We went to the first show of the tour in Raleigh NC and everyone was pumped including the artists!  The electricity in the air was insane!

I have some great tips here  Yahoo Voices: Winter Jam 2014  if you are planning on seeing the
show in your city.

After the show Kyra got her CD's autographed by Newsboys

We went to the PNC Arena in Raleigh NC 

It was $10.00 a ticket and first come first served.  

LeCrae 

Quite a popular Christian rapper

Tenth Avenue North

My favorite group of the night

This is the front man singing right in front of us! 

Plum

She did a nice job.  I liked the first song best

The lead singer from Newsboys was all over the arena in this cherry picker.  

This is the picture that was painted during one song.  The artist is Jared Emerson 

It was very exciting to watch it come together.  

They sold it to the highest bidder for a local Charity in Raleigh

Here is a link to all the performing artists

I had a lot of trouble with my camera and even loading pictures.  They all wanted 

to go sideways.  I have a new laptop and I just haven't figured it out yet!  Weak!

I hope you have clicked on my tips!

I went specifically to see Colton Dixon of American Idol fame.  He was wonderful and all that talent!

But I can't show any of the pictures I took as all my pictures were bad, bad, bad.  

But, again Colton Dixon was great!  He opened the show and it was so fun to see him.

I have copied the complete schedule of the 48 shows below

Yes! 

 It is a 3 hour, $10.00 Christian concert

coming to your town soon!!

Linking with

Share your cup Thursday

Ivy and Elephants

DATE	LOCATION	VENUE
Store	01/03/2014	Raleigh, NC	PNC Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/04/2014	Charleston, WV	Charleston Civic Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/05/2014	Charlotte, NC	Time Warner Cable Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/09/2014	Mobile, AL	Mitchell Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/10/2014	Jacksonville, FL	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/11/2014	Tampa, FL	Tampa Bay Times Forum	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/12/2014	Chattanooga, TN	McKenzie Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/16/2014	Reading, PA	Santander Arena (f. Sovereign Center)	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/17/2014	State College, PA	Bryce Jordan Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/18/2014	Columbus, OH	Schottenstein Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/19/2014	St. Louis, MO	Scottrade Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/23/2014	Grand Rapids, MI	Van Andel Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/24/2014	Louisville, KY	Freedom Hall	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/25/2014	Champaign, IL	State Farm Center (f. Assembly Hall)	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/26/2014	Peoria, IL	Peoria Civic Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/30/2014	Evansville, IN	The Ford Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	01/31/2014	Kansas City, MO	Sprint Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/01/2014	Oklahoma City, OK	Chesapeake Energy Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/07/2014	Greenville, SC	Bon Secours Wellness Arena (f. BI-LO Center)	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/08/2014	Atlanta, GA	Georgia Dome	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/09/2014	Birmingham, AL	BJCC Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/13/2014	Augusta, GA	James Brown Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/14/2014	Knoxville, TN	Thompson-Boling Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/15/2014	Greensboro, NC	Greensboro Coliseum	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/16/2014	Norfolk, VA	Scope Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/21/2014	Cincinnati, OH	U.S. Bank Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/22/2014	Detroit, MI	Joe Louis Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/23/2014	Cleveland, OH	Wolstein Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/27/2014	Tupelo, MS	BancorpSouth Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	02/28/2014	North Little Rock, AR	Verizon Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/01/2014	Wichita, KS	INTRUST Bank Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/02/2014	Memphis, TN	FedExForum	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/05/2014	Ft. Worth, TX	Ft. Worth Convention Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/06/2014	Springfield, MO	JQH Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/07/2014	Bossier City, LA	CenturyLink Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/08/2014	Houston, TX	Toyota Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/09/2014	Tulsa, OK	BOK Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/13/2014	Fayetteville, NC	Crown Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/14/2014	Columbia, SC	Colonial Life Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/15/2014	Lexington, KY	Rupp Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/16/2014	Nashville, TN	Bridgestone Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/20/2014	Ft. Wayne, IN	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/21/2014	Pittsburgh, PA	CONSOL Energy Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/22/2014	Indianapolis, IN	Bankers Life Fieldhouse	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/23/2014	Madison, WI	Coliseum at Alliant Energy Center	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/28/2014	Des Moines, IA	Wells Fargo Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/29/2014	Hoffman Estates, IL	Sears Centre Arena	RSVP	Tweet
Store	03/30/2014	Omaha, NE	Omaha Civic Auditorium	RSVP	Tweet

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