I spy something......GREEN!!

After two full weeks of bright sunshine and warm temps, things are starting to green up for Spring!!!! And it is a glorious site!!

But let me tell you the story behind this pretty lil strip of green grass! My middle boy came to the house and planted this area of grass for my deer to eat. We had a dry fall and it didn't grow alot but with all the gorgeous weather we've had, it is going crazy. And my deer are loving it....most afternoons there are 10 gathered around chowing down. Haven't gotten a pic yet but plan to soon! You can see from the next pic that not all the yard grass has come back yet, but thanks to my son taking the time to do this for me............my yard deer are eatin' in high cotton right now.....that would be "green" high cotton!!!

mm..mm...good!

We had fun last night! Watched a lil bit of the Oscars and did a whole lot of solving the problems of the world! Just ask us!! I liked the grits and grillades...and the banana nut bread!

And the Oscar goes to.....

who cares??!!! I've only seen one of the nominated movies but that doesn't mean it's not fun to watch the glitz and glamour! So...............some of the peeps will be coming over to watch it with me and that means, well....you know. FOOD! and vino!! I always use them for my guinea pigs for new recipes so tomorrow, we'll be having grits and grillades(a new recipe), salad and some good ol' fashioned banana nut bread.......with a flambe amaretto, banana and strawberry sauce. Yum. Why? Cuz I had this lying around the kitchen getting rotten! So......... Back tomorrow with pics of finished dishes!!! Until then........

Reflecting on Inner Peace

Not hard to do in this spot:

with this little girl sitting with me:

watching this go by:

and seeing this before it was time to go back to the house!

"As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery… we have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion, while love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace and happiness." - Dalai Lama

Going to Print!

I have finally gotten my blob ready to print for the year. As most of you know, I print out my blob in book form every year, including all posts from January 1-December 31. I have 4 copies made; one for me to read while I'm in my rocking chair at my tropical, all-inclusive assisted living home....(hear and read that kids??) and one for each of them to read and remember all the cool things we do as a family. To hopefully share with my grandchildren as a way to cherish all things yaya and cap'n!! So, at times when you wonder why exactly I am "chattering" on and on about such trivial things like what we ate or who came over for a party......it's for posterity!!

Here's the cover of this year's book!!

A little more goofy than last yrs book....
...but that's how I roll. The more yrs I add to my belt, the goofier I get! What can I say?????

OLE!!!

Last night, the newlyweds to be, were given a Mexican Fiesta party by Hailey's mom and dad's friends....and it was SO much fun!! So many people, to die-for mexican food, margaritas, a beautifully decorated home, laughter and hugs from old school friends back together again and just plain ol' love!!! Oh.........and did I mention the cutest couple in the world?!!

Lots of "loot" and hostess gifts!
Our niece and her brand new husband of 2 weeks! and yes, that's a Hawaiin tan they have!!

Our kids are so blessed to be surrounded by so much love, family and friends!!

And I got to have even more fun on Sunday when they opened all of their gifts!!!

HitchHikers and Beggars!

Blew Bayou is resting at Conch Harbor marina in Key West, while the cap'n and his lil buddy participate in a sailboat racing school. They race almost every Sunday during the summer here on a lake closeby in a J-22 sailboat, so they're off learning a lil bit more about being the first to cross that finish line!!

This is a lil hitchhiker that has been trying to ride on the side of the boat enroute to the marina!

And many of this guy's buddies were trying to fight and beg for their dinner......see the arrow? that's the skeleton of the fish being cleaned and thrown overboard!

But when all rides are taken and all dinners are eaten, it always comes back to the sunsets viewed from Mallory Square in Key West.................one of the most beautiful sunset places in the whole US of A!!

...Sigh....Pure Bliss!

A Valentine Birthday Boy!

Happy 25th Birthday Babyboy!! ~a lifetime that has passed before my eyes, leaving memories that that have warmed my heart forever, of a little boy who has grown into a strong, independent and caring man! ~~ I love him everso.Um......and valentine? be mine??!!!!

Long travel day .... just wanted to share pics!

My story: I found this guy...perfect in every way and I was SO excited to find it.......but.......when I turned it over, I saw a lil critter inside so I knew I had to put him back. I know from scuba diving how important it is to not disturb the reefs and my blogging buds have taught me how important it is to NEVER take a shell that's still occupied by its owner, so back to the water he went. BUT!!! Not 10 minutes later, I found an even better, bigger, just as perfect guy just like this one that was empty!!!! Karma. I tell ya. You take care of the seas and they give it right back to you!! Will take a pic of that one when I unpack...
Just look at the beauty of this pile of shells being blasted by the waves over the rocks!

The shell master...or either one of those weird birds!!

Blind Pass...the area between Sanibel and Captiva Island.

My boyfriend got me flowers at one of the restaurants we were at.....Pare them with a few shells for a perfect Valentine......he's mine!!

SCORE!!!!! Shell Day! Sanibel & Captiva Florida!

Oh My!! Never. Never...and I've been to a fair amount of beaches, have I seen the shells like I've seen on this trip!! Yeah, babeee............shell heaven! If I lived around this, I would spend everyday, hours upon hours, just digging thru the shell piles. So therapeutic.....seriously. Walking miles of beach with the ocean purring in your ear, looking down upon nothing but God's glory, sometimes just smilin', sometimes jumping up and down cuz you found a really cool one.....thinking of nothing else. Literally. Not. One. Thing. in your brain because all you wanna do is find the most beautiful ones. And what's beautiful to me may be only so-so to another. That's the beauty of shelling.........to each his/her own!!!! I swear, my blood pressure went down and my arteries opened up with no cholesterol in them while walking that beach and filling up my bag!! I didn't get to meet up with Pam at I Love Shelling or Kaybe at The Essential Beachcomber, but I did get to talk to them.....NEXT time I'm here, we are definitely going to meet, face to face......you read that, right? NEXT time. Cuz I am coming back here sometime and bringing a few 5 gallon buckets with me!!!! so.....................here is the story of my shelling day thru images!

(I WILL have one of these shell trees in my garden this summer!!)

Seriously.....photographic composition from Him above!! I had nothing to do with the feather that just so happened to land in this image! (Losing internet....will be back with more tomorrow!)

no internet access tonite...must have too many shells onboard!

Waving to all you Sanibel gals on my Boyfriend's Birfday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAP'N!! Thanks for giving me the best day evah on YOUR birthday!!

We cruised right on past ya'll today headed for Gasparilla island, where we are now. I saw your lighthouse and the bridge ya'll always talk about. Our plan is to go toward Captiva tomorrow and do some shelling...................OMG...........We went to the lighthouse here this afternoon and this is what I saw on my very first look down!! We were only here shortly and it was getting late,......not to mention COLD. what up with that? I asked the guy at the marina today why it was so cold in south Florida and he just looked at me with a dry look and says, "We can't afford to heat it anymore!" I laughed and laughed as he walked away mumbling something about the federal government!!!!!! hahahahaha....This little town of Boca Grande is precious. No condos...just pastel colored beautiful homes with sweet streets filled with beautiful flowers and very friendly people. We got a golf cart and have ridden thru the whole island, stopping when we wanted to explore. Off to the Loose Caboose, in town, for dinner tonight! The cap'n's birfday dinner...........they make their own ice cream! (that is for my kid's benefit..they know how much their dad loves his ice cream!!)

Dolphins everywhere! That's one swimming with the pelicans. We saw them all day long as we were cruising!

And because of my blogging buddies, I even knew this was a worm shell!!

So............tomorrow, we're off to Captiva where we may be docking at TweenWaters marina for the night. We plan one day at a time!! GOOD TIMES!!

Yoo-Hoo??? is she here yet?

I'm lookin' for her.......Hmmmm.....I Do see her!!

Gettin' all dolled up for her!YAY!!! The Crazy Cruisin' Chick is back on Blew Bayou.....safe and sound!! The Cap'n went out of his way to make sure my arrival was perfecto!! Boat is spic and span, sitting in lovely waters right close to Ft. Myers beach!! Which is, of course, the first thing we did Sunday afternoon.....stroll the beach so I could get that sand between my toes! aaaahhhhhh........sweet!We had such a nice afternoon yesterday walking thru this sweet town and watching loads of people play on the beach. A few brewskies in a few bars....looking for where we wanted to have dinner and watch a lil Super Bowl. This is where we ended up because of the coolest band, High Tide....they were playing outside and sounded like a mix of America, The Eagles and Sno Patrol!!!! I got their cd!!

and loved seeing this sign, because there is nothing like manatees in south Florida to make a gal happy!!

Gonna have a beach day today and tomorrow we are gonna cruise to Gasparilla Island, which is the farthest away, and work our way back, hitting Captiva and Sanibel, on the way!!