HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHA-CHA!!!

Today is your special day sweet daughter in law and want you to know how much you're loved today and every dingle dangle day!!!  Even tho you won't ever let me take your pic...I can still find some here and there to document this fun day for you!!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

this was two of my crazy daughter in laws entertaining us with some of their shenanigans!!!! with one of them being the birthday girl!!

A best friend to laugh with, to cry with, to have long fun dinners with, to shop with, to make strange cocktails with......but mostly, a best friend to love!!!

Mom and her mini clone headed out to the Taylor Swift concert!!

She's the best mom in all the land and aunt to her nieces and nephews and she's pretty special to her brother in laws and Cap'n too!!!!

If this isn't the truth, then I don't know what is!!!!

I love ya Rachel more than you'll ever know 💔💓💓

Me & You Forever!!!

YAY for May because it's the month God gave us YOU!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET CHA-CHA

we love you everso!!!!

BEACH A RAMA.....con't....

now....where were we?????  Oh yeah.  GOOD TIMES!!

the walkway to the beach from the house...

and look what I found almost buried in my yard -- an old beat up soccer ball, which I claimed to be a sign!  Since I was staying here a good bit of time alone, I decided this to be my Wilson (movie Castaway) and I needed it up on the porch to keep me company!!

So, the boyfriend arrived on my first day at rental with my car and my dog!!  And he stayed a week!!

He would bring  PoppyPearl to the beach in her stroller where she would sit all day with us and never bark or be a bad puppy!  She loved being with us and smelling all the smells of the ocean..

and he bought me flowers to make my house a "home"!!

I changed out the flowers every week too!!

as I mentioned in previous post, he brought lots of good food  AND he cooked it too!!!!

We had a lovely week just relaxing and chillin'!

He flew out on Monday and two girlfriends showed up on Wednesday!!

Waiting for sunset!

after spending the days on the beach and getting the sand washed off....we just sat and talked and laughed and snacked on appetizers and good meals!  And watched movies!  SO nice....

Before I knew it, they were packing up at the end of the weekend to go home....😞

It was such a lovely time with very good friends....a memory maker!

So, now I was on my own!  Sunrises....

and rides every morning thru the neighborhood with my sidekick!

as well as having my lil girl share the beach with me every day!

I had all sorts of plans to do things in town...there were several festivals  that I thought I'd go to while I was there and was going to visit some plant nurseries...BUT....I never did!!  I was so enjoying the solitude of the beach. Reading books and napping in the shade of the umbrella.  People watching.

And my most important job?????  Searching and collecting cool shells for a lil project I have in mind to do with the grandchirren!!

In other words???  Just plain lazy and lovin' it!

Now, I have a little story to tell because it was very special to me and I want to always have a vivid memory of this time.

When I was a little girl back in the early 60's, my daddy worked at an architectural firm and that firm owned a house in Pensacola.  Each member of that firm got to use the house for a week in the summer. And oh....what wonderful memories I have of those weeks at the beach!  The house was on the bay side which, back in the day, was right across the street from the gulf.  We spent every day on the beach but my daddy loved the quiet wonder of the bay.  There was a long pier right behind our house where he would put out his crab nets and every morning right after sunrise, he would check his nets. He always had netfuls!  He would bring them in and begin to steam them.  Everyday.  Any time you walked thru that house there would be a tableful of steamed crabs ready for anyone at anytime to sit down and enjoy!  I will never forget the smell of the house everyday....the wonderful smell of freshly steamed crabs!!!

Not long ago, my brother was in contact with the owner of the house and asked about it. Was it still there?  Street name? We didn't get much info except that the house had been torn down due to erosion and of course, now there are huge homes built there.  But we did find out the name of the street.

And guess what?????  It was a mere 2 blocks from the house I was staying in....

On one of  mine and Poppy's bike rides, I met a man who was still living in his house on the same street since 1963!!  He told me so much of the history of this area and how the changes are rampant. Which he was not very happy about!

But I was in the same vicinity of where our old house used to be!  And we found a small walkway into the bay which was right beside one of the old piers!!

As I was sitting there in awe...I noticed the crab net at the end of this pier.  And it just so happened to be the anniversary of my daddy's death....May 3...32 yrs ago!!!  And while I was so happy to be sharing this memory with ms. pearl....I looked down and look what I saw!!!

Well......I mean....I'm just saying...

Needless to say, this stop was on our ride every morning until I left!!!!!

SO COOL!!!!

I had 7 days before Cap'n came back for the last week....

Truer words never spoken!!

On one of our last nights there, we witnessed the Flower Moon.  It was glorious shining a bright orange over the calm, flat waters of the gulf of mexico.  I tried to capture it with my phone 

but Cap'n used a long exposure to get the full effect....

Breathtaking....it was!!!!

Before I could even gather all my thoughts and feelings, the time came to depart.  How could that be? It seems as tho I'd only been in heaven on earth for just a few days....and yet, now it was back to reality.

BEACH A RAMA...APRIL 1 - MAY 8, 2023!!

 My, how time flies when you're having fun, eh??!!!!  Seemed like a whirlwind but I made sure to stop, look at everything around me, smell all the smells and appreciate every dingle dangle minute of my time away!!  And made a mental memory of so many things....

The trip began on a Saturday when one of the 3 amigos and I flew out to Destin.  The other one and the owner of the home that we always stay at, gulf side, had already gone down a few days ahead of us.

Of course, making use of our layover time with Bloody Salads!!

Of course, the beach and the water there NEVER disappoint...

And as always, lots of good cocktails and food!!

The ice cream man even strolled the beach one day where all the kids gathered round!

On a cloudy day these 3 ventured into town for lunch a wee bit of shopping!!  FUN!

Sadly, only one week after this time together, one of the amigos had to have emergency bypass surgery 😞

It was tough being so far away from her but there was nothing I could do if I was there. She was in ICU for a while and got to be home 2 weeks later. Thank the good Lord above that she is recovering and hopefully will be good as new (or better) shortly.  Sharing this news only to document it for the blog.

Now, while all this fun was being had....lil miss priss was at home with her dad, of course going to work with him every day!!

After our 7 day stint in paradise, we started trickling out....one flying home on the day before Easter, 

one flying out the day after Easter and then there was me!!

I was headed to Pensacola for the next month!

So, one amigo drove me there from Destin and dropped me at the Shrimp Basket!! To wait for the boyfriend to get there with my car and ms. poppypearl!!  Needless to say, it was a great reunion..

...and we headed to the house I'd rented right on the Gulf of Mexico!!  And oh so lovely it was..!

Oh My!!!! just going back thru these pics is making me smile BIG TIME and already kinda wish I was back there!!!

the boyfriend liked the views from our room!!

this was a covered patio area right outside our room with a sweet area to eat!

and a larger patio area that extended across the back of house

there was a 4th bedroom that I guess I didn't get a pic of   😕

view of backyard from the back balcony!

It was a perfect house for us...not too big, not too small!

It was in the cutest lil neighborhood that Poppy and I rode our bike all over every morning and took long walks in late evening after sunset (cuz you know where I was at sunset-on the beach!!)

the first order of business on arrival day was to stroll the beach!!

(yes my children....your dad took walks on the beach with me!!!)

and did I mention that he came loaded with lots of good stuff to cook....steaks, tuna, salmon, shrimp.....fresh spinach and onions from the garden!

MY beach!!! on first day..

pretty much my view for the next 30 days!!!

what more could I want?????!!!!

Will be back for more in a bit.....I have so many pics that I'll never get thru all of them!