WAITING AT THE AIRPORT

To begin the adventure.

To find blue skies. 

Howie, me and Shelby. (Friends daughter)

Let the cruise adventure begin!!!

I NEVER GO ANYWHERE!

I don't get out much.

Well, except for January when Howie and I flew to Phoenix for a couple of days.

To see these two sassy people.

Oh, and then there was a trip to Georgia/Florida.


I got to hang out with Gigi.
My twin.
Not really, but she shoulda been.

I just love her.

The memory of that trip isn't complete without mentioning the Atlanta Airport.
And the slight "layover"....of 26 hours. (but who was counting?)

And the light at the end of the tunnel of 26 hours in the Atlanta Airport was this:

 And some serious fun!

So I guess I have gone somewhere!

But even better!!!!

I'm going on a cruise!
Me!
Using my passport for the first time EVER!!!!

I'm a little excited.

And scared.

8 days with my sweetheart!
No phones.
SaWEET!

Going with MORE good friends Nita and Mike.

I work with Nita.
She keeps me sane.

Western Caribbean Cruise baby!
It's gonna be fun.

I'm the luckiest girl ever!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM

I'm braggin' here.

My Mother-in-Love is 94!

Mom in the chair.
From left to right...
Betty, Mary, Howard, Scott, Karen, Sharon

She's an amazing woman.
Full of faith.

She lost her husband 36 years ago.
She's buried 4 of her 10 children.
She's had more than her share of heartache and trial.
But she's never lost her faith in God.

She loves her family.
And we are all sort of proud of her!
She has been such an example to ALL of her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and
great-great grandchildren.

"WE JUST LOVE YOU!"

HEAVEN GAINED ONE OF THE BEST

David Byington.

A wonderful husband, father, grandfather, son and brother.

Heaven won on September 29, 2014.

Dave will be one of their best.

Such a tender moment to see the family loving and supporting
one another.
Knowing that this life will be different.

Lonely.

For a time.


But there will be a joyous reunion.
And the heartache and the tears will be replaced.

I'm so thankful for that surety and knowledge.

Priceless Wisdom

Turn away from the crowd and its fruitless pursuit of fame and gold.
Never look back as you close your door to the sorry tumult of greed and ambition.
Wipe away your tears of failure and misfortune.
Lay asisde your heavy load and rest until your heart is still.

Be at peace.
Already it is later than you think, for your earthly life, at best, it's only the blink of an eye between two eternities.

Be unafraid.
Nothing here can harm you except yourself.
Do that which you dread and cherish those victories with pride.

Concentrate your energy.
To be everywhere is to be nowhere.
Be jealous of your time, since it is your greatest treasure.

Reconsider your goals.
Before you set your heart too much on anything, examine how happy they are who already possess what you desire.

Love your family and count your blessings.
Reflect on how eagerly they would be sought if you did not have them.

Put aside your impossible dreams and complete the task at hand no matter how distasteful.
All great achievements come from working and waiting.

Be patient.
God's delays are never God's denials.
Hold on.
Hold fast.
Know that your paymaster is always near.

What you sow, good or evil, that will you reap.
What you are is through your choice alone.

Learn to live with honest poverty, if you must, and turn to more important matters than transporting gold to your grave.


Never meet trouble halfway.
Anxiety is the rust of life, when you add burdens to today's, their weight becomes unbearable.
Avoid the mourner's bench and give thanks instead, for your defeats.
You would not receive them if you did not need them.

Always learn from others.
He who teaches himself has a fool for a master.

Be careful.
Do not overload your conscience.
Conduct your life as if it were spent in an arena filled with tattlers.

Avoid boasting.
If you see anything that puff you with pride, look close and you will find more than enough to make you humble.

Be wise.
Realize that all men are not created equal, for there is no equality in nature, yet no man was ever born whose work was not born with him.

Work every day as if it was your first, yet tenderly treat the lives you touch as if they will end at midnight.
Love everyone, even those who deny you, for hate is a luxury you cannot afford.
Seek out those in need. Learn that he who delivers with one hand will always gather with two.

Be of good cheer.

Above all, remember that very little is needed to make a happy life.
Look up.
Reach out.
Cling simply to God and journey quietly on your pathway to forever with charity and a smile.

When you depart, it will be said by all that your legacy was a better world than the one you found.

                                                                                                           Credenda Og Mandino

I WAS NOT GOING TO CAN!

I am tired.

I am busy. 

I feel overwhelmed. 

Cam and Guen wanted help canning peaches. 

So we canned 3 boxes of peaches for them. 

And 20 pounds of chicken. 

It is sooooo convenient to have on hand. 

Then I decided I needed to can. 

So I did 3 boxes of peaches. 

48 quarts of deliciousness. 

I love seeing rows and rows of peaches. 

Even better is eating those yummy treats. 

But I wasn't done. 

No.

 I didn't have enough of a mess in canning season. 

I needed to can beets just to make it super messy. 

And then 40 pounds of chicken. 

Because I wanted some of that delicious convenience too. 

Delicious for curry soup, enchiladas, chicken soup, chicken salad......

Love canned chicken. 

Now I am canning chicken soup. But I don't use it like that. 

I make a gravy when I open one of these jars and make a Chicken Pot Pie. 

Super yum!

We reorganized a space for all of this. 

It has been so nice to have it easily accessible instead of under beds, in closets and behind the couch. 

I might be done canning.....maybe. 

FLORIDA

I still can't believe I was able to have such an amazing vacation!

After leaving Brunswick, Georgia
and spending 26 hours in the Atlanta airport....

I made it to Florida.

Three days of beaches!

And ocean.

Beautiful sunsets.

And amazing friends!

Diane, me and Rebecca

Enjoying the pier on Navarre Beach

These were our hosts.

Gary and Cortney.

Cortney is due any day with their first baby.

Cortney is Diane's daughter.

They were so kind and patient.

Imagine having your home invaded by 3 middle-aged women.

Yikes.

The sand was so warm and beautiful.

I'll need to remember this day in January.

Diane feeding the gulls.

It was a blast!

GEORGIA Home of the Southern Belles

I'm home now.

Stuff hanging from these enormous trees.

Gigi says it's all over.

Kind of amazing.

Pretty sure all scary movies have this hanging from the trees. 

Very wicked looking.

While there we toured a plantation.

I loved learning about its history.

The trees just fascinated me.

All of the furnishings and everything is exactly like it was.

The China is beautiful.

Hi Gigi!

We went to St. Simon's Island.

I can't remember what Gigi said this building used to be but

I loved the colors and textures.

A row of trees.

It would be scary to walk through here on Halloween. 

Snapped Gigi in front of this viney stuff and grows on trees.

Then we climbed up the lighthouse.

I had never seen a lighthouse before.

Isn't she just the cutest!?!

The view of the ocean from the top of the lighthouse.

The view to the bottom of the lighthouse.

Gigi the tour guide!

We also had lunch with this lady.

Miss Ella.

I work with Miss Ella's niece.

It was an interesting coincidence Gigi and I discovered several years ago.

I blogged about the discovery four years ago.

Wow. We've known each other for a longer time than that.

Blogging is amazing.

Really bad blurry cell phone picture of the three of us.

Miss Ella is the sassiest 80 year old I've ever met.

Apparently you can't visit the south without having true Southern food.

Harry and Travis and Harrison and Gigi's dad fixed a true Southern delicacy.

Low Country Boil.

Potatoes, corn on the cob, Sausage and shrimp boiled in a pot with 

special cajun seasoning.

Uhm. Yum!

I didn't get a picture of that.

Apparently I was too busy eating.

Shrimp.

Best food ever.

We fed the missionaries.

They really enjoyed it.

They had been doing a service project just before they came over.

There was massive amounts of food.

But we all managed to make a large dent in it.

This was my room at Gigi's.

She and Harry made me feel so welcome. 

It was the best time ever!

I'll never be able to say thanks enough for such an amazing time.

26 HOURS!!!!!

After my little Southern Belle Gigi dropped me off at the airport I went to my gate and waited to get to Phase 2 of this getaway.

And then it started to rain. 

Not like cats and dogs rain. 

More like elephants. 

After 3 or 4 delays they finally cancelled the flight. 

This was the stampede to reschedule. 

Yikes. 

I got rescheduled to fly out the next day. 

At 1:30 in the afternoon. 

Yikes. 

I called Howie panicked. 

He is also traveling for work.  

He said to catch a shuttle and go to a hotel. 

My daughter told me to rent a car and drive to Pensacola. 

I couldn't. 

The thought of doing the whole get back to the airport thing was more than I could  cope with. 

And no way was I going to drive.

I live I Idaho. 

Nothing more than two lanes on the interstate. 

Besides there were no cars to rent. 

So I stayed. 

And wandered. 

Thank goodness for my blanket. 

"Travis Griffis you saved me"

Thank goodness for my pillow. 

And my floor covering. 

In the morning I attempted to get on 2 different  flights on standby. 

No go. 

So after 26 hours in Atlanta's airport 

And an hour on the Tarmac I finally got in the air. 

If I ever see that airport again it will be too soon. 

And then finally.....

Ocean!!!!!

I have never swam in the ocean until this moment. 

I have found bliss.