A Day Of Shopping

Last week, me and my son and brother-in-law got off the mountain and took a drive to the city for the day.  It was a day of shopping, lunch, exploring, and fun.  The drive was nice this time for me, as my brother-in-law drove, and I was able to take pictures of the scenery, even from the inside of his truck.

A little further down the highway, we could see the Trinity Alps in the distance.  I didn't realize how high the Trinity Alps were, with an elevation of 9,001 ft.  They say that it's a spectacular, rugged, and wild terrain. 

We got into the city, and we went to all the main shops.  I remember having all these shops close by in my old town, but here in the mountains, we don't have nearly as much shopping, so I was very excited.  Our first stop was my favorite, Target.  I bought the grandgirls a little something and will give it to them when I visit soon.

While me and my son went inside Target and looked around, my brother-in-law went to the grocery store for a few things he needed.  He ended up buying me a bunch of groceries too.

The next stop was the Mall.  It wasn't too crowded, and it was a delight to go into See's Candies and pick out all my favorite pieces.  I found a coffee cup at the mall, and it reminded me of my Polish cup that broke, and I never replaced it.

The next stop was Kohl's, and I bought a mint green sweater.  They have all the Winter sales going on, but we still have a couple months of cold weather, so I was glad to find something soft and warm to wear for awhile.

It was time for lunch, and we went to a Wood Fired Pizza place.  Since it is the beginning of the Lent season, I couldn't eat meat that day, so I got a personal veggie pizza with a Greek salad.  Everything was so good.

The highlight of my day was coming out of the pizza place and seeing a red rose petal right next to my brother-in-law's truck along the curb.

Well, we were just about to leave and head back, when I saw it - the best craft store around, so, of course, I had to stop there first.  It's been so long since I've been inside a Michaels store, and I didn't buy anything, but it was sure fun looking.  World Market was right next to it, so we went in there as well.

We brought home a lot of goodies from our shopping day, but it seemed like mine were mostly foods haha.

It was the best day, and I'm grateful to my brother-in-law for driving us there.  I want to do that more often, as we aren't too far from the city.  When we were driving home, we noticed the snowflakes were starting to fall.   And the next day, we were hit with a pretty big snow.

Today and tomorrow we are in for a big snow also, and they say it will be blizzard conditions, oh my.

~Sheri  

Wordless Wednesday

Here in blog land, we have something called "Wordless Wednesday."  I've always wanted to participate, but never have.  We're supposed to share a photo with no words, and from what I've seen on other blogs, they are unusual and wonderful photos, and just different.  So from time to time, I will be doing a Wordless Wednesday.  I'm saying a few words here for the first time, but in the future, I will just post a picture.

~Sheri 

Ridiculous Rules

It was a really bad day.  I had missed a scheduled dental appt., and I called to cancel, but was supposed to call 24 hours prior, so before I could make another appt., I had to do what was called a "stand by," which means that I had to come in for four hours early in the morning or later in the afternoon, just sit there, and not be seen that day.  I told them I didn't call 24 hrs. before, cause there was something that came up last minute that I had to take care of.  She apologized, but I had to do the hours anyways.  This isn't just a dental office - the doctor's office is connected, and there are people coming and going all day.  But I was relieved that this particular day wasn't too busy.  So, for four hours, I sat there impatiently waiting.  Thankfully, I had a National Geographic magazine that my blog friend, Mariette, sent me.....good reading material.  When I was ready to go, I asked her for a receipt showing I did the hours, and she said they don't print out receipts, but they do log it in the computer.  I said, "then I need a note saying I fulfilled the hours.  I'm not doing this again."  So she gave me one.  Oh, mankind, and his/her attempt to try to make things better, but often only make things worse.  When I'm consumed with the shallowness of others, I have to retreat to nature and become balanced again.

And I need color in my life!

And Chinese food at least once a month. ; )

There is a restaurant in town that has a few paintings on the outside of the building.  I think the artist is talented, and did a nice job on them.

Remember Mia's cat, Felix?  Well, they soon discovered that he was a girl.  They wanted to keep the name Felix, but decided to change it to Cleo.  She is settling in, and Mia just loves her.

~Sheri

Out With The Old, In With The New

I've been going through stuff and organizing, and I had about four items that I donated to the antique shop in town.  Since I gave away a few things, it's always fun to get something new, so I went to visit my friend, a, at the home shop.  I could browse in this shop for a long time, it's so charming.  I bought some purple ornaments for Easter, which I'll show later, and always a huckleberry dark chocolate bar.

My Valentine loves.

Nel and Mia have been sick lately with bad colds, and Mia made them both some tea with berries and rocks.  Such a sweet child.

I have been watching the episodes of The Chosen.  It is about the life and happenings of Jesus and His Disciples.  Jonathan Roumie plays Jesus, and he does an excellent job with every season.  I think the show has something for everyone, and I deeply connected with some of the episodes.  I just finished the third season, and looking forward to season 4 when it comes out.

  I came across this photo the other day of my niece, Katie.  It's my favorite picture of her as a child.  She's 33 now, but I think she looks a little like Francesca here.

I went to breakfast with my brother-in-law last week.  It's always nice when he comes into town and we can have a visit.  He brought me some red velvet cookies too.

Felix isn't that sweet little kitty anymore haha.

A person's most useful asset

is not a head full of knowledge,

but a heart full of love,

an ear ready to listen,

and a hand willing to help others.

~Kotaku Wamura

We had a little sunshine, but we are supposed to get rain and snow later this month.  Actually, January and February are the coldest months here.

Happy Valentine's Day.

~Sheri

Get To Know Your Blog Friends

My dear blog friend, Billie Jo, at Afternoon Coffee and Evening Tea, did a post recently, Get To Know Your Blog Friends.  She suggested that we do the same on our blogs, so here are a few things you may not know about me.

*My mom named me Sherry, and somehow when I was younger, I got it in my head to change the spelling to Sheri because I liked that better.  I've had that ever since.

*I hate ripped jeans.  I cringe when I see women wearing them.

*I am fiercely protective of my children and grandchildren.  Like a lion.  And to this day, I want to confront the people who hurt them through the years and give them a piece of my mind.

*I love early mornings, sunrises, and the first cup of coffee.

*I don't like layers - layers in clothes, layers in blankets, layers of accessories, you get it.

*I used to be a teacher's aide, and I would sometimes work in the special ed classes when needed.

*I have a dreadful fear of mice.  I don't know where it came from or when it started, but I think that's the reason I don't like any rodents, including squirrels.

*I used to be a great speller as a child.  And even made it all the way to the Invitational Spelling Bee, which many schools in the area participated in.  I still have that little certificate.  My mom kept it with all my keepsakes.  

*I got a small tattoo on the upper part of my back (only because my son asked me to).  So, one day him and his friend went along with me to watch and chuckle while I foolishly got the tattoo.  There's not much that I won't do for my kids.  I don't regret it, as it's a sweet hummingbird.

*My mom was going to name me Cookie.  Thank goodness she came to her senses and decided on Sheri.  Wait, there's more.....she was going to name my sister Candy.

*I used to bite my nails.  Still do, at times.  Used to drive my dad crazy, and he would always try to get me to stop.

Well, there you go.  Thank you, Billie Jo, for suggesting this.  It's nice to get to know our blog friends a little more.

I'll leave you with a cake that Nel made recently.  Isn't it the prettiest cake?

Do visit Billie Jo's blog sometime.  It truly is a delight.   Afternoon Coffee And Evening Tea

~Sheri