The City And All Its Perks

 Into the city I went last week to celebrate my son's birthday, and it was a fun-filled day.  We left very early in the morning, so the first stop was to get breakfast at the quaint cafe, which always serves homemade meals, and has a big bakery section.  I ordered a chocolate croissant with a cup of coffee.  It was a mega shopping day, and I got to visit all the places that I can never get to.....Target, Hobby Lobby, JC Penney, Home Goods, Michael's, and World Market.  Everything is Fall out there right now, with Hobby Lobby being my favorite this time.  I got a little wooden fox there that you will see along with the pics.  And I couldn't resist the softest cream colored pumpkin at Home Goods that I'll show you when we get closer to the Fall season.  Of course, while I was shopping at Home Goods, my son went over to Sprouts and enjoyed their variety of Sushi.  We watched the new movie, Jurassic World Rebirth.  The theatre is different now, and you have to pick your seats when paying.  As always, I indulged in popcorn with extra butter.  There's nothing like theatre popcorn.  It was an exciting movie, with some scenes leaving you on the edge of your seat.  Scarlett Johansson is such a good actress, and it was entertaining.  We tried a new Mexican Restaurant, which was really good.  The tacos and salsa had a sweetness to it, which was different.  And German chocolate cake for dessert.  The drive home was about 50 minutes, but it seemed to go by quickly.  A day in the city, and we had a blast.

  

Sweet Summer Days

Well, I often talk about my daughters here in this space, cause we share a blog, but I don't mention my son that often, and since this is his Birthday week, I thought I'd share a thing or two.  He's not just my son, we've always been very close friends.

  For those that are mothers to a son, you will know when I say that they are very different than raising daughters - in challenging ways and wonderfully delightful ways, just different.  And I'm sure you've heard about the bond between a mother and son.  He's so busy working and going to school, yet he always makes time for his mom.  I often share the meals that he whips up; he's a good cook, and he loves cajun food.  I hope this birthday week is special for him.  Happy Birthday, my son.  

July has always been a month full to the brim, and there are actually four July birthdays in my family (Nel, my son, my mother-in-law, and my son-in-law). 

I bought some more cherries at the store.  They were a bit pricey, but take a look at the size of them!

And if that wasn't enough, I picked up a cherry pie in the bakery section.  It was incredible, and can you tell cherries are my favorite fruit?

When I saw these goblets, I loved the design, the size, everything about them.  They look vintage to me.  You can use them for wine, but I put a votive candle in it instead, and it looks so pretty.

I like them so much, that I went back and got another.

My brother-in-law came in, and stopped by for a visit.  He had some things to do in town first, and brought me back some rocky road ice cream, which is one of my favs.  We had a nice talk over a hot cup of coffee and a big piece of cherry pie.

And speaking of Sons on here today, my mom had 3 sons, and my mother-in-law had 7! Isn't that amazing?

*Norman Rockwell

We've had some pretty warm summer days last week, so getting take-out was a pleasure one night.

Jess found a peaceful place to visit right in her town..... the beautiful Gardens.  It's pretty small and walkable, and they even have picnic tables to eat and rest.

   They are looking so intensely at this strange animal in front of them.

A happy week to you.

 

Neighbors With Helping Hands

 I was having a dryer issue last week, so I finally called an appliance company to come out and look at it.  The dryer coils were wearing out, so he replaced them, cleaned out all the filters, and it's getting heat now.  The cost wasn't too bad, and less than buying a new dryer.  This one is only about five years old.  

Last Monday, early in the morning, I noticed a deer across the street at my neighbor's house.  She was munching on something in the yard, maybe her roses?

Then, later in the afternoon, I saw a deer walk right past my fence in the front of my yard.  It might have been the same deer.  I will forever be amazed when I see this special animal come to my house, as I've lived in the suburbs all my life, and didn't have the pleasure of that experience.  All the pics were taken through the window because once they see my camera, they don't stay for long.

She then walked over to my neighbor's property, crossed the street to check out the dogs,

and darted back into the woods.

The trick to my Yummy tacos is deep frying the tortillas, whether they are corn or flour.

This is Nel's birthday meal.  I'm not a fish person, but everything looked delicious.  They made the salmon and rice, and then got a crawfish etoufee from the Creole restaurant in the village to go with it.

The cake was a chocolate ganache from Trader Joe's.  It was all so good!

This picture shouts "summer" to me.

Nel took Mia to the beach to look for sea shells, and explore.  I think these shells are muscles.

And some home pics.  I gave many of my tea cups away, except a couple special ones that Nel brought back from her travels to Boston.  They were too small to drink out of, and I want to get a couple new ones from Home Goods when I go there this Fall.

And my new little item, because even when others cast a shadow over our heads, I hope to always love.

I have good neighbors here.  We have been talking a lot this week, and they are always lending a helping hand.  We got new bright green garbage containers, and my neighbor came over and took my old ones and hauled them away.  My other next door neighbor told me about Watch Duty that alerts you of the wildfires that are in the area, and gives updates on them.  These are little deeds coming from neighbors with helping hands. When I look back, I've had pretty good neighbors in all the homes I've lived in, but there were a few exceptions.  I remember one neighbor's Chihuahua that used to bark constantly when her people were at work all day.  I was not pleased about that at all.  Then, there was the house across the street with neighbors who literally lived in their front yard.  They would sit on chairs in their driveway and stare; made me uncomfortable. 😕  We had friendly and nice neighbors too.  When we moved to the two-story housing subdivision, there was the attractive couple who appeared to be perfect.  He had a work-out gym in their home, and she decorated her house so wonderfully that it looked like something out of the magazine, House Beautiful.  She invited me over, and it was fun getting ideas on decorating daughters' bedrooms.  Other neighbors' kids used to hang out at our house for hours.  That didn't bother me, as I feel most comfortable around children.  They're special, and only truth comes out of their mouths.  They may blurt something out, but it's the honest to goodness truth.  I love that about them.  So, tell me, do you have good neighbors or maybe annoying ones?