Good Morning Everyone

Coffee is ready, but I've yet to pour a cup. I was trying to thing of a creative title for this weekends' chat and I started daydreaming of my favorite beaches....maybe it's because it was so hot yesterday and it's going to be another scorcher today.

Whether you have to work or just play,take 5 and stop by and say hi. It's still nice and cool out. Whats up in your world today? Hopefully, it's sunny!

ETA-It was hard to decide, but my favorite beach is still in Alaska...summers are pleasantly warm and the days are long...everyone seems to congregate in the evenings round a large driftwood fire sharing fish and stories...and when the waves are big enough the neighbors put on their wetsuits and surf...fun times.

Good morning from stormy and wet Delta. My Disney, a Hurricane Katrina rescue, is not pleased with the thunder - I think it brings back memories. She's leaning against me and trembling. Poor wee thing!

Lots to do today as I gear up for a busy week or so. The Pypers will arrive late this afternoon to drop off Bailey before they go to their cottage. I invited them for a turkey dinner but we are going to have the feast at the cottage. Glen and son John are going to do the transporting - I'm not sure how this will work but it's worth a try and less work for me with cleanup. We'll have drinks here beforehand to get the dogs used to each other. Bailey and Disney usually have a "discussion" about who's the lead dog. Disney usually wins. She's little but assertive and very self-assured. Besides, it's her house.

I hope your Saturday is fulled with fun and friends. We've had one of the coldest summers on record so I intend to enjoy it bigtime when we hit decent days.

ETA: Good morning, Debbie, and thanks for starting us up, especially with beach memories. My favourite beach is on the Pacific side of Vancouver Island at Tofino.

Good morning.
We *finally* have hot weather in the Nutmeg state but its littered with rain and thunderstorms. The last big thunderstorm knocked out our garage door openers so that needs to be replaced. Always something with a house!

We have a bunch of BBQs this weekend and I have a TON of laundry to do. I also have to find some of my bathing suits - I am missing one and a coverup - I thought I had everything so nicely packed away.

I'm working on a cup of coffee then hope to get out for a quick run/walk. I am trying to start running again. I used to do 2.5 miles per day before work now I can barely do a half of a mile. We have a fun run in our town in October its a 5K - I am going to at least make an attempt to do that otherwise shoot for the Thanksgiving one.

Have a great weekend everyone!

We had a heavy downpour last night, but the sun is out this morning to give us a pleasant day. It's been cooler than normal here, too, but I've been loving it. I'd rather have the windows open with fresh air, than have to use the air conditioner and keep the house closed up.

We have no plans for the day, but I do have to get out and look for birthday presents for my grandson, Tyler, who will be turning 2, and Maggie, who is turning 6 on Tuesday. Jake wants to get Tyler a motorized car but I think he's too little for one. We'll see.

Speaking of favorite beaches, I adore Cape May, NJ. But the prettiest beach I've ever been to has to be the Half Moon Bay Resort in Rose Hill, Jamaica. The sand is pure white like talcum powder, and the water is turquoise blue and so clear that you can see the bottom. Just gorgeous!

Good Morning!

The beach is my favorite distination! I love Panama City Beach, Florida. The water is emerald green and the sand is white. There are lots of great restaurants. In fact, our family reunion next year will be in PCB. I am looking for a rental house now.

Lexxiss, I would love to visit Alaska, in the summer, of course. Before I die....

Ruth, My parents lost their home in Hurricane Rita, which hit the Louisiana cost about 3 weeks after Katrina hit. Animals and people have emotional baggage after those storms.

Momofsteel, Congratulations for getting back into running! The runners I know are addicted to it! For me, there are not enough sports bras...

Cottage, Auston got his first motorized car when he was little, and loved it! Now that he's 5, he's graduated to a full-fledged, gas powered 4-wheeler. It's scary! Jeff has a remote that can kill the engine from across the yard.

Me: I'm taking a class for my office today. One of the things we do is teach a divorce adjustment class. In our county, if you have children under 18 and get a divorce you have to take this class. I'm who signs you up. You can imagine, people are not happy when they call me. They ask lots of questions and I can't answer them because I haven't taken the class. So, I'm going to sit in the class. The office is actually paying me $35 per hour to be there. I don't make that during the week! I may take it twice.

Then, I'm going out to enjoy the beautiful, cool, sunny day. Hope you all have a perfect weekend!

Mornin' Ruth. I hope the skies clear and Disney feels better soon. Maybe she will feel better when Bailey shows up. A turkey dinner sounds fun-and easy to eat OP. It sounds comforting, given your cool weather. Ahh..Tofino..beautiful...much like Alaska. I love the gardens of Vancouver.

Top o' the mornin', Cottage. Glad to see you back in computer-land. I love open windows but the other night we had a skunk. I can't even imagine a 2 yr old on a motorized vehicle. Thanks for sharing your beach memories.

MomofSteel, hope you had a nice run. I'd love to see nutmegs growing. It's one of my favorite spices.

Chelby, somehow I already knew you and the beach are a perfect match. I have family in Key West and I love it when everyone gets together. DH and I rent an electric vehicle and have lots of fun. If I ever paid my parking tickets, Florida would see a great increase in revenue! Have a great day in class. The price is certainly right.

Me, finally formulating a plan. Kirks daughter arrives later so we'll get our family time in early. Pick a few chokecherries, hit the farmers market and maybe even swim. A friend from the pool invited us to pick Bings and Mt Morency pie cherries in her yard, as well. Kirks eyes started looking like the cherries popping up on slot machines. He's cleaning the dehydrator as we speak. We'll probably stay close to home later and BBQ with the neighbors. I think I'll offer to cook and tweak the menu SB friendly. I'll check in later...time for more coffee.

Good morning It was a late night so I'm a little slow starting this morning. Of course the Weekend Chore list awaits.

Debbie - Alaska is the place I most want to visit, always has been. <delete political comment about getting there sooner rather than later > I do love reading your Alaska stories.

Ruth - Poor Disney! How nice to have a visit with friends and less clean-up. I know you will enjoy the extra dog in the house

Mom - We got those storms last night too. It's been a year. Enjoy your run.

Cottage - A relaxing day sounds perfect.

Chelby - Hope the class is interesting and you have plenty of day left when it's over. I'd take it twice too

The forecast for today is much better than it was but we are still committed to a chore day. Our house has reached the raking out stage, so no excuses! I've also got greens that I dried and berries on a tray that need to be finished. Might freeze a few bags of greens for winter eating too.

Our one outing will be to the second park we are considering for the wedding. I promised my friends that I would make a decision this weekend and I need to do that. I've been assured that it won't be tacky to use evite and a Facebook event rather than dead tree invitations, except for the non-tech types. I like that idea a lot more. I also like spending money on lean-tos and tent sites for night before bonfires and music rather than overpriced invitations. Guess I'm not a traditional kind of girl That does explain the insistence on wearing jeans...

Okay, time to get moving if I have any hope of getting out of the house today!

Oh, and my favorite beach so far is Ogunquit Beach in Maine. It's a long expanse of perfectly white sand with dunes along the edge and a beautiful rocky path at the end. It's not what you expect in Maine. Since I usually go to the ocean to bird and not to sun or swim though most of my favorite beaches are rocky.

ETA - Debbie all those cherries sound fabulous. Yum! Dried cherries are my favorite crockpot oatmeal addition.

Morning All!
Lex...a beach...oh, I would like that right now! My favorite was on a little island in Honduras. What fun! My Dad and his friend were going to buy a little island hotel so we spent a couple of weeks there. They were going to sign the papers about a month after we got back and the day before they signed, a hurricane hit and wiped the place out. whew!

Ruth, poor Disney! I've read that the "electricity" in the air makes their fur feel funny on some dogs and a dryer sheet wiped over their fur helps. I have one dog that is scared of thunder and it did help Roux some to use the dryer sheet. (actually there is no thunder during a hurricane, so Disney is probably not relating thunder to that event)

Cottage, have fun birthday shopping. I miss shopping for little kids...the happiness on their faces when they dive into wrapping paper is priceless.

Chelby, so sorry about the loss of your parent's home. That is so traumatic losing tangible "memories". Are they resettled again? Went to my SIL's first house since Katrina last night. It is a precious little 2 bedroom cottage. She and my BIL looked so elated and new. Their faces have been haggard since the storm. They have lived in Virginia and Texas since the storm and decided to come home. Both have found jobs (which was the hold up) that they really like. We crowded about 20 people in that little house last night and it just felt like home. We all sat out on their deck with lighted torches all around and it was heaven. All of their kids are grown and they decided not to go with a big house like the one they lost...it is adorable like a little honeymoon cottage and they look like happy honeymooners once again. They had been living with family sharing costs since the storm and I know they are thrilled to be alone again!

We had a wonderful time at the restaurant last night, really enjoyed the food and company. My MIL who now lives in Texas with my BIL brought us a big box of her crystal glasses that made it through the storm. She decided it would be better for her family to use the stuff she had in storage than for it to sit there. Those glasses remind me of big family Thanksgiving at her house and I'll really treasure them. There were lots of hugs and tears about Beau leaving Wednesday, but lots of laughter too. Just a really nice night.

Nothing on my plate today except a little house cleaning. I have some shrimp and scallops in the freezer that I'll do something with later. Nice lazy day!

***Morning Cyndi!!! Those wedding plans sound like a lot of fun!

Good morning everyone! Lots of chores to do around here today. Three boys can make a big mess!

momofsteel- Have to love the weather here in Connecticut. Although, two nights ago, the lightning storms were amazing to watch!

Chelby - Enjoy your class. I hope it goes by fast, so you can enjoy the rest of your day!

Ruth - I hope the skies clear for you soon, so you can enjoy the rest of your day! (and so can Disney)

Lexxiss - Sounds like you have a busy but fun day ahead of you. ENJOY!

Cyndi- I hope the park works out for you! Your wedding sounds like it will be a wonderful event.

femmecreole - Have a wonderful day!

Cat, I wondered about that. Perhaps it is torrential rain we had that frightened my darling.

It's sunshine right now. "I can see clearly now the rain is gone." There's an ear-worm for us all. "I can see all obstacles in my way" but I'm making lists!

I'm off to do some deadheading of the plantings in the village and the fairgrounds plus the Church, of course. The Village has to make a good impression during fair time.

See y'all later.

Morning all, Nice to read what all of you are doing and to see the amount of progress you've all made since I was last here last fall. Wish I could send you our summer weather and trade for some of your rain. Nice lazy weekend here - need to go out and pick sugar snap peas and tomatoes before it gets too hot outside.
I agree with Lexxiss - the most beautiful beach I've been to is in Alaska. What a beautiful place.

back, Waquilter. It's nice to see another quilter on this stretch of The Beach.
I've cleared my morning "obstacles" and am tackling the rest of my 'bright, bright,bright sunshiny day"! The turkey is starting to cook and the house smells like Thanksgiving!

We got rain last night which cooled today off so that the Cubmobile races were not too hot. We had probably close to 100 cars that raced and everyone had a great time. At the end the adults raced and Toni asked me to race against here. It was faster than I thought it would be but a lot of fun (and I won the race). Then I got invited to the pool party my old pack was having so I spent quite awhile over there.

I had to get up early to be at the race site by 7 so I'm probably going to crash early.

chelby - Texas requires a course like that when you have kids. It was a good course but Robert was at the same one with me and he kept making snide comments. It was too soon after he had assaulted me and I just wasn't comfortable being there with him. I got to talk to a couple of single moms at the pool party that have been divorced a lot longer than I have and it really helped to have someone to talk to who understands what I'm going through.

Cat, My parents have been in their home for two years, after being in a FEMA trailer for 18 months. I cannot even imagine living in 200 square feet for that long! They were fortunate to be able to rebuild on their property. My mom said that she walks through her home with her arms open just being thankful. She promised herself she'd never forget her time in the trailer.

Barb, Our divorce class's rule is that spouses may not attend the same class. You would not believe how many people are offended and say, "We are best friends!" Best friends getting divorced. Whatever! We had a young lady in our class this morning who had a restraining order against her spouse.

I work at a Child Advocacy Center. We have an on-staff therapist. She works with victims of Domestic Violence and other abuse free of charge. The Victims of Violent Crimes Act (VOCA) gives grants to organizations who work with victims. Your local CAC might be a good resource for you. I'm sorry you had to go through such a terrible thing. (I wrote this so everyone can read it, because I'm certain others can use the information.)