Mid-August Everyday Images

Linking with Kym today for her Everyday Images party and Joanne for Talking About It Tuesdays. 

I really enjoy the snippets of everyday life this photo challenge offers, and I also like having a place to drop random snapshots that reflect life in this season. I like reading the prompts and then looking for something in my world that fits. It's a bit of a creative mental exercise, and who doesn't need that now and then. 

Okay, here we go. The most recent prompts are-

dessert~gradual~on the road~imperfect~tangled~selfie (quarterly)~restful 

dessert-

We had our August wine dinner last week with a Spanish theme. Don't judge the quality of this flan by the quality of this photo because the flan was absolute perfection. 

We had a guest presenter who did a wonderful job presenting the wines and the stories behind them, and I told hubs I wanted to buy some of this one mostly because the bottle is pale blue and so pretty. 

I help teach Mah Jong in my neighborhood and one of the new learners makes beautiful cookies and brought me this lovely box of treats as a thank you. 

Chocolate chip shortbread and flip flop sugar cookies. 

Both are scrumptious and I so appreciate a thoughtful gesture like this one. 

gradual

We love a home improvement repair/project of some kind, and we've had one happening here-

Gradually. Over the course of a few days. 

Actually what I said a minute ago was a lie. I dislike home repair projects and hubs walks around the house and yard in search of them. This is a good thing most of the time, because homes require upkeep. Ours is nearly ten years old (can you believe it???) so there will be some things that need doing from time to time. 

The joys of home ownership. 

Shoutout to roofers working in this heat. We had to have our chimney repaired due to a blah blah blah and it required two different groups of people to make it happen. One did the flashing/roofing portion and the other reattached the stone. 

I can tell you right now my hubs is going to have a lot to say about the inaccuracy of my explanation, but just know a repair was necessary and a repair happened. 

Gradually. 

Having the incorrect rock delivered didn't help, but they corrected the order and it's all good now. 

on the road

I live on a lake. If you're boating this is the road-

imperfect

I'm going to call this one perfectly imperfect. This Japanese Maple sits beside our waterfall and currently has a single bright red branch. Giving us a peek into fall I guess. 

No worries. It was 97 degrees here this weekend so fall is not in a hurry. 

tangled

We had a bit of a breeze happening on Sunday, albeit a scorcher that felt Saharan in nature, and our flag got itself wrapped around the pole. I perched on the very edge of the narrow side of the dock, leaned way out in a precarious manner, phone in hand, while hubs yelled things like 'don't fall' and 'I could do that for you ya know'. 

Got it! 

selfie (quarterly)

True story. Selfie taking is not in my skill set. Hubs offered to snap a picture but I said that goes against the very definition of the word so here ya go-

It only took me six tries to get one I could call a small success. 

restful

Lake life man. It's restful. 

Unless you have ten people on your roof, scaffolding attached to the side of your house, and a cement mixer in the drive. Otherwise, yes it's restful. 

Okay, now scroll through your camera roll and show me what ya got. 

Words And Pictures

Hello and happy Monday. I intend to do a catch up maybe tomorrow, or maybe Thursday, or if not then sometime, but not today. Today I'm making the trek back to the lake after a week spent watching my Tennessee grands. 

Not for the faint of heart. 

Also, highly recommend. 10/10. Except when it's not, but it's for sure mostly 10/10. Grandparents reading here are nodding because iykyk. 

Keeping it easy today with a few random snaps that I'm linking with Kym's most recent Everyday Images Photo Prompts. Linking too with Holly and Sarah because it's Monday and some of these pics are weekend related. Today's photo prompts are:

at home (monthly)~in my cup~path ~Tuesday tranquility~ summer~golden hour~

out for a walk (quarterly)

at home (monthly)-

We had a few friends for dinner on a recent Thursday evening and it was a lot of fun. There were twelve of us and everyone brought something. Hubs grilled a cut of meat called a Teres Major and served it with cowboy butter and horseradish on the side. We'd never tried this particular cut before, but the butcher suggested it and we loved it. It's said to be second only to the filet in terms of tenderness and we would agree. 

I also made stuffed shells filled with a mixture of cheeses and zucchini and we had yummy appetizers, a delicious and refreshing white bean salad, a cucumber tomato salad, and blueberry cobbler for dessert. 

This outdoor dining space is one of my new favorite spots 'at home'. 

in my cup-

I rarely drink soda anymore. Almost never. Unless I'm in charge of a two-year old and a four-year old whose parents have been out of town for ten days, then all bets are off. 

This was my last night in charge. A glass of wine sounded nice, but I needed to keep my wits about me so opted for caffeine instead. 

path-

I snapped a picture of this cool piece by the artist Baggs McKelvey at the Discovery Museum in Chattanooga Tennessee. She primarily does large scale, site-specific installations using a variety of materials, which in this case is toy cars. 

Tuesday tranquility-

last Tuesday...

We were en route to Tennessee and stopped for lunch at a tiki bar sort of place about halfway to our destination. The restaurant sits across the street from a popular lake and is all open air which was nice. We had our pup with us so it was lunch in a covered outdoor space for the win. 

summer-

My daughter's garden is bustin' at the seams and we've had so much heavy crazy rain while I've been here that her tomatoes have been overwatered. I'm doing my best to pick and the kids eat them almost as fast as I get them in the bowl. Still we're not keeping up.  

Her okra got ridiculously ginormous overnight. Not sure if these jumbos will taste any good but the kids were impressed. The flowers on the okra plants are so pretty. 

We can't pick the blackberries fast enough. It's also been really wet so I haven't tended the bushes the way I would have if everything wasn't soaked, but we've eaten our share of these beauties too. 

One more summer snapshot, no explanation needed...

golden hour-the golden hour is defined as the first hour after sunrise and the first hour before sunset. It's when the sun sits low in the sky and creates a soft warm glow. If you read here at all then you know this is my favorite time of day to snap a picture. Here's the most recent-

And then just a couple minutes later...

out for a walk (quarterly)-

Pawpaw and one of his grandgirls...

The grandgirls adore their pawpaw. I hope once in your life someone greets you the way these little girls greet their pawpaw when he walks through the door. It's literally life giving. 

I enjoy these photo prompts which are posted every other Thursday.  Hop over to Kym's for a new batch this week. I do have a few grandparent-y related thoughts to share still so will get to that one day this week. Happy Monday everyone! 

Everyday Images Hello Tuesday Edition

Hi. It's Tuesday, but I'm recapping the weekend anyway because I can. I'm linking today with Hello Monday hosted by Holly and Sarah, Talking About It Tuesdays hosted by Joanne, and Everyday Images hosted by Kym, whose most recent prompts are-

layers~current season (quarterly)~milestone~getting ready~wings~entrance~young

Also, this post might be all over the map. We'll see. Let's start with this one-

layers~

On the left a great grandmother/grandmother/mother, in the middle a granddaughter/daughter/mother, and on the right a daughter/granddaughter/great-granddaughter...the many layers of a family

Not the weekend, but this happened last week and I like the word play. Daughter1 and her Little Miss made the trek with me out to see my mama. We had a nice visit, we fed the ducks who are loud and demanding, we chatted, we looked at pictures, and then we walked with her to lunch and were on our way. The three of us stopped for lunch on our way back to the lake and little miss was an A+ car rider.

Current season (quarterly)~

We've had a rainy summer. Not necessarily all day rain, but what feels like lots of gray skies and intermittent rain. 

Friday was one of those days. I helped with a Mah Jongg class in the morning and then hit the grocery store, then hubs and I  hung out at home for a bit. We went out for Chinese food, which we haven't done in a long time because the few Chinese restaurants in town don't get fabulous reviews. 

Friends told us about a place they like so we gave it a try and we thought it was good. I mean it's take out Chinese, although we ate in, and we always go for spicy and it wasn't bad. Is that a stellar recommendation? No, but we'll go back when we want easy Chinese so that's something. 

young~

We saw this sweet thing at the entrance to my daughter's neighborhood over the weekend. There are few things cuter than a baby deer. Speaking of entrance~

We have a crepe myrtle on either side of the driveway entrance. Here's the one on the left-

and here's the one on the right. Hmmm...

These were planted on the same day, same time, and for some reason one is twice the size of the other, although both do bloom. We think it might have something to do with the electrical box on the right side of the drive, but we really don't know. 

These purslane are at the entrance to the garage. This color is called strawberries and cream, although lately there's some orangey shades in the mix too. Nature is amazing. 

Since we're on the subject of nature...

wings~

It's hummingbird central around our house and hubs added another feeder to the upper deck. The birds love it and it seems to be their new favorite spot. 

Our pet heron-

Technically not our pet, but he hangs out here a lot. Usually on the shoreline but on this day it seems he wanted a 'bird's eye view'. 

Saturday was party day. It drizzled in the morning, but cleared up (mostly) for the afternoon happenings. The Mancub's birthday party wasn't until 3 so I stayed in my pjs until it was time to leave. I have had the cough that won't quit since we got back from Florida, plus did I mention my little 'mishap'? Ugh. This year has not been smooth sailing in terms of injury. 

Last week I dropped by my daughter's house to steal from her garden (with her permission) and when I stepped out of the car, my foot landed on her soft hose, which caused the hose to roll and yep...down I went. I scraped my leg pretty good, but the bigger thing was I rolled my foot and let me tell you, it hurt. 

So I hobble in to my daughter's house and the kids come running happily to greet me and blood is gushing out of my leg, so my daughter hurries to get ice and bandaids and first aid and honestly y'all. I have been a lot this year. For everyone, myself included. 

I went to the dr for the second time yesterday and will try an antibiotic now. For the cough, not my foot. And that's if hubs doesn't smother me with a pillow first. 

I kid. 

Except he probably wants to because I'm annoying even to me. The ortho in my family and the doc today both tell me my foot is likely not broken so it's ice and the sleeve and time. 

Back to the weekend. The birthday party. My daughter should have a party planning business because she can work a theme with so many cute little touches, and the Mancub loved it. 

milestone~

Turning a year older surely qualifies. 

The Mancub's party was all things Harry Potter along with a big inflatable water slide which has nothing to do with HP and everything to do with Carolina heat and humidity and a backyard full of 9-year olds. 

There were 'Great Hall floating candles'-

pencil wands in the goodie bags, house banners hung, and Hogwarts letters in the fireplace...

Plus a  beautiful cake complete with Harry Potter themed candles-

Everyone had a lot of fun. 

Sunday morning I was up early to make ham and cheese sliders for a bridal shower daughter1 and I were attending right after church.  A sweet young couple were celebrating their upcoming wedding and I do love a bridal shower. The food was delicious and there was an ice cream bar for the bride who's been scooped up : ) So cute. 

getting ready~

...for the sun to set. 

Sunday night hubs and I kayaked over to a nearby island with a couple of neighbors to watch the sunset. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening and the air was hot, the water just right. A nice way to begin a new week. 

Everyday Images On A July Monday

Good Monday morning friends. July is rolling right along and I'm going to do a bit of a photo dump today, and link with the current Everyday Images photo prompts while I'm at it (hosted by Kym at A Fresh Cup Of Coffee) Kym shares prompts every two weeks and I'm typically getting mine posted just under the wire. She leaves the link up the whole two weeks, so it's not too late if you want to try these. 

I have some random snaps on my phone that need to go somewhere and a blog is a good place to save them. 

Question-Do I actually need to save pictures of my cherry tomatoes? 

I'm going to say yes. One of my favorite things about blogging is the look back at ordinary life it offers, and pictures help all the many words I use come to life. Here are the most recent photo prompts: 

~at home (monthly)~who I'm spending time with~what I'm working on~where I'm going~when I'm taking a break~why I'm happy today~signs~

at home...

We don't have a garden but we grow a few things in pots and our cherry tomatoes ripened while we were away. We're enjoying picking handfuls every day and adding them to salads or just eating them right off the vine. This picture says summer to me. 

who I'm spending time with...

Last week it was my mama as we celebrated her birthday with a fun dinner out. I haven't been with my mom on her actual birthday in a number of years, so this was special. My sister, niece, and nephew-in-law joined the party and my mom loved having family around the table. 

She had a piece of delicious peanut butter pie for dessert, with a candle of course. 

what I'm working on...

Recreating this appetizer for one. We had this in a restaurant on Saturday night and it was absolutely scrumptious. I have friends coming for dinner this weekend and I want to make this starter for them. It's prosciutto, fresh peaches, olive oil, honey, Calabrian chili flakes, and chopped pistachios, plus a little something green which I forgot to write down and now can't recall if it was mint or basil. Either would be good. 

And of course I'm always working to perfect the selfie. Not there yet. 

where I'm going...

This week nowhere. I mean here and there but nowhere out of the ordinary. Recently we went to the land where the palm trees grow-

Technically palm trees do grow in my state, hence it's nickname The Palmetto State, but these are Florida palms.

when I'm taking a break...

When you're retired you have the opportunity for a lot of breaks. Pretty much as many as you want. This is from our recent trip to the beach which I wrote about in great detail (here and here). This is definitely my idea of a break-a beautiful view and a book on my lap. 

why I'm happy today...

Many reasons, but one would be having grown up girls with very green thumbs. Daughter1 harvested these potatoes and sent a picture while we were away. I didn't get to taste them, but there's more where these came from (aka her garden) so hopefully I'll get a sample soon. 

And look at these carrots! Daughter2 dug these up from her garden last week, then made carrot top pesto which I didn't even know was a thing? She said it tastes a bit more like parsley than basil, but still a great way not to waste any of the produce.  Her kiddos were super excited to pull carrots out of their very own garden. 

signs...

This was at the entrance to the beach path at our hotel. I made sure to shuffle my feet, but we did not see any stingrays. We didn't see as many dolphins as we usually do either, but the water was clear and there were plenty of shells. 

Insert young middle aged lady with an old soul talking about birds here-

There were literally a couple of hundred of these Black Skimmers in one particular section of the beach just a short walk down from our hotel. A volunteer with the local Audubon Society was there taking pictures one day, and he told us more about them. 

I'd never heard of this particular bird before, but their lower jaw juts out and skims the water allowing them to grab fish as they fly by. This beach is a nesting place for them, and they come back every year. They lay eggs in the sand and then the parents teach the little ones how to fly. We saw several young birds trying it out which was really cute. 

A restaurant had this sign posted as we left one evening-

We miss you too St. Pete's Beach!

Linking with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday today too because hey, it's Monday. Have a nice week everyone!