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. 

A Day In The Life-June

Welcome to our Day In The Life link up. If you've posted about a typical day where you live add your link at the end of my post, then hop over and say hi to your neighbors there. Day In The Life posts only please and thank you. 

I love reading these posts and think they harken back to the early days of blogging, and even social media, where you got to know people through their writing and felt connected through the ordinary moments of life. We're bringing it back today. 

I chose June 1st because just because. Mostly because it occurred to me the night before and I have to set some alarms to remember to snap pictures throughout the day. Here we go-

Monday, June 1, 2026

Rise and shine, today at 6:36 am. I didn't set an alarm and am often up far earlier, but on this day it was 6:36. 

Start the coffee (I always set it up the night before) and feed the little brown dog. Mondays are trash day here so the pup likes to accompany hubs outside when he hauls the bins to the curb. We don't put them out the night before because bears love a good trash can meal. 

I'm glad when hubs is home to do the lugging, because the bins are heavy and our driveway has a slight incline so it's not my favorite task. 

Once this is done I pour coffee and settle in to my comfy space on the upstairs deck. I read my Bible, write in my prayer journal, browse emails, check to see if there are Tiny Beans updates, and play my word games to keep my brain working. Tiny Beans is a photo sharing site my girls both use to share pics of the grands. It's by invitation only and it's nice because aunts, uncles, and great-grandparents can all see the pics there. 

The first cup of coffee is my favorite. 

Hubs sits with me and does similar activities, although he doesn't play the word games like I do. 

Today we notice something yellow on the curb beside the lower garage so we walk down to investigate. From the deck it looks like, for lack of a better descriptor, dog vomit. 

Whadda ya know? I snapped a pic and my trusty plant identifier told me it is a fungus appropriately named-dog vomit slime mold. It's also sometimes known as scrambled egg slime and it's common after a lot of rain. We had a gully washer here all day every day over the Memorial Day weekend so this makes sense. Fortunately it disappears as the ground dries out. 

You didn't know this was going to be educational, did you?

Anyway, I couldn't linger with my morning coffee as long as I normally do because I had a facial booked at 9 AM,  and it's almost an hour drive so I needed to get moving. 

There are places I could go much closer to home, but I love everything about the experience in this particular spa and I love the girl I see there. Now that my mom lives in that general direction I'll combine the trek with a visit to her, or I'll stop at Costco or Trader Joe's which are also very nearby the salon. 

I go with a clean face, but I did shower, outside of course because that's the law here once winter ends, plus the view cannot be beat. Then I put on my comfy yoga pants, ate a small carton of yogurt, and was on my way. 

The facial lasted an hour (pure bliss) and then I headed one town over to see my mama. 

When I arrived she was in a chair yoga class and when that wrapped up she was going for some p.t. I tagged along and it was fun to see what all she does with the therapist. She cracked a joke too and we all laughed. After therapy we went outside and sat for a bit, then back to her room. 

Pay no attention to my shiny face. I had a facial and am still sans makeup. 

I walked with her to lunch then got on the road to head home. I grabbed a box of chick-fil-a nuggets and a diet lemonade for the ride back to the lake because I was starving. 

Once home I spent some time on the deck working on my blog. 

It rained a little and I love sitting outside listening to it fall. I move the deck pots out from under cover for some free watering. 

Daughter2 facetimed and I spent 57 minutes talking to her which is always a treat. Her kids were resting so we actually got to talk.  

Continue to ignore my still shiny face and my slightly oily hair. Shower number 2 is coming up because hubs and I had signed up for a wine dinner that evening. 

This was not our normal monthly wine dinner, but one the owner of the wine shop had put together. The wines were French and the winemaker was there to do the presentation. 

They had the most amazing charcuterie board as a starter, and then short ribs followed by creme brulee for dessert. The food was yummy. 

Course I neglected to snap a pic of hubs and I, but in true to me fashion I did get one of the sky when we were walking back to our car. The sunset was a beauty. 

I tried to snap a picture as we drove across the bridge coming home,  but didn't fare too well. 

We were home about 9:30 and headed to bed soon after. 

Now. Was this day typical? Sort of. There's truly no such thing as a typical day here. Every day is a little different than the one before, but on this day there was a lot of driving which feels accurate, at least for the past couple of months. There wasn't any cooking which is not typical, but there was porch time, a catch up with a daughter, blog time, a fun meal out, and that facial, the benefit of which cannot be overstated. 

This was fun. I look forward to reading about your day and will plan another link up sometime late fall. Thanks for joining the party here today! 

The Friday Seven

I know it's usually dubbed the Friday Five, but I have a random seven so there ya go. Just a few stray thoughts and happenings from the past week and life lately linked with Andrea and Erika today. 

1. Did I tell you daughter1 and her family got a puppy? 

As my granddaughter loves to say 'he's a basket hound'. Oh my word, it's the cutest, and we absolutely do not correct her. In fact we all now say basket hound and likely will say it that way forever and ever amen.

He's super cute, as all puppies are wont to be. Pretty sure God designed it that way because puppies are puppies, right? As far as puppies go he's a good one. Basset Basket hounds are kind of low energy which is not a bad trait in a puppy. I've read they're sometimes called the couch potato of the dog world, and while I don't think I'd go so far as to say that, he is pretty chill. 

2. Did I tell you daughter2 and her family got a puppy? Their guy joined the family back in the fall but I don't remember mentioning it here and I don't play favorites. This handsome fella was a rescue and nearly a year old when they got him. 

fyi-A  one-year old dog is still a puppy. 

He's a real sweetie and has settled in well. The kids adore him. And because I know someone will ask our little brown dog is uninterested in these juveniles lol. 

3.  We had our monthly wine club dinner on Monday and it was one of my favorites. The food was so good. There was a Spanish theme to the menu and I meant to take pictures, but oops.  

One course was a Salmorejo which I'd never heard of before, but is similar to a Gazpacho. It's made from puréed tomatoes, bread, garlic, and olive oil and I might like it even better than Gazpacho. I found a recipe online I'm going to try at home. It's served cold so will be a nice summer treat. 

4. Tuesday was book club and we read The Indigo Girl. Our hosts had all sorts of indigo details on the snack table including this tea-

Have you ever tried butterfly pea flower tea? It's indigo in color and doesn't have a lot of taste. We added honey and lemon (and in some cases Prossecco) to give it more flavor, but the color was beautiful. I read the tea's benefits are similar to green tea, without the bitterness. 

5. My two oldest grandsons are playing on the same baseball team this season and they're killin' it. I've been running non-stop since April, and until this week hadn't made it to a single game. Hubs has managed a few, but I can't be in two places at once so priorities. 

Hubs and I drove to the field Wednesday night to see them play and the other team was a no-show. Boo.  Hubs had plans Thursday night but I trekked back to the field to finally see a game. 

I love the ballpark vibe. 

6. Thursday morning hubs and I met up with daughter1 to watch grandson #2 (aka Max on the blog) 'graduate' from kindergarten. I love this school they are part of so very much. It's a hybrid, so some days students are in a classroom and the other days are homeschooled by their mommas. The heart of this school is beautiful. 

Each 'graduate' is gifted a copy of Max Lucado's The Oak Inside the Acorn, and the Director's message and prayer were lovely. The kindergartners walked in to Pomp and Circumstance and I don't care if the graduates are six or eighteen or twenty-two, that song always makes me teary. 

As we waited for the program to begin they had a little slide show with a picture of each child in their cap and gown (precious!) and a tag line telling what each little person wants to be when they grow up. They flashed this sign too-

Class of 2038???!!. Can that be right? That date doesn't even sound real. 

They let the students toss their caps in the air at the conclusion of the event and I  guess it's in our DNA because they all knew just what to do. So fun! 

After graduation I drove the hour and twenty over to spend time with my momma and had a nice visit with her. Such a beautiful blue sky day...

I  made a stop at Costco when I left there since I was somewhat in the neighborhood. Not really, but definitely closer than I am when coming from home so it made sense. Plus hubs was out of his peanut butter stuffed pretzels and we can't have that.

7. I made a pot pie for dinner Wednesday night and it was so pretty-

I am all about dishes that make more than one meal these days. Have a great weekend everyone! 

Day Dating Episode Six

 Linking today with Talking About It Tuesdays hosted by Joanne

Welcome to Episode Six of The Dating Game. Hmmm...I like that. To catch you up, hubs and I are aiming for 52 dates in 52 weeks, and we're already a week behind because we had his momma here and leaving her home alone while we went out didn't feel right. 

We'll tack a week on at the end so all's well that end's well.  There will likely be a few more misses here and there, but if it's 52 dates in 55 weeks or 60 weeks that's okay too. It's not a test. 

If you read Monday's post then you already know we've had a lot going on here. Friday afternoon was our window and as both girls were leaving the house hubs looked at me and said, 'a nap would be nice'. Agreed. 

But the weather was glorious and we decided we'd feel better if we went out and we're both glad we did. Such a nice day! 

Daughter1 and her family had been to a nearby North Georgia town recently and seen a spectacular waterfall and a really cool museum, and we wanted to see it too, so that's where we headed. 

We left about noon and made the slightly less than one hour drive to a little town called Toccoa. Have you watched Band of Brothers? Toccoa is where Easy Company, 2nd batallion, 506th parachute infantry regiment of the 101st airborne had their basic training prior to D-Day. They're the focus of the series and their training at 'Camp Toccoa' included rigorous hikes up Currahee Mountain. It's where these soldiers became a literal band of brothers. The phrase Currahee became their motto and meant 'stand alone'. 

Hubs and I are watching the series start to finish now. The series came out in 2001, but I was unaware of the local connection until my son-in-law told us about it. 

Before going to the museum though, we had to see that waterfall. Toccoa Falls is oddly located on a small college campus. It's a 186 foot free falling waterfall, one of the tallest east of the Mississippi and it is positively stunning. The photos do not do it justice...this fall is actually higher than Niagara, but obviously not as wide or impressive. 

Still a beauty though! You drive on to the campus, park at the gift shop and pay a small entry fee, then take the short walk out to the falls. 

And there they are-

Just beautiful. 

We stood for a while, then drove into town to visit the museum (Currahee Military Museum).  I've been in a lot of WW2 related museums and this one, while small, is jam packed with so much. 

It's located at the site of the old train depot, which is where soldiers arrived before making the five mile hike to Camp Toccoa. The museum tells the story of trainees who went on to become some of the most physically fit soldiers in the army. More than 18,000 paratroopers trained here prior to and after D-Day. 

One of the best parts of the museum is an actual stable from Adlbourne England that housed paratroopers during the war. The story of how they brought it here is told too and it's really something. 

We had plans to get sushi for an early dinner back at the lake so we had about an hour to fill before heading home. We had seen a sign as we were driving around earlier for a winery and decided to check it out. Once we found it that is...GPS struggled and we went around in circles a couple of times, but eventually we got there. 

The sun was shining so we ordered a glass of wine, sat outside, and soaked it in. 

We left there and made our way back to laketown and a sushi dinner-

'Twas a great day.