PHOTOS OF OUR TRAVELS & HOME on ClickASnap

 

My personal photos of our travels and my flowers - 

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YOUR LAST OF EVERYTHING

 YOUR LAST OF EVERYTHING

CLICK HERE FOR THE MUSIC VIDEO

The love of my life came in an email
I met you online and that was it
Our first date at Starbucks turned from minutes to hours
‘Cause Danny you’re so easy to talk with

You and I got swept up in the moment
And you drove us out to dinner that same night
I found something special and I knew it
‘Cause you’re so thoughtful and caring and kind

Who would have thought a Florida girl and a Yankee from Ohio
Would come so far and still we’ve got so many years to go

I may not be your first kiss
Your first date or first dance
I may not be your first love
But I’m so glad for this chance
To be the very last one
The last love you’ll ever need
Yeah Danny let me be
Your last of everything, oh
Your last of everything, hmm

My best friend, my lover and companion
On rugged trails, through waterfalls, you’re still the same
Whether we’re hanging at home watching a movie

Or walking through the Redwoods in the rain

From Bergen through the hail and snow and the sleet Seeing Antelope Canyon’s majesty

To that Galapagos tortoise trying to take you down
Oh we’ve almost seen it all, yeah you and me

Now here we are, the kids all grown
We’ve traveled far and long
Let’s share our anniversary with this song

I may not be your first kiss
Your first date or first dance
I may not be your first love
But I’m so glad for this chance
To be the very last one
The last love you’ll ever need

Yeah Danny let me be
Your last of everything
Your last of everything
Your last of everything

 By – Tyler Meacham
Richmond, Virginia

CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF THE MUSIC WITH PHOTOS.

This song was written and sang by Tyler Meacham. 

Click here to discover SONGFINCH

TURQUOISE

 With striking sky blue to blue-green colors, turquoise has been prized by cultures all over the world.  The traditional December birthstone has gone in and out of style since humans started wearing this colorful stone.  

I started wearing turquoise and silver in my preteen years.  Then in high school,  I would save up my birthday and Christmas money to buy turquoise set in 14k gold.  I'm still wearing nugget bead necklaces I purchased in high school and college. (Of course, I've restrung them a zillion times).

(Click on the name Kingman Turquoise Mine below to visit their website)

Kingman TURQUOISE Mine

I have been following Kingman Turquoise Mine on Etsy and have purchased nuggets for several necklaces for a few years. And finally, I was able to visit his shop in Arizona to purchase loose stones.  

My daughter has a good friend, Jenny, a wonderfully talented jeweler who crafts various gems & stones, set in brass.  

FOSSIL AND HIDE 

FOSSIL & HIDE web site

I'm thrilled with the new turquoise stones that I purchased on our recent trip out West! 

The following are my drawings and the stones that I selected from Kingman Turquoise for the "One of a Kind" Necklaces that Jenny has completed.   

 Watch below as Jenny makes the necklace above. 

HALLOWEEN SKELETON BROWNIE CAKE

 Getting together with my daughters and Grandbabies this weekend and decided to make a Halloween Cake!

Used Betty Crocker Supreme Chunk Brownie Mix. 
Baked it in an 8"x 8" pan,
followed the directions, then let it cool.

Cut off 2" down the side, and attach those 2" to the bottom of the larger part to make the brownie cake long, like a casket. Some of the brownie cake was left over and used this part as the headstone to rest the skeleton against it.

Using chocolate icing, covered the top, placed the skeleton on top in the icing, added the gummy worms, iced more around the sides, and finished it off with the spiders. 

Have a Fun & Happy Halloween!! 

OCTOBER PATIO FLOWERS

 Summer has ended, and the wildflowers have gone to seed.  Our nighttime temperatures have surprisingly cooled down into the 40s, so it's time to bring the plants on the patio inside the house for winter. 

My orchid is amazingly busting out with flowers!! The most I've ever had. Must be the used tea grounds I mix
in the watering jug.  

 

THE PORCH RENOVATION by DAN

Dan began the porch renovation in October 2015.  It took him a while,  but he completed it in April 2017. 

The porch is probably the room we spend the most time in (except the office).  Even to this day, I'm amazed by the craftsmanship and comfort of our porch. 

Click on the link- PORCH RENOVATION by DAN, below to see the transformation from a screened-in porch to our year-round sunroom/porch! 
BTW- the plants love it too when they spend six months out of the year, usually November through April, sunning on the porch.  

PORCH RENOVATION by DAN 

AUGUST FLOWERS

It's 87 degrees out, but we're preparing for winter.  Needed to get the wood hauled in and cut to size, then set up in the wood pile.  Our wood-burning stove only has a 17" door, so we'll need to cut some pieces down to at least 16". 

The bee house has a lot of openings! 

I keep fresh-cut zinnias in my kitchen around the sink.  

The roses are doing great this summer, and I also keep fresh roses in the kitchen.

Blue Liriope Grass

Yellow-orange Brassocattleya Orchid

Begonias and Petunias

Lipstick plants starting to pop out.

Creep Myrtle

                                            Ostrich Ferns

FIGS, FIGS, AND MORE FIGS!

 I've deadheaded the purple and yellow Coneflowers, Black-eyed Susans, Shasta Daisies, zinnias, and blanket flowers.  I wait until the flower has totally died and it's starting to seed.  This is the perfect time to cut the dead flower off and throw it back into the flower bed so it'll reseed next spring. Doing this also results in healthier plants and continual blooms for the perennials and zinnias.

 Still have a lot of patio flowers:  begonias, petunias, orchids, wax plant blooms, and the roses, zinnias, and crepe myrtles in the yard.  This is the month my fig tree is busting out with an abundance of rain and producing giant, juicy figs.  

I've shared with neighbors, and I'm also sharing with the bees, birds, and squirrels. It can be a bit dicey trying to pick figs with the bees eating their fair share of these plump figs. 

We have so many figs that we've taken up a new hobby - canning!  

The bees are feasting!

We canned 6 pounds of figs last week and cooked up 
our last batch of 5 pounds today.

Again, this is after giving full baskets to three different neighbors.   

The birds, bees, and squirrels can have the rest.  

We're done for this year! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is the recipe I used for our

FIG PRESERVES

5-6 pounds of figs (a bit more than a full gallon)

3 cps of sugar

2 cps of water

1 Tbsp of cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. of lemon juice in each jar before putting preserves into the jar

-remove caps/stems of figs, cut large figs into halves and quarters,  and soak in cool water for 20 minutes.

-make a syrup by boiling the sugar and water together in a large pan.

-when syrup is clear and just thick, around 15 minutes, add figs and cinnamon.

-bring to a full boil over high heat boiling hard for 1 minute.

-lower the heat ad simmer for 30 minutes.

-there seemed to be extra liquid so I ladled out a couple of scoops of liquid only, from the pot.

-ladle into clean hot sterile jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.