WHAT'S GOING ON...

Since we have committed to staying another season here in California, and since last weekend, our temperatures climbed to 100 (Yes you read that right--one hundred degrees here at our house--ten minutes from the beach), we decided we needed a way to stay cool for the summer.

Summer season weather in San Diego lasts until late September. In fact, it is common for us to get our hottest temperatures in that month.

However, this weekend we had the weather San Diego is famous for having. 68 degrees. Sunny. Clear blue skies. Light coastal breeze. Perfect.

And it was perfect weather for setting up an above-ground pool that will surely help us stay cool all summer long. When the temperatures climb and our weather feels more like Arizona in the summer, we can take a dip in the pool after work and float around on our rafts on weekend afternoons...or take a late night swim before bed.

On Saturday, we will be finalizing the set up and finishing filling it up and working in our yard and patio getting it summer ready! More perfect temperatures are forecast for us.

THE PRICE YOU PAY

As I was going through some of our travel photos the other day, I came across these that we snapped on our first trip to Tennessee when we ventured out to look at lake properties at Land Between the Lakes.

Land Between the Lakes is by Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, west of Clarksville. It was a gorgeous July day. We drove from site to site and then walked each indvidual home site

We were really taken with the views and beautiful lots and home sites, but it was quite a drive to Clarksville from there and even further still to get to Nashville, so we marked it off our list as a possible location to live until after we retire.
I used to live in an area called High Valley and though it was not nearly as remote as these properties are, it was still a challenge to get a pizza delivered.

I can tell you there would be no pizza delivery at all in this area.

Not that I have to order pizza every so often, or anything like that. I'm just sayin'.

BREAKING NEWS (OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT)

We interrupt this blog's "blah-blah-blah" to bring you this announcement:

This will be our summer sunset for 2009. Pacific Ocean off Coronado Island. San Diego, CA


And this summer sunset will yet again be delayed....Dale Hollow Lake, Celina Tennessee.
Both beautiful.

Details to follow in an upcoming blog post.

Now....Back to our blog "blah-blah-blah" and soon to come.....the promised photos from Saturday.

I couldn't get them to upload last night and gave up! It was late. I was tired. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

SIMPLY SATURDAY

Where did my week go? It's been a busy Saturday morning for us. Running our errands to Costco and the grocery store after Bruce got back from his appointment to have new back tires put on his "Z" this morning.

This afternoon we are packing up the Jeep, loading Kona and going to our friends' house to grill out, play darts and listen to music. It's going to be perfect weather for an afternoon get-together. Temperatures in the mid 80's. And Kona loves her playdates with Hannah and Lizzie. They romp and run and play hard and by the end of the day, all three dogs are worn out and ready to crash for the night.

We're taking our new camera with us and I hope to have some really good pictures to share in my next post. Bruce and I both have already used the camera this week and taken several pictures and uploaded them and I am pleased with the way they came out!

Stay tuned to this blog.....more to come.

HOMEBODY

Something PW said on her blog this morning got me thinking. I really am a homebody. I have always kind of known that I was. Because I am happy to stay at home as much as possible. I don't often feel compelled to "go somewhere" just to "get out of the house".

Oh, don't get me wrong, I love to socialize. I said I was a homebody, not a hermit.

I like going out with friends and attending events and parties, BBQs, baseball games. (Go Padres!)

In fact, we love to entertain at our place just as much as we love going to our friends' houses.

And, I love to get away, too. Vacations are good. Tropical destinations are always my favorite kind of escape but gimme a poolside lounge chair in Palm Springs and I am a happy camper just the same. But you know what I have realized about getting away? That coming back home is often the very best part.

Home. Back to my nest. Back to the familiarity of my stuff.

I love my home. My couch, my books, my bed. My floor beneath my bare feet. My own coffeepot. My backyard and garden, my oasis.

Sometimes, I just never want to leave. Do you ever feel that way?

WE ARE READY

...to finally make the leap. The leap into the ocean of photography.

We have done a lot of online reading, researching, reading, comparing and more reading. We are finally poised to purchase a Nikon D90 (body only) and we are also going to be ordering a Nikkor 50mm f1.8D Autofocus lens. It is time to go from our "point and shoot" to a serious DSLR camera. I am ready. Yes I am. Err, WE are. Bruce is on board with me and piloting this purchase. Another reason we are a great team!

Waiting in our "wish list" is this. Thanks for the tip Erin! Check out her photograpy blog too!

It is time to dive in to the realm of the unknown...but we have some great help and more help. And even more. We are blessed with good advice--thanks girls!

I cannot wait to start experimenting with our new camera. Well...that is...when we order it. And the 'lil beauty' arrives.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

BUSY DAY

It's a beautiful day here in San Diego. The sun is shining bright in a cloudless blue sky and it feels so good on my skin.

We've had a busy Saturday morning. We dropped Kona (who was a very stinky dog) off to get a bath and have her nails clipped. We usually give her a bath here at home, but occasionally we take her and get the works done at the groomer. Today was one of those days.

While our dog was getting her beauty treatment, we ran to Costco and the grocery store and we had enough time to shop and get home and unload everything before I went back to pick her up.

As I was loading Kona up in the car, A texted me this sweet picture of Gracie in the adorable girlie camo pants we got her while we were there last weekend. How cute is that?

And last but not least -- here is our clean, "happy to be back home again" dog, Kona. Stinky no more.

I am off to enjoy my day and bask in the warm sunshine.

CRAZY LIFE

Sometimes the crazy busy life I live begins to wear me down. I know I am not the only one to feel this way.

During the week, I am inundated with emails, faxes, phone calls and deadlines with my job. And in my private life, I keep up with everyone via emails, texts, calls, Facebook and Myspace.

My favorite escape from stress is camping. In the middle of nowhere (we usually go to the local desert). I like to take walks and look for heart shaped rocks (yes, I do collect them). And sit around a campfire at night and stare at the billions of stars above me. And eat s'mores.

What better place, than around a campfire, is there to eat s'mores. Takes me back to when I was a kid.

Those were stress free days.

OH, BABY

Snuggly sweetheart. I miss you "Geebs"...can't wait to see you again!

Love, Memaw