Category Archives: special occasion

Banner is 4 Years old today

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Banner’s Birthday

It’s hard to believe its Banner’s Birthday and he is  4 years old today! Those 4 years went by so fast. He was such a cute little thing when I brought him home. Now he’s a big fluffy orange tiger cat. Yes, he has the orange cat single brain cell. He makes me laugh most of the time. He’s also a catnip addict. 

Banner Photo credit Deb Neumann

Banner Was So Tiny

When I first brought Banner home he was so tiny and cute. I had no idea he would turn into such a giant Floof ball.  His picture popped up in my Facebook feed. I wasn’t looking for a new cat but he was just so cute. His adoption was handled through Project Safe Pet. 

First Day- Photo Deb Neumann

Banner- Photo credit Deb Neumann

Banner Really Grew Fast

After a couple of months I worried that Banner would be lonesome if I went back to work in an office when COVID passed so I got him a little friend.  Balboa was only a couple of months younger but look at the size difference! Banner was already a big boy!

Banner and his little friend

Balboa is so small next to Banner he looks like a little mouse.

Time flies

Banner soon fluffed out into his grown up cat fur.  Don’t you think he’s a beautiful boy?

Photo credit Deb Neumann

And He just Keeps Growing!

Photo Credit Deb Neumann

The Orange Cat Single Braincell in Action

Banner is sure that he is hidden in the box. 

Can you see me now?

 

photo Deb Neumann

photo credit Deb Neumann

Did I mention that his favorite trick is to steal my fitbit off the charger every morning. Sometimes I catch him and sometimes it turns into a search for the fitbit.  He hides it well!

More Floof

How can you not love something so fluffy. Yea he gets brushed every day and he’s quite the DIVA about it. He has his own brush and comb and expects me to groom him even before I can get myself ready in the morning.

Reminiscing

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First Cruise and Reminiscing

Reminiscing, remembering, a walk down memory lane. What’s the point of making memories if we don’t pull them out and dust them off now and then? Sometimes things look different after some time has passed. For example let’s talk about cruises. If you ask me now if I like to go on cruises I’ll tell you no. It’s not my cup of tea. I’ve been on 3 cruises in my life, The  Bahamas , Cozumel and Alaska. Now I’ll share my feelings about each cruise, the good and the bad as I remember it. I wonder if I’ll still feel the same way after I’ve brushed off the memories.

The 40th Birthday Cruise

The first cruise was a “destination” cruise. My BFF was turning 40. It was a traumatic milestone for him so 3 of us got together and decided we’d take him on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was a short cruise. If I recall it was just 4 days. We spent one day on a private island. That was the best part of the trip for me. I got to spend the day snorkeling. My 3 friends hung out on the beach.

Stock Photo

Formal Night

Like most cruises at that time, one night was formal night. We were cruising with the Royal Caribbean. We all got dressed to the 9’s and had our picture taken with the captain. Then we retired to one of the lounges. The entertainment was big band music. Everyone was dancing. We didn’t stay long. My 3 companions didn’t want to dance at least not ballroom dancing. Instead we went to one of the shows. I’m a team player so I went along. Most entertainment on cruise ships is top notch and these shows were no exception. It was a good 2nd choice to the dancing.

Chihuly

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Bahamas

When we arrived in the Bahamas my 3 friends wanted to go shopping. I suggested we explore the ocean activities, like swimming  with dolphins, as I was not interested in shopping. I can go shopping anytime. Once again it was 3 to 1 so we went shopping. After shopping was over we took a shuttle boat to Paradise Island to visit the famous Atlantis Resort. I saw my first Chihuly, a glass masterpiece and became an instant fan. The aquarium under the resort was very cool too. It was like walking through a submerged ancient city. 

Atlantis resort

Stock Photo

The Cruise Home

The last day was a sea day. We were headed home. Since I don’t gamble I avoided the casino. I wasn’t interested in the art auction either. A deck chair and Dan Brown‘s book, The Da Vinci Code were calling my name.

Experience Rating

Celebrate the Holidays

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December is a Month of Holidays

Happy Holidays or is it Merry Christmas? It is Christmas Day, the end of December. December 25 to be exact. Since Thanksgiving the world has been going mad with Christmas spirit. Displays in stores, Christmas Carol’s on the radio, Christmas movies on TV, Christmas everywhere. Even if you aren’t Christian it’s hard not to get caught up in the frenzy.  You have Santa Claus at the mall and even the Grinch! 

Snow for Christmas

This year will be a white Christmas in many areas. Folks are embracing the cold as just part of the season. No offence to Old Saint Nick but you can keep the North Pole weather right where it is, up north, at least as far as I’m concerned. OOPS ! Did that sound grinchy? I’m just not a fan of the cold.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

It seems to me that the Christians in the world know Christmas stands for the birth of Christ but in this modern world it’s just a commercial holiday. It’s meaning much like Labor Day, Memorial Day and so many other holidays has been diluted. For the religious that’s bad but think about it another way.  The holiday has become a season of celebration for many people of diverse backgrounds. They may not join in the religious aspect but they enjoy the lights, the music and the joy of the season. I have Jewish friends that celebrate Hanukkah in December and also join in with the Christmas parties that abound. And what about Kwanzaa which celebrates African Heritage.

Lots of December Celebrations

There’s lots of celebrations in December so maybe Happy Holidays is the best choice. 

  • Saint Nicholas Day (Christian)
  • Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexican)
  • St. Lucia Day (Swedish)
  • Hanukkah (Jewish)
  • Christmas Day (Christian)
  • Three Kings Day/Epiphany (Christian)
  • Boxing Day (Australian, Canadian, English, Irish)
  • Kwanzaa (African American)
  • Omisoka (Japanese)
  • Yule (Pagan)
  • Saturnalia (Pagan)

Don’t forget Season’s Greetings

And finally, there’s Season’s Greetings. Maybe this is the best choice of all. Not everyone is happy this time of year. I know many families and individual’s that are missing loved ones. Some have passed on other are estranged some are fighting wars in far off lands. Some families are struggling with illness or other hardship. It’s easy to forget that not everyone is happy during this time of year. Lets be gentle and tolerant and remember that many struggle in this season of joy.  I’ll end this missive with a nice generic

Season’s Greetings to all!

 

 

All those Little Things

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Those Things you almost forget to mention

I’ve got a few things to share with you. A little of this and a little of that. Things I forgot to mention and things that just didn’t seem to fit in any place else. So today’s post is a little bit of house keeping.

The “Sandcastles”

This post really seemed to hit the spot. So I want to share a couple more photos. The first one is The Sand with the Dragon Tattoo. Catchy

Sand sculpted like a dragon

Then there’s the sculpture named Wishful Thinking. Who among us haven’t indulged in wishful thinking at one time or another? Here’s a little I dream of Jeannie magic along with the winning lottery ticket. That’s really Wishful Thinking!

If you’d like to see more of my pictures from the Competition, you can stop by  http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p955600703. Be sure to sign the guest book and say Hi.

My Photo Page Has Gone to The BirdsFlamingos

Speaking of my photo page link, I had it in my menu but it disappeared. I’ve been trying to figure out what went wrong. You should be able to see it and click on it. Its really bumming me out. I will get it figured out but it might be awhile. Technology is not my friend, its my challenge. I put together a lovely slide show with music. The theme is Birds. So until I get the link fixed, you can find my Birds slide show at http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/

 

 

Did I forget the Dessert?

Remember the Birthday Celebration at Woods Hole? I never told you where we ended up for dessert. A birthday celebration needs cake and ice cream so that’s what we had.  Leaving Woods Hole we made a stop in Falmouth, MA at Cupcake Charlie’s . What a great way to have Cake and Ice Cream. Everyone can choose their own flavors. Its easy to see why Cupcake Charlie’s is called “New England’s Best Cupcakes”.

Sift Ice Cream And a Cupcake

“Life is Short . . . Eat a Cupcake”

A Cape Cod Birthday Celebration

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A Cape Cod Birthday Celebration

What more could you ask for than spending summer time on Cape Cod. Throw in a birthday to celebrate and you have the ingredients for a perfect day. The question is, can you get there?

First there is the driveBourne Bridge to Cape Cod

 The only way on or off the “Cape” is over one of 2 bridges, the Sagamore and the Bourne. Which one you take depends on where you want to go on  the Cape. The Birthday Girl wanted a”lobsta roll” by the sea.  The Phantom Gourmet suggested Captain Kidd Restaurant in Woods Hole. The Cape Cod Birthday Adventure began at 10:30 am in Brockton, MA. About 3 miles from the Bourne Bridge traffic came to a complete stop. It didn’t matter that we were on a highway with a speed limit of 65 mph. Summer Cape traffic had brought our little excursion to a halt.

Cross Over The Bridge

We had reservations at the restaurant for 1 pm. By 12:00 we had the bridge in sight but we were still just inching along. Finally we squeezed into the 2 lanes of traffic to climb the bridge over the Cape Cod Canal. The views from the bridge are amazing, marred only by the suicide barrier installed to keep the depressed and hopeless alive until they can get help. What a depressing thought!

Captain Kidd RestaurantPicture window

Once over the bridge the traffic began to move and in less that 30 minutes we were entering the little town of Woods Hole. We spotted the restaurant as we waited for a draw bridge to close after letting several small pleasure boats pass from the inner harbor out to the open ocean.

With luck we found parking about a block from the restaurant. In spite of the reservation there was no room on the outdoor deck. The compromise was a table right in front of a large picture window looking out over the inner harbor.

 

Lobster rollsLobster Rolls were the lunch of the day as the birthday girl, her son and daughter all indulged in the seasonal delicacy.

 

I had to be different with a plate of fried sea scallops fresh from the boat. Trust me, you can’t mistake frozen for fresh. The difference is huge. Fried Scallops

 

 

 

 

We were all stuffed after that lunch so a break at the Aquarium before we looked for desert seemed like a great plan.