…… in pictures.
Because, you know …… I have them, you want to see them are a captive audience.
Kind of.

So here you go:
(Ummmm ….. you might want to pull up a chair.  Just in case you’re standing up right now while at your computer, or tablet or phone.)

This is my niece (on the right with the goggles) and a friend, licking the beater from the homemade ice cream maker.  We used to make ice cream at Jim’s parents’ farm for every birthday, or sometimes just for fun in the summer.  It’s been a couple of decades since that’s happened.
We all took turns sitting on the bucket, turning the handle.
And the result was well worth the effort.  As you can tell from this pic.

 

 

This was me, after I discovered a fun app on my phone that I didn’t realize was there.  I think I killed a good half hour playing with it.  🙂

 

I took this picture about 30 minutes after we got to the beach.  When we sat all of our stuff down the water was about 30 feet away from us.
And then suddenly, it wasn’t.
We had to move our things very quickly at least twice.

 

I love watching the hot air balloons every time I visit San Diego.  A few years ago Son #1 and I, and my brother in law, rode in one.  It was such a cool experience.  So I enjoy watching them float by.  Except this one seemed to have some sort of problem.  It went down, getting flatter and flatter on one side.
But it was a slow descent so I don’t think anyone was hurt.

 

This is my back yard.  So cool, huh?
Well, this was my back yard before I took off for California.  I brought the cushions and ottomans in before I left because it was supposed to rain that day.  I think it rained here a lot, so the cushions still aren’t back on the furniture.
And the outdoor rug doesn’t look as nice as it did in this picture.
But really …… what outdoor does, after it’s been outdoors??

 

And for those of you who’ve seen my collection in my previous home, here it is in the new one.  Finally.

 

I think I liked it better in the other house, against the blue wall.  But I’m not painting this wall any time soon so this will have to do.

 

This is S, my niece, during her horse riding lesson.  English style, as you can see.  She loves it.

 

And here she is in the pool.  Which she also loves.

 

Here’s their dog, Lucy, mid-air before she hits the pool, going after a ball that’s been tossed into the pool.  She cracks me up.  And she absolutely loves going after that ball.

 

This is my brother-in-law (Jim’s brother) dancing with S. in the pool.  He’s a great dad.  He’s been retired since before she was born so she’s had the unique experience of growing up with both of her parents at home.  She’s very, very lucky blessed.

 

This was downtown by the Marriott.  There were a lot of cool kites every day.

 

And this is a guy who stacked rocks into tall towers, without using any glue, or cement, or ANYTHING.  It was pretty dang cool.

 

Here’s a pic that my friend K took.  And no, she didn’t make a donation. <tee hee>
Isn’t that amazing?!  The top big rocks are balancing on such tiny rocks.

 

And this guy.  I have no idea what he was doing, other than riding around the yachts on a board, just using a pole.  In the next pic you can see how tiny he looks next to the freakingly huge boat!  Look closely …… he’s on the right.

 

This was Friday night, from the hotel.  The fireworks were fun.

 

And this is one of my very favorites:  Daughter #3 karaoking Saturday night during the banquet.  I could listen to my daughters sing all day long, every day.  She did a wonderful job and she did an even better job interpreting for the very first time for two of our deaf widows.  I could watch her do that all day long, too.
Except when Kelley did her comedy workshop and went up to D3 while she was interpreting and starting giving her curse words, and REALLY bad words, to interpret!!  I had to stand up in front of God and everyone and insist that she stop doing that because my BABY doesn’t know those words!!!
It was really hilarious.
And I learned some pretty cool signs.
Ha!!

 

This was my dress for the banquet/dance/karaoke.  My mom hemmed it at the last minute and did a terrific job.

 

This is the back view.  Whoop!

 

This was the view from my room:

 

This was the view from the elevator landing.  Six tennis courts …… one clay.  Too bad I didn’t bring a racquet!

 

And this, my Peeps, is the new addition.
Wait!  Not to my home!!  I had you going for a moment there, didn’t I?  Lol!
This is Winston (as in Churchill) and Mom and D just picked him up this morning.  He’s an English Mastiff. ❤   They brought him over to meet me and I instantly fell in love.
If I ever decide to stay in one place full time I’ll definitely consider getting another one.

 

OK, now you’re caught up with me, picture-wise.

Now I have to get some more laundry out of the dryer.  Yes, I’m still doing laundry!! It’s a never-ending job!
Happy Weekend!!