Tuesday 4 & Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Where have you traveled and what is the furthest you've been from home? I have traveled to Mexico City and Acapulco in 1970  Novia Scotia, Canada, while on a New England Cruise. Juneau Alaska while on a cruise and Puerto Vallarta Mexico while on a cruise. Hawaii, 2000, 2009, 2012 and 2018. The Mexican Riviera Cruise is listed above. I need to finish a couple of more days.

2. Is there a location other than where you are, that you think would be a nice place to live? Hawaii!

3. Do you have a photo or story from a favorite place to visit? I have photos and whole links to the pages I did at my Website. I linked a few at my last post. My website is linked on the left under the memes link. Ifo you go there and click on Site Map, it will take you to a page that list 100's of pages. The vacations are on the lower middle section.

4. What dream destination do you have tucked away in your heart? Do you think you'll be able to visit them one day or are plans in the making? Israel, Spain, Italy. I don't think I will go there physically, but there is a lot to see online. I am just traveling through. My final place is Heaven and one place I know I will get to in God's timing. I hope I smell plumerias there!

Waikiki

1. When does time pass slowly for you? When does time past quickly for you? The days just fly by now. I like to be busy for the most part. The day drags when I don't have anything to do.

2. Do you have a favorite beach? What's your favorite 'beach' activity? Tell us what we'd find in your beach bag. There are several beaches I like that are about 30 miles away from me. Takes about and hour to get there because of traffic. If I had to pick one that is local, I would say Corona Del Mar. I would go there while I was attending the University of Irvine. We would go in between classes or just miss a class because we could. It was a wonderful break from school and the reality that childhood was over. It is the beach we took our kids too. The water is a bit more calmer. We also went there with the grands.

Corona Del Mar

Huntington Beach

Balboa is another beach. Our kids liked walking the pier and playing in the water. Then we would leave the parking lot, what across the street, and head to the bay. There was a Ferris wheel at the boardwalk. We would get corndogs, pizza and Balboa bars, a favorite of mine. Sometimes we would drive our car to the ferry and go across to Balboa Island. We were last there with our married group in October. We took a bay cruise, but the captain took us out further towards a pod of dolphins which he estimated 200-300 dolphins. 

It was great! But my most favorite place is Hanauma Bay in Oahu Hawaii. I haven snorkeled there 3 times and loved it. Clear water, and lots of fish. The time with my husband in August of 2009 was the best. The water was warm compared to our Pacific Caost Beaches that are cold.

The grands are older and now the family goes to Newport and Huntington Beach. The piers are busy, and there are a lot of shops. And of course a lot of surfers! It's a lot harder to get a family day for the beach with everyone's schedule. When I go, I take one of several beach bags I have. I always take the basics like sunscreen, sunglasses, towel and water. The past few years I take a journal or travel Bible so I can watercolor in it. Hubby usually packs everything else. 

3. Your favorite book or movie with a beach setting? South Pacific comes to my mind along with From Here to Eternity.  I have seen the Halona beach cove from the love scene in that movie. This picture was taken in 2009 when we were on an Island your of Oahu.

4. What's a food you love, but find it's a pain to eat? Is it worth it? Pomegranates.

5.  Do you like roller coasters? What's the best (or worst) roller coaster you've been on? Yes, I do like roller coasters. I like to go on them at Disneyland. The tallest one was Magic Mountain. I think it was called the Colossus. The last one I went on was the Incredicoaster at Disney's California Adventure. It goes upside down and I liked the feeling. It actually made my neck feel better!

6. Insert your own random thought here. I love to be at the beach. The sounds and smell of the ocean are the best. I like to collect shells. I do not like the drive and hard to find parking. Hubby does not care for the beach for the same reason. I usually ask to go there for our anniversary. which is August 10 or for my birthday which is August 12. My family is giving me a pool n all party on the 9th. I will see how we feel on the 10th!

Hawaii 2009     Hawaii 2012

Thanks to Annie and Joyce for the Memes, links are on the left.

Tuesday 4 & Wednesday Hodgepodge.

Let's talk about animals today!

1. What pets do you have or have you had? Do you have any now or if not, why not?

We have a mini long haired black and tan doxie- Dachshund. 7 year old Minnie is our 3rd doxie. We had Reina from 2000-2009. We had missy from 1977-1993. Minnie's mom Rey belongs to my son's family. They also have Coco.  When I was first married, we had fish and hamsters. We raised hamsters and sold them at a pet shop. We had Alfie and my sister had Pepper and they made lots of baby hamsters that did not get named.

2. How did you find names for your animal friends? What are their names?

Here is Rey Rei, Coco Bean and Minnie mouse/monster. All Disney names.

3. Any special or funny story concerning pets you would like to share?  It could be someone else's as well as your own. Reina would bark at the sprinklers and it made us all laugh.

4.   What benefit do you find having animals in your family? What are the cons of having them? 

Dogs have a way of bringing out our true love emotions. We love our pets like children. They have their own personalities. Our Minnie is the most clingy dog we have owned. I think because we worked with our first two and were retired when we got Minnie. The picture below is Reina.

Reina means queen is Spanish and she did rule the house! Pets can be expensive! I spent $7,000 on Reina and she still died. But what she gave us in love was worth it.

 The Bible says we are to care for our pets. I am working on that for my next Bible journaling meet up. Proverbs 12:10. The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.

1. Do you complete your own tax returns or hire out? Something you've found taxing lately? 

We have had the same tax person for over 2 years. High gas prices!

2. It's spring (in the northern hemisphere anyway)...would you rather spend the day hiking in the great outdoors or planting a garden? Do you/will you have a garden this year? Flowers, vegetables, or a bit of both? I would rather go hiking, but I live in the city and would have to drive a distance to get to a place that to enjoy a real nice hike. I don't garden much. I do like to make a few succulent bowls to give as gift. I like to cut my roses when they bloom. I don't like trimming them, but I do.

3. Do you consider yourself a patient person? In what sort of situation is patience not desirable? Are you happy with the degree of patience you have in your daily life? If not, what can you do to cultivate more of this quality in your life? Just depends on the situation. There are times certain people try my patience. But I have to remember grace.

4. Do you like the flavor cinnamon? If so what's your favorite something made with cinnamon? Yes I do like cinnamon. Mexican hot chocolate!

5. Learn by watching or learn by doing? Elaborate.

Both. Before the days of computers and YouTube, I would see a craft I liked and would buy it. I studied it. Then I make it. Sometimes it was trial by error, and I think that is a good way to learn. Now you can go to YouTube and watch their step-by-step instructions, and even stop the video or rewind. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. I went to my Women's Life group meeting today and we discussed the topic of worry based on the sermon at church. My friends were telling me how much they enjoyed my granddaughter singing Good, Good Father. Do we go to the Father with our worry-concerns, or do we try to find a solution on our own? 

The video below is from my church service on April 7.th If you go to the 1.02 hour spot, you can hear the song Good, Good Father, sung by my granddaughter. She started out by playing the keyboard. The girl on her right is her music and piano teacher. I thank God for giving her a talent and serving at a young age. She is 13, the youngest on the praise team. I played piano for years but had performance anxiety. She practices on my piano that my grandparents gave me when I was 8.

Previous page has San Diego pictures.