Hey Y'All

Paula's Christmas Cookbook

An Apron that Paula Deen sells on her website

Hi Y'all!!! People tend to look at you funny when you're from Ohio and you start talking all southern and your not. But since Paula and I are BFF's, I want to talk just like her. Anyway, I'm so excited, I've been looking for Paula's new cookbook called Paula Deen Celebrates and it's been sold out of the stores I've been too so I went on her website and found out she is coming out with a cookbook at the end of October called Paula Deen's Christmas. Now why do I want this book? Because every year on Christmas Day we have a big open house and for the past few years I've been having a theme to them. Last year it was an Italian Christmas, where I made pizzelles(pizzelles are Italian cookies that are made in this thing that looks like some kind of weird George Forman grill) and had lemoncello etc... So this year I decided it was going to be a southern Christmas and who better to help me then my best friend Paula. Believe me when I tell you this is the one and only thing that I plan way ahead of time for Christmas. For some reason I must have a plan of action for the food months in advance. I'll buy the presents two weeks before Christmas but the food has to be thought out for months. And I love the apron, it is so appropriate for my life right now. We are heading down Paula's way in the next few weeks and I just know she'll want to have me over for sweet tea and biscuits. Either that or she'll have me arrested for stalking. No really, we are going to try and make it to her restaurant in Savannah and I'm not even going to worry about my diet if we make it there. I hope Paula doesn't mind me taking these images off her website but since we are BFF's, I'm sure it'll be fine.

Safe Travels,

Joan

Dreamin......

This is the one and only magazine that I subscribe to. I read other magazines but this is the only one I actually get year after year. I love looking through it, sometimes I don't even read all the articles. I just like to look at the homes of the lucky people who get to live on the coast everyday. I don't care if it's the coast of Maine or Vancouver or Key West, I love looking at them all and dream that one day my sweetie and I might be able to live part of the year (the cold part) on the coast. And to be honest I've never given the mountains a try, but in my mind nothing beats the coast. I keep every one of these magazines that I have gotten in a big wicker style basket in my downstairs powder room for my guests. My sweetie and I are not at the point where we can live part of the year on the coast just yet, so in the meantime I'll keep getting my magazine and dream.

Safe Travels,

Joan

Tagged - The Name Game

Okay, Kari I will get back at you someday for this tag -lol - it was kind of hard to think of stuff for this one. Okay, so here are the rules. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would wanted to have. When you are tagged, write your own post containing your middle name facts. At the end of your post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.





Married to Mike. Okay that was an easy one to start off with.


Alaska, I'm going to Alaska next month for work. Tough job, I know.


Reading a really good book right now by Karen Kingsbury.


I can't wait to go to Hilton Head Island with my family soon.


Enjoying watching Maddie learning to walk.



Okay, if you haven't figured it out, my middle name is Marie. Now the pressure of tagging someone. I really don't know who to tag since I am still so new at this, so if any of you want to play along feel free to and leave me a comment so I can learn more about you.





Safe Travels,



Joan

Travel Tuesday - Barcelona

Market In Barcelona





This I will explain in full in my text below

Las Ramblas

We sailed from Sicily and cruised past Stromboli and stopped in Barcelona. We had decided not to do any of the ships shore excursions and just walk around Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is the main street in Barcelona, there are many shops and markets all along the way. Sometimes the best way to see another culture is to go where the locals go and we sure did that. We found this market, where the locals go for food and when I say it was fresh food, it really was fresh food. In fact some of the food was trying to walk away. We were both fascinated by this place. First of all it was huge, with every kind of food you could imagine. Fish, meat, candies, fresh fruit and veggies. Some of which we never seen before. I would guess we spent almost two hours in there. I have lots more pictures of the place but this gives you a good idea of it. Okay now on to explain the second picture. I know it looks gross to some of you and to me also. But I couldn't figure out what it was, so I asked the girl behind the counter and of course she didn't speak English and I didn't speak Spanish but she finally understood what I was asking her and she pointed above her head to a picture of these cute little bunnies running around in a field. So there you have it, they are bunnies that people buy and cook. We didn't get to see some of the most famous sites in Barcelona but we sure did get the local flavor and it was fun. If you do ever get to go to this wonderful cosmopolitan city, just take a stroll up the Las Ramblas, you won't regret it. Next week we are headed to the place where the movie stars go. Next stop is Cannes, France

Safe Travels,

Joan

Travel Tuesday -Stromboli Volcano & Barcelona

Stromboli fishing village

The other side of the island where the lava flowed

I can't believe I almost forgot to show you pictures of cruising past Stromboli. As you can see it is an active volcano. On one side of the island there is a village and the other side is where the lava flows down to the sea. I found it hard to believe people lived here, I mean it is an active volcano, one that we could quite clearly see the red lava flow. I hope they all have boats to get off the island quickly if they need too. We went past the volcano late in the evening. My sweetie and I had some champagne the cruise line had given us for our 30th wedding anniversary so we sat on the deck and watched the volcano and drank champagne. It was wonderful and we both enjoyed it.

Safe Travels,

Joan

Cincinnati Reds Game

Maddie discovered the tall buildings in downtown

Maddie, Mommy & Daddy

Grandma (me), Maddie & Grandpa

Kari , this picture is for you. That's Johnny Bench at home plate catching a ball from Davey Concepcion. I know it's hard to see, but believe me it's him.

Last night was so much fun. We went to the Reds game and to watch Davey Concepcion's number 13 being retire. For those of you who don't know, David Concepcion was part of the Big Red Machine back in the 70's. It was pretty exciting because most of the Big Red Machine were there, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Sparky Anderson, Ken Griffey and George Foster were all there on the field for the ceremony. And in that last picture above, Davey Concepcion threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Bench. It would have been so cool to have all of them on the field again. Back in the 70's when my sweetie and I started dating we went to many baseball games because my father in law had season tickets. In fact our first date was a baseball game. These guys made baseball fun and exciting to watch and I remember each one of them. Anyway, it was fun and Davey was very emotional during his speech. As you can see from the second picture, Maddie was just as excited to see all of this. Also, did you notice my new hair color? I love what my girl did to it this time. she made it a little darker with highlights. I tried to move the top picture down but Blogger wouldn't let me. I just thought it was so neat. Maddie was so fascinated with the tall buildings in downtown Cincy on our way to Starbuck's. She just could not figure them out. Also my spies at Starbuck's downtown tell me that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is coming out soon.

Safe Travels,

Joan

Picture of the Day

I bought this new little storage basket this week and Cleo thinks it belongs to her. I've been finding her in it all week. Silly girl!! It also looks like I need to clean my baseboards. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. :-)

Safe Travels,

Joan

18 Hours

In the past 18 hours my sweetie and I had two different funerals to go to. The first one was the brother of one of our good friends. He was killed in what seems to be a random act of violence last weekend. Needless to say, that one was very hard to go to. Our friend was very close to her brother, he was only 51 years old. It's hard to know the words to say to someone in this situation, sometimes all you can do is be there for them.


The second funeral was my sweetie's cousin. She had a terminal illness and everyone knew what the outcome would be, but it doesn't make it any easier on the family. I love this big extended Italian family that I married into. When they get together each Christmas Eve, there is food from recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. It's wonderful to catch up with everyone. This particular cousin had moved away many years ago, so I didn't really know her. They brought her home so she could spend her last days with family and in talking to my sweetie's aunt it sounded like her last days were peaceful and full of love.

Anyway, on this hot August weekend, I am holding my family and friends close and counting my blessings.


Safe Travels,



Joan

No More House Cleaning

See this little thing, it's suppose to be "childproof." I am calling it "joanproof." I cannot get the thing to open, it has all my cleaning supplies in it. We put it there because Maddie's favorite form of entertainment when she comes to Grandma and Grandpa's is this. So I decided no more house cleaning. Sounds like a plan to me.

By the way, it's going to be 96 degrees here today in Ohio. Even for a summer person like me, it's a bit too much. Stay cool and have a great day!

Safe Travels,

Joan

Thinking Out Loud

Do not worry...Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Matthew 6:25-34

Sometimes I want to take the problems that come down my road in this walk of life and chew on them until there's no flavor left in them. I know I paraphrased these verses some, but the basic idea is we worry and we know it's a waste of time. We know we should trust God, but we want to hold on to our worry. I know I have to remind myself of this...daily.

Safe Travels,

Joan

Shopping and other stuff

So I went out today to get Karen Kingsbury's new book called Summer but the book store I went to was already sold out of it. :-( So I leave the bookstore and Steinmart's and Homegoods are right in the same shopping area and of course I had to go in for a visit and look what I found at Homegoods. This cute little pink Madison name thingy. I have no idea what you would call this. Anyway did I mention it was pink and it was cute and since it was from Homegoods, it was a good deal. I was so excited about it, I took a picture of it with my cell phone sitting on top of my car and sent the picture to my daughter. Also did I mention, it was the only one there that said Madison and that it was pink. I did finally find Karen's new book but I don't think I'll be able to wait until I go to the beach to read it, it looks too good.



Okay, this is really switching gears but if you can, please pray for the people on the Yucatan Peninsula as they struggle with being hit by Hurricane Dean. I've been lucky enough to go there a few times and the people who live there are friendly and hard working people who depend on travel and tourism for their livelihood.





Safe Travels,





Joan

Travel Tuesday - Taormina, Sicily

My sweetie in Taormina



Me in Taormina



View of Sicily from Taormina



So we sailed out of Croatia and sailed into Sicily. And we were very excited to be in Sicily. After all,this is where my sweetie's Grandfather came from and we have heard there are still distant relatives living there. We did not have time to go and visit the village he came from, but maybe someday we'll get back. Sicily is also home to the very old and beautiful Sicillian villages which were used by Francis Ford Coppola in the "Godfather" movies. As we were driving to get to Taormina, you could almost picture Michael Coleone drinking some red wine somewhere. Okay maybe not... It took about one hour to Taormina from the port of Messina. Taormina is a beautiful medieval village perched high on Mt. Tauro. And the only word to describe it is beautiful. Most of our time in Taormina was on our own, so we went shopping and sightseeing. Our son and son-in-law are both "Godfather" fans and there are plenty of "Godfather" souvenirs to buy. We also stopped and ate at one of the many cafes there. It is such a treat to eat at the cafes in Italy. Here's a couple of tips if you go to Taormina, first be aware that there are cobblestone streets and the ground is uneven and there are many hills. Wear comfortable shoes, gym shoes would be the best. I twisted my ankle coming down one of the steps there and I was wearing gym shoes but I was looking at the scenery and not the ground. Sicily is a very beautiful place and I hope to go back and explore more some day. We only seen Mt. Etna in the distance and I do wish we would have seen more of it because some of our fellow cruisers really thought it was worth the visit. So as we leave Sicily remember what Vito Corleone used to say "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse". (I think that's what he said) That offer is to go to Spain next week.


Safe Travels,


Joan

Rainbow Row and Hummingbirds

These houses are in Charleston, South Carolina. It is called Rainbow Row and my sister Gail just came back from vacation there, where she took this picture. I had told Sophie about them because she had posted pastel houses that are located in Notting Hill in London. Go here and compare the two sets of pastel houses. Let me know if you think they are comparable. Charleston is a wonderful place to visit and so is London.

Okay, I bought this hummingbird feeder back in May. It has the same nectar in it from May. Not one hummingbird came to my feeder all summer until this weekend. Now there are hummingbirds coming everyday. I'm so excited. They must have told all their other hummingbird friends because it's becoming very popular. I know it's hard to see but if you look real hard you can see one on the right side of the feeder. It was hard to get a picture of one because they fly away so fast and there's a slight delay with my digital camera. I know, some of you probably get lots of hummingbirds a day at your house, but I'm still excited to see these pretty little birds.

Safe Travels,

Joan

Terrible Twos

Kari invited me to play this along with her and Kat and I'm always up for a fun game. Please consider yourself invited to join in the fun. And if you do, let me know.

1. Two Names You Go By: Joan or Joni (anyone who knows me through my husband calls me Joni because that is what he calls me).

2. Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: Flip Flops and Shorts (wait a minute, that doesn't sound right. I do have on other clothes).

3. Two Things You Want In A Relationship: Love and honesty.

4. Two of Your Favorite Things to Do: Okay the computer is becoming one of them lately and taking my walks

5. Two Things You Want Very Badly At the Moment: A Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks (they are not available yet) but soon and some chocolate.

6. Two Pets You Had/Have: Claire, the best Golden Retriever in the world ( I was heartbroken when she passed away) and Cleo, our ten year old cat.

7. Two People Who Will Fill This Out First: I have no clue, but I hope you give it a try.

8. Two Things You Did Last Night: Hung out on the couch for awhile while I recovered from the big party and read a magazine.

9. Two People Who Live in Your House: My sweetie & Cleo(she also thinks she's a human). And we have various kids coming back and forth.

10. Two People You Talked to Last: My sweetie and Cleo (yeah I know she's a cat but she's a good listener)

11. Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow: Walking with my Sister and I'm hoping to get the gray out of my hair(what, you thought I was a natural blonde?)

12. Two Longest Car Rides: Taking Five kids(three of ours and two extra) from Cincinnati to Naples, Fla.---a 15 hour drive. Also from Ohio to Hilton Head.

13. Name Two of Your Favorite Holidays: Christmas & St. Patricks Day (because Spring is coming soon after March 17th) You didn't see that one coming, did you?

14. Name Two Favorite Beverages: Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks and a tie between Coke Zero and Crystal Lite Lemonade.

The Day After

Mommy, Maddie & Daddy

Maddie eating her Elmo cake

Maddie, Mommy , my great niece Bailey, and me holding Violet

Fellow Bloggers and friends Kevin & Sarah and Katie & Casey

Okay, we survived the big party but we are all pretty tired today. We hosted the party at our house and we have big parties every Christmas and the Fourth of July, so I'm not sure why this one wore us all out. Have you ever seen or heard two one year old little girls going after the same Tickle Me Elmo doll? Not a pretty sight or sound!!:-) Here are a few pictures and thank you all for hanging in there with me while I posted a million posts about this birthday. Mommy says next year it's going to be a much more laid back birthday. Don't forget we are all going to Sicily on Travel Tuesday this week.


Safe Travels,

Joan

The Big Day

Grandma, Gramps & Maddie right after she was born

Maddie's 1st year picture

Happy Birthday sweet Maddie girl!! Love you!




Safe Travels,


Joan

A little of this and a little of that

My good friend Kim sent me an e-mail called if women ruled the world and it had the above picture in it. I've seen this e-mail before but this is one I am guilty of doing, the shoe for a hammer and a knife for a screwdriver.

Also, one last word about Kari's season poll. Autumn won by a landslide and I'm not a sore loser or anything but I have the three most dreaded words in the history of man to tell you guys: "Wind chill factor" Enough said! :-).

Go to Isabella's Closet and check out her giveaway for her 100th post. She's giving away a free banner/logo. And also Kari pointed me in the direction of this great giveaway at the:

BunniesBungalow

This is such a great site to visit and she's giving away a French coffee press and some other great things. But hurry because I think this ends tomorrow.

There are a few really talented ladies out there and if you haven't visited them, pop over for a visit and enjoy their blogs.

The first is Sophie, she has a great blog and it inspires me to do some things around my house.

And also go visit Sandy, she has some real talent and for someone like me who can't even draw stick people, I am in awe of people who have this talent.

Anyway do yourself a favor and visit all these ladies.

It's date night tonight for my sweetie and I. I think we are going to grab something to eat, do a little shopping and hit Starbucks. Hope you are having a great Friday!

Safe Travels,

Joan

Getting Ready for the Big Day

Maddie and Gramps having a business meeting


Uncle Steve trying to bribe Maddie with a bunny

Maddie wants nothing to do with the play cell phones, only the real ones

Today Maddie, Mommy & I went to the Party Store to get all the supplies you need for a birthday party for a one year old. I never knew there was such a big selection of party supplies for this age group. Maddie preferred the Elmo party ware but Mommy had the last word and it will be a pink and lavender party. Then since we were right by Grandpa's work, we made a surprise visit. Uncle Steve tried to bribe Maddie with a bunny but she still will have nothing to do with him. Sorry Steve, maybe next time try something from Tiffany's :-)! And while we were there she took about four steps. Go Maddie girl!!

Safe Travels,

Joan

This is the day......

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it"

Psalm 118 : 24

Couldn't find a sunrise so a sunset will have to do. I am trying to catch up with all my work today and just thought I would stop for a moment and rejoice. Have a great day!!

Safe Travels,

Joan

Three Generations

Grandma (me)




Mommy (my daughter)


Maddie (my granddaughter)

I warned you that I would have some Maddie pictures coming this week. I thought I would show you how much all three of us looked alike. It's kind of hard to see because we are all different ages in these photos but I think you'll be able to see the resemblance. All of us were born with a full head of dark hair. I also think we have the same nose. The girls laugh at the picture of Melissa (Mommy) because they can't understand why I would put a giant piece of yarn in her hair. Would someone tell them that everyone did that back in the late 70's? Am I the only Mom who put big giant pieces of yarn in their kids hair back then? :-) More memories to come later this week.........

Safe Travels,

Joan

Travel Tuesday - Dubrovnik

Me on the ship with Dubrovnik in the background

Inside the walled city

This was taken on top of the walled city

Some of you might be saying right now Du-what-nik??? Let me tell you about this little gem of a city. But first let me say this, I knew of course that Dubrovnik was one of the stops on our cruise, but I didn't pay much attention to it because my head was full of Italy. So I didn't research it as I usually do when we go away. I thought this city was just a filler for the cruise line in between big ports. BIG mistake! This is a beautiful city and well worth a visit. It's hard to believe that not long ago, there was war in this country. This walled city is on the Adriactic sea and you can see from the above picture how blue the water is. The architecture is baroque and amazing. We took a tour of the walled city and the guide was fascinating with tales of all the history. Then we walked around and just soaked in the feel of the place. The people of Croatia are friendly and inviting. They were selling their fruits and vegetables in the middle of the city and my sweetie just loves to go around and check out all their products. What really made an impression on me was how clean this country was. Also, it was one of the prettiest ports we had visited. Well, it's time to leave Croatia and head on to the country where my sweetie's grandfather came from. Sicily is our next stop.

Safe Travels,

Joan

And.....

Grandma, Maddie & Gramps





This week is what my daughter calls Maddie's birth week. Her one year old birthday is on Saturday. So please forgive this over the top Grandma if I have a few more than usual Maddie posts. I know I am a little crazy when it comes to this little girl. So just humor me and shake your head and say "What a rookie Grandma". That's okay with me because at the end of the day, I will still be crazy about her. Oh and by the way, look Grandma is wearing pink again and it looks like Maddie has also inherited the pink gene.

Safe Travels,

Joan

And one more thing......

Jim & my sweetie



This is my son Jim. My girls are telling me I don't mention him or show pictures of him like I do of Maddie and the girls. So here he is. He's one of the "good guys." This is last Thanksgiving before he cut his hair. My two favorite guys! So handsome.



Safe Travels,

Joan

And this is why I picked summer.....

I hope you can read this, it's coming across a little small on my screen. This was in our paper this morning and this is why I picked summer on Kari's vote for your favorite season poll. Come on all you summer people, go over to Kari's and vote for summer. Last time I checked autumn was winning by a landslide. Here are some of the reasons to pick summer, the days are longer. Have you forgotten what it's like to have darkness at 6pm in the winter? You can wear flip flops everyday in the summer and show off toe nail polish. That has to count for something. The fruits and veggies are the best of year. The Georgia & Carolina peaches are so good right now. I love watching the fireflies lighting up the night in the summer. They are the only insects I like other then butterflies. And what about swimming everyday. What could be more fun then going in the pool and floating around on a raft? Okay, I know I could go on with lots more but these are a few of my favorites things of summer.



Safe Travels,

Joan

Embracing Pink

I decided to quit fighting my inner pinkness and just give in, so I changed my template to this pretty rose color. I don't know why I gravitate to pink but I do, just ask my two girls. I am always looking for the perfect shade of pink eye shadow to go with the ten shades of pink eye shadow I already own. Sick, I know......... Our bedroom is a mauve color, though my girls call it pink and beg me to change it along with my office which is a nice muted pink. If you look in my closet you will see various colors of pink. What can I say, I guess I am just a pink kind of girl. Even my underwear is called pink, though that may be under the heading of too much info. Oh well, I feel the need for a new pink eyeshadow to wear tonight so I better get to the store. Have a great "pink" weekend!


Safe Travels,


Joan

Karen Kingsbury

Karen Kingbury's new book called Summer will be out on August 21st. She is a gifted writer. If you have never read any of her books, I would start with the Redemption series that introduces you to the Baxter family. There are five books in that series and then move on to the Firstborn series and the Sunrise series is the last of the Baxter family. Summer is the second in the Sunrise series. Her books are always so moving. My sisters and I are always waiting for her next book to come out. I really don't think you will be disappointed in her books. To learn more about Karen's books go here to Karen's website. I'm excited, two good books to take to the beach next month. Today I also bought a book by Nicholas Sparks called Dear John. I really like his books. Some of his books have been made into movies. His books are usually very romantic and sometimes sad.

Safe Travels,

Joan

Nice Matters

Kari at Just livin' Large gave me this award. I know I am suppose to pass this forward but I don't know that many people in the blog world yet. Thanks Kari, you are very kind. Two awards in one week. I can't believe it. Like I said before I never get awards.

Kat at justabeachkat has also been really nice to me but I know she's has already received this award.

And Kelli at livingingrace checks in with me from time to time just to say hi and leave a kind word. Considering all she is going through, I am in awe that she does that.

And my friend Sarah at Whitman's Sampler always leaves me a nice comment letting me know someone out there reads this.

I know as I get to know more of you, I'll have lots of people to pass this on too. Thanks again Kari!

Safe Travels,


Joan

Silhouette of Maddie

As an early birthday present, Grandma took Maddie & Mommy to the mall today and had this silhouette done of Maddie. I think the silhouette man did a great job. I never had this done with my kids so I wasn't sure how it worked. He does it all with scissors and the kids don't have to be all dressed up or even holding still for very long. He even does it from pictures. I wanted to get a picture with a side view of her to put right next to this one to show you, but an almost one year old doesn't hold still for very long. Love you Maddie girl!!

Travel Tuesday - Venice

My Sweetie on the ship on the Grand Canal

Gondola Ride

And just because this is so funny

I decided to do my travel blogs on Tuesdays from now on and call them Travel Tuesdays. Why? Mostly because I like the way Travel Tuesdays sound. I'm so deep:). Anyway on to my all time favorite place in Italy. I loved Venice, just loved it. When our ship came sailing down the Grand Canal on a beautiful sunny spring day playing the three tenors in the background, it was one of those moments in life that takes your breath away. We did Venice on our own. Venice is made up of 118 islands, 400 plus bridges and 170 canals. Venice is an easy city to walk around and discover for yourself. It seems like every alley or street you go down, you'll discover some new treasure and for someone who likes to shop it is so much fun. I bought my girls some Murano glass jewelry. Do not miss a gondola ride. Here's a tip, it is cheaper to go off the Grand Canal and bargain with them. Our gondola guide was very informative and fun. Piazza San Marco is the heart of Venice and not to be missed when you visit. Can I just say the pigeons on the Piazza San Marco are crazy? My sweetie took some not so flattering pictures of my reaction to them. We had two days in Venice and Mike was happy with one day but he indulged me and went back for a second day because he knew I loved it so much. We found an open air market the second day and he did enjoy that. I hated to leave Venice but our next stop was a very pleasant surprise. Next stop is Croatia.





Safe Travels,


Joan

Remembering Alan

Dad, Me, Judy, Alan, Gail & June

My brother died one year ago today, suddenly and unexpectedly. This is not going to be a maudlin post because he was not that kind of guy. He was a big guy with a big heart, who loved to tease his younger sisters. I miss my brother.

A few weeks after his death I was reading a devotional that seemed to be just what I needed to see at that time in my life. Of course I had read this before but it was what I needed right then.

It was from John 11. In John 11, Jesus was talking to Martha, who was grieving the death of her brother. He said: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die"

The author of the devotional goes on to say this. For each "today" we are given and for the inevitable "tomorrow" that will come, we don't have to be afraid. Jesus is with all who trust Him, and He will have the last word.

Safe Travels,

Joan

Good Friends - Good Times

Steve, Jim & Mike



Pat, Steve, Mike & Karen



Last night we went to a birthday party for our good friend Jim. He's one of the last of us to turn 50. My husband has a saying about people whom he holds in high esteem. He'll say he's "one of the good guys" and Jim is certainly one of the "good guys."

We had a wonderful time. Happy Birthday Jim!

Pat, Steve, Me & Karen

Safe Travels,

Joan