Just back from a visit to my brother's who lives in Emerald Isle, NC. Hubs wanted to go down to Morehead City because he had never been. Sister-in-law, Bubbette, said we had to see Beaufort, NC while down there. This is a pic from the dock in Beaufort. It is pronounced BOWfort, South Carolina's Beaufort is pronounced BEWfort. Just so you know :)

We checked out a few gift shops in Beaufort. I loved this mermaid. My friend, Lucy, loves mermaids. It was $65, Lucy, so I just took a picture for you. :)

This darling little napkin holder was purchased on my antique jaunt to Camden. $2.00 at the habitat store.

In the napkin holder are the "antique" or rather "vintage" post cards I purchased in Camden. The first one is from my husband's grandfather's Motor In that was located in Sumter. It had 19 cabins. I have always wanted to stay in a "cabin" motel.

Have you ever stayed in one? Do you want to?

A shout out to daughter, Gabby, who redid my blog when Cutest Blog on the Block closed my old design down.

America is "The Melting Pot"

On our final night in Texas, we decided to go to The Melting Pot. Our daughter, Gabby and hr hubs had been to the one in Charlotte, NC recently and thought the dessert was way better than the food. So.....

We choose to order only dessert. We debated between the large and the small size. Server recommenced we get the small and then order a second batch if that wasn't enough. Wise girl!

Small was more than enough chocolate for one sitting.

She kindly offered to take a picture of us after I took her picture.I wish the part of the table showed where they heat the fondue. It was at the front left corner recessed into the table.

This is the view in front of our table. Wine used for decor.

This is the pot (actually a double boiler type deal sitting over another pot which is on the heat surface.)

You will notice that half the chocolate and half the dippers are gone! I forgot to take pictures until we had snarfed up a lot of the food but this is what the dippers are. The tall cylindrical thing is a marshmallow rolled in cinnamon. There was one rolled in chocolate but it disappeared :).

As the restaurant critic I am (not), I give this experience two stars. The dessert cost $13.00; you could make it at home with some melted chocolate chips (use the microwave) some pecans, a few marshmallows, a couple rice crispy treats, 4 strawberries, a tiny piece of cheese cake and a tiny piece of pound cake.

There you go! But for a special occasion, maybe! (Personally I'd rather have a cake from Cold Stone Creamery).

This is the mall where the restaurant was.....a little Vegas looking don't you think?

We did go into the DSW Shoe Warehouse since I need new running shoes. (Now more than ever with ten pounds to lose.)

How's this for a Texas size shoe store?

I found plenty I liked BUT alas those $69 running shoes wiped out my shoe budget for the year.

As we headed into Hartsville at 6 am Sunday morning....the Lord welcomed us home with this beautiful sun rise :) God is Good....All the Time!

Out Takes from the Woodlands

Hard to beat sitting poolside surfing the net on a lap top!

Or floating around to pool......this is our friend Glen.  Bobbie paid me big bucks NOT to publish my picture of her in a bathing suit.  (I CAN be bought!)


This is just a sample of the entertainment available at The Pavilion...an outdoor concert stadium right here in the Woodlands.  Wish Rod Steward had been here when we were! 
This is just a SMALL portion of Cindy and Arts closet.  I like it so much I dreamed Curtis made me one..... don't you love the shoe cubbies and the double hung rods (the ceiling is at least ten feet so there is more room on top not shown.)
This is only a third of their bathroom.  There is a HUGE walk in glass shower behind where my hand towel hangs and another whole sink set up for Art and a separate area for the commode. Sweet.....as my grandson Connor would say :)

I will have at least one more post on the Woodlands after we get home and I can download my pictures onto my PC.  In the meantime, pray for safe travel for us as we drive all night to get home.  

Free as a Bird

What the heck is this about?????

Freebird.....a have it your way burrito icon has migrated south from Aggieville (Texas A&M) for those non-Texans in the readership.
Having met the manager at Kinkos the day of the Grand Opening and been gifted with two free lunches....we tried it out this week.

There were "kids" sitting in lounge chairs in front of the restaurant at 9 AM that day when we went to Kinkos.  The manager, who was getting stuff done at Kinkos, explained.....the first 25 in line would get a YEAR'S WORTH OF FREE BURITOS.  No wonder they lined up at 3 AM.
How cool is this drink station?
Your burrito comes wrapped in foil, so creative patrons make things from the foil and leave them sitting around to be admired.  So cool!
I choose Raspberry Tea for my beverage.....they have the beer, George, but I didn't, couldn't, wouldn't imbibe......even though I am not a deacon (nor could be since our church doesn't allow women deacons). Ah hem!


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Housesitting 101

Well, we did it! We signed up for a housesit last January and we are here at the house now. For those unfamiliar with housesitting, I went to a website called "housesit" and joined ($45) after convincing my husband this would be a fun way to get a FREE vacation.

Every day after we joined I would get housesitting messages from people who were looking for someone to stay at their house while they took a vacation. Most people have a pet or two or three and some plants that need looking after. Others just want someone at their home to prevent a break in.

Every day I would scan the available sits and apply to those that seemed reasonably feasible. As in Italy, California, Hawaii, Washington, DC etc...I learned NOT to ask said husband about each one. He would ponder for days...."do I really want to go to Hawaii in April????" I quickly learned that just because one applies does not mean one gets the job. Solution= apply to everything that does not involve a mobile home, ten feet of snow, ten dogs etc...

So far two have met our criterion and theirs. This is the first. We are in Hillsborough, NC which is 15 minutes from Durham and 15 minutes from Chapel Hill and better than that it is a historic town in its own lovely right.

Our "hosts" welcomed" us to their lovely eclectic home in the woods yesterday. The house is truly one of a kind and surrounded inside and out by nature.....yummo. Lots of windows, too.

The two dogs are Maggie, a loving, sweet yellow lab of five years old; and Blue a part rat terrier/beagle they rescued out of the road a few years back. Blue is very similar in looks and temperment to our Scout. Needless to say we are already in love with these dogs :)

The cats, so far, have stayed outside; but they have a cat door to go in and out when they want (yeah, no litter box to clean).

I will keep you posted on our adventures while we are here the next 12 days so stay tuned to WDGC Donnamo for the latest.