Three weeks down, three to go....

I'm halfway through!  

Tomorrow I will start my fourth week of radiation.  It seems to be moving along pretty fast.  The radiation itself only takes about ten minutes.  I started getting a little bit of a burn on my skin and some swelling under my arms but everything is normal so far.  

Galen and I are trying to make the best of the long trip to and from the hospital.  We usually stop at Starbucks in the morning for coffee and occasionally a breakfast sandwich, and after my radiation we might visit my sister in Chapel Hill, or we might stop somewhere for lunch.  We occasionally will go to the mall bookstore and relax with a good book and a cup of coffee.  

Soon this will be over and I will look back and realize what a really long journey this has been, 

and I might even be amazed how I ever got through it.  

"Take Comfort in Rituals"

These words were posted at Starbucks this morning. So true, don't you think?

Toisnot Lake

Toisnot park and lake is not far from our house ~

so hubby and I got up early this morning,

stopped by Starbucks and then drove over to the lake.

It's a beautiful park for picnicking ~ or maybe just sitting under a big shade tree reading your favorite book. There are nature trails if you like, a playground for the kids, and fishing too.

I came to feed the ducks.

Oh, yes, they knew I had bread ~

even the ones in the lake.

Pretty ones and not so pretty ones.

They all had their fair share of bread, I thought, except for one little guy who scurried up the hill from the lake just as fast as he could, came right over to me, looked at me, and I had just thrown the last piece of bread away. Poor baby. Maybe I should have brought more bread. Maybe next time.

We enjoyed the morning by the lake, the company of the ducks, and a good cup of coffee.

A good way to start the day, I think.

A coffee lover's coffee

If you enjoy a really good cup of coffee, you might want to try a new one I just discovered.

As you know, I am a big fan of Starbucks ~ French Roast, Verona, Sumatra, Gold Coast...

well, the other day while I was in the coffee aisle at Walmart, there was a very nice lady that recommended Wolfgang Puck coffee. She said she tasted it at a hotel where it was served and she thought it was the best coffee ever.

Hmmmm, ok, should I try it or not. Starbucks is the only coffee I ever buy, but how could you go wrong with Wolfgang Puck, the culinary expert!

Well, let me tell you, I highly recommend Wolfgang Puck's Coffee! It's really, really good!

And, Starbucks 12 ounce bag cost $7.48 ~ Wolfgang Puck 12 ounce bag costs $5.00

wonderful!

Cameron, North Carolina, and an award

The historic town of Cameron, NC had their annual fall Antique Street Fair on Saturday. Hubby and I headed over to my sister's house for the weekend.

First was a stop at Starbucks for a cup of coffee. Otis and Riley love to stop at drive-in windows.

Of course, the guys opted to play golf while my sister and I planned to spend the whole day at the fair. Cameron is just south of Chapel Hill and Raleigh. We cross Lake Jordan.

Cameron is a small village with beautiful historic homes and wonderful antique shops. The fair is held every year ~ spring and fall.

This is the historic Muse Bros. Country Store.

Venders were lined up all along main street and in vacant lots.

Beautiful antique linens.

See these two hurricane lamps with the dangling crystals.........that's right, they came home with me.

This is Miss Belle's Tea Room and Antiques. We were going to have lunch here but the wait was too long so we decided to do it another time.

Isn't Miss Belle's a beautiful place?

More fun things.
The fair ended at 5:00pm and my sister and I were there till the very last minute. What a wonderful day! We met up with the guys, had a nice dinner and headed home the next morning.





This I bought at the fair too. Couldn't resist!

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An Award!

This morning while checking my email, I noticed that sweet Suzanne at painterofthepast gave me an award. The Kreativ Blogger Award. Thank you, Suzanne! I'm honored and delighted that you thought of me. And I will pass this on to everyone, since all of you are creative in different ways and that's what makes visiting each and everyone of one of you such a joy!

Coffee lover

I love coffee.

I can't imagine a day without it. First thing in the morning I'll pour myself a cup (or two or three) and that usually gets me going. It's my boost for the day! Then another cup around 10:00 in the morning when I take a coffee break, a cup at noon with my lunch, a cup again around 3:00 (another coffee break and a pick me up), and a cup after dinner.

Do I drink too much coffee? Probably.

I have several coffee pots. I have a drip coffee maker which I use every morning. This one gets the most use.


An espresso/cappuccino maker for when I'm in the mood.

Another espresso maker, this one for on top of the stove.

And a french press pot.

They all make great coffee.

Having a cup of coffee sometimes can turn into one of those rituals that just makes you feel good.

So I was checking coffees on the internet the other day and guess what I found? Coffee Art! That's right.

If you click on the link below you can see for yourself. The really funny thing about this is the short film, which you can also click on to watch. I can almost see myself in the video. I might have to try some coffee art!

http://coffeetea.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=coffeetea&cdn=food&tm=43&gps=72_5_796_445&f=00&su=p284.9.336.ip_p830.0.336.ip_&tt=3&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.justcoffeeart.com/

Of course, my all time favorite coffee is Starbucks and that's what I brew everyday. Good strong Sumatra Starbucks. Nothing like it!

I tell my husband they should make an air freshner that smells like coffee. Don't you just love the aroma when you first walk in the door of a Barnes and Noble bookstore? There's nothing better ~ books and coffee!

So have a cup of coffee today, or a cup of tea for all you tea lovers, and go out and enjoy your day!

~I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. ~T.S. Eliot

The Way I See It #89

This was on the side of my Starbucks coffee cup today.

The Way I See It #89

Recipe for happiness: an insatiable curiosity, a joy of discovery, quick to forgive, hold no grudges, love without condition, stay loyal to the death, see the best and ignore the rest - wow, we can learn a lot from man's best friend!--Nick Bolletieri, Tennis coach and founder of the Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy.

So true.

a Saturday in Wilson

With errands to run and things to do my husband and I started off Saturday morning at the hardware store downtown to get a few things, then decided to take some pictures of the whirligigs that are placed all over Wilson. The first whirligig was at the Wilson County Public Library, the second at the employment office, third was downtown on Nash Street where there are two of them, fourth was at the Wilson Chamber of Commerce building, and the last at the Rose Garden. While downtown we picked up a box lunch at The Sugar Plum Shoppe and headed for the rose garden to have lunch. The roses were beautiful and oh so fragrant. After we left the rose garden we headed for Starbucks. Had to have our coffee. We sat outside and enjoyed the afternoon.

Later, we took a drive out to the Wilson County Fairgrounds to see the bikers, Easy Riders. They were in town for the weekend. Every year they come to Wilson.








Home in the afternoon, Galen worked in his Man Space and I caught up on some work that needed to be done and then relaxed on the back porch.

In the evening we went to the Wilson Tobs baseball game at the Fleming Stadium. The Tobs are college players and our mascot is a tobacco worm. Wilson, as you know is known for it's tobacco. We lost the game, but we had a great time. 10:00pm Headed for home.

New York

A trip to the big city to visit our daughter!

We finally decided to visit our daughter in New York. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision but a very much needed vacation. I made arrangements, got a dog sitter for Otis and Riley for the week and we headed out Saturday morning and drove all day. It took about 9 hours to get there, of course, we had to stop at just about every Starbucks along the way, but we made it.

Arriving in Brooklyn at her apartment we were greeted by Amy and her two cats, Sandford and Tater. We were given the tour and since she and her roommate are artists, there were lots of paintings to observe. We then took a walk around the neighborhood and had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant close to where she lives. We made plans for the next few days and decided not to do galleries this time, but to see and do something different.

Our daughter works at the National Hemophilia Foundation in Manhattan so we stopped in to see her office. We met some of her co-workers and her boss and visited the memorial room which is a small room dedicated to the hemophiliacs. This was special, because my father had hemophilia and was the oldest living hemophiliac in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania when he died at the age of 56. It was nice to sign the book in his memory.

We visited the Park Slope area of Brooklyn where all the great tall brownstones are, (love these houses) and then went to Prospect Park. The park was huge, lots going on there, horse trails, a lake, ball fields, picnic areas ~ so we put our blanket down and just watched all the activity. We even found 6 four leaf clovers. Lucky day. We then went for coffee at a sidewalk cafe. For dinner that evening we were invited to my husband's cousin's house, Joel Longenecker, who lives in that area of Brooklyn, for a cookout. Picking up cookies at a little French bakery and a bottle of wine, off we go to their house. They are artists too, and they have two young sons. We had a wonderful time.

Coney Island. Oh yes.  We just had to see this place and have one of the famous Nathans hot dogs. They were setting up for the hot dog eating contest while we were there. We rode the ferris wheel and the roller coaster, walked the boardwalk and pier, ate some goodies and bought some souvenirs.

We visited an area called Carol Gardens. Nice shopping area, cafes and restaurants. We had dinner at a place called Apartment 138. Great place!

The last day there we had lunch in Union Square as we watched a few chess games being played, and enjoyed the dog park. We saw the Manhattan Mennonite Church and had coffee in a small cafe near by. The big event of the day was the ballgame at Staten Island. We took the ferry over to Staten Island, had a great view of the Statue of Liberty on the way, and arrived at the ballpark, Ballpark at St. George. It was another beautiful evening, some of Amy's friends came along, and we enjoyed the game, and the Yankees won.

The next morning it was back on the road again with Starbucks in hand heading down the pike. We made a stop in Pennsylvania to see Galen's folks and dropped off a marble chaser for the upcoming family reunion.

We made it home, sweet home. Otis and Riley were happy to see us and all is well. We had a great vacation.