I just felt like I came from visiting the middle east! But I wasn't in the middle east. I was just a couple of hours from home. I went on a driving Safari! This driving adventure proved to be one of the best things I have done in this heat. Whew, it's hot outside. Can I say it again, It’s hot.  One of the best parts, was I was able to feed and observe the animals in my air-conditioned car! There was even Olive trees, which really added to the uniqueness of this adventure. And wow! The animals were friendly and were very hungry. I really enjoyed this wonderful adventure.    The Hungry Camel Was Very Friendly The only downside was I did get animal feed all over my car! Olivia tried to pick up as much from the floor of the car as we could to feed the animals, but when I arrived   home I realized my car needed a good cleaning.

Before planning for my next party, I decided I needed to take some time to relax.  First stop was the beach!  I just love spending time with family, even more so now that I am retired. Let me tell you, the day I went with my family was hot! But that made the water so much more refreshing. I usually pack very little, because I don’t want to carry a lot from where I am parked. I do have a little wagon, I use, mostly so that I don’t have to carry my beach chair. I usually take sunscreen, a small cooler with drinks and snack bars and a few towels. This trip I realized I packed too many towels! it was so hot that the sun dried me off and I only needed the towel to lay on the sand and soak in the sun’s rays. There were plenty of seagulls to watch. I enjoyed sitting at the water's edge listening to the ocean waves. So glad I made the trip.         Picture of family pointing at seagulls.

Patriotic Decorating I love holidays and I love celebrating holidays and I enjoy having people over. I also like decorating for ALL the holidays. So to celebrate the 4 th , I wanted to frame some pictures of my granddaughter Olive; however getting a one year old to a cooperate in a formal photo session can be a challenge, so I hung up a flag I found and put some toys on a chair to help her stand and I got a photo. I like to use framed photos on the dining room table as centerpieces. Sometimes if I have time I decorate the outside of the frame. Baby Olive July 4th Photo Session And of course, what's a party without food?! With a July 4 th party, I find that easy finger foods are great especially if you are going inside/ outside a lot. I have hot dog wieners and fruit on a skewer and of course mini cupcakes. I put leftover blueberries from the fruit skewers in a bowl. I find finger foods or putting food on skewers ...