Sun Lover's Warning

Hello Blogworld friends! I had a great few days at the beach relaxing and soaking up some sun. As always, I took lots of pictures, so maybe I'll post a few more later on in the week.

In case you're heading out for a late summer vacation yourself, or squeezing in a long weekend before the school schedule routine takes over, or just plan on spending some time out in the sun, I've got a tip for you:

Make sure your sunscreen is evenly distributed or you may end up looking like this~~

Thankfully, my smart daughter brought Ocean Potion soothing gel with us, so I'm not hurting. I just look like the mottled muddled creature I am. :)

Sun photo by Alex Stoen

Wonderful.ness

Have you ever seen a full moon hanging over the water? I have now, and it's something I won't forget.

Hope you see/hear/taste/read/smell/feel some similar wonderful.ness yourself before the weekend ends.



Photo by wendylin20

Wish You Were Here!

This is where I am sitting today, or at the nearby table, working on my neglected manuscript. In a place as nice as this, revisions don't seem so grueling. There is lots of good visiting going on and great food Trudy and I made to bring with us. I truly am blessed to have such a wonderful daughter, and generous caring friends. The laughter and fun comes over me in waves, and it's refreshing!

And if I get tired of working, I refill my coffee mug with Community Coffee's Cafe' Special, and look out at the gorgeous scenery. There isn't a big crowd here because it's the end of the season, so it's pretty tranquil. There is parasailing and dolphin watching tours going on right below us. I wish you all a Friday (and weekend) as beautiful as this:

Kidnapped!

Dear Blog Friends:

Gumbo Writer has been temporarily kidnapped and taken to parts unknown. Please do not try to find her. She is in safe hands and no ransom will be asked.

If you need information about her well-being, please call her daughter "Queenie" who has stolen her for some mother/daughter bonding before school commences next week. {If you don't believe she's been kidnapped for her own good, see picture of her above.}

Someone will report on how things are going tomorrow, and maybe post a photo.

Thank you for your understanding, and remember, DO NOT notify the authorities. Gumbo Writer is fine and will probably be a little better and saner upon return!

Love,
XXX??

Pictures from Paradise

I had a great getaway to my writer/editor friend Kathryn's mountain home in North Carolina. {More about this whacky gal who's writing a new story-which-may-become-a-novel right to her blog --> http://kathrynmagendie.spaces.live.com/blog/ }

Not having flown for many years (did I mention I despise flying and am afraid of heights?), I had to psyche myself up just to board the plane. Warning to the wise: Do not ever route yourself through the Newark airport. I had to transfer between concourses via two buses, a taxi, rickshaw and a small motorboat, and barely made my connection. Well, the two buses part is true. Asking the driver of bus #1 where the taxi or boat was I was supposed to catch next, he replied without a single trace of humor, "Yew git off heeuh, go numbuh 39 now!"

But back to the flight -- here is my scrumptious lunch, my choice of view of "seatmate" or over the wing approaching Newark, after I finally got enough nerve up to open the window shade and look:

Can I tell ya, I was one big fat happy camper when I finally touched solid ground again? Here are some of the "better memories" from my trip:

Are these gorgeous, or what? Wish I was there right now, sipping Deep Creek Blend coffee with my friend, but it sure is nice strolling down a beautiful autumn memory lane through photographs.

Where in the World is Gumbo Writer?

If you're reading ye ol' blog today, thanks, and even though I'm not home in front of my trusty computer {named Forest, BTW, because I used to have to beg him to run so much}, I've left you with a photo of what I think I'll be seeing today.

I'm finally getting to visit my friend Kathryn up at her mountain paradise! You'll recognize her from faithful comments here and from her always interesting blog posts http://kathrynmagendie.spaces.live.com/blog/ , at our Year of Gratitude blog http://barbaraquinnyearofgratitude.blogspot.com/ , and for The Rose & Thorn's blog http://roseandthornreviews.blogspot.com/ . Yeah, that's a whole lotta bloggin' goin' on, but all great reads.

And lest you think I'm dropping in on a bloggy cyber friend out of the blue, have no fear. Kat and I have been friends in real life for several years now. She used to live here in the Big B.R., but moved to find paradise on her mountain. *sniff*

Anyhoo, I'll have full reportage and pics when I return. Until then, what's your dream vacation? Price and obstacles do not exist.