Where to start! Hope you’ve had a good week so far! I did get a call from my son last night … he was at a farmer’s market near the beach, eating very healthy food! Now that makes a mom feel good! Well, after our talk we hung up … he was going to a men’s Bible study. About an hour later, I get a text message from him … I thought, ‘why isn’t he calling?’ … well the message said there had been an earthquake … and that it was a good shaking, but he was okay. It’s the first he’s ever been in, and of all places they were in a basement of a restaurant! Not so sure if that would be safe if something bigger ‘rolled’ along! Well, I tried getting a call through, and it said all circuits were down at that time. That made me just a bit nervous. I tried again, and it went through … he answered, and you could hear alot of excited talking going on in the background. There was a little stress in his voice, but he assured me that he was fine … he said it was a 5.6 magnitude, a smaller one had followed, and they had originated from the San Francisco Bay area … I was hoping they’d move out of that basement! If anyone is out in that area … did you feel it? I heard on the radio that they stopped flights at the San Diego Airport until they could check the runways for cracks. We’re praying that he stays safe if any more shakin’ goes on! If interested you can see some of the e-mail that was sent in on the local news there at this link. Has anyone ever been in an earthquake? I was 15 at the time, and living in Orange County, California. I was sitting on the couch and it started hopping from side to side and across the floor. It was a very odd feeling! The water in the swimming pool at the apartment where we lived was ‘sloshing’ pretty violently when I ran outside! Everyone came out and we were all standing around wondering if another was going to come along! That was back in the late 60′s. Share your experiences if you have any!
Now for a quick update on our anniversary evening! Lewis got home a bit earlier than usual from work Monday, got ready and we left for a drive in the country. It was the most beautiful day … I love the way the sun gives everything a golden glow as it’s setting during this time of year! We saw a sign that said “Leaves for Sale”, which made us smile! I took a few pictures of some barns that we saw, and I submitted one over in the BetsaflyGallery … so be sure to take a peek and see all the other great ‘barn’ photos that are posted there for the week! I didn’t want that drive to end … it was so pretty! Fall is my favorite time of year, without a doubt! For dinner my husband surprised me with reservations at a restaurant called ‘Bone Fish Grill’. We had never eaten there before, so he thought it would be a treat for me. Well, it wasn’t what we quite expected … we ordered a Cajun Chicken Egg Roll appetizer, which was absolutely delicious with it’s sweet and sour dipping sauce! Our salads were interesting with mixed greens, pine nuts, tomatoes, carrot, black olives, along with a strip of ‘something’ laying on the top of it. We asked what it was, and the waitress told us it was ‘Heart of Palm’! I’m game at trying new foods, so I did … it reminded me of asparagus …. a bit different in texture though. Lewis had no comment! Hey, what do you expect from a ‘meat & potatoes’ kinda guy!! Well, we pushed that to the side of our plates, and enjoyed the rest of our salads. We both ordered steaks … mine a filet, his a sirloin, both seasoned and wood grilled … Island Rice which was a combination of wild brown rice, shaved almonds, raisins, red peppers, and onion all cooked in a flavorful broth … a medley of mixed steamed vegies, squash, brocolli, zucchini, onion, red and green peppers. For desert, we remembered that on our very first anniversary we had Banana’s Foster … it was on the menu, so we decided to give that a try! It wasn’t quite as good as we remembered it from 24 years ago, and I know it sounds strange, but the bananas were quite tough … the ice cream was yummy! Even though the meal wasn’t a good as we’d hoped, we still had a wonderful time! I’ll be sharing pictures of our weekend soon! He also had something for me that I wanted to share with you …
Many anniversaries from now,
when we have been together for a very long time,
I wonder what it will be like.
Will we share extra blankets to keep warm?
Count the stars from our front porch rockers?
Dream older, wiser dreams, or be contented with the memories we’ve made?
Of course, I can’t predict the future, but I’ll tell you what I do know–
if we use extra blankets, I’ll still need to hold you close.
If we sit in our rockers, mine will be right next to yours.
And no matter how old or wise we become,
I’ll still want the feel of your gentle hand in mine…
I guess what I’m trying to say is,
I look forward to whatever the future may hold–
as long as my future holds you.”
Of course, I cried!!! I am so richly blessed!
Okay, (sniff) moving on … yesterday was beautiful here as well! I’ve been packing soap, and doing laundry to get ready for another 3 day fall show for the weekend. We are taking some down time this evening to go to a friend’s house to their annual “Eve of All Saint’s Day Celebration’, which they’ve had every year, on October 31st, for about 8 years now … we have fellowship, time together sharing the Word, and someone always brings a guitar so there’s singing and worship, all as a group around a bon-fire, then a big pitch-in dinner, and finally we all watch a good movie! I can’t remember them all, but one year it was ‘Sargeant York’, last year a Christian movie that I believe was called the ‘Time Traveler’, and tonight, one we’ve not seen called ‘The Ultimate Gift’. Our dinner this year is going to be two huge pots of homemade chili … one a regular red chili with tomtoes, etc., and the other one a white chili, which I’m told is made with chicken and white beans … nothing red! I’ve heard it was very good! They prepare it like ‘haystacks’, with garnishes of sour cream, tomatoes, cheese, onion, Fritos, and lettuce that you drop on top of your chili … or under it if you prefer! I’ve been asked to bake some loaves of homemade pumpkin bread along with hot apple cider! I hear it’s going to be a nice evening for the ‘Saints’ to gather! {although I did just hear on the radio that it may rain!} You are most welcome to drop on in if you’re in the neighborhood! Whatever your plans may be, I hope you all have a wonderful evening! I’ll be around to visit more of you very soon! Be blessed!
Hugs!
~ Deborah <><
Be sure to vote in Week 1 of “Fall Colors” over on iliveinmycamera!
Also be sure to check out the beautiful barn photos over on BetsaflyGallery!
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A reminder that we need to continue to pray for all who are involved in those devastating wildfires in southern California! 
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Hugs,
New contest this week over at
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