Good Things Happened - the beach, the cake and the dog

My annual trip to Pensacola last weekend to celebrate two precious little boys' birthdays, included a first stop at the beach last Friday for Gulf shrimp and gazing at the white sandy beach and shopping with my sister.  There are pelicans on the poles in the water if you can see them.

The view from the back bar window of Peg Leg Pete's restaurant.  It would be fun to live on that intracoastal waterway, I think, and paddle along in the water in the middle of the day.

The joint birthday party for my three-year-old and five-year-old great-nephews had a pirate theme.  The next door neighbor made this spectacular cake.  There was a water slide in the back yard and all the wee ones had fun.  No one talked like a pirate.  :)

The living room looked like Christmas morning in the aftermath of the party.  Hank, amid the presents, is one of the most loving and sweet dogs I have ever met and he never forgets his Aunt Lynn.

Thank you so much for coming by.  I have missed some of your blog posts, but plan to catch up.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Waiting, watching and swoon!

I wish I had this guy's energy! It was fun to watch him herding and directing people in front of The Fox Theatre in Atlanta, while I was waiting for friends to arrive to join me in watching a play.  He chatted me up at one point - his name badge says he is "Top Hat Bob."  A very nice man and lots of fun to watch.

The view to the left.  I love the old mosque-style design.  It's always fun to people watch, but I was happy to see friends' faces when they arrived.

And this is what we saw.  Swoon!  I adored it.  My late father was a Gershwin fan and I know every word to a lot of musical numbers (from hearing his records played).  My favorite:  "They Can't Take That Away From Me."  Here's a link to Fred and Ginger singing and dancing to it. 

The weekend is upon us!  I am glad to see it.  I hope you have a wonderful one, my friends!

Delightful, celebrating and shadows

This very vocal friend wandered up while I was photographing this delightful "planter."  I reached my hand out, but he/she stayed just out of reach.  The owner of the antique store said her husband discovered this abandoned Queen Anne sofa and she, in turn, made it into a working planter!

Just around the corner from that planter, this mural celebrating our four-legged friends is a new additional to the Greenway walking trail at Lilburn Park - spotted on my walk.  I'm thinking the kitty in the first pic looks like the one on the skateboard there at the top.

My usual Saturday walking partners were both otherwise occupied, so I listened to downloaded music from iTunes and walked alone, which I never mind.  As I've probably mentioned before, I love dragonflies and they seem to pop up when I need them, on good days and bad days.  On this day, a beautiful one stayed with me for almost the whole hour and then, at the end, drifted away toward some wildflowers.

Early morning gift, another batch and pure bliss

The rain stopped just as I got to work, one early morning, a few days ago.  And this lovely rainbow appeared, like a gift.

At home, lovely vegetables waiting to be put in another batch of Alice Water's Ratatouille, which was so delicious and made my home smell so good, that I had to make another batch.  The avocados were just hanging out here waiting to be put on toast or in salad.  :)

And at the park, friend Janice's dog, Chili, enjoying a blissful roll in a puddle.