Friday, June 27, 2014


Monday, June 23, 2014

My niece & her hubby have answered God's call on their life to spread the Gospel in Atlanta, GA. They are Church Planters with the NAMB and will begin their new journey in Atlanta on July 1st by moving to the city.

I recently spent several days at their home in Athens, GA to help them pack their belongings.


We saw deer in the backyard and.......

.....we celebrated the one year birthday of Naomi.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

For the past five years one of my best girlfriends & I have vacationed on the white sands of the Gulf of Mexico. This will be our sixth year of rest, relaxation & a lot of fun. Beautiful day & a proud view of an American flag.

With our luggage & supplies brought from home put in their place at the condo, we set out to do our grocery shopping for our stay. Then it’s back to the condo to put our groceries away and settle on the balcony with a light dinner for the evening.

Shopping, with nothing special in mind other than bargains, is always at the top of our list of “Things to Do”. We make our rounds to Hobby Lobby, Marshalls, Ross, Target, TJ Maxx & Kirklands to name a few. My best bargain this year was a metal garden sign retailing for $20 but on sale for $7. I have just the right spot for it in my yard.

We enjoyed some time on the beach a couple of mornings. Neither of us are really sun lovers but do enjoy a little time on the beach. We just don’t want to get too much sun. I had a beach umbrella but the winds were blowing a bit much. I remember one year we sat on the beach holding the umbrella upright as we sat underneath it to keep the umbrella from blowing down the beach. Not too much fun doing this so we nixed the umbrella this year due to the winds.



Balcony lunches are just one of the best times of the day.

I’m waking up to another morning of a little quiet on the balcony before the day begins. Ahhhhhhh…what a beautiful day! Cool breezes blowing off of the ocean’s waves crashing toward shore. White sands glisten as the sun slowly takes its place in the sky. It’s going to be another great day.


One evening we witnessed a wedding from our balcony. 

A short drive to Another Broken Egg Wednesday morning, and I am having a breakfast feast. Wow…what a “sugar rush”!!! French battered toasted cinnamon rolls layered with cream cheese icing, Banana Foster sauce, mixed berries (blueberry, blackberry & strawberry) & whipped cream…I’m in HEAVEN, HEAVEN.

So the plan for the day was to drive to Destin, spend a little time shopping and dine for the evening @ Jim & Nick’s BBQ. So off we went for a short drive and ended up in a long, long, long line of cars not far from the outlet center in Destin. We FINALLY made it to the first outlet entrance only to be drawn into another line of cars searching for a parking spot.

After about 20 minutes of dealing with honking horns, illegally parked vehicles & just slow drivers, we decided that shopping was just not a priority any more. Not really knowing where Jim & Nick’s restaurant was, we headed West along Emerald Coast Parkway.

A couple of miles down the road all we saw ahead of us was long, long, long lines of cars in both directions. We made a plan to head back to PCB…to shop @ the Mall or go back to the condo. My quota for car riding was met for the day! We went back to the condo.

The balcony area is one of my favorite places when I am at the beach. We decided to sit on the balcony & enjoy the early evening before grabbing a bite to eat.
After a short time of people watching & conversation, we decide to drive over to Chick-Fil-A for dinner.

Now you know there always has to be a "Moment to Remember". So here goes.....

Having gathered my items from the table on the balcony, I placed my hand on the balcony door to slide the door open only to find that we were “Locked Out!” Yes, we were locked out of the condo via the balcony door.  Are you kidding me???

My phone with the manager’s number is on the table in the condo.  We are on the 8th floor.  The door is definitely locked. TRAPPED!!!

Sue begins to jiggle the door handle & rock the door back & forth…….UGH!!! To make matters worse I don’t immediately see anyone around. It’s now been 30 mins. Will we sleep out here tonight?

At the pool I see a young mother with her two children. I try to get her attention but it is difficult because the wind is blowing and making it very difficult to hear. Finally, I get her attention only for her to holler out "Are you talking to me?" 

She gathers her children from the pool and makes her way over to stand directly below us. She realizes our dilemma and checks the condo office. Everyone has gone home for the day but she gets the number we need to call for emergencies. (Now remember...my phone WITH THIS NUMBER is sitting IN THE CONDO on the table.)

She saved the day for us. Forrester came & unlocked the sliding door.  (This was not their 1st rodeo with this door.) Needless to say...this door stayed open as we sat on the balcony for the remaining of our stay.

Friday the 13th but the skies are beautiful this Thursday night.




Until next year…


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

After months of a "Walking Hiatus" I am back hitting the pavement. My neighbor & I enjoy our early morning walks.

During this time we become members of  "Messy Yard Patrols", "Stop the Doggie Poop on Road Group", "Flower Bed Re-do" and many other groups. We have the best time!

Best of all and most days we get a beautiful smile, and I get a hug! 

Mike Devine & me

Sunday, June 1, 2014

The last of the Goodwin Brothers was laid to rest yesterday in Anderson, SC. 

Working full-time along with distance has kept me away from family circumstances most of the time. Being retired has now opened some doors for me to have the opportunity to participate in family gatherings whether happy or sad. Still...the distance is a factor and will always remain the major obstacle

My niece & her family are so sweet and loving. They live in Athens, Georgia.

In the midst of their upcoming full schedule in June with their church & youth activities, Johnny's last working days at the church and their move to Atlanta with all the packing and such, they opened their home to me (and their Nana...my SIL) for an overnight stay so I could attend the funeral the following day. 

Just a short distance from Athens (an hour and 40 mins away) to Anderson, and I was among my family...The Goodwins. We gathered together to give our respect & show our love to another Goodwin...Uncle Jim...as we said our goodbyes.

What a sad yet joyous day for me! Uncle Jim is completely healed & now residing with our Heavenly Father. Celebrating his "Home Going" with his family and other Goodwin family was wonderful. Cousins I have not seen in a very long time. Family is important to The Goodwins. No matter how far we may be from each other, we know The Goodwin Love reaches out to each of us every day

Sharing some pics of the "little one" 
who is almost 1 year old.