D is for Drive and Destination

Three days a week I drive down Rte 104, across the Irondequoit Bay bridge and into the city of Rochester to the Friendly Home. Someone told me I should always take my camera along, so this week I did. No looking through a view finder when driving, just point and shoot, hope for the best, and straighten the photos later. Take a ride with me...

And here I am on East Avenue. The Friendly Home is technically in Brighton and has been around for over a hundred years. It is my weekly destination although my not so friendly lady is making me second guess this companion job... (Yesterday she called me a "piss pot." Why, you ask? Because it wasn't time to leave the dining room. Funny and not so funny all rolled into one.)

More ABC Wednesday here.

D is for Decaffeinated

D is for Decaffeinated.

For many months I have been drinking coffee that is half decaffeinated, which basically means it isn't decaffeinated at all. It only means that rather than drink one cup, I drink two instead. (Well, two in the morning and two in the afternoon...) This habit is proving detrimental., especially since my water consumption has decreased while my coffee intake has surged.

I'm making a not-altogether-valiant-attempt to curb my coffee consumption. It doesn't help that a headache typically accompanies the effort and the snowstorm brewing outside only makes the desire for warm drinks all but irresistible. I had a friend once who enjoyed a rather bland cup of hot water. He even preferred it to tea or coffee. I tried it once but found myself less than impressed.

What kind of hot drinks do you like? Is there anything wonderfully simple to make that doesn't include chocolate (it sits funny in my tummy) or caffeine? Maybe something vanilla?


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D is for Don't

D is for don't. I don't know why I feel compelled to chose these words...

"Don't" just happened to be my eldest daughter's first real word and she was talking to her brother. While I found the initial encounter amusing, the continued rivalry and contention left me oft times wanting to pull my hair out (or knock their heads together...).

Years down the road, with sub- sequent (and older) children, I stumbled upon the idea of making the squabbling siblings "sit on the couch touching". Yes, they had to be sitting close enough to one another that they were in actual physical contact. Somehow this little bit of discipline typically left them laughing rather than fighting. It also taught them that if they didn't want to end up practically one on the lap of the other, they'd best learn to get along.

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D is for Deal

D is for Deal, and I think I got a pretty good one today.

My mom drinks Maxwell House International Cafe Hazelnut "coffee" every morning. I typically buy it at Target as their price is a bit lower than the regular grocery store, $2.99 per container. But Target, in their sneaky little marketing ploy, knows exactly what I typically purchase in their stores and they print out handy dandy little coupons to encourage more of the same. Since Mom was down to one box of coffee, and I had, in my purse, two Target coupons for just such a purchase, I stopped into Target on my way home from prayer and Bible study.

My coupons were for $1 off two boxes, and $2 off three. Simple enough. Buy five boxes and get one of them free, right? Not quite so simple. Upon arriving in the coffee aisle, I found there was a cute little sale going on. Buy three boxes of coffee, get one free. I stared at the shelf, thought for a bit, then picked up six boxes of coffee and put them into my cart. Upon arriving at the register the cashier thought I could get an even better deal by purchasing one more box at the regular price, after all, the one after that would also be free. So, I bought five boxes of coffee and got three absolutely free, and  Mom now has what looks like a "lifetime" supply of Hazelnut Cafe. (How's that for a discount?)

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D is for Dew Drop

D is for Dew Drop. They look like diamonds, don't they?

I've tried and tried to come up with something creative this week, but it isn't happening and I'm running out of Wednesday. (Just an hour and fifteen minutes left.) This will have to do.

My sister, wonderful as she is, suggested I use the word "ditzy" and post a picture of myself. She found the idea absolutely hilarious. (She also suggested "dew" which I found to be a better choice.)

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D is for Dessert

D is for dessert, in this case blueberry pie.

Because we have berry bushes, we have a freezer containing more blueberries than I care to imagine. I was happy to bake pies for this past Sunday's fellowship dinner at church. I didn't even have to eat a piece! Though I love dessert, I don't bake often. Dessert isn't good for my diet.

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ABC Wednesday, click here!

D is for Downpour

D is for downpour, because it rained cats and dogs today.

The water came down in buckets, and my girls had gone to Seabreeze with their cousins. The water park section of Seabreeze is meant to be soggy, but the amusement park rides? Not so much. As the heavens opened and more rain poured down, I feared the girls must be drenched and disappointed. I should not have feared. As the crowds were dispersed, management dispensed rain checks. The girls will be delighted to return another day!

D is for Donut

D is for donut! (Or is that doughnut?)

D is for Dunkin Donuts and also for Donuts Delite. Dunkin Donuts is okay. We stopped there briefly twice on Saturday. The story is here. I like their donuts and muffins, enjoy their Dunkacinnos, and find them conveniently located. (There are three between here and Walmart... oops, make that four.)

When I was a little girl there was a different (different than Dunkin) donut shop very close to where my father spent his first fifteen years. It was one of a kind and made the very best donuts in the entire world. To this day, whenever I think about donuts, my mind immediately goes to the delicious confections my father brought home on rare occasions. My favorites were the powder covered jelly donuts and the jelly inside was nothing short of yummy! I understand they carried 8-9 different kinds of jelly donuts. I suspect my favorite was probably strawberry or raspberry.

Donuts Delight, much to the dismay of loving locals, closed down in 2005 after nearly 50 years in business. Too much competition from chain stores like Dunkin, Krispy Kreme, and Tim Horton's put a lot of pressure on the small local business. The story does, however, have a happy ending. Another local business man decided to buy, restore, and reopen Donuts Delite. He even has the original donut recipes! There were many very happy customers. Me, I rarely get any farther than Walmart, but I'm thinking a trip to the other side of Irondequoit Bay may be coming in the very near future... I want to get some of these. Click here. YUM!

And to think I thought about featuring Durian fruit...

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ABC Wednesday- Letter D

D is for Dads and daughters, both of which I find delightful.

(I can not keep my eyes open with a flash, so you will need to forgive me for the photo. I tried, I really did... )
I am convinced I had one of the best dad's the world ever had to offer. He loved each and every one of us unconditionally and showed it in more ways than I can share here. His music kept us singing, his drawing kept us smiling, and his stories never failed to make us laugh. His love of faith and family is a lasting tribute to the man God made him. I am humbled to be called his daughter and inspired by his example.

I have two beautiful daughters. They were born nearly ten years apart with three brothers in between. Bethany prayed earnestly for a little sister and found herself in tears when her brother Benjamin was born. (She recovered quickly...) I'm sure she first felt God had let her down, but 20 months later a little sister came into our home, and Bethany's heartfelt child-like prayer was answered. Hannah loved to play with dolls as a little girl, attempted almost anything her older brothers tried, and grew faster than any child I have ever known. She is a blessing.

While Hannah completed our family, Bethany came into the world making us a family of five. For many years she was surrounded completely by brothers. No wonder she prayed for a sister! Bethany is competitive in a different way than her sister. She never cared much to play with dolls, but loved to run and play with her brothers, visit with friends, and help around the house. She does well at most anything she puts her heart and mind to and is an inspiration to many. She loves people and serving others, and does it with a smile. I think maybe she is a bit like her grandpa that way.


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