Xel ha, Tulum, and dolphins

Well, another day in paradise. We spent the day snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, and exploring Tulum.
The beaches here are incredible.

The ruins of Tulum over look the ocean. It is hard to decide which is more breathtaking-the history or the view.

Terry may have had one two many margaritas yesterday.

This was the lagoon at Xel ha where we went snorkeling. If you have never been, you need to go!
We swam and swam and found loads of cool creatures.
This is me being pushed by two dolphins! All I can say is "awesome"
We also each had a dance with the dolphin.
We are pretty much professional dolphin trainers after today.

As you can tell, I am missing Sasser and the store pretty bad. We will be back in Georgia tomorrow unless they convince me to stay! I think that Mexico could use a little junk store.

We are in Mexico. Our hotel is great and the weather is even better. You know it is hot in South Georgia when it is cooler in the jungles of Mexico. We spent yesterday at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. I wish that I could get more pictures but I am having trouble with my blogger loading pictures. Anyhoo, This is the view from our balcony. We even have a hot tub out there! Wish you were here!

Fun with sombreros!
Hola! This was supposed to be the first picture but internet in Cancun is worse than internet in Italy and this is as good as it is going to get.
we stopped at IK KILL(a cenote) for a quick dip in the cave spring unfortunately, we didn't know that we were going there so we didn't have a swimsuit.
Agave fields at a where our tour guide said the worst tequila in Mexico is made!

and we thought this generation came up with the bluetooth. The Mayans had it long before we did!
Darn it! These hats would not fit on the bus.


I think that the Mayan were really good looking folks.
Chichen Itza

Heck yes, we buy the tackiest souvenirs on the market. We also snagged a bottle of tequila with our pictures on it and tiny little pyramids from Chichen Itza. Maybe I can figure out the internet and put a few more pictures up later. Until then.....you can find us under a palm tree!

Lunch today was so delicious. This was Lindsey's taco five ways. Muy Bueno.
These are a few more pictures from yesterday. The Mayans enjoyed a good human sacrifice. The head was taken and covered in rubber to make a ball. They would then play a ball game with it to try and please the Gods. This was a monument built to honor the slain.
The jungle road on the way to Chichen Itza is dotted with these little towns.
We were baking in the sun when this rain cloud came through and cooled us off!

Betty, here is Terry. He is having a BLAST! Can you tell? Gotta go grab a pina colada down by the pool....

mole and mayan ruins

Gone to Mexico! If we aren't back in a week, send in a posse. Swinging news when we return!

what feeds your soul?

What feeds your soul? As I watered my garden this morning and pondered my usually wayward thoughts, I noticed the dewdrops on all of the flowers. Each little droplet appeared as heavenly as I what I imagine the nectar of God to be. Dew....what a neat idea.
I was then so excited that my four o' clocks were blooming and covered in dew that I almost missed this fascinating wee creature. Aren't insects great. They are covered in stripes and polka dots and all things fun. Bugs....what a neat idea!
Easily distracted, the buzz of the bumblebees in my trees caught my eye. They were everywhere. Busy as bees collecting pollen and storing it in these incredible pouches on the sides of their legs. Bumblebee...the word just rolls off the tongue in such a fun way. Bees...what a neat idea!
These morning glories are my pride and joy. They are blue in the morning and purple by late afternoon. The color alone can make your day happy! This particular flower had a moth down inside of it. Can you see the tip of its wing? I couldn't convince this fellow to come out for the life of me. I suppose if I had a spot as enticing as this flower, I would never come out either.
Nature...what a neat idea. So, what fed my soul on this day? The teeniest, tiniest details of our world that are so easy to miss. The 'almost invisible' souls that work endlessly to fill our lives with beauty. They are easy to overlook but without them, my world would be so...gray! Today, I promise to slow down and pay attention to the forgotten. The bugs, the bees, the dewdrops, the homeless, the widows, the sad, and the ones who fall in between the flowers that are so easily missed because of the ones who shine a little brighter.

canned love

Ah, the good old summertime. Watermelons, squash, okra, figs, corn, and tomatoes.
There is nothing better on a cold winter day than a pot of vegetable soup made with a jar of fresh canned tomatoes. There is no comparison to the canned tomatoes that line the shelves at Publix. Not even the hoity toity Italian gourmet ones make a pot of soup or stewed tomatoes and rice like these! When I was little I thought that I hated tomato season cause we would spend hours and hours in the gosh awful cannery putting up what seemed like thousands of cans of soup mix and tomatoes and anything that a farm wife could come up with to stick in that can. Now days, I don't remember it quite the same. Days spent together making something to enjoy seems like such a joy.
Memories in a jar.
Jars packed so full of love and happiness that they almost explode. Hey, I think I may have figured out why that soup always tastes so good.

a shout out for Jesse

We're back and I'll bet you didn't even know that we were gone! We were supposed to be in Massachusetts this past week but because of a few unforeseen events, we were not able to go. We had planned the trip for Betty and Jesse but since we couldn't make it to Brimfield we decided to make a trip to Michigan instead. We packed the truck with a few bags , a lot of good intentions, and hit the highway.

We hit every Antique mall and store from Sasser, Ga to Sturgis, Michigan. While Jesse was on the hunt for cool knives, Jay and I were in pursuit of the odd and unusual. These fab candy cane sticks are going to make fun North Pole markers for the store this Christmas.
Jay was our chauffeur while Jesse was in the charge of the GPS. Of course, Betty and I were the best darn back seat drivers that these two guys had ever met!

On to the odd and curious.... I am pretty sure that these are some sort of secret space modulators hidden in the back roads of Alabama. Odd, but not as odd as this....
This GIANT fish head was up for auction. Unfortunately, I was NOT the high bidder and this curiosity went home with someone else. I did manage to snag a bunch of HUGE red plastic arrows, a turquoise marlin, a cool canoe, a spooky witch cauldron, a lot of sweet antique rosaries. To top off our adventure, we were able to walk through this awesome redwood tree house. I think I may have some sort of spiritual connection to this oddity because it just keep popping up at different places that I go. Maybe I used to be a bird and this was my tree?? Hmmm, who knows?

Thank you Jesse and Betty for joining us on our adventure. We had so much fun playing long games of cards, smoking candy cigarettes, annoying Jay, and eating way too many fried pies. Let's do it again real soon. xoxoxo

" IT'S ABOUT TIME "

I have heard those words many times in my life. When I was a child and finally got around to cleaning my room my parents would say it's about time. Now I am hearing it again. Alice and I had these letters made about a year and a half ago and I am finally getting around to putting them up, and I have to say they look fabulous. It's about time. This is also my first blog since we started the store so,once again, it's about time.