Friday, June 06, 2014

On the Road

Welcome to Willow's Cottage Friday Fave Five.  This is the On the Road June 2104 edition, issue one.  As usual, I am linking Friday Fave Fives to Susanne's blog.  Here are Willow's five points of thankfulness:

1.  One positive result of having your home tented and fumigated for termites (besides being rid of the termites) is spending two nights away with friends.  One night last week we stayed at our neighbors' beach house. (Those termites were why we were out at Hollywood Beach.) The next day we drove to the Beach Cities of Los Angeles and slept at another friend's home.  We had been planning to meet up with the mommy and daddy of our favorite pit bull buddy, but it just never worked out.  So instead of fussing about being evicted from our house for two nights, we found the blessing--time with friends.

2.  Walks on the beach in LA--we loved the beaches in LA when we lived there.  It's always great to stroll along spots where we have made so many memories.




3.  BYOD evening with our BFFs.  A few months ago, we set up BYOD--Bring Your Own Dinner get togethers with our friends.  Our busy lives sometimes keep us from inviting friends over for dinner.  You have to clean. You have to cook.  Enter BYOD.  It's so easy, and no one has to work hard to make a meal which accommodates every one's choices.  Everyone is relaxed.  We sat down at the table, and three hours later we had not moved to the living room or even to the patio.  Perfect!

4.  Now we're gone from the Cottage again--off on another adventure, an expotition.  We had intended to simply leave the house empty.  It's not an issue in our community.  Neighbors look in on each other and we always tell our close neighbors when we'll be gone.  But when another friend asked if she could house sit, we took her up on her offer.  Win for her, win for us.

5.  That adventure?  YES! Another road trip!  We were on a bit of a tight schedule because the work on the house cut significantly into our prep time, but we made it on to Interstate 10 heading east  and blew through metro LA with a minimum of traffic problems which is a significant issue any time you drive around Southern California.  Now we're in Arizona hanging out with The Chaplain and his wife for a few days.  Be prepared for more photos like this--cactus, sand, beautifully sculpted mountains, and wide open blue sky.


And here are bonus jacaranda photos--
By the time I return from points east, the purple splendor of those towering trees will be a distant memory.


A street lined with jacarandas~


13 comments:

ellen b. said...

Yuck about your termites! Glad they are now exterminated. I like that word when it comes to bugs.
Have fun in Arizona...

Barbara H. said...

Glad you had some friends to stay with when the house was being sprayed.

BYOD sounds great!

Have fun on your adventure!

Mereknits said...

Sounds like you have been having a wonderful time despite the termites. Have a wonderful trip.
Meredith

Karen said...

First time I've heard that termites brought a good thing. . . so nice you got to visit with friends.

The Arizona desert has a beauty all its own. Enjoy your trip.

LivingforGod said...

Sorry to hear about the termites. Glad to see that you've been having an adventure away from home. Beautiful photos!

Susanne said...

I didn't realize how big those trees were. Beautiful! Your BYOD nights sound wonderful. I may just have to steal your idea. Glad you were able to find the silver lining in the termite situation. We don't have that problem here (that I know of), thank goodness!

Faith said...

Thank God for good friends who could put you up while your home was being dealt with! Those beach pics are pretty!!!! Enjoy your weekend!

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Enjoy your purposeful wanderings! You do take lots of road trips I think. Couldn't agree with you more about beach walks.

snoopydogknits said...

Thank goodness for good friends and a love of adventure! Have a great week!

Melissa said...

Wow such gorgeous photos! I've never been to the west coast, but your pictures certainly make me want to visit. I am glad you are having so much fun and I hope your road trip goes smoothly! By the way, BYOD is such a great idea. Might have to borrow that ;)

Jerralea said...

Love the BYOD concept.

Have fun on your expotition! A new fun name for a road-trip I enjoyed reading that excerpt from Winnie the Pooh - thanks for the link.

Claudia Bugh said...

You are always so busy and having fun Willow! Love your Friday Favs - I might just have to borrow your idea of BYOD it's such a good idea! Hope all is well and you have a safe trip home :)

Sharon Lynne said...

I love jacaranda trees. I miss them here in Arizona. But I do have new foliage to distract me. Hope you have (had) fun in Arizona! Of course, it's probably the hottest time of year! Our summer rains should come in a few weeks.