Welcome to The Hotel Del Coronado- Such a Lovely Place

Finally, some photos from our stay at the Hotel del Coronado-


View from the second floor lobby.

Here's the courtyard of the Victorian building which is rumored to be haunted with a guest of 120 years ago, a Katie Morgan who died on the premises. Now according to our amateur ghost whisperers aka our boys, poor Katie Morgan wanders the halls, moaning, "Oh, why can't I check out? Oh why??"
View from our room, no, Life doesn't suck.

There was perfect surf for the boys' first surf lesson. Unfortunately, our youngest sons's lesson ended when he got stung by a stingray, Ouch!
Gratuituous cute picture of our dog, Charley who misses us so whenever we go away. He's a living teddy bear who looks like a little golden lamb in this photo.

Coffee Makes the World Go Around - Motivation Station Show and Tell

When I first became a nurse almost thirty years ago, I went to work in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit for surgical patients. A strong cup of coffee is as essential as scalpels, sutures, and bandages in the surgical theater and environs, and I soon became experienced at "making the coffee", and even improvising when we ran out of coffee filters, by using an always available present paper towel. An essential work skill btw.

Even though I now telecommute, I still relish a good cup of coffee first thing in the AM. The essential ingredients to brewing a good cup of coffee are high quality coffee, (Kona, Sumatra, and Jamaican Blue Mountain are some of my favorites), cold filtered water, a generous measuring spoon, and the Right Tools. In this case, a Krups electric kettle for boiling water, my insulated non breakable French Press (made for camping, yields 4 cups), and, for entertaining, the Mr.Coffee Thermal Carafe coffee maker for up to 8 cups.
Mr.Coffee makes a fine pot of coffee, but to get the best tasting coffee Ever, a French Press can't be beat!

What tools and tips do you have to brew your beverage of choice? Thank you so much, and for more fun and inspiration around the kitchen, please visit The Motivation Station Show and Tell.

Midweek Mashup Plus*

I am recovering from a "week off" from work that I spent with my extended family for my parent's 60th Wedding Anniversary. Trying to fit two years of relationships into 5 days with family can be a bit much. In addition to the anniversary party in San Diego, we went to the beach, hung out at the pool, and ate like Kings and Queens. Some of the meals I prepared included: Roast Pork Loin with whole cranberry/balsamic vinegar/rosemary glaze with roast potatoes and vegetables, Alaskan crab legs with fresh summer corn and drawn butter, Grilled steaks with asparagus at the pool for a neighborhood potluck, and, Carnitas, tortillas, spanish rice, and refried beans from our local Cocina. Still, it's great to be getting back to the normal routine of work, chores, and family.

Our parents' 60th Wedding Anniversary party was truly delightful and joyous. My dad played with his band and my brother, sons, nephew, mom, and sister also performed. I had a great time dancing.
This is a photo of one of the two bouquets my sister and I got our parents. There are six different types of flowers, one for each decade of marriage, including blue delphiniums to represent the March birthstone color of their late son, our brother, Jim.

We've done a lot of traveling this Spring and Summer with visits to Mammoth, Coronado, and San Diego. I've learned that as much as I dislike packing and preparing to go out of town, that I don't mind unpacking, which I do almost immediately upon our return.

I also learned something else from my travels, specifically from the breakfast buffet at the hotel where we stayed, that you can use a slice of bread to drain and absorb the oil from fried and fatty foods, like bacon and sausage. Very impressive.

This week the boys start school, 10th grade for our oldest, 7th grade and a new school, (Junior High School!!) for our youngest. I have been shopping the sales for both school supplies and clothes, and have saved an average of 40% overall. Using select coupons and buying the loss leaders of 1 cent pencils and notebooks really helps. I also told the boys that they would have to make these supplies last the year and no poaching from my supply stash!

Please, how about you? What is new with you? What have you learned about yourself or the world this week?

*Also posted over at The Motivation Station (except for the cool photo of the boys getting silly on the cannon).

The Midway Museum in San Diego

Last month, we visited the San Diego area and paid a visit to the Aircraft carrier museum, The Midway.

This carrier had a crew of approximately 4,500.




The control tower as seen from the flight deck/runway area.

The engine control room complete with mannequin sailors.

This plane is one of the "Shamrocks", part of the Fleet Replacement Squadron.

My visit left me awed and humbled, and appreciative of the sacrifices of those in uniform, both past and present.

Thank you for stopping by,
and to see what else I've been up to, please visit me at