Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Birthday Time....!!

 Today was celebration time.  Elaine turns 91 on the 17th so ofcourse this called for a major celebration. Not only was it birthday time, but Elaine's sister, Joy was in town to join in on the celebration. Wouldn't you love to have a name like Joy?  Remember our discussion the other day about liking/not liking our given name...well, I just decided I think I am changing my name to Joy.  Soo much better than Deanna.  Not only is it easy to pronounce, but no one will ever misspell it either.  Ok, that's it...my new name is Joy, but I will probably still answer to Deanna.  

Look at this line-up of beautiful women.  They all are a special part of me.  I just hope & pray that I am still kicking strong at 91 like our lovely Elaine.  



We had lunch at a beautiful old mansion that way back when was converted to a restaurant...then it was called Willoway Manor and it was always saved for very special occasions.  Today it is a tapas place, Mason Sabika.  A fun place with delicious food. still a special place, but a little more casual than before.  But then life has become more casual than it was 25 - 30 years ago.


It would have been wonderful to sit and dine on this lovely patio, but it was beastly hot with humidity levels way up there, making it difficult to not sweat....and you know I don't like to sweat.  Inside, with air-conditioning was the choice of dining spots.


The grounds surrounding the restaurant are planted with beautiful flowers....a wonderful spot for wedding receptions.


Today is Tuesday Muse over at my friend Nancy's blog, A Rural Journal....and prior to finishing this post, I hopped over to her blog and was blown away.  Nancy creates textures, lovely ones that I use consistently, that she graciously & generously shares (FREE) to all of us.  Today's texture is named after me.....Deanna, oh so totally surprised and honored.  It feels like I just won the Academy Award or something spectacular. Now I will have to reconsider renaming myself Joy...(giggle).  But I still like that name....maybe a middle name, Deanna Joy...OK that's it.  Thank you, Nancy, from the bottom of my heart.   And (drum roll) is an image with "Deanna" texture.....



I hope your day is as pleasant as mine.  Mine will be spent reading the book for book club...."The Light Between Oceans"....wonderful, loving it.

Until next time.....

29 comments:

  1. Looks like you have a special group of friends but wouldn't expect less. the snowball hydrangea is to die for. Gosh I love those plants, miss them here.
    Have a great day Joy.

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  2. Sweet celebration, Deanna! Looks like a wonderful time of celebrating Joy. I can't stop smiling over the new texture over at Nancy's! How sweet is that? I love that for you!

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  3. I was blown away too that she named a texture honoring you. I told her that was so very sweet!! You honored her right back with this great work of art!! Isn't blogging friends just the best?

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  4. Happy Birthday, Elaine. The celebration looks like a great one - save me a piece of cake, please!

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  5. Happy Birthday to Elaine. What a sweet celebration. :)
    I am playing with "Deanna" (the texture) right now, just a beauty. :D

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  6. Friends are the best! Glad yall had a fun celebration for Elaine!

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  7. You definitely are a Joy! Happy birthday to your friend....and may she enjoy many more! Congratulations to you on your texture! You certainly deserve to have one named after you, you great photographer, you!

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  8. Imagine 91 years of change and stories, memories, amazing. Elaine is beautiful, everyone is but the birthday girl like the bride is always the prettiest. I love lunch at places like this, lovely photos.

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  9. Deanna so fits you - but perhaps Deanna Joy because you are indeed a joy? I saw Nancy's new texture and it is as sweet as you. Beautiful pictures of lovely ladies and what a glorious location - to dine or simply photograph.

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  10. sweet, sweet smiles. deanna joy. :)

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  11. What a lovely way to celebrate! Elaine looks beautiful! Like you, I hope I'll still active at 91. :)

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  12. Well Deanna Joy...I have to say that has a nice ring to it :). What a beautiful group of friends you have gathered for the birthday celebration, accompanied by gorgeous surroundings!

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  13. I wish I had such a supportive group of friends... offline. :) Love photos of your gathering. Happy Birthday Elaine -- you are in good company. xo

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  14. Something tells me you'll still be going strong at 91, 'Joy'! But since you know have a beautiful new texture named after you {I just saw it, too, on Nancy's site}, maybe you'd better stick to 'Deanna'.

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  15. What a lovely group of ladies to celebrate with Elaine. As usual, your photography is stellar!

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  16. Wow 91, I can only hope to live that long and still be going strong. I know what you mean about names. I've never liked my first name (to old fashioned).
    It's so neat that you have such wonderful friends to celebrate life events like Elaine's birthday. Those Hydrangea blooms were gorgeous.
    Love what you did with your namesake texture. Very pretty.

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  17. What a beautiful group you are, and what an uplifting post this is.
    BUT, since I love the name Deanna so much, maybe we could just call you Deanna Joy???? :-)

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  18. Oh my you are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends to share your life....and to have a texture named after you...You are rocking girlfriend....
    Deanna Joy I think that suits you just fine as you are a joy to have as a blogging friend. So you are officially renamed..... Would you be upset if I am in a hurry and just address you as DJ.....no pun intended....
    Please tell Elaine 91 must be the new 70's because she certainly does not look 91.

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  19. Doesn't look like anybody really wanted to sit outside. No fun to be sweating while you are eating. My daughter has a friend named Joy, I agree it is a wonderful name.

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  20. 91 looks great on your friend! Such lovely, happy faces in those photos. I'm so glad you have such a wonderful group of friends to celebrate life with. :-) And congrats on the texture! I love the name Deanna, by the way. I think it's such a soft, pretty name. But Deanna Joy is just as lovely. :-)

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  21. What a great cause for a celebration! Love those hydrangeas but I would have opted for indoor dining as well. And I love that Deanna Texture. What an honor!

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  22. You are blessed having such a group of lovely ladies now I'm off to download Deanna lol.....

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  23. Joy is such a happy name, and I used to like the name Gay a lot also - but I don't know, Deanna is very nice and now that there's a special texture named after you... You have a lovely group of friends! - Happy birthday to Elaine!

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  24. What a great celebration ... and such wonderful photos.
    Happy Birthday to Elaine!!! :-D

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  25. Oh, Deanna, what an honor!! When I saw the name of her new texture before coming here, I just had a feeling it was named after you!! It's lovely, as is the image you edited it with!

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  26. How wonderful that you took portraits of each beautiful lady -- different generations and ages, and all so lovely. That will be a treasure for you! Congratulations on your namesake texture from Nancy. What an honor!

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  27. Lovely ladies and a lovely day! The restaurant is very pretty outside, but AC is my idea of comfort, too! Very nice that you were honored with the texture name! Stay cool! Hugs xoxo

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  28. Absolutely beautiful images and another fabulous post.

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  29. I just loved all your photos... And what a gorgeous restaurant. You just don't see outdoor restaurants like that here in the desert.

    Hugs~

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