Eggheads, what's not to like?

 by Diana McCollum

My husband and I took a trip to the California coast to the small town of Fort Bragg. Before we left for our trip we had several people give us recomendations on places to visit and restaurants to eat at.

The coast had some of the most spectacular views. We watched a photographer taking pictures of a bridal couple with stunning views behind the couple. Unfortunately I didn't think to take any of the bride and groom, besides they were pretty far away from us.

One of our favorite breakfast places on our trip was Eggheads.

The theme was all Wizzard of Oz from the menu to the decor.

    

There was a ton of collectibles, posters and pictures from the movie. And the food? Absolutely wonderful. They only serve breakfast and lunch. It's a very small intimate cafe.

I wish I would have taken a picture of the menu. On the menu you could order things like Wicked porched eggs, Yellow Brick Road pancakes,  or Emerald City omelet.

We ate there three mornings! The final morning we split the special which was a Dungeness crab omelet with a special cream sauce for over it. So good!!

I rode the Skunk Train up into the Redwoods. 

We went to the sea glass museum. Wow, all the different colors and the displays were very unique. One room was all glass with urainium in it and the pieces glowed under black light.

We both loved the 46 acre botanical gardens. My husband can't walk far so we rented one of the gardens electric carts, like you see in the grocery stores.

Here are some pictures from the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. 

The cactus in the background are over 8 ft tall!

Have you gone on any trips this spring? 

Is your garden sprouting flowers?

(all pictures were taken by Diana McCollum)

Longer Days...? Or shorter...? by Delsora Lowe

The blog question for this month is whether I like winter or summer best? Do I look forward to the longest day of the year or the shortest day? Both have their positives. The longest day of the year can be sad, as it means the warmth wanes and the daylight dwindles earlier. And yet, I love fall weather and November nights with the stars vivid in clear, dark skies. And fall follows that longest day.

The shortest day means the following days will get longer, to give us more light each day. And flowers, dormant now, will soon blossom.

To choose one season over the other is impossible.

June is the month where my yard comes alive with color. The nights are still cool but the day’s air is warming up.

This year, our April showers bringing May flowers didn’t pan out. It seems the blooming flowers stayed on track, but the grass stayed brownish longer than usual. Who am I kidding? In the Northeast, where we used to get feet of snow with every storm, we had very little, and the grass had a bit of a green-brownish tinge all winter long.

The rain invaded June instead of March and April. Granted, we need the rain, so I can’t complain about cooler weather. Especially since my air conditioner is yet to be installed. The seasons continue to be mixed up these last few years.

But I do have to say, I love the longer days with more light. And I love the colorful landscape, compared to yellowed grass and no leaves, just stark brown trunks and limbs of late fall into early spring,

            

Yes, color is important to me.

Having said that, each season has its own color. In fall the leaves are bright until they are crumpled, dried up, and dull, as they decay on the ground.

But there is still beauty in those muted colors. As we move into November, the sky’s blue is more vivid, and at night, the constellations of Orion and the big and little dippers are easily identified.

In winter daylight, against the stark white snow, we see hints of color from plants now dormant. We also see magnificent sunsets and sunrises that color the sky with neon pinks, magenta, orange, or various shades of purple.

In spring, we anxiously await those first peeks of light green, as trees start to leaf out, and the first sprigs of grass shoot their way toward the sun. The tiny white blossoms of wild strawberries pop up among decaying oak leaves left from fall.

Then there is that first carpet of color as the dandelions show their bright yellow heads. I love dandelions.

My grandmother used to make wine, tea, and jelly from the flowers and sauteed the young greens for dinner. Dandelions have so many vitamins, and yet we neglect them—malign them. I welcome their sunny faces after the grays, browns, and whites of winter.

And spring and summer thunder storms, though scary and sometimes bringing hail with torrential rains, also show off vibrant double rainbows against coal black skies.

 What about you? Can you pick a favorite? Do you love the seasons of longer days? Or shorter days?

June is a month we associate with wedding season, as the weather is warmer, but not hot, and the landscape is lush with green and floral colors. And the early fall months can also be big wedding months when the weather turns cool and crisp.

Check out The Love Left Behind, a smalltown wedding romance set in Rhode Island, in a fictional town near the Atlantic Ocean and Newport.

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Left-Behind-Hartford-Estate-ebook/dp/B08L5N5DS9/

Books2Read   

books2read.com/u/mglVqK

Print Books by Delsora Lowe others available in e-book

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind. Look for both a Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) later this fall.

Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/

Photo Credits:
Photos taken by the blog author.

Lob-sta and the Annual Family Picnic: A Look Back at Summer ... Delsora Lowe

I would classify our annual lobster bake as a family picnic.

Every July, my daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons leave Denver to descend on Maine. They coordinate the trip with my daughter’s best friend from high school and her family, who now live in Atlanta.

The fun begins.

Boat rides and kayaking off Bailey and Orr’s Island. Checking out our favorite- and some brand-new restaurants, zeroing in on seafood. But the highlight of the week is the “family” picnic, which includes high school friends, as well as their children and parents who still live in the area. We all bring salads, desserts, and hors d’oeuvres. Then we steam lobster in big pots over a fire outside, plus grill for those who don’t like—shaking my head, because who could say NO to
—lobster.

The entire event is a mini-reunion every summer. And, in essence, aside from the “rivalry” between graduates of two area high schools, one big family picnic.

But the true joy to me, is the entire week leading up to the grand finale of the lobster bake. My daughter and friend have been “besties” for over thirty-five years. The two were either at my house or her friend’s house all through high school. They were in each other’s weddings. Their children are similar ages, and despite living in different states, they see each other often, and spend the week in Maine glued to each other. Both ended up marrying two wonderful men they met at a college reunion, who are also best friends, having met at the same college.

So, for me, my daughter’s friend is like my second daughter and her husband is like my newest son-in-law. I’m lucky to have a wonderful son-in-law, and his bestie college friend, who always treats me like family.

This year, with a rental cottage right on the ocean, the views are spectacular, with plenty of kayaks, sailboats, and motor boats, plus seals, ducks, seagulls, and we suspect, from following the shark app, an occasional Great White who have been invading our coastal waters as they have warmed substantially.

Ocean winds, cloud formations, the slant of the sun, and the rise and fall of tides ensures the view continually changes. Add the beautiful day lilies, cornflowers, and beach roses with the rosy-orange rose hips ripening into fall, the setting is ideal for a summer vacation.

So, on a scorching summer July evening, being on the water with breezes and temps ten-degrees cooler than the middle of town, fifteen miles away, we enjoyed a wonderful “family” reunion, with plenty of chatter, eating, and excitement at the end.

The sun dipped in a fiery orange ball and bounced off equally tangerine-colored clouds. The woman next door flew a rainbow-colored, box-kite for her young son. The tide moved in, causing waves to lap against the rocks in front of the cottage and surge through the opening under the bridge.

And within seconds a mass of seagulls stormed the shoreline, squawking and swooping in from every direction to pluck the remains of the lobster shells from the rocks where we set out their buffet.

  

Memories abound and will be forever stored in the treasure chest of favorite occasions in the farthest reaches of our brains. Here’s to another great summer. Already looking forward to next year’s “family” picnic.

What kind of Summer fun did you have? Or are you looking ahead to Fall fun?

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane

Preorder now for October 17, 2022

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple Books

cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind. Look for both a Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) later this fall.

Social Media Links:
Author website
Facebook Author page
Amazon Author page
Books2Read Author page
BookBub Author Page
Goodreads Author Page
Instagram

 Photo Credits: Delsora Lowe

A Calming View and Dreams .... by Delsora Lowe

Visiting my son’s house with the wonderful view of a cove that leads out to the Atlantic Ocean, with sailboat’s white sails bobbing on the water beyond the jut of land and a tiny bridge leading to an island, always calms me.

On a very hot day in Maine, I sit under the ceiling fan in the cool living room that lets in the ocean breeze but not the heat of the sun. And I listen and watch and dream about my bucket list, which includes my own house with such a view. A place that inspires me to write.

But alas, even though I love my little landlocked view from my writing desk, these water views inspire me to write. So, with a day off from computers and writing, and with words and images insisting on churning through my mind, I grabbed my phone and wrote a stream of consciousness…

 

The continuous, high chirps emanating from the leaf cover.

 

West bound wind off the ocean furling leaves bright green to dark, depending on how deep the sun penetrates the canopy of the huge oak standing between me and the ocean.

 

The water a constant movement of ripples headed toward beach.

A white gull’s lazy travel, swooping and landing on the barely submerged sandbar.

 

The water morphing from the color of cement gray to a tailored, summer weight, wool-gray to light turquoise to yellow-green and back to a darker turquoise as the ocean laps against the opposite shore of the cove.

 

The barrier of bright pink and deep red blossoms gracing bushes of dark green-leafed, sea-side roses in the yard across the street.

The hum of the nearby interstate traffic weaving from one end of the city to the other, broken by sirens racing down the highway and a plane roaring into the summer sky from the nearby airport.

 

Then back to the consistent chirp, chew, chew, chirp, chirp buzz of birds.

 

Saturday afternoon, away from computer and household chores and headline news I want to make disappear. The news that makes me regress to my innocence, fifty years ago when I was first old enough to understood policy and politics, hate and love, kindness and cruelty…

Today, I concentrate on the sounds, and the feel of comforting breezes and hot sun and water rippling from the light puffs of wind and nature living its life in the sheltered trees.

Those thoughts, scribbled to clear my brain, allowed creativity to be unlocked.

The tranquil view and the quiet of the house and neighborhood with only sounds of wind and birds and an occasional meow as Luna wandered into the house and plopped down next to me on the couch, her head gently pushing against my leg as she leaned into my caress, helped to settle me.

Views and pets calmed my anger at the world we live in that can’t treat every human being with respect and love.

Thank goodness for serene scenery, nature’s sounds, and dreams of a room with a view where I can get lost in words that will lead to a story with a happy ending. My escape from a harsh world. And…the reason I write romance.

What is on your bucket list?

Amazon: (also in print) https://www.amazon.com/Starlight-Grille-Serenity-Harbor-Collection-ebook/dp/B07CN8JV2Z/  
Books2Read   books2read.com/u/3yDjWe

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind. Look for both a Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) later this fall.

Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/

Photo Credits: Delsora Lowe