The Napa Valley of Beer

So, it's been awhile since I've done a post- after feeling like it took up too much time, I made the executive decision to only do blogging as a hobby and only do it when the mood hit!

Let's just say that after a most excellent weekend in Ft. Collins, Colorado (aka The Napa Valley of beer), the mood hit! Earlier this year, my niece and her boyfriend migrated from Tennessee to Ft Collins, and they graciously invited us to come celebrate the 22nd Annual Brewers' Festival with them this year.  This was our first trip to Ft. Collins, and the hubs and I returned to Tennessee contemplating a move out west, ourselves!

When we arrived, we were greeted with a variety of Colorado beverages to choose from, and toasted to the upcoming weekend- it was their version of a lei ceremony, and we approved!  I kicked off the weekend with a "Buffalo Gold", brewed by Boulder Brewing Company.  It actually ended up being a great choice, as I liked it so much that I made sure it was on hand for the remainder of the weekend!

We took it easy our first night- hung out at their place, then went to dinner at a hibachi grill.  Other than a chef pouring sake down our throats, it was pretty tame.  The next morning, we got up and headed to Horsetooth Reservoir for breakfast.

My sister's in-laws live in the area and offered to cook us a mountain breakfast of some of the best eggs I've ever had, pancakes and ham.  We had mimosas, something called "red beer" (which is kinda like a bloody mary, only with beer), good scenery, great company and even some excellent tunes.  It was such an awesome way to start the day- out enjoying nature, food, friends and family!


We took the scenic route out of the park and were surprised to see no less than 15 Ferrari's parked along a bend in the road.  It was like they were having a horsie parade of their own, and it was beautiful!  Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture, but there was definitely awe and wonder in our car, and possibly even a little drool!

Anyway, from Horsetooth, we parked off the downtown Ft Collins strip and headed over to the Bike Library.  I had never heard of a Bike Library until then, but basically, you rent a bike for a day or two, only it's free.  They hold a credit card, in case you decide to keep the bike, but nothing gets charged to your card if you return the bike.  They had a variety of bikes for all shapes and sizes, including a bike with a wheel barrel looking contraption on the front for hauling tools OR children.  The guy running the place was really helpful and would adjust seats and handle bars for you and pump up tires, etc...  Since Ft Collins in mostly flat, it's an easy way to get around no matter what kind of shape you're in. 

Our agenda for the day included local brewery tours.  We were biking to all of the breweries for tours and tasters! First stop- New Belgium Brewery!  Home of Fat Tire, Abbey, 1554, Mothership Wit, Ranger IPA and a few others!  The New Belgium Brewery Tour is like nothing I've ever seen before.

When we arrived on our bikes, I was first taken aback by the beauty of the place as well as the very strong bike culture.  Having never done any homework on the place other than sampling their fine products, I didn't expect the rows and rows and rows of bikes.  It was pretty cool.
So, the tour.  Ummmm, yeah, The Tour!  Probably the best brewery tour EVAR.  Of course, I haven't been on all that many brewery tours, but lets start with the basics.  It's FREE.  Yes, completely FREE.  It seems like in the world of free beer, you usually only get Bud Light or Miller Lite- never the good stuff.

At New Belgium, you check in at the tent before your free tour.  They give you a bottle cap.  You go inside to a very cool bar and merchandise area, turn in your token and drink whatever you choose.  Then you start your tour.  They take you into a big room and tell you about the history of New Belgium.  They answer questions, and let you check out memorabilia. During this time, they bring you 2 or 3 different types of beer to try.  I had Somersault and Abbey.  Then we move into an area where the giant metal vats that are making up the wort are- you get a story, see some cool mosaics, and pour your own beer from their draft selection.  I tried the Blue Paddle, but didn't like it, so the hubs traded with me and I drank the Trippel (maybe?).  Whatever it was, it was better than Blue Paddle.  

Next we move on to the bottling area.  We happened to be there when they were bottling Fat Tire, so again, more glasses of fresh Fat Tire, brewed about 10 minutes before we drank it.  SO GOOD!  It was cool to see it all in action.  After that room, we checked out all of the parking lot- filled with bikes.  Apparently, every employee gets a bike on their 1 year anniversary with the company.  They have a different bike every year.

Anyway, from there, we went into another room where they ferment beer in used oak wine barrels.  This is where we tasted the sour beer.  I think it was named something french, but I can't remember.  Anyway, it tasted a little like a dry wine and I don't recall it having a lot of head on it.  Some people love it, some people hate it, I thought it was good enough to drink both mine, and the hub's glasses!

The tour lasted about an hour and a half, and you have fresh beer in your hand the entire time.  Fresh, FREE beer.  Seriously, it was awesome.  It was fun, it was high energy, it was informative, it was high quality and it was beautiful.  The tour ends with a ride down a twirly slide, for those interested, but I opted for drinking my sour beer in the lobby.  Since I got a nice bike for my birthday earlier this year, I did purchase a New Belgium bell for my bike for only $5.  It was the least I could do to support such a great brewery tour.

From New Belgium, we headed to Odell Brewery, where we decided that after a brew tour like New Belgium, we'd just taste the beer and skip the tour- no one would likely compare.  Odell makes several great beers, some of which I received as a birthday gift earlier this year.  I like the 90 Shilling, the 5 Barrel Pale Ale and the Levity Amber Ale.  If you're a wheat beer person, a lot of people really like the Easy Street.  When ordering tasters from Odell, they have 3 different varieties of taster trays, each with 6 different types per tray.  We got 2 trays of their classics, 2 trays of their high alcohol content beers, and 1 tray of their seasonal.  Split between 5 people, we felt like we got to taste quite a bit.

Classics

The hubs really likes Myrcenary double IPA, but it took me 2 glasses of other (better tasting) beer to get that pungent hops out of my mouth.  Not.A.Fan.  but the boys seem to like it.  They have some really great porters and stouts, but it was just to heavy to drink on a tour like ours.  We finished up at Odell and picked up a couple of shirts, then biked over to Ft. Collins Brewery.

This was a small brewery with a pretty modern decor.  I think we bought 2 "flights" here- each flight had 5 or 6 different types of beer, and I think they were both the same.  I don't recall any of the beer being particularly memorable, but they were all still very good.  What I remember most, is reading the crazy descriptions for each beer.  We decided we must read all descriptions out loud "in character".  It was at this point that we realized that all of us were in need of some food, so our visit to Ft Collins Brewery was short and sweet.

From there, we biked back to the main square in downtown Ft Collins and turned in our bikes, then headed the CooperSmith's Pub and Brewery.

They are right in the square and have 2 buildings- 1 is the pub side and one is the pool side (pool tables, not water).  Word on the street is that the pool side has terrible service, so we went in the pub side.  CooperSmith's is the home of the green chili beer.  Since I'm not too big on spicy, I ordered a "Not Brown Ale" and watched the hubs run with the Green Chili beer.  My "Not Brown" was more like a porter, and by that point, I had maybe 3 drinks and threw in the towel and went with water.  Too heavy for the 90 degree weather and as a closer for a 4 stop brewery tour.  I did have a few sips of Scottie's green chili beer and found it to be really tasty and refreshing- at first.  Still tasty, but after a few sips, the heat comes.  It's not outrageous heat, but it's no longer "refreshing".  We ordered food, which we all shared with each other, and it all seemed to be pretty good.  We had planned on 5 brewery tours, but called it a day after CooperSmith's.

After our eventful tour, we headed to the neighborhood pool to cool down and enjoy the weather, then had a pretty mellow evening back at the house that included hanging out on the balcony, once the sun set.  The great thing about Ft Collins in June is that it is hot during the day, sans the humidity and cool in the evening.  LOVE IT.

Sunday morning was great, as we had a leisurely breakfast before heading to the brewers festival.  It was good to get our grub on before heading out for another day of tasting!

The festival was great- there were TONS of craft brewers there and the staff and workers we so pleasant.  The weather was great and the whole vibe was fantastic.  With the cost of our tickets, we got 10 tokens and 5 oz mugs.  1 token per beer, regardless of the type of beer.  Every station washed out your glass before refilling and there were lectures and contests as well.  I actually won a beer nerd sticker for getting 100% right on a blind taste test!  I made sure to try beer from breweries that we didn't visit the day before and was impressed with the taste and quality of the beer on hand.  There was 1 brewery who only used organic ingredients local to Colorado.

There were 2 stages at each end of the road and they both had pretty decent bands playing rock and ska and disco and a variety of other things.  They had plenty of port-a-potties that were clean and included hand sanitizer.  Once you ran out of tokens, you could buy more for $1 each.  There was plenty of water and pretty good street vending food.  The fellas found a cigar vendor and enjoyed their wares, as well.  It was a great festival and we had a fantastic time!

While the beer in Colorado is awesome, clearly, the jewel in Colorado's crown is the scenery. It's just breathtaking! The next morning we headed to Estes Park- a nice little mountain village that serves as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park.  While the drive up is long and windy, it starts in a beautiful canyon!

For a girl from the hills of Tennessee, just the canyon itself was breathtaking.  Incredible rocks and trees, and a beautiful river runs along the side of the highway most of the way up.  Once you get up to Estes Park, it seems quaint, yet grandiose at the same time.

The town is full of shops and Inns and there is even a winery and a brewery there.  I didn't manage to get a picture of the lake, but while stopped at a stop sign, I did manage to get this not so little piece of wildlife on camera!

Elk Crossing

Ummmmm, yeah, that would be an elk crossing the street in front of our car.  Just chillin' in traffic in the nice weather.

Anyway, the trip to Estes Park wrapped up our weekend.  We had a fantastic time and enjoyed every bit of it!  We came home with great memories, new friends and chapped lips (hey southerners- you better moisturize while you're out there!).  I highly recommend visiting the area!

Have You Seen This??

Bunk Bed Cot

Ummmmmm, I thought I had nearly everything for car camping...

Apparently not.

The Mighty "W"

It's not a mighty wind, or George W, or "WHAT- EVAR", and it definitely isn't a new hotel in Vegas!  I'm talking about the mighty WORKOUT.  Yep, there it is- that little dirty word that rears it's nagging head when your favorite jeans are fitting just a little too snug, or after you enjoy a fine, rich dessert, and let's not forget how prominent the mighty W becomes at the end of December and the entire month of January.  It's my best frenemy.  That friend I secretly love to hate.

Well, the mighty W has reappeared in our home.  It's kind of a fair weathered friend, but apparently the weather has been fair up in our house lately.  The hubs has been going to the gym somewhat regularly for a couple of weeks now and is really feeling a difference in his energy level and overall attitude.  He's such an inspiration, but for me, it's a whole different bag.  I know working out makes me feel great and look great, but for whatever reason, it takes an act of congress to get me to workout.

On days that I work from home, I get up in the morning and put on my gym clothes, hoping that it will inspire me to workout at lunchtime or after I finish for the day.  I even put on my shoes!  Unfortunately, my little wardrobe efforts are no match for the Jedi mind tricks of one so strong in the force...

This is not the workout you're looking for...

Yeah, I'm gonna go with THAT as the reason I haven't been working out...  Damn you, Obi-Wan!

I HAVE managed to walk the greenway and some trails in the park, but I have been making charitable donations to the YMCA for months now!

Well, I'm pleased to report that today I had a breakthrough- I actually got myself to the gym and had a most excellent time, to boot!

I have discovered a HUGE difference in my experience at the gym if I go with a few "tools" to help me along my way.  I feel like a kid going to church- you know, where you had to pack a bag of toys so you would stay quiet while the sermons were going on?  Yeah, I'm THAT kid!  My toys tools aren't any different from most of the other folks there, so clearly I'm not alone.  Anyway, here's what's in my bag...

I love my heart rate monitor!  It has a strap that goes across your chest and sends heart rate info wirelessly to the watch.  I have this exact version and it's great because you add your age, weight and gender and then do a resting heart rate test, so it can give you a better idea of what zone you are in while working out.  It also transmits to most cardio machines in they gym, so you can see your stats on the machine without actually holding on to the handles on your machine.  It has alerts, so if you are trying to keep your heart rate within a certain zone, it will beep at you until you get back in the designated zone.  This is especially great when you are hiking or exercising outside, where your stats aren't right in your face.  It will also store your workout info for months and allow you to transfer it to an online application, for tracking.  For me, it's a way to see results immediately, as weight loss and endurance results take a little longer to see.  For whatever reason, it really helps with my motivation!

Bose Earbuds

Ummmm yeah- SO FREAKING AWESOME!!!!  So, I'm not a big speaker and sound buff, but I have owned a few ear-buds in my day, and these are a godsend.  If you happen to have itty bitty ear canals, you know the pain of trying to keep an ear-bud in.  These come with 3 sizes of plastic (washable) doo-hickies (the technical term) for the best fit in your ear.  They stay in place during most of my workout, and while this is a definite feature for me, it's the SOUND that has me hooked!  It's crystal clear and although these aren't billed as noise cancelling, they do a mighty fine job of cancelling everything else out.  The value of blocking out some hen on her cell phone on the machine next to you, for the sweet guitar stylings of Duane Allman or Jimmy Page???  PRICELESS!  Seriously worth the 99 bucks!

Along with those amazing ear-buds, you gotta have an amazing playlist.  I have a few- my 80's workout list has the expected Eye of the Tiger, but it's Van Halen's Panama that burns the most calories! Today, I went with my Workout Faves playlist.  Anybody have an suggestions for a kick a$$ playlist?

Play That Funky Music...

So, I've always told myself that I would one day keep a really groovy notebook of all the concerts I've been to, complete with thoughts from the shows, set lists and ticket stubs! Great idea, huh?

Well, let's just say that one day never came, and by the way, do you know how much effort that would take??? SERIOUSLY!  I don't even have all of my ticket stubs and don't know what I was thinking with some of the shows I went to...  Anyway, this is my attempt to list all of the bands I've seen in concert. I have put an * next to bands I've seen more than once, and I'm not even sure the list is complete, but, this is everything I can remember.  They are in no particular order, but here goes...


BTW, I threw a few links in here to some of my favorite songs.  Enjoy!

Grateful Dead *
Rat Dog *
Phil and Friends *

Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton
Anne Murray (don't ask)
Beastie Boys *
Tribe Called Quest
Breeders
Smashing Pumpkins
Tom Petty *
Blues Traveller *
Rusted Root *
Lenny Kravitz *
Son Volt *
White Zombie
Dave Matthews *
Social Distortion
Cypress Hill
Doug E Fresh
Metallica *
Godsmack *
The Exies
Kings of Leon
Modest Mouse (pre Johnny Marr)
George Clinton/ Parlament *
Van Halen- Sammy Hagar : (
10 Years
Buck Cherry
Robert Plant & Allison Kraus *
White Stripes
Raconteurs *
Robert Earl Keen *
G Love *
Jack Johnson
Ben Harper*           

Ben Harper

Galactic *
Gillian Welch
Guster *
Gov't Mule *
Los Lonely Boys
Levon Helm
Doc Watson
Mofro *
Sam Bush*
String Cheese Incident
Wilco *
Cowboy Mouth
Kellar Williams
O.A.R*
Nickle Creek
Robert Randolph & Family Band *
Yonder Mountain String Band*
John Butler Trio
Old Crow Medicine Show*

Steve Winwood

Jimmy Buffett *
Cracker
Todd Snider *

Todd Snider

Sting
Cheryl Crow *
The Eagles
Annie Lenox
Indigo Girls
Drivin' N' Cryin' *
Widespread Panic * 
Oysterhead
Primus*
Black Crowes *
Ani DeFranco *

Moe *
Wallflowers *
Gin Blossoms
Shawn Mullins
Josh Joplin Band
Ghostland Observatory (briefly, but enough to know I'd like to see them again...)
Lez Zeppelin (again, don't ask...)

ZOSO (Zeppelin tribute band- very good) *

Appetite for Destruction (GnR tribute band)

Disco Biscuts
Bobby Bare Jr.
Elvis Costello
Beck

Phish

Phish*                           
Radiohead
Bonnie Raitt
Emmy Lou Harris *
Lucinda Williams
Steve Earle
Dierks Bentley
Marty Stewart
Travis Tritt
Hootie & the Blowfish
Pete Yorn
John Mayer
T-Bone Burnett
Dark Star Orchestra *
Pearl Jam
The Knux
Bruce Springsteen
Snoop Dogg
Merle Haggard
Pixies

Dylan

Bob Dylan*       
DJ Keoki
Martina McBride
Cake
Weezer
Better than Ezra
Black Sabbath
Derek Trucks
Jason Mraz
Lee Greenwood
Sister Hazel
Green Day
Disturbed
Pat McGee Band
The Cult
Allman Bros
Rodrigo y Gabriella
Great American Taxi
Roger Daltrey
Zac Brown Band
Kris Kristofferson
The Chieftains
Garth Brooks
John Prine *
Van Morrison
Willie Nelson*

Willie Nelson

Maybe one day I'll do a post on some of my favorites, and I'll try to continue to update the list, but we'll see how that goes!  Would love to hear back from folks about bands they have seen!

The Maiden Voyage

This year, Scottie got a new smoker for his birthday.  The thing is a beast- it's HUGE!!!  Since we had nice weather, we decided it was time to kick off the back yard BBQ season!  We invited family and Scottie got some ribs and a pork shoulder to smoke.  He actually started with the brining the night before, and by 7:00 AM, he already smelled like the smoker when he would walk into the bedroom.  I prefer things to smell like coffee at that hour, but the hubs was on a mission- I like to call it the Meat Debut!

Every time I look at it, the song Space Oddity (ground control to Major Tom...) pops into my head, since it looks like a space pod of some sort, but again, I digress.

My mom and my brothers came to join us that afternoon while things were still slowly smoking.  We sat on the patio and just enjoyed being able to socialize outside.  My brother brought over my sister's 4 month old yellow lab, Buster.  He's one of the biggest "puppies" I've ever seen, weighing in around 50 lbs at only 4 months.  Needless to say, Vader was not pleased.  He thinks he wears the pants in the family, but despite his name, he's kind of a sissy.  He was not interested in a playful puppy 3 times his size and spent the bulk of the day guarding his territory from this yellow rogue.  He likes to guard from the inside, though- with a lot of talk and an occasional strut across the patio.

Vader guarding his castle

This is how Vader spent the afternoon- half in, half out, monitoring the situation and voicing his general displeasure.

Bertha, however, was a little more gracious.  She tolerated Buster a little better and even tried to play with him until she discovered, most unceremoniously, that Buster's paws are as big as her head.  After that, she ended up mostly hanging out in someone's lap or under the chair.  But she was plotting... laying in wait. Atta girl, Bertha!

Bertha creepin'

We also tried our hand at a smoked/baked mac & cheese casserole, that the fellas liked, but I did not (I could taste the flour in the "cheese sauce"-ugh!).  We feasted well, then decided to break in the fire pit!  We spent several hours laughing, joking and planning our next camping trip around the fire. We had a fantastic time living the springtime dream!  Happy Friday Everyone!

Happy Campers

Last weekend a few of us decided to go camping, since we heard rumor of beautiful sunny weather and it seems like it's been nothing but grey skies for months now!  We wanted to sleep outside, enjoy the fresh air, do some light hiking and build a fire!

We were all looking forward to the trip, but I think my brother was the most giddy.  He has been collecting backpacking equipment for several months now, in preparation for the mother of all intermediate hikes- The Appalachian Trail. He's also been prepping by doing small camping and hiking trips any spare weekend he gets, and a few weeks ago, he camped at Meriwether Lewis campground on the Natchez Trace.  His reviews were so good, that we decided to go there for our first camping trip of the season.  It is a pseudo primitive drive in kind of site- no water/electrical at the sites, but there is a community bath house (toilets, but no warm water), and each camp site has a picnic table and a swanky adjustable grill over the fire pit.  The sites are also spaced well enough that you're not right on top of each other and they offer a little bit of privacy.  The setting is great, as there are trails to hike and a little bit of history sightseeing, if you're in to that kind of thing.  It is mostly used by folks with RVs, but there were a couple of tent campers as well.  It is also FREE to camp there and since it is not a state park, you can also have alcoholic beverages, if you like.

Part of our crew went down early to pick a site and set up, then the hubs and I made our way down Friday night with the pups.  We figured it was early enough in the year that it wouldn't be too crowded and we could see if the pups were good camping companions.

We were not disappointed!  We set up as far away from the bathrooms as possible and up against a ravine, so no one would be behind us.  There weren't that many people there to begin with, but we like to spread out and can sometimes be a little loud, so it was nice to have space.

When we got there, we set up our tent, then had a fab dinner of beer brats and BBQ baked beans.  SO good for camping!  Probably one of my favorite camp meals for it's ease, and it feels like we're big pimpin' when compared to weenies on sticks over the fire!

We knew it was going to be chilly on Friday night, but boy was I in for a shock at just how cold it got- somehow, in my head, when I hear 30 degrees, I translate that to what 40 degrees feels like- cold, but not unbearable. Ummmmm, yeah...  WE FROZE!  It was too cold to sit by the fire and I didn't want to drink to warm up, since I didn't want to have to unbundle to go to the bathroom.  I tried in vain to warm by the fire, but it was not in the cards.  On nights like that, there is nothing to do but try to go to bed and dream about warmer temps.

Now, my brother may be all into backpacking and traveling light, but not us!!  No sir, we have a huge tent that accommodates 2 extra large cots.  Great for warmer weather camping, but hard to warm up in cold weather camping.

Needless to say, there was no sleep for the freezing that night!  My poor pups shivered so bad that I had to let them in my sleeping bag with me.  Even with fleece over the bag and a ski mask on, it was cold, and the night was looooooong.  I tossed and turned and shivered for the bulk of the night, cursing myself for not being better prepared for cold weather camping.  Around 3 or 4 a pack of coyotes went wild howling and carrying on as if they just won their brackets, and at that point I lost all ability to even pretend I was asleep.

When the sun finally came up, we got the campfire going and some coffee going in the percolator.  Mmmmmm, so good.  I was pretty much a zombie for the first couple hours, since it was still chilly and I had had very little sleep, but eventually things warmed up to the mid 60s, the birds were chirping and the coffee kicked in!  It was beautiful!  After our breakfast of burnt french toast and bacon, we were golden!

We spent some time hanging at the site and watching Gaines take pictures of birds, and just shooting the breeze.  Gaines also brought a couple of hammocks and I found myself hard pressed to get out of one to go on our hike.  I just wanted to lay in the sun and sleep!




David, however was most anxious to get on the trail and do the hike.  He even loaded up his hiking pack as practice.  It took a good bit of cajoling to get me out of that hammock, but eventually we were on our way.  We did the 2 mile trail that wound through the woods and along a creek.  It wasn't a beginner's trail- maybe intermediate level, but not too bad.  There were a few hills that had me cursing mother nature and my brother for a moment or two, but I was glad to be out there.  The pups have never been on a trail like that either, and have certainly never played in water before.  Fortunately Lily, the yellow lab, was there to show them the ropes!

It was awesome to see the little runts out there enjoying themselves.  It was pure comedy watching Bertha trying to run through the water- she's a bit of a low rider so she was chest deep instead of knee deep.  ADORABLE!  Lily was in her element climbing the cliffs and running back into the water- showing my little runts how to be a water dog.  Not sure if it took permanently, but they enjoyed themselves for a little while.  The scenery was really pretty and I can't wait to see it once it's green.

Anyway, once we finally got back to the campsite, we managed to get a game of bocce ball together, while the pups crashed in the dirt.  WORN OUT!

As the afternoon wore on, we got the fire going again and grilled steaks for dinner and enjoyed libations and great fireside conversation.  Something about sitting around a fire with friends and family seems to soothe the soul, and since it was about 15 degrees warmer, it was so enjoyable!  And the view wasn't bad, either!

Saturday night made for easy sleeping, I was dead tired and it was much warmer AND I figured out how to light the tent heater.  Yes, you heard me right- tent heater.  I am not even ashamed to admit that we are that couple that brings a ton of stuff camping, and NO, I'm not trying to be indoors while being outdoors.  I love sleeping in the fresh air, and I did't look at my phone or even have a radio the entire weekend.  I DO, however, like to sleep off the ground and organize my camp kitchen and supplies and find that having a few luxuries makes for an awesome weekend outdoors.  I have to give my mom and my other brother mad props for hooking us up with this bad a$$ addition to our gear stash!











Anyway, Sunday we had big plans for breakfast burritos and hanging out, but once we started tearing down camp, everyone was ready to get on the road and wash the campfire, dirt and sweat from our clothes, bodies and hair.  We managed to get everything loaded back up and on the road before noon.  The Natchez Trace is a beautiful drive and we thoroughly enjoyed the ride back home in the sunshine!  Part of the crew went to have lunch at the famous Loveless Cafe, but Scottie, the pups and I were spent, so we bowed out and opted for take out on the way home.

We were pleased to learn that the pups are good little campers and look forward to more adventures!

Sign Sign Everywhere A Sign

It's almost here...  It's the drum roll before the big act!  There are signs EVERYWHERE!

I



                                                                   Signs in my neighborhood








Signs in my back yard










                                 Signs in my neighbor's yard







And even near my office

Anyway, I'm simply giddy!  I'm a sunshine girl through and through and this weekend gave me the fix I was looking for!  I'm sure if I were a better photographer, this post would be a whole lot cooler, but... 

Here comes the sun, ya'll!
Happy Monday!

(and you thought I was going to play something by Five Man Electric Band...)

HA!