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Thursday, November 20, 2025

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS FROM AMAZON LIVE NOW

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I will earn a small commission, which will not affect the pricing for you.

Amazon has begun the Black Friday sales early! Why wait till next week if you can get a jump and relax a bit more over the Thanksgiving weekend?

I wanted to share some products that I have used myself AND are on Black Friday sale!

Below you will find pics of our beloved pets:

Aloy and Jack. Aloy belongs to Staci but she spends weekdays here while her mom is at work. Jack was found living under a shed in our neighborhood at about 5 weeks old; he's been with us since then in 2021.

Buddy is our "old man" cat. We have no idea how old he is (the vets say not as easy to tell with a cat as a dog) and he was grown when we found him in 2017.

My boy, Teddy. He will be 8 years old next Valentine's Day!

My point of sharing my pets is that pets make messes. Pets have accidents, even the most well-trained ones. Kids and grandkids do, too 😉 So a few years back, I purchased a BISSELL LITTLE GREEN MINI PORTABLE CARPET NAD UPHOLSTERY CLEANER and it has been a lifesaver. Sometimes you have small messes, and you don't need a full-size carpet cleaner (like the time recently Jack thought it would be fun to break my plant terrarium on the carpet). Grab one today while at Black Friday prices!

Another product I love are Ruggable washable rugs. They come in a variety of sizes, colors, and designs. So handy that you can wash them and dry them at home! I have several of the 2' x 3' rugs for the entry way and I have two 2.5' x 10" that I use along my work area in the kitchen.

Take a look HERE for a variety of sizes, designs and colors. Don't forget the Velcro backing mat if you haven't ordered before!

While we are discussing floors, rugs, etc., Amazon does have a great buy on iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuums. My husband and I purchased a similar one from Amazon this summer and while it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that more expensive ones do, we found it is great for busy days and with a click of the button on the app, off "Robbie" goes (yes, I am old so named him Robbie, after Robbie the Robot). If you have been on the fence about purchasing a robotic vacuum, maybe do what we did and start less expensive and see how you like it.

Robbie, waiting to be called to duty!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed my pet photos!

FUNTASTIC FRIDAY AND WEEK BEFORE THANKSGIVING LINK PARTY 567

Hello to all! How are your Thanksgiving plans and menus coming along? In our family, you really don't change the menu after this many years! Turkey, GREAT-GRANDPA'S OLD-FASHIONED STUFFING,

homemade mashed potatoes, gravy made with pan drippings, etc. This year, we will have five of the kids, three of the grandkids, couple of in-laws, a boyfriend (not mine hahaha), and our granddaughter's BFF (they go to the same high school and both are in marching band/band together).

I try to have Thanksgiving coloring pages or word searches on-hand to entertain before dinner and after dinner, we will play Thanksgiving Bingo! It can get pretty tense......

Share in the comments some of your Thanksgiving traditions or menus! We would love to hear.

This week we shared on the blog DAWES GLACIER AND SITKA ALASKA ADVENTURES. My husband and I had such a great time on the Alaskan cruise and same for the shore excursions we went on. Hope you will take a peek at our adventure.

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Wednesday, November 19, 2025

ALASKAN CRUISE 2025 SHORE EXCURSIONS SITKA AND DAWES GLACIER

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I will earn a small commission, which will not affect the pricing for you.

If you are a regular reader of our blog (THANK YOU!), you might remember that my husband and I went on an Alaskan cruise this past August on Holland America Lines. I did already write a post about our ship, the Westerdam, and another post regarding our Juneau shore excursion. Today, I wanted to share a bit about Sitka and the Dawes Glacier.

When cruising, there are typically days called "sea days" which simply means that the ship is out to see to its next location. One of our sea days involved a few hours sailing up to the Dawes Glacier, which is located in the Endicott Arm Fjord. This glacier is approx. 80 miles SE of Juneau.

It was a beautiful cruise into the area, and the weather was perfect--sunny and temperatures were great for a sweatshirt or light raincoat (this ONE was perfect for the weather--kept me cozy and dry in Ketchikan, too). Not everyone went on deck, so it wasn't too crowded at all. The water really is that blue, as well as the glacier. The glacier is blue due to the ice's ability to capture light waves. The blue light travels thru and thus the blue shade the glacier presents as (hoping I am remembering our ship guide's info correctly).

The ocean leading up to the glacier is filled with small bits of ice that have broken off the glacier. Smaller bits, such as below, are called growlers and larger pieces (1 to 5 meters in size) are called bergy bits. We only noticed the smaller pieces on our journey.

Here is a photo of the upper deck (bow), where people gathered to view the glacier and scenery.

On Holland America Line, it is a Dutch tradition to serve split pea soup. During our Alaskan cruise, this occurred while viewing the Dawes Glacier. It was tasty!

If you are interested, I found a recipe, shared by Holland America themselves! Link is HERE.

Another view as we near the glacier. We did have to wait our turn as another large cruise ship was coming out of the area.

We didn't see any wildlife so to speak while there, marine or otherwise. We were told that people do boat into the area and camp and hike. Having a waterproof pair of binoculars, such as THESE, are helpful to make sure you don't miss a thing! Great price, too.

Our next stop and excursion was to Sitka, Alaska. Sitka was influenced by Russian culture, especially architecture, and is located in southeast Alaska, and like many areas in Alaska, is only accessible by sea or air. Sitka was founded in 1799 by Alexander Baranov, the governor of Russian-America. There were clashes during that time with the Tlingit, the people native to the area. Tlingit is pronounced "Klink-it" or "Tleen-git" (per our guide, who is half-native Tlingit) and means "people of the tides". They are native to British Columbia and SE Alaska.

Our first stop on Sitka was the ALASKA RAPTOR CENTER. It was a fairly warm and sunny morning while there. The center provides care for up to 200 wild birds, mainly raptors but will help other wild birds, each year. One of the most enjoyable sites we saw was the Flight Center, in which injured birds can practice their flight skills in an enclosed, large area.

Some of the residents of the center.

He's very prestigious looking!

Part of the 17 acres of the center.

Beautiful symbol of our country! Most of the residents at the raptor center are bald eagles.

My husband and I, posing in an actual-sized man-made bald eagle nest! I had no idea they were that large.

Our next stop on Sitka was the Fortress of the Bear.

🐻🐻🐻

We had a driving tour of Sitka but the main focus of our Sitka excursion was two separate wildlife sanctuaries. We drove by shuttle to THE FORTRESS OF THE BEAR. At one time, if a mama bear was killed or died and she had cubs, the Alaskan Dept of Wildlife required that the cubs be euthanized (don't shoot the messenger, this is what the guide told us). When we were there, there were 8 resident bears living there. The goal is to find zoos or other sanctuaries who can take the bears and give them permanent homes. That way, Fortress of the Bear can continue to help all orphaned cubs throughout the state of Alaska.

🐻🐻🐻

Cute bears but I bet they aren't cuddly!

We had an interesting and enjoyable time on Sitka. This was part of the Holland America Line's Inner Passage Alaskan cruise and we highly recommend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, November 13, 2025

FUNTASTIC FRIDAY LINK PARTY 566 AND FALL GALORE

Thanks for stopping by! This week, our Northern Nevada weather has been beautiful! Highs in the 60s and sunny days! Lots of leaves to rake up, whether from our two Ornamental Plum trees or the neighbors' trees. Part of the autumn season!

Last week, I made a Thanksgiving wreath for my DIL, Billie, for her birthday. She was very appreciative of it and granddaughter, Izzy, hung it right up on their front door. You can find the details HERE.