Dishes, Potatoes & Bus Painting!

*Yay* ~ that's what I felt like yesterday when Wayne {the most wonderful of all husbands in the whole world} bought me these brand new dishes:{sorry about the picture, but it's just of the box & I thought it would be easier than to try and take a picture of the dishes themselves}...but as you can see {and my most favorite thing about the whole place setting} are the small little soup/dessert bowls! What a concept, instead of those tiny plates you usually get that go under the coffee cups ~ I mean who *really* uses those? And, another great thing is that the coffee "cups" are actually realistic mugs and the square salad plates are awesome, too! And, of course, the best part of all is that they match my dining room furniture perfectly:

{and this picture was from last Christmas so no, I'm not decorating for Christmas just yet}....but we did have to break in the new dishes by having some friends over for dinner last night. Wayne cooked some salmon on the grill and I cooked up some onions & peppers with this awesome "Chicken & Apple Sausage" ~ all you do is cut up 3 yellow onions & 3 medium size green peppers and saute' them in olive oil for about 10/15 minutes on medium/high heat. Then cut up the sausage {I use 6 links} lengthwise, then bite size and add it to the skillet. Cook for about another 10/20 minutes and then enjoy! This is so easy to make and everybody that has ever eaten it loves it! And then we had a small side salad and some wine, then some more wine and then a little more wine and then went to listen to the "Moon Shine Babies" over at "The Square Root" ~ so yesterday was a really fun day, especially after our 8 mile hike {yes!!!! 8 miles} from the day before! My thighs are still slightly sore from climbingand this was *after* I took my "Waterfall Photography" class that morning, which totally rocked, by the way!
I still have lots to learn, but I'm getting better at understanding aperture & shutter speeds~:D

So tonight we are going to a "Paint The Bus" {yes, you read that right} ~ bus painting party! Some of our friends just bought an old school bus that has been converted to a camper and they are having a party tonight so everybody can paint flowers, etc. all over it! I think it's going to be a blast and, of course, I'll have lots of pictures to share later! They are having a huge bar-b-que and everybody's bringing a dish and, since it's so brisk & raw outside today, I'll be bringing a giant {really gorganteous bowl} of "Garlic Mashed Potatoes", using this receipe ~ I'll let you know how they turn out.

Right now I'm off to the "fall festival" downtown, so I hope you are all having a great weekend!

♥ & peace always ~ Kathy

"It's not where you are today that counts, It's where you are headed" ~ Arthur F. Lenehan