From my friend and blog follower in Gainesville. Florida, Kristin F.
Thirteen Years ago my friend Shuey sent a photo of a Barred owl from Niceville Florida and was guest blogger click to see
In trying to identify what type owl this was I found this poster sold at Redbubble.
Guest blog post from my friend Joanne’s friend, Mary Ann Miller:
I just visited my sixth Bitty and Beau’s! Joanne and I were coming back from a fabulous week at a watercolor workshop in the North Carolina mountains, and I had to stop in Columbia for this.
Bitty and Beau’s is in their words “a human rights movement disguised as a coffee shop.” It was the brainchild of Amy and Ben Wright of Wilmington, NC, who have two children who were born with Down syndrome, Bitty and Beau. They decided to create a place where people with disabilities are valued & given opportunity for meaningful work and opened the first Bitty and Beau’s coffee shop in 2016 in Wilmington. It employed 19 individuals with disabilities. Now, March of 2025 it has grown to 18 shops across 11 states with 400+ employees.
When B&B first opened in Jacksonville, Florida in 2022, I was drawn to it because I had had a precious daughter with Down syndrome. She worked at McDonald’s for many years, and she would have loved working in this wonderful coffee shop. A small journal was on the counter among other B&B merchandise for sale, and as I am an artist and a bookbinder, I bought one with the goal of sketching each Bitty and Beau’s across the country. I replaced the lined paper with plain paper, bought a sticker for the first page and began. I Have sketched all the shops on the southeast coast – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina- and hope to get to Alabama and Tennessee before long.
If you are anywhere near a Bitty and Beau’s do visit, have a cuppa and enjoy the place. If not, look for them on the internet or while traveling, and maybe one will open in your town soon. It’s a worthy endeavor.
Photos from my sketchbook enclosed.
–Mary Ann Miller
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Added to Mary Ann Miller’s guest blog by Ruth in Pittsburgh from my visit to the Pittsburgh location March 28, 2025
Joanne and Mary Ann were in their location in North Carolina while I was in the Pittsburgh location at the same time of the very same day.
Pic below from Pittsburgh FB page. This month they are preparing for their first anniversary’s celebration
Crocheted chair covers found on the chairs in the Price Center Food Hall at UCSD-University of California San Diego
Thanks for sharing these photos, Maura.
Laura sent me this photo she took in Columbus, Ohio. It’s a good one.
I appreciate my family and friends seeing curbside discards, thinking of me and sharing a photo. I love the light on this one.
Guest blog by Kristin.
Sunday morning Laura and family went to swim. She sent me this photo.
The LEGO website states reasons why this Tuxedo Cat is the best pet
“5. Your wool is safe with us
Cats love nothing more than unravelling carefully wound balls of wool. Hard to know why really, but it does look kind of fun while they’re at it. We can say with certainty that, with the LEGO Ideas Tuxedo Cat, your grandmother’s knitting bag is safe.”
“Always take pics of furniture but ever furniture boxes?” Granddaughter Maura wrote in a text with this photo
I responded “why not?”
Guest blogger today is Maura. Oh she managed to send an abandoned chair too
6:57 am update from Niceville adding to
Original post
“All done I think. Currently, 22° and 5 inches of snow that stopped about 11 PM last night. Most major roads are currently closed.
We had a snow sled that we bought at a yard sale about 30 years ago. At 22° outside, I am not planning on getting it out! 😁”
Unexpected text from a friend with this scene in Niceville, Florida!
“Almost 5 inches of snow and still accumulating. So glad we moved to Florida. A good day for soup and. . . . Homemade pumpkin bread! Your mom’s recipe. First time we’ve tried it and it is good!” Shuey
It was almost 13 years ago that our family friend Shuey sent this wonderful photo of the Barred Owl and was guest blogger. It was the most viewed post that year!
