Fun times...cheeseburger '09

Contemplations on the 4th...

Note that the "clouds" in the horizon are really clouds of smoke from fireworks!

Mornings: fog and snow at the beach.

A portrait of success.

It's been so exciting this year to have my first garden as an adult. I have lots to (re) learn in my adult mind, but the bottom line is that even if it's sometimes challenging, it is FUN to grow.

Bonfires, birds and baseball...

Oh, and "Boys".... engaged in a tough game of checkers...



First bonfire of the year at the cottage...

Dad and Kayla with his bird. A broken leg is nothing to worry about...dad fed it, then amputated the leg after the kids left. Last report: it was doing well, being fed by adult birds in the back yard.

A double-header allowed me to see Kayla and Jordan play ball...too bad I missed Kayla's ONE at-bat when I ran to the car to get my umbrella. Who knew that she'd be one of the first three up to bat, and that they would never make it through the batting order???

Tough kids. Too bad they can't hide their smiles!

Jordan was excited for his 3rd time up to bat!

Chasing the Dream: A Wicked weekend

It's always been on Kay's "bucket list" to go up in a hot air balloon....mine too, if I had a complete list written.

This weekend, I traveled down to Indianapolis, where Kay and I went to watch "Wicked" (fantastic, fantastic show!), followed by a weekend that Kay deemed a "Wicked" weekend, complete with hot air balloon ride!

Here, we chase the dream down the road.....of course, we had tickets for the 1:00 flight, but we were still rushing to make it on time!






The underbelly. It truly was a beautiful thing.

Here's our "Captain" and the girl he was hitting on throughout the flight - added entertainment!



Even more fun, perhaps though, were the couple of hours we spent after our brief flight walking around the "living history" park. The 1800's made us nostalgic for a slower pace of life.

Stung.

I got stung by a hornet tonight, the first bee-family sting in TWENTY-THREE years. Holy Cow.

Before the bee sting, I had already realized that I have somewhat of a phobia about bees, hornets, wasps, etc. That's probably partially because I hadn't been stung in so long, but also because of the death of a friend which was caused by a swarm of bees.

It really hurt.

But I lived.

Tomorrow I'm going to go out onto my screened-in porch and kill that other hornet if he's still out there. The greatest thing I have to fear is fear itself, right? So. I'm not going to let that hornet run my life.

(Well, maybe I'll fling him outside if I can, but if he puts up any sort of resistance....he's done)

Everybody's favorite...

The cat...

The legend...

GIZMO!

Texas challenges. The wall.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know all of the facets of our international policy or the ramifications of all decisions. Still, the wall leaves a very uneasy feeling in my gut. I don't like it.

Texas fun...

Yes, it's been a long time since I've posted...my camera was left lonely and rendered useless (but not forgotten) at Gina's house for several weeks.

Some visions of warm Texas vacation days...

Mid-bike ride, we stopped for a photo shoot. The field behind was littered with papers and trash, as are many areas of Texas because of the Texas wind...

We biked to the new (to me, anyway!) Civic Arena, which boasted absolutely gorgeous landscaping as well as upscale shopping and restaurants - quite a contrast to some areas in these border towns.

A neatly-planted grove of palm trees!

Jewel. Still great.

conglomeration 2009...

Boy, have I been bad about taking photos, and even moreso about posting....

Here are a few pics since christmas...


A trip to the beach - our 40 degree weather in December meant that the ice had opened back up briefly on the Saginaw Bay...

Painting another room - Gizmo LOVES to help!

Wine-tasting and "designated driving" on New Year's Eve - Hometown Cellars.

Yo - you want a piece of me? (Ryan demonstrating his cool "dancing" attire in my new yellow office/bedroom).

Christmas tidings...

Christmas dinner: Steak, asparagus, carrots and quinoa...along with some good red wine.

Our traditional walk at Eagle Creek Park included many deer...

Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night...

Christmas Times

A family picture taken by Darrin, er, Kelsey???  (see Kelsey at the bottom? She thinks that she's taking the picture, but really she's turning the outside Christmas lights on and off. Brilliant.)

Dad untangling Nikki's hair for her....interesting way to bond with a teenage granddaughter!

Ryan and I playing with self-portraits.  This is the only photo in which he's halfway serious. 

An impromptu lunch with friends and family.  Cheers! (Nice red socks, Bob...)  

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!

Reflecting on friendship...

Through wine, cheese...


...and cookies!

Stripping Party.

You know, I expected a lot more enthusiasm when I invited Ryan over for a "stripping party." Even though he wasn't panting at the thought of stripping (wallpaper) with me, he was a great sport.


Not that you can tell in this picture, but I really got lucky with the color. I had bought really good eco-friendly (read: less smelly and twice the cost of normal) paint for my bedroom and it wasn't the right color so I had an extra gallon that I wanted to use up.

So.

I took that color in to our local paint store and asked the owner if I could add color to it. He wasn't thrilled about the idea - and couldn't guarantee what the color would look like combined with the coloring already in the paint. I told him to go ahead, that I would deal with it if it wasn't quite right.

I got SO lucky.

Thanksgiving memories

Jason and Helen came to town - and were introduced for the first time to Carter.


The girls do crafts on Thanksgiving afternoon...