MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Today....

Frog went a courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh
Frog went a courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh
Frog went a courtin' and he did ride
With a sword and a pistol by his side, uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh

He rode up to Miss Mousie's door, uh-huh
He rode up to Miss Mousie's door, uh-huh
He rode up to Miss Mousie's door
A place he'd often been before uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh

Took Miss Mousie on his knee, uh-huh
Took Miss Mousie on his knee, uh-huh
Took Miss Mousie on his knee,
Said Miss Mousie, will you marry me, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh

~~~CONGRATULATIONS CHARLIE & SARAH~~~

Oct & Nov

October has passed; November has passed; It is December & Christmas is rapidly approaching!!
OH MY!!!
I will update soon.

AND...I will start my Christmas shopping.
AND...I will start working on Christmas cards.
AND...we will get some Christmas decorations up
....and....and...and...

neglected

I have neglected my blog way too long. Mike's birthday has come and gone, as well as our anniversary. Fall has arrived - but no fall weather yet. It has been HOT in our town.

On Saturday we helped Kevin & Shannon move to a new townhouse & yesterday we celebrated my upcoming birthday with friends & the kids. I loved it.

Now back to the routine of work, eat, sleep & then do it all again & again & again. Yawn.

Maybe I'll get a few photos posted tonight; if not, then soon.

lazy

I have been too busy (or lazy) to post much lately. But I came across some photos that I took at the Fair in July and decided to post some of my favorites from the quilt competition.


I love the outlining on the one above

have always wanted to try to do this window effect

I love this one, the rocks, the flowers, the overall feel

classic beauty

I like the fabrics used probably more than the design

I love this effect. lots & lots of little pieces for the graduated shading, but well worth the effort.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

My better half, the love of my life & best friend turns 60 today!! Let the celebration begin (or rather continue).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE

August

There has been a lot going on but my brain has been too tired to blog. Work is finally getting to the point that I'm not on overload learning new things, now it is just a matter of organizing and prioritizing.

We had a wonderful trip a couple weeks ago. Mike and the boys went fishing in Dunsmuir; Shannon and I went on to Oregon for some thrift shopping and visiting. It was a lot of driving for a three day weekend but well worth it. The guys caught just a few fish but we are all enjoying the smoked trout! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures on this trip.

It has been a year full of new family members. We have had two great nieces and three great nephews born this year! Two of them were born in the past week. And there are at least two more on the way. So much fun to see the family grow.

A very busy week

Last weekend Charlie officiated at his first wedding. He has been a groomsman or best man nearly 20, but this time he actually married the couple.

at the rehearsal dinner, last Friday

Charlie & Chris awaiting the bride - Saturday evening

speaking to the congregation during the ceremony

immediately after the wedding reception Charlie joined a few others for a 16 hour drive to Arizona to join the yearly mission trip near Four-Corners; here he is trying to get some sleep

at a stop along the way

it looks like they put him to work - on the reservation.
Update: he spent 6 hours the first day with his friend the pick axe.

And heading back home...they should get in tonight.
Update: got in VERY late on Sunday night.

Alameda County Fair

FOUR hours
FIVE people
EIGHT beers
ONE margarita
ONE ear of corn
TWO milkshakes
ONE small coleslaw
THREE funnel cakes
ONE ice cream cone
SIX bottles of water
ONE order curly fries
THREE cans of seltzer
ONE order of baked beans
ONE chicken gyro sandwich
ONE order sweet potato fries
ONE barbecued pork sandwich
FOUR deep fried peanut butter cups
ONE order "homemade" potato chips
ONE deep-fried peanut butter & jelly sandwich
THREE* people with stomach aches (*see back row)

Thinkin' Thankful Thoughts

Pat and Jerry are working hard at getting Mom’s condo ready for its new owners. I am very thankful for their willingness to get in and get this done as quickly as possible!!

As I look back over the past 3 years I realize there are so many reasons to be thankful for my family. Even though we don’t always work together or plan what is to happen next it always seems to fall into place. All of us have put in some busy days, weeks and sometimes even months. I realize that I don’t know everything that everyone has done and this isn’t meant to be an accurate accounting or attempt to 'keep track'; but I am aware that we have all contributed a great deal and for that I want to say “Thank You” to my sisters and brother.

Three years ago when Mom had her first surgery Pat and Dianne spent long hours at the hospital. Dianne moved in with Mom working from “home” (away-from-home) to keep up with her paying job while tending to Mom’s needs during recovery.

Bruce has been there off and on (sometimes more on than off) as Mom needed someone to take her to the doctor; sit at the hospital with her for hours on end; or be at her bedside at home when she was unable to care for herself.

Others were there too; Joe and Kari, Irene and Jo, Jay, Doral and Leah, to mention a few. They ran errands, cooked for her, took her to the doctor, stayed with her and provided care and comfort when it was needed. We are fortunate that Mom had so many close friends and extended family members who were willing to be there when none of us “kids” were available.

I gave Dianne a couple of breaks during the first recovery time and she did the same for me after Mom’s surgery last summer.

I came back home before Mom was ready to travel, so Dianne and her friend Janie packed her up and drove her to Dianne’s for a short stay. Then John bought Mom south and we headed north meeting up in the middle to get Mom & a pickup full of her belongings moved to our house.

Pat & Dianne with help from Jerry, John & Erich cleaned out and packed up Mom’s belongings when she decided the move to California was going to be permanent. Then Jerry and Pat drove the rental truck down here, unloaded it and helped get the bigger items put in place for Mom’s use.

Bruce and Joe cleaned, painted and did repairs to the condo so it could be listed for sale.

Dianne & John dropped everything and came as soon as we got the diagnosis that the cancer was back and untreatable. They were here within a day. Then Dianne came again when I was in desperate need of a break.

Near the end Bruce came for a weekend but stayed for a full week when he realized how close the end was, and that I couldn’t handle the lifting and being up at all hours of the night on my own.

When it came time to plan a Memorial service John was on top of it. Everyone contributed and it was an amazing tribute to our Mother, Mother-in-Law, Grandmother.

Since then Jerry and Pat have carried the brunt of the burden; replacing carpeting and cleaning up the condo, dealing with the realtor and now doing a lot of minor repairs and arranging for other things to be done by professionals.

None of us could have done all of this on our own and fortunately no one had to try. Thanks everyone for being there and doing what needed to be done.

More Monterey

We couldn't have asked for better weather last
weekend when we went to Monterey with Teri & Mel.

We walked a couple of miles along the waterfront
and through town; first to lunch, then to the aquarium.

There are really great pedestrian/bike paths along
the water with lots of pretty flowers and foliage.






And of course the ever present harbor seals.

This one looked especially relaxed.

Aquarium

Here are just a few of the strange & wonderful things we saw on Monday at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I'll be posting more (non-aquarium) pictures soon.

Amazing...squid egg cases

Hammerhead shark

all kinds of sea horses

sea dragon (above) and leafy sea dragon (below)

many beautiful species of jellyfish

these are sea nettle jellyfish

giant sea bass (500 pounds!)

starfish & anemones

If you come to visit we can plan to go;
it is a bit expensive...but worth it.

Happy Birthday Shannon

Today is our beautiful daughter-in-law's birthday!
We love having another Mrs. in the family.

2009 (in Portland)

2008 (in Healdsburg)

2008 (November - making jam)

2008 (August)

2007 (Christmas)

2006 (September in Yosemite)

2005 (commute from Manteca to Pleasanton)

2004 (July -Dunsmuir)

2003 (Scotland)

2003 - (Engaged! Cliffs of Mohr)