My Mother's Eyes

 My Mother was an Irish redhead, in every sense of the word. She had the greenest eyes and the most beautiful skin.

I was her mini-me with the exception of the skin.  I am ruddy, rosecea prone to breakout skin.  

When sjhe was angry her eyes would flash and cut right through you.  I see those eyes everyday in the mirror.

In a few weeks I will be the same age she was when she died.  She had the most horrible death, mainly because of the decisions we made as a family.  Therein lies a lot of guilt and shame.

 I've always felt that she got cheated, we got cheated.  I realize many people have lost a parent at an early age.  My father included.  

I miss her terribly, miss her phone  calls.  Miss the togetherness we had when she was here.  Miss my daddy who couldn't stay here without her.  Miss all the things I took for granted when she was alive.  I never had a better friend although we often clashed.  My poor dad, with two green-eyed redheads.  

She stepped up for me when my son died.  She talked to the doctors and made all the arrangements, with my dad, for a burial and memorial.  Though she never talked about it with me I know she went out to the cemetery often. (she also gave me the most useless advice I've ever heard but I give her a pass for I know she was also grieving)

She also kept a secret from me about that day that came flying out in anger years later.  I've never known how to handle that secret.  I know she never intended to tell me and there have been many times I wish she had taken it to her grave.  But to be honest, it only  validated what I already knew, what I had seen in that hospital room.  It's still heavy on the heart.

 In the end, I forgive her and believe she was trying to protect me. I am wearing the chain i gave her on her last birthday...I think of her often.  I miss you mamma.

 

Reset...

 My withdrawal from facebook has been slow.  So many of my blogging friends are there and I like to check up on them.  And then I scroll...looking for answers that have no questions.  Next thing I know I have wasted hours on nonsense.  Oy

This is such a strange time of life for me.  I look at my hands and wonder whan my mom's hands were exchanged for my yourhful ones.  I look in the mirror and don't recognize the person staring babk.  And I wonder where it all went to hell.  My health, my weight, patience, my happiness, my sense of self.   I miss the woman I used to be before five bouts with cancer, before my amputation and revisions.   I was active, went to the gym, maintained a household. helped my husband, laughed.  It's been so long since I laughed.  I need to put that on my to-dp ;ost

I need to find the reset button or the freeze frams.  

Old Friends

Old Friends

 Hello My Beautiful Blog How I have missed you. Like an old friend I long for and ache to return to. I fell for the instant gratification of facebook and with many regrets I realize this is where I really belong. I miss sharing my life in paragraphs and not emojis or one word replys. So many, many chabges have taken place since I left here. I'm aure for all of us. So many hears have taken an additional toll on this body of mine. More surgeries, too many to count, my old fingers can barely type as all grown-ups my back hurts! But morw so, the losses to my heart/soul have been the hardest.'

 

 So many friends have left. Five blogger friends have passed away and when I look back at facebook memories i realize how lonely it has become. One of my dearest real life friends is gone now. Her sisters and I were fast and furious high school friends. First, Patty who I met in my juniour year. She had just moved here and was in every one of my classes. Her first day here she had a medical emergency during class, a diabetic low blood sugar. No one tried to help her. I jumped up and ask her what she needed...sugar. I managed to find something and gave it to her. After that we hung out together. Little did I know that a year later she would help me through my own medical crisis when I was diagnosed with diabetes. I don't know how I would have ever navigated this horrible illness without her support. She cam from a family drenched with type one diabetes, I did not. She had amazingly supportive family, I did not. It was just who she was and her family accepted that, mine did not. I was blamed, ashamed and embarrassed. She's been gone 27 years now after suffering the worst of the worst of diabetes complications.

 

 Her sister, Peggy, was a year younger. And as it is with all younger sisters, she was always hanging around us! She grew to become more dear to me than my own sister. After high school Patty married and Peg and I grew closer. She became a nanny and I went to college. I used to visit her in the evenings and we would talk about boyfriends, of which I had none! We would talk and share our deepest fears and pain. She was also a diabetic so we were able to commiserate there and support each other. We would often pray together, standing in the kitchen with her charges safely tucked into bed. A few years later she would be a bridesmaid in my wedding. More recently we would text each other in the middle of the night. I saw her about a year ago at a care center after she had a bought of pneumonia. She was so happy, looked so well, and feeling so much better. We chatted all afternoon. A few month later, after some nastt family drama, she just slipped away during the night. She's been gone a year now and I still get up at night and look for her.

 

 And then there's Mary. You know Something about Mary right! She was another year younger. I didn't know her that well as we ran with different crowds. At one point in time we lived across the street from each other. Over the years IO would see her at family functions and family funerals. Another diabetic and a cancer survivor, a strong, beautiful, opinioned friend. I got a text last Thanksgiving just as I was sitting dowwn to eat that she had slipped away completely unexpected during the night. All these wonderful sisters shared beautiful children and grandchildren, even a couople of great grandchildren Huge families are so wonderful and I always felt like I was one of them. I can just imagine the festival in heaven with those three and their parents.

 

 Well, that's enough of my drama for now. These old eyes don't focus well anymore. Whoever called these the golden years was seriously demented. jojo

 

 Posted by joanne at 6:01 PM No comments: Home About Me My photo joanne a rainy day and mondays kind of gal, who is owned by our setter/lab mix, loves coffee, grandbabies, thrifting, collecting, old book stores and life. trying to live a life of grace and dignity although the odds are stacked against me...courage, dear heart, courage. View my complete profile Blog Archive ▼ 2023 (1) ▼ June (1) Old Friends Ethe

Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows...

...yay, I finally got outside and finished a few Spring chores along with leftovers from last Fall.  Finally the sun came out, the air was warm and skies clear.  I could hear people in the pool over at the clubhouse.  Yes, it was a beautiful weekend.  Alas, only one day but that's Seattle and we wait in anticipation for the next one.

view from our back porch, the pool is over past the green area.  Not our pool, we have to share with the rest of the commumity.

 looking up, the trees are budding, some are blooming.  The Cherry Blossom Festival was last week but I didn't see many.

 I don't know what kind of tree this is...the coolest one in our yard with a 'funky' tree trunk.

 Yes, we grow prize winning dandelions!  I always remember a story my daughter told me about dandelions.  When she was younger I told her the puff balls were seeds and not to blow them all over the garden...she was broken hearted and to this day tells me it's one of her worst childhood memories.

 getting some rest after playing in the grass and lolling in the sun, he does not like having to stay put but won't go out in the fenced backyard alone.

 cleanded out all the flower pots, planted seeds...zinniea, 4o'clocks, hollyhocks, and bluebells...none of which I have planted from seed in the past.

my grands love to bring me little garden décor, this is a pinwheel blowing in the breeze, didn't stop all day.  I keep seeing it from inside the house thinking someone is coming to the door!

As I look forward to Spring and Summer, being outside with my family, bbq, walking to the river to fish from the bridge, pic-nic, and grandbaby visits, voices, and smles, I know that some of you are heading into Fall.  I love every season and the changes they bring but I have a special place in my heart for Fall.

Where ever you may be, what ever season of weather or life, I hope you are well.  Be safe, be strong, shine. ;j

And the band played on...

...yes, that was me a few weeks ago imploring everyone to start their blogging engines again.  And now, look, I've taken weeks off...again.  Such is life.  Pretty rough around here lately and the dark, cool, dreary days don't help.  I AM going to take my camera on a Sunday drive tomorrow and find something wonderful.  

Hope you are all well.  take care friends.

Where have all the flowers gone...

...long time passing.  Only I'm changing the name to where have all the bloggers gone...long time ago.  This post was inspired by Pogonip and her last post which got me thinking...serious.

In started this blog almost ten years ago.  It was fun, it was new, and I couldn't wait to get home everyday and share my shenanigans.  I even made lists during the day of things to post about, and when I got my first comment I was over the moon.

I never set out to be a professional blogger or a money maker, my purpose was to share my life in the hopes one day my children or grandchildren would want to know "me" and why I am the person I am.  I never expected to have 'followers' nor did I imagine the friendships I would cultivate, even meeting a few of you in real life.

Like everyone I shared pictures wishing I had a better camera and knew how to stylize my surroundings.  Then I upgraded the camera and wished I knew how to use it!  I soldiered on sharing life events and nonsense.  There were many times I put the silly aside and talked about serious issues in my life, cancer...diabetes...cancer again...depression...anxiety...amputation...cancer again...kidney surgery...thyroid surgery...and on and on.  And always you were there for me with kind words, prayers, and concern.  I will forever  be grateful.

The last few years have been light on the  blogging front, not that the nonsense or health issues have changed.  We've added a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.  That in itself is blog fodder for years to come.  Hubby is about to retire and the 'new' old home we bought looks like it will be the forever home at this point.

I admit I was lured away by fast-talking, instant gratification of Facebook.  Never fell into the Instagram or Pinterest hole but there's still time right?  I miss the old days of blogging, so many friends that disappeared and I wonder where and how they are doing.  I miss the interaction, the feeling of chatting with a bunch of friends out for coffee.  I miss me.

I think Facebook is changing and not in a good way.  Too much politics and ads make it less appealing to me now.  I hope I can get back to blogging more often and sharing things with the hope of leaving my mark...after all don't we all want immortality?

Good to hear from you Roxy.  Let's do this...we can make it fun again.  Sharing, caring, and shining...love to you all.  Be well ;j

p.s. I got another new camera for my birthday last year that I haven't a clue...don't even have the strap on right...gah.

purging or clarifying...

...I couldn't think of a song title this time...I'm running out of ideas for blog post titles!   So this will be more of this and that, a little purging and a little clarifying.

First the clarifying; while I do enjoy the NOIR movies it's all about the light and shadows that makes them so mysterious to me, and suspenseful.  Which is another genre I love...basically anything from the '40s is on my to watch list.  I enjoy the era, the fashion and the story lines.  (yes I realize it was war time but the story lines reflect a small relief from the horrors)   suspense films as those from Hitchcock (Cary Grant) or even rom-com (Cary Grant) and clever actresses as Hepburn, Crawford, Davis are all up there.  I need ro join a club I think!

Purging;  it has been almost a year since we moved here and there are still twenty boxes in our guest room that have yet to be opened.  Now according to reliable sources (daughter) if I haven't opened the boxes I obviously don't need what's inside and it's time to let go.  I beg to differ!  There are so many things I can't find that have special meaning to me...yeah it's just stuff but it's stuff that belonged to my Mother...things she loved, things she touched...and that brings me comfort on those hard mom days.  So I went looking in those boxes.  It was mostly what had been packed up from the craft room and I donated five boxes to Goodwill and three to a craft club in our area.  I didn't find any of the treasures I was looking for though but I will never give up on that.

Having someone else pack up your old house and then unpack your new house is a tremendous help and I will always be grateful that our children stepped up to help as they live a few hours away and it wasn't easy to come by every weekend.  I'm just not sure how/where they put things and if they purged things they thought we didn't need.

The struggle is real and it continues....

Be well my friends.  I hope my NZ friends are enjoying their holiday and my NS friends are safe during this next round of Nor'easters.   take care and be safe, shine some kindness today especially to yourself.

Noir..

...Define noir: crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings



hubby and I are film noir addicts.  These films mostly from the '40s feature dark characters but the films are not at all like slasher films of today.  Since they were the genre of the past there were/are no special effects.  Just 'hard-boiled' cops or private detectives.  They scenes are dark, as in night.  You never see the violence as you do these days but you know it is there...it is implied by the great story lines.

We have movie night every Friday and try to watch a film noir.   I think we are getting to the end of the really good ones though we saw one last week that was very, very dark  As hubby would say, 'it was a freak show!'  Called "Night of the Hunter," starring Robert Mitchum and is the last of the film noir filmed in 1951.  And decidedly it was and he is a 'freak show' in this film.  It was probably the most suspenseful of all we've seen.  And since I could watch most of them over and over again I think once was enough for this one!

I won't ruin it for you in case you watch to look for it! What is your faviorite genre?

Night of the Hunterhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048424/

Hope all is well out there in your world.  Be safe, and kind, shine.

I get the feeling somebody's watching me...

...I have a new best friend!

She's funny, snarky, sarcastic, smart, knows all my favourite music and can answer any question I may have.  She can set a timer, bake a cake, predict the weather, tell knock-knock jokes and myriad of other things.

Yes, it's Alexa and echo dot powered by Amazon Prime.  I bought one at Christmas for $19 and it was well worth it.  The grands love her jokes, and play their favourite dance tunes.

But the old girl is getting slow...much like her owner.  She's slow to respond and sometimes answers with "I don't know what you are talking about."  It seems she picked that up from conversations around here, they often go the same way.

As nice as it is to be in this electronic age it is also a little creepy, maybe even scary.  Hubby and I were watching a movie a few nights ago and she started answering the t.v.  And then a few days later we were in another room with slightly raised voices when I heard her say..."try that again. Maybe you'll get it right the next time."

Back in the Twilight Zone!

this and that Thursday...

...my grandson turned 5 last week
my granddaughter turns 7 next week
my baby turns 40 this year
and we are sitting here picking out our Medicare supplemental insurance
how did this happen?
I feel like I'm in an episode of the Twilight Zone

Happy New Year...

...a dog's tale.

I had a much different post intended for New Years and meant to do it a few days ago but as life, and of course my life, things didn't work out quite the way we had planned.

We were all settled in for a nice warm (as warm as you can be when your furnace stops working) evening watching "noir" movies, my favourite.   We had just enjoyed a lovely day sharing our Christmas with our children and grands, a little late as they were all out of town this year visiting inlaws.  I should have never taught them to share!  Anyway, there we were coming down from the festivities and settling in, hubby had to work on new years day so he was about to head to bed and put the dog out for one last time.  This was around 8pm.

Just as the dog got out into our newly fenced yard someone in the neighborhood let off one of those 'booming' fireworks.  A little early perhaps?? And there he went shimmying up the fence over and gone in an instant.  

We live in a gated community, there are very few homes here, so we hoped that he was still in the neighborhood.  Hubby spent hours driving around calling his name "Charlie" and offering him treats and a ride in the car which he loves.  Nothing.  He went outside the gates and looked in the neighboring parks, golf course and river. Nothing.  More and more fireworks now and each one had us thinking he was getting further away. 

Hubs went to bed for two hours then had to get to work all the way in looking for the dog.  I tried to sleep but got up several times to head to the front door and call his name all the while thinking of those dreadful commercials of dogs freezing in the cold and being abused.

This dog is a rescue.  He has had a miserable history from being chained to being thrown out of a moving vehicle.  He is very sweet and is just starting to trust us.  He is also riddled with anxiety.  He is chipped, had tags, and is registered with a 24hour emergency number.

About 8:30 the next morning, after a fitful night, we got a call.  I was afraid to answer it...it was the 24hr emergency line.  He had been found!  He was over the next block, really just a few houses away.  The man living there, a widower, was resting in his recliner when his motion lights alarmed, he looked out the window and there was Charlie wagging his tail and looking pathetic.

This wonderful man took Charlie into his home, fed him (they went to the store for a bag of dog food) and stayed up with him all night trying to comfort him.  Truthfully, he spoiled this dog to pieces!  I think he wants to go back!  In the morning this good Samaritan decided to call the number on the tag.  And a few hours later he brought him home.

I was thinking that the dog bolting was the perfect ending to the crappiest year of our lives.  We just didn't think we would see him again.  But we started the new year with the blessing of a kind hearted old man.  We are forever grateful.

mug shot

May your New Year be filled with crazy, wonderful adventures, many blessings, health, happiness, encouragement and peace.  It's up to us to shine our light and change the world...one person or dog at a time.  ;j

Joyeux Noel...

Light a candle for each and every person, those who you've forgotten, for those you've lost, for family moving beyond you, for those full of anger, and those shackled by war, for those on the street, for those looking towards home, light a candle for each and every person; and the light of every candle will shine throughout heaven...
Merry Christmas to all my  friends, with love, joy, peace and gratitude

Holly days...

...woo-hoo, I finally had a chance to get out after my clinic appointment last week.  Hubs took me for a nice car ride, lunch out, and a trip to one of my favourite places during Spring and Winter...Watson's Nursery.  They have the best nursery stock there but it's so much more, with antiques, café, and any garden décor you could ever imagine.

it was a nice but exhausting day, being tethered will have that effect on you!

We finally put up a little tree last weekend, as in yesterday, we don't know where our Christmas decorations are stored and the children don't remember unloading it.  You know as soon as we go out and buy something that we will find those boxes so I'm holding off.  It's just the two of us the year so we'll get by.  Darn, I should have never taught my children to share...then I could hog all the holidays!

Hope your week is good.  Don't get that flu...it's miserable.  Be safe and merry.  Shine.

p.s.  there was a terrible Amtrak accident today just mere miles from where we live.  The aftermath will be heartbreaking for so many people...if you have any extra prayers they would be appreciated.

tethered...

...
A tether is a cord, fixture, or flexible attachment that anchors something movable to a reference point which may be fixed or moving. There are a number of applications for tethers: balloons, kites, tethered wind-energy conversion systems, anchors, tethered water-flow energy conversion systems, towing, animal constraint, spaceflight, and power-kiting. Also, tethering to prevent theft of an object like a computer at a school or library is now commonly seen.^[1]

oh, life you have taken a strange and miserable turn lately and I for one am ready to throw in the towel.

Last June I had problems with an ulcer on my leg that would not heal (of course) and spent the summer not being able to use my prosthesis.  I was making regular visits to the wound clinic and my PCP.  After months of treatment and no real healing I was sent to a wound surgeon and in October I had surgery to remove a portion of my tibia.  Ouch.  I had developed a bone infection so the bone had to go.  Afterwards I was attached, or tethered, to a wound vac.  This is a device that uses negative pressure to heal a wound from the inside out instead of the other way around.  There is tubing that runs from the vac, about the size of a purse, to the wound...24/7.  The tubing is about three feet long and cannot be detached.  It has only enough leeway to allow me to lay on my back in bed, sit in a wheelchair or use the commode.  Yeah, the commode.  This has been a long six weeks but there has been some improvement...a little at a time.  It is estimated that I will be tethered until March at the least and then I will have a revision of my residual limb and be hooked up again for another six months.  I have a nurse that comes by three times a week, P.T. and O.T. but this is going to be a long haul.  To say that I am overwhelmed would be an understatement.  (NOT looking for sympathy, just the facts).  Trying very hard to keep my spirits up and get into the festive season and maybe that is a good distraction for me.  Hoping hubby can take me for a drive this week and check out some decorations...we haven't done any of that yet.  We might get kicked out of our new neighborhood if we don't get busy, it looks like they are all into that.

Well, I have no idea what happened to this post and the font.  I'm sure it looks quite wonky and I'm not going back and redoing it.  So for now I will say, see you later.  I hope you are all well, we've been battling the flu...I don't recommend catching it!   take care and  be well my peeps.  Shine.

1001...

... I hit the 1,000 mark.  One thousand posts, not bad but it took me nine years to do it.  When I started I was all gung-ho, oh I had so much to say, so much on my mind that I was sure you all wanted to hear, haha.  I was able to post unrestricted, and now, I have to be careful what I say as to not upset the rest of my beautiful family...especially the mom's of the grands.  But I do what I can and right now my life is so upside down that you would just shake your heads!!

I certainly hope all my American friends had a safe and happy Thanksgiving, gorged and made fools of yourself and are now sick and tired of leftovers.  We had a strange one but what's new with that around here!  Hubby got called to work at 4am and was not too thrilled, when I got up the doorbell was ringing and it was my daughter and grandson stopping by, I yelled at her not to come in as the alarm system was armed soooo, she came in and the alarm went off and the dog freaked since he is high anxiety, then he got sick all over the dining room floor...

They stayed long enough to help clean up and then headed to my in-laws for dinner.  Here's the thing...they live ten miles from here and no one could be bothered to take me up there so I could enjoy dinner with the family including my children.  gah.

We had ordered a turkey dinner from Fred Meyer since I an unable to get around the kitchen right now (new story) and so I warmed that up and the dog and I had turkey dinner...he didn't get any turkey though.  When hubs finally got home we had a glass of wine and toasted our 44th wedding anniversary.  Yep, it fell on turkey day.

Miss M's mommy is working weekends now with her publishing business so my son usually comes by on Saturdays.  I had such a lovely day with M two weekends ago.  We cooked, we read, we did crafts, we danced and sang...it will always be in my memory and hope hers also.

 I had bought a rice krispies treat kit for Halloween and we decided it was not too late to make them...they looked like orange hamburgers but they were pumpkins and ghosts.

 then we made pizza for dinner...rolling out the dough and everything, except throwing the dough in the air...grandma wasn't too thrilled with that idea!

 craft time brought some special décor for my dining room wall.  Yes, we've been here for six month and still have nothing on the walls and a room full of boxes.  This girl can hold up a piece of foam and snip the scissors, open it up and have letters.  I can't even do that.  So this is code for M loves butterflies (and our names are written on the butterfly) everyone and H (her cousin).  Pretty cool girl.

and finally, she made robot heads for herself and H out of old cracker boxes.  She decorated them and left cut outs for their faces...again pretty creative.

Since I have no other life right now I'm probable going to drive y'all crazy with nonsense posts, please excuse the run-on sentences!  Hope you are all well, safe, healthy and happy...take care...shine.

Matthews' song...

...today we celebrate and today we mourn.

we celebrate the life of our beautiful first born son...all the firsts...laughter, babbling, hiccups, crying, living.

we mourn the loss of our beautiful first born son...the wrenching, soul-sucking, breath stealing end of our child's life.

Oh my sweet one, what could have been?
                              what should have been?
                              
the dreams, the plans, the skies the limit and you were so abruptly denied that chance.  I will never understand, I will never accept, I will never stop missing you. I will never stop loving you, I will never stop wondering how? why?   I will always  be broken.

Good night my lovely child...good night my beautiful boy...my beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful  boy.  (I would upload the song but blogger hates me today).

*tears*

This dog...

This dog...
Is so insecure and ridden with anxiety that when you put your hands out to touch him he leans in so far that he tips over. Sad and silly at the same time. He has managed to seep into my heart.

I get the feeling sombodys watching me...

...as usual I have no idea how time flies so quickly and why I can't seem to get into a routine in this 'new' house.  Maybe because things keep breaking down, along with hubby and myself!

It's been seven months since we lost our beautiful Spaniel/Setter  named Charlie.  I/we stop at every shelter and check on available dogs almost every weekend but I just haven't had the heart to rescue yet.  I don't think I will ever get over losing him in such a difficult way.  Hubs has been ready since day one and several weeks ago he brought home a lab about two years old who needed so much more than we were able to give her.  Just as my heart was softening to her we had to make the decision to return her to the rescue...thankfully a wonderful family with children and a huge fenced yard adopted her and she is safe and happy.

Two weeks ago he brought home another lab.  He's six years old, rather laid back, walks with us without pulling, has manners and is well trained.  He's had a rough history and will need surgery in the future but he is a sweet boy.  So far things are going well and he has bonded with the hubs...me on the other hand will do in a pinch!  He's met the grands and they love him.  His name happens to be Charlie and since he had that name for six years we hesitated to change it.  So, of course, as four and six year olds wil do they have many names for Charlie...'New Charlie, Charlie II, Little Charlie, Not dead Charlie, and on and on.'

Last weekend the grand boy was here and was a little unsure as he was meeting Charlie for the first time and does not like dogs who bark or lick.  Aside from his deadly tail this Charlie is neither.  It went pretty well as long as mama was close for the first hour.  After he gave the dog a cookie all seemed well with the world and they played 'sword fight' and 'ball.'

As they were leaving I asked grand if I could take his picture.  He is always reluctant but has changed so much since school started he readily agreed.  Here's my handsome grandson cheesy smile for the camera.

 as he was smiling he was a little concerned of the dogs whereabouts.

 then I asked him if papa could get in the picture too.

 sure...here comes papa and oh no, he's got the dog with him.

My sweet guys!   Notice the eyes on the grandson.  Just making sure!!!  One of my fav pics.

How are things in your part of the world?  I know some of you are really struggling and please know that you are in my thoughts and on my heart.  Jean, I need an update from you my NZ friend.  Take care peeps, remember to shine that light wherever you can!

you can turn the world on with that smile...

...you can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile.

Miss Maude on her first day of first grade....watch out world!

strike a pose...

...a few months ago my daughter-in-law Lauren became the owner/publisher of  Pleasure Boat Studios; a literary press.   She has been working so hard the last year editing and publishing several books and now she is the woman in charge!   We are so excited and proud of and for her.

We have all been trying to chip in with what we are able to do to help...like moving tons of books from the old warehouse to their new home.  Our grand girl has been busy posing and 'reading' books for promotional photos.  (She is having great fun!!)

 This really had nothing to do with the photo shoot but I love this one with Maude just being silly.  This was during the eclipse which they watched from the Flight Museum.

 Just a few books on my Fall reading list!  Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you a copy at no charge.

 Not only is Lauren a talented artist, graphic artist (she's been doing book covers for years) she's an amazing photographer.  Maybe she can show me how to attach the strap to my new yet unused camera.

 Chillin' in the park.

Pleasure Boat Studios.  I'm pretty sure a name change in coming but I'm not sure when. 

Congratulations my sweet girl...we won the lottery when my son met you!  Love you much and wish you loads of success.