Altered Life - Billie's bits and pieces

Kitchen island doors

2012-01-27T23:24:00.000-08:00

I hand painted the doors on the kitchen island when we did a mini make-over on the kitchen, until we were ready to gut it and start from scratch. Well we are weeks away from the start of our renovation and the doors are about to be removed and Brenda would love to have them. She is going to have to use her best pouty lip because Larry thinks he is going to hang the doors in the breezeway between the garage and the sporting goods room which is also the covered dog run.
I am on Brenda's side and it would make her so happy. I may be to supplement Brenda's pouty lip with my own and we will gang up on Larry.

Our Home

2012-01-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

When we moved into our home twelve years ago it had everything we needed for two adults and two teenage children, even if it was a bit outdated and I felt overwhelmed with the previous owners’ love of blue. The outside of the our home was painted blue and was not appealing or inviting and only after driving by it three times did we finally stop to look inside, Enough bedrooms, the master bedroom was blue with blue carpet, frilly cotton blue curtains and a blue sink, a green bedroom with a wallpaper border of green lamps and a pink bedroom. Both the bathroom upstairs were blue as was the living room, dining room, kitchen, entry, and the study was cheap paneling and wallpaper in a muted green/grey that matched the art studio paintd a darker green/grey. The only room in the house that was a normal color was the sunroom in pale beige.

Space was the issue and this house had it all including what we now call the sporting goods room that in its former life was a ham radio room, and my husband has converted it into his own man cave of various sporting equipment for fishing, hunting, boating, and a 32” flat screen television. I do however own most of the space above this room an attic storage which is completely full.

In addition to all this, the house sits on one acre on a quiet private road with only seven other homes. In the back yard is a nine hundred square foot barn, converted to carpenter’s shop, that became Hollyhock Cottage, our own little collectibles, antiques, hand crafted treasures shop. It has an attic that is about three hundred square feet filled with the childhood treasures from three children of our six children and assorted miscellaneous pieces of furniture and items waiting to be transformed from their formal life into new usable items.

Before we moved in I stripped the wallpaper with little green lambs off the bedroom wall and painted it white for my daughter and painted the second bedroom white for my son. Our master bedroom became a soothing café latte brown and the blue curtains were quickly donated to the Goodwill along with the cutesy homemade vanity cabinet that looked very out of place in the bedroom.

I lined the kitchen cupboards and drawers with new shelf paper after scrubbing them all down and began the process of unpacking the boxes we were moving everyday from our rental home. We settled in and began life in our new home.

That first spring when Larry left on a fishing trip I was busy in the garden and used the mustang convertible we owned at that time to bring home shrink wrapped trees with the top down and plant a new tree bed. When I had the use of the truck again I brought and unloaded three cubic yards of mulch into soil that was deprived of nutrients.

Larry left on a fishing trip the following spring and I decided to make a few more changes. The blue rooms and blue carpet get sort of depressing on cold grey winter days when the sun doesn’t shine and the rain never stops. Three cans of yellow paint from a pale tint of butter yellow to a deeper shade of Mediterranean sun kissed yellow and the house was feeling brighter and happier. Now the blue carpet sort of faded into the background and the blue border wallpaper was gone making the main living area seem sunny and bright.

The following year when my husband left to go fishing (Do you see a theme here?) I painted the stairway and upper hallway white. My daughter was gone for the summer one year and when she returned the blue walls were gone, replaced by four coats of white paint. Do you get the idea I am no longer a fan of blue paint. The downstairs bathroom was stripped of the blue flower wallpaper to reveal a wall that is not sheetrock but has yet to be determined exactly what it is made of. It was paintable however and became a rich bronze color. Bronze paint was not yet an item you found in quantity in the stores, being just a little ahead of the metal craze, so I bought up every single craft size bottle I could find for weeks and mixed it with a glaze and burnt sienna paint until I had the color I needed.

My daughter Kelly helped me tackle the kitchen once again. This time I was painting the brown stained plywood box cabinets that looked exactly like the day they were installed in nineteen seventy-six and featuring door knobs installed in the middle of the cabinets doors. I painted the base cabinets black and the kitchen island doors were hand painted with patriotic barnyard animals. The upper cabinets were primed, painted red, painted with crackle paint, painted with a butter cream paint color, and rubbed with an antique glaze to soften the finish and give them an aged look.

When our daughter moved out the sunroom became the dining room and we had it painted hunting coat red from the Ralph Lauren paint line. The old dining room became a sitting area off the kitchen--well suited for large parties and lots of people--with a twelve foot church pew and several chairs.

We tackled the study next by removing the paneling on one wall, removing all the wallpaper which was several layers thick and the upper chair rail with wall paper border. The frilly inefficient fireplace was removed and a radiant gas fireplace and new box replaced it giving the room a much more contemporary look. The same red paint in the dining room covered one wall in the newly renovated study, with a warm caramel color on the bottom paneling and a soft cream white on the other upper walls and ceiling. The artwork was returned to the room and hung more like an art gallery and of course the new flat screen television over the new fireplace. Furniture, drapes, and carpet completed the makeover of the study.

I have dreams of painting my studio, removing the florescent lighting, the ceiling fan that I can never use for fear of glitter, embossing powder, gold leaf, paper, and miscellaneous art supplies floating around my room. Patience…because my studio also houses the laundry, sewing center, and the dog crate. It will probably be last on the remodel list after the guest bathroom gut, and two upstairs bathroom remodels, but both of these will come after the kitchen.

The kitchen. We are back for the third and final update and this time we are gutting it. New floors, undecided on engineered or laminate but we like the darker colors but not as dark as ebony. What we pick for the kitchen will be installed in the entry, pantry, kitchen, sitting area off the kitchen, and the living room so it has a smooth continuous flow throughout the downstairs. White two inch by four inch ceramic subway tiles for the backsplash with an accent row of white glass, and stone seven eights inch mosaic tiles and then running these small mosaic tiles up and around the window. We are going with a black or dark grey grout for the tiles to give it a contemporary look.

The new stainless steel thirty-one cubic foot LG French door refrigerator, thirty inch stainless GE double ovens, thirty six inch pro style natural gas six burner slide in stainless steel cook top by Hypotheory, and stainless steel inside/outside tall tub dishwasher are all sitting in the garage waiting for the project to begin. The new thirty-three inch double bowl stainless steel sink has been chosen, the pro style pull down chrome faucet, and one horse power garbage disposal have been selected and will be ordered shortly. Making the decision on the stainless over the range hood and the new thirteen gallon stainless trash can will be made within days.

The thirty inch high kitchen island will have a new butcher block top. Everyone asks why I like this shorter cabinet and the answer is easy. When I am rolling dough or mixing by hand it is less stress on the shoulders to have my arms in a downward position than chest level. I can put all my strength into rolling out and cutting twenty four dozen cookie with no problem. Countertop material for the rest of the counters is undecided. We thought about butcher block on everything, but the contractors and cabinet builders are all against it, even though I am seeing it in high end designer homes and remodels on HGTV. I guess we will have to check the options on wood, laminate, and granite, keeping in mind our budget.

The budget has to include forty-eight feet of lower cabinets and twenty-seven feet of upper cabinets. The cabinets include the kitchen and galley pantry that is semi open to the kitchen. We are losing a small amount of cabinets in a slight change to the kitchen layout but gaining a small amount when we remove a non load bearing wall and add cabinets to a wall that looks like they ran out of cabinets when the house was built. The cabinets to the side of the ovens will be designed to have frosted glass in the center cabinets and the side cabinets will drop all the way to the cabinet counter to give it more of furniture cabinet look than another bank of cabinets.

The bids are coming in from contractors and cabinet makers. The first bid for construction and cabinets was a shocker that left us wondering what we were going to do with those new appliances sitting out in the garage if all the other bids came in with numbers close to theirs. Bid number two for construction only was within our budget and we have five more bids we are waiting on. One bid will be for the construction cost only, one for construction and cabinets, and three bids for cabinets only. We have a catalog for knock down cabinets that would mostly work with a few tweaks if we had to order from them and I haven’t even checked stock cabinets from Lowe’s yet.

Exciting and nail biting. Once we start it will take about two months from deconstruction to finished kitchen. Sheetrock dust, furniture moving, eating off paper plates, using a microwave while living and camping in the middle of a work in progress.

What to carry in your purse

2011-08-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me this several years ago and I saved it to reflect on and this time when reading it, I thought maybe I should share it.

TOOTHPICK - to remind you to pick out the good qualities in others. -

*Matthew 7:1

RUBBER BAND - to remind you to be flexible. Things might not always go the way you want, but it will work out. -

*Romans 8:28

BAND AID - to remind you to heal hurt feelings, yours or someone else's. -

*Colossians 3:12-14

PENCIL - to remind you to list your blessings everyday. -

*Ephesians 1:3

ERASER - To remind you that everyone makes mistakes, and it's okay. -

*Genesis 50:15-21

CHEWING GUM - to remind you to stick with it, and you can accomplish anything. -

*Philippians 4:13

MINT - to remind you that you are worth a mint. -

*John 3:16-17

CANDY KISS - to remind you that everyone needs a kiss or a hug everyday. -

* 1st John 4:7

TEA BAG - to remind you to relax daily and go over your list of blessings. -

*1 Thessalonians 5:18

June 26, 2011 Skagit Valley symphony garden tour

2011-07-16T00:48:00.000-07:00

The ladies in my Cornwall small group, Kim, Doreen, Pam, and Fran do a garden tour each year. I have gone about every other year and didn’t think I was going to be able to attend this year until a few days before. Then when I realized I could go, tickets were no longer available online. I emailed Kim to let her know I would not be able to go and she said her sister had to cancel at the last minute so I bought her ticket. Kim, Doreen, Fran, and Fran’s cousin Geppie made up our group for the day. Pam was off on vacation with her husband so she couldn’t join us.

Sunday morning the sun was shining and it looked like it was going to be a glorious day outside. I had my sack lunch packed and after a quick stop at Wood’s Coffee, Larry dropped me off at Kim’s for a day with the girls in the gardens.

We were taking two cars and decided to meet up at the last garden on the tour and maybe doing the tour in reverse there would be a little less congestion. Ha, ha! The parking lot at garden #7 was almost full. This garden backs up to Campbell Lake and has a subtle Asian influence with a wide variety of plantings, art, statues, a pond, guest house, and a modern twist with brightly painted oversized bamboo wind chimes, circles of black bamboo, lime green plantings, and the bright yellow low slung wooden benches. A bridge over the pond to a Japanese tea house sat about midway in the garden surrounded by lush plants and trees. Some of the symphony players were under a tent serenading the enthralled gardeners like myself who had cameras in hand snapping pictures and admiring what could be done with five acres, a lot of time, and money. Finding an idea that you can recreate to scale in your own garden is what this tour is all about. The Gunnera Leaf garden bowls that were tucked into the plantings were magnificent and Kim said that Pam knew how to make them. Looks like Pam might need to teach a class. This garden belongs to the owners of BooShoot Gardens in Mt. Vernon.

The next garden stop was a hillside garden. A sloping swath of green lawn disappearing into the forest greets you as you walk up the driveway to the garden entrance. From the garden entrance you slowly work your way down a winding path past shrubs, plants, arbors, and flowering plants to the long lawn like path ending at a fire pit. This was a serene garden that definitely takes a lot of time to maintain with the drop in elevation.

Garden #5 on the official tour, or #3 on our backwards tour, had us parking in a small lot to take one of four shuttles to the garden. A quiet little street with a home set back into the trees surrounded by a decorative fence, plants, and a shoji style gate. This Asian inspired garden was small and tidy, filling in every nook and corner of the garden spaces and leaving you feeling relaxed and refreshed. The home is literally built on a rock with a Kio pond in the front yard, large stone steps, sweeping views of the bay below from the second story deck, peeling bark from the Manzanita trees, and situated to be part of the landscape.

It was definitely warming up as we were winding our way back into the town of Anacortes to view a small city garden. Tucked into every corner of this garden were trees, shrubs and flowers. Containers full of flowers were mixed into planting beds and borders filling the garden. Moss covered rocks and rock pathways surround by moss, gave texture and softness to the garden. A German birdhouse was the focal point of the garden and the visitors were treated to more symphony music.

Our two groups were sort of split up by now so Kim and I decided to go into Anacortes to the starting point of the tour at the will call at How It Works on 4^th Street, where tables had been set up on the lawn and a three piece jazz ensemble was playing, to eat our sack lunches. It was a relaxing break with the sun warming us and letting us rest up for the last three gardens on the tour.

We were going to deviate from the tour again and do gardens #2, #3, and then #1, closest to farthest away. We pulled up in front of garden #2 and saw the rest of our group. We parked across the street from the garden but as we started to get out of the car we were mesmerized by the garden right in front of us. A white picket fence, limbs from a too tall shrub/tree that were starting to hang over the sidewalk and a pink rose that had wound its way up into the branches caught our eye. We decided to take a closer look before checking garden #3. A home with river rock on its lower half and white clapboard wood on the upper half standing on a small rise surrounded by a rock wall brought us to a stop. Small flower beds, bordered with brick, were filled with flower plants; and beyond was what looked like a small guest house. We oohed and aahed as we walked down the street admiring the lush plantings and wondering what some of them were. On the other side of the house was another white outbuilding with a rather large dog hanging his head out an upper window to let us know this was his home. As we turned to walk back down the sidewalk, the owner came around to see why her dog was barking. This was the unexpected and remarkable encounter of the day.

The garden/home owner said the home had been built by her grandfather who was a stone mason and after his death she bought the home. She told us her grandparents had raised a baby gorilla in the building now housing the once loud and rowdy dog, Tommy. Her grandfather had once owned a cannery in Anacortes and during the great depression he lost it but dug up the pink rose we had been admiring and brought it to the garden. The owner was very modest and described her garden as something she loved to do, no formal training, no fancy tags on the plants or botanical names, just weeds with flowers as she called them. Not really! This is a home with a history, cared for and loved by one family, a garden the nurtures those that live there and those that walk by, and a glimpse at something appealing and special that it makes you want to stand and look a little longer. (This modest gardener is actually a member of the Lowman family of Skagit County and Anacortes. The gorilla raised in her home was Bobo the gorilla who later came to live at the Seattle Woodland Zoo).
We walked across the street to join up with our group and tour the structured town garden of a formal house. It was pretty and tidy, all the plants had brass engraved tags, and photos on the patio table to show the before and after transformation. It was nice, but I was still thinking about the garden across the street.

We all walked back across the street to see the garden Kim and I had become enthralled with. And just like Kim and I, they oohed and aahed at the garden and we filled them in with the story of the home and garden the owner had told us. Fran or Doreen, I can’t remember which, suggested we walk up the street to view several other homes that had nice front yards. One was better from afar than close up, one home was very ultra-modern cement and plywood built in a neighborhood of older homes. As we crossed the street we stopped to admire two similar homes that looked very Cape Cod-like in style. One of the owners told us the homes were built about eight months apart and were Sears kit homes from the 1930’s. (You can read more about the Sears homes at: http://www.searsarchives.com/homes http://www.searshomes.org http://www.arts-crafts.com/archive/sears ) The owner also told us that where these two homes stood was the original plots for the Anacortes Opera House. He said “K” Avenue was built extra wide to serve as the main street of town, but the builders were unable to convince others and Commercial Ave. won.

Our second to the last garden on our tour was another backyard retreat just a few blocks away. This garden is certified as a backyard wildlife habitat with a circular flagstone patio. The small fence bordering the alley was covered in red poppies. A vegetable garden took center stage with smaller herb gardens. Birdbaths and feeders along with flowers, and shrubs filled this backyard making it a great retreat to relax in.

Our final garden was in the Cap Santé neighborhood. A small 1890’s Victorian home sitting at the end of a small street with a wrought iron gate covered in clematis greeted us. Little treasures were tucked in between the plants--imagine a ladybug fashioned out of an old hardhat. Alliums, roses, honeysuckle, delphiniums, peonies, and white rock paths scattered with glass marbles added a little bling to the garden. An ornate white wrought iron gazebo had more symphony players entertaining those on the tour.

The rest of our group was finished and they headed up to the top of Cap Santé to the park to see the view of the town, the bay, and marina below, while Kim and I got a head start on our pre-arranged meeting place of the Longhorn Saloon in Edison. This is a favorite place Larry and I make for chicken wings and chicken fingers and a great little biker restaurant. Later in the afternoon Edison is not as loud with the rumble of motorcycles as it usually is around noon. Kim and I wandered into a local art gallery to wait for our friends to arrive.

When we were all gathered we walked over to the Longhorn Saloon with Fran leading the group. She opened the door to enter then backed out laughing. She laughed so hard she couldn’t talk at first. The waitress was wearing a bikini top with a short, short sheer skirt over the bottom, her hair pulled up with foil in it, eye make-up that went above and below her eyes, and tennis shoes. This was new. Fran and I both commented that usually the waitresses wear a Longhorn Saloon t-shirt and jeans. I wonder if this is the new uniform. We headed out to the patio where Kim and I ordered cold drinks and the others ordered dinner. The waitress was cute and friendly and took excellent care of us; it was just her unusual attire that would make us giggle occasionally—and, of course, Larry wants us to go there soon!

We took Chuckanut Drive back to Bellingham and Larry picked me up at Kim’s. It was a great day with friends touring gardens and sharing a laugh or two.

Carol Ann - her crown

2011-04-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

Back in January when I was visiting my daughter Kelly in Las Vegas, I was playing on Larry’s new computer that I took with me. I like to check out and read about other artists, read my email, check into facebook and see what everyone is doing, and I play several games on FB with friends.

One night Cecile posted that the first five people who replied to her post and were willing to repost to their own FB page, would receive a handmade gift from her sometime within the coming year. I wanted to do this but I had to think about if I really had the time to commit to this. A year! Okay, sure, I will make time and this will be fun, even if I don’t have a clue as to what I am going to
make.

I clicked on Cecile’s post and then reposted to my FB page. I had three takers quickly. Carol Ann who I only know as one of my FB friends but gave support and encouragement when my grandson was born premature was my first post. She is funny, determined, and from the comments I read from those who truly know her, she is a friend to treasure--and I do. Cecile herself posted back to my page and I have known her since our children were very small. She is a caring and talented individual and
we recently re-connected on FB. Sherri was my third post and we refer to each other as cousins because it is easier to explain than her mother is my aunt’s sister.

I sent Carol Ann, Cecile and Sherri a note asking some simple questions that would help me personalize each of their art pieces when I got back to my studio and figured out what I would be making for them.

1.       Favorite color
2.       2^{nd f}avorite color
3.       Hobbies
4.       Favorite word
5.       Favorite quote
6.       Describe yourself in 5 words
7.       Favorite city
8.       Children’s names
9.       What is your lucky number
10.   What colors do you hate

What to make? I browsed through my files looking for ideas. Finally I decided on crowns. Carol Ann’s favorite colors are celery green and turquoise. She likes to sunbathe, read historical romance novels, swim, cross stitch, cheer for her beloved LSU “Geaux Tigers” and the New Orleans Saints with their Flur De Leis symbol. She has one son, JC, does not like orange, brown, or magenta, her favorite number is 13, and she is sensitive, loyal, caring, outgoing, and funny. “What Ever”   This is her favorite saying.

I made a pattern, painted it, altered it, changed it, papered it, and finally I had a turquoise base that I liked. Now it was time to embellish. Authentic vintage 1960’s purple Mardi Gras beads from New Orleans, a black glittered Flur De Leis in the center of the crown and fabric Flur De Leis trim to honor the Saints, gems, rhinestones, a handmade miniature mask for Mardi Gras, red lips to symbolize romance novels, and the song title, "Oh When The Saints Go Marching In". This adorned one side of the crown. The celery green side had had handmade fabric flowers, metal and felt #13, a pink felt bird with real feathers, miniature voodoo doll, initials for Carol Ann and her son, and “Geaux Tigers.”

I researched the meaning of numbers, symbols, words, colors, and then included everything in
a poem I wrote for Carol Ann:

Gorgeous, glorious, and glittering
“Whatever”
Don’t know
Don’t care
I’m not listening
It’s not worth my time
I’m bored
I’m tired
I’m done
“Whatever”
She roars like a tiger “Geaux”
Protective of her cub
Jackson Charles
Living in the romantic south
A belle without a bonnet in the sun
Leaving you in stitches
She’s New Orleans royalty
A “fleur-de-lis” lily
Full of hope and joy
Constant, loyal, fair and generous
Carol Ann
Her name is a song on eagle’s wings
Soaring with nimble fingers
Tending her farm
An ethereal friend
Powerful and poised like a dragonfly
Living life with a deeper meaning
You are Carol Ann
Daughter, wife, mother, friend
A queen who deserves a crown

Three weeks after I started the crown I mailed it off by FedEx to Carol Ann. One down, two to go.

LilyRenee...unique gifts at affordable prices

2011-03-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

Looking for a unique gift for a little princess or a grown
up princess? Check out the tutu
chalkboards and the vintage rings at LilyRenee’s online store at : http://lilyrenee.storenvy.com/

Vegas...the real life part II

2011-02-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

Friday morning I woke up to crying babies. Ryan had arrived and was not happy that his mom had to go to work today. Kelly was patiently talking to both boys and trying to sooth Ryan. As I came out of the bedroom I found the doorway blocked by the green Kawasaki riding toy and the yellow Caterpillar riding dump truck. It looked like it was going to be a long morning. I snuck Ryan’s blanket away to wash it and then had my Starbucks coffee in a bottle. Kelly held the little guys off as long as she could for their morning nap, but a little before 9:00 they were both in need of sleep. Ryan went down quickly but Mr. Kyler was so tired he couldn’t quite drop off. Grandma got to bounce and sway with him until he dropped off to sleep on my shoulder. What could be better?

After dinner a few nights ago, Kelly gave Kyler a little tiny ice cream drumstick. At first he didn’t know quite what to do with it. Kelly fed him little bits and finally he held it and got into eating it and smearing it around his face and tummy. So today Kelly had got out a drumstick but Kyler was not sitting at his highchair so she didn’t let him hold it. Well Kyler tried his best to get it away from her, stepped back, screamed, reached for the ice cream again, sat down and screamed, and then the real tears began to fall. It was pitiful and a little funny at the same time. This is the first temper tantrum I have seen him throw. In the end, he didn’t get any ice cream but within minutes he was off to play and had forgotten all about ice cream cones and how mean his mother was not to let him have it and make a mess.

My phone tends to beep, not ring, when I travel. Sometimes I don’t get messages for days and once I had a message that was several days old and had returned home before it came through on my phone. Kyler noticed this after about the second time my phone started beeping and would run to the baby gate across the dining room where my purse is and would then point and babble. We laughed because every time Kyler would hear that beep before Kelly or me. So Larry has started calling him “birddog”. How does this sound as a ring name for a MMA fighter-- “Danger Birddog Atkinson”.

Saturday morning was fairly quiet with just one baby in the house. Kelly did some packing and I played with my favorite grandson…only grandson…but still my favorite. Kyler had been up since about 6:30 AM and had an half hour head start on me. Coffee…now I’m ready to go. The little guy was down for a nap a little after 9:00 AM and slept until almost 12:00 PM. We had a birthday party for Aiden who was turning two and we didn’t want to be late. Miss Abby and Ryan were going to be there also. Kyler walked all the way from the parking lot to the building holding Kelly’s hand and wearing his new black police shoes with Velcro fasteners and blinking lights. Pizza, grapes, juice, and vegetables with dip, this was a perfect children’s menu and the grown-ups liked it too. Nellis AFB has a new family center that you can reserve for parties that also includes an exercise room, offices, several rooms for children to play in, one large room with a fireplace, big screen TV, nice furniture, an adjourning dining area, and a kitchen to die for--double refrigerator freezers, a gas stove with six burners, two microwaves, a dishwasher, beverage refrigerator, cherry cabinets, and granite countertops. Pretty impressive and a nice bonus for the families to use when hosting parties and gatherings.

We ran to pick up more boxes and tubs for packing and then it was home for the evening. Kelly has been working really hard and is sort of running out of energy. I told Kelly to lie down and rest for a little while and Kyler and I would play. This worked really well until about 4:00 PM when he began to get really tired. If he went to sleep now, he wouldn’t go to bed on time tonight. What to do? I bounced him on my knee until he just sort of closed his eyes. Ok, 30 minutes of nap time and I would wake him up. He just sort of snuggled up on my shoulder as I leaned back against the sofa pillows. When I finally got up to check the time, I discovered it was time to wake him and was just starting to rub him back to gently rouse him from sleep when my phone rang…yes it rang. Kyler opened his eyes wide…grandpa was calling. We fixed dinner and after the baby went to bed, Kelly began packing again. The pile of boxes in the garage is growing bigger, but somehow Kelly said it doesn’t seem like the piles to pack are going down.

Sunday morning we watched “Sunday Morning” while we ate bagels and shared with the baby. Packing and more packing is the order of the day. Snack, lunch, nap, play, snack, bottle, play, dinner, and ice cream…seems Kyler thinks the ice cream is too cold to hold in his hands and too cold to eat. So cold it made him cry, so Kelly gave him mini peanut butter crackers and then life was good. Bath, bottle, bed for Kyler and then Kelly and I watched Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood; yeah it’s a chick flick, but I remember when Kelly and I saw it in the theater when it first came out. Sandra Bullock…how could a movie not be good with Sandra Bullock in it?

I fixed soup for dinner, Kelly fixed eggs and bacon. She finished sorting, dumping, and packing for the night while I took out the garbage and then we watched another movie.

The babble of little voices woke me up Monday morning. Kyler and Ryan were in full swing with toys all over the living room. We got through the morning and Kelly did a little more packing during nap time, but not much because babies don’t always sleep as long as you would like them to. Maintenance came in the afternoon to fix the door knob to Kyler’s room and the refrigerator. Kelly asked the worker just to fix the refrigerator and come back another day, but the first thing he did was rattle the bedroom door knob. Kyler was now awake and crying. The worker came in and out of the house letting the screen door slam shut, no consideration for sleeping babies. Luckily Ryan did not wake up and after the worker left Kelly got Kyler back down for his nap.

Kelly fixed chicken with vegetables for dinner and it was really good. Abby came to pick up Ryan and after they left I picked up toys and Kelly got Kyler’s dinner ready. The Air Force Red Flag exercise began today with the jets and planes taking off at 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM. You usually hear a few planes but during Red Flag there are about 70 aircraft participating. Good thing the homes are fairly well insulated. It was almost 7:00 PM when Kyler went to bed and Kelly resumed packing. I had one box of stuff to send home and filled the rest of the empty space with things Kelly and Kyler would need. Kelly has two boxes to ship and we will drop them off to ship tomorrow after housing comes tomorrow to do the first walk-through in preparation for moving out. Her final walk-through will be February 8th.

We watched some TV and just relaxed a little bit before I cleaned the kitchen and Kelly finished packing another box and taking the boxes ready to load into the POD out to the garage. Kelly finished, crashed and then I swept the floors of goldfish, animal crackers, and Kix bits that the boys smashed with toys and sippy cups.

After the initial walk-through on Tuesday morning, we went to Wal-Mart for more boxes and bubble wrap…surprise, surprise. A few groceries and we were home. Sean brought Ryan over about 2:30 PM and the boys played and wore themselves out for a short nap time.

Dinner for Kyler and then he had a chocolate cookie for dessert. I watched Kyler during bath time so Kelly could get a little more packing taken care of and get Kyler’s bottle ready. Kyler was really into bath time tonight and Kelly and I both got a little soaked as he splashed and played.

Kelly packed up most of the kitchen items and sorted through what needed to be dumped before she sat down to rest. I wish there was more that I could do for her other than dishes, sweeping, or watching the baby.

Wednesday…my last full day in Vegas before I fly home. We decided to put off the FedEx stop today and ship packages on the way to the airport on Thursday. We went to Lowe’s to buy a floor stripper to clean the old wax and built up grime off the linoleum floors, but they didn’t really know what to suggest so we left and went to Home Depot. Not a big deal to most people, but since Kelly had worked for Lowe’s in Bellingham and Las Vegas, she was a little disappointed in the employees' training for their departments. Home Depot had four people trying to figure out what we needed and it came down to two choices so Kelly just picked one. This will be a project after Kyler goes to bed tonight.

Kelly fixed lunch after we got home and just as we finished, Sean brought Ryan over. The boys played until they wore themselves out and then it was nap time. Kelly fixed a homemade butterscotch pie for dessert to celebrate Abby’s birthday today and since Sean has to work tonight, Kelly is fixing Philly chicken cheese sandwiches. After dinner Francis and Aiden came over to have dessert and sort of have a girls night / baby night with dessert and hot chocolate with a little something extra in it. The three boys play really well together and it was fun to watch them. I got hugs from Francis and Abby both as they left, it would be the last time I would see them, both their husbands have new deployments to different bases and will be gone when Kelly returns after Kyle’s deployment to the sand pit.

Bath time for Kyler, and then Kelly took a much deserved and needed fifteen minute rest before tackling the kitchen floors. I cleaned up the dishes and took out the garbage and then it was time to see if the Krud Kutter would clean up the floors. Kelly sprayed it on the floor and mopped. A slight difference. She poured it on and mopped. That was a little bit better. She poured it on full strength and let it set for a few minutes and then used a rubber spatula to scrape the floors and the “krud” just started coming loose. I am sure maintenance probably used a sealer over the floors when they cleaned them before Kelly and Kyle moved in, but the problem with that is it just attracted dirt and everything sort of stuck to it and then it yellowed. Kelly got about three quarters of the kitchen done and what a difference. She will tackle the rest of the floors (the whole house is linoleum tile) a small workable section at a time. She has one week to finish packing, clean the floors, wipe down the cabinets, and spend time with Kyle before he leaves. She works really hard as a stay at home mom and I am so proud of her for all that she does for Kyle and Kyler.

My bags are packed, my boxes are ready to ship, and I know Kelly and Kyler will be in Washington with Larry and me in just a few weeks but it is still hard to say good-bye. The little guy has learned to say puppy while I was here and when you ask where the puppy is, he will point out the dining room window to where the puppy lives. He is learning to climb the safety gate and I would have been pleased if he had waited on this accomplishment, but it is part of the growing process for him. There is just something new every day in his life and I am thrilled that Larry and I get to be a part of watching him grown and learn for the next few months.

Did I make my plane? Seems it was overbooked when I did my online check in so I volunteered to take a different flight and get a free ticket in exchange. I can’t figure out why the plane is so full on a Thursday going on a direct flight to Bellingham, when it is usually Sunday or Monday when everyone leaves Vegas after the weekend that they planes are full. When did I get home? I made my plane, but it was full to overflowing, two off duty pilots sat in jump seats in the cockpit to make sure all the passengers had a place to sit and no one got bumped. Yes, I got home to Larry's welcoming arms!

Vegas..what life is really like

2011-01-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

I breezed right on through security…sort of…take off shoes, coat, take laptop out of suitcase, take the laptop out of the protective case, take all lotions and creams out of suitcase, place 3 bins, shoes, purse, suitcase, and carry-on bag onto the conveyor and hope that I don’t beep when I go through. I cleared the security scanner and after several back and forth scans of my items, I was ready to put my boots and coat back on, put my purse in the carry-on bag, put the computer back in the computer sleeve and back into the suitcase, liquids back into the bags…phew…I was ready to sit down.

The flight was straight through from Bellingham to Las Vegas which takes about two hours and thirty minutes. I think I might like to fly down on any other day than a Thursday next time. I forgot about everyone heading to Vegas for the weekend and that they start the party early on the airplane. No sleep for the trip, so I just read a paperback book that I bought at the store earlier in the week.

The pilot was funny, pointing out the sights, Portland, the Columbia River, Mt. Hood, Crater Lake, Reno, and Lake Mead. My flight left at 5:20 PM or there abouts from Bellingham, because I think we were running a little late. But in the northwest, 5:20 PM means it is dark outside in January and add in the fact that it was dark, overcast, and raining, we couldn’t see anything with a minute or so of taking off. But the pilot had his script and he did tell us what we couldn't see.

Kelly and Kyler picked me up at the airport and as we exited the freeway just a few blocks from Nellis Air Force Base, we stopped at the In and Out Burgers for dinner. We took our food to go and Kelly got the baby back in bed as soon as we got home and then we sat down to eat and talk. We talk almost every day on the phone, sometimes 3, 4, 5, 6, or more times if there is a lot going on, but in person there just seems to be even more to catch up on.

I watched the baby on Friday morning while Kelly ran some errands and did the grocery shopping. Sean dropped baby Ryan off in the afternoon and Abby came after work to pick up Ryan. Abby has gone back to work teaching and Kelly watches Ryan when both his mom and dad are working the same hours. The boys play together really well and it was fun watching them share toys, snacks, sippy cups, and blankets. Kelly fixed quiche for dinner and I got to help give Kyler his bath. Watching a fearless 16 month old walking in a bathtub full of water almost made me hold my breath and I did keep my hands on the side of the tub, just in case. Kyler loves his bathtime, probably the best part of his day. You forgot the simple things like when they learn to blow bubbles in the water or that they can throw one of their little tiny toys in the water and make a big splash and get grandma wet. So as a trial run for Saturday night, I gave Kyler his bedtime bottle and put him to bed. Not a big deal for some, but Kelly is the only one who has ever put Kyler down for bed at night. Kyler likes his snuggle time with mom so I wasn’t sure how he was going to do with grandma trying to give him a bedtime bottle and then put him down in his crib. Three bottles and on the third try, he was down. That left Kelly free to fold clothes and do a few household chores. The only real problem was that Mr. Kyler woke up about 11:30 PM and thought it was time to get up. We just had to let him talk it out, and after a couple of loud shouts (can you hear me), some soft baby talk, and about 40 minutes later he was back asleep.

Saturday morning I woke up to Kyler babbling away. He was up, changed, had a bottle, and he was ready to go. Kelly had a hair appointment and was going to pick up Kyle at the airport afterwards. I stayed home with Kyler and we played with his toys, had a snack, listened to some country music, attempted lunch time (he wasn’t very hungry), had a bottle, and then the little guy got a big surprise when his mom came home with his dad.

Kyle and Kyler stayed home to spend a little guy time together while Kelly and I went to buy some things Kyle will need when he deploys, and the makings for fondue Sunday night. Nap time for everyone when we got home and then Kelly fixed tacos for dinner. Kyle gave Kyler his bath and then Kelly got him ready for bed. Now Kelly and Kyler could leave for a couple of hours for a movie date night. Not one peep from the little guy while they were gone.

Given all the options, I like to sleep in and have a cup of coffee and sort of start my day leisurely. I know that when Kelly and Kyler come to live with us life is going to change and my short stay helping Kelly pack and get ready for her move is easing me into going to bed earlier at night and getting up earlier in the morning. When I woke up Sunday morning there was Kyler smiling at me. He had already been up about an hour and now he was ready to wake grandma up and get his day going. I did get my Starbucks coffee because Kelly bought the four pack bottles when she went grocery shopping.

Kyler took his morning nap and then Kelly, Kyler and I headed to Henderson to Hobby Lobby. It was a good idea but when we got there we found out they are closed on Sundays. Thanks, Larry, for the directions and sorry we interrupted your morning…ha ha. We headed back up to the northern end of Las Vegas and stopped at a McDonald’s to get lunch. Kyler got chicken nuggets and Kelly and I had hamburgers. Off to Wal-Mart to get everything we forgot yesterday and then it was home. The baby had food in his tummy and a warm bottle and no way was he going to take a nap.

Before I flew down, Kelly had a request that I fix dinner one night and she knew exactly what she wanted. Kelly referred to this dinner as “drunken cheese”; better known to the world as fondue. Bread, little sausage links, zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, and cauliflower. It had been a long time since I fixed fondue and it makes a nice meal, but so rich. We watched half a movie “Legends of the Fall” after dinner and then it was time to get Kyler his bath and bottle before we could finish the movie. I love spending time with my family.

Poor me, I had grandma duty Monday morning when Kelly went to run errands. The little guy was just getting up from his morning nap when Kyle came home for lunch. I had the vegetables chopped and the chicken ready to make a stir fry for Kyle’s lunch. Kyle had enough time to eat and feed Kyler part of his lunch before he had to be back at work.

Kelly came home shortly after he left and after she had lunch, we decided to go back to Hobby Lobby in Henderson. A quick stop for gas and as we left the base two sets of jets were flying in formation and at least another four to six jets were doing touch and go’s. It is pretty amazing to watch these jets twist, turn, fly just feet from each other…sort of like ballet in the air.

Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas Nevada is home to one of the largest fighter bases in the world. The planes and jets fly on the Nevada Test and Training Range which is more than 15,000 square miles of airspace and 4,700 square miles of restricted land. The planes fly anywhere from 100 feet above the ground and to twice the speed of sound and they fly seven days a week. Nellis conducts advanced combat training, performs operational tests, evaluations, and develops tactics. Two major training operations that occur at Nellis AFB are Green Flag and Red Flag. Currently Green Flag is in operation and when it ends, Red Flag will begin. These training exercises keep all personnel on base and those that come to participate in the exercises trained and ready to defend our country.

We stopped at the Las Vegas Record Journal on the way to pick up end rolls of newspaper print to use for packing. Hobby Lobby is sort of a cross between JoAnn’s, Michael’s, and Pier I. Furniture, scrapbooking, fabric, artificial flowers, baskets, lamps, woodworking, garden, so much to look at. We worked our way around the aisles to the outside of the store, slowly putting some really great bargains into the cart and when we had circled the store, we then tackled going up and down the aisles in the center of the store. We had fun just browsing and we did get a few good ideas for making items when Kelly moves to Washington. Kelly fixed salmon and fresh green beans for dinner and after they baby went to bed, we watched TV for a little while.

Tuesday morning Kelly and Kyler greeted me with a soft good morning grandma and my Starbucks mocha…a great way to start the day. After Kyler’s morning nap we left to run errands up to the Summerlin area and then the Alienate of north Vegas. As we left the base, two sets of jets were flying a close formations with about 4 to 6 other jets flying single doing touch and go’s. It was pretty amazing to watch how agile these jets look in the air. We bought baby locks for the kitchen cabinets at Babies R Us since we don’t have one in Bellingham and then made our 2nd stop of this trip at In-N-Out Burgers. We headed home because Kyle got out of work early today and would get home about the same time we would. The little guy was getting very sleepy, that is until we got home and his dad came in the door a few minutes later. Then it was, "forget the nap, let’s play." Kelly got a box full of baby clothes sorted, photographed, and listed to sell on line after she got the baby down for the night. We settled in for a quiet night and watched The Newton Boys.

Kyle was out of the house before 7:00 AM and after Kelly and I got up and got going, we sorted and packed. She has a lot done but we haven’t really made a dent in what needs to be done. She did somehow manage to push, pull, tug, and drag her big heavy sofa she brought to Vegas into the pod all by herself while I watched the baby.

Abby invited us to dinner and we stopped at Starbucks on the way for a pick me up drink before dinner. Abby’s mom Paula and her step dad Jan are visiting from Georgia and they have been watching Ryan this week. Abby’s parents are really sweet, nice people and I am glad I had a chance to meet them.

Abby fixed lasagna and Paula got French bread and salad ready for dinner. We brought a bottle of margaritas but poor Abby is fighting a cold and couldn’t enjoy her favorite drink. Sean had to work swing shift so he didn’t get to join us for dinner. Abby and Sean will be moving the end of June as Sean will have a new assignment after training. Friends Francis and Jeremy joined us after dinner with their son Aiden and they will have a new assignment in February. There are lots of changes when you live a military life.

Kyler is usually in bed by 6:30 PM and it was closer to 9:00 PM when we got home last night and Kelly put him in bed. Because Kyler went to bed late, he slept until 8:30 AM on Thursday. So we all had a little extra sleep except Kyle who was up and gone before 7:00 AM. We ran to Wal-Mart, which is conveniently only two blocks off base, to buy more packing supplies and back home to work. Kyle came home for lunch and after he left to go back to work, Kelly and Kyler both took a nap. Kelly packed up a large box of clothes for the baby that we are going to ship home and she will finish filling the box with her clothes tomorrow. We might need one more box to ship “stuff” home.

Kelly fixed chicken fried steak, or as she likes to call it “smothered steak” for dinner with blue cheese mashed potatoes…great dinner. I cleaned up the kitchen and Kyle gave Kyler his bath while Kelly got the bottle and pajamas ready. We all crashed on the sofa to watch Waterworld, or at least the first part. The kids had a date night planned and were headed out to a movie--so they left me alone with a sleeping baby…poor me. We will watch the rest of the movie after they return home. They don’t really get a chance to go out and it’s nice to be able to give them some time alone.

Packing and more packing is priority for the day. Kyle came home for lunch and then it was nap time for Kelly and Kyler. Kyle and Kelly are going to the Bellagio for dinner tonight, compliments of Larry who wanted them to have a little alone time before Kyle deploys. The little guy went down and then got back up for a short bottle and then he was out for the night. Mom and dad had a good time and like true grownups they were home by 9:30 PM.

Saturday morning I slept in till 8:00 AM. Even baby Kyler was still asleep. Kelly was up and had already fixed blueberry pancakes for Kyle and a nice stack saved for Kyler and me. The kids had some errands to run and I stayed home with the baby…somebody has to do it. Nap time was over and it was lunch time and play time. When Kyle got back he found the country western music on the television and said no, it’s football….typical guy.

I ordered a crib to be delivered just about the time I return home and that is a good thing because it requires some assembly and that is the part Larry hates the most. A couple of baby gates, a highchair, Costco, grocery store, baby store, whoa….little guys require a lot of stuff and we haven’t even gotten to the toys and bath stuff.

We spent a quiet evening at home and Kelly and packed up some of the kitchen items. Tomorrow is another day and there is lots to do for Kelly and Kyle as he leaves Monday morning for more training.

Kelly fixed homemade clam chowder for Kyle and finished up his laundry. Kyle packed the last of his three bags and then it was football for the afternoon. I took a walk outside and soaked up the warm rays of sunshine from the Vegas desert weather. I could feel the warmth seeping into my body and the light sweater I was wearing almost seemed too hot to wear.

Kelly, Kyle, and Kyler were up early and off to the airport Monday morning. Kyle is flying to the east coast for additional training before he deploys. When Kelly returned she fed the baby his breakfast and we made a quick run to Target for diapers and wipes…and more Starbucks coffee in the little glass bottles. But wait there is more….there was a Starbucks inside Target so I bought Kelly a Tazo tea and I had my café latte. Life is good.

It was playtime, packing time, naptime. A quiet evening watching television and Kelly did get to talk to Kyle after he arrived at his base.

Kelly wasn’t feeling well when she woke up Tuesday morning, so I sent her back to bed and the little guy and I had morning playtime together. When he had exhausted all his energy, he wanted up on my lap to snuggle. When he thought he might fall asleep he wanted down, so I just stood up and gently bounced him and my shoulder still has its magic touch, because about five minutes later he was asleep and another five minute for good measure and I put him down for his morning nap (not like yesterday afternoon when I just let him take a short nap in my arms).

Wednesday morning when Kyler woke up, baby Ryan was already here and ready to play with him. Kelly has a routine for the little guys, playtime, snacks (they really like this part), diaper changes, sippy cups, play, nap, diapers, lunch, play, diapers, snack, play, whine and grump time before bottles, nap time, diapers, snacks, and more play time. The boys do really well together and Kelly amazes me with her patience. Abby wasn’t feeling well and was going to be late so tonight Kelly fed them both dinner and then they had bath time. They shared the bath toys and then splashed, not just little splashes, the bathroom floor was all wet, Kelly was wet, the rug was wet, I just sort of stood back and took cover. In between all the baby details, Kelly managed to pack up 4 large tubs.

Thursday was pretty much a repeat of Wednesday except we made a fast run to Wal-Mart to pick up more tubs and packing supplies and my RX which I had to have faxed down since my stay was extended.

2010 It Was A Very Good Year for Family and Friends

2010-12-23T21:29:00.000-08:00

A Twisted Christmas Carol

2010-12-23T15:49:00.000-08:00

Recently Larry and I had dinner with a group of friends to celebrate the holiday season and one last chance to get together before the New Year arrives. After enjoying a casual meal downtown Bellingham at Bob’s Burgers and Brew we returned to the home of one of the couples to enjoy homemade desserts, a gift exchange, and play a few games which concluded with charades.

We laughed till it hurt, the women accused the men of cheating because they got all the easy charades to act out, and of course the men won. At the end of the evening I secretly gathered up all the slips of paper and took them home to see if I could somehow work them into a Christmas poem. I managed to use all but two: You just received a puppy for Christmas and Elf making a toy. So this poem is called “A Twisted Christmas Carol”.

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
Remembering
Seeing Santa as a child for the first time
Picking and cutting a tree
A
Christmas tree
Tying the tree to a car roof
With
Tinsel
Bows
Christmas lights
And
Garland
Making a Christmas list for Santa
with
Jingle bells
On my shoes
Poinsettias
On the porch
Mistletoe
Hanging over the door
Wreaths
Hanging on the door
And
Presents
Lots of presents
Playing winter games
Snowball fights
Riding a ski lift
Cross country skiing
Or a
Plane ride
Building a fire in the fireplace
Planning on
Leaving milk and cookies for Santa
And
Sneaking in and checking your presents before Christmas
I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus
And
Sampling the cooking sherry
and
Making a pie
Stuffing
The bird
And cooking the
Cranberry sauce
Daddy getting slacks too tight
Made it hard to itch because
Santa has Rudolf’s fleas in his pants
As he was
Climbing down a ladder
In a
Snow
Hailstorm
When
Grandma got run over by a reindeer
Was it
Donner
or
Dancer
Following behind
Rudolf
Pulling a sleigh
Holding the real
Santa Claus
And an
Elf
Dressed as
Scrooge
Noel
To all
And to all a goodnight
And if I am really good
I’ll be
Getting a toy electric train for Christmas
And you’ll be
Getting your first bike with training wheels

3M Pink ATG (Advanced Tape Glider)

2010-12-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

So my husband, who is almost retired, just has to clean out his office and wait for midnight December 31st, and has no work to do right now, is all mine. The honey do list begins. #1 I hate to drive at night and didn’t read my email until late in the afternoon so if I was going to cash in on Michael’s craft store 12 days of Christmas Thursday special, I was going to have to talk Larry into driving me to the store after dinner.

So now I am the owner of the new 3M pink advanced tape glider with 72 yards of doubled sided tape. I remember seeing artist who had the big yellow heavy duty industrial version and thinking wow! This little pink version was half off today, smaller and easier to use, and because of the pink color which I really like anyway, a donation will be made to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Now I have more than enough glue tape to play in my studio and more important I can use this when I am teaching the scrapbooking class with the GRADS teen parent program once a month.

I love a good bargain!

Woodring's Larry Marrs to retire Dec. 31 after long career at WWU

2010-12-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

The following article appeared Dec. 7th, 2010 in Western Today, news and inforamtion for the Western Washington University community.

by: Matthew Anderson, Western Today editor

Larry Marrs, a longtime administrator at Woodring College of Education, will retire from Western Washington University as of Dec. 31.

Marrs served as dean of Woodring for 15 years, from 1984 to 1999, and has been a Woodring professor and director of the college's Professional Development Resource Center since 2005.

From 1999 to 2005, Marrs was executive director of the North Snohomish, Island and Skagit Counties Higher Education Consortium.

Marrs also served as vice provost for University Extended Programs, from 1990 to 1991, and assistant vice president for Academic Affairs from 1989 to 1990.

"I've really enjoyed my time here," Marrs says, "both as a teacher and an administrator."

Marrs' current class, EDUC 297C, capitalizes on his experience with Communities in Schools of Whatcom County, where he co-chairs the board. Marrs helps his students understand issues in organizing and providing services to children, families and schools, the goal being that Western students would help implement systemic changes throughout schools and their surrounding communities.

"We've got really bright and exciting students in the program," Marrs says. "They just dive into anything I ask."

During his time as dean of Woodring College, Marrs oversaw the creation of the Center for Regional Services, Woodring's outreach and continuing education arm. The center provided for off-campus instruction of thousands of students annually and generated more than $4.8 million per year in external support of college faculty, staff and programs.

"We went from teaching 30 or 40 classes each year to teaching several hundred out in schools and community service centers," Marrs says. "And in doing so we generated revenue to use on campus in the college while providing access to Woodring’s programs for people who were place-bound and could not attend school in Bellingham."

But the Center for Regional Services isn't the only program Marrs had his hands in over the years. Among other programs, Marrs also created the Center for Educational Pluralism, the Center for Interactive Multimedia for Education and Training, the National Rural Development Institute, the Woodring College of Education Advancement Office, the Center for Global and Peace Education, and the Center for Family Supportive Schools and Communities.

Some of his federally funded projects and programs included: The National and Rural Small Schools Research Consortium, the National Rural Independent Living Network, and the Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to use Technology grant.

Marrs also helped establish satellite instructional centers at Everett, Port Angeles, Seattle, Olympia, Bremerton and Oak Harbor and initiated undergraduate and graduate degree programs in collaboration with community colleges and The Evergreen State College.

Marrs says he'll miss the colleagues he's gotten to know so well during two decades at WWU. Woodring faculty and staff are well respected in their fields, he says.

"We've employed some really good faculty and staff in Wooding," he says. "We were able to bring in top-notch people because of Western's reputation and geography."

In retirement, Marrs plans to stay active locally with Communities in Schools, but he'll take some time for himself, too. He plans to do a lot more hunting, fishing and riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Thankful for Thanksgiving in California

2010-12-04T18:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday 11-20-2010

When you look out your window at Mt. Baker glistening in the east, covered in a blanket of snow, you think how beautiful and picturesque it is. When that snow is covering your lawn and driveway and quickly turning to a sheet of ice, the beauty of the picture perfect postcard begins to fade. Freezing temperatures, a northeaster out of the Canadian Frazier Valley brings the wind chill in the teens and the snow is blowing across the yard in a fast and furious flurry causing a white out. This is what I woke up to Saturday morning, the day before I was to fly to California to spend Thanksgiving with my mom, my oldest son James, my sister Mary, nephews and nieces. All the last minute errands are cancelled due to slippery roads and multiple accidents on the roads. This front is moving south and my only concerns are airport conditions and if my planes can fly.

We braved the roads and went to church to hear Ryan and Sara Hall speak about running, http://thestepsfoundation.org the 26.2 project, and what God has done in their lives and where he is leading them in the future.

We stopped at Haggen’s to pick up dinner after church and a sandwich for me to take on the airplane tomorrow. We spent a quiet evening watching television and talking. My bags are packed and I just have to have faith that I will be able to fly out to California tomorrow.

Sunday 11-21-2010

Larry and I read the Sunday paper and had our morning coffee in our cozy study with a warm fire blazing while I occasionally checked outside the bay window to check on the weather. It’s time to leave for the airport and I’m already checked in on-line so we can stay home a little longer and I won’t have to sit in the portable waiting area longer than necessary.

At the airport I find out my plane from Bellingham will arrive at the “C” gates and my next flight departs from the “N” gates. I have thirty minutes from landing to take-off. I’ll just have to wait and see if I make my flight or catch the next one out. As I stood in the waiting area I saw Ryan Hall also waiting to board the same flight o Seattle. A team of runners from Modesto was also boarding the plane and they slowly began to notice Ryan Hall was going to be on our flight and began whispering amongst themselves. Many of them weere in church last night to hear Ryan Hall speak, and the rest missed a great opportunity.

Our plane took off on the new runway at the Bellingham airport and as we neared Seattle the snow began to fall. We sat on the tarmac for at least ten minutes and all I could think about was missing my next flight. I waited for my carryon bag and then I ran up the C concourse, down the escalator, took the tram and made 2 stops, up the escalator, down the N concourse to find a sign that my flight was departing from the C concourse. The rude gate attendant said I had eight minutes to get back to my gate and she wouldn’t call ahead and said we’ll just put you on the next flight if you miss this one. With tears in my eyes I walked as quickly as I could because I was fighting a burning headache on the right side of my face from the stress and I was too exhausted to run anymore. I was the last one to board at my gate when I arrived. There was no room in the overhead bins when I finally go on board, and as I tried to rearrange the overhead bin near over my seat, some of the other passengers began to get angry. Oh well, what was I to do--one guitar taking up three bags spaces is just not right.

It was 27 degrees in Bellingham when I left and it will be 55 degrees when I get to Oakland according our pilot. Of course right after he said this he told us they were checking the plane to see if they needed to de-ice it before take-off; take-off….would there be such a thing?

10,000 feet and I can finally get up to get a cough drop out of my bag and get my sandwich. As carefully as I tried to be, somebody else’s cane falls out of the bin onto a passenger and she lets me know she is angry with me, even as I apologize. I can only do so much and God knows I tried to be careful and it wasn’t on purpose but now the other passengers around me are roused up again. I can’t win. I give up. They should have heard Pastor Bob’s messages about “grace,” and given me just a little. My stomach is in knots and I am exhausted. My coughs won’t stop and that will probably cause my fellow passengers who seem to watch my every move now, to panic. Sleep….a short nap…something I need.

My plane landed a few minute early so I bought a diet Pepsi and sat outside in the 55 degree weather (with my coat on) and enjoyed the sunshine while I waited for my sister, Mary, and my mom to pick me up. This was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…somebody here loves me.

We headed home and stopped at BJ’s for dinner. Soup and salad for dinner then home for mom’s homemade peach pie for dessert.

Monday 11-22-2010

The sun is shining but the forecast is for a chance of showers for most of the week. Rain is better than freezing wind. Mom and I went to Mary’s to have lunch with Melissa and Samantha. Mary’s house is mostly decorated for Christmas. Richard has been busily working away on a black, silver, purple, and green color scheme throughout the house, including the outside porches. It’s beautiful. Sami had to work, so she left and the rest of us headed to Wal-Mart. Mary bought Melissa some scrapbooking supplies, mom had her own cart full of baking supplies, and I got out of the store without buying anything. Back to Mary’s to get candy to make fudge. Eight huge (!) boxes of candy we sorted through, about 240 pounds of candy, to find Hershey bars to melt down for the fudge base.

Kelly called several times during the day and left text messages for Mary and me as well as voice messages saying, “I need more grandma recipes.” Next week I will scan mom’s cookbook and update the digital copy for the family.

Mom has a large bowl of my favorite cabbage slaw made up and that is what I will have for dinner with some leftover homemade pie. Mom and I played canasta until midnight.

Tuesday 11-23-2010

It’s raining at mom’s and snowing in the mountains (far away mountains). A cup of coffee for me and hot chocolate for mom as we watched the morning news, and chatted before starting to make cookies for Tyler who is in Afghanistan.

Later I followed Mary to get her car worked on. We bought bubble wrap for the cookies, got USPS boxes, and picked up mom’s vacuum cleaner from the repair shop. The sun is out and the sky is filled with clouds and the car battery died so we made a stop at Sears to have it replaced and had lunch at the mall. We did a little window shopping before returning to mom’s to make fudge for Tyler. Mary headed home to work on her house for her upcoming holiday parties. Mom and I had homemade corn and vegetable chowder for dinner with salad and berry cobbler for dessert.

Mary came over and we watched the finale of Dancing with the Stars and then played canasta. The temperatures are going to get to freezing so I helped Mary turn off the outside water pipes and wrap the ones that need to stay on.

We didn’t make these cookies for Tyler this time but mom said they are good and gave me the recipe:

Potato Chip Cookies

1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. flour
2 c. finely crushed potato chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips

Mix shortening, sugars, and eggs together until creamed. Then add remaining ingredients to the creamed mixture. Drop walnut size cookies on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes 4-5 dozen.

Wednesday 11-24-2010

The sun is shining but there is frost on the ground and the deck rails are glistening in the early morning hours. We packed 12 dozen cookies and fudge for Tyler to mail this morning and one large box of magazines from my mom to Kelly. Mom made cornbread for the Thanksgiving dressing, two pumpkin pies, a pineapple and coconut pie, jell-o salads, and lot of iced tea.

I went to the post office to mail the boxes and then had lunch with Mary and her friends before we went to CFE storage to drop off donations. I checked my email at Mary’s before heading back to mom’s. The freeway wasn’t too busy for 5:00 PM rush hour traffic on the eve of a busy holiday.

I wrapped a Christmas present for Jim, stacked up and folded fabric upholstery samples Mary gave me to take home and then mom and I had dinner and played cards. Michael called to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving. The news said more freezing temperatures tonight; the Canadian cold snap has followed me. Maybe I could fly off to Vegas to see Kelly and Kyler and if it gets too cold there, maybe Michelle would let me come visit in Arizona.

Thursday 11-25-2010 Thanksgiving

Mom was already up and working on fixing Thanksgiving dinner and had a pot of coffee ready for me when I walked into the kitchen. I got the turkey ready to go in the oven while mom prepared yeast roll dough. The giblets are cooking, the sweet potato casserole is prepared, the potatoes peeled for cooking and mashing.

It could have almost been a disaster day. A few weeks ago we replaced mom’s stove and today her microwave gave out, blew out black smoke, and said I quit after 29 years of service. We turned on the fans, bathroom exhaust, opened the doors, opened both of the garage doors, and aired the house out. Good thing mom still had her table top convection oven. It’s always the unexpected you can’t prepare for and have to work around. What more could happen? Ants. We sprayed inside, outside and they were gone. Or at least we thought they were gone. We held them at bay, confined to one small section of the end cabinet just to get through the day.

Haley and Freddy came about 1:00 PM to visit. We were stop #2 of 4 for their day. Freddy had a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream before they left and even though Harley didn’t want any, she let Freddy share with her. That’s the way it goes.

Jaimie arrived just as Haley and Freddy were leaving. Jamie came with a friend who brought mom white roses with dark pink tips, just beautiful. Michael C arrived and then Poncho and Richard came in just after Michael. Mary had a headache and didn’t feel like coming, so she is staying home. Dinner was just about to be served when Justin and Brandi arrived from Monterey. Sami and Randy arrived and there was still plenty of food left. Everyone has second or third places to visit so soon everyone was gone except Justin, Brandi, mom, and me. We talked about family, where the future would take Justin and Brandi…and then Jim and Heather arrived before J&B needed to head to Pittsburg to see more family members.

Jim and Heather stayed until about 8:30 PM before they headed home to feed the animals and get ready for work the next day. Now mom and I are left to sort through the black Friday ads. We decided there wasn’t anything we needed enough to make us get up and go shopping at midnight, or 2:00 AM, 4:00 AM, 7:00 AM, or even 9:00 AM.

I will go to Michael’s craft store and Joann’s fabrics sometime tomorrow afternoon to browse, but not expecting any door buster specials to be left, and that’s ok.

The house is empty and we spray for ants again.

The ants go marching one by one. (Hurrah, hurrah!)

The ants go marching one by one. (Hurrah, hurrah!)

The ants go marching one by one, the little one stops to suck his

thumb,

And they all go marching down around the town.

The ants go marching two by two

...to tie her shoe.

The ants go marching three by three

...to climb a tree.

The ants go marching four by four

...to shut the door.

The ants go marching five by five

...to take a dive.

The ants go marching six by six

...to pick up sticks.

The ants go marching seven by seven

...to go to heaven.

The ants go marching eight by eight

...to jump the gate.

The ants go marching nine by nine

...to scratch his spine.

The ants go marching ten by ten

...to say, "The end."

Friday 11-26-2010

Mom had hot chocolate and I had my usual cup of coffee. Mary called and I went to meet her at Joann fabrics--with coupons. Not bad…about one hour and we were out the door. I stopped at Starbucks for another cup of coffee on my way back to mom’s while Mary took her purchases back to her house.

Mom was ready for round II at Joann’s in Pittsburg with Mary and me. We each took a shopping cart and we were off. Three hours later they finally called our number for the cutting table. We got back to the house right before Melissa arrived for dinner. We had turkey leftovers, fresh homemade biscuits, Mary’s homemade sweet pickles, pickled green beans, and pie. A nice time chatting and laughing. Melissa left about 7:30 PM and we watched Wheel of Fortune before getting down to the business of playing canasta. We played till about midnight before giving in to yawns; and mom beating us. Tomorrow is another day.

Saturday 11-27-2010

It’s raining and overcast but warmer than the last few days. Water rationing is still in effect although the restrictions are not as tough as they were a few months ago. The rain is needed for the garden and the snow will maybe fill the reservoirs next spring when the snow pack melts removing water rationing permanently or until the next dry spell.

After coffee and hot chocolate with my mom I drove to Michael’s crafts since I didn’t make it there yesterday. I needed to get the rest of my gift for the family gift exchange game that takes place after Christmas each year. We won’t be there, but I make sure Larry and I have gifts in the pile and someone plays for us. I’ll finish Larry’s gift Monday or Tuesday when I go to the Harley store in Walnut Creek.

I went to Mary’s for a little while to check my email, picked up a pizza for dinner, and then back to mom’s where we continued to fight ants. The kitchen has been stripped of food and containers that are now piled up on the dining room table. The ant traps are out and hoping tomorrow the ants will be gone.

Mom and I played canasta before bed.

Sunday 11—28-2010

There were only a few ants at a new place in the kitchen so we sprayed and hoped that they would be gone when we get home from church. Mom attends Bethel Baptist Church and it is small and just about everyone knows everyone else. It’s been a long time since I heard Jesus Loves Me sung in church and it brought back many childhood memories of Sunday school. Mary met us at the house after she got out of church and we went out to lunch, a Sunday afternoon ritual for mom and Mary. A quick stop at Home Depot for more ant control products and then back to the house to read the Sunday paper and take a nap.

Refreshed and ready to go we went to Brentwood to the HomeGoods store looking for more of the special battery operated candles that change colors. Success! Next T.J.Maxx and then Joann’s fabrics. We bought a lot of fabric this weekend and Mary doesn’t sew and I don’t have a sewing machine. Wonder what we will do with our stash. Mom is making aprons and potholders. In & Out Burgers for dinner. We don’t have an In & Out at home and Mary sent a picture of where we were to Kelly knowing this is one of her favorite places to eat out.

Home again, home again, that’s what the ants are saying. Tomorrow the exterminator will come!

Before bed I sat up reading for a while and found this recipe in one of mother’s magazines.

Never Fail Chocolate Cake (Or Beat it 1,375 times Cake)

1 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
4 tbsp. cocoa
3 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 c. boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream shortening and beat 125 times. Add sugar and beat 125 times till fluffy. Add cocoa and beat 125 times. Add eggs 1 at a time and beat 125 times after each egg. Add 1/3 c. of buttermilk and 1 c. of flour and beat 125 times, before adding more ingredients in each measurement. Dissolve baking soda in hot water and add to batter and beat 125 times. Add vanilla and beat 125 times.

Pour into a 9X13 inch greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

I think I might try this and use my electric mixer and this will equal 50 seconds with each addition if 150 hand beats equals 1 minute. Much easier and quicker.

Monday 11-29-2010

From the patio doors in the bedroom I can look out to the garden in the backyard. Most of the plants have died back and gone dormant for the cold fall and winter months but the alyssum ground cover gives the illusion of a green carpet covered with snow. The Mexican sunflower stands about five foot tall keeping watch over the garden with its bright cheery yellow blossoms. The pots with vegetables have all been brought into the laundry room to protect them from the freezing night and early morning temperatures. Spring comes quickly in California and by February everything will be sprouting and starting to bloom. I miss the longer growing season in CA, and some the plants that WA calls annuals are perennials in CA.

The sun is out but it’s cold. Off to Costco to fill the gas tank in the car and get a few things for mom. Lowes for a packing box (Mary always has a load of goodies for me to take home) plus whatever I buy while I am visiting. Next stop is Mary’s to start scanning mom’s cookbook. The nieces and nephews are growing up and it will be fun to share a copy of the cookbook filled with family favorites for the younger family members, nieces and nephews who are growing up, moving out, getting married. This is a cooking memoir of love from their grandmother, how she fed her family.

Mary fixed a pot roast with roasted vegetables that she sent home with me for dinner. Her house smelled wonderful and mom and I didn’t have to cook.

Tuesday 11-30-2010

The skies are grey and dark as I pulled back the blinds to let the morning light into the bedroom. It will get to the 50’s but it looks like it will be a slow start to get there and not long lived after it arrives. There is a slight breeze blowing but nothing like the 65 mph winds they were expecting at home in Washington last night.

The exterminator didn’t come yesterday and there are more ants today. I’m not sure where they are coming from but it’s hard for mom not to be able to cook and putter in her kitchen. Jerry and Laura will arrive in three weeks and I know mom would like to do a little baking and get things in the freezer and cook some casseroles to have ready. Looks like we will eat dinner out again tonight.

Off to the Harley shop in Walnut Creek to buy a gift that will be Larry’s family Christmas exchange gift. Every year he has something “Harley” and every year the guys steal it back and forth until someone wins the prize.

I finished scanning mom’s cookbook today so I can finish working on it when I get home. Mary already sent yesterday’s scan to my email account and I just sent the last batch.

Diggers for hamburgers. Mom’s favorite place to go.

Pastor Ken and Deacon Clint from her church came by to visit tonight. A nice thing to do from a small church.

Mom and I played canasta after they left.

December 1, 2010

Bug Zappers arrived to save the day. They sprayed the inside of the house and then the perimeter of the house. We needed to leave for three hours so we went to Mary’s house. Mary turned on the fireplace to take the chill off the living room and while she went to take care of some business mom had a stack of magazines and crossword number puzzles she brought with her and I checked my email.

We stopped by FedEx on the way home to mail my box, but I had to leave my new found favorite possession, a red brick with California written on it and weighing about eight pounds. It will have to wait to come home until we drive down for a visit.

I sort of feel like the country mouse and the city mouse today. My sister Mary is always attending an event or a function that requires her dress to up--awards, fundraisers; cocktail, semi-formal, or formal. Me, I’m just a jeans sort of girl with an occasional dress up event. Mary called before I packed for CA and said she had to go to an event and it was cocktail attire. Ok, I could do that and get the dress in my carry-on bag. After I arrived they told her it was semi-formal. Mary said no problem, she opened up the closets and said pick shoes (mine weren’t dressy enough for semi-formal) so I found Anne Klein open toe black leather heels, another closet held purses so I picked a black silk purse, drawers of vintage costume jewelry, a bracelet with gold and large brown stones and I was all set.

Tonight it is The Threads of Hope awards at the Blackhawk Car Museum honoring six people in five organizations in Contra Costa County that help those who need it most. My sister Mary was one of the first award winners in 1995 for founding Christmas For Everyone that feeds anyone who needs a meal on Christmas day, provides clothing, gifts, haircuts, music, and a joyful place to be with others celebrating Christmas. The wine was provided by Sterling Vineyards in Napa Valley and hors d’oeuvres were served before the awards ceremony and the evening was capped off with almonds covered in a thin coat of chocolate dusted with cocoa powder and the three time Grammy nominated Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir who sang for over half an hour. Gospel music, Christmas music, faith based music that made you clap and rejoice in the reason for the season. http://www.associatedentertainment.com/aec/Music/Gospel/Oakland-Interfaith-Gospel-Choir

Cinderella left the earrings, bracelet, purse, and shoes in the guest bedroom at my mom’s for my fairy god mother (Mary) to retrieve.

My bags are packed
I’m ready to go
My husband’s waiting
And so is the cat
The dog could care less
If I ever came home
The weather is warming
Or at least I hope it is
Now it’s just a decision
The airport scanner
Or a close encounter
With a TSA agent
And a body pat down
I’m checked in on-line
My ticket is printed
My seats are assigned
Now it’s 4, 5, 6 lanes of traffic
Down the freeway we go
Bumper to bumper
Now it’s up, up, and away
Bye bye NorCal
Hello Whatcom

Thursday 12-2-2010

7:45 AM and the air is still with barely a leaf moving in the early morning hours as the sun tries to peek through the grey clouds covering the city. Rain is in the forecast here in Ca and at home in WA. It’s hard to pack my clothes, close the zipper on the bags and leave my mom behind. This is always the hardest part no matter how long I stay, 1 week, 10 days, a month, it wouldn’t be enough.

I just need an enclave, someplace warm, a huge lottery to support us, and the whole family could be together. When you wish upon a star….

Mom never complains about anything except when it gets really cold…freezing outside. She quilts, uses her sewing machine, gardens when the weather permits, attends church, watches a few favorite television shows, works her puzzles to keep her mind sharp and alert, canasta to keep her winners crown, and cooks family dinners for the memories. At 93 ½ years old she can indulge in a snickers bar and her waist will never tell. One of the best complements I have ever received was at church Sunday when one of mom’s friends said I looked like her. Mom doesn’t look her age, has beautiful skin, and a more beautiful heart. May I continue to be more like her every day!

To scan or not to scan, that is the question. I was undecided right up until the moment I arrived at the airport security gate. Ok, I’ll just go for the scan. Not too bad. Then they have you wait 10 seconds while they check the scan…look at it real close…just what I need. Oh, do you have on any bracelets the TSA agent asked me? Yes I do on both arms I answered as I pulled up my sleeves, but isn’t that a silly question since they could see them on the scan. Sorry she says I’ll need to pat down your arms and upper body. Arms I can understand, well not really but anyway what’s with the upper body pat down. I wasn’t wearing a tummy chest/bracelet so I am not sure why I needed this part. I think they just might be making up the rules as they go. If I had taken my bikini with me on this trip, I could have worn it and bypassed the pat down like other women have been doing.

My plane was half an hour late arriving in Oakland but it all worked out because my plane to Bellingham was delayed an extra hour. That’s better than waiting for the plane that was delayed because mechanics needed to try and find out what was wrong with it and they kept announcing it would be ready shortly. Larry was waiting for me with hugs and kisses, a warm truck to ride home in, and iced tea.

Kyler's 1st Birthday...A Celebration

2010-09-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

Sept. 1st, 2010

Happy birthday Kyler. It’s 5:15 AM, thirteen minutes after Kyler was born one year ago today, time to get up and get ready to fly to Las Vegas. My bus leaves Ferndale for SeaTac at 6:40 AM, with stops at the airport, Bellingham, Burlington, and Stanwood. The Bellingham airport is closed for three weeks for improvements to the runways so it is either take the bus or have Larry drive me to and from SeaTac.

Larry is staying home to take care of Ally and Deuce, and prepare for his fall class at WWU, while I fly off to celebrate Kyler’s 1st birthday.

Kyler was 2 pounds 15 ½ ounces and 15 inches long when he was born eleven weeks early. He was a strong baby from the day he was born, determined to survive; he is almost 7 times his birth weight at a little over 20 pounds, and twice his length. He is healthy, happy, and loved. He is trying to walk, crawling everywhere, and into everything. Praise God.

A year ago when I was desperately trying to get to Las Vegas as fast as I could, I didn’t know if my daughter Kelly survived the emergency c-section or if baby Kyler was alive. For a few hours it was the most excruciating torment I have ever gone through. When I arrived in Las Vegas and was taken directly to the NICU at Sunrise Hospital to see Kyler, I looked at his tiny little body and how perfect he was. Next stop was to see my daughter Kelly and hold her. My son-in-law Kyle was deployed and Kelly had gone through the anguish of a premature delivery and then not being able to even hold her son because he was transported to another hospital. Eleven weeks after Kyler was born, he was big enough to go home with his mom and dad and begin life as a family.

Now a year later we are celebrating Kyler’s first birthday. To look at him, you would never know that he was premature.

I closed my eyes after we left Bellingham and a half hour later we arrived in Burlington for a short stop. I dozed on and off all the way to SeaTac and had time after I arrived to get a cup of coffee and find some lunch to take on the plane with me.

Kelly said she was awake at 5:02 AM but Kyler only made a soft baby sound in his sleep and never woke up to celebrate his birth till several hours later. Kelly and Kyle sang happy birthday to him. They always sing to him so he might not have realized how special this day is to his parents.

Kelly and Kyler picked me up at the airport. When I opened the back door to the SUV to put my luggage in the car, Kyler could see me and smiled. A quick stop at Whole Foods to pick up the makings for dinner and a special birthday cupcake for Kyler and then home. Kyle was already off work and waiting for us. Kelly fixed seasoned baked chicken chunky taco salad. She is such a good cook, and creative.

Birthday presents for Kyler and then the birthday cupcake. Kyler liked playing with the cupcake but he doesn’t really have a sweet tooth. More fun to crumble it in his little finger and throw it on the floor. Bath time and bed time.

Such a miracle.

6:00 AM Revelry 9-2-2010

It’s going to be 1030 in Las Vegas today. I woke up to find baby Kyler getting ready to have his morning bottle and Kyle leaving for work. Playtime, bottle, nap…short nap, and then it was off to the grocery store and then home again for lunch and another nap.

We spent the afternoon running errands for the birthday party on Monday. Old Navy was a bonus stop for Kelly. She doesn’t usually shop for clothes because Kyler is with her and into everything. We met Kelly’s friend, Abby, and her baby, Ryan, at Target and leisurely wandered up and down the aisles of the store where it was cool and the moms could talk, shop, and the babies were fascinated by all there was to see.

Kelly showed me around North Las Vegas before we came home and she fixed pigs-in-a-blanket for dinner. Beef hotdogs, wrapped in butter, garlic croissants. I haven’t fixed these since all my kids lived at home. Kyle grew up with a different version of pigs-in-a-blanket: meatloaf wrapped in cabbage leaves and cooked in a tomato sauce. I’ve never heard of this and after a little research when I returned home, it appears to of German or Hungarian origins and a favorite of Northeastern Pennsylvania where Kyle is from.

We all headed off to Costco after dinner for picnic foods for Kyler’s birthday party on Monday. Not thirty feet into the store was a designer t-shirt display. So I need to find room in my suitcase for an extra shirt and the travel mugs for Larry that I bought (no they don’t carry those mugs at our Costco at home). I bought a supply of ready to drink Starbucks while I was in Vegas and a few other things to fill up my cart--not to be confused with the kids' shopping cart.

Back home it was dinner for Kyler, bath time, and a bottle before bed. He could barely keep his eyes open on the way home.

Kelly and I cut 600 miniature marshmallows to look like popcorn for the cupcake topping decorations. A can of PAM for the scissors and an hour later we were done.

9-3-2010

Wake up grandma. Kyler crawled over me, snuggled with me and then curled up with his mom to finish a bottle. A new Sesame Street video to sort of watch while Kelly and I worked on water bottles filled with candy and prizes to be used as favors at Kyler’s birthday party.

Kyler, Kyle and I stayed home this morning while Kelly had a hair appointment. Kyler and I played with his toys and he took his morning nap before our lunch outing.

Kelly, Kyle, Kyler, and I went to Hooters Casino to meet Kim for lunch. The girls in the restaurant sang happy birthday to him and I took a great video of him. Nikki was working and so was Jackie so they had their picture taken with Kyler. Kyler doesn’t know it but he is one lucky baby to have all these friends and former coworkers of Kelly’s who work at Hooters celebrate his birthday week long celebration. Kim surprised us all and bought our lunch today. Thank you again Kim.

It’s 1050 and the Friday afternoon traffic in Vegas on the freeway was stop and go. Kyle took all the short cuts to get us back home for naps and quiet time.

After Kyler’s afternoon nap Kelly and I went looking for a baby gate to keep Kyler out of the dining area. The problem is an extra wide doorway that is about 6” wider than any baby gate we can find. We have a couple of ideas we are working on. We were ready to check out and the lighter fluid bottle split open and got on Kyler. Kelly carries baby wipes so she wiped his legs down quickly, striped off his short, and she took him to the bathroom to wash his legs with soap and water. No reaction that we could see but we check out and went straight home to give him a bath. Scary!

Kyler is down for the night and Kelly made me a scarf. She makes several styles and this one is grey. I am hoping she will start selling them online soon because they are unique and fun. Can’t wait for everyone back home to see what she made me.

The next project of the evening was to make 75 white cupcake liners look like paper popcorn bags by drawing red lines in the creases of the liners. We taped twenty custom made candy bar wrappers that looked like Kyler’s birthday invitation around full size Hershey bars and we were done for the night.

9-4-2010

This morning I heard Kyler talking softly and retrieved him out of his bed. He was waiting for me with a toothy grin and when I stretched out my arms to him, he raised his arms with an even bigger grin on his face.

Diaper change and bottle time. Just as Kyler and I snuggled up on the sofa, Kelly woke up and found us. Of course Kyler wanted his mom to feed him. We spent the next two hours playing on the floor with all his toys and a few minutes of Sesame Street. Morning nap time for the parents and the baby before we began our day.

I helped Kyle clean up his computer and Kelly baked cupcakes all afternoon.

Movie night out for Kelly, Kyle, Abby and Sean. The parents went to a movie and dinner, just like before babies, and I had grandma time with two little guys, although Kyler was already asleep when they left for the evening. Baby Ryan wasn’t sure about me being a surrogate grandma for the night but after we began playing with the toys he decided I wasn't too bad. I fed him a bottle after about an hour and held him until he fell into a deep asleep with his favorite blanket. Kelly still has the pack n play bed in their room so it was perfect for Ryan. When the kids (the grown up parents) came home from their evening out, Ryan wasn’t too sure what was going on but he was happy to see his mom and dad.

Abby is sweet and said Kyler can use her mom when she comes to visit as a surrogate grandma. It’s all good because babies need as much love as we can give them.

It was a very good day.

The predicted 1070 was only 1050 today.

9-5-2010

Kelly and Kyle went to do a little shopping for some household items and Kyler and I stayed home to play. Abby and Ryan came over to help decorate the cupcakes and Abby was finishing up her fantasy football team.

Prep work for the party tomorrow.

check - Veggie trays and dip

check - Guacamole

check - Sliced tomatoes and onions

check - Cupcakes decorated

check - Cake finished

check - Drinks

check - Chips

check - Hamburger and hotdogs and buns

check - Condiments

Kelly fixed pizza for dinner and after a really busy day, Kelly, Kyle, and Kyler were all in bed by 6:00 PM. A quiet evening. It was 1050 again today, but I was inside with the air conditioner all day. What heat?

9-6-2010 Party Day

Kyler woke about 7:00 AM and it was his usual morning routine. Kelly and Kyle ran to get the last of the BBQ foods and ice…lots of ice.

Kyler didn’t really want to take a nap, but after talking in his crib for a while he finally settled down for a short nap.

Kelly and I finished up the food prep and loaded supplies into boxes to take to the park. Kelly and Kyle went to set up and decorate the park and I took care of the Kyler.

Party time. About thirty adults and children showed up. Kelly had more than enough food. The kids all gathered around while Kelly and Kyle helped Kyler open his presents. So many presents.

Next the piñata. A big blue #1. I had never seen a piñata with strings to pull instead of hitting one with a bat or stick. Each child pulled one string to see if it would open the bottom of the piñata. There were only a few strings left when it broke open and all the kids scrambled for candy to fill their treat bags. Kelly passed out the Hershey bars that were wrapped with what looked like Kylers birthday invitation.

We sang happy birthday to Kyler and Kelly and Kyle helped him blow out his one candle.

The cupcakes looked like little containers of popcorn. One little girl told her dad she didn’t want to eat popcorn when he tried to get her to take a cupcake. I told her it was really a chocolate cupcake and marshmallows on top and then she was okay. The moms were impressed with Kelly’s clever idea.

Next it was Kyler versus the fight ring cake. He looked at the cake. He cried. He fussed. He crawled away from the cake. The cake won…but not before Kelly helped Kyler to crawl through the middle of the cake.

The party was over and the guests were departing. We boxed up leftovers, dumped some leftovers, gave some away, and then Kelly and Abby took the babies back to the house for a bath. Now this was something both boys enjoyed. Splashing in the tub with toys, that’s what it is all about for babies. Kyler went down right after his bath and Abby took and exhausted Ryan home to go to bed.

Kelly went back to the park to help Kyle clean up and they crashed shortly after returning home.

So much to celebrate and be thankful for.

9-7-2010

7:00 AM

Trying to let Kelly and Kyle sleep in a little I got Kyler up when I heard him talking in his crib. I had the diaper change done when Kelly heard us and got up. Kelly fed him a bottle and then he was ready to play and Kelly curled on the sofa and we talked.

Today it’s going to be 700 with thunderstorms, lightening, and clouds. Wow. Sort of like home! Except here that can mean flash floods...and of course in the dessert the weather changes so fast that by the afternoon they say it will be in the 900s.

Kelly and Kyle took all the toys out of the boxes and Kyler was a little overwhelmed at what to play with first. Toys that make noise, toys for the tub, race cars, books, and clothes.

Kelly and I worked on sorting and pricing Kyler's outgrown baby clothes for the consignment sale coming up in a week. Looking at the bags of assorted tops, pants, pajamas overalls, and sweaters, it is amazing how much one baby an go through in a year.

A few things were barely worn because Kyler was born almost three months early and when he came home newborn items still looked big on him. Things that were bought ahead of time based on how old he would be at a certain season didn’t fit.

The little guy decided he didn’t want a nap this morning. It was 12:30 PM before Kelly told him it was bed time. I think he just humored her because nap time lasted only about 45 minutes. Kyler has been fussing for days with a new tooth trying to come in and it really bothers him. This is probably why he can’t get comfortable and nap.

After Kyler went to bed, the kids rented a movie and we all curled up on the big sofa and enjoyed a quiet evening at home.

9-8-2010

Wake up grandma it 7:15 AM and I let you sleep in. Kelly was sitting on the sofa and baby Kyler was crawling over me smiling. He is feeling better today but still no tooth. Early nap time at 9:00 AM.

Kyler is wearing his University of Texas shirt and pants. Grandpa Larry would be so proud to see him in this outfit. We all walked down to the park to play on the swings and slides. It is a little overcast with a warm wind blowing but the intense heat of the afternoon sun is not beating down on Vegas today.

After Kyler went to bed, the kids popped in another movie to watch. Another day in paradise. Home sweet home with my family.

9-9-2010

Kyler has been awake since 6:30 AM but I got to sleep in till 7:20 AM. Play time. Nap time.

Kelly and I took Kyler to meet Abby and Ryan to shop and have lunch. We went shopping for hangers and safety pins. The consignment sale requires everything to be hung up and labels attached with safety pins.

Back on Nellis Air Force Base we saw 2 jets flying side by side, as one split away from the other, turned upside down and change direction 1800 we watched the other plane do exactly the same thing only seconds after the other plane.

I checked in for my flight home and then we all headed to Abby and Sean’s house to watch football and have dinner. We stopped at a stop sign and Kyle put the car in park. When I asked him what was happening he rolled down the window so I could hear the national anthem. It was 4:30 PM and everyone and everything comes to a complete halt while it plays. In the times I have stayed on base before I had never been out of the house at 4:30 PM.

Abby fixed an amazing chicken wing dip. Who needed anything else to eat? The New Orleans Saints won the game.

9-10-2010

I’m leaving the sunshine behind and going home to rain...and my loveable Larry.

Kyler fell asleep on my shoulder for his morning nap and the Kelly put him down in his bed.

We stopped for lunch on the way to the airport and I found it incredibly hard to say good-bye to Kelly. I kissed Kyler, hugged Kyle, and gave Kelly one last hug. Quick--I needed to go inside before I cried.

Homes are cheap in Vegas right now! Larry is retiring. Maybe a winter home, or a big home with 2 master suites and we could just live with the kids a few weeks at a time???

I hate good-byes. Have I said that before?

I took the shuttle bus home with a quick detour into downtown Seattle to the convention center. I arrived in Ferndale just after 10:00 PM and Larry was waiting for me. It’s good to be home with Larry but I still miss my family.

For Michael

2010-08-25T18:19:00.001-07:00

Steps to the Future

Stand Tall

Stand Steady

Both feet firmly planted

You can see it all

Secure and safe

Grounded in what is

As you lift your foot

To step higher

You won’t lose your footing

But now you must balance life

Before that foot touches down

Many changes will take place

The heart may cry out

Your mind may sting with decisions

Comfort is gone

The list is in shreds

And even when that foot finds solid ground

Higher ground

Before you level out at a new plane

You must raise the other foot

And do it all over again

Just remember

To grab hold of the railing

Those who love you

Care about you

Arms out stretched

To brace you

Support you

To push you onward

To keep you going

Making new lists

To reach higher

Dream bigger

Happy Anniversary - 12 years

2010-06-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary – 12 years

So what do you get for someone who has everything he needs, or wants, or…he just goes and buy it himself?

Several months ago I saw something on TV about the Deception Pass boat tours. Larry loves boats and I thought if he hadn’t already done this, it just might be the perfect gift. I waited until several weeks before our anniversary before I said anything to him about my idea. He loved the suggestion and we decided that we would find a nice sunny day to do the tour, even if it was not our anniversary date.

Monday June 14th and it’s our anniversary and the sun is shining!

Kelly posted notes to both of us on Facebook and then called us to wish us happy anniversary. She said that Larry signed his life away 12 years ago and that we, the kids and I own him…and we love him lots. He owns our hearts and love.

I cooked breakfast for Larry and then had to tell him that I hid his anniversary card so he wouldn’t find it--so well, in fact, that I couldn’t find it, either. Larry laughed and pointed out that it must be within 50 feet and one day we would discover where it was hidden.

Larry, on the other hand, is much more organized than I am. He left to run an errand and returned with two dozen yellow roses and 12 red ones (one for each year we have been married); not one, but two cards, and chocolate truffles from Chocolate Necessities. As if that were not enough, Larry gave me a real rose dipped in 24kt gold--he gives me a gold rose every year on our anniversary; I now have a full dozen. He loves me.

We grabbed our warm jackets and headed off to Deception Pass. We took the freeway down and arrived early enough to take the 3:00 PM tour instead of the planned 4:00 PM tour.

Clifford met us at the dock and walked us down to the boat. Because the tourist season has not really started, we had the boat all to ourselves today. Our own personal guided tour. Cameron was our guide, and Captain Brett piloted the boat.

We just pulled away from the dock when we saw a harbor seal swimming close by. They told us the water in the summer gets to a high of 530, warm enough for the seal, but not me. Just a few yards beyond the tree line on the shore is an old growth forest with trees that range between 100 and 400 years old. We saw where boot-leg liquor was secretly brought in to Washington from Canada during prohibition. We also saw the remnants of a state prison rock quarry, up a cliff and now barred up to prevent anyone from entering the cave where the prisoners were housed.

The crew cranked up the music “Danger Zone” as we went under Deception Pass and through the churning water. The water is at different levels under Canoe Pass and it was a little to0 rough today to go through the pass. The boat would move sideways and then bounce up and dip down through the swells. Hang on, we’re airborne. We had a 20mph wind advisory so we didn’t stay out long, but we were definitely out long enough to experience the wilder side of the force of the water and waves.

We were back at the dock at just a minute before 4:00 PM with memories to treasure. If you have a little time, we would encourage you to go for a Deception Pass tour and a chance to see the bridge from a different point of view.

We headed to the Longhorn Saloon and Grill for dinner. We weren’t expecting entertainment, but we had some. A guy rode in on his motorcycle, not a Harley, and pulled front wheel into the parking space, then after some extended maneuvering he managed to park his bike. Then he strode up the bar and wanted to know if a seat next to two bicyclists was empty. The bar was empty but he needed that seat at least for the next minute or so before he moved to a table. He was a big guy but he looked more like a wannabe…something…not sure what he really wanted to be. He had a big, big knife strapped to his knee. He was wearing all sorts of patches, crosses, skulls, jokers, but the best one was “bad ass”. If you have to wear the patch that says you are a “bad ass” and have handicap plates on your bike, maybe you are dreaming. It gave us a chuckle during dinner. We left and headed up Chuckanut Drive heading for home. If you aren’t the designated driver, you should try a Longhorn Amber Ale, only available at the Longhorn Saloon in Edison.

For more information on the tours, go to: Deception Pass Tour - http://www.deceptionpasstours.com/tour-info-and-rates/

The Baptist White Lie Cake

2010-06-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me this last week and having grown up in the Baptist church with church socials and bake sales, it made me smile.

Have you ever told a white lie? You are going to love this, especially all of the ladies who bake for church events:

Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa, but forgot to do it until the last minute.

She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and, after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix. She quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack up for Scout camp.

When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat, and the cake was horribly disfigured. She exclaimed, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!" This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church, and in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. She found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and then covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect.

Before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money with specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30, and to buy the cake and bring it home.

When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. Amanda grabbed her cell phone and called her mom.

Alice was horrified! She was beside herself! Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed! All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back.

The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think bout the cake. She would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time. She did not really want to attend because the hostess was a snob who, more than once, had looked down her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa.

But having already RSVP'd, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home.

The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust Old South and to Alice's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert!

Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "What a beautiful cake!"Alice, still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, "Thank you, I baked it myself.."

Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good."

Wash Day Dinner ---Beans and Rice and whatever else is leftover

2010-05-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

Remember the tea towels that our mothers taught us how to embroider, the days of the week, our chores to be done…Monday was wash day, Tuesday was ironing day, Wednesday sewing, Thursday shopping, Friday cleaning, Saturday baking, Sunday was a day of rest. Not only did we learn to embroider the days of the week we learned the childhood nursery rhyme “Here We Go ‘Round The Mulberry Bush" by singing it as we played a game imitating the actions of the days of the week.
Since Monday was laundry day and there was always so much of it, the “Wash Day Dinner” was and is still today a traditional southern dish with many variations. Brown beans or red beans, ham or hamburger, rice, whatever was left over in the refrigerator.

My sister Mary remember with fondness those Monday night dinners but it has been a long time since my mom had a busy household with children running in and out at all times; and with an automatic washing machine, the usual doldrum chores go much faster leaving more time to read cookbooks, magazines with recipes, and expand the traditions of past.

I went home to California to spend a nine days with my mom and celebrate mother’s day with her. I spent one afternoon with my sister helping her spring clean her closets. We called my mom late in the afternoon to let her know we would be coming home soon and asked what was for dinner or did she want us to pick something up on the way. “No!” mom said, she would have dinner ready when we got there. We asked “what’s for dinner” but mom wasn’t telling, just said dinner would be ready when we arrived.

To our surprise mom had fixed “Wash Day Dinner” to the best of her relocation. What a nice surprise for my sister and me. And while it was not “Monday”, dinner that night tasted wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed it along with the homemade apricot pie.

Be sure to make a pan of cornbread to serve with the wash day dinner because they just seem to go hand in hand.

Recipe:

1 ham bone, ham hock, leftover chicken, cooked hamburger, sausage cut into bite size pieces or roast beef chopped up
1 pound dry red kidney beans or leftover cooked brown beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
Optional – a few dashed of Tabasco sauce or chili powder
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil or butter
4c. water
4 c. chicken stock
Leftover corn can also be added
Leftover potatoes cut up can be added
1 large tomato diced or a 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
Brown or white rice cooked

Rinse bean and remove all foreign particles and soak overnight covered with water. Drain and rinse the bean and set aside.

In a large pot, sauté onion, celery, garlic, green peppers, and carrots in oil or butter until soft. Add water, meat, beans, tomato, tomato paste, and spices. Simmer on low for at least 3 hours (you can use your Crockpot), the flavors get better as it simmers.

Add the rice fifteen minutes before serving to soak up the flavors.

Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush’ Nursery Rhyme

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
So early in the morning.

These are the chores we'll do this week,
Do this week,
Do this week.
These are the chores we'll do this week,
So early every morning.

This is the way we wash our clothes,
Wash our clothes,
Wash our clothes.
This is the way we wash our clothes,
So early Monday morning.

This is the way we iron our clothes,
Iron our clothes,
Iron our clothes.
This is the way we iron our clothes,
So early Tuesday morning.

This is the way we scrub the floor,
Scrub the floor,
Scrub the floor.
This is the way we scrub the floor,
So early Wednesday morning.

This is the way we mend our clothes,
Mend our clothes,
Mend our clothes.
This is the way we mend our clothes,
So early Thursday morning.

This is the way we sweep the floor,
Sweep the floor,
Sweep the floor.
This is the way we sweep the floor,
So early Friday morning.

This is the way we bake our bread,
Bake our bread,
Bake our bread.
This is the way we bake our bread,
So early Saturday morning.

This is the way we get dressed up,
Get dressed up,
Get dressed up.
This is the way we get dressed up,
So early Sunday morning.

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go 'round the mulberry bush,
So early in the morning.

California for Mothers Day

2010-05-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 5-4-10 3:15 AM

It’s dark, it’s really, really early, I’ve only had one hour of sleep because of a sinus headache, and slept only because I took an Ibuprofen, drank hot tea, ate dark chocolate, and turned up the fireplace and crawled under a warm blanket.

It is still cold and dark outside as we take off into the sea of clouds, headed for California (well, Seattle, enroute to California). When I open my eyes it is almost time to land and the morning light shows that we are floating above the clouds as we slowly descend allowing glimpses of city lights as Seattle is waking up and beginning to move. I knew there was at least one “LEO” (law enforcement officer) on the plane to Seattle, but it wasn’t until we started to disembark that I realized that there were two, maybe three, on board.

A Starbucks tall caffe latte, a walk through the Fireworks store, my favorite shop in the airport, and then the tram to the “N” gate for the next leg of the trip to CA to see my mom, my son Jim, and others of my family.

Sitting at my gate watching the air traffic come and go, I saw what appeared to be a large passenger plane, except it had no windows, was painted a flat white, and absolutely no marking of any kind to identify it. Strange!!!

One of my new favorite things to pack in my carryon bag is Gold Bond hand sanitizer; a non-alcohol based sanitizer, so my hands don’t feel rough and dried out--and it smells good.

I am ready to go…ready to get to CA…ready to sleep on the plane…ready to quit waiting.

When I woke we were about fifteen minutes out of Oakland. The sun was shining and I had a clear view of the waves lapping at the CA coastline to the west and the green hills to the east (they are not golden brown and parched but green because of the unusually large amount of rain CA has had this year), low tide leaving the bay flats looking like a receding hairline and a ferry heading to Vallejo.

I can see highway 4 going east to the hills heading to Antioch and Pittsburg; the mothball fleet squatting like old grey soldiers in Suisun Bay, Martinez where I grew up, and it all makes me thinks of the song “On A Clear Day You Can See Forever”. When there is no smog you really can see everything from 10-15 thousand feet up. Briones Park, Tilden Park, now it is a 180 and we are almost ready to land.

Mary picked me up and we stopped at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse at the mall for lunch. Mary recommended the BBQ chicken salad with extra crunchies on top. Moist chick with a sweet bbq sauce, chopped lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, black beans, and corn, with a southwestern creamy dressing topped with thin French fried onion rings--I now have a new favorite salad. Kelly called while we were eating lunch and when I told her where we were having lunch, she said she was mad at me; BJ’s is one of Kelly’s favorite restaurants in Las Vegas.

Richard was at my mom’s gardening when we arrived and he showed me my new birdhouse decorated with pearls (real pearls), beads, candy wrappers, a watch, rhinestones, and lots of love. Thank you Richard, the birdhouse will be treasured and I am thankful to have such talented friend.

Kelly called again right before dinner and said she was jealous I was having grandma food. She will be here in July and can feast then.

Mom and I checked out her garden in full bloom. Mexican sunflowers, Iris, lambs ear, roses, geraniums, roses, hollyhocks, and daylilies all growing in the wonderful warmth of the sun.

Wednesday 5-5-10

Mom had raisin bread for breakfast and I had hot coffee. Mom went to work in the garden and I went to Home Depot. Paint for the picket fence in the front yard, wasp spray for the nest in the garage attic, and a plant for the garden. Happy Mother’s Day mom.

Next stop Safeway to buy groceries to fix dinner. Tonight it is going to be pork chops, rice, and vegetables seasoned with sweet chili sauce. Thursday night we are having Greek pasta salad with chicken.

Mom laughed when I returned home carrying a plant in my hands. She was sitting on the patio with a cold drink, taking a much deserved break from her morning gardening chores. I asked her if she thought I could walk into Home Depot without buying a plant and she said no. I bought her a ruby pink double flower Australian Tee Tree shrub. Now we just need to find the right place to put it.

I worked on painting the fence in the front yard (I did not complete this job because of the rain and cold, so Richard will need to finish for me). And bend and dip and stretch and brush…oh my legs are going to get a workout today.

Mary came for dinner and we watched a little TV before we got down to business playing canasta. I won a game! They must have taken pity on me and let me win. It was a good day.

Thursday 5-6-10

Up early to take mom to get blood work done (just routine). We picked up Mary and went to breakfast at the Copper Skillet Courtyard in Martinez. Good food, good portions, good prices.

Back to the house for a short nap after a big breakfast. Four hours later I woke up. I have a really bad sinus headache and it has just zapped me of my strength this afternoon.

Mary came for dinner and mom fixed an apricot pie for dessert. A little TV and then we played one game of canasta. I was in bed by 11:00 PM trying to sleep off the rest of the sinus headache.

Friday 5-7-10

Two migraine pills for the headache and I was ready to go. I’ve switched to southern sweet tea instead of the coffee, and a piece of mom’s raisin bread. Mary came and we all went to Lowe’s to check out their garden department.

Later that day…163 bulbs (ooops…I planted Mary’s bulbs in mom’s garden), 16 plants, and 2 packages of seeds and I am dirty, tired, and ready for dinner. Mom’s garden is going to look wonderful when all these plants come up and start blooming. Dinner plate dahlias, iris, snap dragons, rhubarb, red astabile, hydrangea, and gladiolus in red, yellow, pinks, purples, and reds.

Back to BJ’s for dinner (thank you Mary).

We watched mom’s favorite TV shows--wheel of fortune and jeopardy--and then we played canasta.

The best part of the whole day was getting my very first happy mother’s day grandma card in the mail: “Grandma Marrs from Kyler and his mom and dad.” I love it.

Saturday 5-8-10

Larry sent a text message saying he sent mother’s day flowers to Kelly and cottages to mom, Mary, and I. Cottages? Maybe a plant in a cottage style planter? Oh and the end of his message said, “I bought a Droid phone.”

Well the cottages arrived a short time later. Corsages is what he meant, not cottages. What a nice surprise.

Mary and I did a quick shopping trip to Costco and the lunch buffet. Every other aisle had samples, way too many sweets. The best taste test was the chili and cheese tamales and the Kinders bbq sauce on beef trip tips. I bought several bottles of bbq sauce for Larry because that was his only request when I came down.

Mary dropped me off and went home and I went to Lowe’s for garden mulch and to Sears to fix a low tire.

We fixed pizza for dinner and played canasta.

Sunday 5-9-10

Mary picked us up for church and we wore our corsages, Mary has a green rose and white orchid, I had a green carnation and white orchid, and mom had a white gardenia.

It never rains in CA…haha. To the east it is dark rain clouds, to the north it is dark rain clouds, to the south it is grey skies, and from the bedroom I can’t see what it looks like to the west, but probably not sunny.

In church they gave all the mothers a pedometer to measure how many steps a mother takes in a day. Any guesses?

Michael left a happy mother’s day song on my cell phone. I tried to call him back but couldn’t reach him.

James, mom, Mary, Jim, Heather, Poncho, and I celebrated mother’s day with bacon cheese hamburgers, fresh strawberries, chips, brownies, cupcakes, and southern sweet tea. James barbequed the hamburgers; the really big hamburgers, dinner-plate size hamburgers.

Poncho had flowers for Mary, mom and me and Jim and Heather arrived with flowers for each of us also. (I did make it home with my flowers from Jim and Heather)

I had small gifts I made for mom and Mary. Mary gave me a bottle of Secret Obsession Parfum by Calvin Klein, and Marc Jacobs perfume and lotion. Score!

Kelly called to wish me a happy mother’s day. I heard from all my kids, so it was a really good day, a great mother’s day.

After everyone left, mom, Mary, and I played canasta till 11:30 PM.

On the way home mom said “this was a fun day,” and that is what mother’s day was all about--making my mom happy.

Monday 5-10-10

It’s just another day in paradise…or so the song goes. It’s cold, it’s windy, and the rain is on its way. Mom and I spent a quiet morning talking, reading, the paper, and watching TV.

I went to Mary’s in the afternoon to clothes shop in her closet. Mary is a clothes gourmet so when she cleans the closets I love it and Haley loves it because Haley gets her shoes.

Mary’s friend Sid gave her a little book of friendship sayings and he teased her about reading it and said I should read it to her. So right before our canasta game I read the little book to Mary which made her smile and laugh and she could then tell Sid she read the book…sort of.

We checked in on all the relatives since they were on tornado watch, and everyone is okay.

Tuesday 5-11-10

I bought a box to ship home my new wardrobe and assorted gifts. We stopped at FedEx and then mom and I went to Mary’s.

I checked in for my flight on Wednesday, downloaded some music (note to self: bring a bigger memory flash drive next time). Sid came over to help hang Mary’s vintage print in the living room. So how many holes does it take to hang a picture? Two to hang the picture and three more to fix the mistakes. We measured across, down, measured the picture, checked for level, cross hatched marks to mark the spot--ready to hammer in the hooks. Wrong hooks. Sid and I walked over to the hardware store and got the right hooks and now we were ready. No; let’s check it one more time with a level and a square. That meant getting them out of the truck and we had to wash them before we could use them. Measure Twice, cut once is what my dad always said, but this is measure, measure, measure, and one more time to make sure. Okay, now we were ready. But the picture is crooked and not centered. This doesn’t make sense. We checked the marks and everything is evenly spaced on a level line. A new hole to make a correction only it doesn’t work. Again with no success…we don’t know what the problem is. Sid has me help him take the picture off the wall and as we do he notices that one part of the wire is sitting on top of the hanger not caught on the wall hook. Now it is straight. Just don’t look behind the frame or you will have to patch and paint the mistakes that really weren’t.

We had lunch at the buffet, and the back to mom’s to play canasta. We snacked on pepper jack cheese and chips for dinner.

I’m all packed, packed again, and again, I think I can get it all in.

Wednesday 5-12-10

Mom made sure I was up early. We had our morning tea and raisin bread. Mary is bringing another bag of clothes to go in my suitcase….hope it fits. My carryon now holds my birdhouse Richard made for me, my camera, my bottle of perfume from Mary, my aprons mom made me and that is about all that it will hold…oh, I forgot the lemon bars.

Mary arrived and we are off to the Oakland airport. I look a little strange lugging an overstuffed 50.3 pound suitcase, my small carryon that also has my mother’s day flowers from Jim and Heather tucked into the strap, and my new long black suede coat that Mary gave me. I look like I am heading to Alaska…well it is Bellingham.

I cleared security and now I will walk the airport terminals until it is time to board at 12:10 PM. There is always an art display in the Oakland airport and this time it was about bicycles.

There are no flights out of Seattle to Bellingham when I arrive so I will have a three hour layover arriving home at 6:20PM. A long day filled with a sad heart leaving my family and a happy heart to see my husband. Maybe Larry would move to Sacramento????

Well God was watching over me and the 2:35PM flight from Seattle to Bellingham was delayed and I was going to get home early even if my luggage arrives later.

Thursday 5-13-10

No sleep because I had a 7:30 AM board meeting for GRADS.

Vegas....Kelly, Kyler, and Kyle

2010-04-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

4-14-10 Wednesday

I woke up listening to baby Kyler talking with his mom and dad. Kyle had already been to personal training and home for a short break before returning to work. Kyler was lying on his tummy in the middle of his parents’ bed, kicking his feet and look at me like “grandma you are still here!”

Kelly had a hair appointment and left about 12:30 PM. I read to Kyler, he played on his floor mat, moved around in his walker, bounced in his jumper, played in his crib watching and listening to his mobile, and we snuggled up for nap time. Kyler is such a good baby and I am not saying that just because he is my grandson.

Kelly came home with a new cut and color and she looks amazing as always. She fixed chicken coated in French fried onion rings and steamed broccoli for dinner. We then spent a quiet evening watching television and playing with Kyler while Kyle went off to train at the gym for his upcoming fight.

4-15-2010 Thursday

Today was a shopping day. Kelly had asked to wait for her birthday present until I came down and we could spend a girls’ day with the baby shopping. Kelly zipped us down to the south side of Vegas to Town Square. First stop H&M. Bellingham needs an H&M. After a little shopping we had lunch at Tommy Bahamas restaurant. A little more shopping and we were off to Costco.

Starbucks-- ready to drink coffee! Kelly and Kyle don’t drink coffee and I need a morning fix or two. Kelly wanted gummies and baby bell cheese as a treat so we stocked up. Now it was time to go home and fix dinner and let Kyler take a real nap.

Kyle left for the gym after dinner and Kelly, Kyler, and I went out to run a few errands. Back home we had a quiet evening spending time with each other and playing with the baby.

4-16-2010 Friday

Well it looks like we wore baby Kyler out yesterday because he needed a really long nap in the morning before we headed out to run errands.

A new phone for Kelly because hers quit functioning properly, some window shopping, then Kelly had an appointment before we headed home again. Kyler had a bottle and fell asleep in Kelly’s arms and I fell asleep on the sofa next to them.

Kelly fixed a Mexican chicken and bean dish for dinner, which was really good and I will have to try it for Larry.

Kyler and I spent the evening at home while Kelly went to the gym to take photos of Kyle and film video of him for his MMA fight coming up in May.

Kyler stopped on the way home and bought ice cream and Kelly got a movie. Kyler had his cereal, a bath, and was ready for bed and then we kicked back on the sofa to watch the movie. Because Kyle is in training he didn’t get any ice cream so it was really sweet of him to buy it for us and then have to sit there and watch us eat it.

4-17-2010 Saturday

We had a late morning before Kyle headed off to the gym and Kelly and I took baby Kyler shopping again. Kelly bought a cute little pair of grey pants and a green tank top to wear tomorrow night when Kyle and Kelly celebrate their first anniversary.

I bought the cutest little black sandals with studs and rhinestones. I like bling.

Kelly and Kyler took a nap after we got home to rest up for the crawfish feed we were going to that night. One of Kyle’s co-workers ordered crawfish from Louisiana, just like Larry does when we have our crawfish boil. Larry said “it was just wrong” when I told him where we were going. He loves crawfish while I like a couple and I am done. Larry said we just might have to have our own crawfish feed this year when I get home from California.

Kelly and Kyle brought baby Kyler and me home and then they went to a Creedence Clearwater Revival concert. Of course Kelly knew all the songs and sang along which surprised Kyle. Kyle is more of a rock and roll, heavy metal kind of guy and Kelly is classic rock, oldies, country, Sinatra, sixties, disco, eighties, kind of girl.

Baby Kyler and I cuddled up on the sofa while I fed him a bottle and held him until he fell asleep. I had him tucked in his bed when his mom and dad got home.

4-18-2010 Sunday

Happy anniversary Kelly and Kyle. And many more!

Kelly and Kyler surprised me with morning smiles and laughs today. Kyler was trying to crawl over grandma. Kyle had already left for the guy and Kelly and the baby had already been up since 6:00 AM. It was time for grandma to get up.

Kyler returned with flowers (tulips, Kelly’s favorite flower) and a card for Kelly. Then changed clothes and they left for the pro rodeo bull riding event at UNLV.

When the kids returned I let them take a nap while baby Kyler slept in my arms. There are things you forget about having babies, like when they are asleep and snuggled into the crook of your neck and you can feel their warm breath as they slowly exhale. It is a sweet moment to savor. I think Kelly and I must have worn the little guy out shopping the last few days. When he woke up, Kyle came and got him, change his diaper, and Kyler was ready for a bottle and play time.

Kelly and Kyle are going out to dinner and a movie to celebrate their anniversary so I have more grandma time with Kyler. Yippee!

The CMA awards were on the television and I thought Kyler might like the music, which he did, singing along, watching, and dancing with grandma. When I had worn him out and almost had him asleep, his head turned towards me, his eyes almost completely closed, his eyes popped open, his turned his head to the TV and tried to move his body around. Seems like the little guy likes Carrie Underwood and wanted to see her perform before he gave up and went to sleep.

4-19-2010 Monday

Kyle left early for the gym. Kelly got up and cooked his breakfast and a couple of extra hard boiled eggs for me when I got up. No, I am not a 6:00 AM kind of person anymore, unless we are on a Harley ride with the group. A bottle of Starbucks coffee and I was ready for the day.

Kelly and I talked while Kyler took his morning nap. Kyle came home and they filled the baby pool with water and put Kyler in it. He didn’t like this and let them know loud and clear it was not a big warm pool at Hooters, like last weekend. We tried warming the water up but he still wasn’t a fan of the outdoor baby pool. So back inside for a splash in the bathtub and then nap time for the three of them.

Kyle headed back to the gym and Kelly and I took Kyler grocery shopping Kyler had peas for the first time and while he didn’t hate them as much as the green beans, they are definitely not high on his favorite foods list.

4-20-2010 Tuesday

Kyler took his mid morning nap snuggled in my arms. After he woke up and had his bottle he played in his red GT race car walker. It was playing “When the Saints Go Marching In” and I told Kelly the grandpa Larry would be so proud. I thought it was pretty cool that Kyler could turn the sounds on and Kelly laughed saying Kyler probably pushed that button by chewing on it.

It was just a kicked back ordinary day, household chores, playing with the baby, and spending time with Kelly. Kelly fixed chicken with asparagus, spinach, onions, with a red sauce for dinner.

After Kyle came home he spent some guy time…watching fighting shows in the living room while Kelly, Kyler, and I snuggled up in the big bed to watch “chick shows” and Kyler had his last bottle of the day and drifted off to sleep- and Kelly and I had popcorn.

4-21-2010 Wednesday

Kelly is sending baby clothes home with me for the girls at GRADS. She has more than she can use and duplicates, and things Kyler has outgrown. We dropped off a large box at FedEx rather than trying to overstuff my suitcase and pay a penalty at the airport.

We stopped at Lowe’s to pick up supplies to cover Kyler’s windows with film to block the light. I told Kelly when it was done that I wouldn’t give up my day job to be an installer. No cutting mat, no rotary cutter, no yardstick….don’t look to close and keep the shades pulled down.

Kelly fixed salmon for Kyle’s dinner, low fat, low carb, low calorie meals while in training. When Kyle was gone we had artichokes and pasta with butter and garlic. I fed Kyler his oatmeal before bath time.

I checked in online for my flight home, paid for my bag, laid out my clothes for tomorrow, and packed my suitcase.

It gets harder and harder to leave my family behind when I go home. It’s not that I don’t want to go home; I just wish I could put everyone within a few miles of each other instead of a few hours by plane.

It’s been a great trip holding my grandson Kyler. Being able to kiss him and play with him. He will come visit grandma in June ,but I am sure he will be much bigger and hope he still remembers grandma.

Watching Kelly with her son has been amazing. She is such a good mother, patient and calm even on Kyler’s fussiest of days. She lives on little sleep and just keeps going. If it doesn’t get done today, there is always tomorrow as long as her husband and baby are taken care of the other stuff can wait.

Kyle comes home for lunch, eats, and plays with his son. After work he comes straight in the house to find Kyler and play with him if he is awake. After Kyler’s evening cereal, it’s bath time and that is baby and daddy time. He changes diapers (even the dirty ones) and cleans up messy spit ups.

4-22-2010 Thursday

It’s getting dark outside. The rain clouds are blowing in and it looks like it will be a bumpy ride out of Vegas. Baby Kyler wakes grandma up by crawling on me. Kelly and I had our Starbucks coffee before we had to get ready to leave for the airport.

On the way to the airport it rained, it hailed, there was lighting. Traffic wasn’t too bad and Kelly chauffeured Kyler and grandma so we could spend more time in the back seat talking and bonding.

It was hard to kiss them both good-bye. Maybe Kelly didn’t notice the red eyes and I blamed the tears on the rain.

I checked my luggage, cleared security, bought lunch and was ready to board my plane and go home. Larry said it always takes me a few days to adjust when I get home. He’s right, but it’s not easy to leave those you love behind.

Hello
Good-bye’
Once
Twice
3,4,4,5
7-8 buckle my seat belt
9-10 here we go again
California here I come
Right back where I started from
But Vegas is calling
A soft lullaby
Then back again, back again
To WA state
To the man that I love
The cat that waits
The dog the wishes I would stay away
We’ll settle in for a summer of fun
Then I’ll start this madness
All over again

From my friend Michelle

2010-04-23T15:35:00.001-07:00

My friend Michelle sent me this little poem. It made me laugh and made my day.

Unknown

He didn't like the casserole and he didn't like my cake.

He said my biscuits were too hard not like his mother used to make.

I didn't perk the coffee right He didn't like the stew.

I didn't mend his socks the way his mother used to do.

I pondered for an answer I was looking for a clue.

Then I turned around and smacked the shit out of him...

Like his mother used to do.

Day 2...Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

2010-04-14T22:57:00.000-07:00

I woke up listening to baby Kyler talking with his mom and dad. Kyle had already been to personal training and returned home for a short break before he reported back to work. Kyler was laying on his tummy in the middle of Kelly and Kyles bed, kicking his feet and look at me, like, "Grandma you're still here!"

Kelly had a hair appointment and left about 2:30 PM. Baby Kyler and I read books, he played on his floor mat, scooted about in his little red car walker, bounced in his jumper, layed in his crib and watched and listened to his moblile, and we snuggled up for his nap time. Kyler is such a good baby.

Kelly fixed chicken dredged in french fried onion ring crumbles, and steamed broccoli for dinner. She is a really good cook and quite creative. Kyle went to the gym to train for his fight in May and Kelly and Kyler and grandma visited. Kyler did better eating his dinner with me out of the room, so I watched from the dinning room. Messy face, fingers, tummy, toes....it was bath time when he was done.

Tuesday April 11th, 2010...I'm off to see my grandbaby Kyler

2010-04-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

It’s 7:00 AM and I just want to go back to sleep and I can’t wait to get on the plane to see my daughter Kelly, grandson Kyler, and son-in-law Kyle. The cat is pacing, demanding attention, and marking my suitcase for the umpteenth time. Ally knows I’m leaving. Downstairs the dog is siddled up as close to larry as he can get when I came downstairs. Deuce looks at me and back to Larry. He knows something is up, but unlike the cat, he hasn’t figured out what a suitcase means.

Larry drops me a the airport, helps me get my bags inside, but I then sent him home rather than wait around for security to open up. If I wasn’t so excited to get to Vegas, I could have taken a later flight and received a free ticket because the plane is over sold. Maybe on the way home it they need someone to bump, I’ll take them up on the offer.
As I wait for my plane to arrive, I see the Alaksa Airlines painted in University of Washington colors. I’m not a UW fan but my youngest son Michael will be attending UW to earn his masters in the fall of 2010.
A short thirty minute hop and I am in Seattle waiting for the second leg o fmy trip to Vegas. I slept the whole way from Bellingham to Seattle and will probably sleep all the way to Vegas. I am only hours from hlding my precious grandson. Kyler is truly a gift from God whose hand held him and cradled him in those first three months of life when he was born three months premature and just under 3 pounds. Now he is almost 16 pounds at seven months and doing just fine.
When I stepped off the escalator and looked straight ahead, Kelly and Kyler were waiting for me. Kyler smiled when I talked to him but he was so busy looking all around the airport at the lights, the advertisements, and sounds, just mezmerzied. A quick trip home and we stopped at Poppeyes on base to get Kelly lunch and a surprise snack for Kyle. We Larry will be so sad because we don’t have a poppeyes at home.
Kyle arrived shortly after did and we spent a quiet evening playing with Kyler and watching tv. I watched Kelly feed Kyler his cereal and sweep potato and then watched Kyler gave Kyler a bath. While Kelly fed Kyler is last bottle of the evening, I started a load of laundry and folded clothes.

Not the Vegas nightlife most people think of when they say I’m going to Vegas, but it’s all I need…family.

Hope

2010-04-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul.

And sings the tune

Without the words,

And never stops at all.

Emily Dickinson

Macaroni and Tomato Juice Side Dish...Ozark Southern Comfort

2010-04-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

When I was little one of my favorite side dishes that my mom would fix for dinner was macaroni with onions and tomato juice. Don’t scrunch up your nose if you have never tried it. In fact I would fill my plate with the pasta and just skip everything else if I could get away with it. This is one of my comfort foods when you live far from family, you are having one of those days, or nothing else sounds good, this is it for me.

I tried fixing it for my kids when they were little, but they are the pasta and butter or white sauce kind of eaters. That was okay with me because then I didn’t have to share and I had leftovers for several days. And yes it is better the next day or the next.

I love tomatoes! Tomatoes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, sliced with salt sprinkled on them, on a sandwich, on a hamburger, or whole tomatoes right out of the garden, just rinsed off and ready to enjoy.

Today is one of those days…I’m tired, moving kind of slow, lots of little things to do and not getting them done fast, hungry but don’t really want anything…except mom’s macaroni and tomato juice casserole.

Recipe:

1 pkg. pasta, elbows, bowties, macaroni, your choice

1 large sweet onion

1 - 46 oz. can tomato juice

Salt & pepper

Dice onion finely and add to a 2 qt casserole.

Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Add to casserole.

Add tomato juice to cover, it should not soupy but definitely should not be dry. (You may need to add more tomato juice during cooking).

Salt and pepper to taste. (My grandmother Chloe loved black pepper so I use learned to love pepper at a young age. My friend eggs always had a nice black coating over them. Pepper just makes everything better).

Cover casserole dish and bake at 3250 for 45 minutes. Check during baking time to make sure pasta does not absorb all the tomato juice.

I hope you enjoy this recipe from our simple Missouri Southern roots.

A Bird House With Style

2010-03-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

This a picture of the birdhouse that my friend Richard, a talented artist living in CA decorated for me. I will bring it home when I go to visit next time. Beads, jewelry, glitz, and glam. Thank you Richard.

Wed. Art Card Donation

2010-02-25T14:23:00.000-08:00

This card used a technique that the Glitz Design team taught at CHA and was featured on http://vimeo.com/9455269 Cardstock, rub-on letters, coffee fitlers, scrapbook paper, hot glue, rhinestones, shimmerz paints, http://www.shimmerzpaints.com/

Stampadoodle Art Card Donation

2010-02-21T17:55:00.000-08:00

Wednesday art card donation: cardstock, chipboard bird, vintage millinery flowers, embossing powder, woven ribbon background.

Shape Collage

2010-02-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

I found this wonderful website that you can download for free a program that allows you to use your photographs and put them into a shape. The basic program without buying it includes a heart which I am using in my grandson Kyler's scrapbook page for Feb.

To download the program go to: http://www.shapecollage.com/

The Big Bad Wolf and the Gullible Sheep

2010-01-31T17:07:00.000-08:00

The flock of sheep stood within the enclosed pen surrounded by tall fencing, peacefully enjoying the sweet green grass and the safety from evil forces lurking outside. Because the sheep were trusting they welcomed the new black sheep into their fold even though they were different; actually, because while the flock all had white wool, and to the naked eye someone might mistake them for being identical, they each had unique personalities.
All of the sheep--black and white-- frolicked and played happily within a set of boundaries that was flexible enough to allow for changes and fresh pastures as the enclosure was moved to fresh fields. However, although everything appeared serene and calm, lurking among them was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, so cleverly disguised that not even the shepherd knew a danger lurked within arm’s reach.

Methodically, systematically, meticulously, precisely, whichever word you choose to use, the wolf began to plot his moves. One day the wolf was standing inside the enclosure with all the other sheep and the next day he was on the outside looking in. He was hungry for more than grass but until his trap was set he could only pretend as he tried to forget about his hunger pains.

Even though the black sheep had been accepted into the fold, because of their own insecurities they began to stir and want all the other sheep to try to become like them. They forgot that they chose to ask for recognition and admission into the flock; they weren't recruited to be part of the flock.

Restless in not being able to change white sheep into black sheep grew among the black sheep and the wolf watched as he circled the pen in his sheep’s clothing. He encouraged the black sheep to rebel, to jump the fence and join him in freedom and greener pastures. The black sheep were fearful of the unknown but defiant in wanting their own ways, and this led them to being easily swayed by the hypnotic words of the wolf as he whispered promises of a great future in their ears.

After jumping back and forth over the fence several times and seeing no immediate danger, the black sheep did not return to the enclosure at night but still stayed close to the fence until morning light. Each day they strayed a little farther away from the safety of the flock and safety of the structure the shepherds had provided, getting drunk on the clover, alfalfa, and forbs until their eyes were glazed over and a fog clouded reality.

The wolf continued to wait. He was starved by now but why settle for one of the sheep that had strayed when he could if he waited patiently, savor a feast for weeks and months to come. The black sheep would baa in taunting sounds to the other sheep who watched from the safety of the fencing and under the shepherds' care. Baa…baa…baa!

A frequent alcoholic stupor and the black sheeps' own stupidity in thinking they were invincible, led them farther astray until one day they could no longer see the safety of the enclosure or even find their way back to safety if they had tried. The wolf had managed to cleverly erase all paths back to the safety of the pen and slowly led the black sheep into the wilderness and his own pen with cleverly hidden brambles that would prevent the black sheep from leaving once they were herded inside.

This was not a quick process but eventually the Big Bad Wolf succeeded in luring the self-satisfied, but weak, black sheep into his holding pen. He fed the smug black sheep (they were so proud of themselves--after all, they could defy tradition and order) fattening them up with food and especially drink, knowing that when he relished his first banquet of braised mutton, lamb chops, shanks, flanks, and racks, that he would be victorious over the weaker of breed, those who would normally be culled out of herd because they couldn't play nice with all the other sheep.

Even better than anticipating the feast, the Big Bad Wolf was excited about the day he could throw off the disgusting deceitful disguise that he had endured for so long in order to accomplish what he considered his Pièce de résistance.

The original flock continued on with a long life, cared for by the shepherds, and they were praised not only for their loyalty but they produced the finest wool in all the world; the white sheep were more far more valuable to the shepherds alive than just being fattened up to serve on someone’s dinner plate and inflated ego.

A Layer of Dust....

2010-01-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

My friend Marina sent me this today. It has been around a while but sometimes we need to revisit things like this to put perspective back into our lives.

Remember...a layer of dust protects the wood beneath it.

'A house becomes a home when you can write 'I love you' on the furniture.'

I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect - 'in case someone came over. Finally I realized one day that no-one came over; they were all out living life and having fun!

NOW, when people visit, I don't have to explain the 'condition' of my home

They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun.

If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice.

Life is short. Enjoy it!

Dust if you must .......

But wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter, bake cookies or a cake and lick the spoon or plant a seed, ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time . . . .

With shrimp to eat, rivers to swim and mountains to climb, music, to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and life to lead.

Dust if you must,

But the world's out there with the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow, a shower of rain. This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must , but bear in mind, old age will come and it's not kind. . .

And when you go - and go you must - you, yourself will make more dust!

Share this with all the wonderful people in your life.

I JUST DID.

It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.

author: Anonymous

Kyler - altered photo

2010-01-14T19:23:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2009

2010-01-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

Kyle, Kelly, & Kyler Christmas 2009

2010-01-14T19:19:00.001-08:00

Dec. Scrapbook page for Baby Kyler

2010-01-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

Paper, felt tree, paper ornaments, glitter glue,

Nov. Scrapbook page for Baby Kyler

2010-01-14T18:53:00.000-08:00

Pieced paper turkey, vinyl leaves, glitter glue, chipboard trees.

Oct. Scrapbook Page for Baby Kyler

2010-01-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

Paper banner, ribbons, acetate, velvet paper, felt letters.

The Camo Quilt Project

2010-01-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

The Camo Quilt Project is an amazing effort to provide a compact individual, handmade quilt sent to troops serving in the middle east. If you would like to find out more information to request a quilt for a military family member or would like to contribute, please clik on this link to find more information: http://camoquiltproject.blogspot.com/

The Mayonnaise Jar and Coffee Cup of Life

2010-01-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me this and it was the first thing I read when I opened my email today. Thanks Dave L.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar...

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things- your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions-things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else-the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with God. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal."

Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand. One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Author Unknown

The Great Christmas Adventure Part II

2010-01-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

12-26-09

Packed, dressed, and ready to go; Well…not ready, exactly. We drove to NAFB to see the kids one more time. Kyle was cooking breakfast for us when we arrived. What a treat. We spent the morning visiting before we needed to leave for the airport. It is so hard to say good-bye. My heart is torn.

Haley and my mom met us at the Santa Rosa airport and we s topped for dinner at Applebee’s. We had a nice ride back to Concord. Haley knows this road well as she commutes to work four days a week in Santa Rosa.

12-27-09

Larry and I attended church with mom and then we fixed sandwiches for lunch. Larry helped mom fix orange/pineapple/carrot salad for family Christmas at Mary’s tonight, and I ran a few quick errands.

Yvette, Ethan, Dennis, Midge, Stacy, Mary, Poncho, Mom, Patty, Jerome, James, Michael C, Haley, Melissa,, Richard, Larry, and I enjoyed chicken enchilada casserole, green salad, mom and Larry’s salad, rolls, mom’s iced tea, lots of desserts including Yvette’s homemade banana pudding.

The Gift Exchange: I am sure everyone has played the game where you pick a gift and the next person may steal it away from you. Pick a package, open it, fall in love with it, and someone takes it away from you. Lots of fun, laughs, and in the end I think everyone had a gift they were happy with. Yvette had Richards’s birdhouse, Patty stole Michael’s black and pink scrapbook tote, Haley had a travel mug that plugs in the cigarette lighter, and Jerome had a room diffuser set.

My job, when I am there to attend family Christmas, is to sort the gifts into bags for each person. I was sequestered away in Mary’s bedroom. Easy you say. 18 bags, stuffed to over flowing, and boxes of items leftover. I had to think about each person as I picked what went into their bag. Some of the bags you almost couldn’t lift. Mary really out does herself on this night spoiling the family and friends. Two hours later, I emerged from the bedroom, tired, but my task had been completed.

After the gift exchange Mary and I gave each person their bag of presents and the fun began. Over whelmed!!! So much fun! Originally this was called stocking night but nothing fits into a stocking anymore so we have moved onto gift bags,--and some really big gift bags.

Soon everyone was gone and we went back to mom’s after trying to clean and straighten Mary’s kitchen the best we could.

12-28-09

Monday was a quiet day. Football, football, football, reading for Larry, a quick errand for me in the afternoon. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and visiting with mom. Mary came for dinner and Larry fixed hamburgers and chips.

12-29-09

A lazy morning sleeping in for Larry and me. Coffee! Kelly called to tell us that Kyler had his doctor appointment and is now 10 pounds 4 ounces. Jim called and he will be down tomorrow afternoon for dinner.

Mom and Larry fixed leftovers and had homemade chocolate cream pie that mom whipped up this morning. I went out with Mary in the afternoon to deliver toys to low income neighborhoods in Pittsburg and Concord.

This was the first time I had ever gone with Mary. We layered on the clothes because it would be late when we returned. We had one Ford F350 truck with a full size tilt trailer, another full size truck with a trailer, and a smaller truck. Each of these was filled with toys. We would pull into a neighborhood that Mary, one of the pastors at the church, and her friends had already determined could use a little extra cheer, and Santa would hop out of the truck and start trying to find parents and children. At first there would be no one, then one child, then a few more, and then the truck would be surrounded. We kept the back of the truck filled with toys for Santa’s helpers to hand out.

One young man walking across a dark grassy area in a gated low income housing project stopped when I asked him if he had children. He was dressed in baggy clothes, oversized, parka, looked more like a teenager on his way out somewhere. He told me he had two kids and would be right back. He returned with about a six year old boy and a five year old girl. When each child had two toys and they were leaving, the young father stopped, turned around and said “God bless you”. That made my night. A young father who was acknowledging that God had sent these toys.

One little girl ran up to Santa and hugged him. Another little girl called out to her family, “Santa is at the door” when he knocked to see if anyone could use some toys. Santa walked up and down, the sidewalks letting children and their parents know his sleigh and elves had gifts for them. The surprised looks on parents’ faces and the anticipation on children’s faces were memories to be treasured.

There were also coats, hats, and scarves to hand out. Blankets, teddy bears, beanie babies, and transformers. The remaining items were taken Thursday morning to Antioch to be distributed to families in that community. It was an amazing journey that began at 3:00 PM at the church and we arrived back at the church at 11:00 PM.

We stopped to have dinner about half way through the night, rest, and get ready to finish up.

12-30-09

I did the Costco run for groceries. Jim requested pork chops, gravy, and rolls and that was what I was going to feed him. We opened presents and enjoyed Christmas again. The kids gave Larry a gift certificate for his Kindle book reader and I have a beautiful frame filled with photos from of my children at all different ages. It almost made me cry to look at some of the photos I have not seen in years. It was getting late and Jim has to work tomorrow, his last night in his sector before changing to his new one. Jim did however leave with jelly, leftovers for lunch the next day, and pie. I hate saying good-bye to my kids!

12-31-09

Larry cooked steaks, baked potatoes, rolls, and salad for New Years Eve dinner. We had a bottle of sparkling cranberry to toast the New Year and Mary came for dinner. We watched the ball drop in NYC three times and welcomed in 2010 with a toast, then it was bed time.

1-1-10

A quiet day reading, eating leftovers, talking, watching T.V. (football), the Rose parade, even a short nap. Mom and I played canasta later in the evening. Billie – 0, mom 2. Mom said I needed to win a game before I went home but she won all three in the end.

1-2-10

Jerry and Laura arrived just hours before Larry and I left for the airport. A short visit but it has been so long since we have been together. Mary drove us to Santa Rosa with a Starbucks stop in route. We kissed her good-bye and checked in.

We had time for a late lunch and then it was time for TSA security screening. Not! We were told our flight was cancelled. Seems the pilots were too tired to fly.

The airline rebooked our flight for the next morning and paid for us to stay at the Fountain Grove Inn in Santa Rosa. We had an early dinner at the Equus Restaurant which is part of the hotel. $8.00 for a meal in the airport is a joke, much less out of the airport, but that is the food allowance Alaska Airlines gives you. Crab cakes and a salad with Hazelnuts and Havarti cheese for me, ribs and turkey soup for Larry. SF sourdough French bread! I could have eaten a whole loaf. This was off the appetizer/small bites menu.

Okay it’s not so bad, right? A nice hotel, dinner, a quiet evening just the two of us.

Before bed I did our web check in for our morning flight and found out the Alaska Airline agent had not booked us to Bellingham. Santa Rosa to Portland to Seattle! This must be a mistake!

No mistake. The flights to Bellingham were full and the agent had just decided not to tell us. If I hadn’t checked we would have arrived in Seattle with no flight and another night in a hotel and more $8.00 meal vouchers.

We can’t get home. They won’t pay for a rental car. No shuttle service available. It’s a hotel and fly on the next available flight, not necessarily Monday, the next available flight, no guarantees. I have a house sitter, cat sitter, and dog sitter.

I was told I picked a busy weekend to fly! Yes, I said, and that is why I booked months in advance. Larry said be calm, I said, just let me take care of it. I was calm, but I was determined. I told Alaska Airlines to just get me home. They said they can’t overbook a flight, but the webpage tells you they do it all the time and that is why you should get to the airport early.

Finally after being told twice, talking with a supervisor, then two supervisors with Alaska Airlines, I mentioned the “passenger’s bill of rights” and we were booked on a flight from Seattle to Bellingham. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Thank you Shelly at AA you got authorization to overbook the flight and we had tickets home. I am hopeful but reserved. I’ll wait to see what happens tomorrow.

It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.

1-3-10

Check-in. Ericka the ticket agent who screwed up and didn’t tell me she didn’t book us into Bellingham all the way home and assured me she would be there in the morning to help us if we had any problems, was nowhere to be found. No surprise.

What we then discovered is that we could have also been booked from Santa Rosa to Seattle and skipped the Portland stop, but now it was too late because that flight was booked. Then Ericka arrived, late, and tried to charge me for our bags that I paid for online for my flight yesterday. I explained I was not going to pay for our bags again and she agreed. I also informed her that she didn’t book our flight home yesterday and I was not happy with her. “Oh I’m sorry” she said in a voice I am sure she uses all day long to cover up her mistakes.

On board, on our way home!

When you have a “special flight” I guess there is no regular spot for the plane when it arrives in Portland, so it parks at the end of a distant concourse. This had to be one of the longest walks from the plane to the terminal I have ever done. First order of business: check in and make sure we are on the flight to Seattle. Done; so now we can have lunch before it is time to board.

Again we arrived in Seattle and checked in first thing. We were not going to miss this flight, especially since it had been overbooked. Three hours later and we were on our last leg of the trip home.

Michael arrived minutes after we landed and after we picked up or luggage we were home by 7:00 PM.

A wonderful vacation and memorable visits with lots of family!

The Great Christmas Adventure Part I

2010-01-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

12-21-09

The packages were mailed last week--Kelly’s to a secret location in Las Vegas so she can’t peek. Larry vacuumed the house, I emptied the dishwasher, the refrigerator is stocked with food, and the cat and dog also have a supply of food, litter, and treats. The dog is looking forlorn, the cat is fretting, and we are on our way. Grandma and grandpa are going to spend Christmas with Kelly, Kyle and baby Kyler. Michael is staying home to take care of the animals--our babies.

It’s been 2 ½ months since I have seen Kyler and he is no longer a tiny fragile baby in the hospital NICU unit. He is thriving, growing, gaining weight, very precious and his pictures don’t do him justice. We are hours away from Las Vegas--Christmas lights like only Vegas can do.

Trying to think healthy as we begin our two week vacation, I bought sandwiches to eat on the plane and avoided all the snacks and candy. Arriving days before Christmas will mean more than enough of eating out, over-eating, or both. Larry read one of his book he downloaded on his Kindle and I cat napped for most of the airplane ride. I couldn’t really drop off to sleep because I was so excited to see my daughter, my son-in-law, and grandbaby. Kelly is such a good mom and has become an expert on what a preemie needs to stay healthy. Kyle is working 12 hour days so having him get us through the security gate at the Nellis Air Force Base may be the extent of visiting with him until Christmas.

We were on the tarmac, taxing to the terminal, luggage, and rental car: we had reserved a full size but they gave us an upgrade to a Mercury grand marquis. This is a huge car, but so much space for the luggage in the trunk and a baby seat if we needed to use it. Next stop the Stratosphere to check in, drop off our luggage and head north. We have a room with a view of the strip, well sort of, with all the building going on, new condo tower blocks the old view, but it is a nice room.

Kelly met us at the gate to sign for our passes and then back to the house. Kyle was asleep but got up to give us hugs and kisses before we sent him back to bed. Baby Kyler had been sleeping with dad so he was drowsy so I held him for the very first time, gave him a kiss, and then we went back to our hotel.

12-22-09

Kelly called about 8:00 AM to say she was on her way to the hotel. Kelly and baby Kyler arrived with everything Larry and I would need to care of Kyler while Kelly went to her hair appointment. Larry went to get Starbucks coffee downstairs and the moment Kelly closed the door to our hotel room, Kyler snuggled up on my shoulder, closed his eyes, and went to sleep. I propped myself up on the bed with lots of pillows behind me and pulled up a blanket and enjoyed holding my grandson. Larry returned and we drank coffee, talked, and watched the news all the while baby Kyler slept on. Kelly came back about 11:00 AM to find Kyler still asleep. We packed up a few things and headed to NAFB.

Larry and I spent the afternoon at Kelly and Kyle’s home. Kelly fixed lunch and Kyle came home to join us on his break. Then it was back to work for Kyle and Kelly took a nap. I fed Kyler and then he napped on my shoulder. This was a luxury for Kelly and something we could do for her. Larry and I spent the afternoon reading, talking, watching T.V. as we took turns holding a sleeping baby.

Kelly fixed dinner and I held Kyler. Someone needed to hold him, and it should be me! Kyle was off duty and arrived home to visit before Kelly took us back to the hotel. The base is on drill and tonight there was only one way in and one way out. The puzzle was to figure out what maze of streets we needed to maneuver around to find that entrance and exit.

For most of the day I held a baby, my grandson, on my shoulder, or in my arms. Sleeping peacefully and loved more than he will ever know. So tiny and yet almost 6 pounds bigger than the last time I saw him in the hospital 2 ½ months ago. From 2 pounds 15 ½ pound on 9-1-09 to almost 10 pounds today.

12-23-09

7:30 AM wide awake and ready to go. Breakfast: Starbucks coffee, scones, oatmeal, and bananas. I am the room service delivery person for Larry.

Off to Bass Pro for Santa pictures with Kelly, Kyle, and Kyler. We went through the Silverton Lodge, watched the divers feed the fish in the floor to ceiling aquarium. We got our time slot for pictures with Santa and then Kelly, Kyle and Larry had a little competition at the shooting gallery. We did some window shopping and then it was time for pictures. Kelly and Kyle also sat on Santa and Mrs. Clauses lap.

Back to the house where we left baby Kyler with Kyle and we went grocery shopping. This was one very full shopping cart when we finally checked out. Good thing we had the oversized trunk to put it all in.

Kelly and Kyle went out for dinner and Larry and I babysat while the kids had date night. Kyler slept on.

12-24-09

7:30 AM wake up call. Kelly is sick and needs to go to the doctor so I left Larry asleep and went to take care of Kyler.

 Baby asleep

 Laundry started

 Dishwasher started

 Laundry folded

 Baby awake

 Baby changed

Kelly came home and she napped with baby Kyler while I went back to get Larry to do some shopping. Larry and I stopped at Sunrise Hospital NICU to leave a thank you card from us and the kids, and a box of chocolates as a thank you for caring for baby Kyler and helping his parents through a very stressful three months.

We stopped in at H-D Vegas to do a little shopping, more grocery shopping, and then back to Kelly’s. I snuck over to Marissa’s house to pick up the Christmas Eve presents. Larry fixed prime rib, salad, shrimp, and French bread; Marissa and Brian joined us for dinner. While Larry cooked, I held Kyler and the bigger kids decorated Christmas cookies that I had previously made and shipped.

With dinner done, Kelly and Marissa had a surprise planned for us. We took two cars to go and see the Christmas lights in the North West part of the city. We tuned the radio to 94.9, backed in the vehicles and listened to the music and watched the light show on a very well decorated house. This was an unexpected treat and I am glad Kelly knew about it.

Back to the house to open Christmas Eve presents. What could they be? Pajamas! Surprise!

Time for Larry and me to go home to our hotel.

12-25-09

9:00 AM Kelly called and by 9:30 AM we were on our way. First we made a stop at Marissa and Brian’s house to pick up the rest of the packages where they had been stored for a week without Kelly knowing. Sorry Marissa, I’ll find a new place next year so Kelly won’t bug you. It was fun to spoil Kyle, Kelly, and Kyler. There were some personal items, things for the house, lots of clothes for Mr. Kyler, and books, board games, and things for the “man cave”.

The kids gave Larry and me a frame filled with photos of baby Kyler. There could not have been a more perfect present.

Kelly had bought a ham and Larry had the cooking duties. The menu was ham, biscuits, yams, green bean casserole, shrimp, salad, olives, Boston cream pie, Banana cream pie (when you are told you are buying Boston and find out when you get home it is Banana, we have to buy the right one, even if you have way too much desert for 7 people), and a birthday cake for Jesus, since this is the reason for the season to celebrate.

Kelly and Kyle took a mid-afternoon nap while Larry worked in the kitchen and I held Kyler. Okay I didn’t hold him all day because he was no longer sleeping at night because he wanted someone to hold him. I put Kyler in his bouncy seat and did laundry.

Marissa, Brian, and another friend of Kyle’s from work, Thise, joined us for dinner. There was so much food leftover! Split pea soup with ham, broccoli and ham casserole, egg and ham omelets, they may have to freeze some. The boys retired to the “man cave” to play poker, the girls played monopoly in the dining room, and I snuggled up on the sofa with Kyler.

It’s a wonderful life!

Michael called this morning and opened his last present while we talked on the speaker phone. It was the black bowler hat he had wanted and he seemed pleased. Michael was going to spend the day and have dinner with friends.

Jim called and we had a nice visit; he will drive down to my moms and spend a day with us when we get to California. Christmas again!

Merry Christmas to our family and friends

2009-12-21T02:35:00.001-08:00

Turn off the music player at the bottom of the page before you play this video.

Wed. 12-2-09 Art Card Donation

2009-12-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

Specialist Aaron Aamot...A Hero Comes Home

2009-11-12T21:19:00.001-08:00

Today the oversized American flag that flies in our front yard is at half-staff. Specialist Aaron Aamot’s body was returned to Ferndale, WA today to be laid to rest. Aaron is from Custer WA and attended Ferndale schools. Ferndale is just south of Custer both are small towns, just like so many other little towns dotted across the USA who have suffered a loss of their local heroes.

You see the news on TV, read it in the newspaper, it comes across the internet, and it is not until you are standing in a crowded street, no one is talking, it’s cold but no one is leaving, and everyone is waiting for a hearse to pass by, that it all hits home.

Friends who started Whatcom Homefront, that sends care packages to soldiers in war zones sent me an email and asked that I send it out to all my friends, which I promptly did. Then our local Harley-Davidson dealer gave permission to send the email to our Harley Owners Group which we did. We posted it on our chapter Facebook page and our chapter blog. A simple request, line the streets with people holding an American flag and signs to show support for the family and honor this young man who lost his life serving his country.

Waiting silently on the sidewalk in the cold crisp autumn air an Alaska Airlines plane circled overhead to line up for landing. This must be Aaron’s flight home. And then the unexpected, the Alaska Airlines plane circled Ferndale one more time before landing. Aaron’s last salute to his home town and those waiting to honor him.

Tears streamed down the solemn faces of those standing quietly holding American flags as the hearse finally passed by proceeded by a van with the color guard inside. Then the family drove by in multiple vehicles, and you could see the pain on their faces and their tear streaked cheeks as they looked out at the crowd who were watching them.

Young children, grandparents, and every age in between, people who didn’t even know Aaron or his family, but we all came to honor this young man who gave all for his country. Retired and active military personnel saluted as the hearse drove by; a WWII Marine in his dress uniform stood at attention with his flag and a sign.

I didn’t know the family. I didn’t need to know them to stand and hold a flag in his honor. When the motorcade procession was over people began to drift away from Main Street, stopping in front of the funeral home to place flowers in a make shift memorial and leaving their flags in a large garden pot by the door as they walked by.

May God bless this family and heal their breaking hearts from the sadness and grief.

Baby Kyler 11-09-2009

2009-11-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

Bathtime
6 pounds 11 ounces and 19 inches long

Wednesday art card donation for charity

2009-10-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday art card donation for Stampadoodle. Watercolor paper, acrylic paints, watercolors, ribbon.

Kyler...eyes wide open 10-24-09

2009-10-24T14:40:00.001-07:00

The Trike...after chrome

2009-10-24T14:27:00.001-07:00

The Four Agreements

2009-10-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

My life is great, husband, children, grandbaby, family, friends, but every once in awhile you hit a few bumps and it causes you to step back and try to figure out how to get make things right in your world. My son Michael sent me this excert from the book The Four Agreements. A friend shared this with him when he was having a few bad days.

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

2. Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.

Baby Kyler

2009-10-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

Kyler is now 5 pounds, nursing from a bottle, wearing t-shirts, sleeping in an open bassinet, and had his air tube removed. He does not like being burped. He is healthy, happy, and his mom and dad can hardly wait until he can leave the NICU unit and they can take him home.

My heart is in Las Vegas with my grandson Kyler, my daughter Kelly, and my son-in-law Kyle and art is sort of the last thing I have been thinking about is art.

Scrapbooking is not my comfort level but due to unforseen events, it looks like I am back to designing the scarpbook pages for the girls at GRADS. I havea to give the Mt. Baker Chapter Harley Owners Group Ladies of Harley a big thank you for supporting the GRADS program by donating the money to purchase the scrapbook materials each month for 18 girls. Their teacher Patty has told me I need to do a page for Kyler each month like she does for her twin grandson. Maybe this will motivate me to get more creative. I hope.

I'll post a picture after we have our class in two weeks.

Baby Kyler

2009-10-10T00:17:00.000-07:00

Kyler is now 4 pounds 11 ounces. He is starting to learn to nurse from a bottle and may soon be moved to an open bassinet. He is healthy, happy, and growing.

Please keep Kyler and his mom and dad in your prayers.

Happy 1 Month birthday Kyler

2009-10-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

10-1-09

Home again. I’m packed, all the last minute things you throw in a suitcase. I’m ready…sort of. Kelly asked me to sit on the sofa and snuggle with her before I need to leave. It takes everything I have inside of me to hold back the tears but my voice cracks when I try to talk. I stay as long as I possibly can before kissing my baby girl good-bye and one last hug. I can’t cry, I can’t cry, I can’t cry. I need to see where I am driving.

Traffic isn’t too bad on the I-15 freeway and soon I arrive at the hospital. Baby Kyler is finishing his feeding and is warm and snug in his bassinet. I reached in to touch his cheek with my finger tips and then cup his head with my hand. He never stirs. I read “Goodnight Moon” to him then just stand watching the new man in my life, who has stolen my heart. His nurse talks with me and says what a good baby Kyler is. Feed him, change him, read to him, talk to him, and he is good. He is healthy and doesn’t require constant monitoring like some of the babies in the NICU unit. Kyler was so peaceful I couldn’t bear to open the bassinet to kiss the top of his head. Instead I kissed my finger tips and placed them on his head. I did this three times, once for great grandmother Breshears, once for grandpa Larry, and one for me, grandma.

I called Kelly to tell her I was leaving the hospital and that Kyler was perfect, just waiting for his mom and dad to visit tonight. This is no much harder leaving this time. It will be 2 ½ months before I see them again. Kyler will be so big at Christmas.

I returned the care to the car rental building and took the shuttle to the airport. I checked in through security, took the tram to my gate and then I called Larry. I am sure he must have wondered if I would really come home. I love Larry, body and soul, forever and ever, but the little guy is tugging on my heart strings.

Kelly said we should just move to Vegas so we could be close to baby Kyler. Maybe I should have played the slot machines while I was in Vegas and we could have retired in style. Maybe Larry should buy stock in Alaska Airlines.

The stewardess on the plane saw my tears and asked if I was okay. She brought me another napkin when I explained my tears and said she would pray for baby Kyler.

09-30-09 Wednesday

2009-10-02T23:22:00.000-07:00

9-30-09 Wednesday

I took Kelly to the base hospital to take care of some of her insurance paperwork. Kyle called and said we could come out to the flight line to see where he works.

I saw the base commander on his way to pick up the Saudi prince, whose jet was sitting on the tarmac. The prince was going to get a personal tour of the base, just like me, well sort of. If anyone saw Top Chef in Las Vegas they had an episode at Nellis AFB this year and some of the people Kyle works with and the base commander were on the show. I saw the Blue Thunderbirds, the Red Horse Squadron, and way too many different types of jets and planes for me to remember. Kyle demonstrated with several of his co-workers a 60K tunner loader used to load and unload pallets of supplies onto the planes. It was fun to see where Kyle works and see how vast the base is.

Kelly and went to the hospital to see baby Kyler who was very content lying in his bassinet with a full tummy. He is now taking 35cc of milk. Kelly changed his diaper, took his temperature, and he slept thorugh it all. Kelly kissed him good-by and we left.

I dropped Kelly at Hooters Casino to take care of her work insurance paperwork and then we stopped at Lowe’s to find a few things to fix up the house. Kelly fixed salad and French bread for dinner.

When Kyle came home he had deep pink roses for Kelly. He is so sweet to her. And he had a card for me. Gotta love the boy. He loves my daughter, gave me a beautiful grandson, and calls me mom.

Kyle helped us hang the wooden letters spelling out Kyler’s name above his crib.

I checked in for my flight on line. I am taking Kelly’s wedding dress home with me to hang in her closet. Two suitcases, one inside the other. It all fits. Kyle came and gave me a kiss good-bye because he will leave for work before I get up in the morning.

09-29-09 Tuesday

2009-10-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

09-29-09 Tuesday

Four weeks ago today, Kyler was born. Kelly and I went to the hospital early today to drop off more milk. They are increasing the amount they give Kyler every nine hours and fee him every three hours.

He looks so peaceful and rested. He tries to open his eyes when Kelly talks to him but sleep wins out. We stayed for about half an hour before we left.

Costco for groceries and then it was home for a rest.

Kelly and Kyle put Kyler’s crib together and grandma supervised. The new rug for Kyler’s room is down, the baby clothes are washed and put away just waiting for Kyler to come home.

We took a CPR class at the hospital tonight and the instructor also covered care seat installation.

Baby Kyler was stretching and looking at his mom and dad as Kyle read to him. Kelly ran her finger tips across his little head and down his cheek

Kyle changed Kyler’s diaper and the nurse took his temperature and weighed him. 4 pounds 3 ½ ounces. He is almost out of milk again so Kelly and I will make an early morning run again tomorrow.

The nurse swaddled Kyler up and let Kelly hold him for about 45 minutes. I left the three of them alone for a little while. I went back to the nursery and got to kiss baby Kyler goodnight on the top of his little head. 2 kisses. Sweet dreams baby boy.

Kyle has to be at work early so he went to bed and Kelly set up the diaper Jeannie and I took the stroller out of the box and she put the all pieces together. She likes putting things together and doing things for her son is important. Now all those cardboard boxes are in the garage waiting for recycle day next Monday.

Kyler - Monday 9-28-09

2009-10-02T22:31:00.000-07:00

09-28-09 Monday

Today Kelly and I are shopped for the items that she still needs for baby Kyler. Sort of a whorl wind shopping circle around the North West section of Vegas. We stopped for lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, a salad, soup, and pasta bar then it was time to go home and rest.

We stopped at Target before going to the hospital when UPS called and said we needed to arrive at the UPS center by 8:30 PM if we wanted to pick up Kyler’s crib. There had been a mix-up in the shipping address and was taken to her old address. Kelly said “mom we have ten minutes so forget driving like a mom and grandmother and drive like you’re single”. About four miles in Vegas traffic, through the spaghetti bowl overpass (twist, turns, loops) across town and I got us there in twelve minutes. The agent was holding the door open and helped us load the crib into the car. Back to Target for a mattress and then the hospital.

Kyler finished all his milk Kelly brought to the hospital on Saturday. He is taking about 2 ounces every three hours for a total of 16 ounces a day. They are increasing his feedings every 9 hours. Kyler’s PICC line has also been removed.

I read “Goodnight Moon” to baby Kyler and then we left him swaddled up in his bassinet.

Diapers, wipes, washcloths, towels, changing table, bed, stroller, car seat, mom, dad….baby Kyler has it all and all he really needs is lots of love and that he has.

I love watching Kyle and Kelly with their son. They talk to him, touch him, sing to him, and he knows when they are with him.

09-27-09 The baby shower

2009-09-29T02:27:00.000-07:00

09-27-09

When I picked up my rental car, they were out of full size cars, so they gave me a Dodge Journey SUV. Good thing because the back end is loaded with gifts. I dropped Kelly off at Kelly Walkers home and headed to Costco and Albertsons to get the food for the shower.

Let the party begin. We had lime sherbet punch, sandwiches, pizza, chips, dips, snacks, M&M’s, and Nikki made cupcakes with baby faces. There were about 15-16 at the shower, some of the girls had to work and couldn’t attend.

Nikki and Kim had games for everyone to play with the favorites, trying to find a safety pin in the bowl of rice (it’s not as easy as it sounds…no one won) and the all time favorite was trying to figure out which melted, smooshed up, candy bars was in each of the 6 diapers. Everyone laughed, joked, and Kelly wound up guessing all of them correctly.

Baby Kyler wound up getting just about everything he could possibly need. A stroller/car seat combination, pack and play (sort of like a cradle/playpen), diapers, clothes, bibs, diaper genie, more clothes. It took a little arranging to get everything in my SUV when we headed home.

Kelly asked Kyle to help me unload a few things when we got home. Needless to say he was a little overwhelmed when he saw what was inside the vehicle. The living room looks like they are just moving in with all the boxes and bags. Kelly showed Kyle everything they received at the shower. They were truly blessed today with kind and caring friends and family.

A short rest and we head off the hospital to see baby Kyler. He is now 4 pounds 2 ounces. The boy is on a growth spurt! Kyler is sleeping and Kelly is exhausted so we only stay about an hour at the hospital and then head home.

Kyler 9-26-09

2009-09-29T02:07:00.000-07:00

09-26-09

I woke with a sinus headache on Saturday morning and couldn’t sleep in. 7:45 AM and I am wide awake. Vitamins, Tylenol, sinus medication, and Starbucks coffee in a bottle, I should be feeling better soon.

Kyle went to the gym and Kelly and I are going to go garage sale shopping today and see if we can find some fun things for Kyler. After a trip to Babies-R-Us and sticker shock, we need to find some bargains, and we did. A glider rocker for $25.00 and not $300.00. Kelly said Kyle would come through the door, see the rocker and that would be as far as he went. Good thing I didn’t bet with her, I would have lost.

Kelly and I drove to the airport to pick up Marissa’s husband Brian because she had to work and Brian was returning from a training mission.

Nap time.

4 pounds. Wow. How amazing. The doctor said Kyler is on his last bag of vitamins, fats, and nutrients and when it is gone they will see how well he does off of it. If he is okay, they remove his PICC line in about a week. They will then take Kyler off caffeine and see how he reacts. There was very little residual left from his previous feeding.

Kyler had his eyes open when we arrived, lying on his tummy. He really responds very quickly to Kelly and Kyle talking to him. He ties to lift his head and move around as he listens to them and feels them touch him.

I brought a new Golden Treasury book with about 10-12 stories so Kyle would have something new to read to Kyler. Kyle was excited to read a story to his son (The Seven Little Postmen) rhymed and made sense.

It was Saturday afternoon in Vegas so we used city streets to get to and from the hospital. Kyle had dinner out with a friend and Kelly and I made a quick trip to the mall to find something cute for her to wear to the baby shower tomorrow. Other than the fire alarm going off in the mall, starting to evacuate, sort of, she found a cute tank top and cardigan sweater.

We stopped for tacos on the way home and early to bed. Tomorrow is a big day.

Kyler 9-25-09

2009-09-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

9-25-09

We slept in a little and made a stop at Starbucks on the way to the hospital. A full shot of caffeine for me, a pumpkin mocha for Kelly with less caffeine, and a no shot, caffeine free strawberry-banana smoothie for Kyle. A few short blocks away Kyler had already had his morning shot of caffeine.

Baby Kyler is sleeping on his side and begins to stir in his bassinet as mom and dad talk to him and touch him. Kyle reads “Oh The Places You’ll Go”, not his favorite book, but reading to his son is a priority. As I look at my son-in-law, I am thankful he loves my daughter and grandson as much as he does. I am also thankful to have Kyle as part of our family.

I cupped Kyler’s head in my hand as Kyle continues reading, then placed a kiss on my finger tips and touched the top of his head. Kyle gave Kyler his pacifier and he seem to do really well with it.

The nurse got Kyler for Kelly to hold him, kangaroo style (skin to skin). I left the new parents alone with their son to have some quiet family time.

Please continue to pray for all the babies in the NICU unit. So many of them were born younger than Kyler have had so many more problems, even some of the ones born closer to term, are not doing as well as he his.

Nap time for the adults so we headed home. Kelly and I ran a few errands later in the day while Kyle went to the gym. Kyle was home when we returned but had a nasty looking bruise on his left side and was pretty sore. We decided to stay home and watch a movie. We'll go tomorow when mom and dad both can go.

Kelly and Kyle called the hospital to check on Kyler and track his progress. All is well with Kyler and it’s time for bed.

Kyler 9-24-09

2009-09-29T00:39:00.000-07:00

9-24-09 Thursday

I’ve had my red bag packed for a week…well almost; I keep adding little things to it. The red bag is filled with baby shower gifts. Scout the talking-singing dog from Leap Frog that is pre-programmed to say Kyler’s name. Bath towels to match the colors in Kyler’s room, books, toys, clothes, gifts from Norma and Patty Karcher. There’s a scrapbook with a special page for Kyler already made and enough supplies to keep Kelly busy for a long time. And photo paper for the computer to fill up those scrapbook pages. The rental car is booked and I’m checked in online for my flight.

Tuesday evening our new Harley trike arrived at H-D Bellingham. We picked it up on get grab my leathers and we would go for a short ride before I left for the airport. It’s a little different riding and not seeing over the top of Larry’s helmet will probably be my biggest adjustment. The fact that Larry has had the trike less than 24 hours and wants to ride it everywhere is a major plus for changing bikes. This will take the stress off his bad knee. We didn’t have the new communication system figured out so we had to just talk loud with our helmets bumped up against each others heads. Larry will have all these little details figured out by the time I return.

Larry dropped me at the airport and left after I got my bag checked in and a boarding pass in hand. I always get a little nervous flying alone. Did I forget something? This time I need to get my rental care and drive from the south end of Las Vegas to Nellis Air Force Base, and do it at night in a construction zone. Getting the car back to the rental return will be the hardest task.

This is such a different trip today than 2 weeks ago. Instead of worrying about an emergency surgery and emergency transport teams, this visit is all about visiting and celebrations. I am so excited to see baby Kyler. I know at 3 pounds 10 ounces he is still tiny, but he is almost a pound more than the last time I saw him, 2 weeks ago.

I used my 30 day base pass and arrived at Kelly and Kyle’s house about 9:30 PM. I unloaded my bags and we headed to the hospital. The nurse fills us in on Kyler’s progress since the day before. He is now 3 pounds 14 ounces and he fills out his little body. Kelly thinks he would have been between 7 and 8 pounds if he had been full term. Kyler tried hard to keep his eyes open as mom and dad talked to him. Kelly held Kyler during his feeding. When it was Kyle’s turn to hold the baby, Kyler spit up on him.

Even if Kyler were not my grandbaby, he would still be a really cute baby. I like the way he scrunches up his forehead and makes little faces. Wonder what he dreams about? Kelly said he doesn’t really cry any more when he gets a blood test but take his temperature, change his diaper, or give him a bath and he can cry and let you know he’s mad. The little guy is tired and we are too. Sweet dreams Kyler.

Kyler...3 weeks

2009-09-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

3 pounds 12 ounces
16 1/2 inches long

2010 Tri Glide...Our new ride!

2009-09-23T22:54:00.000-07:00

Fall has arrived...

2009-09-22T19:03:00.001-07:00

Lungs...Ihave lungs...I can cry!

2009-09-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

September 20, 2009

Kyler is now 3 pounds 6 ounces and gaining. They are soon going to increase his milk to 2 ounces and deliver it by a pump over half an hour. Kelly said he knows something is up when they start taking his temperature, changing his diaper, and getting him ready for his feeding. Now they use a syringe and do a gravity flow to feed him. Kyler still is receiving air, not oxygen. He also receives his caffeine twice a day.

Kyler has discovered he has lungs. He can cry and make himself known to everyone in the nursery. Not the little squeaky cry in the beginning, three weeks ago, but a full cry. Kelly said she thinks he cries just to hear himself cry. I told her this is just another step in Kyler taking control of her life and Kyle’s and they lost the battle the day they first set eyes on him.

Kyle and Kyler...father and son bonding

2009-09-18T11:28:00.001-07:00

September 18th, 2009

2009-09-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

Baby Kyler is doing well. They have increased the amount of milk they are feeding him and he is digesting it well. He weighs over three pounds now and after his feedings he usually wants to take a long nap. His nurses all think Kyler is really cute and they take good care of him. The nurses are also really good at answering questions for Kelly and Kyle and giving them updates when they come to visit. Kyler really likes it when his mom and dad hold him and does not like to be put back in his bassinet.

The baby shower is a week from Sunday so grandma is flying back down for a week. I have a suitcase full of presents, some practical and some fun. I even have a new book for Kyle to read to Kyler. Can’t wait to see baby Kyler and how much he has grown since I left. I hope he remembers grandma’s voice.

Kyler...September 13th

2009-09-13T22:37:00.001-07:00

Kelly called about 9:30 PM to give me a grandma update on baby Kyler. They have given Kyler some medicine to help him digest the milk. He’s little and his system is still trying to make everything work correctly. They did another x-ray to make sure there was nothing wrong with his digestive system and it is good. The lights will probably come off in a couple of days and they have reduced his air to 1 liter.

Dirty diapers, wet diapers, it’s all a good thing.

Kelly and Kyle visited with Kyler Sunday morning and then went to Kim and Tony’s for dinner. Kim’s daughter is visiting and she is pregnant and due in December. Kelly Walker was there with her children. It was a full house for dinner.

Kelly and Kyle went back to the hospital in the evening. They each held Kyler for an hour and he did really well holding his body temperature. Kelly said Kyler pretty much slept through them holding him with just an occasional open eye and back to sleep. Kelly said that Kyler started crying when he had to be put back in the bassinet, spitting and throwing a fit. Guess Kyler knows where he feels safe and secure…his parent’s arms, as it should be.

Kelly read to Kyler earlier today and Kyle read “Good Night Moon” to him before they left.

Day 12 - September 12, 2009

2009-09-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

Kyler was sleepy this morning. They have started his feedings again at 3 milliliters every 3 hours. They think they may be able to take the lights off in a couple of days. Everything else looks good and he is back on track.

Kelly got her haircut today. A short A-line style to make it easier being a new mom and getting ready fast. Kyle and Kelly ran a few errands and then it was back to the hospital in the evening.

Kyler is digesting his food but still is tired. It’s not easy being so little and having a bad day like yesterday. Sort of wears a little guy out. He is still getting his caffeine twice a day. Kyler was still a sleepy head tonight but was moving in his sleep quite a bit. I told Kelly that even though he may have been too tired to open his eyes, he found a way to let her know he was aware of her beside his bassinet.

Kyle and Kelly both left the hospital more upbeat tonight and in better spirits.
Please continue to pray for Kyler and all the babies in the NICU unit at Sunrise Hospital.

Friday September 11th

2009-09-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

Well today baby Kyler had a setback. They began giving him 8 mil of milk and he was not digesting it. They did an x-ray and determined he is fine except for some gas in his stomach and he is not passing it. They have put him on an IV and taken blood for test so his little hand is bruised. He had several episode last night of sleep apnea so they have put his air tube back in his nose. They have also placed one of the lights back over his bassinet. What else? He lost a little weight because he didn’t digest the milk.

It is very hard on Kelly and Kyle today visiting their son. Kyler is so tired from the procedures that he slept the whole time they visited with him earlier in the day.

They think that Kyler was given to much milk and could not digest it. They removed the gas from his stomach but his body functions are not back to normal. He is on an IV drip for several days and will have another x-ray tomorrow to make sure nothing else is causing a problem. His protective eye band was placed back on him because the lights been turned on again.

The little guy was still pretty tired and slept with his parent watching over him during their evening visit.

Please continue your prayers for baby Kyler and his parents.

Thursday September 10th, 2009

2009-09-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

It’s 8:30 AM and time to get ready to go to the hospital and then the airport. My ticket is purchased but I need to check my suitcase when I arrive at the airport. The drive from the hospital to the airport should only be about 15/20 minutes but it will be noon time in Las Vegas with the weekend crowd beginning to arrive in town.
Baby Kyler is asleep on his tummy. They just finished feeding him and he is content. We keep looking at him trying to figure out what is different today. Kyle realizes the air tube has been removed.

In his sleep Kyler grabs at his feeding tube and Kelly pries his little fingers loose. The nurse said she has seen babies pull it out. Kelly asks about Kyler’s weight and he has gained another ounce and is now 2 pounds 14 ounces. Almost back to his birth weight. He is doing really well on the breat milk and will be at 4 ½ pound in no time at all.

Kyler’s nurse is pregnant and due a week after Kyler’s real due date. She looks at Kyler and rubs her tummy and baby girl. Looks like Kyler has won over another nurse. Before she moves on to check the other babies, she comments on how cute he is. We all agree.

Kyler tried opening an eye but sleep won out. I had one more chance to read to Kyler and Kyle laughed because “Good Night Moon” seems to make him move around, and it did. We are satisfied to just site and watch this sleeping baby that we love so much.

Almost time to leave for the airport. I cupped my hand around Kyler’s head and he tried to open his eyes. His little body is squirming as I ever so gently touch his head and soft hair with my thumb. His eyes open and he sort of rolls his eyes backwards to where I am standing over the bassinet. Kyle said he was trying to look at grandma. I kissed my finger tips and placed them on the top of his head. I closed the bassient door and moved to the other side to look at Kyler’s face one more time before I left. Kelly said I would cry and I had to fight back the tears. Sweet dreams baby. Don’t forget my voice and I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.

Kelly asked if I minded being called grandma. No! I’m loving every minute of this and proud to have a grandson, my first grandbaby. When Kyler is big enough I take him for special trips to get hamburgers and play at the playground.

I promised Kyle I wouldn’t spoil Kyler with too many toys. Clothes, books, and lots of hugs, kisses, and love.

Traffic was light on the way to the airport. Check in was quick. The security line was really long. Two good-byes in one day is almost more than I could take. I kissed my son (son-in-law is just not enough to describe Kyle) good-bye, knowing he is taking care of my daughter and grandbaby. This is comforting because I know how much he loves them both.

Kissing my daughter Kelly good-bye was really, really hard. I know she is in good hand, but the mom in me wants to stay and take care of her. Ten days ago she had an emergency c-section and I remember how hard it is to be dependent on someone else to drive you places and do things for you. I had my mom and I feel like am abandoning her. I’m not; I know that mentally, my heart says something different.

I found a Starbucks and had the first cup of coffee in 10 days other than bottled Starbucks. Grandma needed a caffeine shot like Kyler. The plane is boarding early and I try to sleep the first half hour. It’s a long flight home and home seems like a million miles away from Las Vegas, even though it is only 2 hours and 40 minutes on this direct flight. Not as long as the flight I took on the day Kyler was born.

I made Kelly promise to give me daily updates and pictures. Maybe it will help the next two weeks go by quicker. I doubt it. Next visit is the baby shower.

9-9-09 Wednesday

2009-09-10T00:48:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 9-9-09

Kelly and Kyle spent the morning taking care of paperwork on base, making sure baby Kyler has medical coverage and a pediatrician when he is released from the hospital (this is one of the requirements for his release when he is ready).

Kelly didn’t get a lot of sleep so she napped in the afternoon after lunch. I fell asleep in the chair and when the phone rang I woke up to find Kyle had come home and was curled on the sofa with Kelly.

We left for the hospital about 4:00 PM. We arrived just in time to see Kyler getting his diaper changed and he peed on the nurse. So while the nurse changed Kyler’s bedding she needed Kelly or Kyle to hold him. She picked him up as an experienced nurse but to new parents it looks a little scary and Kyle reached right out to hold his son. When she found out the first time he had held Kyler, she moved Kyler around a little so he was snuggled up closer to dad.

Next was Kyler’s feeding and then his shot of caffeine. He didn’t have any episodes of forgetting to breathe today. Good job Kyler! Kelly said he needs to have 7 days in a row before it is safe to remove the tube that supplies air.

The nurse left the bassinet top off so we could spend more time with Kyler. Kyle read to him and I just admired my new grandson. I gave hugs to a couple of the nurses who were on duty the day Kyler arrived. The staff has been wonderful about answering questions, giving helpful suggestions, taking the time to just talk with Kelly and Kyle to make them more relaxed. The nurses all seem to love our baby Kyler.

Nikki came to visit to I went to the family room to wait while she had a chance to see the baby. Before Nikki left she came to say good-bye to me and let me know she is getting married in Oct. She will be a beautiful bride.

We left right before 7:00 PM to have dinner at BJ’s, across the street from Red Rock Casino. This is one of Kelly and Kyle’s favorite restaurants and Larry and I took them there when we were in Vegas in April.

Kyler was on his tummy when we returned with his legs pulled up under him. He tried to open his eyes but he had just been fed about an hour before and his tummy was full and he was tired. I read “Good Night Moon” to Kyler for the last time this visit. Next visit, grandma will have to bring more books.

Kyler raised his head up and turned it to the other side. The nurse said he was strong baby. She moved his head back to the other side and wrapped him a little tighter. We said our goodnights but Kyler wasn’t letting go of Kelly’s finer. She gently loosened his fingers and I whispered sweet dreams to him. Kelly kissed her fingers and placed them on his cheek and Kyle told his son he loved him.

1 Week...

2009-09-08T23:46:00.000-07:00

1 Week – September 8th, 2009

Kyler is one week old today. On the way to the hospital the kids were singing along to the music. When Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” came on they said that this was Kyler’s song and sang along.

When we arrived at the hospital they had removed his lights and a blanket was over the top of the bassinet to block out some of the noise and keep the heat in. He has gained an ounce and now weighs in at 2 pounds almost 13 ounces. He is digesting his milk well and they fed him while we were there. If he keeps progressing this well then they will increase the amount they feed him in several days.

Kyle decided if he was going to read to his son, he would pick the book. He has been reading The Ultimate Athlete, so he started reading to Kyler where he left off from the last time he read from the book.

Kelly changed Kyler’s diaper and then the nurse got him swaddled up so Kelly could hold him. Because the nurses were all busy with another baby, Kelly got to hold Kyler about twice as long as she normally does. She can start kangaroo holding tomorrow (skin to skin). Because Kyler is a preemie, they only like to have him out of his bassinet once a day so he does not get over stimulated. The nurses teased Kyle that he had to change a diaper before Kyler could go home.

If Kyler’s progress continues well, they will remove his air tube in a few days. They have it on the lowest setting now and it is air flow only, not oxygen. His preemie hats we bought for him are still way too big but he needs to wear one when he is out of the bassinet. I think Kyler is doing so well because we visit as much as possible, talking to him, touching him, and reading to him. We have been in and out of the hospital at different times and we haven’t seen other parents spending the amount of time that we do with Kyler.

Before we left, I got to kiss baby Kyler. Such a sweet baby and cute and handsome, and beautiful. Can you tell I’m a grandmother and really really love this baby boy?

Kelly is thinking ahead, knowing I will be going home in a few days. She asked if I could make some casseroles and put them in the refrigerator so they can just warm up food and not worry about cooking for a few days. Then she decided that since I was cooking, could I make special breakfast for her. Special breakfast is an egg, bread, sausage, cheese casserole that my mother made years ago for a holiday breakfast and it became my kid’s favorite breakfast at every major holiday.

We got home from the hospital and I left Kelly and Kyle to rest and I went shopping for food. Kelly requested chicken enchilada casserole, wild rice and chicken casserole, and a ham, broccoli, and rice casserole. I cooked and told the kids to go to the hospital to see their son together.

By the time they had returned I was finishing up putting the last casserole in the refrigerator and the special breakfast was coming out of the oven. The kids decided to eat breakfast for dinner. Somehow I knew Kelly wouldn’t wait till morning.
Kelly and Kyle said that Kyler slept the whole time so they didn’t stay quite as long and will go back tomorrow afternoon.

Day 7 part II

2009-09-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

I awoke about 8:30 Am and thought Kelly was up and getting ready without waking me. No, it was Kyle starting breakfast and trying to let me sleep in. I sent him back to bed, finished fixing breakfast, served Kelly and Kyle breakfast in bed, and then we all went back to sleep after calling the hospital to check in on Kyler. It’s been a long week.

Kyle had to load the passengers on the plane and load their luggage before he could board the plane. He then had to unload the passengers, unload their luggage at the next stop. He did this all the way home, over and over again. He didn’t care; he was coming home to his family.

Kim and Tony met us at the hospital for their first NICU visit with Kyler. Only three people are allowed at the bassinet at a time so I waited in the lounge with Tony and later Kelly stepped out with me so Tony could go in. They think our baby Kyler is pretty amazing and they should since they are the Vegas grandparents.

Kyler does not have an infection. The problem with his leg was either a reaction to the tape or something they used to clean his leg. His skin is very sensitive right now. They have decided to put a new PICC line in because it can last up to 30 days and an IV can be a matter of days. At first they were going to leave the IV line in as a backup, but then decided to remove it completely. Baby Kyler didn’t fuss too much when they put the PICC line in. It runs from his ankle up his leg and into his chest. Scary! He has gained an ounce and seems to be digesting the milk without to many problems. He is now on a three hour schedule for feedings.

Mary the charge nurse who helped get Kyler set up when he arrived last week was on duty today. She checked his progress when he came in and told me that he was doing just fine. All the nurses say he is spunky, feisty, lively, active, a mind of his own.

We left around 3:00 PM and went to Tagashi House for lunch. Then it was home and nap time before the evening visit. Kelly wanted to fix Kyle’s favorite dinner, onion burgers, and her grandmother’s recipe.

Off to the hospital. Kyler is resting with his legs out of the roller blanket they try to keep him snuggled into. Exerting his power and control. We each take turns reading books to Kyler. Kelly read Who’s My Mom, Kyle read Hop On Pop, and I read Good Night Moon.

Kyler has had a big day changing out his IV and PICC lines and everything looks good this evening. He is sort of worn out and sleeping with an occasional leg that kicks straight up into the air. He recognizes his mom and dad’s voices and he takes hold of their fingers as they touch him and talk to him.

His nurse check in with Kelly and Kyle and give them his updates since we were there in the afternoon. She calls Kyler the “little man”.

I kissed my finger tips and placed them on Kyler’s cheek then said goodnight. I left Kelly and Kyle alone with their son and went down to the family lounge to wait.

I’m not sure how I am going to leave this baby and go home. Maybe we could move?

We stopped at Dave’s favorite store on the way home, “Wally World” better known as Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. It’s only two blocks from the main entrance to the base so it is convenient. We watched a movie after we got home and just sort of kicked back and relaxed. Three visits in one day. Whoopee!

Day 6 and the early morning hours of day 7

2009-09-07T04:08:00.000-07:00

Day 6 and part on of day 7

Sunday September 6th, 2009

Kelly and I had planned to get up and go to church with her friends Marissa and Brian. We didn’t wake up until 11:30 AM. I think the sleep did us both good. I fixed Kelly breakfast and we stopped to buy books for Kyler and then drove to the hospital.

The nurses don’t think Kyler has an infection. All his test are coming back negative and it was probably an allergic reaction to the tape. His leg looks better today and this is good news.

Kyler is on his tummy and looks like he is trying to do push-ups. He picks his head almost off the bed and it drops back down exhausted, and goes back to sleep. I read his grandma book to him “Good Night Moon,” and he settled into a deeper slumber.

Today there is only one light left on to give Kyler is Las Vegas tan. We are looking forward to the day when they turn the last light off. Kyler begins to wiggle his butt and stretch. The nurse said Kyler like to keep at least one leg stretched out but sometimes when she checks him, he will have his legs crossed. The first time the nurse brought Kelly to me after she was born and I took the blanket off to check out her fingers and toes, she had her legs crossed. Like mother, like son.

Kelly put her hand into the bassinet and Kyler wrapped his hand around her finger and held on. He reacts to her voice and touch; he knows who his mommy is. Kelly said the hospital treats over 700 babies in the NICU unit every year. This is the only NICU unit in Nevada.

Kyler is finally resting quietly so Kelly and I quietly slip out after she gives him a kiss on the top of his head and one on his cheek, before going home so Kelly can rest and take a nap. We will return in the evening.

I fixed pasta salad for Kelly’s dinner and we were watching TV when the doorbell rang. 10:49 PM and Kyle has arrived home. Not on emergency leave, he is back to stay and will be redeployed in about 6-8 months. For now he is where he needs to be, with his wife and baby. The first tears I have seen Kelly cry since Kyler was born streamed down her face as she wrapped her arms around her husband and gave him a kiss.

Kyle has been up for about 60 hours but wants to see his son. He worked a shift, caught a flight out to Romania, Ireland, Maine, and then Las Vegas. I don’t know if we will ever know who made the final decision to let Kyle return home, but I thank God they understood and let him come home. I am so happy for Kyle, Kelly, and Kyler.

Kyle gave me a hug and a kiss and when he found out we had pasta salad asked if I could just stay and not go home. I told him I didn’t think Larry would let me stay. He showered to get the desert sand off and then we headed off the hospital. Kyle bought gifts in Ireland for Kyler when he had a layover. He is going to be such a good dad. I am lucky to have a son-in-law who loves my daughter and grandson as much as he does.

Monday September 7th

We arrived at the hospital and got our security passes. It is approximately 12:45 AM when Kyle and Kelly scrubbed in and entered the NICU nursery at the hospital. Kyle had the most incredible look on his face as he said hello to his son for the very first time. Kelly had asked me scrub in first so I could already be in the room and take pictures. Seeing Kelly and Kyle standing over the bassinet, both of their hands touching their son, was a prayer answered.

Kyle was overwhelmed seeing his son for the first time, as we all were the first time we saw baby Kyler. Kyler is so perfect, just tiny, that after a few minutes you look past the tubes and only see the baby. Kyler reacted immediately upon hearing his dad voice. He began to squirm around, lift his head and before I left the new parents alone with their son, Kyler opened his eyes.

I went down to the family waiting area and thought as I was sitting there how much I will miss my daily visits with Kyler, watching his progress and growth. I know there is email, photos, and phone calls. How soon will they let me come visit? Wait I’ll be back at the end of the month for the baby shower.

9-5-09 Day 6...Part I and II

2009-09-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

9-5-09 Saturday

Part I

I met Kelly at the hospital in the afternoon. I gave her a kiss and did a quick check on baby Kyler. The paddle is on his right hand now and he has an IV inserted. His right leg looks sort of blistered and red. They found an infection on his PICC line and had to remove it. They are giving him antibiotics and antibiotic cream on his leg. They are running blood test and the first one is negative for anything serious. They will continue to run blood test for several days and cell count for check his white cell count and protein levels.

Baby Kyler continues his two shots a day of caffeine. He is taking breast milk every six hours by a tube. He is still getting his Las Vegas tan and doing. The night before Kyler only had on episode of shallow breathing but he self corrected quickly without the nurses needing to give him a little massage.

Kelly and I both read to Kyler today. We need to find him some more books or he is going to have this one memorize and when he starts talking it will starting quoting the book.

Kelly was getting tried and hungry so we left for the afternoon and will return later tonight. We stopped for a quick bit to eat, sort of on the run and then a stop at Target to get a few things she needed. We took a short cut down the strip (I know this doesn’t sound right but she does know how to get around this town) and over to the other side of town to the fight shop. She wants to buy miniature boxing gloves, the size you find on a keychain and have Nikki make her a mobile for Kyler’s room.

Kelly showed me how to enter the base from a side entrance and saw the fighter jets mounted on large cement post with their noses pointed in the air. This is a historical reference of the older aircraft and an amazing art and photographic shot. Pictures another day.

Nap time and then back to the hospital sometime after 8:00 PM.

Part II

I dropped Kelly off, parked the car and scrubbed in. By the time I arrived Kelly was holding Kyler. She said he sometimes looks like an old man when he scrunches up his face when he gets made. He can look anyway he wants…he’s the boss and she knows it. We notice last night he has chapped lips and today they have started putting something on them to help them heal up. I told them last night I wanted to put my chap stick with SP45 on his lips so maybe thought I was serious and beat me to it. Kyler’s foot and leg looks much better tonight.

Kyler seems to get the hiccups every night about the same time. Kelly said he did when she was carrying him also.
When they put Kyler back in his bassinet they took his temperature and he held it while Kelly was holding him. That is a really good sign that he can maintain his body temp. I read to him again and he slipped into a deeper sleep.

Right before we left Kelly got to change his diaper. This is progress. They do weigh his diaper afterwards to check his intake of fluids and what comes out.

It is almost midnight and we are going home to get some sleep then start our routine all over again tomorrow.

Day 4

2009-09-05T19:15:00.001-07:00

Day 4 – Sept. 4th, 2009

Kelly had visited baby Kyler earlier in the day. The nurses said Kyler had a bath and did not want to be placed on his side or his back. He wanted to lie on his tummy and when he did he pulled his little legs up under him which pushed his ohhh so tiny butt in the air.

8:30 PM Kelly and I left for the hospital. There was a warm wind blowing and a light mist covering the windshield of the car as we drive to the hospital. As we look out across the valley we can see lightening strikes in the distant hills. This is the first night since I arrived in Las Vegas that I have driven Kelly to the hospital at night. Looking at the lights on the strip seems so foreign from previous trips visiting here were you sort of seem mesmerized by the glitz and glamour. This time the lights are shinning on a little star at Sunrise Hospital.

I dropped Kelly off at the front door to the hospital and went to park the car near the emergency room entrance. After 10:00 PM the only entrance to the hospital is at the emergency room, in or out and after 10:00 PM you must leave your ID at the desk until you leave. I like this security system.

I scrubbed in and as I walked around the corner of the curtain to Kyler’s bassinet, Kelly was sitting in a chair on the other side holding Kyler in her arms. She had a smile on her face like the Cheshire cat or the cat that ate the canary. She was waiting for me and laughed at the look on my face. She asked if I was going to cry. No! Get tears on my baby? No way.

Kyler was snuggled up in a receiving blanket cradled close to Kelly where she rocked him gently in her arms and cooed softly to him. I’m not sure how long she held him, but didn’t give him up until the nurse said he needed to have the lights put back on him.

The nurse said he is feisty and has a mind of his own and up to mischief. He has pulled his heart monitor off twice, his protective head gear off once, move his wiring and he puts up a fuss. The nurse said he has taken control.

I read Kyler his Dr. Seuss book and he quieted down and went to sleep for a short time. When the nurse put his vitamins into his IV bag he began to cry. Kelly gave him his pacifier and because he can’t quite hold it in, she held it in place and Kyler again settled down. Next it was the hiccups. I know they are normal but watching his tiny chest contract over and over again was sort of scary. He didn’t seem upset by them and after several minutes they stopped.

We spent about 3 hours at the hospital but it is so hard to walk away and say goodnight even for a few hours when we will return.

Kelly is doing amazingly well. She is upbeat, what little tummy she had is disappearing, and she is eating well and drinking lots of liquids. She and Kyler both would do much better if Kyle could come home for a short visit but it doesn’t appear that the military is going to let him come home. Kelly said it was almost like Kyler was looking for his dad and if he arrived early, dad would be there for him. Just get big and strong Kyler, your daddy loves you and will be home soon.

I Kissed an Angel

2009-09-05T02:02:00.000-07:00

Thursday 9-3-09

Kelly slept most of the night and she looks rested and relaxed. I fixed her scrambled eggs with bagels and cream cheese for breakfast, and she ate most of it. She showered, fixed her hair, did her make-up, put on a cute little summer dress, and she was ready to go visit her son. Look good, feel good.

Kyler is sleeping under the lights getting his Las Vegas tan. He is finished with his antibiotics today and is being fed every six hours and doing well. Because he is so small, he sometimes forgets things…like breathing. So now baby Kyler is getting shots of caffeine, twice a day. Kelly sits by Kyler’s bedside caressing him, talking sweetly to him, and letting him know his mommy is right there for him.

Marissa, Kelly’s friend went with us to the hospital and she is amazed by how tiny Kyler is and yet so perfect. The comment everyone seems to make when they seem him the first time.

Kyler begins to move around. He likes being stretched out, not bundled up and swaddled. A tiny squeak of a cry turns into a protest of unhappy faces and flailing arms. I asked the nurse if she could do something to help quiet Kyler and relieve Kelly’s anxious nerves. A pacifier! Kyler already had one in his bassinet and he took it right away…no more cry’s and he quickly drifted back to sleep with mom resting a hand on his soft downy head.

We took pictures and videos to send to Kyle and all the relatives and friends. We spent about three hours at the hospital, but it seemed much shorter. I asked the nurse if she could remove the bassinet top so Kelly could kiss Kyler good-bye. Just as we started nurse to walk away the nurse asked if grandma would like to give him a kiss. Kelly laughed and said I was going to cry on Kyler. I didn’t. I waited until after I kissed him to cry. Today I kissed an angel sent by God. The top of his little head was warm and soft and my first thought was I am never going to wash these lips again.

Look out Larry; I think baby Kyler just stole my heart.

I took the girls to lunch at Blueberry Hill, a small restaurant near the base. It had pages and pages of menu items and everything served all day and fifties music played in the background. The girls ordered breakfast and I had lunch. We dropped Marissa off and then it was time to take a nap. Kelly went back to the hospital in the evening and I ran a couple of errands for her. I can actually get off base and find my way back again. I have a 30 days visitor pass so I can come and go without Kelly.

Kyler - day 2

2009-09-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Day 2

Wednesday September 2nd, 2009

Kelly called me around 8:00 AM and said they were going to discharge her from the hospital. Michael and I showered and headed off to the hospital.

Kelly had already been up walking the night before and again this morning. It has been just a little over 24 hours since she had major surgery, a c-section, and although she didn’t get much sleep last night she is talkative, witty, and impatient to see her baby Kyler.

We made a quick stop at Babies R Us for a few things and then we were off to Sunrise Hospital to see Kyler.

Kelly didn’t get to hold Kyler but she sat next to his beside and held him, her hand covering his tiny body and he moved when she touched him and talked to him. He held the tip of her finger with his tiny hand and quieted down as she spoke softly to him and touched his silky head.

Michael had to fly home later that day so Kelly had us bring the Dr. Seuss book “Oh The Places You’ll Go” that she had been reading to Kyler while he was still in the womb. It was sweet to watch and one of my favorite lines is, “Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way”.

Kyler is breathing on his own and will start regular feedings tonight. He had his first bowl movement and that is a good sign that he body functions are working. Kyle called the hospital in the early morning hours, he is in Iraq and there is a 10 hour time difference. The nurses are wonderful keeping him update on Kyler’s progress and they put the telephone up to Kyler so he could hear his daddy’s voice.

We took pictures to send to Kyle trying to show him how big his son was. Kelly’s fist is as big as Kyler’s head. Her index finger is as long as Kyler’s forearm. Everyone thinks Kyler looks just like his dad. He’s strong; he’s a fighter, and a survivor.

The charge nurse said the nurses and staff would become Kyler and Kelly’s family and support team to help them and her family all the way through until Kyler is discharged from the hospital and goes home.

A whole floor at Sunrise Hospital is devoted to neonatal care. One of Kyler’s roommates is a little girl born at 24 weeks and she has been there 2 weeks and doing well. Another baby was jus arriving with a full team of nurses and doctors. Doctors are available for questions and the nurses are dedicated to their little charges that arrive in the world sooner than expected.

Kyler’s lights are off, his protective eye gear is off, and he can see mom for the first time!

Before we left for the afternoon Kyler’s nurse was getting him ready to insert an IV. He cried that tiny little squeaky cry, almost like a baby kitten’s mew, protesting being disrupted from his sleep. Kelly spoke softly to him and soothed his cries away.

I asked if Kelly could kiss her son goodbye and the nurse said yes. The nurse held baby Kyler aloft and Kelly placed several soft kiss on the top of his head. The nurse then asked Kelly if she would like to hold him. I don’t think she could have answered yes any faster than she did. The nurse placed Kyler into Kelly’s waiting hands and she held up as close as she could and kissed him several more times. I couldn’t cry, I needed a picture for her to look at later and send to Kyle.

The Red Cross is working to see if Kyle can get a family emergency leave for a couple of weeks to come home and be with his wife and son.

It’s almost midnight and Kelly and I are reflecting on our time with baby Kyler. She wants some mother daughter bonding time; she wants to compare c-section scars. If it makes her smile and relax, okay.

Happy Birthday Kyler O'Neal Danger Atkinson 9-1-09

2009-09-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

Tuesday September 1st, 2009
Kyler O’Neal Danger Atkinson
2 lbs. 15 oz.
15 inches long
5:02AM
KODA

Kicking and punching right up until delivery and then he got quiet. They did chest compression on the little guy for a couple of minutes and then he was breathing on his own. They did give him a shot to strengthen his lungs and when he was stable he was whisked away from the Nellis Air Force Base Hospital to Sunrise Hospital near downtown Las Vegas.

So how did the morning begin for me? I heard the phone ringing and wondered why Larry wasn’t answering it. Just as I was about to wake him, I saw a light in the door way in realized someone was in my bedroom just as Michael spoke to me. He said he had been calling and I needed to get up, that Kelly was on the phone and had been calling me. I grabbed the phone and all I heard was mommy I’m in labor, come now. Michael grabbed my suitcase and I tried to think about what I put in a suitcase.

Larry drove me to the Bellingham airport and the Alaska/Horizon desk person said sorry you are too late to get out on this flight, security is closed. I saw people going through security and begged her, told her about my daughter in surgery and my grandson, and with a stone face she said no it would take 20 minutes to get you a ticket (it takes less than 5 minutes on line). I pleaded before sinking to the floor sobbing. I heard Larry talking with her and then he helped me up and said he would drive me to Seattle as we left.

Michael called and said he was packing a bag and told us he would meet us in town. I don’t remember much about the drive, except lying in the back seat praying that God would watch over my daughter and grandson. We arrived at the airport and Larry pulled out our suitcases and I kissed him good bye and ran for the ticket counter. A kind agent helped us find a ticket counter and a stranger took charge of us and ushered us through security. She said she didn’t work for the airlines but she had to be someone special because we went to the head of the line and right on through. She helped all the way to the N gates where she also happened to be going. The gate was closed and we told that they wouldn’t give us a ticket, the doors to the plane were closed, and again I was too late. We watched and they plane sat there for at least another 20 minutes as we were told we should have never been allowed through security with the pass we were given by the Alaska ticket agent.

We took the train back to concourse D and started again with our story at customer service. This agent looked appalled at what we had been through and told. She put us on the next plane out and upgraded us to first class. Waiting for that plane was a relief but 2 ½ hours seemed like an eternity.

Kelly Walker picked us up at the airport and we went straight to Sunrise Hospital per Kelly’s instructions to check on baby Kyler, or as the doctors were calling him since his birth, baby Danger. The whole second floor is a neonatal intensive care unit or NICU. Kyler is in bed 2022. We were greeted with a nurse who had our names on a list and told how to scrub in. Wash, disinfect three times and if we touched anything after we entered the room we had to use another disinfectant.

Tiny cannot even describe baby Kyler and yet he is perfect in every way. Ten toes, fingers, hair the nurse said most women would dye for because it is platinum, blonde, brown, frosted, all of that combined. He is lying fully stretched out and lying under the lamps to help with jaundice and his skin tone which is pink but the nurse said was a little too red. Michael called this the Las Vegas tan. He is just amazing. Kyler is breathing on his own but with a c-pack machine to give him air in his passages. He is on antibiotics for three days just to be safe. They say he can cry a soft little squeaky voice and he has a temper when made and scrunches up his face. They also said he quiets down quickly when talked to. Danger…MMA fighter…watch out.

We took pictures and when I put my finger next to his tiny hand he held onto me. If had not already stole my heart before, he certainly owned it now.

Next stop was to see Kelly and give her a report on Kyler. She was sleepy and wide awake. We showed her the pictures on the camera and told her all about her baby Kyler. She had only a quick glance before the NICU team took him away after delivery. Then Kelly told us how her morning began.

For two days she had been to the hospital telling them she didn’t feel well and that Kyler wasn’t moving around. They told her she might have a kidney infection but the test result didn’t show anything. She thought her water broke but after the exam they sent her home after placing the fetal monitor higher on her stomach than the baby was positioned. One the third day she woke at 3:00 AM and started calling friend. She drove her self to the hospital where she was admitted and dilated to 5cm. Now it was going to be an emergency c-section.

She said it didn’t feel like she had a baby because she was numb during delivery and she had no baby to hold or look at. She had one thought and that was to walk down the hall and show the nurses she could go home and therefore go to the hospital to see Kyler. Her mind was made up and she was determined that on Wednesday she would go home. We kissed her goodnight and hoped she would get a little sleep.

Praise be to God for watching over Kelly and Kyler. Thanks to my wonderful husband who said go and helped me get to Las Vegas as quickly as possible. Thanks to Michael (now know as uncle Michael) for holding me, holding me together, and getting me to Las Vegas without totally breaking down. To uncle Jim who held vigil waiting for news and praying for Kelly and Kyler. Thank you to family, friends, and complete strangers who added Kelly and Kyler to their prayer chains across the US. To my mom and her amazing church and thier prayer chain. Thanks to my sister Mary who kept family and facebook updated so everyone knew what was going on. Thanks to Kelly's aunts, uncles, and cousins who sent emils, text messages, and phone call to check on her and let her know they were praying for her. Thanks to my small group, my HOG famil, and friends who called and sent emails with well wishes and prayers for Kelly and Kyler to have a safe postive outcome.

Our summer vacation...1,650 miles in 6 days

2009-08-28T00:40:00.000-07:00

When you tell most people that you are going on vacation, they immediately think of national parks, beaches, amusement parks, museums, resorts, etc. When you tell friends that don’t own a motorcycle that you are taking the vacation on the bike, most sort of wince and ask why. When you tell them that you are also going on vacation on the bike with three other couples, most people can’t even imagine the experience. Well Larry and I could and we waited impatiently for the months to tick away and it was finally time to leave. What a way to go!

We arrived at Sehome Starbucks, a favorite pre-arranged spot to gather for rides, have a cup of coffee to wake us up, and a last pit stop for about an hour. Dave and Lorie, Dave and Dawn, Bill and Marla, and Larry and I all had our bikes packed with rain gear, snacks, drinks, clothing, leathers, whatever you can get on your bikes and still ride it (for some of the women that included hair dryers and curling irons). We headed off at about 7:00 AM on August 19th for our first destination of Seaside Oregon.

We took the Keystone Ferry from Whidbey Island and rode down the Hood Canal in 90 degree weather. Just north of Raymond we stopped for lunch and after several minutes our server, who was a young college age male stopped and looked at Dave M. and said you are the “alpha male”. Now as my husband pointed out, probably all men who ride a Harley or participate in manly man sports, think of themselves as an alpha male, but there is always one who just stands out, and that would be our Dave M. I did however point out to him that in a pack of wolves it is not the alpha male who is the true leader, but the alpha female and that would be Lorie. Dave quickly jumped to a new topic as we smiled and laughed.

We slowly peeled off the layers of clothing as the day wore on and we rode south. Just before Astoria Oregon, we were glad we still had the jackets on, as the sea breeze whipped across the inlet making white caps across the water. A little evening traffic and tourists manipulating the roads and we arrived at the Sundowner Inn in Seaside. It was kickstands down and we quickly unpacked, showered, and moved our chairs outside where we gathered for a cold drink before dinner. We were only a block away from the main drag in town and the restaurant had a thirty minute wait so we walked down by the beach to watch all the bonfires that were being lit and fueled by young twenty-thirty somethings. We strolled down the other side of the street and browsed through a small art/gift shop before heading back to the restaurant. Well it was another thirty minutes before we were finally seated and some of us were eyeing the seagull bread as we waited. Norma’s restaurant has been featured in Sunset Magazine, Bon Appetite Magazine, and won an AAA award. Full and satisfied we headed back to our rooms for sleep and an early morning ride down the coast.

Thursday morning we pulled out of Seaside at 7:00 AM and stopped for breakfast at Manzanita. The local café had great food and service. We stopped in Tillamook but it was a little early for ice-cream. We took the self guided tour then headed back down the coast. The fog shrouded the trees in a ghostly outline as we took the twists and turns down the coast road. We took a break in Newport Beach to walk along the wharf, get a shot of caffeine, see the wax museum, and Lorie bought her taffy. Next stop was Florence for lunch and we found a little place that was almost closing for the day but gladly served us lunch with a smile on their faces and joked with us. We spent most of the day riding in a light fog all the way down the coast, finally finding sunshine before we arrived in Coos Bay. A pit stop for gas and we headed to the local Harley dealer. When you are on a bike you just need to stop and see what they have that is different, new, or must have. It was a nice break and now we were on our way to Roseburg to our hotel for the night. Misdirection by a not-so-nice local had us headed up the freeway to a wrong exit and then winding our way back through unfamiliar streets until we could see the hotel sign. It’s always one bad egg that causes a stink, but the hotel staff and the restaurant staff were nice and that (and our cocktail hour) made it all better.

Friday morning we had a continental breakfast at the hotel and then headed out. The morning was spent winding our way around the mountain road next to the Umpqua River. It was a beautiful ride and the river had small rapids, quiet ponds, and occasionally you would see a fisherman standing in the stream. Crater Lake loomed ahead of us and it is hard to image the enormity of it. I have flown over the lake numerous times going back and forth to California but up close it is breathtaking. We had lunch at the lodge before we headed down the south east side towards Klamath Falls and then headed north to Bend. Dave took us on a spiraling road to the top of Pilot Point where you can look out at the whole valley below and every way you turn there is a mountain to see. Bill ordered pizza and Caesar salads for an army while we sat around laughing and talking in Dave and Lorie’s hotel room. We sat in the hotel lobby breakfast area to eat dinner and tried our best to give away the extra food to anyone who wandered to close to our tables.

Rise and shine. Breakfast at the hotel and we were headed north to Mt. Hood. I always get a little nervous thinking about mountains and steep hillsides, even more so on a bike. The climb up Mt. Hood really wasn’t bad at all. Mostly trees and an occasional steep slope but the roads were wide and well maintained. The Timberline Lodge was majestic standing just above the tree line. It wasn’t very crowded and plenty of parking. We walked up a not so steep incline but wearing motorcycle boots is like wearing five pound weights on each foot and counting every step. In today’s world I don’t think you could every duplicate the craftsmanship that went into building the lodges that dot our national parks. The timbers came from old growth trees that mills don’t even have the machinery to cut now days. Skilled laborers, and locals who were trained, built and made everything in the lodge from the wrought iron hinges, fireplace screens, the benches, and woven floor to ceiling woolen drapes in Indian designs. It is definitely a bygone era that needs to be preserved and treasured.

Back down the mountain and over to Parkdale for lunch in a little converted gas station to café. Dave M. grew up in this area of the woods so he showed us where he used to fish and swim in the summers at Lost Lake (E-e-kwahl-a-mat-yam-lshkt, meaning “'heart of the mountains”) (Oregon has 19 lakes named Lost Lake) near the little town of Dee that is no more. The tree lined road gently took us upwards to a quiet little resort that was full up. We stopped for ice cream at the store and a photo opportunity of the most photographed spot of Mt. Hood. Back down to road and on to the Columbia River. We went through Mosier and stopped at the Rowena Crest for a brief rest and a view of the river below. This was the old road, named the King of Roads, along the Columbia River and the roads and rock walls were built by the WPA and it is considered one of the twenty-five most beautiful roads in America. We pulled into our hotel and as usual took our showers, had a cold drink, and Lorie had made dinner reservations at Romul’s, an Italian restaurant. Lots more laughter, stories, and memories to treasure.

Sunday morning we crossed back into Washington and drove west up the Columbia River before heading north into the Columbia River Gorge towards Mt. Adams. We stopped at Trout Lake for a quick break then up into the farm lands and winding, twisting roads that were both breathtaking and heart stopping at times. Down the tight and very narrow road, where the fog line on the other side of the road sometimes disappeared over the edge. We stopped in the old mill town of Klickitat for lunch. The mill is gone with only the cement floors remaining and some old rusted machinery left standing to the edges. We made a loop and headed north to the Maryhill Winery. They have a beautiful grass 4,000 seat outdoor amphitheater built into the sloping hillside where they hold outdoor concerts during the summer months. Musicians played on the garden terrace covered with grape laden arbors that led into the wine tasting room. We drove down the road to Stonehenge, a WWI monument dedicated to the local soldiers who lost their lives. It sits on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River and while it is an amazing sight to visit it is also a stark reminder that these men fought so that no one after them would have to sacrifice their lives; and yet memorials are still being built for each new war to honor the sacrifices of our young men and women. We were back to our hotel in time to take a short rest before meeting up for cold drinks, conversation and dinner. I can’t remember the name of the little restaurant where we had dinner, but the service was great and the servings were large.

Day six, Monday morning, and we are heading home. We were on the road by 7:00 AM and made good time. Usually on a Monday morning you have the typical big rigs crisscrossing the state to deliver goods and clogging up the roads. We must have been just ahead of them. We made a couple of pit stops before heading up the river road at Yakima towards Cle Elum where we gassed up. We headed up Blewett Pass and stopped at a little restaurant that Dave M. said serves the best meatloaf sandwich, so most of us sampled the recommendation. We slowed down for Leavenworth but didn’t stop; we were close to home and wanted to get over Stevens Pass and ahead of the commute traffic on Interstate 5. We dropped down on the other side of the pass, stopped for gas, cold drinks and removed some of the cold weather clothing we were still wearing. We took the direct route home which was stop and go in Monroe and then began the challenge of dealing with traffic and crazy drivers. Trying to keep four bikes together on the freeway in a staggered formation is pretty hard to do when cage drivers only care about where they want to be and think bikers should just move out of the way. One particular driver split the group, rode the bumper of Bill and Marla, honked when we passed him and found a safe distance to move back into the lane, moved over and up on Dave and Dawn when they also signaled and moved over; then the cage driver honked and moved his vehicle towards them. The driver backed off when he saw Dawn’s camera and we do have a picture of his license plate for proof of road rage.

The rest stop at Smokey Point couldn’t have come at a better time. Breath in, breath out...feel the tension leave… We were only about an hour away from home now. The ride home would be easier since most of the traffic was behind us now. Over Bow Hill and now we waved and pulled off one by one as friends headed on to our own homes.

It seems like longer than six days and yet I wasn’t ready for it to end, except of course I would have had to stop and do laundry someplace along the way if we had been gone any longer. Next year we will have the trike and I can pack more. Yipee! Next year? Wonder where we will go.

Kelly and Kyler

2009-08-18T01:49:00.000-07:00

My daughter and my grandson.

Wednesday 7-29-09 art card donation

2009-08-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Card - Be Yourself

2009-07-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Silk flower, eyelet paper trim, rub-ons, and an original poem.

Kyler O'Neal Danger Atkinson

2009-06-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

The first Doctor appointment

Baby Atkinson is nine weeks and doing well. He or she has an arrival date of November 16th, 2009, which is my father’s birthday. If it is a boy, his middle name will be O’Neal, my father’s middle name, but it is also the middle name of my son Jim who Kelly will be giving the baby a name for.

Kyle heard the heart beat and Kelly said he freaked out, but in a good way. He hasn’t been around babies so all this is new to him, but he is being a very loving and supportive husband to Kelly. I am sure he will be a wonderful father.
Kelly wanted her grandmother to be the first to see the sonogram pictures and she emailed them today. Kelly said since I told her my mom is my best girlfriend then she picked my mom as her best girlfriend and she likes to tease me about it. We both win.

Sex

Kelly and Kyle have decided to let the doctors tell them the sex of the baby when she is far enough along to determine what the sex. I can hardly wait to buy pink, or blue, or green with flowers or monkeys, or whether the Harley outfit should have pink or blue on it. Not so fast.

Hiccups

Baby A had the hiccups when Kelly went to the doctor and it made it a little hard to hear the heartbeat because Baby A would move around so much. Kyle wasn’t sure hiccups were a good thing for his baby but Kelly assured him it was not different than one of them having hiccups.

Heartbeat

Baby A is 16 weeks and doing great. He or she does not like to have his heart heard. Every time the doctor thought she was ready to listen, baby A moved and hid. Eventually he/she was found and a strong healthy heartbeat was heard. This baby is already taking control. Watch out Kelly and Kyle.

Kicking…like dad

June 24th Kyle felt the baby move for the first time. A MMA fighter in the making.

Introducing: Kyler O’Neal Danger Atkinson

Today, June 30th, Kelly and Kyle found out the sex of baby A. It’s a boy. Kyler is strong and healthy and both parents are on cloud nine. Me too!

Wednesday Art Card Donation...Russian Doll

2009-06-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

This is my Russian doll card for the Wednesday donation at Stampadoodle. She has felt flowers, glitter, ribbons, rickrack, fabric leaves, metal studs colored with alcohol inks, and wiggly eyes.

Psalm 46:10

2009-06-28T14:23:00.001-07:00

Be still, and know that I am God.

From Boring Blue to Muddy Mississippi

2009-06-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

We have begun the house project of 2009. Paint. No more boring, depressing blue. I like blue, don’t get me wrong. But a blue house, blue carpet, blue paint and blue wallpaper everywhere you look was way too much for me when we bought this house.

So one step at a time. Paint is cheap, at least a gallon or so at a time. I stripped all the blue wallpaper in the bedrooms before we moved in. Removed the frilly, not womanly feminine country (I love country but this was outdated country) curtains and painted our master bedroom cafe au lait with white trim and the master bath white. I’ve changed the bedding several times but the wall color always works.

Kelly’s bedroom had little lambs on a border and we got rid of that really fast and painted everything a clean white so her dark midnight blue moon and stars would show up better.

Michael had the pink room so we stripped it down and painted a clean white palette and gave it a more masculine look.

Then I had to take a break but after one winter in Washington with dark grey skies and overcast days, I broke out the paint brushes and painted the living room a pale creamy yellow. Funny, I didn’t even notice the blue rug anymore.

The old dining area, which is now a sitting area off the kitchen, became a shade darker yellow than the living room. And the best part was no more blue border. So that only left the kitchen, and the pantry which is sort of open to the kitchen. I spiced it up a bit and went for a French New Orleans bolder deeper yellow. Now the blue, yes I said blue, counter top looked almost grey not blue. The blue and white tiles sort of receded because the yellow color said look at me.

I used all three colors of yellow and sort of did a faux French painting technique in the entryway to get rid of yet another shade of blue. I went up the staircase with bright white paint to open it up and get rid of the dark dreaded, “what is at the top of the stairs feeling” all that “blue” paint gave the staircase.

Now that the kitchen looked brighter the cabinets looked horrible. Cha ching. Of course paint can fix almost anything. I painted all the base cabinets black after Larry added some additional trim molding so they weren’t flat fronts. New hardware from my favorite store…EBay. The kitchen island got hand painted doors with chicken, cows, sheep, and stars. I painted the upper cabinets red then Kelly helped me crackle them with a creamy white paint and then we glazed them to give them an aged look. New hardware and the whole kitchen looked fresh and clean. Five weeks from start to finish and a little paint.

While Kelly was gone one summer, I stripped the blue wallpaper out of her bathroom and painted the murky blue wall with bright white semi-gloss paint. Four coats is what it took to cover that horrible blue paint. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint. Wow. Four 100 watt bulbs really can light up a bathroom. Again the blue Formica counter tops looked almost grey and the dark midnight blue flooring was no longer shooting look at me. New rugs, new towels. Hallelujah the upstairs was done. That is if you don’t count the linen closet and the master bath linen closet which are peach and blue. Doors closed. Another day, another week.

This worked until the kids moved out and then it was time to mix it up again. The old sunroom became the new dining room. Hunting coat red went up on the walls with white paint on all the woodwork. Wow. What could I do next?!

The small guest bath downstairs. You guessed it. No more blue. I stripped layers of blue wallpaper, flower wallpaper, gunk, junk, and more paper..and then painted, I bought every craft size bottle of copper paint I could find in the county and mixed them (I couldn’t find anyone at that time who sold copper paint in quarts) and painted. New curtains--it was good…for now. Okay so paint did not distract you from the old white 1970’s cabinet with outdated hardware and fake marble Formica top. Another day, another dollar.

Onto bigger and better things:

The study, which we took on last fall. Stripped the old paper, rebuilt the fireplace wall and installed a new high efficiency gas fireplace that really warms the room, new flat screen TV for Larry, and paint. I used cream paint on the upper walls, mocha on the lower wall paneling, and the dining room red on the fireplace wall. Gone was fake stain to make the paneling look like oak, the busy border and one of the chair rail moldings was gone. The blue green wallpaper that covered the top half of the walls was gone as was the blue paint underneath, and the green we found, and the builder’s beige.

Well that only leave my studio left untouched by my paintbrush and it will have to wait a little longer. With a very large wire dog kennel that the dog sleeps in at night, and my stuff which I am sorting through to make the studio cleaner and more efficient, I will live with the grey green walls. Yes you heard me right. But underneath the grey green walls, lies a shade of blue. I removed an ugly yellow ceramic duck head towel holder and what did I behold…blue paint. I’ll just hang a picture and wait. But I do know the paint color my room aspires to be someday-- Shimmering white with a pearlescent sheen. Black and white hounds tooth curtains, white sheers (I already have those up), and two new cream shabby chic work tables already in use; and the ugly white fan (you just cannot use a fan in an art studio with lots of bits and pieces of paper, gold leafing, glitter, etc.) will come down to be replaced by a crystal chandelier with a drum shade. I can see it now.

But right now what I see is the outside of my home that is crying out, paint me. Now! Bob Gibbons the painter, the Harley friend, the nice guy, power washed the house and said you really need to do this now before it gets worse. Okay. We finally agreed on a set of colors, muddy Mississippi for the main body of the house, French cream for the trim, India ink for the shutters, and cranberry bog red for the front door. Ready set go. Not so fast. Prep work. Stop! Houston we have a problem… Seems the old LP siding is finally wearing out. Okay it’s really all a disaster…Bob could push a finger through some of it. So Bob called his carpenter friend to check it out and hopefully it would be just a matter of new siding with no damage underneath, and maybe we caught it early. Just new siding will still set us back a thousand dollars, or so, more than we had planned to spend but there isn’t much we can do about it. Better to fix it now than have to come back and do it later and paint again.

June 12th, Friday morning, Bob was ready to go. He sprayed the porch roof the cream white and already the house has begun to look newer. The front of the house is prepped and all the extra Victorian doodad trim has been removed, plastic covers everything not to be painted and the paint sprayer was turned on. Wow. My little blue country farm house is metamorphosing into a sleek, updated, modern, contemporary county home.

Let’s see? It has taken me ten years to paint all but one room inside the house so if the outside of the house had been left up to me, it might have taken me another ten years to complete it. Better to leave some things to the experts who are quick and efficient. Good thing we have a friend who is a painter.

Well it was all moving so smoothly. That should have been the warning signal…Trouble under the bedrooms windows in the front of the house. When we first moved in one window wall was damp. It dried up in a few day and no more problems. Well, just no problems that we could see. Bob called his friend Bill and what was to be a replacement of some bad siding became a complete tear out of the upper part of the house. Between building codes being different from 1974 to today, to previous contractor shortcuts, siding that is known to fail, no weather sheathing, and windows that were installed improperly, a simple paint job morphed into a major remodel of the front of the house upstairs. Thought that was it? No! The wood door between the house, the garage, and the sporting goods room that at one time was used as a passageway to the backyard, was rotten and the hardware was rusted and couldn’t be removed. We decided that since we never use the door, we had Bill remove it, replaced the door with siding, sealing the doorway off, and cut off the old hardware. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Dry rot on Monday, so on Tuesday the windows were removed, and the framing is being rebuilt and the damaged wood removed. We have had 28 days of no rain and now it looks like that is about to change which means the work is on hold and the paint will also have to wait. One window is back in, and one window is covered with plywood. The inside of both bedroom walls will probably have to be patched and painted but that will probably be a nice winter painting project for me.

If the rain holds off, the shop is sort of ready to go. We knew one panel of siding needed to be replaced but we found a second panel and another one needs to be renailed. Larry and I took the truck up to the back yard and pulled out 7 beautiful elderberry trees that sprung up from small shrubs last year that we hadn’t even noticed, and had become full blown 15 foot trees right up against the back of the shop. Sad they couldn’t be saved. Sadder still is all the perennials that had to be cut down so that Bob could paint the shop. At least they will grow back even though they won’t bloom this year. So if the weather holds Bob will begin painting the shop cranberry bog red tomorrow. I guess the bonus in all of this is the weeds are being removed at a much faster speed because of the painting.

Amazing what paint can do to a home. Now that the old shutters have been removed, the house is sporting a fresh new color of paint, and the windows trimmed out they way they should have been, we aren’t going to put the new black shutters up. The house looks so clean and pretty and I don’t want to mess up the look with fussy shutters. We do have new black coach lanterns on the front of the house and the back deck. Last night we heard a loud crash and Larry went to investigate with Deuce the brave dog, and when he flipped on the porch light, wow, a new 100 watt bulb, the porch ceiling painted the creamy white and you could actually see outside. Turns out it was just one of the unused shutters that had blown over making the loud crashing sound.

The trim is being finished on the house and the shop. The torn off old siding has been removed and disposed of. The cupola on top of the shop has been repaired and all the windows trimmed out with new wood. The house and the garden finally look like they fit together.

The front door is being painted the same cranberry bog red as the shop. It’s going to say to say welcome to all our guests who come to visit. Of course the weather has turned and it is rainy and windy and the front doors are wide open to allow the paint to dry and cure. This is coat one of three. I teased in an email to friends that we may have to leave the doors wide open all night and sit by them to guard from pesky intruders, like skunks, stray cats, or opossums.

Bob painted the new wood house numbers and put them up this morning and now the UPS and FedEx delivery people will know exactly which house is 2612. Of course we can no longer tell people to turn onto Nubgaard and we are the third house on the left, just look for the blue house, because it is no longer blue. Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!

I will work on the front porch and back deck this summer to refinish them with a fresh coat of stain and we will do a more yard clean up. I need to trim the rhododendrons and putty and paint the front porch posts but this will be part of my summer project, one that I need to do quickly so the house looks completed. Maybe next year we will build the porch railing.

Carpenter Bill (who at heart is an arborist) is going to come next week and trim the big pine tree on the East side of the house, remove the pine needles off the roof, and clean the gutters which are full of needles. He said he will also take care of my big red leaf maple out front that lost three limbs from the hard winter we had this year.

Anniversary Flowers

2009-06-16T22:49:00.000-07:00

Every year for our anniversary, Larry gives me a dozen red roses and a yellow rose for each year we have been married. He also give me a real rose dipped in real gold for each year we have been married. I am the luckiest girl because he loves me...forever and ever...body and soul.

June 14th was our 11th anniversary.

Happy Birthday Kyle

2009-06-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox postcard

DeVine Gardens...Custer, WA

2009-06-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Several months ago Larry and I attended an auction for the Herman Miller 4-H Park www.hermanmiller4hpark.webs.com, which several of our friends support.

We won three auction items that night, two for Larry and the one I wanted really badly, the DeVine Gardens www.devinegardens.com weekly fresh produce. From mid May through the growing season into the fall, we will pick up a twenty pound box of fresh produce every weekend at the Ferndale Farmers Market. I love vegetables and it will be fun to see what we get and how we can use it that week. While Larry is not a vegetable consumer, I am sure he is going to learn to love vegetables and get healthier while he eats them.

Kirk and Jeri Hayes who own DeVine Gardens were busy working in the fields when we first tried to call them to see what we needed to do to arrange to pick up the vegetables. Two weeks ago as we returned from a Harley ride, the market was just closing so we stopped by in full leathers to chat. Kirk said just to drop by on Saturdays or if we wanted, come out to the farm and he would be happy to get us started on our gourmet adventure.

So Saturday I made my first trip to the market and they loaded me up with asparagus, endive, lettuce, onions, garlic, broccoli, and English peas. There is nothing like the smell and taste of fresh, just out of the garden veggies. It reminds me of when I was a child in Oklahoma and my parents always had a small garden that we tended in the evenings after my dad got off work. I fixed a vegetable stir fry with lemon sauce and fried rice for dinner on Saturday night. Michael came out Sunday evening for several bags of vegetables while we were at our small group meeting where we also shared fresh asparagus with our friends. Larry will also take a sampling of veggies to his mother this week.
I can’t wait to see what we get next week and what kind of recipes we find to cook all these vegetables with.

Farm Town

2009-06-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

I found this vintage royalty free image and it just sort of fits all of those who are now farming on Facebooks Farm Town game.