You asked for it...

Just so you can't say I don't play fair -- this picture was taken a few years ago at a skate park in Florida. I am sitting on the board and, believe me, that was scary enough! No way was I going to stand on that thing!
Feel free to comment. I can take it!

"That's not going on the internet, is it?"

Poppy at the diner

I was having some fun with mobile blogging. Take a picture with your cell phone, send it to blogger and in a matter of minutes it's on your blog! Fun, huh?

Happy "old" Halloween

In what they probably see as a never ending quest to embarrass them, and in honor of the upcoming holiday, I present some memories of my children's Halloweens past.
Time has flown by and now we celebrate Halloween with their children.
(And I promise if I ever come across any pictures of me dressed for Halloween when I was a child I will post them for you all to see. I promise. Really.)

Fun with technology

Weather or not

"For the man sound in body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather, every sky has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously". George Gissing

We are getting a major gale this morning. Or, as it's called, a Nor'easter. Hurricane Wilma is off the coast to the east and is colliding with a strong low front that is moving in from the NW. The wind is blowing hard with some pretty good gusts and the rain is pouring down. All the rain we had 2 weeks ago caused the roof to leak in our newly redone sunporch so I am keeping an eagle eye on that ceiling again today. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it doesn't start raining inside again! Despite the worry about the ceiling, I really kind of enjoy days like this, all nice and cozy inside. A perfect day for just puttering around, reading and being lazy!

Celebrate Good Times!

Our family had 2 birthdays to celebrate this past week. Amy and John are 363 days apart in age! Since we live far away from them, we didn't get to see them in person but we wish them another year filled with blessings and good health. And just for kicks, I found this picture of them taken 15 years ago (minus 2 months) when we were living in Raleigh. Shortly after this picture was taken they became engaged and the rest, as they say, is history. Happy Birthday to our wonderful daughter and our equally amazing son (in-law)!

Anticipation

Two weeks ago family and friends got together to celebrate the impeding arrival in December of Heath and Jenn's first baby, Caleb. Even though it was a dark and rainy day, we had a great time. (Thank you, Sherry, for opening your home to us, to Tia for the decorations and games, to Carolyn for the wonderful lemon bars, and to Janice for the delicious food and beautiful cake!) So many wonderful gifts were presented to the excited parents-to-be, the food was terrific, and the games and prizes were a lot of fun. I think Heath even made baby shower history by sitting down and opening a few gifts while Jenn took a well earned break! Baby Caleb is one lucky baby to have so many people that love him! Can't wait to see you, Caleb!

View from the sidelines

As most of you know, Sean enjoys competing in races -- 5ks, marathons, triathalons, dualathons, he tries them all! Despite his pleadings for me to join him in a race sometime (yeah, right), I have so far remembered my limits and have chosen to participate in my own special way as a fan/photographer. His most recent race was this past weekend at Heckscher State Park. The Carl Hart Dualathon consisted of a 2 mile run, a 10 mile bike, and another 2 mile run to finish. (Now do you see why I cleverly decided to be the photographer?) The weather was beautiful (after our previous 9 days of heavy rain), but extremely windy! Sean had a great race and finished 1st (!) in his age group (30-34). We had a good time -- lots of fresh air, sunshine, competition, a victory, some raisin bagels and time spent with Sean. What more could you ask for?

Four times blessed

"A constant friend is a thing rare and hard to find."
Plutarck

These 4 women have been in my life since the long ago days of high school. Our paths became intertwined as we got married and had our children and our bond continues to this day -- in some cases nearly 40 years later! -- stronger than ever. Our friendship has never faltered even when time and distance stepped in. Birth and death, weddings and funerals, husbands and children and now grandchildren, we are always there for each other. Yes, I am four times blessed!
This picture was taken last night at a birthday dinnner celebration at one of our local eateries. Good food and a good time!

Baby Steps

As I continue to try keeping up with the 21st century, I have now decided to attempt a blog. I have some great role models that have given me inspiration and encouragement, so here goes!
Who would have imagined more than half a century ago that this little baby would some day be able to do all this? It's equally impossible to imagine what the world will be like when my grandchildren achieve my current ripe old age -- or even my children!
Well, all I can do is hold on and see what I can do. Hopefully the pictures I post and the comments I make will at least serve as a record of an ordinary woman trying to live a good life. And succeeding pretty well, too -- if I do say so myself!