Thursday, June 20, 2013

Vacation Anticipation

It's time again for our annual road trip to Island Park, Idaho. I put in my vacation request early in the year. The weeks just prior to the trip keep me very busy. There are meals to plan, shopping to do, packing, laundry, hold the mail, kennel the dog, solicit the neighbor to water the plants, water the indoor plants, clean out the fridge, pack snacks, etc. I don't think there is any end to the list of things to do prior to going on vacation.

But once the truck is packed and I'm in the drivers seat the attitude then becomes, "whatever we forgot we can either buy it or we'll survive a week without it."

I packed sewing projects, knitting, books, my Nook, and a notebook for writing. We'll drive one day to Boise and spend the night. Then Sunday is a little bit shorter drive and we'll arrive at our cabin before dinner time.

This year if the weather cooperates we have been promised a super full moon over the lake Sunday night.

There will be lots of fun with family, great nephews, fishing, sewing, eating, lounging, sleeping, and more eating.
I'm looking forward to it all.

Henry's Lake in Island Park, Idaho

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

48 Bottles of ? on the Wall

It started innocently enough with an email from my sister asking what could be done with small glass bottles. I thought it over and suggested to her that she could paint them, put spice mixes in them, use them for vases. I had a few ideas for her.

The next note said "how much would you pay for them, 5.00?" And I replied, "that sounds good". Then next thing I know she's on a road trip and visiting at my house.

She opens up the back of the car and says to me, "here are your glass bottles".  I said, "my bottles?" and she said "yes, you said you wanted them"! We had a good laugh when I told her that I thought she was getting them for herself.

Awesome, I now have 48 glass bottles, 47 actually. I took one to church to show a friend and I needed something to put push pins in.

Any ideas just let me know. They are small and cute.





Sunday, June 2, 2013

Feeling Blessed

We've had a lot of rain this May in Seattle. So when the sun came out the other day it coincided with the second storm to hit Oklahoma. It's hard to understand how we can be enjoying a perfect spring day and people thousands of miles to the East of us have a wind so strong their houses are being blown apart.

I said to my husband, "I don't want to feel guilty about being so happy today." But I think it's important that we take stock of what we have now at this moment in time. The attitude of the people in Oklahoma instills in me what's really important.



They have lost everything, but they are grateful to be alive. Some of them have experienced this before, they rebuild, they come back stronger.

It's a long road that's for sure. But after all what they really lost is "things".

I look around my house and I see a lot of things. Some have lots of special memories attached to them. But the memories are also in my mind and I can still share them without having the things.

It's a sunny spring Sunday afternoon. For the last two days we have been able to work in the yard. I have beautiful flowers blooming. The plants have enjoyed the rain. The winter here was mild. Things bloomed early. And I love looking out the kitchen window into the back yard. Better yet I love to go out there barefooted with the dog.

No matter what is going on in your life right now, take a look around you, relish the good, be grateful, be content, but keep growing.

In the last month I lost two friends, one suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 60 and one on his 41st birthday after a powerful 7 years battling cancer. Also this month my niece had a beautiful baby girl.

This is life, we are smack dab in the middle of it, every single day. We are blessed.


July Already and Only My 2nd Post this Year!

I have to say this year, 2023 has been a huge year of firsts for me. In January I went on my very first cruise. My friend Chris and I flew t...