Happy 37th Birthday

On this day 37 years ago I became the proud Mommy of you! As I do every year, I have spent this morning happily nostalgic with the many, many fond and silly memories we made together... You were one of the greatest highlights of my life....
All these people and many, many more are wishing you were here today to celebrate!

Your sister, S'te

Aunt Sharen, Grandma Judy, and of course, MeGrandpa Doland and Your Nieces and Nephews

May God be with you, wherever you are!

Spring 2009!

The Apple Trees have bloomed!

A bit of the garden has been planted - but still much to go!
The cabinets arrived
And I think they are beautiful!
Of course ~ best laid ideas (LOL) ~ a water pipe in the kitchen is leaking - so it needs to be fixed before install~~ and a couple of sockets need to be moved.... but it will be done.... and it will be great~~~

God is Good~

Happy Birthday Dad!

Historical events on your birthday!!

2006

The newly installed Nepalese government votes to strip the King of Nepal of his power leaving him with a largely ceremonial role.

1994

Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley.

1991

Helen Sharman, at the age of 27, becomes the first Briton in space.

1980

Mount St Helens' volcano in Washington state erupts killing at least 100 people and creating a cloud of ash 2,500 miles long and 1,000 miles wide.

1969

NASA launches Apollo 10 - its mission is a rehearsal for the Moon landing flight later in the year.

1950

In London, NATO formally establishes it charter.

1944

The Second World War: Allied troops led by the Polish Army, finally win the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy.

See, it was a special day for many!!

Not much.....

going on here. Tim and I are tearing down a wall and getting the kitchen ready for my 'new' (to me) cabinets.
I was browsing through Craig's List to see what kind of good deals were being offered. I happened on a fellow selling the cabinets that he had hoped to put into his house. I got a new sink, fixtures, the stain (they are unfinished), delivery, and install all thrown in!! Not a bad price either. What a great deal for me!! I love to browse Craig's List - it is way better than the 'shoppers' and you can go to any state, any neighborhood, and specify just what you are looking for - or just look at all of it!!!
So we had to hurry the process along a bit more than originally planned. LOL At least I'm pretty sure it was more than Tim had planned..... He crawled up into the attic to see just what was going on up there..... and I started taking off the top layer - paneling ... then we went to the second layer - 4or 5 layers of wallpaper, then to the third layer - plywood, then to the 4th layer - lap siding on both sides of the 2x4's, and finally, the frame which was attached pretty much to nothing! It was anchored into the floor really well and the plywood was wedged into a groove in the ceiling. Amazing! There was definately a lot of wood that went into the trailer!!

So today I need to clean out the 3 cabinets that I now have in the kitchen, stack everything in the back room, and slide these out the door - probably to the deck for the time being, and wait for 'my' new oak cabinets!!! Yay!!!

Keith is still at S'te's - and I miss him. It's only been a week since I left and he won't be home for another month.... I will be so glad to see him again!!!

North to Oregon!

I've made it! I did take a rather round about way to get here but I've learned a few things.

The Golden Gate Bridge isn't Gold!

That little stick of a telephone pole dosen't hold a
candle to a Giant Redwood

And the Pacific is always beautiful!

So, I've made it back to Coos Bay, in good health, in great time, and I can enjoy myself, all by my self. LOL

I had wonderful weather for driving and sightseeing. Sunshine and nice temperatures made for a really great trip. It dripped on me a little bit going through Bandon - but Bandon always drips!! The sun was shining when I arrived and I've gotten busy getting ready to get busy on my projects.

More Mother's Day

The girls got up really early this morning... to prepare a wonderful Mother's Day breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and french toast sticks for us. Keith got to participate in the breakfast event by going to the store for them and bringing home supplies.... and he got to eat too.... hehee!!

After breakfast the younger ones took turns giving S'te and I facials, foot massages, leg massages, pedicures, manicures, thoroughly giving us the royal treatment as we relaxed in our seats.

After our spa treatments, they prepared lunch for us - burgers and home fries were enjoyed by S'te, Keith, and I. They also finished the laundry, straightened the downstairs, changed the baby, ran the scooby, and did the dishes. Ty came over bringing a personalized card and a HUGE chocolate for me and an adorably cute card for S'te - signed by all! It was a great Mother's Day morning! I do have pictures - but the card reader is packed ... so they will have to wait....

Then I had to get ready to leave... boo hoo!! We got the car packed and said our good-byes - Keith walked me to the car - and off I went!! I only made it about 50 miles before the first stop - San Juan Capistrano - I didn't see any accident - but we traveled very, very slowly for many miles before getting back up to speed. Then coming down the north side of the Grapevine there was a small brush fire that had the southbound traffic stopped (not my side - thank you Lord!!) for at the very least, 10 miles!!! By the time I got to Buttonwillow, I was sleepy, still full, and ready to stop! So here I am.....

It's morning and I am most ready for us to take off again - I am headed over to 101 to travel up the coast and thru the redwoods. At least, that is my plan at this point. The best part of traveling alone - is that I don't really have to have a plan.... hehee. If and when I get lost - if I keep going North - I will at least be headed in the right direction!!!

So now I am - northward bound!!

Mother's Day

I want to honor all the Mother's everywhere.
Not only those who have the title by 'birth' but also
those who have come by the title thru love.

Those who are Mom's in all the ways that count!

Happy Mother's Day to you!!

I've had a really special celebration already! We've had
our Mother's Day a little early this year....
So far today .....

Went to Brayana and Jaleel's football game really,
really early this morning! And they got
their first touchdown of the season...
and then scored again before the end of the game!!

Then
My oh-so-crafty little baby girl gave me this special treat this afternoon!
My favorite animal...... wolves
along with my most favorite of all....
my family!!
A throw pillow made with a portrait of my most
favorite people in all the world!!!

Then
we went on to watch 'Lil-Mak' play his
lil heart out at flag football.

The guy in the blue is Mak! They guy in the white
was their opponents today!
And they tied the game!!!
Horray!!

And to top the day off!!
We had some of the best pizza~

So I've had a great Mother's Day!
How about you?

San Diego

Thanks to all of the help from friends and neighbors - we got all packed up, closed up, and on our way West!

We arrived her at S'te and Rod's home yesterday afternoon. We had a very nice and pretty uneventful travel day. There was quite a bit of turbulence - not unusual for cross country this time of year - but I've definitely been in worse! We waited a little over an hour for our rental car to get ready - but then Keith got a credit for the long wait - so that worked out well!

I was really glad to see the kids. As always they have grown by leaps and bounds. They just keep on growing and maturing!! I can't seem to do anything to stop it! Brayana is now taller than I and Destini is a real, real close second!! I haven't seen Ty yet and Rod is off to his training in Virginia - I won't be here to see him when he returns - but I will see him next month when they stop to get his car!

I plan to be here thru this week and head North on Sunday. Sharen said it is hot over in the desert - so I doubt that I will get over by way to see Dad on my way!

So I look forward to spending the next few days here - helping S'te get ready to move North and enjoying being with my dear family!

Visit is over

We had a blast having Sharen and Jack visit. Well, they probably had a better time.... but we sure enjoyed them. Jack was only able to stay a few days as he had to return to Oregon for training sessions - but Sharen got to stay for the whole 2 weeks.

They did some exploring, and some scuba diving, and some touristing, and had lunch with some friends of Jacks that are out here in this area, and spent some time on the beaches.... all before Sharen took Jack to the airport... The first day of any kind of weather was the day Sharen had to come back down I95 by herself. There were regular rainstorms with the lightening and winds. Several tornados touched down up around the Orlando area - so she hung out and waited until the weather cells passed over - got on the road and got some good old gullywashers as she came down the Interstate! She worried that she hadn't researched driving in our little storms - and made it back here in good time and completely safely....

We did some aquacises with Peggy a few of the remaining mornings and we went up to finish up the 2nd day of their Kennedy Space Center tickets. Buyer beware!!! The tickets say 7 days - but they are counting the day of purchase.... You do not have 7 more days to use the 2nd day portion.... And we took a couple of little side trips - making wrong (or not making) turns and looking for the closest parking space - so we missed all but the final viewing of the movies she wanted very badly to see. The movies are about 45 minutes long so you have to be there by 3 (not a second later - they close the doors) to see both of them. We did see a very interesting and history filled movie about the moon walk and Apollo missions. It was in 3D and it was very good. I totally enjoyed it. We spent some time in the NASA store (of course) and there was an astronaught doing autographs. Of couse, we couldn't get anywhere near him - and then they had another fellow dressed up as one - and we were stuck in a line and couldn't get out there for pictures with him either - so we settled for pod pics....



Sharen gave up on me and my lack of interest in my surroundings and went up to the Treasure Museum alone - she gathered groups of shells to make 'things' with from her beach walk. She was the bunny.....
for the Easter Egg hunt....
and before she left we took her down to the Riverside Cafe for her first taste of grouper. It is a neat little waterfront cafe that sits right at the water's edge and has it's own little boat dock for the customers that show up via water....

We took a little tour and showed her the marina, yacht club, boat ramps, gazillion dollar homes, and other little odd things. Like where Keith's favorite Mexican Restaurant on 20th is.

We had some really good visits and she has an idea of what all will be ready and what will need done when they return in October. It will be nice to have the house used.... and fun to have a friend close.

So, as Sharen is probably just boarding the plane . . . . safe travels and we'll see you in summer!

5 Years!!

I know this does not sound like much for you 'old timers' - but we are now, today celebrating our 5th Anniversary!! Thank you to the friends that called to wish us a Great Day!!

We are so happy to be out of the motor home that we decided that we would just stay home and chill!! Of course, we did our aquacises first thing this morning! As I type, Keith is stretched out in the recliner and watching a Western. I've just finished scanning some photos for Nettie's Celebration of Life that will be held this coming Saturday, and life is good. The sun is shining, the birds are singing..... Sharen and Jack are headed this way next week for a nice long visit. What could be better this 4 day of April, 2009!!

Sunshine RV had their End-Of-Year Party last Saturday. We had a parade to start the day off, a coffee-n-donuts neighborhood gathering, a BBQ'd lunch, cases of soda and water, live entertainment by the pool, dinner, and dancing. During all of this we had Square Dance Demonstrations, Water Balloon Fight, Men's Sexy Leg Contest, Hula Lessons, and Treasure Hunt! Who says we are old?

Since I'd just had surgery ~ I didn't participate in a lot of the events ~ but I still had loads and loads of fun
Click here for more photos :-)

Here are a couple of video clips to amuse you!
The Chicken Dance
(Mak was to old for this when he 'graduated' from preschool!!)
The Sunshine Square Dancers
Roger N Inez

I know there is a much better better way to attach these - but I'm to tired to figure it out!!

Enjoy!

This week....

One of our neighbors has been teaching several of us to 'tat'. She makes all sorts of great stuff and it all looks so great! So I decided that I wanted to learn to. She has been trying for a couple of months now to keep us straightened out and I've learned toTat some earrings

and a snowflake

and then the latest lesson
beads!!

Shows how much free time I have on my hands....LOL

But my efforts don't hold a candle to the goodies S'te sent to me
today.....
We have bows for Granddaughters
and Shamrocks for the Grandmas
here in the Park

Since Tuesday is the annual Corned Beef and Cabbage Ritual, they have been in hot demand.

I've put her online "store" Buttinskys Bows & More button on the sidebar of my blog. This will make it really easy for you to click on and see what she is making for Easter!!

And what do I see?

The other afternoon (yes, afternoon!) Keith and I were sitting here in the RV ..... watching TV ...... and a movement caught my eye.... and I looked to the door to see ..... two dark little eyes looking back at me. He wasn't scared, he didn't jump, he didn't run - but after he finished looking around he waddled off to the tree ..... about 20 feet from me.

He found the loquats and waited for me to get the camera.
And I thought they were nocturnal!

Of course, it didn't bother Keith at all!!! LOL

Pay it Forward - Web Style

I got this from S'te's Money Pit

The Rules:

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?

2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

To cute to pass up!

- The Silent generation, people born before 1946.

- The Baby Boomers, people born between 1946 and 1959.

- Generation X, people born between 1960 and 1979.

- Generation Y, people born between 1980 and 1995


Why do we call the last one generation Y? I did not know, but a cartoonist explains it eloquently below...
Learned something new today!

Aquacise

Here are a couple of photos of our morning "aqua exercise" group. Our "fearless leader" Kathy does a wonderful job of getting us to stretch, balance, work our 'cores', and have a lot of fun at the same time. We meet every morning from 9 - 10 am and do the weight exercises, rope stretches and even more stretches on the side of the pool. She has a whole repertoire of different moves that warms us all up and gets us going for our busy days in the sun. The water is kept at a wonderful 86 or so and is nice and warm for us each morning!




After our warm water workout we all head off into the different activities.... I am learning to tatt, neighbor Kathy has tried the line dancing lessons, oil painting classes, and ballroom dancing. We haven't tried any of those but we do enjoy the bingo, card games, pot lucks, ice cream socials and of course the entertainment!

On Friday we were entertained by Hot Cocoa, a really neat quartet that did a whole litany of 40's music interspersed with some cool jazz!

on Saturday we attended a pot luck where there was food to varied to even describe. It is wonderful that we have so many people here from so many different parts of the country - each of them brought a different specialty to the party.

On Sunday we had an ice cream social - sadly the bonfire was cancelled ~ because it was to cold ~ lol ~ it was below 70!!! We've gotten so spoiled that we don't even know what cold is.

So that was our weekend. Meanwhile we did a lot of praying - for our family members who have recently had medical issues and accidents, for friends that have been ill or are going thru different kinds of hardships. Every day I realize just how wonderfully blessed my life is.

Valentine's Day

The 'Social Club' here at Sunshine RV stays really, really busy! Since the Sock Hop we've had a Spaghetti Dinner (complete with Italian entertainment) and the Moonlight Swim, and Bingo (every Monday and Thursday), and last night we played cards in the Rec room!! They have lots to do and much to keep everyone busy. They also have lots of stuff that I haven't gotten involved in... the line dancing classes look like lots of fun - but my knee doesn't want to do it. Wednesday nights they teach Ballroom Dancing - but my knee and Keith's ankles don't want to do that either. Neither of us are really into the shuffleboard and bocci that happens 2x each week. Our neighbor, Boots, really participates on that - he doesn't do the pool - but he does about everything else. His wife, Karen, does the pool with us, and we all enjoy the dances!!

So for Valentine's Day - we did the dance. We didn't look nearly as special as those who were practicing the lessons learned during the classes they attended - but we had just as much fun!! The same entertainer - Jim - as in 'Music by Jim' that we had for the Sock Hop led us thru another great evening! He is certainly a well rounded musician with a great ability to keep everyone on their toes!

During the next week there are 2 more entertainments planned and then we will get the March calendar!! How time flies.......

So - Happy Valentine's Day to all - and to all a good night!!

Yet another Birthday!

After so many - you'd think a person would just forget-about-'em.... nope, doesn't happen... at least not this year ~ ~ ~ maybe next year!

I woke up to several e-mail best wishes and Happy Birthdays... it was nice to open my "mailbox" and have such nice things to look at. Thank you for them.... Sometime during the day Keith snuck a card onto my laptop - and yes - I love you too!!

We did 2 water aerobics sessions - both the morning session - where the 'class' all sang Happy Birthday and lots of good natured kidding went on before Teacher Kathy whupped us all into a frenzy LOL!!! She works us soooo hard!!! Then because there was a full moon we had a 'Moonlight Swim' - it wasn't planned for my birthday - but I didn't tell anyone so they wouldn't change the date for it..... LOL We had lots and logs of good snacks, candy, cocoa, and flavored coffee after our 2nd workout of the day. Kathy did take it a little easier on us than in the morning and several of the husbands that attended ran a very, very comical comentary throughout the workout!!

We had great fun and when I got back to the RV ~~ and all warmed up - I got the call that I waited all day for...... the Happy Birthday wishes from my baby daughter.... Love you sweetie!!!

So . . . another Birthday come and gone!

Sock Hop

Saturday night we had a date!! We went to the Sock Hop here in the Park where we are staying. Keith was all excited!! He got to wear his next-to-favorite outfit! His jeans and a t-shirt.

-
Last week, in San Diego, S'te made a Poodle Skirt for me. Out of the 100 people at the sock hop - 75 of them asked where I got my skirt. Our neighbor said it was to bad that we wouldn't be here next year as I could take orders for her to make more!! She did such a great job on it!

Now if there was just a little less of me to fill it out!!! LOL We had such a great time! We danced, and ate pizza, and laughed with fellow residents... I had so much fun that I had a really dificult time getting my old muscles and joints moving Sunday morning Whoo Hoo!
I had so much fun!