tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36417937033893324482024-03-05T04:43:10.776-05:00From My WindowAbout family, friends and gardening with an occasional poem thrown in and a bit of inspiration down the side.Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-36632410106804871372011-06-11T13:41:00.024-04:002011-06-11T16:30:12.785-04:00FAREWELL SHED!<div style="text-align: justify;">After not posting anything since November, I really wanted to catch up. I'm really proud of myself not only for actually doing this, but for posting something that happened just YESTERDAY!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some weeks ago we ordered a new shed for the back yard. The company that's building it offered to remove the old one for just $250, so we took them up on it! I felt a little bad about getting rid of the old girl. She's been with us a long time and was really kinda cute, but then I took a good hard look inside…</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zkQ-OMKkghVgJ5FxJi9MKCwgBOE-5_Q6XnCljRXR_vJoKuuQ8io7ZQgvdGmapNW2_zatcgP7RDfguGLYQHhwl20a30hyphenhyphenpbl0uabJ1j9fY7GvpkZexHMnNpWiv1Z8fYVpuWf2Tf_9l6w/s1600/20110610_1114.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7zkQ-OMKkghVgJ5FxJi9MKCwgBOE-5_Q6XnCljRXR_vJoKuuQ8io7ZQgvdGmapNW2_zatcgP7RDfguGLYQHhwl20a30hyphenhyphenpbl0uabJ1j9fY7GvpkZexHMnNpWiv1Z8fYVpuWf2Tf_9l6w/s400/20110610_1114.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617029688631562354" /></a>the shed was Dinky, really Dinky, and Dirty…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfvkIsFRs63QivlzKLjKvMkHGINALK8RaPnzjRVMzaBpRK628bcXoN_p3HAw-za8SOglCopyWwXm7xoIr56DA_xmECltormmRyCaNZdOmK4ufXeFHK0yylA5W34Qi798Lw017LQk02dQ/s1600/20110610_1129.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfvkIsFRs63QivlzKLjKvMkHGINALK8RaPnzjRVMzaBpRK628bcXoN_p3HAw-za8SOglCopyWwXm7xoIr56DA_xmECltormmRyCaNZdOmK4ufXeFHK0yylA5W34Qi798Lw017LQk02dQ/s400/20110610_1129.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617028342862520498" /></a>Deteriorating…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbYV9ykrNUwIVKe_jxn4RF4WuLnK3Il3355rKf_fiet3aelNEf2lefHKTwuGl8Nn1PZ8i0CJCl-SkC9jIUFMqHdNJGCrCHyzNRqjdkmvwSVVciqiyDMoXNPbvjutl-g2UA_fgDRdH0-M/s1600/20110610_1124.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbYV9ykrNUwIVKe_jxn4RF4WuLnK3Il3355rKf_fiet3aelNEf2lefHKTwuGl8Nn1PZ8i0CJCl-SkC9jIUFMqHdNJGCrCHyzNRqjdkmvwSVVciqiyDMoXNPbvjutl-g2UA_fgDRdH0-M/s400/20110610_1124.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617029666626095058" /></a>Dangerous…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7WeexVZue2qlmJgVbDg1dflh2eJaMEOdtbbn3KCqZ-SPtoWK7R_Zt3TGzyQKcZCB0pf5r4dhyphenhyphenUzDkXfNZosHxqTbNLw4gntZgq4XylR96e5T_mzhxQHts4AAGS2xSAWdSacM0TymwFk/s1600/20110610_1125.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb7WeexVZue2qlmJgVbDg1dflh2eJaMEOdtbbn3KCqZ-SPtoWK7R_Zt3TGzyQKcZCB0pf5r4dhyphenhyphenUzDkXfNZosHxqTbNLw4gntZgq4XylR96e5T_mzhxQHts4AAGS2xSAWdSacM0TymwFk/s400/20110610_1125.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617028372596139250" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboNKbMqBkuhmQQuOVl43z8zn8M5wyFOVOEV8l7fDGr3fYWvxS-fUkeXIKhcpNynxkfLTdVWqckeok71QuI20UPFFpkANyNaEvQo1KWOP7NSOX7BXHbNZKFnFj8pWmoNo01XS0fZn35Tc/s1600/20110610_1126.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboNKbMqBkuhmQQuOVl43z8zn8M5wyFOVOEV8l7fDGr3fYWvxS-fUkeXIKhcpNynxkfLTdVWqckeok71QuI20UPFFpkANyNaEvQo1KWOP7NSOX7BXHbNZKFnFj8pWmoNo01XS0fZn35Tc/s400/20110610_1126.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617028367426768690" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAuz9Japm4owUllWIeeiRhi3m5E1rciY9d_R6MhwyTV73SSEnJEamptcaXaJ4j33FZ3nFttC2j-H_bd5FLKShsi5oqmRhCErkXK3LKb2_-TXz7r1PiwF8G8DYCJPlWBfVndQPzvACV7yg/s1600/20110610_1127.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAuz9Japm4owUllWIeeiRhi3m5E1rciY9d_R6MhwyTV73SSEnJEamptcaXaJ4j33FZ3nFttC2j-H_bd5FLKShsi5oqmRhCErkXK3LKb2_-TXz7r1PiwF8G8DYCJPlWBfVndQPzvACV7yg/s400/20110610_1127.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617028355083639058" /></a>And Damp! It really was time to let go.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zQhgOR20O3CWE5wuN28hD8App1c86v68AQ5WT9XARo6FiT-fEJ_XaZM_ix0nNN0nfrBgyxGM_D5B2-XwvMIdk8LnBA63i7OpNNYQdt_qdF_JzcRZcL2tjuHhTFufWMpVOCSLUmZb1fA/s1600/20110610_1128.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zQhgOR20O3CWE5wuN28hD8App1c86v68AQ5WT9XARo6FiT-fEJ_XaZM_ix0nNN0nfrBgyxGM_D5B2-XwvMIdk8LnBA63i7OpNNYQdt_qdF_JzcRZcL2tjuHhTFufWMpVOCSLUmZb1fA/s400/20110610_1128.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617028349593555218" /></a>A Bobcat was trucked into the yard.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchMTdO4kTv-Q7fHFPhLkLBpcYMi9yRIiKyMU85ma4X1-q1htRRNenAzbExOKTXra8W2Y5DOwe9DByqFH6KSCUaGGUZARslqBcm9-OoheCciI3ptBrSR2BaWDV2Ir37mxYw1NcHM5TRi0/s1600/20110610_1120.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchMTdO4kTv-Q7fHFPhLkLBpcYMi9yRIiKyMU85ma4X1-q1htRRNenAzbExOKTXra8W2Y5DOwe9DByqFH6KSCUaGGUZARslqBcm9-OoheCciI3ptBrSR2BaWDV2Ir37mxYw1NcHM5TRi0/s400/20110610_1120.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617029680647428642" /></a>He even put out a traffic cone to make sure no cars would come too close.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgOiALURccI1u7_A_s1i_P2B7NaLxtciOzzJY7cYKbZiAZM5Mn5O98Ui2-Jk8v_wQFpRyE3ZvbXGK-Y6UXoPdBug7QohG7mX557Zyh_gAVvjwDFgAZfqBZjNfNizSNotMqatu9kDRpyw/s1600/20110610_1121.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgOiALURccI1u7_A_s1i_P2B7NaLxtciOzzJY7cYKbZiAZM5Mn5O98Ui2-Jk8v_wQFpRyE3ZvbXGK-Y6UXoPdBug7QohG7mX557Zyh_gAVvjwDFgAZfqBZjNfNizSNotMqatu9kDRpyw/s400/20110610_1121.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617029670957911698" /></a>The Hungry BobCat ready to pounce! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJjO7Xvx4y7RlWttYMdCm2O0usyYHMQNXEf0tPU2nebQl2ghAXMbjcrvIZsLcL0Vj3p0kMkR11FG2VUAWDzHhHzaEd7j6_256DEFMNVrTz4o49nRkf1WuzElEfw-7I7QU4S21-deb38E/s1600/20110610_1130.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJjO7Xvx4y7RlWttYMdCm2O0usyYHMQNXEf0tPU2nebQl2ghAXMbjcrvIZsLcL0Vj3p0kMkR11FG2VUAWDzHhHzaEd7j6_256DEFMNVrTz4o49nRkf1WuzElEfw-7I7QU4S21-deb38E/s400/20110610_1130.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617026703487509218" /></a>GOING…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiEdCXVBh_0dDEIteqMhH7VeYQXk9FALh4N5kt_Chj29luZ6Qv756dtzZDna09GVexb0IsBu3H88AM85x0uSipQcwrjMdrPjV5ss7SJh89AQoUDJ6hX3lHO2bEqrCXtspkyATXV_jjn1w/s1600/20110610_1131.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiEdCXVBh_0dDEIteqMhH7VeYQXk9FALh4N5kt_Chj29luZ6Qv756dtzZDna09GVexb0IsBu3H88AM85x0uSipQcwrjMdrPjV5ss7SJh89AQoUDJ6hX3lHO2bEqrCXtspkyATXV_jjn1w/s400/20110610_1131.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617026690737081730" /></a>GOING…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUQ6h2vFyXNWs28KkUBJTGMBq2Ob8LGViqy_M9yss68kop3-0OmfjjG5Z5Jw0QxXJa35ARU8xcPtWyxtKP1k7No_hyphenhyphenrAeDhd6g3wW-iPA6QuyDUmfASRXkhgfkQ6w-WYmOeWvBD9rvFM/s1600/20110610_1132.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUQ6h2vFyXNWs28KkUBJTGMBq2Ob8LGViqy_M9yss68kop3-0OmfjjG5Z5Jw0QxXJa35ARU8xcPtWyxtKP1k7No_hyphenhyphenrAeDhd6g3wW-iPA6QuyDUmfASRXkhgfkQ6w-WYmOeWvBD9rvFM/s400/20110610_1132.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617026680201166882" /></a>MORE GOING…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXrt2N8LAvi5DjZX1y04YjXHeDD49WTDvq-DeZUMJtV5XyW8j8CuSnDe2jEhUwoH4nPz9Imltb5IgnrGQQ_6UlaJovFKVJpHQY-8JMr_MEST3kfOhKX0LprsYSUNYDyKbyhdQ88f5DCA/s1600/20110610_1134.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXrt2N8LAvi5DjZX1y04YjXHeDD49WTDvq-DeZUMJtV5XyW8j8CuSnDe2jEhUwoH4nPz9Imltb5IgnrGQQ_6UlaJovFKVJpHQY-8JMr_MEST3kfOhKX0LprsYSUNYDyKbyhdQ88f5DCA/s400/20110610_1134.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617026678431900114" /></a>STILL GOING…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgelWJ5tgEfYWMZOeEHeJkTPAjx6kVkqS6K_atA3gP6pATyk6S4vc8tir39RMvodnAHRJ3Ll5PhJa2o9rKm4b49nE2Ai8kBlEAaRV4fgDgN4UT1rU7EAk_dKxKL6BaxLEENNwb62mcq03I/s1600/20110610_1138.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgelWJ5tgEfYWMZOeEHeJkTPAjx6kVkqS6K_atA3gP6pATyk6S4vc8tir39RMvodnAHRJ3Ll5PhJa2o9rKm4b49nE2Ai8kBlEAaRV4fgDgN4UT1rU7EAk_dKxKL6BaxLEENNwb62mcq03I/s400/20110610_1138.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617026666477519938" /></a>STILL MORE GOING…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEx-mBRGFA14nTmQYjoaukSIDGb_QnIP4IxtPDGdvgx1IaLR5LeXfZfKH2uVTItidb3cgaQ0JiceUY6ZfQxYln59toElk2chDCZF3_gpQxarz1hg9gGBBB3a_NdjNS7cqlJfegF17T0A/s1600/20110610_1141.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEx-mBRGFA14nTmQYjoaukSIDGb_QnIP4IxtPDGdvgx1IaLR5LeXfZfKH2uVTItidb3cgaQ0JiceUY6ZfQxYln59toElk2chDCZF3_gpQxarz1hg9gGBBB3a_NdjNS7cqlJfegF17T0A/s400/20110610_1141.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617024861196567042" /></a>MOSTLY GONE…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNO7FuNxxaQ8Tp4d6uKSxvjrvVoSIPw_wclBR_u5jR0kJ2f0yoahHHYT5D6jEzWXqYN4v2861PV53y2LLjTvFkM97R248k3pyW-Vle_8I_n6HIitDjM39989j3GDBD-LvR5aQraMlTggE/s1600/20110610_1146.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNO7FuNxxaQ8Tp4d6uKSxvjrvVoSIPw_wclBR_u5jR0kJ2f0yoahHHYT5D6jEzWXqYN4v2861PV53y2LLjTvFkM97R248k3pyW-Vle_8I_n6HIitDjM39989j3GDBD-LvR5aQraMlTggE/s400/20110610_1146.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617024850776957842" /></a>GONE!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDyZnmD2yt6jmlISUk1VJYReGtz1QSrml3iaYEkJZp7iHhB7ENA3ESeRa3Kr_ZaUQ2AAV499d-hLjHHZSWE76Afb1fTVSKIXrdlkiuCcXlhv_p7xaGeDiH86esWDG6thDZxVlhibsjGU/s1600/20110610_1152.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDyZnmD2yt6jmlISUk1VJYReGtz1QSrml3iaYEkJZp7iHhB7ENA3ESeRa3Kr_ZaUQ2AAV499d-hLjHHZSWE76Afb1fTVSKIXrdlkiuCcXlhv_p7xaGeDiH86esWDG6thDZxVlhibsjGU/s400/20110610_1152.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617024838001175266" /></a>REALLY GONE. (Our compost bins show in the back.)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGdg9e0zEE1Snvnwt3rh5AtMk6xR9r7NqXBde3kwG4Moxeyzvbdf3xPVkcUS7yEiAl76gBmfTbsUcHzRlVEmFo7psx7XXcwYENfyqvGT7SQVIkvAyLoqkeXITPGTlZTz9PM4CUXh0moc/s1600/20110610_1155.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGdg9e0zEE1Snvnwt3rh5AtMk6xR9r7NqXBde3kwG4Moxeyzvbdf3xPVkcUS7yEiAl76gBmfTbsUcHzRlVEmFo7psx7XXcwYENfyqvGT7SQVIkvAyLoqkeXITPGTlZTz9PM4CUXh0moc/s400/20110610_1155.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617024834677102194" /></a>Laying forms to pour concrete…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRW1aPmICUagddU9JCBLbLcjw3kEtJQHbQeHBuYJTqaGuHHmc6f18wv92iEp6rxRj-64eubMpqgI9lsxwTNtquwPDUwJjl9GBj3wUM180fj62DObjMSYz9r_DImONADj0sgYZpOC97WY/s1600/20110610_1157.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRW1aPmICUagddU9JCBLbLcjw3kEtJQHbQeHBuYJTqaGuHHmc6f18wv92iEp6rxRj-64eubMpqgI9lsxwTNtquwPDUwJjl9GBj3wUM180fj62DObjMSYz9r_DImONADj0sgYZpOC97WY/s400/20110610_1157.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617024826477315906" /></a>Using the Bobcat to start smoothing out the dirt pile.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1GOAFgsv0VZ-NZJab6_3iRhiEQomkYBrVl_pj44c3yhXpB_8rqhDlHOhCCB9Gb_mZGBdmCgppG9L_tKl9N18MzGvM2H5dDHAgjFEJ9A9yxnAJYDps1XVKVCpocJMLNmG3Y5ohv2LoTQ/s1600/20110610_1160.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM1GOAFgsv0VZ-NZJab6_3iRhiEQomkYBrVl_pj44c3yhXpB_8rqhDlHOhCCB9Gb_mZGBdmCgppG9L_tKl9N18MzGvM2H5dDHAgjFEJ9A9yxnAJYDps1XVKVCpocJMLNmG3Y5ohv2LoTQ/s400/20110610_1160.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617022858923393378" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Filling the power buggy with Reddi Mix. (I'm very glad they didn't try to drive that big truck into the yard.)</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFsrI8Xmd-lkWNfjhbYg-ePJchenO-_3QzpJznLIF8NHreUOtS2Ub7oddAfZynSbKg8lcj-TTO0hAZTf2-vx1M12nJ71w1KStU01KLmrkaxxpXRRoGgWPxi2P9T15eG0j_d8GjicfQIg/s1600/20110610_1164.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFsrI8Xmd-lkWNfjhbYg-ePJchenO-_3QzpJznLIF8NHreUOtS2Ub7oddAfZynSbKg8lcj-TTO0hAZTf2-vx1M12nJ71w1KStU01KLmrkaxxpXRRoGgWPxi2P9T15eG0j_d8GjicfQIg/s400/20110610_1164.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617022850244419810" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">This shows a finished corner of the slab. It also shows the pile of concrete that was dumped in the yard. (They did clean that up.) The traffic cone protected our clematis plant by making it visible while the bobcat was prowling around the yard.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvByyR8fMMQKQLkKaQEisRi2g1VQmJCeMbNAnIgo1OTxYl9IahcAaGYt1jyDOXP33WIRRLPOBSFevapQ7eSUHAIR8F6jPvhUweHlHGOwpoHL8u7ijL5j1FykYjg0E4DJI6nfM6nsGwudw/s1600/20110610_1176.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvByyR8fMMQKQLkKaQEisRi2g1VQmJCeMbNAnIgo1OTxYl9IahcAaGYt1jyDOXP33WIRRLPOBSFevapQ7eSUHAIR8F6jPvhUweHlHGOwpoHL8u7ijL5j1FykYjg0E4DJI6nfM6nsGwudw/s400/20110610_1176.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617022841233320418" /></a>At the end of the day the slab was covered with Plastic…<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjgs9xHvQbo99yN4W8DKZGNMiZVHmGAQ7HtXAqBj3sI0_szJ7Ip4q_fB6VvWgkXZKiaLdv_QmsmS4ugf-ladpOP94xjUCrIxh4DhvyxcpwF-fKqYSSKe07Qa1X4k_B8wLH9uC82VajPs/s1600/20110610_1178.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjgs9xHvQbo99yN4W8DKZGNMiZVHmGAQ7HtXAqBj3sI0_szJ7Ip4q_fB6VvWgkXZKiaLdv_QmsmS4ugf-ladpOP94xjUCrIxh4DhvyxcpwF-fKqYSSKe07Qa1X4k_B8wLH9uC82VajPs/s400/20110610_1178.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617022832984797362" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The plastic was removed today. Now that we have a nice slab in the back yard would anyone care to square dance? The new shed comes next week. :D</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlirllgjlEgu9RPsjn_j1XIrIDwtLeUoHaZ0igcKEGLDPBO6vrrdYueYXUNU96NL2_ccBIdg1aX_4ffA_UrrV8iAKU5Abi6AEJyQUg_h8eF04uX9mVQC5BhR15YWFebwnD8W2JyVWEmJQ/s1600/20110611_1181.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlirllgjlEgu9RPsjn_j1XIrIDwtLeUoHaZ0igcKEGLDPBO6vrrdYueYXUNU96NL2_ccBIdg1aX_4ffA_UrrV8iAKU5Abi6AEJyQUg_h8eF04uX9mVQC5BhR15YWFebwnD8W2JyVWEmJQ/s400/20110611_1181.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617022823293967314" /></a><br /><br /></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-70406998450600757352010-11-14T13:21:00.027-05:002010-11-29T19:32:25.533-05:00Transforming the Church Building<div style="text-align: justify;">After planning and researching most of the summer a dream of mine came true. The south side of our church building looked really nice in the early spring when the bulbs were blooming, but the rest of the year didn't look like much. I realized that it really needed some bushes. This was phase one of our landscaping project. We purchased 5 dwarf Alberta spruce and 3 dwarf hibiscus on sale. The iris in the picture were already in place so we left them there.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjZDqn67rWRvL3bdaRAP6TYGU5uubH-Gv1x-NoFzMDOX0lewOvTybcCnlqU-hF6_GAYQ-HNdUbngouje-PavN2IsOhouH5e8m4Op51-SpLqlvdXHexS4-SK78jIutpLOmuZfEd3YOuAY/s1600/1+Phase+1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjZDqn67rWRvL3bdaRAP6TYGU5uubH-Gv1x-NoFzMDOX0lewOvTybcCnlqU-hF6_GAYQ-HNdUbngouje-PavN2IsOhouH5e8m4Op51-SpLqlvdXHexS4-SK78jIutpLOmuZfEd3YOuAY/s400/1+Phase+1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539608984980361650" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The Facilities Management group (the FM group) of the church purchased the rest of the plants and delivered them to our back yard for safe keeping until planting day: rose bushes, spirea, two kinds of boxwoods and a Japanese maple.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYsq43TIutacvGXYLXfAo6XaIcFCGXRTqAQYYyZW1g4XeALy6ngLHvt8ZMyf6btZy8DXJ9Uf2CyejBz-yLFb5YRychZJ8DZEwNmmq3zsanVX615a2sR5N4XmpJ3jYgV2uLA3buRjviOuE/s1600/2+Our+Yard-ready+to+go+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYsq43TIutacvGXYLXfAo6XaIcFCGXRTqAQYYyZW1g4XeALy6ngLHvt8ZMyf6btZy8DXJ9Uf2CyejBz-yLFb5YRychZJ8DZEwNmmq3zsanVX615a2sR5N4XmpJ3jYgV2uLA3buRjviOuE/s400/2+Our+Yard-ready+to+go+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539608972276972786" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">And here is Jim working on phase two. We actually had 14 people helping us that day, but I didn't get permission from anyone else to post pictures.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zReeBj_xs7jPUY4nbzur605X41zJtpxy_pie-Jr1cNjy0L4ftiD5py-0lu-WEseOz92t2NEXWqhoRcOJlqLOW7q47mvZUUieEdm0UI0TLNw4abMUAFgEoEBFqgxFCbb5CcLaM68NZR0/s1600/3+Jim+Planting+Phase+2+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zReeBj_xs7jPUY4nbzur605X41zJtpxy_pie-Jr1cNjy0L4ftiD5py-0lu-WEseOz92t2NEXWqhoRcOJlqLOW7q47mvZUUieEdm0UI0TLNw4abMUAFgEoEBFqgxFCbb5CcLaM68NZR0/s400/3+Jim+Planting+Phase+2+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539608957704211778" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">While Jim and the other men were digging holes they found about 40 feet of heavy steel edging that had been put in place before the concrete edging was built. Removing it was quite a job.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcHH5J6go0sJjiavdlqibDJo-1p-ja1rWw-0CvhIMwLq5My9RTUF3GG9rbQju2e6oBHyWpcUgvNaS4khIy6v_xeAHP6f8QYar06Fg77buRj335L_STIUbqQHl8z8_VCQYvSBfzSbRDMg/s1600/4+Steel+Edging+in+ground+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcHH5J6go0sJjiavdlqibDJo-1p-ja1rWw-0CvhIMwLq5My9RTUF3GG9rbQju2e6oBHyWpcUgvNaS4khIy6v_xeAHP6f8QYar06Fg77buRj335L_STIUbqQHl8z8_VCQYvSBfzSbRDMg/s400/4+Steel+Edging+in+ground+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539607023265772818" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">In between the windows we planted "Alberta Blue Dwarf Alberta Spruce" by Monrovia. They are slow growing, and have a tight, formal, conical habit, 5 to 7 feet tall, and 1 1/2 to 2 feet wide. Once established they need only occasional water. They are evergreen, so we planted "Little Princess" spirea, which are deciduous, on either side. The spirea will have pink flowers from May to October, and will eventually be 2-3 tall and 3-4 feet wide.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnwbX_rnEHne5-5SMDYzqiXo4KMqyd4CM-lnBET3vIsJTMQN4ThHcd2y8kpLl2KTfTXs8kMl0FhMirDTwdo0W-Sgch33Jr4CoK-endVgb3CWo44gdNKSxZAMBsLN0r48UVSjnWLst0NM/s1600/5+Spruce+%2528evergereen%2529+Princess+%2528deciduous%2529+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnwbX_rnEHne5-5SMDYzqiXo4KMqyd4CM-lnBET3vIsJTMQN4ThHcd2y8kpLl2KTfTXs8kMl0FhMirDTwdo0W-Sgch33Jr4CoK-endVgb3CWo44gdNKSxZAMBsLN0r48UVSjnWLst0NM/s400/5+Spruce+%2528evergereen%2529+Princess+%2528deciduous%2529+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539607017129396370" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Centered under each window is a "Luna White" dwarf hibiscus. They will grow two to three feet high and two feet wide. In mid summer they will have white 8" flowers. They are bushy, and well branched without pinching, and once established they are drought tolerant. Because they die back in the winter we planted an evergreen boxwood on each side.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgF7FXQtKKWlyp4Rt4Pue-TSDpXQMjnL51foHda0K8IbyJ3z6nh3Sb6oFpEoOMfChYqOYlKSzDcG2nZ2eWSvIiR8lPvu1oM-WTMGDa8SXAdkfJpBACH9B156inHDttTx-u4Qm0a016cQ/s1600/6+Hibiscus+%2528Deciduous%2529+%2526+Box+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdgF7FXQtKKWlyp4Rt4Pue-TSDpXQMjnL51foHda0K8IbyJ3z6nh3Sb6oFpEoOMfChYqOYlKSzDcG2nZ2eWSvIiR8lPvu1oM-WTMGDa8SXAdkfJpBACH9B156inHDttTx-u4Qm0a016cQ/s400/6+Hibiscus+%2528Deciduous%2529+%2526+Box+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539607002693834658" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">And here is most of the completed window section, mulch and all. For the whole project we amended the soil with 8 bags of composted manure, and put root stimulator on each plant. Preen, which stops weeds from germinating, was put down prior to mulching everything. We dare any weeds to grow!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2Ejl2TlksmFF7VmhGSaTAbGmTpFIUc-WpIlJF-6eJ21BBeBrR9xs7lVk4E-4Bo1xOmQ3BZk1cuKGuxvXp9J8Q2D0hNl7oy70mMWIyxhFOvRc-M7wzfTu2y83umlM0ELb0Ah6N2jr6G8/s1600/7+Mulched.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2Ejl2TlksmFF7VmhGSaTAbGmTpFIUc-WpIlJF-6eJ21BBeBrR9xs7lVk4E-4Bo1xOmQ3BZk1cuKGuxvXp9J8Q2D0hNl7oy70mMWIyxhFOvRc-M7wzfTu2y83umlM0ELb0Ah6N2jr6G8/s400/7+Mulched.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539606994297004962" /></a>And here's how it looks from the street.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4CEuJjUokzbqRL-QHtX6Zn2L4HA1IKamgFz4z_oLpJz7i3qMhEIvohOM5gKA9tL8SCNaWNcTX3VeI4PvCb-JlmpJ36l2zow4f7GEsDiBa4q8yOOvjLSCvC5UdAFUOVBgWxnIJSGdrI0E/s1600/8+what+neighbors+see.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4CEuJjUokzbqRL-QHtX6Zn2L4HA1IKamgFz4z_oLpJz7i3qMhEIvohOM5gKA9tL8SCNaWNcTX3VeI4PvCb-JlmpJ36l2zow4f7GEsDiBa4q8yOOvjLSCvC5UdAFUOVBgWxnIJSGdrI0E/s400/8+what+neighbors+see.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539606991936660242" /></a><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Japanese maple is now in the space between the windows and the big planter. Years ago there was a sidewalk there and a door to the building.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGGi4gJAm-Vay5pmp7v3fUN4WMa3UJd6W0j83AkLph6oYTU7Oo_81_mA8_PUFBMG2I8P2a0tllo6iGOQoEjgiI4Rzdi_vfACnBCrgpAiLoU3jWm11ETyUmJElfeqEOaCmbnHTJj0AGBA/s1600/1+Jap+Maple+.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHGGi4gJAm-Vay5pmp7v3fUN4WMa3UJd6W0j83AkLph6oYTU7Oo_81_mA8_PUFBMG2I8P2a0tllo6iGOQoEjgiI4Rzdi_vfACnBCrgpAiLoU3jWm11ETyUmJElfeqEOaCmbnHTJj0AGBA/s400/1+Jap+Maple+.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539578218502970802" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before anything was done with the planter, the FM group sent someone out to give the stonework a good power washing. It really sparkled</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhfwhgLg0S_2_GaGzAM0Ms-S5mlCYr3vzEW9PSNVGcmIlryMRaDmkb090i_LPcyvtG_BiNz00PChSr3J3CPjTCVvsB2X82Qc5CDydAWjsfP_B09zozJCdyqFW6xVysZM6weeIuHHQCKI/s1600/1+Power+washed+stone+work+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhfwhgLg0S_2_GaGzAM0Ms-S5mlCYr3vzEW9PSNVGcmIlryMRaDmkb090i_LPcyvtG_BiNz00PChSr3J3CPjTCVvsB2X82Qc5CDydAWjsfP_B09zozJCdyqFW6xVysZM6weeIuHHQCKI/s400/1+Power+washed+stone+work+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539594868011773218" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The completed planter. Centered in front of the stone work is a dwarf blue Alberta spruce with boxwoods (a tall variety) and "Little Princess" spirea on each side. Next to that are 4 "Macy's Pride" rose bushes with 3 little boxwoods in front.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRkuLJksuOKiy31AgNn3rbD4ntqZd_ra96ImX__b-g3fc2918wqmV52vz2ng41ECMGkdocv0HvS34-ms_UZubzN1HrwuYfIBsRZXsW94CO9xavJuBi8UHgUgD1o0MKlUNlYsnIifwZtw/s1600/2+Planter+.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRkuLJksuOKiy31AgNn3rbD4ntqZd_ra96ImX__b-g3fc2918wqmV52vz2ng41ECMGkdocv0HvS34-ms_UZubzN1HrwuYfIBsRZXsW94CO9xavJuBi8UHgUgD1o0MKlUNlYsnIifwZtw/s400/2+Planter+.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539594859241082146" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Some of the roses were blooming when we planted them. It's going to be really pretty next year.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3i5GL-Ro806KFNoxJ_EOwgesodtBE5Vkul21lboCx_7aUEkafi1o7yAkvd5MWVHxo8RMexP8F1n44YPm1eI_EihEaF8G0c8erN1Ajt-VDxy5tU_YovXiKQS2bjfYzIH42q7RU0leJXMc/s1600/3+Blooming+Rose+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3i5GL-Ro806KFNoxJ_EOwgesodtBE5Vkul21lboCx_7aUEkafi1o7yAkvd5MWVHxo8RMexP8F1n44YPm1eI_EihEaF8G0c8erN1Ajt-VDxy5tU_YovXiKQS2bjfYzIH42q7RU0leJXMc/s400/3+Blooming+Rose+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539594848815030402" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">After it was all said and done it didn't feel finished to me. We ended up adding a "Cherokee Princess" dogwood tree. It's a small tree, but has larger flowers and bigger leaves than other dogwoods. Also the flowers are in clusters and are yellowish in color. It should be gorgeous.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqD32hvmARmZFBkuCb5di0_S3CNrk0TiZJLESNCapyxyobYGdyH-xe4exXBb8rq0LMrktFa_wD6hrIeojaLgvblNfj6C96ikL4VfmB-6ZfGt1d8sesRNwo6T_nMFhle1Ru-BAEg6v1uYQ/s1600/4+Planting+Cherokee+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqD32hvmARmZFBkuCb5di0_S3CNrk0TiZJLESNCapyxyobYGdyH-xe4exXBb8rq0LMrktFa_wD6hrIeojaLgvblNfj6C96ikL4VfmB-6ZfGt1d8sesRNwo6T_nMFhle1Ru-BAEg6v1uYQ/s400/4+Planting+Cherokee+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539594847790601602" /></a>Here's the planter from the rose bush side, after adding the dogwood tree.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBzz7D9ypSoapH8_Z2uQpRCFoBWrcJ-zjS2CohpD5K-szwbdIutbubnpHoM2b6r2IHm9ixILZMdktdwM07pYQrcMVGZTYHv6UPwTxZ8tCLbL7iQbXN4Hg6pIc4NOsCNDlc4zn_bsuTas/s1600/5+Plus+Cherokee+Princess+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVBzz7D9ypSoapH8_Z2uQpRCFoBWrcJ-zjS2CohpD5K-szwbdIutbubnpHoM2b6r2IHm9ixILZMdktdwM07pYQrcMVGZTYHv6UPwTxZ8tCLbL7iQbXN4Hg6pIc4NOsCNDlc4zn_bsuTas/s400/5+Plus+Cherokee+Princess+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539594835451450914" /></a><div><div style="text-align: justify;">We're having a drought right now but drought conditions or not, we're determined to have these plants do well. Jim attached this connector hose from the water spigot to a series of soaker hoses that are buried under the mulch.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rB1xzp1parExlIlnjc9vQrcFt4A9c8WmwgKbjJY7cDnMUk6PDBD7fCIeMfdJdib5utjk83Zy5qoF9cUJA14CzPdSWu5D23Fb_piVwBsRBZ7gRpZCEemrsVU_99vIaH0ghKsCcCtN1PM/s1600/2+hose+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5rB1xzp1parExlIlnjc9vQrcFt4A9c8WmwgKbjJY7cDnMUk6PDBD7fCIeMfdJdib5utjk83Zy5qoF9cUJA14CzPdSWu5D23Fb_piVwBsRBZ7gRpZCEemrsVU_99vIaH0ghKsCcCtN1PM/s400/2+hose+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539578213107255202" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">From the big planter there is another connector hose leading down to the ground where it meets up with another soaker. We've never been able to grow anything in that shady part of the planter because it was too dry. Now with the soaker hoses I'm itching to try impatiens there next year. ^-^</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5yYvgoEck8QwOS-DdMHYTgwgMrPcEEVRmSU49HyNh23hTKN09qM_ddEriPfA7jvQS1EHAGr0iUzCZVk2kb_E3jTcOcqclGxC8_6t4AzrZicxQmuYkeVSu9BO_Pvvb47JwvNkkTcfM3A/s1600/3+hose+%2526+Planter+.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5yYvgoEck8QwOS-DdMHYTgwgMrPcEEVRmSU49HyNh23hTKN09qM_ddEriPfA7jvQS1EHAGr0iUzCZVk2kb_E3jTcOcqclGxC8_6t4AzrZicxQmuYkeVSu9BO_Pvvb47JwvNkkTcfM3A/s400/3+hose+%2526+Planter+.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539578205291717986" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a close-up of the connector hose. Jim couldn't hide it completely, but I think he did a good job of getting it out of the way.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVvuGHIK23Kaev1z0gmm-DAicTVANvmkmNzYnNiDfVF18pU7NvGsdyNMuUwr_9r-P4xpCWHAuQNteFSL6dHHsIdMGNzjCqDKD2WZlSuezOkoAiQYYWnAMGe18i9nlA-nSzXHCttAfjEY/s1600/4+hose+and+Japanese++maple.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVvuGHIK23Kaev1z0gmm-DAicTVANvmkmNzYnNiDfVF18pU7NvGsdyNMuUwr_9r-P4xpCWHAuQNteFSL6dHHsIdMGNzjCqDKD2WZlSuezOkoAiQYYWnAMGe18i9nlA-nSzXHCttAfjEY/s400/4+hose+and+Japanese++maple.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539578192030212546" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">The Other Side of the Building</span><br /><br /><div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the spring we planted flowers along other parts of the building. Our good friends Betsy DeBorde and Kathy Morgan did much of the planting. Coming around to the west side of the Primary wing we planted impatiens, coleus and gerbera daisies. Coleus did really well in some places, but not in others.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WrR9FBjvA4oRmzodmIN1KrRAY_M4cJiYn7RH48gatL7Ee8Dp6vyacDHyLOy4Ypm5U-CX7LtJI_Y5SgFMk01j6TGqO_rhX8khOtfBZzdN88OrhnIZHXU4r0eRjDUooUPKKo4qjyGsPAs/s1600/20101014_0027+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WrR9FBjvA4oRmzodmIN1KrRAY_M4cJiYn7RH48gatL7Ee8Dp6vyacDHyLOy4Ypm5U-CX7LtJI_Y5SgFMk01j6TGqO_rhX8khOtfBZzdN88OrhnIZHXU4r0eRjDUooUPKKo4qjyGsPAs/s400/20101014_0027+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539526923545645026" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is a gerbera daisy nestled among impatiens on the north side of the Primary wing. We found that gerberas seem to prefer cool weather, and needed lots of fertilizer in order to bloom. We don't plan to include them next year.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUxC9TEyaba97MXR3Gh7p3TxNKmj8gFBhYCq-qtPJxCF95bejOKuVn0VcGsGh3BCz9oktAMKAHIalEbrgLiIlGpJKDi6Ut82qLMNGL7zmwAHOYyi4xDcTdpiRQP9p1hXXvOtBRPChiC8/s1600/20101014_0030+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUxC9TEyaba97MXR3Gh7p3TxNKmj8gFBhYCq-qtPJxCF95bejOKuVn0VcGsGh3BCz9oktAMKAHIalEbrgLiIlGpJKDi6Ut82qLMNGL7zmwAHOYyi4xDcTdpiRQP9p1hXXvOtBRPChiC8/s400/20101014_0030+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539534882528221282" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Impatiens were spectacular and didn't require extra work. This picture just doesn't do them justice. We'll definitely use impatiens next year. The iris should bloom next spring.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnFdzAh7Gd65E_oF-mT8zjpubVlmIszYXbD0r1GEt560tqoCmEsL-C68QoHGmvJvqCHsxc9CNidHeZn1h1SvmfGgvZhEzilMMHymclvmbesbSVvc4bMW_OeXW4IPoOSB_nF04nuNXc3c/s1600/20101014_0031+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnFdzAh7Gd65E_oF-mT8zjpubVlmIszYXbD0r1GEt560tqoCmEsL-C68QoHGmvJvqCHsxc9CNidHeZn1h1SvmfGgvZhEzilMMHymclvmbesbSVvc4bMW_OeXW4IPoOSB_nF04nuNXc3c/s400/20101014_0031+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539526927229445266" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Over by the Bishop's office were several kinds of marigolds, coleus, cone flowers, iris and a few impatiens. We were surprised that the impatiens did well in that spot because they were in full sun. The marigolds were also spectacular, but required deadheading (picking off the old blooms in order to keep them producing fresh flowers) all summer long. We won't include as many marigolds next year because of all the work, but really liked this particular variety. The petals were bigger, the plants larger, and they were healthier longer than the others.</div></div><div> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iAQ5wkmfb6XBQ6OE6m2tAahu2SCqSU2XQohOrDhi4V_jmgfvlrheIvFXdihn1L0L-XK_FU1dE5y1iDQSUXClJ43TOwLfw1TfYrj1zxgAppO2-kynkGV8uoHefPkOi1nS6rl4EFyW5Bo/s1600/20101012_0013+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iAQ5wkmfb6XBQ6OE6m2tAahu2SCqSU2XQohOrDhi4V_jmgfvlrheIvFXdihn1L0L-XK_FU1dE5y1iDQSUXClJ43TOwLfw1TfYrj1zxgAppO2-kynkGV8uoHefPkOi1nS6rl4EFyW5Bo/s400/20101012_0013+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539532442919471026" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a close-up. I hope we can find this variety next year. They were worth the deadheading. We finally pulled up the last of them on November 13. They lasted really well. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Gv3FI-pnZn4lbTDUQJQ_8AgIE8vy6p2iMX8lMuDH4HWgCVRE3u95ijRAdErCrgIn-jcOEtw-RdDy0WH1HDchHwNBIxHlpDJkzuMIMLB4eRtI-HPqclyKFd5u9r4mIKyrNIuzMWzCMBM/s1600/20101012_0010+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Gv3FI-pnZn4lbTDUQJQ_8AgIE8vy6p2iMX8lMuDH4HWgCVRE3u95ijRAdErCrgIn-jcOEtw-RdDy0WH1HDchHwNBIxHlpDJkzuMIMLB4eRtI-HPqclyKFd5u9r4mIKyrNIuzMWzCMBM/s400/20101012_0010+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539541758556151346" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately that variety also came in orange. The flowers were dark orange when they opened and became lighter causing the plants to show several shades at the same time. We hope we can find these next year also.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKt2HRtt284bHB_yeeWt5f1hfSLxEw5K2ry2uFCfKoWfGMyvqgK4jdNCrUg_PE8dbxNcpqYSPdxvQvdb8NbT1l8X_g0Vq1grl1_9H4iM2kWa0H8M_aN2t4Jvb-HcYHJfSzebVy_DqUD0/s1600/20101012_0008+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKt2HRtt284bHB_yeeWt5f1hfSLxEw5K2ry2uFCfKoWfGMyvqgK4jdNCrUg_PE8dbxNcpqYSPdxvQvdb8NbT1l8X_g0Vq1grl1_9H4iM2kWa0H8M_aN2t4Jvb-HcYHJfSzebVy_DqUD0/s400/20101012_0008+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539532446920699554" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's fun to get ideas from other places. This last picture was taken at the Columbus, Ohio LDS temple. I was intrigued by their mixture of plants. They had begonias and impatiens planted together with a smattering of geraniums and an occasional marigold. </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc8_Cc9FaGitH7P82WOzOwCaav_VjiKfZA_f8az0uBjVJM5mhnrsiliDNYkeAtflIrUHmFZ63TP-HQKe5dY6cCM4inJ2R7rVbvKolyKpFWQyr9WWlQ36Juod-xWlRay0hNhujhWzP2MLg/s1600/IMG_5398+copy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc8_Cc9FaGitH7P82WOzOwCaav_VjiKfZA_f8az0uBjVJM5mhnrsiliDNYkeAtflIrUHmFZ63TP-HQKe5dY6cCM4inJ2R7rVbvKolyKpFWQyr9WWlQ36Juod-xWlRay0hNhujhWzP2MLg/s400/IMG_5398+copy.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539526948644003042" /></a>Nice possibilities for next spring…<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-620383331652219872010-07-25T10:50:00.014-04:002010-07-25T19:23:04.872-04:00A New Baby and a BlessingOn May 30th we were in Illinois. It was a Sunday morning. The night before we attended Jim's 50th high school reunion (but that's another story.) We were getting ready for church when my cell phone rang. It was Peter, telling us that their baby had been born! He said, "You knew we went to the hospital, right?" They sent us an e-mail to tell us they were going, but we weren't near a computer that morning, so we were surprise and delighted with their news. Bridget Ellen arrived Sunday morning at 10:15, 7 lbs 9.6 oz, 19 1/2" and Mom and Baby were doing well. What great news to start the day.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And here's Bridget. We think she looks a lot like Elizabeth.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCRvAfF35RpyxxzXW4S7yDu47e02p5iVAbN2qTqvQiz8eMgJqKXUQxA_ElaSuJhoLOYJShAIxNuTNS8SDWN9HtMgmVQWg-PTvwohBTWs7VR2rm9Axdxl0QpKkBWxVXcx7-kAi1HPz9j0/s1600/BridgetBirth2+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCRvAfF35RpyxxzXW4S7yDu47e02p5iVAbN2qTqvQiz8eMgJqKXUQxA_ElaSuJhoLOYJShAIxNuTNS8SDWN9HtMgmVQWg-PTvwohBTWs7VR2rm9Axdxl0QpKkBWxVXcx7-kAi1HPz9j0/s400/BridgetBirth2+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497946399338252450" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Smile Pretty Baby<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2koVFoNBmuwUtteEYPHoV7QFbVAMzzwlk4dPiLzzMos6-SAXey0kQmB-abACMpH0I5GL-_2xzwIa33Zi0qJhQZUhoMV0fMPfRE6ABQtqrxjbW1j4ZxGQQgmZbuzoLG2lRnv-kmFqY6fY/s1600/BridgetIMG_5614+copy.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2koVFoNBmuwUtteEYPHoV7QFbVAMzzwlk4dPiLzzMos6-SAXey0kQmB-abACMpH0I5GL-_2xzwIa33Zi0qJhQZUhoMV0fMPfRE6ABQtqrxjbW1j4ZxGQQgmZbuzoLG2lRnv-kmFqY6fY/s400/BridgetIMG_5614+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497946405931102130" border="0" /></a>Elizabeth holds her new baby sister.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxb7UR-J6sblqmgFC771sFqbg388rnRsLfeKDe1VrU3L7s-9hXEg9GHH-DBXXbfGKZLpuT8qDBX1gDcK5_1ooAMv0uTdg-MGuAkZGakyoAjK83lhVksSOOY8yQRTP_f4KK4UrSQu3eaOI/s1600/Peter,Lizbeth,Bridgetmay+e+037+copy.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxb7UR-J6sblqmgFC771sFqbg388rnRsLfeKDe1VrU3L7s-9hXEg9GHH-DBXXbfGKZLpuT8qDBX1gDcK5_1ooAMv0uTdg-MGuAkZGakyoAjK83lhVksSOOY8yQRTP_f4KK4UrSQu3eaOI/s400/Peter,Lizbeth,Bridgetmay+e+037+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497946413068295650" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Happy Mama and Baby<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zxRJNzwG47oZ2fN2LYoISvkeJF6iabDcU_WmA-s_ntcFn9uWpsL4DuswxN8j_Ojlod6iyYdGqiZE50CtXE3ac0Emy6qhdcaQVBr5IzTmRSt6hLRvLOtptIBC9aE36J-eE8dNY6SA1Og/s1600/may+e+042.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zxRJNzwG47oZ2fN2LYoISvkeJF6iabDcU_WmA-s_ntcFn9uWpsL4DuswxN8j_Ojlod6iyYdGqiZE50CtXE3ac0Emy6qhdcaQVBr5IzTmRSt6hLRvLOtptIBC9aE36J-eE8dNY6SA1Og/s400/may+e+042.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497987750397742642" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In July, Jim flew to Utah for Bridget's blessing. Barbie drove down for the day from her home in Roy. Barbie's daughter Hazel was sick, so she and her daddy stayed home. Here are Aunt Barbie, Karen and Bridget, Peter, Grandpa Jim and Elizabeth. Bridget was the fourth baby to wear the family blessing dress. (Barbie made it for Helena's daughter Kate, with the plan for it to be passed around the family.)<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi676W10jX2Ga_oi_I5cjDU8lbb9wSSWGXkbeqXbBya6UgWSMuYGTeadN9tYjC8dKK-Sds4c8_MfklH7woYEnTO8_GzvSsitQ-WqzXkv1Y65dpDEco280mK79M-Q8LO4oa8s03aycdDcz0/s1600/LargerIMG_1120+ahlstroms.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi676W10jX2Ga_oi_I5cjDU8lbb9wSSWGXkbeqXbBya6UgWSMuYGTeadN9tYjC8dKK-Sds4c8_MfklH7woYEnTO8_GzvSsitQ-WqzXkv1Y65dpDEco280mK79M-Q8LO4oa8s03aycdDcz0/s400/LargerIMG_1120+ahlstroms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497947348747653938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPb1weaxf0KmfX6cdBv-HBkPadUaUAcNz4mJEnpbDLcuWMK7jB7ucYNws5OI-vP0ypSIeYnwkB941XH6Jr2FWaad_7cRqeq-j_-m5Ea1xtb9HZ4dxN_T0m1_dneSk9BX1F37IkLb3Bnjk/s1600/LargerIMG_1093+karen+peter+kids.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPb1weaxf0KmfX6cdBv-HBkPadUaUAcNz4mJEnpbDLcuWMK7jB7ucYNws5OI-vP0ypSIeYnwkB941XH6Jr2FWaad_7cRqeq-j_-m5Ea1xtb9HZ4dxN_T0m1_dneSk9BX1F37IkLb3Bnjk/s400/LargerIMG_1093+karen+peter+kids.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497947343101380082" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zF3Mrn8Xld8zOI34bUVcxIhWELIMA06dyLagf9-SxKfClBpKrGeGwQbD77g5txr_UZXFy5meBTbUY4Bk9hkAJ0wrn9LyFhoQS3R3QNHj5CkoLoCgadob473T5WSqhoUIsh6MMgGwHfs/s1600/LargerIMG_1093+karen+peter+kids.jpg"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba-TdVm5_eFYFVP8lTj-0aH8RRtSWtQR8VG5XSzqFiQMAE42FJO1aXvKnqOfKRy-yj_SKZQwx-QeTvi2RCAcKj_rdGlI-9qOOxW5gQ8EO0fs_ms60Vaxeh2_mdDK_yAqfwSc1_E4F9Vw/s1600/largerIMG_1090+ahlstoms.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba-TdVm5_eFYFVP8lTj-0aH8RRtSWtQR8VG5XSzqFiQMAE42FJO1aXvKnqOfKRy-yj_SKZQwx-QeTvi2RCAcKj_rdGlI-9qOOxW5gQ8EO0fs_ms60Vaxeh2_mdDK_yAqfwSc1_E4F9Vw/s400/largerIMG_1090+ahlstoms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497947325363415394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUSX-q_N9wwn2AOFTEU9vpKM26ZEnEkrPnHSjJxdUb6lumE222EuxAbQzIlAuSzHKsOkiyUDxuE5Xe9Sa1wOCjuy3N4ZPWcxAkl4paEyta-7VEfiZUPtigng4kaQelAdKGzyzsdABZYg/s1600/IMG_1100+ahlstroms.jpg"><br /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Peter, Jim, Barbie<br />Jim and Peter both happened to wear the ties they had for Barbie's wedding. :-)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDRaHpBNJ5_K78vG4JujZBKWiPUZKaCjZ1KHQUCp2BWsyoyoUtCj-BmSBlqDEn3P9uA_PMkzZZ8CTyd9Px91ZxTLxadHiGZ1Yk6SY0VySMGTXIALhUp_AIy8gQYo2JW4h7n5fL0X0WnU/s1600/LargerIMG_1077+ahlstroms.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDRaHpBNJ5_K78vG4JujZBKWiPUZKaCjZ1KHQUCp2BWsyoyoUtCj-BmSBlqDEn3P9uA_PMkzZZ8CTyd9Px91ZxTLxadHiGZ1Yk6SY0VySMGTXIALhUp_AIy8gQYo2JW4h7n5fL0X0WnU/s400/LargerIMG_1077+ahlstroms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5497946767655716050" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Jim had a really nice time while he was out there, including installing a door for Elizabeth's bed room. (Too bad we don't have any pictures of that.) It's great when families can get together.<br /></div><br /></div></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-24238179549879495412010-02-04T13:46:00.020-05:002010-02-10T18:41:39.484-05:00Christmas is Gone…But Snow Lingers On<div style="text-align: justify;">(Make that Wednesday, February 10. I don't know how to change the date that's showing.) We had a quiet, but lovely Christmas. When we first moved here, in 1971 we bought an artificial Christmas tree for $11.88. It has served us very well over the years, but every year at Christmas Jim was faced with those dreaded words "Some Assembly Required…" We have loved that tree (at least I have) but in this case, Assembly meant putting the trunk of the tree together, and then inserting each individual branch. The stems of the branches were color-coded, but over the years much of the paint has worn off--making it even more time consuming to figure out which branches went where. Then the lights had to be strung, and all the ornaments put in place. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu53Iim5OzXE_u2GCe-_47ZiWdPXzPJ-d6q_Oh2PXOZHHQb54zzTystYmTLs3dwWxHy8NTYsUSev5fvKMpJ8QXSbDlB6XM5hvV6uvMfpajQmdXasUW0QcNPXipHnqvM1lap_dbdq4Kb2U/s1600-h/IMG_0022+copy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu53Iim5OzXE_u2GCe-_47ZiWdPXzPJ-d6q_Oh2PXOZHHQb54zzTystYmTLs3dwWxHy8NTYsUSev5fvKMpJ8QXSbDlB6XM5hvV6uvMfpajQmdXasUW0QcNPXipHnqvM1lap_dbdq4Kb2U/s400/IMG_0022+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436734068765028402" border="0" /></a>All in all, it has been a very homey, sweet tree, even if it was a pain to put it together. (These pictures are from 2007.)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgB-AWHnETRS6lj4uNh1eJoszUpHEMcgnmaN_rCrM71eVUNK-dHmILMWDS1A0d3sCdmX7vKfiyJjI7U_kKh1jsEZ1SUCTFlwPNfJcZP4J96vRWe0qZrtHr3OaiaxVEox5BqNFQ_8_Rmc/s1600-h/IMG_0033+copy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgB-AWHnETRS6lj4uNh1eJoszUpHEMcgnmaN_rCrM71eVUNK-dHmILMWDS1A0d3sCdmX7vKfiyJjI7U_kKh1jsEZ1SUCTFlwPNfJcZP4J96vRWe0qZrtHr3OaiaxVEox5BqNFQ_8_Rmc/s400/IMG_0033+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436734063013854082" border="0" /></a>We decided to do something very different this year. Some years ago Jim and I did the decorations for a big spring dance at the church. Jim lashed together some 6-8 foot tall honeysuckle branches (it was early spring so there were no leaves on them yet) and stood them up in Christmas tree stands. Then we decorated them with little Christmas lights, and artificial pink roses. It was really quite pretty, and lit up the corners of the room quite nicely. Well, it was fun, but took quite a bit of work. Rather than do that again, we got some white Christmas trees on sale one year. We got 5 trees, but two of them didn't work right, so they were returned. The remaining three have been used several times at the church, and one was used to light up our swing house one Christmas.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Betsey had the BRIGHT idea of using them for our Christmas this year. What a novel idea! (^o^) She would have liked to have all three in our living room, but we settled on two. They still have a little bit of assembly, but nothing like our old one. Betsey decorated them with bows and birds. I like this picture because it shows both trees, the snowflakes on the ceiling, (the snowflakes stay up all the time because I like them) and some of the Christmas lights outside. It was quite festive.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PjVPvfmuRt1zoxy3aZq37kdSn1k5c7iQPuyXZupjr460pkMLVeTxWhtyf2lha0caJDXDzofssrDTayeSp7ww0Fky_Mu3tZ36TsC1M8ABgcZsc2CcgS777RruOJzPKeGU4i8R2tqgiSs/s1600-h/IMG_4463.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PjVPvfmuRt1zoxy3aZq37kdSn1k5c7iQPuyXZupjr460pkMLVeTxWhtyf2lha0caJDXDzofssrDTayeSp7ww0Fky_Mu3tZ36TsC1M8ABgcZsc2CcgS777RruOJzPKeGU4i8R2tqgiSs/s400/IMG_4463.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436726014342973394" border="0" /></a>This shows more lights that Jim put up outside. It was taken Christmas day. As you can see, we had no snow. It really was fairly dark when I took this picture, but it sure doesn't look like it.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVchoO-9TAUv_7xokLRt-I8ROU9TV_p_MqoWXSa3p0HNo_KeDPEczCbvexpG4bghfG5MA2_CATeUJ1ks_inCRSd-iFuYj3Zdk3iKFWrDbThuL2dghkmIp4crhELVDk5swhibqg0MNF2o8/s1600-h/IMG_4468.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVchoO-9TAUv_7xokLRt-I8ROU9TV_p_MqoWXSa3p0HNo_KeDPEczCbvexpG4bghfG5MA2_CATeUJ1ks_inCRSd-iFuYj3Zdk3iKFWrDbThuL2dghkmIp4crhELVDk5swhibqg0MNF2o8/s400/IMG_4468.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436726004982572978" border="0" /></a>Now, if you use just a little imagination you might be able to see what I saw when I looked out my window one day. If you look real close, does it look like there is a nativity scene in the picture below?<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMJayVFzGNuWsbifPaeRvsb3s9y2jVHZO4CQ878SCUXT-C6AuD5DwOzpVQMB0gjk61Q41b_e2PWSxdH6SPM2nZEVpEtjynTe2Re0OAieUXIugFAAn0DQ3giiGUjvFtb6-kj9iHydiB-k/s1600-h/IMG_4421.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMJayVFzGNuWsbifPaeRvsb3s9y2jVHZO4CQ878SCUXT-C6AuD5DwOzpVQMB0gjk61Q41b_e2PWSxdH6SPM2nZEVpEtjynTe2Re0OAieUXIugFAAn0DQ3giiGUjvFtb6-kj9iHydiB-k/s400/IMG_4421.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436725989582000674" border="0" /></a>The sun came out just for an instant, and illuminated it very brightly. OK, so it's some kind of bent-over plant, but if you squint your eyes just a little…<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuEzkCjaqGVrZSozxnplmLQuDJ7TF0XCRrvwL1-jp1smf8JglMGEmRrSZqUk6dV1zmWMV77axg8-EunIW0FExfA3NvTSAXjC6AY7YbexdAO-NmeEjdPXRSfwBACIWiIDiv0oPorQH97s/s1600-h/IMG_4418_1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuEzkCjaqGVrZSozxnplmLQuDJ7TF0XCRrvwL1-jp1smf8JglMGEmRrSZqUk6dV1zmWMV77axg8-EunIW0FExfA3NvTSAXjC6AY7YbexdAO-NmeEjdPXRSfwBACIWiIDiv0oPorQH97s/s400/IMG_4418_1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436725999513781506" border="0" /></a>Right now our world looks very different. We've had several big snow storms lately. The snow stuck to every little twig, and was quite lovely.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQvSsiIxscJO8rQzwzWeKxdNiDUz7C2_KPR6vNwvaR5IVFNnb5bpwHxOWpcqyOApfye0wtPcyUco8wt_T3LLYa_x0izT8v3WAn7CCDUQ8sVKD1J3a0XehFRKjE1ry6kPW1g_Rc6OTEck/s1600-h/IMG_4557.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQvSsiIxscJO8rQzwzWeKxdNiDUz7C2_KPR6vNwvaR5IVFNnb5bpwHxOWpcqyOApfye0wtPcyUco8wt_T3LLYa_x0izT8v3WAn7CCDUQ8sVKD1J3a0XehFRKjE1ry6kPW1g_Rc6OTEck/s400/IMG_4557.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436724469791957730" border="0" /></a>Our back yard bench which has a deep layer of snow, was caught in a brilliant flash when the sun came out for an instant. Those are asparagus plants in front of the bench.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPr9KdhvyolsfEAgHSCv3jaDkJRyaZGsvni9DDsVbvQO8-p-vvlXUgR6OvIIrjYhRbQxmw14wOB1rIOIBWS2RDJIjNqbhkTrGl2Vv4J0Xwq7b0fpKsyghy2t5Ee3heBlnOMUEAgR8_RI8/s1600-h/IMG_4550.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPr9KdhvyolsfEAgHSCv3jaDkJRyaZGsvni9DDsVbvQO8-p-vvlXUgR6OvIIrjYhRbQxmw14wOB1rIOIBWS2RDJIjNqbhkTrGl2Vv4J0Xwq7b0fpKsyghy2t5Ee3heBlnOMUEAgR8_RI8/s400/IMG_4550.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436724484345812386" border="0" /></a>Icicles anyone? We have a nice crop of them this year. (I know Cousin John is going to give me a hard time about this when he sees it.)<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrRB8nRbpd3mIGxWFKGNXzgykcOPwZ9O7g8RqQhdQfrDyuRZjZ4gAy73J1ooW2z8GR3fsYSytwDuYhVTbA-Y2Ec7IItgGcZFz7C2VGA6TbBm7U75PIKlDHGv49XhPJ0UB1teVdqkorkY/s1600-h/IMG_4553.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrRB8nRbpd3mIGxWFKGNXzgykcOPwZ9O7g8RqQhdQfrDyuRZjZ4gAy73J1ooW2z8GR3fsYSytwDuYhVTbA-Y2Ec7IItgGcZFz7C2VGA6TbBm7U75PIKlDHGv49XhPJ0UB1teVdqkorkY/s400/IMG_4553.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436724476184696082" border="0" /></a>And here's the path that Jim shoveled so our little dog Angie could get out to the yard. It shows how the deck looks after the snow has settled for a few days.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68gH3ANnTWXRtcyU4olkCvyVhpeWSLX0vopGM5Iy4QIq30-R33JJmPMJqB-6bPnlVAfcnfkSWarONoLbjLpBxZhYzMIoW2lD1h4-5Ju-49cIY1fXQMHtgJSy_QZMlq5nBwCyjSVNX-r8/s1600-h/IMG_4572.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68gH3ANnTWXRtcyU4olkCvyVhpeWSLX0vopGM5Iy4QIq30-R33JJmPMJqB-6bPnlVAfcnfkSWarONoLbjLpBxZhYzMIoW2lD1h4-5Ju-49cIY1fXQMHtgJSy_QZMlq5nBwCyjSVNX-r8/s400/IMG_4572.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436724462484949298" border="0" /></a>Jim also shoveled a path out to the bird feeder. The birds have appreciated him!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoVAepjETiMZHtPxIzvPpQujTxVwNmSaSxPz3zbHbGsLlutMo7YRtKRlLZvmzzK6rG1RGa1osEzJtIqFFcHdbSXTZAOtHHprP0zAm8-MXrvzqLyzUZ6Xjq5SsQZbapGyzN-FDm-dpYKs/s1600-h/IMG_4559.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoVAepjETiMZHtPxIzvPpQujTxVwNmSaSxPz3zbHbGsLlutMo7YRtKRlLZvmzzK6rG1RGa1osEzJtIqFFcHdbSXTZAOtHHprP0zAm8-MXrvzqLyzUZ6Xjq5SsQZbapGyzN-FDm-dpYKs/s400/IMG_4559.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436757309888359586" border="0" /></a>We've got snow piled all around. Here's what our mailbox looks like. At least we've still been able to get mail.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1kIB6qxJVCxH25zA6QzyKwTTiPhhyphenhyphenNRY_Sh8m5bZplnAe382I2DcMW3TqaxpqmyjDu9mrhBrKPMFUJoLRo5kSEl5PdNfCJ1aZa1SMP0K69TI7ms40RS5i1RauE6uPPazQealMTPHiQrk/s1600-h/IMG_4575.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1kIB6qxJVCxH25zA6QzyKwTTiPhhyphenhyphenNRY_Sh8m5bZplnAe382I2DcMW3TqaxpqmyjDu9mrhBrKPMFUJoLRo5kSEl5PdNfCJ1aZa1SMP0K69TI7ms40RS5i1RauE6uPPazQealMTPHiQrk/s400/IMG_4575.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436755047252246034" border="0" /></a>The Christmas lights that we had on the deck turned out to have an interesting side effect. Angie, who is going on 16, doesn't see as well as she used to. She was having trouble going down the deck stairs at night. We discovered that the Christmas lights on the deck railing helped her to see--so we left them up. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyCyknybth6g8I8pCdP08cNUByTdZXMgTx7VTlyfnIU-VWzQa4crZCXdNs8o6-YsxnLUOdSZ201vBNwI7Om4bxqMAq2hl8oaof_KXzTJV3m5hgmjphjxouMVshtBc0FSFNZRUtlicvx8/s1600-h/IMG_4472.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyCyknybth6g8I8pCdP08cNUByTdZXMgTx7VTlyfnIU-VWzQa4crZCXdNs8o6-YsxnLUOdSZ201vBNwI7Om4bxqMAq2hl8oaof_KXzTJV3m5hgmjphjxouMVshtBc0FSFNZRUtlicvx8/s400/IMG_4472.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436757297755943634" border="0" /></a>Well, that's it for now. Hopefully it won't be so long before I post again. Love, Kathey<br /></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-24521082860865170772009-11-04T14:46:00.024-05:002009-11-04T17:43:00.293-05:00Spectacular AutumnWe have had marvelous fall color this year. In all the years we have been here, I don't think I've ever seen one like this. Apparently the weeks prior to all this had just the right amounts of moisture to give us a RIOT of color. Unfortunately the pictures are not nearly as bright as the actual leaves were. Hopefully you will get the idea. Enjoy…<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">First of all--Our own front yard. Our topiary smoke tree in the foreground, is just starting to turn, but our river birch in the background is a yellow explosion…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERvdiTTlY38_aoqdThITYYa3AtvcNPqr39OL3SGkm2hkgdZjWgMrqy997n8qqIfeVuLTCnWp2gTN-4HEh2xceR-1omBQ1G8FaFV-hKaZRqpknbgmBSeNYkZqxl6FWYV8HKdev36aFhIw/s1600-h/IMG_4166.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhERvdiTTlY38_aoqdThITYYa3AtvcNPqr39OL3SGkm2hkgdZjWgMrqy997n8qqIfeVuLTCnWp2gTN-4HEh2xceR-1omBQ1G8FaFV-hKaZRqpknbgmBSeNYkZqxl6FWYV8HKdev36aFhIw/s400/IMG_4166.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400339265421238498" border="0" /></a>Last Sunday morning we walked out the door to go to church at just the right time to see our little Japanese Maple fairly on fire. The sun shining through it made it just GLOW. Jim dashed back in the house and grabbed the camera so he could snap this one…<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIy2dBHW71FWqJ5Ofdt9wlxmqhYBZIaoyMECx30EkvPBhF0lXmNQYwl5ND8rqFmDRIQ47xE3Nmg0AQp7iVAQTjqJrYVBbTuk5XHY_JH42PN9uNHPXwMrW6PlNj2VeeCzOy0x6Rz4k4R4/s1600-h/IMG_4232.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIy2dBHW71FWqJ5Ofdt9wlxmqhYBZIaoyMECx30EkvPBhF0lXmNQYwl5ND8rqFmDRIQ47xE3Nmg0AQp7iVAQTjqJrYVBbTuk5XHY_JH42PN9uNHPXwMrW6PlNj2VeeCzOy0x6Rz4k4R4/s400/IMG_4232.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400339278241792786" border="0" /></a>We went out and took lots of pictures along the roadways. Just a few are presented here.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVZmVkpQESqsTlDAyd6oRbn3p2tf3cy3n7FIfVShNwYk0SM3tlut5_jrsWDsAHvFprFqf-Pz7lmruGV7TsP0Sxci6lKkqdbvKEoLGlOhmvWLd0kW6mEieYrn4cvSETEhz2hlFU9QpWbA/s1600-h/IMG_4237.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVZmVkpQESqsTlDAyd6oRbn3p2tf3cy3n7FIfVShNwYk0SM3tlut5_jrsWDsAHvFprFqf-Pz7lmruGV7TsP0Sxci6lKkqdbvKEoLGlOhmvWLd0kW6mEieYrn4cvSETEhz2hlFU9QpWbA/s400/IMG_4237.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400339291385634850" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9c6-nlqc4XobqfF7XTGzZKYRj24nGA6sidqRdioZTZkIUTl9fGVnNkAq6pNpYryrsOjtvehmVUXcyA5luzUshyphenhyphenSmzrJ3rmTRm1GlPpvitNHSHL9D9eNn95Xzis9jsGPsQKYl0j8lCIc/s1600-h/IMG_4235.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9c6-nlqc4XobqfF7XTGzZKYRj24nGA6sidqRdioZTZkIUTl9fGVnNkAq6pNpYryrsOjtvehmVUXcyA5luzUshyphenhyphenSmzrJ3rmTRm1GlPpvitNHSHL9D9eNn95Xzis9jsGPsQKYl0j8lCIc/s400/IMG_4235.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400339283090960642" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGL3N66mVk8wGwO2c20AjtUKpG99WZ8WLaMxg7E2qEECbAbe6JyFcpA9Cpn7xSGqKMDFzvHhouXVqVQgJxbeaWvMQYxvwDl7zBh-pN-ABmhMlbk8ABFNnUZ3FkPohmAPa4rk30xHmrz4/s1600-h/IMG_4254.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGL3N66mVk8wGwO2c20AjtUKpG99WZ8WLaMxg7E2qEECbAbe6JyFcpA9Cpn7xSGqKMDFzvHhouXVqVQgJxbeaWvMQYxvwDl7zBh-pN-ABmhMlbk8ABFNnUZ3FkPohmAPa4rk30xHmrz4/s400/IMG_4254.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400376557726133666" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8afbZywhzTN5syFrAf8uwoeb4HV7ljnWKqTmMv4FXghrReDpQmwbrnBZnDtF8tT380jdhkdCJxywSW8IXiQq3IaNaKomoFXqd3ELNEIe4ZshzCWO4fctlR0o18iIGUD2S8_zVKn9PQRE/s1600-h/IMG_4251.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8afbZywhzTN5syFrAf8uwoeb4HV7ljnWKqTmMv4FXghrReDpQmwbrnBZnDtF8tT380jdhkdCJxywSW8IXiQq3IaNaKomoFXqd3ELNEIe4ZshzCWO4fctlR0o18iIGUD2S8_zVKn9PQRE/s400/IMG_4251.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400341420051846802" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQwd4rhwlqbICUQMEStQmrruovNuHeFi0O5P67KCoqrYekvB0DePTDD5KHsmYSL4XzPppNDj92UTes99VKxfQCntIQg5W6dRqae8zHtJf1uC9MJsdycuz8suNtoTe1qmKRTTXnMgfGAU/s1600-h/IMG_4244.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQwd4rhwlqbICUQMEStQmrruovNuHeFi0O5P67KCoqrYekvB0DePTDD5KHsmYSL4XzPppNDj92UTes99VKxfQCntIQg5W6dRqae8zHtJf1uC9MJsdycuz8suNtoTe1qmKRTTXnMgfGAU/s400/IMG_4244.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400341408326815922" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2Ml7TSl81nmkr45mRdYWlBModhRrFhY7fLffYgiJYuRqJ2CkxDsAGjUsCTz902NoDWyzSiw0Mee070_dnvdZynPV8WxmfPkYrHhHuzo4ttff6vbNep4AYQdIBcOJZr-Plc_zhjssQMs/s1600-h/IMG_4241.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2Ml7TSl81nmkr45mRdYWlBModhRrFhY7fLffYgiJYuRqJ2CkxDsAGjUsCTz902NoDWyzSiw0Mee070_dnvdZynPV8WxmfPkYrHhHuzo4ttff6vbNep4AYQdIBcOJZr-Plc_zhjssQMs/s400/IMG_4241.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400341400873166498" border="0" /></a>Many of the burning bushes sizzled in the sunlight this year.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzIqq7gKFrWvseE12gXP4hPwtsI9OhbHgh7UsTeGiHZNJJXALh4oDYCSBzxqbbH7E6-0D651XYvYKCpJbpPVW7y4kxdfejT7fxsOL1DV9pg5fQ5mLd7L4a2uo1otQIfcxYbN2Q2Pamv8/s1600-h/IMG_4263.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuzIqq7gKFrWvseE12gXP4hPwtsI9OhbHgh7UsTeGiHZNJJXALh4oDYCSBzxqbbH7E6-0D651XYvYKCpJbpPVW7y4kxdfejT7fxsOL1DV9pg5fQ5mLd7L4a2uo1otQIfcxYbN2Q2Pamv8/s400/IMG_4263.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400347637926559154" border="0" /></a>Bradford Pear trees look like they are waving cotton-candy pom poms.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-uF6473JWiIysMZtBO3Uzdf5OmbjAeitBx1a7a17q9uK0Mh4UnJavW747VtcOknoLBJ4rITUm2jXdqOhlsmwwgu6MB5lk2zKqhjlwURLYRlOpPbwA-uJP4Fm3F3FZjeiPEZ5tsIVeVo/s1600-h/IMG_4238.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX-uF6473JWiIysMZtBO3Uzdf5OmbjAeitBx1a7a17q9uK0Mh4UnJavW747VtcOknoLBJ4rITUm2jXdqOhlsmwwgu6MB5lk2zKqhjlwURLYRlOpPbwA-uJP4Fm3F3FZjeiPEZ5tsIVeVo/s400/IMG_4238.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400376552496249922" border="0" /></a>I thought this looked really sweet--like a happy valley.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRizvUrjVm_VTqiK2gFc0VG6iWDBe8nyHrKW_HbYda47ny0XcbWxWYls4R1xnNx2nn_e5XZncfNtBQJWTRLfQE9L8o5nSUZNWD3wlJqGLR02Tzt-1lv7EtesJEOHxTk_hcTMoykeC8mWk/s1600-h/IMG_4285.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRizvUrjVm_VTqiK2gFc0VG6iWDBe8nyHrKW_HbYda47ny0XcbWxWYls4R1xnNx2nn_e5XZncfNtBQJWTRLfQE9L8o5nSUZNWD3wlJqGLR02Tzt-1lv7EtesJEOHxTk_hcTMoykeC8mWk/s400/IMG_4285.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400347628269430530" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCDRqe5kbXGdChLW7Zb2BgUFwCTCBIKSIL0KJUU7ApbTVeoSKOc7ahrZ2eIHkS1I7uqPXcDnudFx9q09sEfdjwEXbqt0bJTktiK1zsN4ORXyVWS0R-Ux9KvS926-IrB0ZXpY1jjKkyVo/s1600-h/IMG_4320.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCDRqe5kbXGdChLW7Zb2BgUFwCTCBIKSIL0KJUU7ApbTVeoSKOc7ahrZ2eIHkS1I7uqPXcDnudFx9q09sEfdjwEXbqt0bJTktiK1zsN4ORXyVWS0R-Ux9KvS926-IrB0ZXpY1jjKkyVo/s400/IMG_4320.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400359599322348178" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I selected part of the above photo to use as a banner across the top of the November RS Newsletter for our ward Relief Society. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpbEo1Nytokw_kHunbjYXJPGyGw_fZPTlTtTAdDTk4fvEkZ8NBk8tJqkAsgN4bwffnhjI_AqppcfXFFtybH2OX8D4YR6jAjYJbm-kZl257tU2D3T84rUhg_YfVgEcGg8iJ7YD9zOBiWg/s1600-h/November+Banner.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 57px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpbEo1Nytokw_kHunbjYXJPGyGw_fZPTlTtTAdDTk4fvEkZ8NBk8tJqkAsgN4bwffnhjI_AqppcfXFFtybH2OX8D4YR6jAjYJbm-kZl257tU2D3T84rUhg_YfVgEcGg8iJ7YD9zOBiWg/s400/November+Banner.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400358049129318290" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last month I made a banner off this picture from last year. But for some reason I couldn't post the banner itself. I don't know why the red one worked, but the yellow one won't. I can't remember what I did. Of course that never happens to anyone else…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkK0AHN1HAoQ9x6IqLGssYnJ1vi6BPzyMAUp29k8MWau-V-AKmh82lyBCUVD5uJSr_yYFMfcNQuNS5-18L0JMBUkyJ0ozzcV0yd4ZTbm8eYS6RA-NkrTDsXlRm42Wl-72B5mKrTd0EJio/s1600-h/IMG_1747.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkK0AHN1HAoQ9x6IqLGssYnJ1vi6BPzyMAUp29k8MWau-V-AKmh82lyBCUVD5uJSr_yYFMfcNQuNS5-18L0JMBUkyJ0ozzcV0yd4ZTbm8eYS6RA-NkrTDsXlRm42Wl-72B5mKrTd0EJio/s400/IMG_1747.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400368607200529042" border="0" /></a></div></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-11686589946460096682009-10-30T16:57:00.012-04:002009-10-30T17:33:12.607-04:00New Floors--Quickie OverviewThanks to Barbie's comment I realized that I can post a few pictures of the new floors without telling the whole story. Here is our new hall bathroom floor. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWrfHDr0G9e-aehtk4gn2t9QnG6KrDgLsEfGcPGanyHLc7deYrwkVvmsIwbkfM8ISVpa0eR_Vup0KoCuk415r4cuSTXSEbwFA2prtfBa4H9MXQzFOUytZRhgA5hIp4IYM6nDJjOcIVwQ/s1600-h/IMG_4328.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWrfHDr0G9e-aehtk4gn2t9QnG6KrDgLsEfGcPGanyHLc7deYrwkVvmsIwbkfM8ISVpa0eR_Vup0KoCuk415r4cuSTXSEbwFA2prtfBa4H9MXQzFOUytZRhgA5hIp4IYM6nDJjOcIVwQ/s400/IMG_4328.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398504498602341298" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdHySk72CGVvsoOjPmH42Oxir75YIdNDNgXmjCq0pVNd6A9uJcRa3OERNWg9li-gFHf3bX1QP51VjTSXqu-wd52_8wceKTyJZIZpjFzNUGazcbUAixhPBcUVkUkHmiOL1DHCp_RV-Caw/s1600-h/IMG_4097.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdHySk72CGVvsoOjPmH42Oxir75YIdNDNgXmjCq0pVNd6A9uJcRa3OERNWg9li-gFHf3bX1QP51VjTSXqu-wd52_8wceKTyJZIZpjFzNUGazcbUAixhPBcUVkUkHmiOL1DHCp_RV-Caw/s400/IMG_4097.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398504481772696562" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Here's the Yellow bathroom: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KUqAEoF6xaMp3suCZBJIa-EJXxHdZ1OKmJlCutHsnNm0qA3VeK2QZlMoxu10Vp5tpYjwsmR4bswX6kdmTncWbJRlzdqy6hslIMAbY9444_i7veAy8yH5cMHzXZS_pvh8do-GkfHqCe4/s1600-h/IMG_4329.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KUqAEoF6xaMp3suCZBJIa-EJXxHdZ1OKmJlCutHsnNm0qA3VeK2QZlMoxu10Vp5tpYjwsmR4bswX6kdmTncWbJRlzdqy6hslIMAbY9444_i7veAy8yH5cMHzXZS_pvh8do-GkfHqCe4/s400/IMG_4329.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398506652021333426" border="0" /></a>And a close up of the tile…<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbmFANY9r7YRUNt_uZol_6mTNG4V0ndEv88ebt9_bR7NcxavmzCbS0vJN2I9KBibY-Cocwl0CPBLa-efZYJg1kHKU6WspCoCF4wknS2s-9BB2Z3Z3evytAcgTddqu4FmaxjxfFGJ5EUU/s1600-h/IMG_4064.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqbmFANY9r7YRUNt_uZol_6mTNG4V0ndEv88ebt9_bR7NcxavmzCbS0vJN2I9KBibY-Cocwl0CPBLa-efZYJg1kHKU6WspCoCF4wknS2s-9BB2Z3Z3evytAcgTddqu4FmaxjxfFGJ5EUU/s400/IMG_4064.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398504474733569906" border="0" /></a>Here's the torn-apart kitchen with the new plywood base.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFloRpp8Q5niDhxnZHK__2mp41VpcjznXjoae11eDF1uQ3FKqafThy8d2cPRouW1QFDxOHpvZGETJectMLQTGOD9KehgB4o1KgtL5JNXEiSAOnlTUeYs6PWaqhPEWSyfQT5W3S64Z4wQ/s1600-h/IMG_4146.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsFloRpp8Q5niDhxnZHK__2mp41VpcjznXjoae11eDF1uQ3FKqafThy8d2cPRouW1QFDxOHpvZGETJectMLQTGOD9KehgB4o1KgtL5JNXEiSAOnlTUeYs6PWaqhPEWSyfQT5W3S64Z4wQ/s400/IMG_4146.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398504486306476018" border="0" /></a>New tile in place, but not grouted.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgrAvPrabrcZpBxYD53fJXZ_SAg3rSazrkzqx9dsrhYajVINSARZfmtOwcGSWZ69t87p8Bd9n6dIYRZ2aHZdFOeIHHOakW1uEuy_G1B0q9l8HHItbLBqKYCSoJdNc5XfEq6wodCaK0GM/s1600-h/IMG_4216.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgrAvPrabrcZpBxYD53fJXZ_SAg3rSazrkzqx9dsrhYajVINSARZfmtOwcGSWZ69t87p8Bd9n6dIYRZ2aHZdFOeIHHOakW1uEuy_G1B0q9l8HHItbLBqKYCSoJdNc5XfEq6wodCaK0GM/s400/IMG_4216.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398508460677247250" border="0" /></a> And here is moving the stove back in. It lived on the deck for a few days, covered in plastic. The floor is the same as the hall bathroom.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaazalEeyYK2tv51VLUuTwfz5nZXAXLoIZwE3EvpRYSG4ACqDDIXh0iTU7F8HV5o584eAVBoX85WF206rVyGpeWUHPKcSFmNM_OHKnmuUVntuu8C_-VIPtlOJ-JE6kmSoobdJ3tycH7ZQ/s1600-h/IMG_4217.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaazalEeyYK2tv51VLUuTwfz5nZXAXLoIZwE3EvpRYSG4ACqDDIXh0iTU7F8HV5o584eAVBoX85WF206rVyGpeWUHPKcSFmNM_OHKnmuUVntuu8C_-VIPtlOJ-JE6kmSoobdJ3tycH7ZQ/s400/IMG_4217.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398504492294314466" border="0" /></a>More to come…<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaazalEeyYK2tv51VLUuTwfz5nZXAXLoIZwE3EvpRYSG4ACqDDIXh0iTU7F8HV5o584eAVBoX85WF206rVyGpeWUHPKcSFmNM_OHKnmuUVntuu8C_-VIPtlOJ-JE6kmSoobdJ3tycH7ZQ/s1600-h/IMG_4217.JPG"><br /></a>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-68749785953866514612009-10-30T12:25:00.013-04:002009-10-30T13:33:25.197-04:00FLAGS, FLOWERS and BANANA PEEL WATER FERTILIZER<div style="text-align: justify;">I just downloaded 357 pictures, SO I have a lot of catching up to do. No, I'm not going to post that many pictures but I'll give a representative sampling. A lot of stuff has been going on. I'm going to post what's easiest, and most fun, for me.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On September <span style="font-size:100%;">11 </span>we flew our little flags. Jim, the Engineer, even figured out how to put one on the mailbox post. :D<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfASH8dSxW0SPQ8phsT9FIm3em3kZ_BbVNgnZcdlME7gL-_TeWob3l-IVDremUVngODNMXnt_we1LQSCLHsOIKaXGX2eXj6aNZhfma9z919n2rVl-oXd98c37yhlKX_tMEl3mebRV9CU/s1600-h/IMG_3942.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfASH8dSxW0SPQ8phsT9FIm3em3kZ_BbVNgnZcdlME7gL-_TeWob3l-IVDremUVngODNMXnt_we1LQSCLHsOIKaXGX2eXj6aNZhfma9z919n2rVl-oXd98c37yhlKX_tMEl3mebRV9CU/s400/IMG_3942.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398432253189530802" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8hflbYjHFP2tojU2FSnWRqKSb50iAduqFYJugf532f62f3N9F9Q5RS9VcmdP-cjE7RAvpseK7xI_BOIG_U9RWmWUcXw96i_XWr6EvYzrGPUukwj3bqUTXmwQZlgce4COKNxjS_b8XVU/s1600-h/IMG_3948.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8hflbYjHFP2tojU2FSnWRqKSb50iAduqFYJugf532f62f3N9F9Q5RS9VcmdP-cjE7RAvpseK7xI_BOIG_U9RWmWUcXw96i_XWr6EvYzrGPUukwj3bqUTXmwQZlgce4COKNxjS_b8XVU/s400/IMG_3948.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398432262880288482" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I was especially glad that day because our Gerbera Daisy was actually blooming. It had flowers on it when it was first planted, but then didn't bloom again for months. I read that they won't bloom if planted too deep, so I thought that was probably the problem. Just as an experiment, though, I tried watering it with banana peel water fertilizer. A year ago I started experimenting with soaking banana peels in water for a couple of days and using that as fertilizer. <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://kathey-frommywindow.blogspot.com/2008/10/apeeling-experiment-banana-that-is.html">Here's a link</a> about what happened last year. This time I put one banana peel in a peanut butter jar, filled it with water and let it set for two days. Then Jim poured the water into a two-gallon sprinkling can and filled the rest with water. He then watered two gerbera daisys, and a dogwood tree that hadn't set any buds yet. SUCCESS! Both daisys started blooming in two or three weeks, and the dogwood tree also produced some buds. I love it when an experiment works.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8YaZnxrC7S7CCVQR9ezT9AGq2loxdPORq_pacG0EShHwxPMTWqorMmtueIw2yHB43xpVP3Y2gq1FyuatMTJsIIzcGAZFFHh_KNpmm06gW8ofOq82ovEZERhMzpvHZ-maSs6imuEY9Hw/s1600-h/IMG_3950.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl8YaZnxrC7S7CCVQR9ezT9AGq2loxdPORq_pacG0EShHwxPMTWqorMmtueIw2yHB43xpVP3Y2gq1FyuatMTJsIIzcGAZFFHh_KNpmm06gW8ofOq82ovEZERhMzpvHZ-maSs6imuEY9Hw/s400/IMG_3950.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398432265127590706" border="0" /></a>Once it got going, the daisy had five blooms all at once.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFWVdw2NPGb8KCUWxXUUTrIDxHgWZRqGMx4zrtWtOgiUlgM5iLrsfu3VcccuA18tV_PWh-Zn1Ww0T4bsIdqMA3pBuHv5X1BZqoQyi_Ad9vCw9Rx6UfCEcXpsQxOUiJ1Gw0-4DI2KBP3A/s1600-h/IMG_3985.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFWVdw2NPGb8KCUWxXUUTrIDxHgWZRqGMx4zrtWtOgiUlgM5iLrsfu3VcccuA18tV_PWh-Zn1Ww0T4bsIdqMA3pBuHv5X1BZqoQyi_Ad9vCw9Rx6UfCEcXpsQxOUiJ1Gw0-4DI2KBP3A/s400/IMG_3985.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398445082048280802" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-50129579408640367892009-09-11T10:03:00.003-04:002009-09-11T10:14:08.345-04:00Nice ProgressI've been working on de-cluttering since the kids were here. Soon after they left I was able to get my kitchen counter organized. Yay!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DL2Ck_JMPxKz1jZcOwqIjCo3hsDFlcDYgWoguG7LNGAOcwJOhCBsWvq5lkDz83-NOMNDjPz72P3Rg5bBLnoXtIEvYCuR66mUxjhvuY6CDiCRiSEH4Cq2jJ3oY7RPXt8xbTPe5Qxi5nw/s1600-h/IMG_3637.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DL2Ck_JMPxKz1jZcOwqIjCo3hsDFlcDYgWoguG7LNGAOcwJOhCBsWvq5lkDz83-NOMNDjPz72P3Rg5bBLnoXtIEvYCuR66mUxjhvuY6CDiCRiSEH4Cq2jJ3oY7RPXt8xbTPe5Qxi5nw/s400/IMG_3637.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380211867080099682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yez149Wus79GNtw7mQLiKyipi5xGSxPXdE0-fdfXd3WL7pvMNEigdeQEZ5g-MDMxSRiJLCNoY7yfo2D0h02GbJZIpmNLuAmAaIb4D3LzSOgJqow1N1cxB9HOXUTGhB3TF6Ky4PqjMjs/s1600-h/IMG_3635.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2yez149Wus79GNtw7mQLiKyipi5xGSxPXdE0-fdfXd3WL7pvMNEigdeQEZ5g-MDMxSRiJLCNoY7yfo2D0h02GbJZIpmNLuAmAaIb4D3LzSOgJqow1N1cxB9HOXUTGhB3TF6Ky4PqjMjs/s400/IMG_3635.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380211862678910050" border="0" /></a>Has it stayed that way? Well, not exactly, but it's much more functional than it was. I like it!Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-32104392415899004822009-09-03T16:56:00.010-04:002009-09-03T21:43:40.388-04:00Kirsten Turns 40!!!<div style="text-align: center;">After weeks (make that MONTHS) of eager anticipation, the big day finally arrived: Kirsten's 40th birthday. Dad ordered a cake for her and picked it up last night.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2CMGlVlhN5rXrxvUNaX0jshmbTUngxjwB9O7dVsTLU0GzEeIRVK2tclyUI4DzVuMY-LwA39BIYHpTK3LTYucUyqNeGKH2E3NBeA-Sogv6y3IhtRbExprr_rDVigk_e2xc_Kv4PvsSMu8/s1600-h/IMG_3866.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2CMGlVlhN5rXrxvUNaX0jshmbTUngxjwB9O7dVsTLU0GzEeIRVK2tclyUI4DzVuMY-LwA39BIYHpTK3LTYucUyqNeGKH2E3NBeA-Sogv6y3IhtRbExprr_rDVigk_e2xc_Kv4PvsSMu8/s400/IMG_3866.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377351821550088114" border="0" /></a>By this morning she was so excited that she gave herself a headache. I had her drink a nice big glass of water. That usually helps.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBdf3BfFgBvWy8POMKLr5lADFbtgl3H5JayV1hY79I1aRrOmgnFemzRK8Lm42ANeJsd3pNPznfeXr-2i5GimzoyP1OTd-4QSZHZm7wMz_nJQvijNCKENUv5HniYBxnR-JeBqG5gSUEkU/s1600-h/IMG_3873.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBdf3BfFgBvWy8POMKLr5lADFbtgl3H5JayV1hY79I1aRrOmgnFemzRK8Lm42ANeJsd3pNPznfeXr-2i5GimzoyP1OTd-4QSZHZm7wMz_nJQvijNCKENUv5HniYBxnR-JeBqG5gSUEkU/s400/IMG_3873.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377351822913224562" border="0" /></a>Button up. It's cold outside. Birthdays are so fun, and SO exciting!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGZQnNpNsuGXYg5oS7uYc81IoJ_mhTQVx89-KOdN1XgCzr2LC7z0uRStFliMZ61ZZrvHVGCqbfU-NCD7g1k68m4PNQxV3h-XbRM_-7FBw5Wqgv94dZmcv11SvmpmhCPPGZVUhWCTH0uY/s1600-h/IMG_3876.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGZQnNpNsuGXYg5oS7uYc81IoJ_mhTQVx89-KOdN1XgCzr2LC7z0uRStFliMZ61ZZrvHVGCqbfU-NCD7g1k68m4PNQxV3h-XbRM_-7FBw5Wqgv94dZmcv11SvmpmhCPPGZVUhWCTH0uY/s400/IMG_3876.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377351833142710546" border="0" /></a>…or not<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fO9TIB15-j7iHRHhGTLWqyvhKn4jetMV8F7y9Sgdfa3ABetSj5DckvfwPVh0NXg5_dry9AKCQ06_oh10efMNSY8IVYIZsggtwefWspgHKarrds2Fx7I2fwzjfwWK7cCmknM0QE0qVhE/s1600-h/IMG_3875.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fO9TIB15-j7iHRHhGTLWqyvhKn4jetMV8F7y9Sgdfa3ABetSj5DckvfwPVh0NXg5_dry9AKCQ06_oh10efMNSY8IVYIZsggtwefWspgHKarrds2Fx7I2fwzjfwWK7cCmknM0QE0qVhE/s400/IMG_3875.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377355335142528306" border="0" /></a> SMILE KIRSTEN! That's Better.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPezD0c7q9wosPFpvn_R0-t6MMaHqmc-qGQVr0mOWTmOC1AQOyYrc8pmLGvHznse3ZIyJgbDv16aEqlEz87nmoLHqMVZKJwdHsjJXdFarzZUT14Ilw3hwH6Tovmi7Qcbsickz8MLUfvc/s1600-h/IMG_3877.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrPezD0c7q9wosPFpvn_R0-t6MMaHqmc-qGQVr0mOWTmOC1AQOyYrc8pmLGvHznse3ZIyJgbDv16aEqlEz87nmoLHqMVZKJwdHsjJXdFarzZUT14Ilw3hwH6Tovmi7Qcbsickz8MLUfvc/s400/IMG_3877.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377351840921771474" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Her able-bodied assistant carried THE cake out to the bus.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcnrP1tu84nH6GiwsqwIMOviJPevPZOXIQXQOias5kFC_DTTxth8fd65jppO6lgL51vdO1luSOXfS3llmVCcRP8qEDkMFUYqlVXQ_h4okvvvxqn00xug0iXf3KHE6XVlqoumELEl17sM/s1600-h/IMG_3878.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcnrP1tu84nH6GiwsqwIMOviJPevPZOXIQXQOias5kFC_DTTxth8fd65jppO6lgL51vdO1luSOXfS3llmVCcRP8qEDkMFUYqlVXQ_h4okvvvxqn00xug0iXf3KHE6XVlqoumELEl17sM/s400/IMG_3878.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377351850801324194" border="0" /></a> Kirsten moved too fast, and there are too many trees for me to get a good picture. But the cake really did make it on the bus, and so did Kirsten. We also contributed a bag of donuts for the people on the bus, because they wouldn't be having cake.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkHcBAM6fvHnaTPcGjpcpmgk5C0z2VIjPBS71SGA_hrJBkNTHHh4Tg1otRZio4W9izdL9ira0T1qxeCsWymCFjLtHgAPtCasPWGpcvaf-vA1RpLutTeyv7lnjN9eSsFoENXAW5C2Zfeg/s1600-h/IMG_3880.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkHcBAM6fvHnaTPcGjpcpmgk5C0z2VIjPBS71SGA_hrJBkNTHHh4Tg1otRZio4W9izdL9ira0T1qxeCsWymCFjLtHgAPtCasPWGpcvaf-vA1RpLutTeyv7lnjN9eSsFoENXAW5C2Zfeg/s400/IMG_3880.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377353882987445490" border="0" /></a>When Kirsten came home, she was very excited to tell Betsey about her day at school. Yes, everyone was excited about her birthday, and they enjoyed eating cake…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0H3e-sBcTequ1Y1wPVX4DNbL9SeGzlhs8vZfJR0ov3tpIo6aEpgspqgPZuN5jJZJ8BZG97yO468WawvU5yOrtM8M6i2yOL2og7N9JNbRN8TPUFcrgaA9_791cEWlw6FsCJcW3HSQFjvU/s1600-h/IMG_3911.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0H3e-sBcTequ1Y1wPVX4DNbL9SeGzlhs8vZfJR0ov3tpIo6aEpgspqgPZuN5jJZJ8BZG97yO468WawvU5yOrtM8M6i2yOL2og7N9JNbRN8TPUFcrgaA9_791cEWlw6FsCJcW3HSQFjvU/s400/IMG_3911.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377353905391971090" border="0" /></a>But they didn't sing Happy Birthday……and that was sad.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcgWB2hpmL63AaEZxsSPuFweq6JwnJftilFaKvSR41WXApU7WnWHQiQe9v6sSjl0_1QAzFxsFIES8lb2rwiPqLjdEE0FHduwu1WDfv7bA0kNuIe9lefoJ7VPqkSX8LdJfHDOfVum1ANc/s1600-h/IMG_3909.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivcgWB2hpmL63AaEZxsSPuFweq6JwnJftilFaKvSR41WXApU7WnWHQiQe9v6sSjl0_1QAzFxsFIES8lb2rwiPqLjdEE0FHduwu1WDfv7bA0kNuIe9lefoJ7VPqkSX8LdJfHDOfVum1ANc/s400/IMG_3909.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377353897479101202" border="0" /></a>So after we took her out to eat, we came home and, sang to her. Here's Betsey Singing.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0HvzZBILaxrTlDdDyT7BA66JFuOa1tjHohlESvAYLDVVG6pecrs8EoG7oWUHC6FP6m4sYtTTgx0vlbkeOs8BAhMYW94GW2BAN-iukDQefc-EPiSI8UK5vh751J2KPkI5JFIoRPsFHLc/s1600-h/IMG_3928.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0HvzZBILaxrTlDdDyT7BA66JFuOa1tjHohlESvAYLDVVG6pecrs8EoG7oWUHC6FP6m4sYtTTgx0vlbkeOs8BAhMYW94GW2BAN-iukDQefc-EPiSI8UK5vh751J2KPkI5JFIoRPsFHLc/s400/IMG_3928.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377417287113521618" border="0" /></a>All of her other siblings called to sing to her also. So she was well sung to today! All of the little kids participated too. As Helena and Doug sang, Kate said she wanted to sing like a horse, so she sang "Neigh, neigh, neiiiiiiigh, neigh, neigh, neigh…" along with them. Andy contributed by making a noise. Elizabeth sang along with Peter and Karen and also very clearly said "Happy Birthday." (she's 20 months old.) When Barb and Kyle sang, Hazel enthusiastically smiled and held her arms up. Everyone got in the act. It was fun listening to them.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPYauJJoRdB_UtiVJ0bGc7ucm19hyphenhyphen9ZPdVhjno6IIied9xjsAfgGa8oLu13bkfuObGoWMhQ57rVJM7a6e9WZp0oaMXXGoEHMzxhiIpF7dsHzYY9a4y69eErBVSyKdOthXiV2aLX4gIZc/s1600-h/IMG_3929.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPYauJJoRdB_UtiVJ0bGc7ucm19hyphenhyphen9ZPdVhjno6IIied9xjsAfgGa8oLu13bkfuObGoWMhQ57rVJM7a6e9WZp0oaMXXGoEHMzxhiIpF7dsHzYY9a4y69eErBVSyKdOthXiV2aLX4gIZc/s400/IMG_3929.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5377417299327341698" border="0" /></a>Then Kirsten opened her presents. She wanted to get her pj's on first. She had a big day, so she was pretty sleepy by then. Good night Kirsten. Happy Birthday!!!!<br /></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-29541894187747332262009-08-31T15:29:00.004-04:002009-08-31T15:37:07.352-04:00ON BEING LOSTHave you ever been lost? I was once when I was four years old. It was Halloween. My mom and I went to visit my grandmother that day while my older brother was in school. I was dressed in my gypsy costume so I could show grandma. I had lots of necklaces and bracelets, a red bolero jacket, and a very full, crinkly brown skirt that swirled outward when I spun around. I even had a little tambourine to play. I was SO excited!! I remember that the skirt had sequins sewn on it that sparkled as I swirled. I loved that skirt and I loved being all dressed up.<br /><br />Well, as long as I was dressed up it just seemed logical that I go trick-or-treating there in Grandma's neighborhood, so I asked if I could just go to the houses across the street. And if I could go to those houses, could I also go around the block? Amazingly, they let me. I remember one cranky man saying that trick-or-treat wasn't until that night, but most people were nice to me as I knocked on their doors. I remember that one older couple invited me in so I could dance for them in my swirly skirt. It was fun and I was really in my element. (a bit of a show off?)<br /><br />I didn't notice that the day was wearing on and it was getting late. I don't know what happened, but I went around a corner, and I didn't know where I was. I do remember that horrible feeling as my confidence sank into the sidewalk. I knew I was lost but good and I started to cry.<br /><br />Just then two older girls came across the street and asked if I was lost. They took me to their house and called my grandmother's house. I remember that they fed me ice cream while I waited for my mom.<br /><br />It turns out that I had been gone so long that mom had been out looking for me. When she couldn't find me she contacted the police. They stopped at a school where a girl scout troop was meeting and asked if anyone had seen me. The meeting broke up then and the girls started combing the neighborhood looking for me. The two girls who found me were from that girl scout troop. I suspect that mom may have come by in the car at the time I was in entertaining those old folks with my gipsy dance. Otherwise I don't know how she could have missed me. Well, I was picked up in a police car. That was exciting. I was bursting with all the news when we got home. I had so much to tell my brother. I also noticed that it was getting fairly dark. I remember exclaiming gleefully that it was dark enough to go trick or treating, and I was all set to go because I had my costume on.<br /><br />Mom gave me a withering look and said in no uncertain terms, "You have had enough Halloween for one day!!" I knew better than to protest too loudly. It wouldn't have done any good.<br /><br />All's well that ends well, but to this day I have at least a partial recollection of what it felt like to be lost, and the wonderful relief that came over me when I was rescued. I was looking at the LDS church website the other day and found a wonderful video. Elaine Dalton tells how she felt while running the Boston Marathon, and realized that she might not have the strength to finish. She also realized that she was in a big city with thousands of people lining the streets. How would she ever find her husband at the end? She felt totally lost and alone.<br /><br />Spectators noticed she was crying and called encouragement to her. She also began to pray as she ran, and step by step she made it through.<br /><br />I think you will enjoy this little story. It was very uplifting to me. I plan on going back to it now and then and what better place to do that than right here? Love, Kathey<br /><br /><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vIrGKB5nRKE&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vIrGKB5nRKE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="340" width="560"></embed></object>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-14251721599226013792009-08-07T18:18:00.008-04:002009-08-09T19:10:15.064-04:00Family Frolic: Part 3--Different Talents, Different Tasks<div style="text-align: justify;">The last segment in the continuing saga of the June 2009 adventure when our kids and their families landed here all at the same time! (At the end of this segment, please scroll down for part 2 and part 1.)<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here's a slightly hammed up version of our family picture. Aren't we cute?<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQwaq0WGi9DJAsVVG8rxfpOfu7vDIgubdw5kqMoMo7AjUkqNypVV7ZFNaE8ccGqi_IqGNQ-bxYi3hZTFiS4eqxUn9Mc-8rhPxDy90Y1hO7htx-fI5v_OFeKbSVJodEBOCw8AFbhY5j8I/s1600-h/FamPic09_03+copy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQwaq0WGi9DJAsVVG8rxfpOfu7vDIgubdw5kqMoMo7AjUkqNypVV7ZFNaE8ccGqi_IqGNQ-bxYi3hZTFiS4eqxUn9Mc-8rhPxDy90Y1hO7htx-fI5v_OFeKbSVJodEBOCw8AFbhY5j8I/s400/FamPic09_03+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367330196667492994" border="0" /></a>Front Row starting at left is Helena's family: Doug with Andy age 5 1/2 months, Helena holding 4 1/2-year old Kate. Then Betsey with Angie. (At 15, Angie is definitely our oldest "grand daughter." )<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Row two starts with Barbie's family: Kyle, Barbie holding Hazel, age 7 1/2 months. Kirsten, Kathey & Jim. Then comes Peter's family: Karen, 17-month old Elizabeth, and Peter.<br /></div><br />During the time that everyone was here the little children were the top priority, but in between times it was interesting to me how each family used their different talents to do something really spectacular.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Barbie and Kyle</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Barbie and Kyle did some fantastic landscaping. Kyle did the physical labor. Around the swing house was especially his design.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3bMoSkr3CFPSkV-zRDrvlr7fwTSjpc86vCsFqRnBByvGFJtd3hV_Cs1PUi9E9X5DiF49t4JHfppqsDSOFePec0Cs7brCkEE-5RSiGfNddgSiBPWXMUOVeTGCAuh3U-TugWpM6TnTuFc/s1600-h/IMG_3370.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL3bMoSkr3CFPSkV-zRDrvlr7fwTSjpc86vCsFqRnBByvGFJtd3hV_Cs1PUi9E9X5DiF49t4JHfppqsDSOFePec0Cs7brCkEE-5RSiGfNddgSiBPWXMUOVeTGCAuh3U-TugWpM6TnTuFc/s400/IMG_3370.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367317703292687298" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This is how it looked several weeks later. A volunteer sunflower made its appearance. We decided to let it grow and see what happens. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_D0ekfFSsZhnaBYTyFVpsByOpDUoZEUed062ivOVja5H600H3JdXUJVeDPomemNzbDT6MJa6QEzSu5Z_SJEsF5IMEsghGN5oH8vvZwJujMZQp61d6zbZ7Wu-lM8Ap6lDsotpHB_PaU4/s1600-h/IMG_3694.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij_D0ekfFSsZhnaBYTyFVpsByOpDUoZEUed062ivOVja5H600H3JdXUJVeDPomemNzbDT6MJa6QEzSu5Z_SJEsF5IMEsghGN5oH8vvZwJujMZQp61d6zbZ7Wu-lM8Ap6lDsotpHB_PaU4/s400/IMG_3694.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367319045699597010" border="0" /></a>A close-up of some of my favorite flowers. I really like those orange cone flowers. I didn't even know cone flowers came in orange!<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznyMhfe0xJmDIFr9AcRpiRR7th1Cz0dJJS-LUrYPGD5pzWpMTqbGFAroOqvxD5aVoDOyogMpdSpGDEP3-eUNBSp7H2M-hQXZ1t2Cp-qac_ylGjgQE-E69t6r0DY_at5jXEWtCRwAwZ6A/s1600-h/IMG_3633.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznyMhfe0xJmDIFr9AcRpiRR7th1Cz0dJJS-LUrYPGD5pzWpMTqbGFAroOqvxD5aVoDOyogMpdSpGDEP3-eUNBSp7H2M-hQXZ1t2Cp-qac_ylGjgQE-E69t6r0DY_at5jXEWtCRwAwZ6A/s400/IMG_3633.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367319039796665842" border="0" /></a>And here is a green cone flower. It's going to be interesting to watch this one grow. Its flowers are so unusual.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtGPEvrVup2vYw58CCpuu8W7Q04T2QF2g2ZTj68zkpO4OszPMInynd3GPF8mcsG_xWhk2k0fVM9PNN_79T-ZtaGdxovQIsbPbaOPhswTeydR_XA-FqlLbaBPbiCOeeVAc1tMWBXOXjOA/s1600-h/IMG_3626.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtGPEvrVup2vYw58CCpuu8W7Q04T2QF2g2ZTj68zkpO4OszPMInynd3GPF8mcsG_xWhk2k0fVM9PNN_79T-ZtaGdxovQIsbPbaOPhswTeydR_XA-FqlLbaBPbiCOeeVAc1tMWBXOXjOA/s400/IMG_3626.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367319035844449250" border="0" /></a>Around the deck things changed a lot! The plants here are very different because this area is totally in the shade. We thought we'd add a bit of whimsy. (The stump is from our Bradford pear tree that fell apart several years ago.)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDWLwKzaedIl3ZVAcItA29CGCFF5cIbtqtpWwSNqWzDfNVWuVeco_NSYw9csChWDLRNSakWNsE9UjjUDnyS_WQ1zMCfWExbPY78UJwFhfF8ahZgCC4N-LTt1z2NLdpwqvn7KhbB5r42f4/s1600-h/IMG_3582.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDWLwKzaedIl3ZVAcItA29CGCFF5cIbtqtpWwSNqWzDfNVWuVeco_NSYw9csChWDLRNSakWNsE9UjjUDnyS_WQ1zMCfWExbPY78UJwFhfF8ahZgCC4N-LTt1z2NLdpwqvn7KhbB5r42f4/s400/IMG_3582.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367317733180037778" border="0" /></a>Continuing on around that side of the deck we see this:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYhrTqOwAKM6v-hMbJCB1L0iB2Qs1pkftF8Wvaf863icfHudKSuzDEj-JYWBkMrsg9onLBEjB_RfxhZmODrwy76DvIlAtmogqCl0mzRMk2VU1F5S7_szuoZqingJTGAmqSYoug0ls_W4/s1600-h/IMG_3583.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYhrTqOwAKM6v-hMbJCB1L0iB2Qs1pkftF8Wvaf863icfHudKSuzDEj-JYWBkMrsg9onLBEjB_RfxhZmODrwy76DvIlAtmogqCl0mzRMk2VU1F5S7_szuoZqingJTGAmqSYoug0ls_W4/s400/IMG_3583.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367319026309500290" border="0" /></a>And this. The landscaped part is much larger than I thought it would be, and it's great. We're very pleased with how it looks. We used a lot of mulch, and also put down Preen to prevent weeds.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9SWGjqzqauZuYSpxUpEKHUQGLx7YOGwos9GBVAxFd3drcKPlb9P7Jzzhjke0qaCz657vSC0xT7PzhYuo6cxNSv_PQQimPEkGn6Hh_5X4yTnq8H9vA6TcJHwytCptg8aDy5MH4xERlUE/s1600-h/IMG_3584.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9SWGjqzqauZuYSpxUpEKHUQGLx7YOGwos9GBVAxFd3drcKPlb9P7Jzzhjke0qaCz657vSC0xT7PzhYuo6cxNSv_PQQimPEkGn6Hh_5X4yTnq8H9vA6TcJHwytCptg8aDy5MH4xERlUE/s400/IMG_3584.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367317716634397298" border="0" /></a>And on the sunny side of the deck: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ivJxj7EztgCPrRwaCJGx1yVJH3r8kMS4ksi8SQSj6FSl7e9VGO8Qb3unAyTuECvHwIKQmOnaL9yKPP_PFYn-QWEcDuppZNc9vVK5-BbMz4XHyAHEC96pAkpawPTdnfASZHOyOdF-QaY/s1600-h/IMG_3588.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ivJxj7EztgCPrRwaCJGx1yVJH3r8kMS4ksi8SQSj6FSl7e9VGO8Qb3unAyTuECvHwIKQmOnaL9yKPP_PFYn-QWEcDuppZNc9vVK5-BbMz4XHyAHEC96pAkpawPTdnfASZHOyOdF-QaY/s400/IMG_3588.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367317730817104466" border="0" /></a>And this is how it looks today:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkxLAvFHd1Ktf0NCoL0S3sEcue6Y9xL9VGW01R9YAGcljgu0wnXfKlcxrJqGr6Czx59osb3z5jMadkVaDML02qdSPv9Pj7xm9w63_LZ_Gdw7jf7C2e4x20BE7tXTXgtiZD1WyYd9iFAQ/s1600-h/IMG_3768.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkxLAvFHd1Ktf0NCoL0S3sEcue6Y9xL9VGW01R9YAGcljgu0wnXfKlcxrJqGr6Czx59osb3z5jMadkVaDML02qdSPv9Pj7xm9w63_LZ_Gdw7jf7C2e4x20BE7tXTXgtiZD1WyYd9iFAQ/s400/IMG_3768.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367346272788356866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Karen and Peter</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Karen has a special talent for cleaning, and organizing. She headed up a massive clearing out project. Everyone pitched in. The basement was full of stuff much of which was carried upstairs to the deck to be sorted, or to the street to be thrown away. There were boxes, and boxes and art portfolios, and even a huge frog basket, the tail end of which can be seen here if you look really close.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWo5OG8uubxSjsS5WyR74bCcYNzROpWNFnF5feh9NSifQtt0P-x5kqFp64yX_HH78q_LMZ3nBNsmiGOFccnbnhRIKBJPmqt4ceeC2EF6lBeAor6URT5MnsNgV7wN7Ls1IydyrKLN48k_o/s1600-h/IMG_3365.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWo5OG8uubxSjsS5WyR74bCcYNzROpWNFnF5feh9NSifQtt0P-x5kqFp64yX_HH78q_LMZ3nBNsmiGOFccnbnhRIKBJPmqt4ceeC2EF6lBeAor6URT5MnsNgV7wN7Ls1IydyrKLN48k_o/s400/IMG_3365.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366142608291399362" border="0" /></a>Carting all that stuff upstairs was hard, tiring work.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYymoZgWjv37xOFLz7YXShi8OvXM4HBBRmh8ESVoFAo-X7SFKXTMJDSgm6giBdKJaPKH50v-fJwSwJ-RZQ8q5ENm_Jty_Nqfx6EBw8cC5JFHgZByeziZaGPQEsA0ANrx44WCYrJS5UsXs/s1600-h/IMG_3367.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYymoZgWjv37xOFLz7YXShi8OvXM4HBBRmh8ESVoFAo-X7SFKXTMJDSgm6giBdKJaPKH50v-fJwSwJ-RZQ8q5ENm_Jty_Nqfx6EBw8cC5JFHgZByeziZaGPQEsA0ANrx44WCYrJS5UsXs/s400/IMG_3367.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366142624870820114" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">After a few days it was possible to relax for a bit. Here are Peter, Karen and Lizbeth. Thanks so much for a job well done. (Mollie, as usual, is helping. )<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Phdo_T80XeuM1z57FojeE4T8zQobiHOWJNBG50hRpzcvuIScZcUmMGrJGaQeqtifH5pugyiuZlJsIkl0e7eWiZgeJJcPybMxl4JZyaOPRVjQ4-VA6THP_yE7agCEgaREEAmzmHtWLzY/s1600-h/IMG_3436.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Phdo_T80XeuM1z57FojeE4T8zQobiHOWJNBG50hRpzcvuIScZcUmMGrJGaQeqtifH5pugyiuZlJsIkl0e7eWiZgeJJcPybMxl4JZyaOPRVjQ4-VA6THP_yE7agCEgaREEAmzmHtWLzY/s400/IMG_3436.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366142629056316930" border="0" /></a>Peter also volunteered to take the family genealogy home with him. Yay Peter! It's good to know that he is taking care of that. Too bad I didn't get a picture of him sorting through that stuff.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">HELENA</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Helena was the chief photographer. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnPpNgYuwZFby1YHMFg8nz_PyU5d2pkZ-gXIVdVYPqJjWG5pD_OjG3C18dJ31S6sOLRKzEAAHhv9kfDn_tVpCUCMC-NMhTf2DEdxNoqdf8guSGF242P5PbuOotdjgKIzqYIQlfe7Xqis/s1600-h/IMG_3509.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnPpNgYuwZFby1YHMFg8nz_PyU5d2pkZ-gXIVdVYPqJjWG5pD_OjG3C18dJ31S6sOLRKzEAAHhv9kfDn_tVpCUCMC-NMhTf2DEdxNoqdf8guSGF242P5PbuOotdjgKIzqYIQlfe7Xqis/s400/IMG_3509.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366125060296279762" border="0" /></a>We recently added a small fountain to our back yard. The fountain was on the deck for awhile, but we discovered that it splashed too much for the health of the deck, so…<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgPkLzDJG50worml8E5aMT0Bj8nIc_Fbr8rL2rGM0RqVjfndUkFFVNu50Z_JIUBgc_ftOCsGfG-br9lcnBDqZKzrJLCQEdaf87bbstvNI1gwkT2HLyt5cFlzy35uamHueEYqZCxOaoa0/s1600-h/IMG_3504.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgPkLzDJG50worml8E5aMT0Bj8nIc_Fbr8rL2rGM0RqVjfndUkFFVNu50Z_JIUBgc_ftOCsGfG-br9lcnBDqZKzrJLCQEdaf87bbstvNI1gwkT2HLyt5cFlzy35uamHueEYqZCxOaoa0/s400/IMG_3504.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366125056579070178" border="0" /></a>We moved her down into the yard where she is surrounded by grass and flowers, and can splash all she wants. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFSmII5PrlMC7rYdiY-__Ra0DL4G_Gs_q0S5KpvCGqBG-OyYP_lDe9ITDtRalpSBDPHCTxBX8EyypkvZ2aIkffmDU0S44fRygI9gcoi9wDoJJW8fghs75WhCOGPheVlXni3amrs2lbUQ/s1600-h/IMG_3591.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFSmII5PrlMC7rYdiY-__Ra0DL4G_Gs_q0S5KpvCGqBG-OyYP_lDe9ITDtRalpSBDPHCTxBX8EyypkvZ2aIkffmDU0S44fRygI9gcoi9wDoJJW8fghs75WhCOGPheVlXni3amrs2lbUQ/s400/IMG_3591.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366129583498232658" border="0" /></a>As the kids have grown up and started their own families, much of their "stuff" stayed here. One of the goals while everyone was here was to have people do as much clearing out as possible. Many things had been kept for sentimental value. A creative solution was to have Helena photograph stuff that was near and dear to someone's heart, but not important enough to take up space forever. Mollie, who really likes to be included in all things family, decided to "help" Helena photograph art treasures.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAuFWaFhUDkyPh9aT_1TGHWWrOCnRbumQOwj40boYApz7IT1gGpQw5qFmPpsPJdCFAZAsEU8WrtMCLnZlcN8PYW4gpxfCbfER0wFfgJpy6huKk0iyCP3MT89Czt4CVZ67I999vkUjMVs/s1600-h/PackRat10.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAuFWaFhUDkyPh9aT_1TGHWWrOCnRbumQOwj40boYApz7IT1gGpQw5qFmPpsPJdCFAZAsEU8WrtMCLnZlcN8PYW4gpxfCbfER0wFfgJpy6huKk0iyCP3MT89Czt4CVZ67I999vkUjMVs/s400/PackRat10.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366126420978839570" border="0" /></a>And here she called in reinforcements.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc91845J42hSGZzCogE1fAYcwkrs0mcumlokrcNmYeNFQDW-pDCDF8SCUZhJnV24dM6_PiNp9hyDmDVQPdywcXkMfJJKpyWPxLMvOGsYARcThLQEGghEWslKB070AkaSRmGV76ZNobOJ8/s1600-h/PackRat08.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc91845J42hSGZzCogE1fAYcwkrs0mcumlokrcNmYeNFQDW-pDCDF8SCUZhJnV24dM6_PiNp9hyDmDVQPdywcXkMfJJKpyWPxLMvOGsYARcThLQEGghEWslKB070AkaSRmGV76ZNobOJ8/s400/PackRat08.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366126425301196834" border="0" /></a>Remember the frog basket that was on the pile of things on the deck? Well, it is now among the bank of photographic memories. Elizabeth thought it was pretty cool. I don't remember the story behind where it came from. Perhaps Peter can tell us…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8r8sW28gzQJYvdhuuucrE8Imh23lrbYGxKOkAVjRfJ7Y3WyxUjy22sc760GGCfSk1bLV_GFeFSLhFy_c8cQi03TqQ96hyphenhyphenXv2bQQxxdWYENAoyDlfL1jShReFzzur0fRYxRpOWhLu-K4/s1600-h/PackRat03.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8r8sW28gzQJYvdhuuucrE8Imh23lrbYGxKOkAVjRfJ7Y3WyxUjy22sc760GGCfSk1bLV_GFeFSLhFy_c8cQi03TqQ96hyphenhyphenXv2bQQxxdWYENAoyDlfL1jShReFzzur0fRYxRpOWhLu-K4/s400/PackRat03.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366126418125743090" border="0" /></a>Something else Helena did was to lead us in playing a few songs on pipe chimes. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture. I was too busy enjoying myself.<br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">DOUG</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Helena's husband was frequently in a supporting role. He supported Andy in more ways than one. (Think of all the ways it's possible to have a supporting role with a 5 1/2 month old…)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjlIBJPcH4izBP7422SNCrhGoV6U8mffwdEI2uTHnvqwq87j6JcIyrdSaKjd9TmECbtbn3JDHQb2dxIOjE86bhiN2Nyt5Yia6bk_aoQJ5W_ja95Pa7zAzdYctd5ixsMiL2hDMTPCpjIo/s1600-h/IMG_3520.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjlIBJPcH4izBP7422SNCrhGoV6U8mffwdEI2uTHnvqwq87j6JcIyrdSaKjd9TmECbtbn3JDHQb2dxIOjE86bhiN2Nyt5Yia6bk_aoQJ5W_ja95Pa7zAzdYctd5ixsMiL2hDMTPCpjIo/s400/IMG_3520.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363606060533939074" border="0" /></a>Sometimes the two of them just sat and relaxed while other things were going on.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDLsmPPlpra5U6IA1UNtJVF2uxBMsuAcTp1o3fwa_5KqhY3V-8jo2_cZ0402usu3rc9wPjrR_lE-eu2-wkl3uCqngRU7UWQKFjiQFJCeC5Xj0ELCeGaPUM7H3GuLGsUqZ02j8N_PT9Z8U/s1600-h/IMG_3551.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDLsmPPlpra5U6IA1UNtJVF2uxBMsuAcTp1o3fwa_5KqhY3V-8jo2_cZ0402usu3rc9wPjrR_lE-eu2-wkl3uCqngRU7UWQKFjiQFJCeC5Xj0ELCeGaPUM7H3GuLGsUqZ02j8N_PT9Z8U/s400/IMG_3551.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363606068456196562" border="0" /></a>Oops! Bless you, Andy.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxl1epUtAIcZy4kQJo-sqxnpWjgnADg4B0bQoQj6bI-bRXnJ2GeGlCzXvyeARiGyLpkPWKkYvJvPIcOd53WpyKRqPPWzQobGAnOqM6tbG3lN8ObL8u4INPGOz5FdBpgeCxR1N580SFaqo/s1600-h/IMG_3552.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxl1epUtAIcZy4kQJo-sqxnpWjgnADg4B0bQoQj6bI-bRXnJ2GeGlCzXvyeARiGyLpkPWKkYvJvPIcOd53WpyKRqPPWzQobGAnOqM6tbG3lN8ObL8u4INPGOz5FdBpgeCxR1N580SFaqo/s400/IMG_3552.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363606078770069298" border="0" /></a>Doug supported Kate too… OK, this picture was from last year, but it fits so well…<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfHzh3kUcFJPd8DTBVrRJ7ZH0osexsBzfWGP5QB1Qq-YNfX-PjfNpz8tTTUujsjpf349p2bELdO7Q6cpTrirAklinQ1WftpKao8ebLajz3LRhI5v5VbuSvaK7IxRdDxs4jRjVDxp41SU/s1600-h/IMG_8120+copy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfHzh3kUcFJPd8DTBVrRJ7ZH0osexsBzfWGP5QB1Qq-YNfX-PjfNpz8tTTUujsjpf349p2bELdO7Q6cpTrirAklinQ1WftpKao8ebLajz3LRhI5v5VbuSvaK7IxRdDxs4jRjVDxp41SU/s400/IMG_8120+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363606086929702338" border="0" /></a>And he sometimes filled in as assistant cook and garlic presser, etc.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJNkITJksKtozPHO-RejLBXcvLalK6A53HAAA74ouVI97fotkD3Jbu0VW3WWsCEdlyidpld0wtQBWEgXx5EcnR9wxA11MI9PVvbkgxLCVppGnwY6weCnDfWYREJPiOd6a3MZ_8pgq5Ck/s1600-h/IMG_3553.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJNkITJksKtozPHO-RejLBXcvLalK6A53HAAA74ouVI97fotkD3Jbu0VW3WWsCEdlyidpld0wtQBWEgXx5EcnR9wxA11MI9PVvbkgxLCVppGnwY6weCnDfWYREJPiOd6a3MZ_8pgq5Ck/s400/IMG_3553.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363606084532494386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;">Jim, Betsey and Kirsten</span> were the glue and the oil that kept everything together and running smoothly. Sometimes we saw this view of Betsey:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51j1KJUjnOnreuBdkxrRE2vsSvf6UkYku2K0_xiz-0b3hWRQ-850WpCxLiY6KkPuTsdDpxfUDPc0VQhxdgF0IuLoQmdPpcoqih4SpuD1XKW0FRGZEj2ye8Q6paI7TsYDZ5VfQIJr9P98/s1600-h/IMG_3558.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51j1KJUjnOnreuBdkxrRE2vsSvf6UkYku2K0_xiz-0b3hWRQ-850WpCxLiY6KkPuTsdDpxfUDPc0VQhxdgF0IuLoQmdPpcoqih4SpuD1XKW0FRGZEj2ye8Q6paI7TsYDZ5VfQIJr9P98/s400/IMG_3558.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363188108105464898" border="0" /></a>Or this one:<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyv6c1gLflS1D8IFrNLzMAEQ3W_sb1xng5qwB5IL6BMlHNzuw-eRmIHz3KUNTELU48dn2I8xLM4yi00049_vPq1LXcq_owLSb3ec0AzlJmpODJCvDhbOh4TJvpZc2F5A5zms7tg7L6-o/s1600-h/IMG_3409.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyv6c1gLflS1D8IFrNLzMAEQ3W_sb1xng5qwB5IL6BMlHNzuw-eRmIHz3KUNTELU48dn2I8xLM4yi00049_vPq1LXcq_owLSb3ec0AzlJmpODJCvDhbOh4TJvpZc2F5A5zms7tg7L6-o/s400/IMG_3409.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363188095373634610" border="0" /></a>But frequently she could be seen in the kitchen in the role of Chief Cook. There were lots of "Bottle Washers" around, and also assistant cooks. Much chatter and visiting went on while cooking. That was part of the fun, and a necessary part of the activity.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Kirsten wanted to go to school during the day, which she did, but otherwise she was available for unloading the dishwasher, helping to keep laundry going, and laughing at the babies. Here she is talking to Ray, her special friend, on the phone.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdX7w_JUZPi8uFJc6ZRJLA6GfTjUeBI2SIpKE3h33EOS58QRdNd_7Thc26BO_CW94ZEPxDnYW7nRqkOi6M5Cd1c1GTy5KtQgP9lbByUaIKazQ4NkgyRpWszBAk7eaAUH_FWMBwnPgbT0/s1600-h/IMG_3327.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxdX7w_JUZPi8uFJc6ZRJLA6GfTjUeBI2SIpKE3h33EOS58QRdNd_7Thc26BO_CW94ZEPxDnYW7nRqkOi6M5Cd1c1GTy5KtQgP9lbByUaIKazQ4NkgyRpWszBAk7eaAUH_FWMBwnPgbT0/s400/IMG_3327.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363188086050793074" border="0" /></a>And then there's Jim. What can I say? He was the official fastener of all loose ends; preparer of morning oatmeal; fixer of everything broken; transporter of whatever needed transporting; doer of whatever needed doing, including more than his share of dishes; official frequent gatherer of groceries, and a really cool grandpa.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgHOdWDRO9S7tOcb3JmKmaprNHk_MYA2rFf0ua5UH6h5eqNd-We1c6GijreH-eTenIh06t5EtbeWF_w87cIBvtM5TfUXe37lS9FMJps541XFfdpat-3JxnDE8yXnWKV_plHUNgYGLPYc/s1600-h/IMG_3514.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgHOdWDRO9S7tOcb3JmKmaprNHk_MYA2rFf0ua5UH6h5eqNd-We1c6GijreH-eTenIh06t5EtbeWF_w87cIBvtM5TfUXe37lS9FMJps541XFfdpat-3JxnDE8yXnWKV_plHUNgYGLPYc/s400/IMG_3514.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363188105469814786" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And remember those boxes I pointed out that were on the deck ? Well, here's the last one going up in smoke. It was one of those things that landed in the basement and took up residence there for years. We found out it contained 1987 tax records. Here Jim is starting the fire with Mollie supervising as usual.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-8uyK85b4xpL1kvmzW7YMxu_lDMFBEt-maFkaTGd5DFejOtCGeV-ymIuNPYZAi0f9kD6IYIvZ50qpGo8wKPcBbUygsX3ZjwuYnsXlG8q87gDVfzGMjwQFu1C_uVZ26w8_ZYES-V8ipo/s1600-h/IMG_3573.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-8uyK85b4xpL1kvmzW7YMxu_lDMFBEt-maFkaTGd5DFejOtCGeV-ymIuNPYZAi0f9kD6IYIvZ50qpGo8wKPcBbUygsX3ZjwuYnsXlG8q87gDVfzGMjwQFu1C_uVZ26w8_ZYES-V8ipo/s400/IMG_3573.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363188582299057538" border="0" /></a>Burn, Baby Burn.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRn3tB13gLLIB13JeIf8XTSBViA5znvq7SOVj3M2flrM0JtFBGOz3rU_nK3sLwjyWgS0J4LcaSgrcTMEYy1HMF62Ou2M3rg5HLZ2JkaMV5UrB0A1wsGD1li4tucKNcIeGojKC1TYgYbY/s1600-h/IMG_3576.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRn3tB13gLLIB13JeIf8XTSBViA5znvq7SOVj3M2flrM0JtFBGOz3rU_nK3sLwjyWgS0J4LcaSgrcTMEYy1HMF62Ou2M3rg5HLZ2JkaMV5UrB0A1wsGD1li4tucKNcIeGojKC1TYgYbY/s400/IMG_3576.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363188588860768242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">And as for me--I got the best job of all. I got to be grandma.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Cuddling with Andy and Kate in the quilt that Barbie made for me awhile ago.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2OOv77SZlUFoOrzZzkQdnE31b02wg5ubRUVww6ZFEZiAzwxIlun6OD9L7JAVrfrUzO2FMCdN1QyNwU9EI1N_geluJK3G8zGvTNfyAdxifwPBhc6SuKqSKfAE9vm361xGeGQvpA4ldsQ/s1600-h/Ohio2009_05.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2OOv77SZlUFoOrzZzkQdnE31b02wg5ubRUVww6ZFEZiAzwxIlun6OD9L7JAVrfrUzO2FMCdN1QyNwU9EI1N_geluJK3G8zGvTNfyAdxifwPBhc6SuKqSKfAE9vm361xGeGQvpA4ldsQ/s400/Ohio2009_05.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367308481844886914" border="0" /></a>Andy</div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqxCLlTLini9bBWAj8oqBc0YWAMh3ffQIOGpHz1U0B_pW4rHNSsEb-rNrijSeYyExNqFKdMK8Jua88APGNosheShEmHnI3cL8seZvJgRzBJiqAzKVCCwwY73qMalfb57QUinCdKKGRic/s1600-h/Ohio+200923.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUqxCLlTLini9bBWAj8oqBc0YWAMh3ffQIOGpHz1U0B_pW4rHNSsEb-rNrijSeYyExNqFKdMK8Jua88APGNosheShEmHnI3cL8seZvJgRzBJiqAzKVCCwwY73qMalfb57QUinCdKKGRic/s400/Ohio+200923.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367308473025532114" border="0" /></a>Hazel<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwt2dlpkohU7F_GevM1ZqJn-y48llHjIaQRxtq3bdE9rzGalJJIuIEVCURGPxYi5HTF0yFiDotWWT9cZ2teIiLWAPaoKJmDo4yqYjfe001MFA7F8alfwSN3UUSJE4cIKylXuz3L5uOOC0/s1600-h/IMG_3434.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwt2dlpkohU7F_GevM1ZqJn-y48llHjIaQRxtq3bdE9rzGalJJIuIEVCURGPxYi5HTF0yFiDotWWT9cZ2teIiLWAPaoKJmDo4yqYjfe001MFA7F8alfwSN3UUSJE4cIKylXuz3L5uOOC0/s400/IMG_3434.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367308460782059554" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tigO6kyhQL8Isf_uAevDDwNFtvEHTarvlXmYtUSc57c_FRF9llSk8Yl48uLjhj3LVv0P-dYH831WHUNiefpHe3bV3dinlTkBP0MLTBlMq-8UswfA3NeBRd5jEl3f7YgrUxjGvNDE2qA/s1600-h/Ohio+200937.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tigO6kyhQL8Isf_uAevDDwNFtvEHTarvlXmYtUSc57c_FRF9llSk8Yl48uLjhj3LVv0P-dYH831WHUNiefpHe3bV3dinlTkBP0MLTBlMq-8UswfA3NeBRd5jEl3f7YgrUxjGvNDE2qA/s400/Ohio+200937.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367308467273472786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Epilogue</span><br /></div>The deck is all cleared off now, which is really nice…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSEBHk50G2z4ysfzS1ExhiCBKQRNuVloOE9LtKsUn5F6m8bBg2KtC3P86a5zV7vX2IECIEaoTf5FlmscUpaLvKahKewugH6lcQPt-LYXTM7luZELFSWJvB2N5LCWAmPmdvBlHRDERYkg/s1600-h/IMG_3727.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSEBHk50G2z4ysfzS1ExhiCBKQRNuVloOE9LtKsUn5F6m8bBg2KtC3P86a5zV7vX2IECIEaoTf5FlmscUpaLvKahKewugH6lcQPt-LYXTM7luZELFSWJvB2N5LCWAmPmdvBlHRDERYkg/s400/IMG_3727.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363667251999721282" border="0" /></a>But it's quiet, Oh so quiet…<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5J1Tqj2ds9VQKiyjk2W-fAbnQfvFQ2uuy0r1Lz1yPSzlD65ay3G20lK0spVBBIIj6mu0Qhvq7RAylh2fASxs4EgB3MagDs_HctSJldX2CoayltV0neJiZOyaTmuUECK9yc_IdW1ddkDk/s1600-h/IMG_3717.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5J1Tqj2ds9VQKiyjk2W-fAbnQfvFQ2uuy0r1Lz1yPSzlD65ay3G20lK0spVBBIIj6mu0Qhvq7RAylh2fASxs4EgB3MagDs_HctSJldX2CoayltV0neJiZOyaTmuUECK9yc_IdW1ddkDk/s400/IMG_3717.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363667260985458994" border="0" /></a>Barb and Kyle's flowers are growing…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rQnEEp2mFL1Cw8v2ftDLZhG9TdsCQt0w_bezgqpa6eAgppaj4VR9ZEm0vAY3bJ08Few0BOn4osEVhxVO4EEKGj6zpUC9vQ1JnOVCqVdUYfIIwRBh5KiUGEvbxHQUQpRkHcyiz5f59Tw/s1600-h/IMG_3579.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rQnEEp2mFL1Cw8v2ftDLZhG9TdsCQt0w_bezgqpa6eAgppaj4VR9ZEm0vAY3bJ08Few0BOn4osEVhxVO4EEKGj6zpUC9vQ1JnOVCqVdUYfIIwRBh5KiUGEvbxHQUQpRkHcyiz5f59Tw/s400/IMG_3579.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367312851303267074" border="0" /></a>but the swing is Still, Oh So Still…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDpRG1Pwp9eoYfImsgLIMXTzxr8mcWJ62JpFLmYg0EJYBWvbvKzcP3OU1T0aKFayg4ccouh6pFSScEspnZ8iyv0U-Sen5iqHBkBiHfH6wC0-cHFi0GAcxAzgF8XB9dGAY6fWej8hB44g/s1600-h/IMG_3731.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDpRG1Pwp9eoYfImsgLIMXTzxr8mcWJ62JpFLmYg0EJYBWvbvKzcP3OU1T0aKFayg4ccouh6pFSScEspnZ8iyv0U-Sen5iqHBkBiHfH6wC0-cHFi0GAcxAzgF8XB9dGAY6fWej8hB44g/s400/IMG_3731.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363667240849151266" border="0" /></a>Until Next Time…<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-60237717188128720012009-07-19T13:48:00.047-04:002009-08-09T19:07:17.711-04:00Family Frolic: Part 2-- Fun Places, From Bowling to Bryan--John Bryan that isThe continuing saga of the June 2009 adventure when our kids and their families landed here all at the same time!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2008 when we had our get-together in California, we really enjoyed going bowling. (This is a photograph from back then.) Barbie, Betsey and Kyle are in front, with Helena, Doug and Peter in back.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjex95QM6PShEHILryzXUBOYWRu3m3sVyoRQFgB5C9H2WqiI-JC6mguAZzjU9YQ_KunFsDFDCKvC1-aNrGKSGaMldWWxf4A23bcmtvbF6pdwp4Dzzy7rfOMJQh8Xa9bVW0_KaO-0f8Ius/s1600-h/IMG_1226+copy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjex95QM6PShEHILryzXUBOYWRu3m3sVyoRQFgB5C9H2WqiI-JC6mguAZzjU9YQ_KunFsDFDCKvC1-aNrGKSGaMldWWxf4A23bcmtvbF6pdwp4Dzzy7rfOMJQh8Xa9bVW0_KaO-0f8Ius/s400/IMG_1226+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361289127195447042" border="0" /></a>So this year we decided to go bowling again. Again it was great fun. It was even more fun for me because I actually bowled this time too. I just did it in my own way. If I got too tired I had Peter finish out the frame for me. OK so our combined efforts never did reach 100, but we had a blast. A major regret I have is that I didn't take my camera. Fortunately Karen did, and was able to capture an amazing event:<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/em_kbmzefkU&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/em_kbmzefkU&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Her comment was: We took a couple of videos, but this was an extremely lucky one that got the push, the strike, then Elizabeth's reaction "That's nice, let's go get another ball"<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">YOUNG'S JERSEY DAIRY<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It's tradition that whenever the family gets together we just have to make an excursion to Young's for some of their luscious ice cream, and a romp through the grounds. Here's Little Miss Hazel in her sun bonnet. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qCSm6KQWgAEOZPDSmSWHs4uUSfXqjmz9wbcgONBj0_JOcGULomUeQWkdXh9pNYNTZOWzo44NTRd_yxE8QRdS8SFJQxIe14em4SuLqJCckrY4N6j3I4BvmW0_GaDCKVNnWSCBq3rE_ZE/s1600-h/IMG_3374.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qCSm6KQWgAEOZPDSmSWHs4uUSfXqjmz9wbcgONBj0_JOcGULomUeQWkdXh9pNYNTZOWzo44NTRd_yxE8QRdS8SFJQxIe14em4SuLqJCckrY4N6j3I4BvmW0_GaDCKVNnWSCBq3rE_ZE/s400/IMG_3374.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361280722808765234" border="0" /></a></div>Part of the tradition is feeding the goats…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMl9I6Q0AUeNIpBWkASO5mIRXUD3Ji6oQVxtOVxxPL-QjjFI_4SfbLlKCKsSVgf4fua0OwiqzuIXpIWuzcUaE4A2kXOxiBS79fYcGyT-pd2ClgfdY5eUD3hLBUHmvNgvPjJLnX11R27E/s1600-h/IMG_3383.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMl9I6Q0AUeNIpBWkASO5mIRXUD3Ji6oQVxtOVxxPL-QjjFI_4SfbLlKCKsSVgf4fua0OwiqzuIXpIWuzcUaE4A2kXOxiBS79fYcGyT-pd2ClgfdY5eUD3hLBUHmvNgvPjJLnX11R27E/s400/IMG_3383.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361280736251004770" border="0" /></a>Karen, Elizabeth and Peter<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_3SUQaw85MEoa4QGahSEE-tGI7GAzF7CFr3__PWXdLTwDvlqWOt_6X9dqWPgUn77Hz3pp4IlHQcY-ZaaL9aoQVJC9yMK7y1IF3NhTaKzT9xy-10ShELP9rFj0QGEU9xmvlaDnwOciN0/s1600-h/IMG_3422.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_3SUQaw85MEoa4QGahSEE-tGI7GAzF7CFr3__PWXdLTwDvlqWOt_6X9dqWPgUn77Hz3pp4IlHQcY-ZaaL9aoQVJC9yMK7y1IF3NhTaKzT9xy-10ShELP9rFj0QGEU9xmvlaDnwOciN0/s400/IMG_3422.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361459377818854562" border="0" /></a>And touring the barn. I'm not sure what Lizbeth and Kate were looking at here, it may have been geese, but they obviously had the same reaction. I thought this was hilarious. (Helena has a <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://wedoitthehardway.blogspot.com/2009/07/youngs.html">cute follow-up picture</a> of this event on her blog.)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7CZiHPa6A0y4wndQ5rS8vtIt05dYGsMlv7hLARtrp2a7t-rMvoSFBkK8ZLMXsZNpWVOLOWSUazgnwIHnmkISLQlK5VtFaJ49Wp03MjSwhMWa_dC5TGPyktJhBnY-Mnf5CYP969Cbq18/s1600-h/IMG_3381.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7CZiHPa6A0y4wndQ5rS8vtIt05dYGsMlv7hLARtrp2a7t-rMvoSFBkK8ZLMXsZNpWVOLOWSUazgnwIHnmkISLQlK5VtFaJ49Wp03MjSwhMWa_dC5TGPyktJhBnY-Mnf5CYP969Cbq18/s400/IMG_3381.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361280732140745490" border="0" /></a> Kirsten had the best time on this tractor… <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhro_eXNu-1oZFYy3Yj0QRdkDpyDXMLa7fVDnyMcXKZYntH1E9j47UV5tU6gcFVwwnB1g0tHSepQpyMFC-PpSWCT-sKLKz1LP5yRetz5nh2RxVDoZgKXb4Vq5l75FVVVCHZlCbGXuqNcDE/s1600-h/IMG_3415.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhro_eXNu-1oZFYy3Yj0QRdkDpyDXMLa7fVDnyMcXKZYntH1E9j47UV5tU6gcFVwwnB1g0tHSepQpyMFC-PpSWCT-sKLKz1LP5yRetz5nh2RxVDoZgKXb4Vq5l75FVVVCHZlCbGXuqNcDE/s400/IMG_3415.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361283509614228882" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0cqO4KaiNVSHmqmgJ2L_D-ApxjP8yorssNSInfe9HxxsoH3zwHbro6VBY0_lZyktsECrC5eR_7kto-vP8q36ol0mzv9FGpJDfNU_Q7X40aZNn1M_2Qg3fWn4fWv4Cx5SS8OTZPwvp1M/s1600-h/IMG_3414.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0cqO4KaiNVSHmqmgJ2L_D-ApxjP8yorssNSInfe9HxxsoH3zwHbro6VBY0_lZyktsECrC5eR_7kto-vP8q36ol0mzv9FGpJDfNU_Q7X40aZNn1M_2Qg3fWn4fWv4Cx5SS8OTZPwvp1M/s400/IMG_3414.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361283503319684130" border="0" /></a>And on these big tires. She sat their and kicked her feet with joy. Unfortunately the sun was in her eyes, so it was hard to keep smiling. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvA4CLctCM2NufFmeyXB0WvFovKLXPygRZnsYvnp0JvI9nQVtV4eIROo2uRvKpn9D5OgmquzV8ektW8OCtD032_MSue9MlyJCn64Ie2qdxKUWK49yIt1RqmpisjHM4WVFGCIPdF9U7WUo/s1600-h/IMG_3390.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvA4CLctCM2NufFmeyXB0WvFovKLXPygRZnsYvnp0JvI9nQVtV4eIROo2uRvKpn9D5OgmquzV8ektW8OCtD032_MSue9MlyJCn64Ie2qdxKUWK49yIt1RqmpisjHM4WVFGCIPdF9U7WUo/s400/IMG_3390.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361280745438454130" border="0" /></a>Please click <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://wedoitthehardway.blogspot.com/2009/07/youngs.html">here</a> for Helena's extensive coverage of the rest of our Young's excursion if you haven't all ready seen it. She got some really cute shots. For some reason I lost track of Barb, Kyle and Hazel while we were out there, so I'm hoping that some time they will be able to to post some pictures that they took that day also.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I also really liked these hanging baskets.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvvjLSvM8g0J6VEhCAWXnFUzOJ_Aq5v0yr76lJ5tmOSE4gYGE0Jvw6DKdo1pgSMisvCAVG5XNnCFEyLtxk3_Ba6zmMTcfyKS3aWW0aIvBgg7GeYcz1_IMUFzMWMZdyBE1emJOyLcTLeA/s1600-h/IMG_3411.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvvjLSvM8g0J6VEhCAWXnFUzOJ_Aq5v0yr76lJ5tmOSE4gYGE0Jvw6DKdo1pgSMisvCAVG5XNnCFEyLtxk3_Ba6zmMTcfyKS3aWW0aIvBgg7GeYcz1_IMUFzMWMZdyBE1emJOyLcTLeA/s400/IMG_3411.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361283491495775522" border="0" /></a><br />Week Three…<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">After everyone else left, Helena's family stayed for another week. Another family tradition that happens when possible is hiking in nearby John Bryan State Park. Jim, Betsey and Kirsten went along with Helena's family. (Thank you, Jim, for taking all these pictures.) I stayed home and took a nap. Grandmas are good at that.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtFVD_N0jdqWlsL1TGaWITVX6REZpb_2OOgX3FVH07eBqDEfCwHXqb6DLbLjvo-jPNX2P2ltj0K7SOtKvbY5GhYIjmrOeBL7kosE0SQpk3aB_O0gJdcUS-K4401qvGHphRmY1szVSH6M/s1600-h/IMG_3449.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtFVD_N0jdqWlsL1TGaWITVX6REZpb_2OOgX3FVH07eBqDEfCwHXqb6DLbLjvo-jPNX2P2ltj0K7SOtKvbY5GhYIjmrOeBL7kosE0SQpk3aB_O0gJdcUS-K4401qvGHphRmY1szVSH6M/s400/IMG_3449.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361425014470623362" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The shade was nice and cool for Helena, Andy and Kate.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbpohjygeQvscD3qScpJReubcNPIBp13cTw8xJVW_8Q_-Mcv0ZtHMrLZz6mWAlyn6aZbbsfayiaWk4C-OGsx2yIJlV23RJDfrDh000qz-epHyveau-IL_IgyRhhKTG54uiuL3Venfslzs/s1600-h/IMG_3450.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbpohjygeQvscD3qScpJReubcNPIBp13cTw8xJVW_8Q_-Mcv0ZtHMrLZz6mWAlyn6aZbbsfayiaWk4C-OGsx2yIJlV23RJDfrDh000qz-epHyveau-IL_IgyRhhKTG54uiuL3Venfslzs/s400/IMG_3450.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361425026839191170" border="0" /></a>Water is always fun, especially when you're 4 1/2 years old.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_KqfDZr1xKo9xt_V18CXt4WDgoTPX7MD0fDkYzVslWW6bC4kxpHlCxzFIIOMajOZPjehlMjIV1Ad2PbYsYhzvxWUv0-i0RFKjI9KwnbGu7EYYFCQ9UlVS__WxJqDNGZUxNQKm9ZrmhY/s1600-h/IMG_3452.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_KqfDZr1xKo9xt_V18CXt4WDgoTPX7MD0fDkYzVslWW6bC4kxpHlCxzFIIOMajOZPjehlMjIV1Ad2PbYsYhzvxWUv0-i0RFKjI9KwnbGu7EYYFCQ9UlVS__WxJqDNGZUxNQKm9ZrmhY/s400/IMG_3452.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361425033290970530" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">At Last--THE CAVE</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgJszNGmNdbwQKX52BzyX6ENaH0KFTqhqmLPb_r0MfcbCHh9-XInK8NU1paElEaC1alkYnte0qiIbygdt-SBd4E7o0FcHiHd2LE4uBBCtmu9NKn6BjzaQyNJ0YJpEFCk87v2HUeP2ZY4/s1600-h/IMG_3456.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgJszNGmNdbwQKX52BzyX6ENaH0KFTqhqmLPb_r0MfcbCHh9-XInK8NU1paElEaC1alkYnte0qiIbygdt-SBd4E7o0FcHiHd2LE4uBBCtmu9NKn6BjzaQyNJ0YJpEFCk87v2HUeP2ZY4/s400/IMG_3456.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361425041233110802" border="0" /></a>The next stop was Clifton Gorge. They didn't go down into the gorge, but went on a nice hiking trail that is part boardwalk alongside part of the top. Here are Betsey, Kirsten, Kate, Doug with Andy, and Helena.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6Z_rrE0W-4102kLDaA78Ow2042Cxg15MMssl_58LkD3S79YYj2jvjDwz5V7_h9n0KByFwjkL07u890_k8SO2F_DZFBYbhnupOzU9A5elSkPtap5o84nmJKI2QAF9CbU7zOaX3eH3pGg/s1600-h/IMG_3481.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6Z_rrE0W-4102kLDaA78Ow2042Cxg15MMssl_58LkD3S79YYj2jvjDwz5V7_h9n0KByFwjkL07u890_k8SO2F_DZFBYbhnupOzU9A5elSkPtap5o84nmJKI2QAF9CbU7zOaX3eH3pGg/s400/IMG_3481.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361426470600121314" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlm6h5QasyoQy1jQ4kAW6HmNGXpealECy3CPr605GmYQCvkSwk2WxQJIbwaLJikGeGtaNBf6O7fKssudpirxxKMViUcUeef4y5GQ2drS2ZrF8lLxT0Tm364bhU7ZYoH9W7RtpimsF37us/s1600-h/IMG_3441.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlm6h5QasyoQy1jQ4kAW6HmNGXpealECy3CPr605GmYQCvkSwk2WxQJIbwaLJikGeGtaNBf6O7fKssudpirxxKMViUcUeef4y5GQ2drS2ZrF8lLxT0Tm364bhU7ZYoH9W7RtpimsF37us/s400/IMG_3441.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361425006902701346" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJADu_slgwbxpWBbvBbLkYUu1c6gDi6Fjyur8IIkuSc-NhaZJ6o57Ie8HrY0Ueb8YNGleCL6lflAfl23ZHGTpOuAfq7nggRr4UJ3UJC9wlBQvrwDdF6KYVTn2v3cNcLGegbddWcqmE8M/s1600-h/IMG_3484.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJADu_slgwbxpWBbvBbLkYUu1c6gDi6Fjyur8IIkuSc-NhaZJ6o57Ie8HrY0Ueb8YNGleCL6lflAfl23ZHGTpOuAfq7nggRr4UJ3UJC9wlBQvrwDdF6KYVTn2v3cNcLGegbddWcqmE8M/s400/IMG_3484.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361426482204908930" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQXK4jU0fTJogwXhMfTcxWkq5yn54Lz05iNUUCIxBYhlwGVpdYuv_Bjd-kJuA0MCA_iqaziRR_7WddHrc46m8f6003FfKCchsmpiifoBHRiXy9HW-tReZj6FrOt7EaZUL9ugxG6pjdbo/s1600-h/IMG_3487.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQXK4jU0fTJogwXhMfTcxWkq5yn54Lz05iNUUCIxBYhlwGVpdYuv_Bjd-kJuA0MCA_iqaziRR_7WddHrc46m8f6003FfKCchsmpiifoBHRiXy9HW-tReZj6FrOt7EaZUL9ugxG6pjdbo/s400/IMG_3487.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361842856404969218" border="0" /></a><br />LOCKS OF LOVE<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Helena and Betsey both got haircuts that week, from their dad. (Brave girls.) They had been growing their hair long enough so they could donate it to <a href="http://www.locksoflove.org/">Locks of Love </a>to be made into wigs for children with cancer. (I just now read that Locks of Love is actually a scam because they sell much of the hair they get to professional wig makers. So is it a scam or isn't it?)<br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZYpVP8ohMCl2LGU8N5maeSZmwxUEVy5sk1N4jx4iqzoxx5jtJESbtMfdp3G-xxw57geDy-j_CFPUQCn5g5bDDGzLNqrEnDQQidk8bE5D4VVzgPuGHR82eIWPkKAWC0jQGgMQI79txME/s1600-h/IMG_3522.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZYpVP8ohMCl2LGU8N5maeSZmwxUEVy5sk1N4jx4iqzoxx5jtJESbtMfdp3G-xxw57geDy-j_CFPUQCn5g5bDDGzLNqrEnDQQidk8bE5D4VVzgPuGHR82eIWPkKAWC0jQGgMQI79txME/s400/IMG_3522.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361443980661172130" border="0" /></a>THE ENGINEER got out the ruler so the hair would be at least 10 inches in length. Betsey happened to be wearing a striped shirt when Jim cut her hair. The horizontal stripes made straight cutting so much easier, that Helena borrowed the shirt when it was her turn. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomSK_dkoynzhWzy7sQ6O9RjahaAPRzMrGRudRpU1p7vbQZSje_YD0kwnh4a5BLn2vmQBWd0KTwLwHPmObGzkhNFzDKLd5YYMxfLU513sv5-3vnShVTZ9QKPSQ-ULItnXQ23Snc0PRI8M/s1600-h/IMG_3523.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjomSK_dkoynzhWzy7sQ6O9RjahaAPRzMrGRudRpU1p7vbQZSje_YD0kwnh4a5BLn2vmQBWd0KTwLwHPmObGzkhNFzDKLd5YYMxfLU513sv5-3vnShVTZ9QKPSQ-ULItnXQ23Snc0PRI8M/s400/IMG_3523.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361446380053566818" border="0" /></a>So is this Helena or is it Betsey? Any guesses?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRZb8T2T2aTbOw8k0XWL28MT6gAlKgiRQaI1-j1EQEiwz4MZKk788Bog5mQ5ujAp1OkyVXSEriwejm6OOfz5EbavAy1-eS-kG598sa_kTRxeU1njkclA4AMvK8llKPVA0q4mm3Nl_d68/s1600-h/IMG_3528.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTRZb8T2T2aTbOw8k0XWL28MT6gAlKgiRQaI1-j1EQEiwz4MZKk788Bog5mQ5ujAp1OkyVXSEriwejm6OOfz5EbavAy1-eS-kG598sa_kTRxeU1njkclA4AMvK8llKPVA0q4mm3Nl_d68/s400/IMG_3528.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361426485197499122" border="0" /></a>If you guessed Helena, you were right!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ldmNZj69LbY7OI3XrWDbM1mF4vDIyA_ak9cGa5woR3ISWeKCn4ugRhyGao-ot8YaUqTKzzt7LCN_gw32XdBMPPMvKqtHvz-yCJ9eOnSr5HIZVpnFFDVFM0jgwgMgjDpYxvqNqljnZI0/s1600-h/IMG_3531.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ldmNZj69LbY7OI3XrWDbM1mF4vDIyA_ak9cGa5woR3ISWeKCn4ugRhyGao-ot8YaUqTKzzt7LCN_gw32XdBMPPMvKqtHvz-yCJ9eOnSr5HIZVpnFFDVFM0jgwgMgjDpYxvqNqljnZI0/s400/IMG_3531.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361426495547860978" border="0" /></a></div></div> Well that's all for part 2 of our Family Frolic. Please scroll down for part 1. (Parts 3 and 4 will be coming soon.)Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-51586668294630602732009-07-18T19:32:00.035-04:002009-07-20T09:04:38.910-04:00Fabulous Family Frolic--PART 1<div style="text-align: justify;">Much is happening in my life right now, and I'm getting farther and farther behind in blogging. There is much to share. I had hopes of making a really long post about the wonderful visit we had when all the kids came, but I realized that I'm going to have to break it down into several smaller ones.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />In June we had our children and their families visit--all at the same time. We were blessed to have three new babies in the family in 2008 and this was the first opportunity to get them all together. Yes it was a bit hectic with 14 people and one little yellow dog in the house, but it was great fun. Here we are in our back yard…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU0XU6UwFbGDKljMKkCNRLqSzCW8Zz_CkEqImR9I2zqXS9ui40PGYPWxz8ThL79VD4IHN5S66UMNz6spz68U4mQ7hEfzufPPzn2sxWBcTyUKCPGACXo9IZLeQaNMZIMSravAzJOT3E0Y/s1600-h/AllFamilyJune2009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU0XU6UwFbGDKljMKkCNRLqSzCW8Zz_CkEqImR9I2zqXS9ui40PGYPWxz8ThL79VD4IHN5S66UMNz6spz68U4mQ7hEfzufPPzn2sxWBcTyUKCPGACXo9IZLeQaNMZIMSravAzJOT3E0Y/s400/AllFamilyJune2009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357207798711585538" border="0" /></a>Front Row starting at left is Helena's family: Doug holding 4 1/2-year old Kate, Helena with Andy age 5 1/2 months. Then Betsey with Angie. (At 15, Angie is definitely our oldest "grand daughter." )<br /><br />Row two starts with Barbie's family: Kyle, Barbie holding Hazel, age 7 1/2 months. Kirsten, Kathey & Jim. Then comes Peter's family: Karen, 17-month old Elizabeth, and Peter.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here are the moms with all the kids.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55oHsU5BSSq1Ml_v4G4tIjUslpzMsjP-G-FOmPZU7_LyaPj8M40rgKugV9rE_CelJvlPHQvJneLWoZ6-8qG-CHMLFTMCUGDnP8ApI2SvOcO-rKcgX145gipOe558_3gVGD4CaHPJ_GFw/s1600-h/Ohio2009_07.JPGmoms&babies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi55oHsU5BSSq1Ml_v4G4tIjUslpzMsjP-G-FOmPZU7_LyaPj8M40rgKugV9rE_CelJvlPHQvJneLWoZ6-8qG-CHMLFTMCUGDnP8ApI2SvOcO-rKcgX145gipOe558_3gVGD4CaHPJ_GFw/s400/Ohio2009_07.JPGmoms&babies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357684834124608882" border="0" /></a>Helena with Kate and Andy, then Karen & Elizabeth, and Barbie and Hazel<br /><br />Poor little Andy wasn't happy in the above picture, so here's a Happy Andy shot.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoH570Ua-VW4I6J3u_ebCq-iNs8g5lcbKmdZLUwWfjh0LUKFTNEKimlCbN2e8qp83JICMftjPiPbe8rPMG5DWvPEPC1EDXOUiyLsMd2qXqI5Q8cNRcUkiGm258aHIGqRa1OJHEf1qH3M/s1600-h/Feet06.JPG+andywith+foot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoH570Ua-VW4I6J3u_ebCq-iNs8g5lcbKmdZLUwWfjh0LUKFTNEKimlCbN2e8qp83JICMftjPiPbe8rPMG5DWvPEPC1EDXOUiyLsMd2qXqI5Q8cNRcUkiGm258aHIGqRa1OJHEf1qH3M/s400/Feet06.JPG+andywith+foot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357684830471880306" border="0" /></a> This pose was very typical of him while he was here. He definitely found his foot. :-)<br /><br />Barbie, Kyle and Hazel came a week early.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiNkYsWmeuWSc4ng45jJse2YHgUVAFuzq1-XB3wulgmT10KIyQuvn2CKN9MJrWktwEhZuZ2BUjJJGeLIF4kqI8i5NFihGH1wu3Ic1pmWkAfZSP5mHi0KVJHiHiVPatTAo4Q8_GlkSnvw/s1600-h/BKH09_07.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiNkYsWmeuWSc4ng45jJse2YHgUVAFuzq1-XB3wulgmT10KIyQuvn2CKN9MJrWktwEhZuZ2BUjJJGeLIF4kqI8i5NFihGH1wu3Ic1pmWkAfZSP5mHi0KVJHiHiVPatTAo4Q8_GlkSnvw/s400/BKH09_07.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359863194539351138" border="0" /></a>While here they (mostly Kyle) landscaped around our swing house, and around the deck. Our yard looks fabulous. (More about that in a later post.)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXlD94XaDlOzRfgFujbeO03edN6yKmZdIxoaoJqphaLwiMNOSx-y4j2sx_OuW1yJ-XN_7Kl0Tgb8ST_VmEv3LWFD0ugFFTLQtCdOgMyMbuJp_eOZBgAx46NQB560T9Wcxg2b-c9P8FR0/s1600-h/IMG_3368.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXlD94XaDlOzRfgFujbeO03edN6yKmZdIxoaoJqphaLwiMNOSx-y4j2sx_OuW1yJ-XN_7Kl0Tgb8ST_VmEv3LWFD0ugFFTLQtCdOgMyMbuJp_eOZBgAx46NQB560T9Wcxg2b-c9P8FR0/s400/IMG_3368.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359863749269042914" border="0" /></a>Hazel enjoyed getting acquainted with Mollie.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMA0C5YK60cYuW3Hy1P9Es4pMm31e1zl8ZmIEIalCLItyDrURuS0tOtCfBRC-31IlApbr9seUe7s2Bf95tSAaQPWhvEBVD-JvN4dWg6TK4hOTVv47vnpYVIuVlL_K2QUbzMbN05PqwbyQ/s1600-h/IMG_2960.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMA0C5YK60cYuW3Hy1P9Es4pMm31e1zl8ZmIEIalCLItyDrURuS0tOtCfBRC-31IlApbr9seUe7s2Bf95tSAaQPWhvEBVD-JvN4dWg6TK4hOTVv47vnpYVIuVlL_K2QUbzMbN05PqwbyQ/s400/IMG_2960.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359863204687541090" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Hazel was sitting up well by herself while they were here.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakCKUNiAa8eYBJkpaWjIy1oIysfGyTOxj0RmYaoTcPy2Rckoie3XqlfdS_4jW6Qhy6GXng32lvMt0d94edkuKJ5_sGjzqy0yp_JL4Euiotxf0VyFqNHydAq7zsfnMtg_QLIUJq7H7eJ8/s1600-h/IMG_3326.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhakCKUNiAa8eYBJkpaWjIy1oIysfGyTOxj0RmYaoTcPy2Rckoie3XqlfdS_4jW6Qhy6GXng32lvMt0d94edkuKJ5_sGjzqy0yp_JL4Euiotxf0VyFqNHydAq7zsfnMtg_QLIUJq7H7eJ8/s400/IMG_3326.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359863216736200898" border="0" /></a>She was just starting to get up on her hands and knees. (After they were home a week or so she started crawling all over the house.)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-OVBPmsBA_27pBpbRG4LlWBeIhAfDD-_ZJASiWs6DJL7VRwNyX9eBeQQBlJslOgd0wMOz_5Ln_rreIezKuPFSCbpTAB_N4OaRdmwrvpyIzUTy1hMTWK__SsGAFuCijk9V1ZOiPtnsbbM/s1600-h/IMG_3362.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-OVBPmsBA_27pBpbRG4LlWBeIhAfDD-_ZJASiWs6DJL7VRwNyX9eBeQQBlJslOgd0wMOz_5Ln_rreIezKuPFSCbpTAB_N4OaRdmwrvpyIzUTy1hMTWK__SsGAFuCijk9V1ZOiPtnsbbM/s400/IMG_3362.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359863221705449522" border="0" /></a>My heart took some pictures that, unfortunately, I didn't get with the camera. Much of the time I so enjoyed watching the babies interact, that I didn't think to snap photos of them.<br /></div><br />Something I could have like to photograph involves a "Bouncy, Bouncy Baby" toy like the one shown below. I copied this picture of a several-months-younger Hazel from <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://my-size-barbie.blogspot.com/">Barbie's Blog</a> just to show this toy. Hazel loved to stand while they were here, but couldn't yet do it alone, so a toy like this was perfect for her. We were able to find a used one like this at <span style="font-style: italic;">Once Upon a Child</span>. I have a vivid memory of Hazel standing in the bouncer grinning and bouncing up and down as Elizabeth walked up and handed her a toy. It was just SO sweet. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGpqavKzg5BZrGJ-U_OoNSz2ddpW4-wBUUdklGsJXXM0RT6aLATpTVJ_mrx1hx6B9O3LdyPpnOCqK0DY7gDua74TyC-GM4iutOgtCL-anp90KS5CTrFoxOE0WyvEy7PvumVqe8OHncX0/s1600-h/april.20.09+001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGpqavKzg5BZrGJ-U_OoNSz2ddpW4-wBUUdklGsJXXM0RT6aLATpTVJ_mrx1hx6B9O3LdyPpnOCqK0DY7gDua74TyC-GM4iutOgtCL-anp90KS5CTrFoxOE0WyvEy7PvumVqe8OHncX0/s400/april.20.09+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359947300592424722" border="0" /></a>Something else very sweet, and very unusual happened during that first week that Barb and Kyle were here. Jim spent some time crawling around under the deck wiring it for electricity. The picture below shows that he got a little bit dirty!<br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxOjM-uZUQwAKBveiZ2MOVGEygsFLNqxnlnCFiid-Q_uXOuTSqpsFaeDS3ekgjyVUH7u2eesYWSn5jhKhHpwbUFCX_8DFRxchokZrgFf9wDjDK_58ppra0zeSX03edKFxXd3WaZkY2Go/s1600-h/IMG_3350.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQxOjM-uZUQwAKBveiZ2MOVGEygsFLNqxnlnCFiid-Q_uXOuTSqpsFaeDS3ekgjyVUH7u2eesYWSn5jhKhHpwbUFCX_8DFRxchokZrgFf9wDjDK_58ppra0zeSX03edKFxXd3WaZkY2Go/s400/IMG_3350.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359960835402734258" border="0" /></a>Unfortunately we did not get any pictures of the extraordinary thing that happened later on. Jim had taken the lattice off the bottom of the deck in several places so he could work under there. The picture below shows what the lattice looks like when it's on, and it also shows part of the landscaping that Kyle did which Barbie helped design.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-v2aM9hv7SH2-OMRPL_D0UOUBNW84NmxS0-pEIY8Bj2rwUH6VriSFv1HNTvce3oKhz6WRgfDsQdtJh10FKFLE0K2OL9rFBOrJ6lEV22E3jB-KcS-fEV_BSFLDFslW1UTzore2j4yCtLk/s1600-h/IMG_3538.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-v2aM9hv7SH2-OMRPL_D0UOUBNW84NmxS0-pEIY8Bj2rwUH6VriSFv1HNTvce3oKhz6WRgfDsQdtJh10FKFLE0K2OL9rFBOrJ6lEV22E3jB-KcS-fEV_BSFLDFslW1UTzore2j4yCtLk/s400/IMG_3538.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359978274576406770" border="0" /></a>Well, that particular evening, when the lattice was off near the area shown above, Kyle went out as it was getting dark, and discovered three tiny baby bunnies sitting there just under the edge of the deck. Betsey said their eyes had probably opened that day, and they didn't know enough to be afraid of people. Kyle sat down in the grass and held out his hand, and one by one they came over to him. Soon he was holding all three. They were snug in his lap. It was a sweet, precious thing. Kyle said that animals usually do respond well to him, and these sure did. For some reason we didn't get any pictures of the bunnies, but the picture below shows Hazel and Kirsten sitting close by. They obviously were not as impressed as I was. :-)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWdPTCRIJNc6L7G6ykb_tnjfPPB3GX7wkHWfepVQX4SF09P5Fw1h_-SKQdaPog8LZyLg5PAAV83SXw7vXoOZzynlXjx9T3dqLXmFq0Dsxm-HtSwVOKrR2nbcr0I6kP1OT1agE0ib_z5I/s1600-h/IMG_3337.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWdPTCRIJNc6L7G6ykb_tnjfPPB3GX7wkHWfepVQX4SF09P5Fw1h_-SKQdaPog8LZyLg5PAAV83SXw7vXoOZzynlXjx9T3dqLXmFq0Dsxm-HtSwVOKrR2nbcr0I6kP1OT1agE0ib_z5I/s400/IMG_3337.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360276917292643794" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After Kyle put the bunnies back, Jim put the lattice back up to give them some protection from neighborhood cats during the night. On closer inspection we could see where several of the lattice holes had been chewed larger, probably to make a more comfortable entrance for momma rabbit. The bunnies were still under there the next day, but by the following day they were gone.<br /><br />FUN and GAMES at HOME<br /><br />For the most part the weather was really nice, so we were able to play outside a lot. Here are Hazel and Barbie in the back yard. I copied this from Helena's blog. As she said, aren't they cute?<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpqPfp_uhaiRf4ueLkJyp9tv9FrN3ir7OwyGeFMZsaVW4LGhjGbo_KG_QyKJ_UPnhJEN3NUKG4q216FLPlrfNHLr0Pfkxyp6X_0XaFd8zeoCGZ7upkdO6gbgRjIuGGkb5_SoCnJ1_eeU/s1600-h/Ohio2009_14.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpqPfp_uhaiRf4ueLkJyp9tv9FrN3ir7OwyGeFMZsaVW4LGhjGbo_KG_QyKJ_UPnhJEN3NUKG4q216FLPlrfNHLr0Pfkxyp6X_0XaFd8zeoCGZ7upkdO6gbgRjIuGGkb5_SoCnJ1_eeU/s400/Ohio2009_14.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360286185870172290" border="0" /></a>And here are Hazel (7 1/2 mo.) and cousin Andy (5 1/5 mo).</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX68Iwo1poTW7KiS2KrIJ0Y2OdyIVO-VqDuRwhk69dDhj9C4rmlyCgrVUVKoBy_07h-oZUZoce8DPDN_R9DCJYTBxqgnXCRXV12DY3cP5hgsSrarGHmCGLpJ4D5RLDZgw3stvWQH1axrM/s1600-h/Ohio2009_09.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX68Iwo1poTW7KiS2KrIJ0Y2OdyIVO-VqDuRwhk69dDhj9C4rmlyCgrVUVKoBy_07h-oZUZoce8DPDN_R9DCJYTBxqgnXCRXV12DY3cP5hgsSrarGHmCGLpJ4D5RLDZgw3stvWQH1axrM/s400/Ohio2009_09.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360286183806080034" border="0" /></a>We got a sandbox for the little ones. It had some very fine sandbox sand that was super fun to mold. Elizabeth (17 1/2 mo.) and Kate (age 4 1/2) enjoyed it a lot.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUGjwOZ2ScmHP1VhYzsFUEDhyDaUBGQMetbL6wKqoi9TiPSVDSh8AZtj9Nca91_0sONqkIs8_bZRPj-P_DHEqtjheN1XGESueX_xbeyEPyuVgG3JxB7jQGMBVBLobCTrxczH3kP7lKD0/s1600-h/Ohio+200934.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUGjwOZ2ScmHP1VhYzsFUEDhyDaUBGQMetbL6wKqoi9TiPSVDSh8AZtj9Nca91_0sONqkIs8_bZRPj-P_DHEqtjheN1XGESueX_xbeyEPyuVgG3JxB7jQGMBVBLobCTrxczH3kP7lKD0/s400/Ohio+200934.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360286180952878754" border="0" /></a>Helena and Doug thought it was pretty cool too.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qetZLSP-Pc1aea0JTcNIF-r2EvZlZ7igZe7UigynUPvOrYkr8Gj2ahoBaNOvRj76VOuoQ4v7FHWAyfUOL3NobMwdw1mhnfy-PylaWrRug3fiigBdM2h5IwsNK_ZkLNXl9N0BopacuYo/s1600-h/IMG_3555.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3qetZLSP-Pc1aea0JTcNIF-r2EvZlZ7igZe7UigynUPvOrYkr8Gj2ahoBaNOvRj76VOuoQ4v7FHWAyfUOL3NobMwdw1mhnfy-PylaWrRug3fiigBdM2h5IwsNK_ZkLNXl9N0BopacuYo/s400/IMG_3555.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360285682299223138" border="0" /></a>We also set up a wading pool. Actually the weather was a bit cool, but they did get in it a couple of times. I couldn't resist copying this picture of Elizabeth off of Helena's blog.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRsXk7MisJ5-Fm4pVDh_-GOBn5W2euUIer1oUU5Wf5N9Ok_ZMjtj82C4_AUxSZbWFp4iPBJ13vO09XGIy2Z2KAMtj5foPvjpSZ3MRIlbcTCaoreVaMt5OuYJS411_diJkvhwA6SwYm4dY/s1600-h/Ohio+200930.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRsXk7MisJ5-Fm4pVDh_-GOBn5W2euUIer1oUU5Wf5N9Ok_ZMjtj82C4_AUxSZbWFp4iPBJ13vO09XGIy2Z2KAMtj5foPvjpSZ3MRIlbcTCaoreVaMt5OuYJS411_diJkvhwA6SwYm4dY/s400/Ohio+200930.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360286176786178498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_88x3cYXqxqxo4xWBfD9XOJu6OYZ5Ta66quFN9qf82uy1mEWiR6FIC_6wQCdMdfjB_qvdS61VxNsJis1P8gXN5UzjjxQrmGb909eKOfLIAMATIMXQwdr4_2Gt1Te6SMgoqpakHVjkS8/s1600-h/IMG_3373.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_88x3cYXqxqxo4xWBfD9XOJu6OYZ5Ta66quFN9qf82uy1mEWiR6FIC_6wQCdMdfjB_qvdS61VxNsJis1P8gXN5UzjjxQrmGb909eKOfLIAMATIMXQwdr4_2Gt1Te6SMgoqpakHVjkS8/s400/IMG_3373.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360284294086281106" border="0" /></a>We also bought a couple of balls for them to play with. It turned out that Elizabeth is in a stage where she absolutely loves balls. Needless to say, she had a ball. (groan.)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7iTwWDIc4BsDUqfS1JEcl_Y2UYdI2EbwNjUq1tQe08kTffGwRI_Ey0ysdw50dDzjiEsII9_ItYGXbhdQyOiKLkPWuPjsRZ38htxYQOIVozRiP_-UaMlo3YZj9JmF4U5C5g6dmpTjDSZ8/s1600-h/IMG_3372.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7iTwWDIc4BsDUqfS1JEcl_Y2UYdI2EbwNjUq1tQe08kTffGwRI_Ey0ysdw50dDzjiEsII9_ItYGXbhdQyOiKLkPWuPjsRZ38htxYQOIVozRiP_-UaMlo3YZj9JmF4U5C5g6dmpTjDSZ8/s400/IMG_3372.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360284290568514146" border="0" /></a>The swing house proved to be a great place for various groups of people to gather and visit. Here are Kate and Andy with their Aunt Barbie.<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnm_2ueu2RBcU9okZsiU_4hSgQcQtEw7VdMj6UgPigU5Tty_KQk6_foeKps6CmlhECebAfLpEycraQwlHZb4xcS0LTqHDbVEryOvsIeO6CakOKbfPnWKZ7TA-VThVcV2oWwlcA0rhmUs/s1600-h/Ohio+200926.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnm_2ueu2RBcU9okZsiU_4hSgQcQtEw7VdMj6UgPigU5Tty_KQk6_foeKps6CmlhECebAfLpEycraQwlHZb4xcS0LTqHDbVEryOvsIeO6CakOKbfPnWKZ7TA-VThVcV2oWwlcA0rhmUs/s400/Ohio+200926.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360285701361967090" border="0" /></a>And on the other side, Hazel with her daddy Kyle, and grandma.<br /></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzvptXseEqvv-fvFcmxd9Gs_BiDIoD8vT-sLo04EChuG4zDTmUuu2mLHLoT6awmEAx6cEMoqRZHQLEcdvCHL9CBEjbYKQfOKXi7TU5aR_O8VB2Gc14_LreBaJYas3KNSdZrOhV5MJkMM/s1600-h/Ohio+200925.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzvptXseEqvv-fvFcmxd9Gs_BiDIoD8vT-sLo04EChuG4zDTmUuu2mLHLoT6awmEAx6cEMoqRZHQLEcdvCHL9CBEjbYKQfOKXi7TU5aR_O8VB2Gc14_LreBaJYas3KNSdZrOhV5MJkMM/s400/Ohio+200925.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360285697483108482" border="0" /></a>When everyone was inside we had wall-to-wall babies.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKtzcGij_YF1nfr7-usbK4ZzkGP-ICvXVBm167uvgZK63vBBcPFj2P0ZksJ1Kmf_89CqlFrbrMBRDEgtMwLAuxVYJ9QHcn4yOI7ZMNg7S-ebLfXg_qDA16HFzoVBKwtj2IQOxF-yccf6Y/s1600-h/IMG_3360.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKtzcGij_YF1nfr7-usbK4ZzkGP-ICvXVBm167uvgZK63vBBcPFj2P0ZksJ1Kmf_89CqlFrbrMBRDEgtMwLAuxVYJ9QHcn4yOI7ZMNg7S-ebLfXg_qDA16HFzoVBKwtj2IQOxF-yccf6Y/s400/IMG_3360.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360284281984833010" border="0" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">Actually we had wall-to-wall people and um, wall to wall chaos. Here the family is making felt animals for an ABC game for Lizbeth. Helena has more information about it. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlxnpxW9dfnz3RzwWwiIVE-3YH2l8Z8khwH1mzjFlzkCyaZ_IgvAc2mgpI5RM6zDncu6zR_E3F6uedn-reszGnC8QQoA-zdGQNiNalJgB_O6-41_VqL-Ww7DEQNGwIxC36a43AKUgvfo/s1600-h/IMG_3425.JPG"></a><a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);" href="http://wedoitthehardway.blogspot.com/2009/06/full-house.html">Click Here.</a><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlxnpxW9dfnz3RzwWwiIVE-3YH2l8Z8khwH1mzjFlzkCyaZ_IgvAc2mgpI5RM6zDncu6zR_E3F6uedn-reszGnC8QQoA-zdGQNiNalJgB_O6-41_VqL-Ww7DEQNGwIxC36a43AKUgvfo/s400/IMG_3425.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360284300774743810" border="0" />Because the babies required so much care, we just didn't get around to playing very many games, or singing. We had some family walks in the evening. We did play with the musical pipe chimes once and we did have one game of <span style="font-style: italic;">Apples to Apples</span>. That's what the group is doing here.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUHqx62MlPpFyVjc6S4e0XbeZpLF2Cv3Q48v8jQRtGF7yXK0dS_204pa8US21784JPVTkj36-nG1UZP9xq3naq7_mMa4gEc5Ghy5fqsJRrfEF09LfdhF9iknT0mEj95lh2YGPmDO3Pfk/s1600-h/IMG_3431.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXUHqx62MlPpFyVjc6S4e0XbeZpLF2Cv3Q48v8jQRtGF7yXK0dS_204pa8US21784JPVTkj36-nG1UZP9xq3naq7_mMa4gEc5Ghy5fqsJRrfEF09LfdhF9iknT0mEj95lh2YGPmDO3Pfk/s400/IMG_3431.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360284305874228002" border="0" /></a>Something Peter said was SO funny that Betsey just couldn't stop laughing.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfk5uKlqjVm7SIp-CRNlsTIaXpdkwPTBTsFCBprAbh5Z1kDhTtIFyHbT_84QIUkvITm2pwJaOyHkh0pIeuF18r1RuEEiBpbBbzPkpB1TaTaCLoYu_PGLtLYDkg0maqItD9cEGkIWliL3E/s1600-h/IMG_3432.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfk5uKlqjVm7SIp-CRNlsTIaXpdkwPTBTsFCBprAbh5Z1kDhTtIFyHbT_84QIUkvITm2pwJaOyHkh0pIeuF18r1RuEEiBpbBbzPkpB1TaTaCLoYu_PGLtLYDkg0maqItD9cEGkIWliL3E/s400/IMG_3432.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360285674263389586" border="0" /></a>That's all for now Folks. More coming soon.<br /></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-84330825390696798142009-05-24T13:51:00.066-04:002009-05-25T22:10:08.076-04:00Reflections in the Rain, and More<div style="text-align: justify;">Last week we had day after day of rain. I admit that it grew tiresome, but one day I decided to just look and enjoy it. I saw reflections in the wet sidewalk and that caused me to stop and reflect a bit. In the picture there is a rather sizable puddle in the front yard, not far from the street. When the children were little they loved that puddle. It would form every year when we had enough rain. They used to slosh around in it, but one year they had some unusual fun. Peter and Betsey found a big rock, put it out in the puddle and set a rubber lizard on top of it. This is a great area for people to walk in the evening, so we knew there would be some people walking by. We peeked from the window to watch. More than one person did a double-take as they walked by. It was just fun!!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">And then there's the tree. "She" is a Norway maple that Peter planted as a cub scout project. I think he was ten at the time. I remember that we took some pictures of him scrunching down in the hole that he dug. That was fun too. We named the tree "Judy" after a girl who stayed with us for awhile. She once lived in Norway for awhile when her dad was stationed there, and this was a Norway maple, so the name seemed appropriate. Fun memories…<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nQs-Foxu57oXDqXmjC4pKVgtD_M5noYZ5s9kCcH4E6tLnEzpMxH6rrVd2ln-5-gNBZS7wTK2pJhpt3kBgDf7_y3q-osWsjsXAYE-AQ5YIdd7OX5GheDjI-hUokfhfCUHUZGGcNiNGtA/s1600-h/IMG_3262.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nQs-Foxu57oXDqXmjC4pKVgtD_M5noYZ5s9kCcH4E6tLnEzpMxH6rrVd2ln-5-gNBZS7wTK2pJhpt3kBgDf7_y3q-osWsjsXAYE-AQ5YIdd7OX5GheDjI-hUokfhfCUHUZGGcNiNGtA/s400/IMG_3262.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339460388688515090" border="0" /></a>As I write this I am getting really excited because in a little over a week our children start arriving with their spouses and children. Our family was blessed to have three babies in 2008, so they all wanted to get those babies together. They will all be together from June 10-16, with one family arriving a week early, and another family staying a week later. SO we'll be busy from June 2-June 24.<br /><br />The picture below adds to my reflections: Same tree, same front yard. I don't know what year this was, but Helena was the only one married. Here are Peter, Barbie, Betsey, Helena and her husband Doug. They were playing a snapping/clapping game called "The Minister's Cat." Seeing this brings back memories, and also makes me anticipate June even more. Since this picture was taken this group has added 6 people--2 spouses and 4 children. What a blessing!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5P9YYCJufRhiDSgS2JRYbUjm7x4CweWEdEBALhToojqeCzwOrDOg7bVIJD8tktSS8BPiaCZWAOdDIcZCwbwm9NEhPP5XxkXka-jN4fr_vDCvS2Jp4DwEVsdnqTYc3zGNaKpqQNP1BWg/s1600-h/Hslide37+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5P9YYCJufRhiDSgS2JRYbUjm7x4CweWEdEBALhToojqeCzwOrDOg7bVIJD8tktSS8BPiaCZWAOdDIcZCwbwm9NEhPP5XxkXka-jN4fr_vDCvS2Jp4DwEVsdnqTYc3zGNaKpqQNP1BWg/s400/Hslide37+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336853326269778034" border="0" /></a>Our oldest "granddaughter" is a funny little yellow dog named Angie, who had her 15th birthday on May 12. Betsey, her "mommy" helped her celebrate by giving her some canned dog food complete with a free-standing dog biscuit. Angie was SO excited that Betsey almost couldn't contain her for me to get the picture.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGqjWmRzCJ3RGTVB8MO1qPAXixYmpNIDB7-Vmfk4968ByMTKs3UXPKASTabJMfHqmszuSfIR0es6VoEpj2WGiINL4uZaEa9oKs3Rb7JAMdYinQQqQNRq_mOpuRebWBkqp_LrtirHCE6I/s1600-h/IMG_3286.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitGqjWmRzCJ3RGTVB8MO1qPAXixYmpNIDB7-Vmfk4968ByMTKs3UXPKASTabJMfHqmszuSfIR0es6VoEpj2WGiINL4uZaEa9oKs3Rb7JAMdYinQQqQNRq_mOpuRebWBkqp_LrtirHCE6I/s400/IMG_3286.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339462562380167570" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">At last! Yum! Happy Birthday Angie.<br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNMs8klBsCKMm6j0cVBEdbornEpXKUUeYSJcsQqxgxlg0g1ms-PKM0-mYeP1Xc_A12WfhhRIBLc0_J3G6oLBCSf7e9y7YKTXqng7zuGoSxOz0OdrxoY-JV9EcAy9r289crnhRYrD60J4/s1600-h/IMG_3287.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglNMs8klBsCKMm6j0cVBEdbornEpXKUUeYSJcsQqxgxlg0g1ms-PKM0-mYeP1Xc_A12WfhhRIBLc0_J3G6oLBCSf7e9y7YKTXqng7zuGoSxOz0OdrxoY-JV9EcAy9r289crnhRYrD60J4/s400/IMG_3287.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339462554328155378" border="0" /></a>We have some really funny cats at our house. They love to bring us presents, as all cats do, but they specialize in one particular item that most cats wouldn't bother with. Some years ago they started rooting around in my gardening materials and "catching" garden gloves. Usually we would find various gloves strewn about the front yard with the cats looking very nonchalant as if to say "Who me? I would never do that!" Well, the other day I heard Petercat just yowling outside our front window. It was a "Come Quick! See what I caught!" kind of yowl. I peeked out of the window and saw her with her catch of the day--one yellow garden glove. She seemed very proud of herself. (Yes, Peter is a female. Her mother gave birth to 4 kittens, which I named Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter, not realizing that they were all girls. We kept Peter because she had the nicest personality. Our son Peter enjoyed sharing the name with a beloved kitty. She is about 14 years old now.)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNaZa-b6Bu8u7NUfzbRKJzAQG-7PHWZGPJkLqWJZyBV36NeemzGsvO62PNfG3F_dBLCWNvIV1DZogJ0ldid9BvLibL1QlAwwPH6X2CialZx_yWf0-W2KN-h3StpzgXnlaUQPTXlG64LM/s1600-h/IMG_3248.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNaZa-b6Bu8u7NUfzbRKJzAQG-7PHWZGPJkLqWJZyBV36NeemzGsvO62PNfG3F_dBLCWNvIV1DZogJ0ldid9BvLibL1QlAwwPH6X2CialZx_yWf0-W2KN-h3StpzgXnlaUQPTXlG64LM/s400/IMG_3248.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339460385149809890" border="0" /></a>In April, Jim and Kirsten took me to Nashville to attend a Healing Codes seminar called LT3. (What are The Healing Codes? Click <a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://www.thehealingcodes.com/">here</a>.) On the way there he took us to see the <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaylord_Opryland_Resort_&_Convention_Center">Grand Ole Opry Hotel and Convention Center </a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I had never seen anything like it, and we didn't even see it all. The hotel itself has over 2,800 rooms, 6 restaurants, ballrooms, and I don't know what all. Jim took us on a tour of some of the garden rooms. There are ponds, and fountains and waterfalls and lots and lots of plants. My friend Wendy said it's one of her favorite places to go. She said that one of the paths actually goes behind one of the waterfalls. One time she took a book and sat on a bench under the waterfall and read for awhile.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnPf3g29nDL6wqGZJvXeRwwezNFngrkLT2MlsoVRexCs-XuQJHduOH2dAklG2uL4cHoH_TxmDXe8aPoFDXvZmtkAK1WlZ2n6IebP7NpSlF2e3klLWHl7Rz1_6SRh-WEanVBhCQyhV0zn0/s1600-h/IMG_3203.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnPf3g29nDL6wqGZJvXeRwwezNFngrkLT2MlsoVRexCs-XuQJHduOH2dAklG2uL4cHoH_TxmDXe8aPoFDXvZmtkAK1WlZ2n6IebP7NpSlF2e3klLWHl7Rz1_6SRh-WEanVBhCQyhV0zn0/s400/IMG_3203.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339458675579947810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGOej4WuCjpTybgLTyEVycNiFDTM9lGEL_BE2YMkBaje7DqlO-9lmVG_2yaA5-d3qINQxzT58zFB15oENE16BqkHtACoMOKD2l-P-M5D4nBg7AmiTFyjWTJdOk2qO4kxeSsKrsUSFYEY/s1600-h/IMG_3202.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGOej4WuCjpTybgLTyEVycNiFDTM9lGEL_BE2YMkBaje7DqlO-9lmVG_2yaA5-d3qINQxzT58zFB15oENE16BqkHtACoMOKD2l-P-M5D4nBg7AmiTFyjWTJdOk2qO4kxeSsKrsUSFYEY/s400/IMG_3202.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339458669927407410" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsuoswlIV48zoCf7ZPi0h8cZikAsaovD69dhg_aLb3MG0sdbJunNXR8Qb1nL3P79kwoSBynK1_RLaupAFycSZnt2GNQkX7TRRH_yKqawVkTEe60kmDtppr-nWcV1SU1rbawtn0SVRKhU/s1600-h/IMG_3201.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsuoswlIV48zoCf7ZPi0h8cZikAsaovD69dhg_aLb3MG0sdbJunNXR8Qb1nL3P79kwoSBynK1_RLaupAFycSZnt2GNQkX7TRRH_yKqawVkTEe60kmDtppr-nWcV1SU1rbawtn0SVRKhU/s400/IMG_3201.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339458663780409778" border="0" /></a>The place is so huge there is even a quarter-mile long river, complete with boat rides. We didn't take the time to do that, but I think it would be fun. The place is truly amazing.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiOMCZx3UAhstzS9ljIG8h3YuJ2kxdliOq_aLrk7qg0npzOTewhQapSA2RgYkP38H3HggjjkHzf0QGw35_hJyG0h1QKdYk6xCt2pKQd1LbaLl_1FgcfA_1eLGKwWaybr0KgbaFdBT9PI/s1600-h/IMG_3207.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiOMCZx3UAhstzS9ljIG8h3YuJ2kxdliOq_aLrk7qg0npzOTewhQapSA2RgYkP38H3HggjjkHzf0QGw35_hJyG0h1QKdYk6xCt2pKQd1LbaLl_1FgcfA_1eLGKwWaybr0KgbaFdBT9PI/s400/IMG_3207.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339584411346568722" border="0" /></a><br /></div>* * * * * * * * * * * *<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Quite a few years ago our church (pictured in the background in the picture below) was remodeled. Modifications were made to the entryways which required the addition of some brick structures. I had a bright idea of collecting left-over or rejected bricks to use in some way in our landscaping. By the time the church project was finished, we ended up with quite a pile of bricks. Well, over the years they sat there, and sat there and sat… Finally we decided to pass them on to someone who could use them because we obviously weren't. I thought it would be most fun to give them to someone from the church.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The Dunn family in our ward (congregation) recently bought a house in the country, so we asked them if they would like the bricks. Last week, Eric and his 4-year-old son, Wayne, came to pick them up. Eric carried them to the truck…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3Sqvg9H3qSLE-_YAhMkKiRgT_zaMuPaPbW3l217q9NydqKPS3uyTr4Doieai7lIW3Z8_d8RHQ5Fyqk4DTJGcN7fB-1-FCbnYYeVLGa2-wI2kaTnk5r4rYjpYlX55BnW3w6cg4i48Df8/s1600-h/IMG_3271.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3Sqvg9H3qSLE-_YAhMkKiRgT_zaMuPaPbW3l217q9NydqKPS3uyTr4Doieai7lIW3Z8_d8RHQ5Fyqk4DTJGcN7fB-1-FCbnYYeVLGa2-wI2kaTnk5r4rYjpYlX55BnW3w6cg4i48Df8/s400/IMG_3271.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339460394659263938" border="0" /></a>And Wayne stacked them and stacked them, and…stacked them. I had the impression that he was having a great time. I enjoyed just hanging out, watching them work, and visiting with Wayne. I decided that I needed to take some pictures and send them to the Dunns. I hope they save them for Wayne so he can remember the <span style="font-style: italic;">Great Brick Adventure</span> that he had one fine spring morning with his dad. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBXico2Y9_w2yowfiHtV_J2z91dHq4Nu7Qw99lnsH3Bsg1QwrmAGr-p-wwcZANwl7yj5S-JzTRgg04qP-qTn3w8craioyGoafpcZ9csubc1u7gjBtBbxCPrWEsCqfQEf0qaUN7BrndFY/s1600-h/IMG_3273.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBXico2Y9_w2yowfiHtV_J2z91dHq4Nu7Qw99lnsH3Bsg1QwrmAGr-p-wwcZANwl7yj5S-JzTRgg04qP-qTn3w8craioyGoafpcZ9csubc1u7gjBtBbxCPrWEsCqfQEf0qaUN7BrndFY/s400/IMG_3273.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339463069134760658" border="0" /></a>I'd like to show you what a treat I get to enjoy as I look out my window in the early morning. I dearly love this next picture. I quite enjoy textures, and I especially enjoy the effects created by dappled shade. Combining the two is fantastic in my book. Many years ago the neighbors behind us planted a row of evergreen trees which created a lovely screen at the back of our yard. The Colorado Blue Spruce, little bits of which show on the right, is actually up near the house but in the picture everything looks close together. The swing house and the other trees are actually in the "back 40." I think it makes a cool picture to do it this way. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43_6A3twqpe_Q4YqZWtELlKL_tOsBYFC1Ee9y_6nFmXVQnXwiEZ7qPtsnqwstpifswh4Xda0iheJeYVRmKDPy5-vRqaLN3uToqkc0cEFun4Z0ggdohekcftnqxVzGGYCMAucKv0n_Vao/s1600-h/IMG_3300.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi43_6A3twqpe_Q4YqZWtELlKL_tOsBYFC1Ee9y_6nFmXVQnXwiEZ7qPtsnqwstpifswh4Xda0iheJeYVRmKDPy5-vRqaLN3uToqkc0cEFun4Z0ggdohekcftnqxVzGGYCMAucKv0n_Vao/s400/IMG_3300.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339462547160394210" border="0" /></a>We get this effect as the sun creeps up over our house in the early morning and peeks through the maple trees to cast playful shadows on the greenery beyond. It's pure eye candy for me.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsD4xC0Xn8Gav_p1M6XrvjOYPjcX56aORV5P3181CoYBD9n1qFYx1mcl4cfBQ2t_9AkwJvYi2c4RxcTZZVajbNxbSm0bb_jSr4C0hY_RauaOrnz873HuE7mXOTL96OhP-VBH8tmA3TZ8M/s1600-h/IMG_3296.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsD4xC0Xn8Gav_p1M6XrvjOYPjcX56aORV5P3181CoYBD9n1qFYx1mcl4cfBQ2t_9AkwJvYi2c4RxcTZZVajbNxbSm0bb_jSr4C0hY_RauaOrnz873HuE7mXOTL96OhP-VBH8tmA3TZ8M/s400/IMG_3296.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339462550439600034" border="0" /></a>The clematis have also been spectacular this year. Actually they've bloomed much more than is shown in the pictures here. The lower clematis has been COVERED with flowers as never before. In the picture it looks like the two groups of flowers are one on top of the other in the same place, but actually the top one is about 10 feet behind the bottom one in the yard. It's a fun illusion, and sure looks great from my window.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-n8-SmHvhv3aGsWQNc475hR4XNMfws2JwZopzocvMBV5iL7snSffclhFcdn-3cBG4b1GEAcJMJ-Mw4j9BZDfft4JWT8jiiHFRemgtrq2EeXWewC2IrBAWZRiTEVSjlfFtmaz7t90Iwk/s1600-h/IMG_3301.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-n8-SmHvhv3aGsWQNc475hR4XNMfws2JwZopzocvMBV5iL7snSffclhFcdn-3cBG4b1GEAcJMJ-Mw4j9BZDfft4JWT8jiiHFRemgtrq2EeXWewC2IrBAWZRiTEVSjlfFtmaz7t90Iwk/s400/IMG_3301.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339462544146009426" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhgLxgA2Qum2YUf4S7_kdUIVnj4Q_qgvuGkAkJ80eT-_0tRDnbLGdB0BbqUzl-ze0BM2LvxnFuAls8XrG0bAOKxqMz9mFEskYsncOHOuOp_XnoF9a1nfLRxQxvctDmCroOB8hyuUsHSE/s1600-h/IMG_3322.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhgLxgA2Qum2YUf4S7_kdUIVnj4Q_qgvuGkAkJ80eT-_0tRDnbLGdB0BbqUzl-ze0BM2LvxnFuAls8XrG0bAOKxqMz9mFEskYsncOHOuOp_XnoF9a1nfLRxQxvctDmCroOB8hyuUsHSE/s400/IMG_3322.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339882183615195010" border="0" /></a> Well, that's it for right now. My heart is full as I look out on all the beauties and bounties of nature, and as I anticipate all our children coming to visit. Good things are happening indeed. </div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-39858841766560230662009-04-22T15:18:00.016-04:002009-04-23T10:20:20.802-04:00And What Did I See…?<div style="text-align: center;">I looked out the window and what did I see?<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The sun shining brightly on a little white tree.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk16xfR33V20Y9GCrlXAGQfrULJWL0Wt68CvZP4RZIx4vMtaN4fNhumMaD-L3zM6VHFCh3IszbVOIfi5SYVBnxY9MeArpu92ZtKbtIbAslCWzcc_rnLHRGP6BuTZRwplKnCmZR2sssHME/s1600-h/IMG_3149_1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk16xfR33V20Y9GCrlXAGQfrULJWL0Wt68CvZP4RZIx4vMtaN4fNhumMaD-L3zM6VHFCh3IszbVOIfi5SYVBnxY9MeArpu92ZtKbtIbAslCWzcc_rnLHRGP6BuTZRwplKnCmZR2sssHME/s400/IMG_3149_1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324183697819499634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Spring had brought me such a nice surprise…</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Blossoms popping right before my eyes!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The little white tree on the right in the picture above is a Royal Star Magnolia. We have several in the yard. They were spectacular this year, as always. The tree on the left, however, was a surprise. No, the tree didn't suddenly appear during the night, but the flowers did.<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmlvB-fUJMeLs6JGF3jJZDIRI_FnsKtC8XmzTVrfijYGAtXafChSq8DYlxN6UW59RURKKpUqTxxZr-Pd6NFEf9dTz56_ZCdiSZBao4400WQwKugPHKkCrRGS_xAZMVipywz5puNxFfFQk/s1600-h/IMG_3140.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmlvB-fUJMeLs6JGF3jJZDIRI_FnsKtC8XmzTVrfijYGAtXafChSq8DYlxN6UW59RURKKpUqTxxZr-Pd6NFEf9dTz56_ZCdiSZBao4400WQwKugPHKkCrRGS_xAZMVipywz5puNxFfFQk/s400/IMG_3140.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325819466208700386" border="0" /></a>Spring in these parts of THE OHIO has been unusual. I LIKE it, don't get me wrong, it's just been a bit different. Our Cleveland Pear trees actually bloomed this year. Every other year the leaves and flowers came out at the same time, so the flowers didn't look like much. This year the trees were COVERED with blossoms for over a week. I'll take it, I'll take it! So pretty. The above picture was taken out my bedroom window. Royal Star Magnolia flowers are at the front, with Cleveland Pear blossoms in the background. Once those blossoms started to fall, the ground was covered with white petal snow. That too was different, and quite pretty.<br /></div><br />WHAT ELSE AM I SEEING TODAY?<br /><br />Well, the next shots are not exactly seen out my window, but that's OK.<br /><br />Here are Helena and Kate and Andy on Easter Sunday. It would appear that they are reading a note from inside a plastic egg. How exciting!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZaRZ4w2_cPF1POCxFVWKjZkhz-ZUAXvRYWFm7Op6E4uQWZi4if0UGGuVjDE0_NP-NHtUOjqRICTVfQANLvQOKb_DExkg0xOts8C3OQ7hIq_-AmiHGMJT0ZUmAeiqcm7U4S83Du6vLss/s1600-h/Easter2009_01.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZaRZ4w2_cPF1POCxFVWKjZkhz-ZUAXvRYWFm7Op6E4uQWZi4if0UGGuVjDE0_NP-NHtUOjqRICTVfQANLvQOKb_DExkg0xOts8C3OQ7hIq_-AmiHGMJT0ZUmAeiqcm7U4S83Du6vLss/s400/Easter2009_01.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325811204727303810" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">And here's baby brother Andy at 14 weeks. I like looking at him too.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitN3naCgiinqBQTXTdDYm_J8K_IkBjFl2Ut-0WVSag7RZYJObWXeieabJhIyeZjQQW2Dj0cOmIgfXtr0n4gJvll8DetE8xYQGuirLB06ZxnZ6lFcLMhcY0YI8ecYWw2IweFTMKVT5EFo4/s1600-h/Andy14weeks03.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitN3naCgiinqBQTXTdDYm_J8K_IkBjFl2Ut-0WVSag7RZYJObWXeieabJhIyeZjQQW2Dj0cOmIgfXtr0n4gJvll8DetE8xYQGuirLB06ZxnZ6lFcLMhcY0YI8ecYWw2IweFTMKVT5EFo4/s400/Andy14weeks03.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325811202073563106" border="0" /></a>AND PRESENTING!!!! Drum roll please… ELIZABETH<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykaSFvVyyxfr-95XHPc8L3H-IsISF2uSWyoHrT20fp3cMVjTY-A5k1Gf6xc1O1GNEi8l4Y-d2XDidy8n44jFpwiRwi850ywbgoHCYqtwtlozcLqZtnR-jqVXyM4APIvrkPhmTV9xo9_c/s1600-h/SL736136+copy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiykaSFvVyyxfr-95XHPc8L3H-IsISF2uSWyoHrT20fp3cMVjTY-A5k1Gf6xc1O1GNEi8l4Y-d2XDidy8n44jFpwiRwi850ywbgoHCYqtwtlozcLqZtnR-jqVXyM4APIvrkPhmTV9xo9_c/s400/SL736136+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325270286865649890" border="0" /></a>Peter and Karen's little one is now 15 months old and just as cute as ever. She walks, she runs, she carries animal friends in an Easter basket!<br /><br />The big news from their family is that Peter got a job working for <a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Sanderson">Brandon Sanderson</a> so they are in the process of moving to Utah. YAY! (Goodbye LA freeways.) They are packing up this week and will leave on Sunday night.<br /></div><br />All ABOUT HAZEL<br />One day last week I received the following messages from Barb and Hazel:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I had to bring Hazel with me to work for a little bit, so I'm letting her type you an email.</span><br /><br />Love, Barb<br /><br />Dear Nana,<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">.kl;/ukgy gggggg mmmmmmmmvbggggggggggggbvvvvvvvvvvf fcvbjhngffvddcssssssssssssssssss </span> <span style="font-style: italic;">\4410 010000000000000000000000000000000000021000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000bnn bv nb </span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Love, Hazel</span><br /><br />I wrote back: "I LOVE IT!"<br /><br />And Hazel wrote back:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">b jh ,bvbvv fmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm iunn gvvvvvvvvvvug vbh dddddddd,kmm,kjm</span> <br /><br />to which her mom provided the following translation:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I'm glad! I can't wait to see you in June!"</span><br /><br />Love, Hazel<br /><br />How fun!--K <br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">That was the first ever e-mail that I received from a 6-month-old. And speaking of Hazel: Here she is: Her mom tells me that she loves sweet potatoes. It looks like she also likes to wear them. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElSi0Sm9qkGnMR4pcySvM5P4uC-dXsiysyNXenqYCUsj-GroxSZCWSGTUu0V26nZjTRCJHv8A-tfWi5xqxkp4WJeHnwvyPuG6yDBbIiyKlCl0PuLQjo0l-6c1ISaOJhd3KdKcMQumjv0/s1600-h/HazelMessyapril.20.09+020+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElSi0Sm9qkGnMR4pcySvM5P4uC-dXsiysyNXenqYCUsj-GroxSZCWSGTUu0V26nZjTRCJHv8A-tfWi5xqxkp4WJeHnwvyPuG6yDBbIiyKlCl0PuLQjo0l-6c1ISaOJhd3KdKcMQumjv0/s400/HazelMessyapril.20.09+020+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326904227334618066" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">6 months old 19 lbs. 15 oz, 28.75 inches. Hazel has outgrown her infant car seat. With parents like hers she is destined to be a bit tall. Perhaps she will enjoy basketball or volleyball. It wouldn't surprise me at all.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Something I Really Did See Out My Window</span><br /><br />Last Friday: I saw Mollie stalking a pair of mallard ducks in the middle of the street. The brave, intrepid hunter turned and slunk into the woods as soon as the ducks started walking towards her. :-) It was too funny!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The buds on our maple tree continue to grow and change. On March 21 I wrote about Bud Break. Today I added another picture showing the progression from buds to maple seeds. I think it's fun to see. Perhaps you would too. <a href="http://kathey-frommywindow.blogspot.com/2009_03_21_archive.html">Click here</a> or scroll down.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-40323845788123182662009-03-21T19:21:00.021-04:002009-04-23T10:25:16.801-04:00WE HAVE BUD BREAK<div style="text-align: justify;">I see some interesting/fun things from my window. Last week I noticed that the buds on our silver maple trees had swelled quite a bit. They must have been really tasty because the squirrels were going out of their way to munch on them. I saw several furry acrobats creep precariously far out on tiny twigs to taste those tempting tidbits. YUM.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIJjjB4QwxvlzYApVkwAruQf1BJyNa0OMAOQ5YXotOcFaEJHBmFT6ZV1B2h87dyqrgSAZDqN5RysVpvhrST3MKwhdhyj3q9HtGWP_XAIXvvpr8hLvNmwqaM5Dr2_IjKRpWYahLDjM8R8/s1600-h/IMG_3034.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIJjjB4QwxvlzYApVkwAruQf1BJyNa0OMAOQ5YXotOcFaEJHBmFT6ZV1B2h87dyqrgSAZDqN5RysVpvhrST3MKwhdhyj3q9HtGWP_XAIXvvpr8hLvNmwqaM5Dr2_IjKRpWYahLDjM8R8/s400/IMG_3034.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315799781130326418" border="0" /></a>Then this week the little maple tree flowers burst through the buds. Apparently the flowers don't taste good because the critters haven't been after them this week.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00ZJyDdFa9TS0BDYm9iVheC9m2v3SFDJJTeP1-MB_SZtMal-1UqRJ_Guyz2aRXC8JsSnaTZGeKWEu2ztC72gXtREVD09PdRsAd7IIV69Zx4DM1wgL9JXVf_Qk_R1ZJvZ_mRm-7jz-BGY/s1600-h/IMG_3092.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg00ZJyDdFa9TS0BDYm9iVheC9m2v3SFDJJTeP1-MB_SZtMal-1UqRJ_Guyz2aRXC8JsSnaTZGeKWEu2ztC72gXtREVD09PdRsAd7IIV69Zx4DM1wgL9JXVf_Qk_R1ZJvZ_mRm-7jz-BGY/s400/IMG_3092.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315784812436469890" border="0" /></a>A month later I took the following picture. I just thought it would be fun to add it here to see how the "buds" have progressed. Now they are turning into those pesky maple tree helicopters.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-9tFhBmLHimv8hmVdbTRpVB7cNTN7Adgch1oz25mljG5USHRV1q0a2AMv1k7GmkrhIcFFXA_AJDe8i7FDDK-oiq4-430MFOknJ9j4XAefrom54RF4EaEgJ2Bg7DsfQPGTshcwwQCeJQ/s1600-h/IMG_3162.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-9tFhBmLHimv8hmVdbTRpVB7cNTN7Adgch1oz25mljG5USHRV1q0a2AMv1k7GmkrhIcFFXA_AJDe8i7FDDK-oiq4-430MFOknJ9j4XAefrom54RF4EaEgJ2Bg7DsfQPGTshcwwQCeJQ/s400/IMG_3162.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326906339116986354" border="0" /></a>Speaking of squirrels. Something funny happened the other day. I was looking out the window towards the back yard. It was early morning so the sun was shining from the front of the house. A young squirrel was having the time of his life running up and down Tiny Tree. (Tiny Tree is a Colorado Blue Spruce which is planted too close to the silver maples. When we first moved into this house, in 1980, Tiny Tree was only about 14 inches tall. Helena could jump over him. Tiny is now about 20 feet tall, but he will always be "Tiny" to us.)<br /><br />Suddenly in mid-run, the squirrel stopped and scooted over to the maple tree. He scampered up a good distance and just started scolding for all he was worth. He was looking my way, so I thought perhaps he didn't like me spying on him. Then I saw the real problem, for a shadow passed by! It was a shadow of one of the cats walking by on the roof! I suspect it was Mollie, although I could not see her. (Mollie was above me on the roof, and the sun was behind me, so the shadow was cast in front of me.) In a second or two the shadow went back the other direction, and then I heard a big THUMP on the roof in the same direction the shadow was going. Who knows what it was.<br /></div><br /><br />Every year when we have bud break, our deck gets covered with maple tree bud scales. Yes, it's a bit messy, but it's a sure sign that spring is on the way.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlIj6pt6IJaXnJ1zbjzF7oiGOcLyFWqtLBe5KK-dHyetrEhFH-6gj9h9kh1yM9fXfcz84EVJM1sfUTODhM-vx9Qgfnx_3oaTAPx9s2jTXqFnGrUSzjSnu1yhXaqsAvIE1AxFRqzSrVV4/s1600-h/IMG_3124.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirlIj6pt6IJaXnJ1zbjzF7oiGOcLyFWqtLBe5KK-dHyetrEhFH-6gj9h9kh1yM9fXfcz84EVJM1sfUTODhM-vx9Qgfnx_3oaTAPx9s2jTXqFnGrUSzjSnu1yhXaqsAvIE1AxFRqzSrVV4/s400/IMG_3124.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315799783985986418" border="0" /></a>We also had some colorful crocus break through.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfN1ZKqGWAdsDMfQt30zIYm6dhn1tUllJGWx3ztt-C02Y77JclM8HWcEvIkIhNd8HJj_BCvweIlwSxbfNKI4WyIBtWWzbjRJ1pMOQzSAgU__h_ditHaGye2whDEb1CwgP5REBroceCFI/s1600-h/IMG_3098.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfN1ZKqGWAdsDMfQt30zIYm6dhn1tUllJGWx3ztt-C02Y77JclM8HWcEvIkIhNd8HJj_BCvweIlwSxbfNKI4WyIBtWWzbjRJ1pMOQzSAgU__h_ditHaGye2whDEb1CwgP5REBroceCFI/s400/IMG_3098.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315806679202526450" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCOwRFisWXUxVbzgn7QDAyusCupXbDsHG0kM0w3XtHdaafs_2B1O8DW-fsJmGyQsgeegGCXUpECuGJWFccHBiomTMrU0W0fqcaOL2JdVSHPRFi6WLYP1HCW2aTQV3pi7QYUoAGcwOZfc/s1600-h/IMG_3075.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCOwRFisWXUxVbzgn7QDAyusCupXbDsHG0kM0w3XtHdaafs_2B1O8DW-fsJmGyQsgeegGCXUpECuGJWFccHBiomTMrU0W0fqcaOL2JdVSHPRFi6WLYP1HCW2aTQV3pi7QYUoAGcwOZfc/s400/IMG_3075.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315806670782981522" border="0" /></a>And speaking of budding--Here's Andy at 10 weeks. He's getting bigger, and cuter all the time! Hey 'lil buddy! what's up?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrqqqr5CJRTtbQekCAJu4N59dTtsvqZ85bix27UqmbeWEx8i-hgJ1zqW0k6uRL23dhv28pVYIMRi4bBS86EmHtaxwtP7VFrH7icjl9hYgDqHh2vf1KQsE9MVPfNiqwP1GH01Ibkn15CU/s1600-h/Andy10weeks01+copy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrqqqr5CJRTtbQekCAJu4N59dTtsvqZ85bix27UqmbeWEx8i-hgJ1zqW0k6uRL23dhv28pVYIMRi4bBS86EmHtaxwtP7VFrH7icjl9hYgDqHh2vf1KQsE9MVPfNiqwP1GH01Ibkn15CU/s400/Andy10weeks01+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315809375844044498" border="0" /></a></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-72762045553748395952009-03-13T18:18:00.009-04:002009-03-30T08:55:52.669-04:00HAZEL TAKES A TURN<div style="text-align: center;">Hazel is growing up. She will be 5 months old in a few days.<br />The doctor said it's time for her to take a turn at eating cereal.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpWiJy_On47IUeAQpPjvu4JlhYFKh7ttn6OYz6d5Ba9t7sArMmtbcDBHoNEZpFKSpnmECTFEuDjpE9zkt4FaToXFkulARywK1-yE18cVHtElGb4m0MREnaVnmHzqo4b0htwW-1XGbhn0/s1600-h/Feb.March.09+004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpWiJy_On47IUeAQpPjvu4JlhYFKh7ttn6OYz6d5Ba9t7sArMmtbcDBHoNEZpFKSpnmECTFEuDjpE9zkt4FaToXFkulARywK1-yE18cVHtElGb4m0MREnaVnmHzqo4b0htwW-1XGbhn0/s400/Feb.March.09+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312803435375880066" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">So far she hasn't liked it much.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgaJ3o4zQ-Qi212hxxv4SCYIoKLBfaR4Q_EvPLlI2Hp3Gpo9Wk9FF9nfsgLtHikiyxbrJL3MTDtcDYJjO5of0dBgQGkfQwKLMAV1PEN7A232Nt5GA-gfurvcd99g5jmNFx829yycD1uY/s1600-h/Feb.March.09+002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgaJ3o4zQ-Qi212hxxv4SCYIoKLBfaR4Q_EvPLlI2Hp3Gpo9Wk9FF9nfsgLtHikiyxbrJL3MTDtcDYJjO5of0dBgQGkfQwKLMAV1PEN7A232Nt5GA-gfurvcd99g5jmNFx829yycD1uY/s400/Feb.March.09+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312803425216253250" border="0" /></a>AND--Speaking of taking a turn, she turned over for the first time earlier this week. She had been really close for awhile, and she finally made it! She looks like she is saying, "How did I get here?"</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5jW79EalUNYMp2lDiudI0417y7HVl8_H5Ds4jtfgHI8yx_2NtssUt2mqBc-zr85a1V1-YkR7Qc810qio2OMfbcmVl34HnbDTLw9zxyE5tSgreH7TqpofHLRU5VWUfMQlIoFHfwkwqcI/s1600-h/Feb.March.09+007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5jW79EalUNYMp2lDiudI0417y7HVl8_H5Ds4jtfgHI8yx_2NtssUt2mqBc-zr85a1V1-YkR7Qc810qio2OMfbcmVl34HnbDTLw9zxyE5tSgreH7TqpofHLRU5VWUfMQlIoFHfwkwqcI/s400/Feb.March.09+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312803445120957410" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> YAY Hazel!</div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-44556398723507759602009-03-08T15:11:00.006-04:002009-03-09T17:01:23.198-04:00A SPOT OF PURPLE, AND A LITTLE BRIDGE<div style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday it was 74 degrees out and actually felt like 74. Yay for spring. Jim even took advantage of the nice weather and pruned the mimosa tree in the front yard, and the monster Mock Orange bush in our back yard. The Mock Orange was threatening to take over the world, so now it's much tamer. It feels nice and open back there now. And speaking of nice and open… We discovered our first crocus were indeed open! Glad to see them. It's amazing what a little warm weather will do.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoyhWxCMppfnlLTPHZmv0Pn_yVPwxRgTxQO2eN5agOqMMa2z6k0GMxivD8yNUREbBA_tlid69Y4S00IABkbrzehT-RcHbkUVGwnnBrrpggV0wRSt5u_g1K7TMmNOILtcv0bAYZ9clYko/s1600-h/IMG_3061.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoyhWxCMppfnlLTPHZmv0Pn_yVPwxRgTxQO2eN5agOqMMa2z6k0GMxivD8yNUREbBA_tlid69Y4S00IABkbrzehT-RcHbkUVGwnnBrrpggV0wRSt5u_g1K7TMmNOILtcv0bAYZ9clYko/s400/IMG_3061.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310897971843664466" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I sat in the swing house, petting a nice warm purr box, by the name of Mollie, in my lap. I was just lazily watching Jim work, and not watching, and thinking and not thinking. It was lovely, and nice. I was thinking about something I saw the other day. We drove Kirsten to school and happened to pass a house with a little bridge in the yard. On the bridge was a small paper which looked suspiciously like it might be a <span style="font-style: italic;">For Sale</span> sign.<br /><br />For the last two years I've been wanting to go to the garden center and have someone draw up a landscape plan for around the swing house. Design has never been my strong point, so I thought it would be safer to have someone else draw up the plan. It's especially not good when bushes and things are involved. Once we stick something in the ground, it's a bit hard to move it if I decide I don't like it there. I want to include in this plan a weeping pussy willow, and some kind of small tree or bush that blooms. Outside of that I don't really know, or didn't until I saw the little bridge.<br /><br />Now I'm thinking that it would be great fun to add that bridge before our grandchildren come to visit this summer. I can see a little path leading from the swing house to the bridge and out the other side. Perhaps some little feet could trip trop over the bridge. There might even be enough room for a real live 4-year-old troll to hide underneath.<br /><br />But as I was sitting there, something interrupted my tranquility--rather loudly in fact. The freeway was especially noisy today. When the wind blows from the south, it not only brings warm weather, but the noise and sometimes the fumes of the freeway. I wonder… I wonder if it would be possible to make a tiny stream go under the bridge, and if we could install a little waterfall, then perhaps the sound of the freeway wouldn't be so loud. We could even attract birds, and perhaps a frog or two. I wonder how that would be?<br /><br />I don't want a lot of water--just a happy little addition to that cozy corner, with just enough of a flowing stream to play Pooh Sticks now and then. Wouldn't it be fun? Nice memories are made of things like that.<br /><br />Addendum: Well, that was yesterday. Today, Sunday, Jim suggested that we go for a drive. We don't go out and buy things on Sunday, but he agreed to take me to see if we could actually find the bridge. After all, I had seen it so quickly as we passed by, and he didn't notice it at all. Was it really there, or if it was for sale, was it still there?<br /><br />We got in the car and began to retrace our path. We kept going and going and going. We passed one little community and lots of empty space and headed into another group of houses. Nope, it wasn't there either. Finally I had a hunch we were getting close, and suddenly there it was!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOiQAzEVLyitpMfl0XoXEWYHz6oaxEYzqaOOgsA7BAiTLsDuJ6XqQxMwX2aYEsMlAX0NqrhiYfC7LKc0VEjLq7bjgr4G8AsyywUAr_jfDKQAyGCjIRkQpGevqWuGebnbWk1aYC0dcSH4/s1600-h/CroppedIMG_3053.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOiQAzEVLyitpMfl0XoXEWYHz6oaxEYzqaOOgsA7BAiTLsDuJ6XqQxMwX2aYEsMlAX0NqrhiYfC7LKc0VEjLq7bjgr4G8AsyywUAr_jfDKQAyGCjIRkQpGevqWuGebnbWk1aYC0dcSH4/s400/CroppedIMG_3053.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310897962967934674" border="0" /></a>Jim thinks it's about eight feet long. We don't know the cost, or if it's even realistic, but at least now we know exactly where it is. Something interesting is that we rarely drive Kirsten to school, and when we do, we never go that way… We shall see!!!<br /></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-6295809632617611972009-02-27T16:37:00.010-05:002009-03-09T17:19:40.896-04:00I AM READY FOR THIS--Feast Your Eyes on a Bit of SpringDreary-Ohio-Almost-March is not my favorite time of the year, so I thought I'd re-introduce a bit of spring from our yard last year. First the back yard…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7C_KyCGPo15udOR7NdPdeoy1eZfGJCSp2cbau4dc9wwrzsxq377G_lSRk4OhmU82EFHmw8-h402nFjVCnd8YAHWsdE8krPaIc309jRMObXIE039zAbnvRc2QR23afGP2ZRq1w50s7_Hk/s1600-h/IMG_0623+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7C_KyCGPo15udOR7NdPdeoy1eZfGJCSp2cbau4dc9wwrzsxq377G_lSRk4OhmU82EFHmw8-h402nFjVCnd8YAHWsdE8krPaIc309jRMObXIE039zAbnvRc2QR23afGP2ZRq1w50s7_Hk/s400/IMG_0623+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307598068520150802" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZ3DU5YfoolhZcmMdXtnH7_HY7lCx51PwmSpM34tvZzHTxFAhe9boS6S-kMeZw2xSiaLBLHTSkCz49HWYHyG4fxv7hAclQImRtan8ooIJbhFr1s37lgspi6rZ5Pudi6LmtnDhVo5hyphenhyphen6o/s1600-h/IMG_0594+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhZ3DU5YfoolhZcmMdXtnH7_HY7lCx51PwmSpM34tvZzHTxFAhe9boS6S-kMeZw2xSiaLBLHTSkCz49HWYHyG4fxv7hAclQImRtan8ooIJbhFr1s37lgspi6rZ5Pudi6LmtnDhVo5hyphenhyphen6o/s400/IMG_0594+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307598058975010242" border="0" /></a>And Now the Front…<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWf3sTbp2uuzXUdj-z2AaJcvncCHoTtKyLaz2IPcr7z3DpDgp7cWkwLzC9zfZHouL4SvucJzeg-GjOKDgwDOEebeHICCo8fsO4G3ZnP7jjKMQ5O3XKxTXGe9mIQs8RowNGBC1qFS1u1w/s1600-h/IMG_0441+copy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKWf3sTbp2uuzXUdj-z2AaJcvncCHoTtKyLaz2IPcr7z3DpDgp7cWkwLzC9zfZHouL4SvucJzeg-GjOKDgwDOEebeHICCo8fsO4G3ZnP7jjKMQ5O3XKxTXGe9mIQs8RowNGBC1qFS1u1w/s400/IMG_0441+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307598054950306146" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUSKVEb_tJrfB9_cD-aYKNwjXNLazLjj_uyKPRi6EK9xEX3TXBr7Fco8L9l3FVVvuvzKYh8oLoHFaXccO8gYlIFZduc0DcSPON76vmG_C5iP91A_GcN6D2-oKnG5U9opJAPCfmwSAEzg/s1600-h/IMG_0422+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIUSKVEb_tJrfB9_cD-aYKNwjXNLazLjj_uyKPRi6EK9xEX3TXBr7Fco8L9l3FVVvuvzKYh8oLoHFaXccO8gYlIFZduc0DcSPON76vmG_C5iP91A_GcN6D2-oKnG5U9opJAPCfmwSAEzg/s400/IMG_0422+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307595925835590098" border="0" /></a>AND just for fun, here's ANDY at 8 weeks. ^o^<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPNqFswBk7-j3KDNw_5kI6xRRwAhZalK1wix3GYTTw-0JM1bhouSraHf0DKGX9Dqs5HlYRXQ69IyCo9G5wAg8wWfJwKqnxNBfKsKLWRn5ySMpdGPj_atK7BA_7iP7ZLdFSkeNu9V-39g/s1600-h/Andy8weeks02.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPNqFswBk7-j3KDNw_5kI6xRRwAhZalK1wix3GYTTw-0JM1bhouSraHf0DKGX9Dqs5HlYRXQ69IyCo9G5wAg8wWfJwKqnxNBfKsKLWRn5ySMpdGPj_atK7BA_7iP7ZLdFSkeNu9V-39g/s400/Andy8weeks02.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307600801253089378" border="0" /></a>Love, KatheyKatheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-59297050255584614682009-02-22T13:31:00.046-05:002009-03-09T17:21:41.577-04:00ANDY, VALENTINES, Look-Alikes and a Fun Concidence<span style="font-weight: bold;">HERE'S ANDY!</span><br /><br />He is 7 weeks old here, and just keeps getting cuter by the minute. ^o^<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4bC7xY5b83w6UPNxqChv88HA6cF9qLOj7sJvNmW6NwdKn0YrUinDHNsqieDpPro3zORdvpGGF_dT1i5EKJZ2CimlXtd3fxLcf5ZrAWgPeHl1sT_1wPuruZTFCHQGkZ2GhKVUVO6L1uI/s1600-h/Andy7weeks09.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4bC7xY5b83w6UPNxqChv88HA6cF9qLOj7sJvNmW6NwdKn0YrUinDHNsqieDpPro3zORdvpGGF_dT1i5EKJZ2CimlXtd3fxLcf5ZrAWgPeHl1sT_1wPuruZTFCHQGkZ2GhKVUVO6L1uI/s400/Andy7weeks09.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306060039864256738" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtmlS2l8PISsaNstV9vu9SXqoYBAmvHIF5xBn8iER8bTV0FCYWL3OBkGu0rMZYI8MsL7Rmy72Cl6XLo0OpabodftdNDV_M_MkLlNlNbKVD6NCTrIFhZ-6BzVoOVxbQOEyDN3oYQGkOUQ/s1600-h/Andy7weeks05.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtmlS2l8PISsaNstV9vu9SXqoYBAmvHIF5xBn8iER8bTV0FCYWL3OBkGu0rMZYI8MsL7Rmy72Cl6XLo0OpabodftdNDV_M_MkLlNlNbKVD6NCTrIFhZ-6BzVoOVxbQOEyDN3oYQGkOUQ/s400/Andy7weeks05.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306060026781156130" border="0" /></a>And here's a drawing that his big sister, Kate (age 4) did of her daddy for his birthday earlier this month. Kate says he is holding a pet snake. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFKBkP3pXQFIh_bHCQUwhypLzy_p7QuO43hz0nse_IxZhROnHqhLSrFTqVqAxit-3KRacHXMdfTcCAKTBOAP8tyLY5xj9j7t1RXg9PBvz8o1t29HRyedZrvH2JoYcYoN-Q6KF6T2t6EY/s1600-h/KateArt02.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqFKBkP3pXQFIh_bHCQUwhypLzy_p7QuO43hz0nse_IxZhROnHqhLSrFTqVqAxit-3KRacHXMdfTcCAKTBOAP8tyLY5xj9j7t1RXg9PBvz8o1t29HRyedZrvH2JoYcYoN-Q6KF6T2t6EY/s400/KateArt02.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306408420652990434" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WILL YOU BE MY VALENTINE?</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Here's Andy on Valentine's Day. This bib is one of a set his Aunt Karen made for him. ^o^</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmQPRahXU-oZ4dNnZIzM6oDVQrvdjmZ5QjaC9BSTbKNh8ins67Db5RWbLhBp7Xa_PFxoQuRxb1Q79bC2Dd51BTj0N374ll9QZNyGYmAiSJje2en2QHkOoHcME9MZuQ_SyWyhaXCvzxZs/s1600-h/ValentineBib02.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmQPRahXU-oZ4dNnZIzM6oDVQrvdjmZ5QjaC9BSTbKNh8ins67Db5RWbLhBp7Xa_PFxoQuRxb1Q79bC2Dd51BTj0N374ll9QZNyGYmAiSJje2en2QHkOoHcME9MZuQ_SyWyhaXCvzxZs/s400/ValentineBib02.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305751717339198210" border="0" /></a></div></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kyle gave flowers to Barbie and Hazel for Valentine's Day.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Miss Hazel is now 4 months old, and this was her very own bouquet!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0xDd1M1XZhhIGy3xvEByKRp3EF_3LdWIm928qyhViVBYkLPq9kB6EPSiDblrhaDxHS9MayWDLqM8zkthQx4h6yLH11UAyGW7oVd5ZU5tLMFcdAf2mfRdCPnPIr1kYdKWAbAzl9Jbvzs/s1600-h/January+21+2009+029.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0xDd1M1XZhhIGy3xvEByKRp3EF_3LdWIm928qyhViVBYkLPq9kB6EPSiDblrhaDxHS9MayWDLqM8zkthQx4h6yLH11UAyGW7oVd5ZU5tLMFcdAf2mfRdCPnPIr1kYdKWAbAzl9Jbvzs/s400/January+21+2009+029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305759899445562786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: normal;">I got flowers too. Jim gave me the Gerbera Daisy pictured below. I LOVE Gerbera Daisies. I sincerely hope I don't kill it. I'm not very good with house plants, and I'm especially not good with outdoor plants that happen to be inside. I noticed that this one doesn't currently have any more flower buds. I plan to feed it a very mild solution of </span><a style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: normal;" href="http://kathey-frommywindow.blogspot.com/2008/10/apeeling-experiment-banana-that-is.html">banana peel water</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> to see if I can encourage it to produce more buds. It worked extremely well with the geranium I tried it on outside last fall, but it was too late in the year for the flowers to bloom. (It died after I brought it inside.) We'll see how this works. But as I said, I hope I don't kill it.</span><br /></div></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigoUJ-Vk2x0P2nZrdBV73QYMd8OxObSTt-vcMMjBqSWmRSgGMWlltyU4PIO90wn5dvUqGoJ6-QgjpllwV7bnOlTUCfqvJzvEL3iwlxB4Rbz4pKZKLb6ln0kHHSSbbCvTvK8ohnnlI6slY/s1600-h/IMG_3019.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigoUJ-Vk2x0P2nZrdBV73QYMd8OxObSTt-vcMMjBqSWmRSgGMWlltyU4PIO90wn5dvUqGoJ6-QgjpllwV7bnOlTUCfqvJzvEL3iwlxB4Rbz4pKZKLb6ln0kHHSSbbCvTvK8ohnnlI6slY/s400/IMG_3019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305757672678324514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">LOOK-A-LIKE GIRLS</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Barbie recently posted pictures </span><a style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: normal;" href="http://my-size-barbie.blogspot.com/2009/02/four-months.html">on her blog</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> of Hazel at 4 months. She mentioned that Hazel's face looks older and has really filled out lately. That's her pictured on the left. I thought the shirt she was wearing looked familiar. We have a picture of Peter's daughter, Elizabeth, at about 6 months wearing the exact same shirt. Now that Hazel's face is fuller, she looks much more like Elizabeth (on the right) than she did before. I think it's really fun. ^o^</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAtTHCo2DdXwTZj7ryhw9j7Hi7PpvRihDIXZbPt7c8bGpPOXpVyAnWG-_RgDWdHl9HY7w0ZpLFfAewd50xI0Ko4_wkRkFOMUjjgF7V-A76nhyphenhyphenlO3DUhEAXQDMW7x1tdx5OGv66nHMPGQ/s1600-h/January+21+2009+032+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNAtTHCo2DdXwTZj7ryhw9j7Hi7PpvRihDIXZbPt7c8bGpPOXpVyAnWG-_RgDWdHl9HY7w0ZpLFfAewd50xI0Ko4_wkRkFOMUjjgF7V-A76nhyphenhyphenlO3DUhEAXQDMW7x1tdx5OGv66nHMPGQ/s320/January+21+2009+032+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305749892408673714" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNcP5InogOOelZ1u4Q1-z6TCaa9wt-Jp1p_Wc-xPONNhOvtQnWBBCbHKsp9FagAscNKtrSpsToOJru7ddAcZwj6CmlQDa7yqsBxBj_75npCtM2LANCBcVbnXmfb9uCeNdvgS5dlxHZVI/s1600-h/IMG_1562+copy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNcP5InogOOelZ1u4Q1-z6TCaa9wt-Jp1p_Wc-xPONNhOvtQnWBBCbHKsp9FagAscNKtrSpsToOJru7ddAcZwj6CmlQDa7yqsBxBj_75npCtM2LANCBcVbnXmfb9uCeNdvgS5dlxHZVI/s320/IMG_1562+copy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305749299385681282" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A REALLY FUN COINCIDENCE</span><br /><br /></span><span><div style="text-align: justify;">Yesterday Jim and Kirsten and I went to a baptism at our church. The President of the Columbus Ohio Mission, Robert F. Jensen, was there. I was interested in meeting him because his last name is Jensen, which is my maiden name. I found out that his Jensens are from Denmark, and his family settled in Idaho. I told him that our Jensens were from Norway, and settled in Chicago in the late 1800's. I also told him that Jim and I are converts to the church. He asked when we joined the church and Jim told him we were baptized in 1967. He asked where, and when Jim told him Lompoc, California he told us that he was a missionary in that mission at that same time, although he never made it to that part of the mission. We asked him if he knew Elder Douglas Fuqua, and Elder Adrian Gauntt, who were our missionaries, and he did! He said he knew them well, and that Elder Fuqua was quite a legend in that mission. I would love to know where they are now and what is happening in their lives.<br /></div><br />It's a small world. It was so fun talking with him.</span>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-46266204623626103342009-02-07T10:08:00.025-05:002009-03-18T10:48:54.090-04:00ANDY UPDATES AND A BLESSING<div style="text-align: justify;">Here's Andy at four weeks. He gets cuter by the minute.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjvKHkeS-m-bXSweLlyqsn8HYtsxdqKpc4OVbsilFRhLJMv94XXaTeBnVkDBXFd-QlH5J43Ss0Hue-TDOoNyf0pkZ2_lEXzzdK4GXKKtQWctP1oURCXi9WjPL8S0hrlkwy0M0oV-UUvw/s1600-h/Andy1month02.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjvKHkeS-m-bXSweLlyqsn8HYtsxdqKpc4OVbsilFRhLJMv94XXaTeBnVkDBXFd-QlH5J43Ss0Hue-TDOoNyf0pkZ2_lEXzzdK4GXKKtQWctP1oURCXi9WjPL8S0hrlkwy0M0oV-UUvw/s400/Andy1month02.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300094749796540850" border="0" /></a> At five weeks he's still a tiny little guy, but he's growing fast. His mom said: <span style="font-style: italic;">Andy's newborn-size sleepers are getting a little harder to put on. I guess we'll be moving to the 0-3 month size soon</span>.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq81pqElf-WAU0-9nHgmK4JrwmgBcCYWAQAfWD8K6tkjw0-SNVS17ofE4eCt06q2STDyxt45bKx7acz8gceqVa9xoAeG9ug4MXSpudVgjb3d6u4BuK03NgWTifb7JL5_2gRK4dmUHd_yo/s1600-h/Andy5week03.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq81pqElf-WAU0-9nHgmK4JrwmgBcCYWAQAfWD8K6tkjw0-SNVS17ofE4eCt06q2STDyxt45bKx7acz8gceqVa9xoAeG9ug4MXSpudVgjb3d6u4BuK03NgWTifb7JL5_2gRK4dmUHd_yo/s400/Andy5week03.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300091028105191650" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jim had a very quick trip last weekend to visit Helena's family. The pictures that Jim took didn't turn out very well, so I am going to blatantly plagiarize <a href="http://wedoitthehardway.blogspot.com/">Helena's blog</a>. Andy was blessed on Sunday. (Here's a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_and_blessing_children">brief explanation</a> about blessings.)<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlJAfypfjiiR4R3uyqSlCeY7C4uOP2-NqBxzdjXy4bEVuXnv62n5PTmb0eYqvwKLs5l4IjRRBRatFc3479CAhCcYBF-ZhrQkyS7_7_cHr-KgI-MgLgc9L1xUexYSO-695wIyRiPcsS_w/s1600-h/AndyBlessing03.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlJAfypfjiiR4R3uyqSlCeY7C4uOP2-NqBxzdjXy4bEVuXnv62n5PTmb0eYqvwKLs5l4IjRRBRatFc3479CAhCcYBF-ZhrQkyS7_7_cHr-KgI-MgLgc9L1xUexYSO-695wIyRiPcsS_w/s400/AndyBlessing03.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300074423210465042" border="0" /></a>Grandpa and Andy hadn't met before.<br />Andy wasn't so sure about this big man who was holding him.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvHhpP1q2VbqaJ6ufJCO1tv1RnPLH5cd6yZAruFTSESOo9Um7Kf4MXdj7z69yJxteUjKUoftMWIZ-SlMWxWax56S9AjTNNZKxD1GPgl6MDBc1YGyMlmg9crpIDNIQnCTaqFUNHXY19DM/s1600-h/AndyBlessing20.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvHhpP1q2VbqaJ6ufJCO1tv1RnPLH5cd6yZAruFTSESOo9Um7Kf4MXdj7z69yJxteUjKUoftMWIZ-SlMWxWax56S9AjTNNZKxD1GPgl6MDBc1YGyMlmg9crpIDNIQnCTaqFUNHXY19DM/s400/AndyBlessing20.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300074790170479954" border="0" /></a>And here's Kate too. What a delightful lapful. ^o^</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh597myAhpZ2EL2pnJOC97NBByf3FLRirS2-h1oU-366Kig9KDRg3_AEqIldVmbA-AeBYMXkXPKVhU8RaOHMiqlfgFMspRBApnPQIMXh9a2khz6LcOjDE9lYU5H_j9iFdB-NqcMWaO_Zdk/s1600-h/January+21+2009+022.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh597myAhpZ2EL2pnJOC97NBByf3FLRirS2-h1oU-366Kig9KDRg3_AEqIldVmbA-AeBYMXkXPKVhU8RaOHMiqlfgFMspRBApnPQIMXh9a2khz6LcOjDE9lYU5H_j9iFdB-NqcMWaO_Zdk/s400/January+21+2009+022.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300076283194429218" border="0" /></a>Barbie made this blessing outfit for Andy. She made the dress that Kate, and cousins Elizabeth and Hazel were blessed in too. (<a href="http://kathey-frommywindow.blogspot.com/2008/12/family-blessing-dress-that-is.html">See pictures here.</a>)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jObBG2F1FZX5kl5PKH4dXKSfRRlKB23cyXSYo4iejs62DEVKc55LiLSArvpDBwsmHfz6qMuspJ-7bXlpnfjNqJKj9J397bCqAdk-qjj97RTCDJ16JWHRgyrI3RD51R4rhhuP2clsd9o/s1600-h/AndyBlessing23.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jObBG2F1FZX5kl5PKH4dXKSfRRlKB23cyXSYo4iejs62DEVKc55LiLSArvpDBwsmHfz6qMuspJ-7bXlpnfjNqJKj9J397bCqAdk-qjj97RTCDJ16JWHRgyrI3RD51R4rhhuP2clsd9o/s400/AndyBlessing23.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300074420076408754" border="0" /></a>The outfit was a bit big on him, but it worked out just fine.<br />Isn't he just the cutest…?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZPmqQ3ZrB8nOF6SmY8lcqxlGjoer2Fh4Jt9HuC6xmzBZzw0pOE8MHkMElgtfcut77Ype47E1AEVQKPCP5ld7L2p4lJqoadhd8EPCDQMABBf77klKxwA0zsKHJzmrvMXNjTwwe-3yFi0/s1600-h/AndyBlessing15.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ZPmqQ3ZrB8nOF6SmY8lcqxlGjoer2Fh4Jt9HuC6xmzBZzw0pOE8MHkMElgtfcut77Ype47E1AEVQKPCP5ld7L2p4lJqoadhd8EPCDQMABBf77klKxwA0zsKHJzmrvMXNjTwwe-3yFi0/s400/AndyBlessing15.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300074784455374690" border="0" /></a>At the church after the blessing: Doug, Andy and Jim.<br />I wish the rest of us could have been there too.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIm2uK76XumRMYvd_4jycUQQYUZ3PHSDdnu7mNyPq7YH9GXiQ1dZ_aaNdP-iFnEaoSp2hR5fXixM5EWNHFeri36SDSgdxGKn-qH0Ipet8r0K3da7ofIyvbKTddGG_y9qDBTWR02tz0oM/s1600-h/AndyBlessing11.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnIm2uK76XumRMYvd_4jycUQQYUZ3PHSDdnu7mNyPq7YH9GXiQ1dZ_aaNdP-iFnEaoSp2hR5fXixM5EWNHFeri36SDSgdxGKn-qH0Ipet8r0K3da7ofIyvbKTddGG_y9qDBTWR02tz0oM/s400/AndyBlessing11.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300074414658167682" border="0" /></a>Mama and Andy.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PGgfvMNwVhgWIjLiDNCpp4JN6AQ5rAW-h8Axv1W7admwK5QnXVOpj6aBF1S-qjF1Mnq2YC2z9N61T7T8vn1IJtTFmnxforGpAaEQsFzUTWfPs2h1oJDpcC8WpaZ-7TcdFYI3YN_WsLI/s1600-h/AndyBlessing22.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PGgfvMNwVhgWIjLiDNCpp4JN6AQ5rAW-h8Axv1W7admwK5QnXVOpj6aBF1S-qjF1Mnq2YC2z9N61T7T8vn1IJtTFmnxforGpAaEQsFzUTWfPs2h1oJDpcC8WpaZ-7TcdFYI3YN_WsLI/s400/AndyBlessing22.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300074787134168050" border="0" /></a>That evening they all went over to Doug's cousin Lonnie's house for a grilled trout supper. Yes, I definitely wish we could have been there. ^o^ This picture of their family was taken at Lonnie's. I really like it.<br /></div><br />Jim left early Monday morning and got home safe and sound even though 2 of the 4 planes he was scheduled to fly on were broken and had to be substituted at the last minute.<br /><br />We're planning to get everyone together this next summer so all 4 cousins can meet each other. Won't that be a blast!?Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-49424668398659433622009-01-29T15:18:00.032-05:002009-03-09T17:09:52.136-04:00BABIES, BIRDS and SNOW!<span style="font-weight: bold;">THREE BABIES AND A BIG SISTER</span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I thought it would be fun to give some updates on the grandchildren. Andy, Helena's newest addition, is three weeks old here. He looks as if he has something very important to say.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTYDvZlNW-H-EBT-S4xkYLmE6crQoUozprXEMBFTuWNI_oSAHBWWrKl2uFOIMURC_u6vXOqDD8FEHOiiJNEwm7U8kitBXRlXN709fM6VCnncwXCJhho2YwHfFY3KADJ1DMRRbS4QH9v0/s1600-h/Andy3week06.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTYDvZlNW-H-EBT-S4xkYLmE6crQoUozprXEMBFTuWNI_oSAHBWWrKl2uFOIMURC_u6vXOqDD8FEHOiiJNEwm7U8kitBXRlXN709fM6VCnncwXCJhho2YwHfFY3KADJ1DMRRbS4QH9v0/s400/Andy3week06.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296863995116027298" border="0" /></a>Hazel is the next oldest. She belongs to <a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://my-size-barbie.blogspot.com/">Barbie</a> and Kyle, and is now almost 3 1/2 months old.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5SIp56HrJ-HwPdo1TToqJfseC7HwvUwAtE3BaYNk-JiBS3UnH5eCFzc2NP_W3-NqJRaopF655-JNnH83ttJaxwDL7pbkzr0Aqm7JpTPH64bSze30pLEAsNLvjIvdm3eA7pA8NPDPIvQ/s1600-h/Hazel+1.15.09-2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 365px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5SIp56HrJ-HwPdo1TToqJfseC7HwvUwAtE3BaYNk-JiBS3UnH5eCFzc2NP_W3-NqJRaopF655-JNnH83ttJaxwDL7pbkzr0Aqm7JpTPH64bSze30pLEAsNLvjIvdm3eA7pA8NPDPIvQ/s400/Hazel+1.15.09-2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296863701110962434" border="0" /></a>Here's Hazel again. She loves her bouncy seat.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQ__3Ux3VOvl3IWtaKZmFzfUYZUZKtWHsGJcEr1knZDKrhwuS3h9TrS6tgiKfN7FyXd1Ph_og4pHXwqoG0MMh6nYZgaq9_yGTamPUruk9w5C8lLvvrwOpDnDL0RlmUAcp51dfSbR9zjQ/s1600-h/Hazel+January+09+003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQ__3Ux3VOvl3IWtaKZmFzfUYZUZKtWHsGJcEr1knZDKrhwuS3h9TrS6tgiKfN7FyXd1Ph_og4pHXwqoG0MMh6nYZgaq9_yGTamPUruk9w5C8lLvvrwOpDnDL0RlmUAcp51dfSbR9zjQ/s400/Hazel+January+09+003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296863701113524130" border="0" /></a>Peter and <a style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);" href="http://karenspoetryspot.blogspot.com/">Karen's</a> daughter, Elizabeth is now one year old. Yay, Elizabeth! One of her favorite Christmas toys was her Fisher-Price Nativity Set.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3OfopbAUBWPgsOo-b4ko_bRr50JjTam3dt77R6gawR8KXDxGNu9xFDqaERg0UxaU9HhmIwrZuLpvHf-W7X-m1GgRqmFuwiKk9SgjYtdrcQzvEMfiXtB2-puhHmDaBD3bCx3ETdQDKOE/s1600-h/ElizabethSL735206.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3OfopbAUBWPgsOo-b4ko_bRr50JjTam3dt77R6gawR8KXDxGNu9xFDqaERg0UxaU9HhmIwrZuLpvHf-W7X-m1GgRqmFuwiKk9SgjYtdrcQzvEMfiXtB2-puhHmDaBD3bCx3ETdQDKOE/s400/ElizabethSL735206.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296863696409771298" border="0" /></a>Elizabeth as a sweet little Santa.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZxKcL3p0W2QWfrFHjNEhfz3T3EnSh9Rh3Kxralv6DucOBeOczQSlia6HqWTk9rspaKO7MBgHsP6B1bxpb5-3RXZSPb8E1J4vRnjgpqipbglAzysq06hS_ok_aIGYsVgpPZYR_IwDUHo/s1600-h/2008-12-14+Elizabeth+Santa+Suit+%2880%29.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZxKcL3p0W2QWfrFHjNEhfz3T3EnSh9Rh3Kxralv6DucOBeOczQSlia6HqWTk9rspaKO7MBgHsP6B1bxpb5-3RXZSPb8E1J4vRnjgpqipbglAzysq06hS_ok_aIGYsVgpPZYR_IwDUHo/s400/2008-12-14+Elizabeth+Santa+Suit+%2880%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296863694845480642" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;">This picture of Elizabeth was taken a few months ago, but it's a favorite, so I just had to include it here. ^o^<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pfFZTZ7NAVmMisgGY_9VKuVKW6wIRiLOz1pxwXphZvpoJGzAEQW5iaxToaA94myTjHp-x9M-rkDBKBCR2PG8vA9rYrZLWGVSqm5WEMCwtwETAsuRkiob8NKGXMTMU0QtSNs5HIOnP4U/s1600-h/Elizabeth+Oct+19+2008+%283%29+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pfFZTZ7NAVmMisgGY_9VKuVKW6wIRiLOz1pxwXphZvpoJGzAEQW5iaxToaA94myTjHp-x9M-rkDBKBCR2PG8vA9rYrZLWGVSqm5WEMCwtwETAsuRkiob8NKGXMTMU0QtSNs5HIOnP4U/s400/Elizabeth+Oct+19+2008+%283%29+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297566068650726770" border="0" /></a>And then comes Kate. Helena and Doug's oldest just turned 4. She got a baby brother for her birthday, right on her birthday. Of all the pictures of Kate and Andy that Helena has on her <a href="http://wedoitthehardway.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">blog</span>,</a> this is my favorite:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs3bWuPtCk9AjdX78wN5fDB5-B0E6gtKA4EB_usvdHwefhy6gj_Of6mNDJBJFb7V0a7pAamBGc3eOvWhW6q4iAJfHEno-9fUlVSSVxAKKQbv3DXeKvBSqhPPTbZ5uTu1BUMNXvJecCuhA/s1600-h/Kate&AndyJan17shoot20s.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs3bWuPtCk9AjdX78wN5fDB5-B0E6gtKA4EB_usvdHwefhy6gj_Of6mNDJBJFb7V0a7pAamBGc3eOvWhW6q4iAJfHEno-9fUlVSSVxAKKQbv3DXeKvBSqhPPTbZ5uTu1BUMNXvJecCuhA/s400/Kate&AndyJan17shoot20s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296863990853347250" border="0" /></a> Helena said: <span style="font-style: italic;">Monday was Kate's four-year checkup and shots. They had us fill out a sheet of developmental questions--physical and cognitive stuff. Some of Kate's answers were a real hoot. One section had questions like, "What do you do when you're hungry?" ("Eat food!") and "What do you do when you're tired?" ("Go to bed!") But for "What do you do when you're cold?" she said, "Play in the snow!" Ha. There was also a section of defining words. I remember her explanation of "curtain" was "You open and close it to see the sun and the sky and the whole world!" and for "banana" she said, "It looks like a moon and you eat in your oatmeal."</span><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIiWlX5QhRG2vUyYrx8ZG7WXVUCqrsTNpOD-cpJ_E7NptAnUIHFw1dsa7H56DefP1rTCxQD2KExnMWEHkwAUvDuE5ywRrKtK8nYnoUNgJjvq3frDAW19GnbW9xWdROws10Lqae8tHcbg/s1600-h/KateJan17shoot11s.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikIiWlX5QhRG2vUyYrx8ZG7WXVUCqrsTNpOD-cpJ_E7NptAnUIHFw1dsa7H56DefP1rTCxQD2KExnMWEHkwAUvDuE5ywRrKtK8nYnoUNgJjvq3frDAW19GnbW9xWdROws10Lqae8tHcbg/s400/KateJan17shoot11s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296863689210027634" border="0" /></a>Way to Go, KATE!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIRDS * BIRDS * AND MORE BIRDS</span><br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">We have had a lot of feathered visitors at our bird feeder lately. I<br />took these pictures through our back window. Some of our<br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);" href="http://www.squarefootgardening.com/">Square-Foot Garden</a> boxes show in the background.<br />I really like woodpeckers. As far as I know we have only one pair that visits our yard.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-qrZnBoHl22mQji-x46NvxYP4zMbnom7XqCQGKWHQKpTIMrzW8Q7GfQ0uMNNwocVpHroKc8nTKWOpGqO97WQmf8ScDrhrdiPryRd5RaDBDmorguWVdSw-SYBZl8ipIVyX7YUSwrkjHdw/s1600-h/IMG_2743.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-qrZnBoHl22mQji-x46NvxYP4zMbnom7XqCQGKWHQKpTIMrzW8Q7GfQ0uMNNwocVpHroKc8nTKWOpGqO97WQmf8ScDrhrdiPryRd5RaDBDmorguWVdSw-SYBZl8ipIVyX7YUSwrkjHdw/s400/IMG_2743.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296814304535986994" border="0" /></a>I also really like the cardinals. Currently there seem to be three pairs of them that come to our backyard restaurant . Usually they feed on the ground under the feeder, but occasionally they will come to the feeder itself. When they do, it's usually at the bottom like the one shown here.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwSLrtXOowe4ZbOt-rk908QycyckdtRyDPQJ4BzI9LOoeHy6aTgZKtbYKTEwYiGqSpZOELhAhaz2C_Wb6Oj_DNveKaD1LJ9Fra9odgPJ6dwr3eLShqX93Lh65YSZCMvSIQgvCOkYSF8g/s1600-h/IMG_2750.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuwSLrtXOowe4ZbOt-rk908QycyckdtRyDPQJ4BzI9LOoeHy6aTgZKtbYKTEwYiGqSpZOELhAhaz2C_Wb6Oj_DNveKaD1LJ9Fra9odgPJ6dwr3eLShqX93Lh65YSZCMvSIQgvCOkYSF8g/s400/IMG_2750.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296814300818648690" border="0" /></a>The next picture shows one of the female cardinals landing on the feeder along with some house finches.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkhTQ8rqYjdplmB-lqfktSp8c6DrbdY-sv9iqUR5fZgNdYA2r6ee8vYLlIkbASzCeW-X_3tqH-VQ51OAXBSz8uxyoa9fkNJEJ7q3AkdIXebI1J7BF7ao13KV85CgTs98CsENq406f_UfnH/s1600-h/IMG_2831.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkhTQ8rqYjdplmB-lqfktSp8c6DrbdY-sv9iqUR5fZgNdYA2r6ee8vYLlIkbASzCeW-X_3tqH-VQ51OAXBSz8uxyoa9fkNJEJ7q3AkdIXebI1J7BF7ao13KV85CgTs98CsENq406f_UfnH/s400/IMG_2831.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296814290229023858" border="0" /></a>This is my favorite cardinal picture so far.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcibS8c6m-TmRL9OrqMlt6C3WcCQCh5Ugy7XK37XCJXRWsgczB4GFFE3vFLv8e7roIYjx2jPBsd2Kud3MFOQRxtXrgYG_7rSPJh3-9HMvgxtZKHTaNdxLzi-YXED2EPDjtds3xWpyLOQE/s1600-h/IMG_2721_1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcibS8c6m-TmRL9OrqMlt6C3WcCQCh5Ugy7XK37XCJXRWsgczB4GFFE3vFLv8e7roIYjx2jPBsd2Kud3MFOQRxtXrgYG_7rSPJh3-9HMvgxtZKHTaNdxLzi-YXED2EPDjtds3xWpyLOQE/s400/IMG_2721_1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296814311402238626" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">And So IT SNOWS!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We had snow on the ground, but then the weather decided to change a bit yesterday and give us sleet for about 6 hours. After that it snowed much of the day. This is what we saw out our back window. There is quite a bit of snow accumulation on top of the bird feeder.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjssl1x9mSCKtVXxczjXJeGBClWzmPqTCK7FxhuBr8wUdgaA1VwmyiecnzDT8M07X_g5HIVt289uYzfyY77P_zupuhXTmr1RbJJZcx8EclvgKLflF12RgBqyTckV_lFF5N0lg5TBMePiKBy/s1600-h/IMG_2845.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjssl1x9mSCKtVXxczjXJeGBClWzmPqTCK7FxhuBr8wUdgaA1VwmyiecnzDT8M07X_g5HIVt289uYzfyY77P_zupuhXTmr1RbJJZcx8EclvgKLflF12RgBqyTckV_lFF5N0lg5TBMePiKBy/s400/IMG_2845.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296732296725681490" border="0" /></a>The world was closed yesterday (over 500 closings were listed on TV), so Jim and Kirsten were both home. Jim went out to clear the sidewalk and found an inch of ice under 6 inches of snow. Other areas got as much as 12 inches. It took Jim over an hour to scrape the ice off the car windows even with the heater going.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVsaVeDPmVeF_B0GYHe-7cyttsyc6ZowXG1ChHHGI4VYqgyNhUPy1XxW8r1HENokPEojAHjW7qq5STWOU9gkosmHIZnT5Q391QmqdfS_eyyD_64MH6K1Tazmhyphenhyphenn0i5ieKePGFOafFvemq/s1600-h/IMG_2849.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVsaVeDPmVeF_B0GYHe-7cyttsyc6ZowXG1ChHHGI4VYqgyNhUPy1XxW8r1HENokPEojAHjW7qq5STWOU9gkosmHIZnT5Q391QmqdfS_eyyD_64MH6K1Tazmhyphenhyphenn0i5ieKePGFOafFvemq/s400/IMG_2849.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296732292409765858" border="0" /></a><br />We have a fair number of icicles, and tree branches are coated with ice.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUzstZ1sqoj5Hhtw3m36DeO2UaFteTJRPcF0Bqa3rG2wgCn00ng40RSzQ_pQySONBIa_-I8gIIjQ0Yj8dyOcHjK1OD7kFEQMTHuKpy78R2xPTBzvDXxtTXCrUpwae8A41yij8efBdFNOH/s1600-h/IMG_2876.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUzstZ1sqoj5Hhtw3m36DeO2UaFteTJRPcF0Bqa3rG2wgCn00ng40RSzQ_pQySONBIa_-I8gIIjQ0Yj8dyOcHjK1OD7kFEQMTHuKpy78R2xPTBzvDXxtTXCrUpwae8A41yij8efBdFNOH/s400/IMG_2876.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296732281337746978" border="0" /></a>Towards twilight I noticed a bright patch in the sky, and thought it would make a cool picture.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvylLNtOF0N64_AmqRP-jx4sxE4M8qjvLHd95LR5DgccaP9pWP5SZaXBxY7y-QY0IwOmI9UEgCHDd23eiyAMEA5QcwWMyy596PjH08b3gxElk5U7RVa7ICWidSAvkmeBS_bPHOoMQzsZ-s/s1600-h/IMG_2877.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvylLNtOF0N64_AmqRP-jx4sxE4M8qjvLHd95LR5DgccaP9pWP5SZaXBxY7y-QY0IwOmI9UEgCHDd23eiyAMEA5QcwWMyy596PjH08b3gxElk5U7RVa7ICWidSAvkmeBS_bPHOoMQzsZ-s/s400/IMG_2877.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296732271638215906" border="0" /></a><br />This is my favorite picture of all.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcYtmSjQjNrzYF89wUs_pd3wq28vi0ldUfIPp8aK5pQIhfv6QxfdubHAHU0q3fSHY8Ygnv2hAvmqk1xITU7SCSyMPUJnVtXo-Nyefr_krfF7knhStxoWihZdn1JckS4euaL4KnRTg9gt6/s1600-h/IMG_2862.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcYtmSjQjNrzYF89wUs_pd3wq28vi0ldUfIPp8aK5pQIhfv6QxfdubHAHU0q3fSHY8Ygnv2hAvmqk1xITU7SCSyMPUJnVtXo-Nyefr_krfF7knhStxoWihZdn1JckS4euaL4KnRTg9gt6/s400/IMG_2862.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296730964493864338" border="0" /></a></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-72319668283087163862009-01-01T16:02:00.016-05:002009-03-09T17:10:33.074-04:00PICTURES OF ANDY<div style="text-align: justify;">Helena's baby made his appearance last Saturday. We're so glad he's here and arrived safely. Betsey said she just knew that he would be born on Kate's birthday. :-)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTS0CPCB5-za6fmIQfbxvBdwBPV1cEHezb3owGy2Qka3mm1jsW8TA45C95nQVhBpeI1B65CudTUU9Y8Puvkr4umnjCb0s8yt8zPo7YxnNdPsagcfDjL2UPvQCUmfUXgnMUzPr-I9hmhQVS/s1600-h/BirthDay_12272008_09.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTS0CPCB5-za6fmIQfbxvBdwBPV1cEHezb3owGy2Qka3mm1jsW8TA45C95nQVhBpeI1B65CudTUU9Y8Puvkr4umnjCb0s8yt8zPo7YxnNdPsagcfDjL2UPvQCUmfUXgnMUzPr-I9hmhQVS/s400/BirthDay_12272008_09.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286433996121957714" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Here is Helena's short version of the birth story: <span style="font-style: italic;">Anders Alfred, born at 2:18 AM on Saturday, December 27th, 2008; 6 pounds 5.8 ounces, 19" long (probably). Yes, he was born on Kate's birthday. I'd mentioned how similar the timing was with the two pregnancies, and we knew they were going to be close, but somehow I hadn't really considered that he might come on the same day. Hopefully they won't mind sharing a birthday!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We're calling him Andy. Anders is the Scandinavian version of Andrew (that's with an "ah" sound as in "father"). We have Anders(es) on both sides of the family. And Alfred is for Doug's dad, of course, who passed away just two months ago.</span> For her longer version and more pictures click <a href="http://wedoitthehardway.blogspot.com/2008/12/birth-day.html">here.</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">And here is more about this sweet little boy:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwD4eJ2dV-n32lddWr647jKYTFTYttNUwYDzBXY10DDD9kGm_IAcX7q66YCQG3fyIN7QyBeddCRgWNYSqBXpRK7pEvHj4KZKqQ1LdRqW02Uojy8hm_u8sAmTvBPj-SzIAmHpS-tEVUjXSN/s1600-h/BirthDay_12272008_10.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwD4eJ2dV-n32lddWr647jKYTFTYttNUwYDzBXY10DDD9kGm_IAcX7q66YCQG3fyIN7QyBeddCRgWNYSqBXpRK7pEvHj4KZKqQ1LdRqW02Uojy8hm_u8sAmTvBPj-SzIAmHpS-tEVUjXSN/s400/BirthDay_12272008_10.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286433998880255138" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> Welcome little man.<br /> What are you thinking?<br /> There seems to be such wisdom in those eyes.<br /> What can you see that we cannot?<br /> What do you remember that we have forgotten?<br /> What could you tell us if you could only speak?<br /><br /></div> <br /><div style="text-align: center;">Getting acquainted with Big Sister Kate.<br />Little brothers cry sometimes…<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ym3Hz3j-xjPF9-3hf9mo7Kb3Fx5Vjq_arhqLvSVejVj626S4dKpHeHrsjIbtuLwHXnOJBIcSjNvftDlE-kmwlHgR_FkUEy7-sAiYW3qYlOlYqB8zebC4WCuh5eZ5Q5xEX8TCGYHTu4dq/s1600-h/BirthDay_12272008_13.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ym3Hz3j-xjPF9-3hf9mo7Kb3Fx5Vjq_arhqLvSVejVj626S4dKpHeHrsjIbtuLwHXnOJBIcSjNvftDlE-kmwlHgR_FkUEy7-sAiYW3qYlOlYqB8zebC4WCuh5eZ5Q5xEX8TCGYHTu4dq/s400/BirthDay_12272008_13.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286433990990491810" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlxwqYaJE7YrJZ1a8UtMSIcYTZfGoKA7keYL8eNVuYRAiScZZhFIjLpeC9jPysdWS_qvInuS0dxKRQl_w5FvcwCEwNuvk6BkAvfV7IYahczFmqCR2AAA8-7oQ_Hhkau5RAVDwZ1amYvkv/s1600-h/BirthDay_12272008_19.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLlxwqYaJE7YrJZ1a8UtMSIcYTZfGoKA7keYL8eNVuYRAiScZZhFIjLpeC9jPysdWS_qvInuS0dxKRQl_w5FvcwCEwNuvk6BkAvfV7IYahczFmqCR2AAA8-7oQ_Hhkau5RAVDwZ1amYvkv/s400/BirthDay_12272008_19.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286433976014276258" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Tender Moments.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6Mw2jBE6HhLPoT5cHkLkpf4OmGgkLmgukM_4cp-KFqqXc6sk9y7Xgeo98-_X2px40lF6QoP9rS-tl7hFWTkKyDPaC97BqrpNXVOg8pRymAx0DmFe2mq22qQbh2D3hxH-t0zj3gmC36Iv/s1600-h/BirthDay_12272008_18.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6Mw2jBE6HhLPoT5cHkLkpf4OmGgkLmgukM_4cp-KFqqXc6sk9y7Xgeo98-_X2px40lF6QoP9rS-tl7hFWTkKyDPaC97BqrpNXVOg8pRymAx0DmFe2mq22qQbh2D3hxH-t0zj3gmC36Iv/s400/BirthDay_12272008_18.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286433981814069010" border="0" /></a>Goodbye for now, little one. We hope to see you soon.<br /><br /></div>Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-85435852851043820252008-12-31T14:03:00.013-05:002009-03-09T17:11:29.529-04:00THE FAMILY BLESSING--Dress That Is<div style="text-align: justify;">Someone asked me if Barbie made Hazel's blessing dress. The answer is "yes" but she didn't make it for Hazel. She actually made it back in 2004 for Helena's daughter, Kate. Barb made it with the intention that it be passed around the family, and indeed, that is what has happened.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Tiny Kate initiated the dress in December 2004<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5ROGiQV18-YUzdkKZAM3mufj99bZu1qjB_RlBvakLScuc9TunOxuqVCudlhfaEO4m19q9KnX0HlNxXhYmZlhehByBFcAtMV3HVkXWfGBYeHYlUgVexea2MeEP9HhSs8imY1dpXdqzsLa/s1600-h/Kate+Pretty+Dress.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5ROGiQV18-YUzdkKZAM3mufj99bZu1qjB_RlBvakLScuc9TunOxuqVCudlhfaEO4m19q9KnX0HlNxXhYmZlhehByBFcAtMV3HVkXWfGBYeHYlUgVexea2MeEP9HhSs8imY1dpXdqzsLa/s400/Kate+Pretty+Dress.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286034442037992898" border="0" /></a><br />Peter's daughter, Elizabeth used it next in February 2008.<br />(I had to include this picture of Grandpa Jim. He's cute too.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKG6__Sg7NdbxXFMUHMhXOI_AJS1S6rlpu-WaEU-ZFRlHk4ATfeyX_8ylEt5gwhfmpz5eCwKngmM04-yowr4i3SOKU1ULHxg7PNgc7RZAzWeIV7cx6LQk2-trRf7L9iVwFG3H3Q_uEE5pe/s1600-h/Elizabeth+and+grandpa+Surprise.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKG6__Sg7NdbxXFMUHMhXOI_AJS1S6rlpu-WaEU-ZFRlHk4ATfeyX_8ylEt5gwhfmpz5eCwKngmM04-yowr4i3SOKU1ULHxg7PNgc7RZAzWeIV7cx6LQk2-trRf7L9iVwFG3H3Q_uEE5pe/s400/Elizabeth+and+grandpa+Surprise.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286045041012494562" border="0" /></a><br />Here's a good picture of the whole dress. Elizabeth is lying on a quilt that Barbie made for her.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQhSGlkeTk8CTw39oohoNmhJ2EQhz2OoxVHEJbhooTFKKGNpajZThccrd_R16m4V_DPR7tMu1jorUeHRgBOmEDwrhgJkGvOwzYXMxadAjxOReL6da5ACdzWtgz78RCbl83jqXWe614-Dx/s1600-h/Elizabeth+asleep+on+quilt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQhSGlkeTk8CTw39oohoNmhJ2EQhz2OoxVHEJbhooTFKKGNpajZThccrd_R16m4V_DPR7tMu1jorUeHRgBOmEDwrhgJkGvOwzYXMxadAjxOReL6da5ACdzWtgz78RCbl83jqXWe614-Dx/s400/Elizabeth+asleep+on+quilt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286045028893109714" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And Hazel wore it most recently, in December 2008. Barbie also made her own dress.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxmsUgl-u216ooorp_ITYUMid5ETSsj3VX2BhJ3hBNp0IsxWJjEHDN5A9sMan5eNACObzpKfcKMOs-CLkN3k74uREpbmtJfYdfStl4BLf5_mLypHlfomioCtv5qh95UHz8mFQM8wb5KPu/s1600-h/IMG_1829.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxmsUgl-u216ooorp_ITYUMid5ETSsj3VX2BhJ3hBNp0IsxWJjEHDN5A9sMan5eNACObzpKfcKMOs-CLkN3k74uREpbmtJfYdfStl4BLf5_mLypHlfomioCtv5qh95UHz8mFQM8wb5KPu/s400/IMG_1829.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280883379889465714" border="0" /></a> Well, we wonder how many others in the clan will end up wearing the dress over the years. Only time will tell.Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641793703389332448.post-89154369228099332992008-12-27T07:41:00.008-05:002009-03-09T17:12:15.787-04:00He's Here!<div style="text-align: justify;">My cell phone rang at 6:45 this morning. My first thought was "I wonder if Helena had her baby! Sure enough it was Doug with the good news. He said that Helena was holding a baby boy. (I cried, and put the phone on speaker so Jim could hear too.) His name is Anders Alfred, and he was born at 2:18 a.m. PST. He weighed 6 lbs. 5 ounces and is 19 inches long. AND he was born on Kate's birthday. (Dec. 27 was not a due date for either of them, so I suspect the kids decided on that ahead of time.)<br /><br />I asked Helena if he looks like Kate did when she was born, and she said, "Yes, all splotchy and purple!"<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For just a second yesterday I remembered that Helena had an appointment with her doctor at 1:30 that day. I also knew that at her last appointment he told her she was dilated 2 centimeters. He said, "See you next week if not before." The idea occurred to me, briefly, that I ought to call and see what the doctor said this time, but then I mercifully forgot, and didn't think about it again until the phone rang this morning. Why do I say mercifully? Well, I suspect that Heavenly Father knew I would worry the whole time, so he just let me forget. :-) I am SUCH a great worrier you see, so if you ever need any worrying done, call me…<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Well when she went for her appointment the doctor said she was dilated 3 cm. and was 80% effaced. He couldn't figure out why she hadn't had the baby yet. (I know why. He was hanging on until his sister's birthday as pre-arranged.)<br /><br />I seems to me that when Kate was born we all arrived at the hospital only 2-3 hours before she did, so you'd think that Helena might have a clue that she ought to get to the hospital pretty fast once things got going… Well, to make a short story shorter-- they walked in the door of the hospital about 1:45 a.m. and he was born at 2:18. (I'm actually glad I wasn't there this time.)<br /></div><br />This is the only picture we have so far:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRG6KzmMh5RAH4oXkucY7V96OuyEx-ZAnD7QNcz5WsgMI61ZmItD-XPZohtLU2O6UWjM4cwkg23P1owz2TumLhAVNxGbvS4QSP839jT26y6weEozeH6O3xFt81-a-snXq7ONvbp6cCRjTl/s1600-h/38weeks01.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRG6KzmMh5RAH4oXkucY7V96OuyEx-ZAnD7QNcz5WsgMI61ZmItD-XPZohtLU2O6UWjM4cwkg23P1owz2TumLhAVNxGbvS4QSP839jT26y6weEozeH6O3xFt81-a-snXq7ONvbp6cCRjTl/s400/38weeks01.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284460332060175186" border="0" /></a> She was 38+ weeks along. Aww-w-w-w, what a cute bump. He looks just like…Katheyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415822375877762820noreply@blogger.com10