Crazy lady driving!

No pix right now to post, but I have to announce that I passed my motorcycle written and road tests and now have my MOTORCYCLE LICENSE ! What?! Midlife crisis?! Me????!!!
Really, it's all Mick's fault for getting me a scooter without my permission.

AND yes, My family threw a completely surprising Surprise Party for me on Monday night. It was great! There are still streamers and balloons all over my house. I sure love my family!

Birthday time

Well, I'm back.  A few things have been happening lately, so I finally have something to write about.

Nephew Jeffrey from Colorado came for a two week visit.  We got to see him for a couple days at each end of the visit, as we had our vacation planned during that time.  We sure do appreciate him staying with our dog!!   Jeff is so much fun and such a cutie.  Everyone here has been trying to get him to move up, but as a mother, I understand that he should stay near his mom and dad. 

Our little Luna lost her two front teeth.  She is so adorable!  Doesn't she look like a little pixie here?  Her sixth birthday is coming up in a few days.

Our vacation to Washington state was great!  One highlight was to be at the finish line when Mick's brother, Brian, came in from a 50 mile endurance trail race.  That's trails, as in mountain trails.  It took him 11 hours 35 minutes.  He looks pretty good here just a minute after coming through the finish line.  I'm so proud of him for doing this race!  Yay Brian!

My very creative and talented son, Tim, made this potholder shelf for me for my birthday out of exotic woods.  Isn't it beautiful?  This picture does not do it justice.

So, my 50th birthday was last week.  Mick and I toolied around Washington and thoroughly enjoyed the trip... Snoqualmie Falls,  Grand Coolee Dam,  vineyards, orchards, antique shops.... and even an overnight visit with his bother and wife in N. Idaho.   That trip was all I wanted for my birthday, but Mick felt like a scooter was the perfect present, so here it is!  He's been trying to get me on a motorcycle for years!  Well, now I have to go get my motorcycle license.  UGH!  The one thing I don't like is that I look like an alien head in the helmet!

Another beach walk

We enjoyed someone's beach sculptures.  This one was obviously supposed to be a bird.

  No way was Asher going to need help while walking on the rocks; then he fell.

When I'm on the beach I look for shells and glass.  Grandpa and Asher find bigger things.
Hannah with Asher (and Felix in the baby pack)

Spring has sprung

My crocuses are in full bloom.  The lovely little things make me smile every time I see them.

There was still a foot of snow on the ground, but Luna didn't mind.  The temp on Easter sunday was about 46 degrees.  Of course, the eggs had to be hidden inside.

Content with the simple things

Reading Janet's recent blog has gotten me thinking about things that make me happy.  Number one being: grandchildren.  Need I say more?

Here are a few things that make me content enough to smile:

Putting on brand new socks

Reading Jane Austen books in hardback  (aah, the thrill of just holding one!)

Going to a chick-flick with the girls

Fresh flowers, especially in my own garden

Smelling a new box of crayons

Halibut tacos at Twisted Fish

Those are a few just off the top of my head right now.

On another subject,  I'm not into politics at all, but this past election season has introduced me to Ann Coulter.  I enjoy her articles immensely.  Check out her Archives at anncoulter.com.

Adios for now.

anncoulter.com

Pack Leader

I've been reading a book that Mick got for Christmas:  "Be the Pack Leader" by Cesar Millan,  aka the Dog Whisperer.  So tonight, with my newfound pack-leader calmness, I attempted to clip Molly's nails.  Let me preface this with some insight of what the past clippings were like.  They were at least 20 minutes of frustration, holding a panicky dog, wrapping her in a towel and letting Mick try to hold her down, panting, drooling (dog, not me), getting clawed up and covered in white dog hair, and then everyone so relieved when the ordeal was over.  Well, tonight I calmly sat on the floor with my arsenal of Cheerios and clippers.  I told her to come to me, gently clipped one or two at a time, and rewarded her with a treat.  It only took about 10 minutes to complete and ended so happily.  What a difference!  I didn't even have to change clothes afterward!  Thank you Cesar Millan!!!!  Somehow I feel like I received the reward!

I'm Back...

I haven't been doing much to blog about lately.  I've taken some more beach walks, which is probably one of my favorite things to do.  As evidenced below,  I do more looking at the beach than at scenery when I do it.  Here are some little sand cones I found one time.  I think they must be made by worms.  They average about an inch in length.  I've only seen them the one time in my 32 years here.  I added the shell fossil (top right) for fun.

Another first find in Juneau.... a giant barnacle!  To the untrained eye, it's not a thing of beauty, but it was my treasure for the day.  The barnacle on the right is a little larger than the normal size around here.  The base is about one inch across.  The one I found on the left is about two inches across and one and a half inches tall.  

Speaking of eye:

Hannah helped me pick out new glasses today.  I'll post a picture of them in a couple weeks.

Since Mick has gotten a new I Mac, I've been working on loading my 28 video tapes onto it and working on editing and putting them on DVD.  It took me 2 hours to edit a 4 minute movie, so I think this will be a long-term project.        Ta Ta for now....