I'm back

This was a difficult weekend.  Lots of travel and I'm exhausted.  Off to bed.  Goodnight.

wake up call

I've shown this picture before but it needs another run.  Busy plans for this weekend.  I might need to rest all next week.  Hope this coffee jolt works!!  And this is how I feel about early morning flights (5:45 a.m., to be exact)  all. blacked. out.

purple hats

This is the time of year that I knit purple colored hats for babies.   The hats are then sent to hospital maternity wards and distributed to new babies during the month of November.

dive in

I think I am about to enjoy a good meal here.  Wow, pancakes and eggs and bacon and grapefruit juice and a cup of coffee.  Yum, yum.  Everyone should start their day out with a good breakfast.  I't the most important meal of the day, right?  (same hairstyle)

birthday dinner with Dad

My favorite Mexican restaurant in Venice, Florida always did the birthday honoree proud.  The hat, the serenade, the food--all this and more--made the evening especially fun.  Here I am with my Dad fourteen years ago enjoying the moment.  A nice memory.

ordering out

Just me and three of my friends from high school/college hanging out for the evening.

dinner mates

Somewhere hidden in this very dark snapshot are eight hungry people gathered around the table on the ship we were all sailing in along the western coast of Norway.  The year is 2004 and I am traveling with my sister.  It is another one of our adventures and this was only the beginning.  The sailing part took one week and we were safely tucked away on our ship.  The next three weeks brought more adventure "on the fly" as we made our way from northern Norway, through Finland (scary trains), Sweden (beautiful farmlands) and back to Oslo.  But about our shipmates...Americans and Tasmanian/Latvians.  We bonded over dinner each night and talked of our daily adventures.  This is a very good memory.

family photo

This is just one of those quick candid pictures like the one that everybody has tucked away in some old file drawer, somewhere.  The two bookends (in the picture) got together and authored the two noteworthy epic novels in the middle.  Good work!!  p.s. I'm the short one.

in good company

I took this picture while I was visiting Mt. Rushmore National Monument during the month of July in 2016.  It is amazing to be standing in the shadows of these huge stone carvings in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.  Do I look like I'm having a good time?  Yes, indeed-y!!

random J

Whenever I see the letter J written, painted, stamped or scraped into a surface, I can't help but take a picture of it.  Random J's.  No reason.  Perhaps no purpose.  Just random J's.  The cover background for this blog is a picture of a J.B. (how convenient) that I saw carved into the sidewalk on a street in Ocean Beach.  The letter seems so out of context to the surroundings that I am always surprised to see it there.  Anyway, I spotted this one on a sidewalk as I was walking by and--snap--I had to have a picture of it for my collection.  That's it.

old friends

This is about the length of a friendship, not the age of the people.  I have known Mary Louise for about thirty five years.  We became friends because both of our kids went to the same schools and two of our kids were in the same grades.  V-burg is a small town and everyone gets to know each other at some point.  Even though Mary Louise and I don't see each other very often, when we do get together we seem to pick up the conversation right where we left off the last time we were together.  Here's to old friends!!  Here,Here!!

my cooking skills

I took this funny picture of the stove top in my kitchen several years ago.  There were two black "burned-on food" stains and one spill over mark left on the burner of the electric stove after I removed the cooking pot from the burner.  It looks like the stain took on the form of a smiley face.  That's really funny because I am not a good cook at all.  I never really got the cooking "bug" and therefore I'm pretty bad in the kitchen.  My repertoire of successful dishes numbers about six to eight with bonus points given for accidental successes.  (Most of the successes were in the "hot dish" or soup categories.)  Apparently my kitchen still loved me though--thus the smile.  I took this picture to remember the occasion and then I scrubbed the stove top clean.  Good memory, though.

life's a merry-go-round

There is a wonderful carousel in Salem, Oregon that has hand carved wooden animals for children of all ages to enjoy while riding at a fast pace around a circle filled with motion and music.  The wooden figures are a work of art and are created by skilled artisans in the onsite workshop.  This picture was taken while I was visiting the city in 2016.

starting a family tradition

A couple of years ago--July 4, 2016, to be exact--I was able to see the beginning of a new family tradition unfold.  A dad, a mom and a baby took a dip in the La Jolla Cove to celebrate our national birthday.  It was a quick dip.  The water was chilly.  A good memory with many more to come.

Vancouver, B.C.

In November of 2016 I accompanied my two sons, their wives and three of the grandchildren (the fourth wasn't born, yet)  to Vancouver, B.C.  We rented a house and had a fun family vacation over Thanksgiving Day and the weekend that followed.  The area we stayed in was just perfect.  It was close to two main streets and there were lots of shops, restaurants and things to do nearby.  We enjoyed  some lazy mornings with a stretched out breakfast and lots of talking and playtime for the kids.  I'd do it again.

apple pie

The one thing I can say about my kitchen skills (or lack thereof)  is that I can make a delicious apple pie.  I like to use a nice tart apple--stayman winesap--and I can make a decent crust.  It always looks nice and it tastes wonderful.  That's it.

Spring training

I don't know what is wrong with my face here.  Oh, yes I do, it's MY face.  That's what's wrong with it.  So, here's the thing.  I was just learning how to take selfies and I forgot to smile.  I was concentrating so hard on the technique that I forgot all about the content.  hmmmm  Well, here I am at a Pittsburgh Pirates spring training game in Bradenton, Florida with Joan.  I always went to the games during the Pirates-Twins day series.  Joan had season tickets and she would invite someone that supported the opposing team to accompany her to the game.  I was the designated Minnesota Twins fan.  I loved those games.  Many people wore Twins shirts (or Vikings or Timberwolves) just to show support and rile up the fans as well.  What a blast.  Thanks, Joan!!

surprise!!

2007.  This picture was taken at my dad's ninetieth birthday celebration in Florida.    There's my funny boy, Jeremy, hamming it up for the photo.  I look downright surprised.  Great party.  Dad was really touched that so many people attended his birthday party, especially the relatives that flew in for the weekend.  Dad was presented with a huge notebook of greetings from people he had known throughout his life both professionally and casually as well as family members.  He treasured that book and after the party was over, he began to write to every one of the people in the book.  He completed the task and I truly believe that the joy that was sent to him within these notes was returned many times over in the letters he sent back.  He truly touched lives.  He is a fine example of what I need to be more like.

hanging out with my son

This picture was taken about twelve or thirteen years ago.  Jeremy had been working in San Diego for a while.  I used to visit each one of my sons when I could and when I did, we just hung out for fun.  I always told the guys to save their vacation days for something that they wanted to do.  Don't take a day off for me.  That's what weekends are for.  The days that Jeremy went to work I just walked around the neighborhoods and browsed the antique stores on the main street of Ocean Beach.  Every evening we would walk to a different restaurant in the area.  Life was so simple then.  Just hanging out suits me fine.

only seven years ago

2011.  The little girl in this picture is my granddaughter.  I am standing with the little girl's father, who also just happens to be my son.  My aunt and uncle are seated and holding the baby.  How time passes so quickly and the changes it brings are immense.  Three of us are seven years older.  Ana is in the second grade already.  She and her family (which now includes a little brother) have moved from Texas to Washington.  Sadly, both Aunt Doris and Uncle Oscar have passed away.  I look at this picture and I find it hard to believe that so much has changed in this relatively short time period.  I  really need to appreciate each moment of every day more.  They go so quickly.

a baptism

In the Spring of 2011 I had the privilege of attending the baptism of my first grandchild.  Here I am standing with my son (her uncle) in the sanctuary of the churchI made a bonnet and set of booties for her with her name embroidered on the soles of the booties.  What a wonderful day.

in La Jolla with Jan

Here is a picture of Jan and me that was taken in 2013.  We are sitting on a ledge overlooking La Jolla Bay near San Diego.  Jan became my daughter-in-law later that year.

engineering a wedding dress

Which road do I take?  Which path will bring me to my final destination?  Boy, those are heavy questions.  And, what do they have to do with engineering a wedding dress?  Well, let me tell you.  As far back as I can recall I have been a problem solver.  My focus is rather narrow.  I certainly can't solve the problems of the world but I can figure out the mystery of sewing and alterations.  Exhibit A-this dress.  It was actually two identical dresses that were miraculously joined together to make one dress.  One of the dresses was originally worn by the woman on the right side of this picture.  The woman in the center (her daughter) wanted to wear the dress for her wedding.  Notice the height difference.  That in itself should tell you that there was going to be a fit problem.  After analyzing the dresses and coming up with a solid plan, I was able to combine the two dresses (using the best of both) into one fabulous dress that fit the new bride perfectly and yet paid homage to the beautiful dress worn by the brides mother almost forty years prior.  This is what I do.  Solve problems.  Next?

mom, kids and wallpaper

I have posted other copies of this picture in the past but I thought it might be good to go ahead and post this one, too, as a wrap up to this series of pictures.  Several things come to my mind as I look at the details in this picture.  It appears we are out in the country.  There appears to be a large field next to the house.  My mom is wearing a kerchief on her head.  I don't recall her doing this unless some heavy cleaning was involved.  The wallpaper design is very distinctive.  And lastly, my brother Steven is the spitting image of my mom.  I never realized how similar there faces were.  Everyone seemed to think he took after my dad's dad because of his short height but he is definitely a close copy of my mother.  My mom has a sweet, yet tired, expression in this photo.  I have no idea where we were but I believe this picture was taken in about 1954.

posing for pictures

Here we go again.  This is another pose from a group photo session with us kids.  It looks like I'm getting a little ant-sy there with my hands on my hips.  Let's get this thing over with.  And, my hunched shoulders are wrecking my pretty hair style.  Mom worked hard to get us ready for this.  Susan looks distracted, Keith looks like he's about to pick a fight and Duane looks spot on with a nice smile.  Steven looks like a wise soul.  He looks older than his age.  What a group of goofies we are.