Summer Fun...

Papa Berry...

Papa Berry is doing great and is expected home this morning. Love you Grandpa!

Photo from Mimi

Time off...

Some much needed time off is at hand. Lance and I usually take the kids on a long camp trip over the 4th of July. In wanting to keep our Rogue Bear safe, full set of shots -etc, we are staying home for our vacation. Not nearly as exciting as camping, I know. Some people have called me crazy. But I have to say, I am looking forward to setting up camp in the backyard and modifying our camp gear for later this summer...not until August! I am also looking forward to being home with just my kids (I run a childcare business) and possibly getting a few things done that I have fallen behind on. Of course...and anyone who really knows me would not find this a surprise...I am entertaining the idea of painting the dining room another shade of red. I have the paint, so...
Views from our favorite camp site...

Photo of Roxie from Mimi

My Papa...

My dear Papa Berry is going into surgery today. My thoughts are with you...be strong and give those nurses a hard time...

Photo from Mimi

Wet dog...

What do you get when you come home and your Pyr has "messed" in his crate...a wet dog at 10:30pm! Rogue has discovered the sandbox, now one of his favorite spots in the yard. He just digs and digs...we tell him to "find it Rogue!" and he digs faster. Funny pup!

Danny 24...25...

Then and now...

Blue Beginning Revisited...

Photos from Mimi

Appreciation...

Appreciation. Emotional appreciation, artistic appreciation, appreciation on every level is an important part of living Wabi Sabi. Appreciation manifests joy. We don't need to live by impossible standards to have a joyful, contributive, "enlightened" existence. We don't need to become someone else or wait until things are "perfect" to appreciate the whole of our lives. Television, movies, and romance novels often paint a very different picture of joy- a "happily ever after" that includes no wrinkles, no chips, no stumbles. But that's no reality. (Taro Gold)
Thank you for everything, including the trials I thought were so unfair or too hard...In the end they were always life lessons, a road opening to me.

Photo from Mimi

Needs...not Greed

"Mother Earth provides enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed." -Mahatma Gandhi

The Flags...

A beautiful wedding in the mountains would not be complete without flying their country's flag. Very nice indeed.

Time to Celebrate!

Happy 70th Birthday Grandma! Remember that time when I was real young, you were having a birthday and I said, "You don't even look 80 Grandma!". Everybody laughed and I felt bad. That seems like so long ago...I hope you have a fantastic day...I love you dearly.
Photo from Mimi

Bonds of Love

Stand together yet not too near, for the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
-Kahlil Gibran

June 23rd 2007: Congratulation's Matt and Kate!

Photo from Mimi

Joys of Summer...line drying

OK, well maybe this isn't really a "Joy of summer" but in my book- it is. I have read that clothes dryers account for up to 10 percent of home-energy use! I encourage everyone to take this small step in conserving energy - no matter what your neighbor says!

Blue Beginning...

My mom, Mimi is her name, was out of town for a few weeks, cruising across the country and hanging in Savannah, GA. While she was gone, a pair of robins decided her back step railing was a perfect place to raise their young. The nest is chest high.

Top photo from Mimi

Live now!

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width as well. -Diane Ackerman
Live on...

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! We had a wonderful Father's Day -complete with a new pup, cold beer, a game of wiffle ball and some fun kite flying. Because of the lack of space and too much wind, we didn't use the kite board. We still had a fantastic time. Lance and Danny were Sam's "anchor men". The kids had a blast watching and I took some great pictures.

Home...

Rogue Bear has arrived! We are having a great time with our new pup...today I started his crate training, he isn't too keen on this and is very vocal about it. This week we are playing the "name game" and working on sitting and coming. I am using Patricia B. McConnell's book: Family Friendly Dog Training, A Six Week Program for You and Your Dog. I have read two of McConnell's books and love her point of view. I highly recommend her. Rogue is now 9 weeks old.

Rogue Bear

My new "baby" is coming home....yippee!!! The only dilemma: how to choose between the two cutest Pyr pups you've ever seen. I am leaning towards the all white pup. He is calm, yet full of himself at the same time. A very mellow fellow indeed. Perfect for our family. The boy with a little color also has a great personality. He loves people and is very determined when he puts his mind to something (one of the reasons I am choosing the white pup). I need a little pup who is happy just to be by my side and not always looking to go.It kinda sounds like I've already made my mind up doesn't it...The pups are 7 weeks old in these pictures.

Rogue's Mom and Dad

Here is a glimpse into the future. Rogue's Dad, Yukon, is a very big and friendly fellow. His Mom, Spirit, is a sweet girl with a beautiful smile. (Spirit is with Roxie)

Summer!

The time is here: BBQs, swimming, fire pits, tasty drinks with little umbrellas, camping, boating, clothes lines, baseball....oh, the joys of summer!

Wabi Sabi: Japanese expression meaning "Wisdom in natural simplicity"

The simple wisdom of living Wabi Sabi shows us that our hearts already hold everything we need to be happy. It celebrates the perfectly imperfect uniqueness of you and me and everything, revealing the joy, creativity, and empowerment of imperfection through an ancient way of looking at life: the way of Wabi Sabi. -Living Wabi Sabi. The True Beauty of Your Life by Taro Gold

My Dear...

"A successful relationship requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." -Mignon McLaughlin

My favorite flower

The day starts fresh. The world is wide open. Looking toward the future and living in the now. Is it really possible to do both at the same time?

Kaziah...

Words of advise:

Always know who has the camera. (and what they plan to do with it!)

I am Here

I am here. Watch out! At some point I'll have something interesting to say.