What a day!

Oh my goodness, how much fun did I have on my 50th birthday today! 

It started early, and my first gift was on my bed when I got out of the shower, from Tam. It was a skein of pretty green Socks that Rock yarn, and the book It's Not Easy Being Green. Cool gifts, thanks Tam!

Rhinebeck was fabulous.... SO much to see, and about a gazillion people all sharing the same fun. I loved watching all the beautiful handknits walking by. That was really fun. 

I  got to meet Jane today. We've known each other only online for several years now, and finally meeting her in person and spending time with her was wonderful. It was not awkward in the least, and we really had fun. We spent some time going through a few vendor barns and then split up again, making plans to meet for dinner later. 

Tam and I continued on and bought some goodies. There was some fiber (chocolate-colored alpaca roving, beautiful autumn colored roving, black alpaca yarn and some beautiful autumn colored yarn... I wanted my fiber purchases to remind me of the beautiful landscape of the changing colors on the mountains near Rhinebeck, hence the 2 purchases of autumn colors!) and I bought a number of other fun items. The PERFECT button for my sweater (no, it did NOT get finished, but I'm still plugging away) I really could have used that sweater today. It was a bit chilly, especially when the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up a bit. I got a few Christmas gifts for Diane (neener neener, Diane!). I bought a beautiful handmade lucet.   

There were a few other purchases, and I may get a few more things tomorrow. But I enjoyed the experience so much. Seeing all the animals, all the various vendors, and like I said before, just the wide variety of handknits on everyone from infants and toddlers, as well as women and men of all ages.  

We watched the Frisbee-catching dogs, we watched the sheep-herding dogs. We wanted to hug all the alpacas, and laughed at the long bottom teeth on the llamas (I had never noticed that trait before). 

Mid-afternoon I looked at Tam and said "stick a fork in me, I am DONE!" I was so exhausted. My feet hurt, my knees hurt, my back hurt. So we joined the other hundreds of people who seemed to have had the same thought at the same moment, and slowly made our way back to the hotel. 

I iced my back, then got in the bath to soak for a while, and rejuvenated myself. We rested a bit, and then Jane and her cousin came and met us and we went out to dinner. We ended up at Ship To Shore and had a really good dinner, but mostly a really great conversation. 

Oh, and there was the matter of the BEAUTIFUL green scarf knit for me by the lovely Jane. It's Kid Silk Haze. So soft, so light, yet warm. I just love it. Thanks again Jane!

The plan originally was to go to the Ravelry party in Red Hook after dinner, but we talked for hours and ended up missing it. Oh well, I was very happy to have spent the time with Jane to get to know her a little better. Jane's cousin Gail was great to be with too. Such a nice time.

Tomorrow morning we'll get up a little slower and arrive at Rhinebeck a little later. We'll revisit some of the places we took notes to go back and look again, or decide on (or against) some things we couldn't decide on today. I don't know if it will be more or less crowded (or the same) but I'm hoping maybe a little less crowded. There were a heck of a lot of people there today. I mean... seriously, a boat load of people. 

But...what fun it was~

Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who made this day very special for me!

Pictures tomorrow or when I get home.

Happy Birthday to me!

I'm off to buy "some" wool! It's a beautiful fall day in New York....we're gonna have some big fun!

Yay!

Note to self: Tomorrow, go to Rhinebeck

YIPPEE! The time has finally come. I've been planning this trip for close to a year, and it's time to go! I'm jumping out of my skin with the anticipation of it all! 

Ok, back to packing! 

Fabulous Fall Foliage

What a beautiful weekend! It's been quite chilly, especially in the mornings when the temps have been down in the 30s and we've seen quite a bit of frost already. But this weekend was in the mid to upper 70s and sunny.

Saturday we had a bash here to celebrate Kim's college graduation. She now has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration. Her major was Management. She did most of her classes while working full time, so it took her a few extra years, but the hard work paid off and I can now say I am the proud mother of a college graduate.

Before the main group of guests arrived, we had a little tiny celebration for my birthday, since I won't be here on "the day". Mike wanted to give me my gift early, so I could familiarize myself with it, and take it with me when I leave on Thursday to go to RHINEBECK! OMG can it really be less than 3 days til I leave???

I got this for my birthday. I took the above photo (and those below) with it yesterday afternoon. I have a lot to learn about how it works. Right now I'm shooting mostly on automatic. Whew, those 12.2 megapixels blow me away! 

Do you know about Geocaching? I had heard about it several years ago and thought it would be so much fun, a nice family activity, and a way to get some fresh air and exercise as well as seeing some sites we might never have seen otherwise. The whole "digital treasure hunt" idea just sounded exciting! We didn't have a GPS at the time, and just recently got one. We created our account, found some nearby caches on the website, and off we went! We have found 7 of the 8 caches that we searched for over the past 2 weekends (that 8th one we've looked for 3 times and still haven't found it. It is very nearby our home so we will keep trying!) What a blast. We took advantage of the above-average temperatures yesterday and went to a nearby Metropark for a hike and to scope out a few more "treasures". Some of them are "micro" size and often difficult to find (size, terrain, and difficulty of each cache are listed on the website) Here are a few pix of Jake with a micro (in his left hand in the first picture--click for a bigger look-see) and 2 bigger caches, which are usually filled with toys or other small items for you to trade with, as well as a log book that you sign with your Geocaching name and the date. Micros are usually tiny little tubes with a piece of paper rolled up in them. You have to bring your own pen for those, and no treasures are inside to trade.

These are the 3 caches we found yesterday. Once you get to the coordinates, you never know where it might be... even up in a tree! 

If you have a handheld GPS, or have the capability on your cell phone, check out this fun activity! I just wish we had started this at the beginning of the summer instead of now, when winter will soon cut off the fun. We could have hunted outside of our local area as we traveled during our vacations.

One of the caches we found yesterday had a Geocoin in it. Geocoins and Travel Bugs have registration numbers are trackable on the website. Whoever places them in the cache wants someone to take them out and move them to another cache. Sometimes they are supposed to move to a certain destination. The one we found came from WA and wanted to move as far east as possible before heading back to the west coast. I plan on taking it with me and dropping it in a cache somewhere in Ontario or NY on my way to Rhinebeck.

Speaking of Rhinebeck....my plans have changed a bit. My dear, generous friend Christine, who was going to pick me up from the airport and whisk me a way to WEBS on Thursday (and take me to NYC on Friday, and accompany me to Rhinebeck, and provide me with bed and breakfast while there) is suddenly having medical issues and will not be able to do any of these things for or with me this weekend. I am sad, and worried, and hoping she will have a full recovery without too much more pain and suffering. FEEL BETTER CHRISTINE!

SO.... I have canceled my flights, and will now be going by car with my friends Tamara and Linda (members of my knitting group for several years). Tam has so generously let me squeeze into her room since there was not a bed to be found in the Rhinebeck area at this short notice. THANKS TAM.  I have to admit I would prefer to not be in a car for all of those hours there and back, but at this point am very happy to have that option.

So there will not be a trip to WEBS or a trip to NYC this weekend, but....we will stop at Niagara Falls on our way east, and Friday will be spent moseying around, taking pictures of what I hope will be some beautiful fall colors, and some scenery I haven't seen since my last time in NY which was oh....about 30 years ago! Tam loves photography, and has a camera that is very similar to mine, so I'm hoping she can give me some pointers as we are out and about taking pictures that day. 

The trip is changed, but except for my constant concern for Christine, will be just as much fun, I'm sure. The time in the car will give me an opportunity to finish my sweater if I haven't done so by then. I'm on my way up the sleeves right now. I may be seaming and blocking in the hotel room Thursday night or Friday, but here's hoping my Hot Cocoa Jacket will make its debut on Saturday (MY BIRTHDAY!) at Rhinebeck. 

Hope to see you there!

Disappointed....

Well, I gave it a good shot... almost 4 weeks, and no less than 13 CRT lenses, including a pair that was custom made for my own eyeballs. But my eyes were stubborn. The eye that was being corrected for close vision was fine but we just couldn't get the distance vision to be clear. We even switched which eye was being corrected for close and made that the far eye, to no avail.

I was really hopeful, especially when I got the custom made lenses, that I would wake up one morning and really see clearly. It just never happened. I could tell a difference, that things had improved, but it just never was good enough. I've been walking around in a haze for most of 4 weeks. It's been very frustrating. Today, I called it quits. 

I've gotten used to no glasses though, so I am going to keep wearing contacts. I haven't worn contacts in a long time, and even then, it was only occasionally. I'm hoping I can do monovision with the soft lenses. Right now I'm transitioning again, letting my eyes go back to their "real" shape, so I can get the right prescription. It will take a few days, and meanwhile I have 3 pairs of lenses to mix and match for the best vision each day until I'm back to where I started. 

I have never been one to put makeup on every day, but I find myself doing so now. I had my eye (pun intended) on the Bare Minerals products for a couple years, and recently bought a starter kit, and have added a few more items since then. I'm getting used to putting eye makeup on every day too, now that my eyes are hanging out for all to see instead of hiding behind glasses. 

I guess I'm liking the compliments I've been getting the past few weeks. It helps that I have a haircut (and color) that I really love right now. Looks like I'm spending my last few weeks in my 40s looking better than I have in a while. If I could only miraculously lose a bunch of weight, I'd really be happy! But I haven't done the work to make it happen, so I have no one to blame but myself for that.

10 days from now I'll be enjoying the first day of my 50th Birthday Weekend with my friend Christine in CT.  I'm so excited that it is getting so close. I'm looking forward to meeting up with good friends from all over, a trip to NYC (my first ever), and of course RHINEBECK! I've been plugging away on my sweater...I am still hoping to have it done in time. We'll see! (NO pun intended that time! LOL) 

Pool? What pool?

After 21 years of service, our 24' pool is history. We first put this pool up in the yard of our Victorian home in Richmond, MI (I wish I had a digital photo to insert here, it was a gorgeous old home, built in 1879). When we sold the house 6 years later, the older couple who bought it was not interested in having the pool, so we took it down and moved it to our new home, where we have enjoyed it for 15 more years. 

The side wall was so faded it was almost white (having started out as a blue-ish gray woodgrain) and things were starting to corrode. 

Mike started looking for pools on Craigslist.  Eventually he found a 28' pool for $500 or best offer. It was about 6-7 years old, already taken down, and came with a much better filter/pump than what we had. We ended up getting the pool for $350.00! Considering this brand in this size goes for about $6,000-7,000 new, I think that is a heck of a deal! There are a few things that need to be cleaned up, and we will probably paint the top rails, but how can you beat that price? We'll have to buy a liner, obviously. We are going to dig the middle out to about 6-1/2 to 7' which will be nice, and put in a bottom drain which will make it much easier to keep clean. 

So we started draining the old pool last week, and today we unscrewed a million screws, found lots of wasp/hornet nests under the railings and inside the side posts (as well as many spiders and their nests and webs too) as we dismantled the whole thing. Mike will haul it all off to the scrap metal place and come home with a few bucks.  

We were hoping to get the bigger pool up this fall so we'd be ready to go in the spring, but that probably is not going to happen now. Instead, Mike hopes to at least get the hole dug  and prepared before winter, and we'll put the pool up in May. It will be nice to have a bigger pool, especially at such a bargain price! 

Look Ma! No Glasses!

I'm a week into my Orthokeratology, using Paragon CRT lenses while I sleep. It has been a little frustrating at times. Yesterday was a day I was questioning whether or not this was a good idea. I do feel better about it today. 

I have made 5 trips to the eye doctor in 7 days. I have had 4 different CRT lenses for my right eye, and one for my left. I have in my possession a soft contact for my left eye and 3 different ones for my right eye.  So far I have managed to keep them all straight (I think!). While my eyes are in transition, I wear whichever combo gets me through the day until my next appointment. 

I am going for the "monovision" correction, which means my left eye is being corrected for close vision and my right eye for distance. This morning there was a distinct improvement with my "really far" vision, and close up was better than yesterday, though not quite as clear as the first few days. I can definitely tell the lenses are working. Now my brain just needs to bring the two together, because the mid-range is still pretty blurry. So walking around the house is fuzzy, but reading and computer work are pretty clear (no knitting has been going on, but maybe today!) and I may try driving without soft lenses today (but will bring them with me if I feel I need to pull over and give myself some "correction").

The concept is very cool, and hopefully the monovision will eventually make things clear. If I don't think I can handle the monovision, the eye doctor will end up correcting both eyes for distance. This will mean I will probably have to wear reading glasses at times. I guess I can live with that. But I'm hoping I can avoid glasses either altogether, or for a very large portion of my day.

I've had glasses on my face for 43 years (I wore soft lenses for a couple of years, and even then it was off and on, not exclusively). I am ready to be rid of them. I just was too afraid to go for the LASIK. 

So there has been a little hiccup in the progress on my Rhinebeck sweater, but hopefully I will be back in full swing and can still get it done. If not, then being able to see without glasses or contacts (during the day) will be well worth it.

I was able to create a WEBS fund with money I got from eBay auctions that ended over the weekend. I sold off some stuff from my crashed car. Free money! I still can't believe that someone bought the manuals for $47.00! I literally had them in my hand over the trash can before I decided to try to sell them on eBay.  I got $40.00 for my iPod cord (it was different than the one I needed for my new car) People will buy just about anything, I swear! It's all good though... now I have money ($225.00!) for my trip to WEBS and it won't take away from my Rhinebeck fund! Yay!

Never Forget....

I am thinking back to the morning of September 11, seven years ago, and the days that followed. I remember thinking how life would never be the same. I remember feeling "stuck" for weeks. I had a hard time going about my daily tasks. I felt so guilty about being able to do the simplest of things, when so many were suffering and when so many were taken from us in that horrendous act of terror. 

We've all gone back to living our daily lives. Years later the memories are not as clear or as painful. But let us never forget those who were lost, or those who took them from this world. 

This morning people will stop for a moment of silence to honor those whose lives were taken, and we will also mourn the loss of our lives as they were before that tragic morning 7 years ago.

There will also be mourning of a different kind today at my daughter's high school. A student was killed in an accident yesterday on the way to school. She was a senior, at the beginning of a school year that brings so many special moments. Her classmates are going to have a rough day today, dealing with her death, realizing how fragile life really is. Kaitlyn has known her since middle school. I can't imagine what her parents and close friends are going through this morning, especially the 4 other students who were involved in the accident. 

Please drive safely. People are in such a hurry, or talking on cell phones, or texting, or just being careless. I have been hypersensitive to these things since my own accident 3 weeks ago. Slow down, people.... stop for that yellow light instead of running the red light. Make sure there is no one coming before pulling away from a stop sign. Pull over to use your cell phone. Don't drive down the freeway typing text messages. Seriously... is it worth losing your life or taking someone else's? Just slow down and be careful! 

~Chelsea Pascoe~ rest in peace. 

~America~ pray for peace.

Excited!

Tonight, 6 of my SILs and I are going to see Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick in concert. We have been waiting for this night for months! We have seats in the 7th row, and plan to have ourselves quite an evening. I am blasting Journey right now to get myself in the mood (not that my mood needs much convincing, really). I will probably listen to Journey all day today. 

My friend Deb lent me a DVD of a recent concert, and I have to say, it's a little weird to hear/see someone other than Steve Perry singing. But I'll give "the new guy" a chance and I'm sure I'll enjoy the concert nonetheless. He sounds very much like Steve.

(I am pretty sure that the first concert I ever went to was Journey, in the late 70s. I distinctly remember paying $6.95 for the ticket. Tonight's ticket cost roughly 20 times that amount. Luckily I am not paying for it. What is up with ticket prices these days? SHEESH! Even the nose-bleed seats are ridiculous!)

The weekend: I met my new grand-nephew on Saturday. Wouldn't you know it, I didn't have my camera. Let me just say, Charlie is a real sweetie, and so darned cute. I loved holding him and sniffing his little baby head. I wish he didn't live so far away. He's going to grow up so much in between visits. Darn. 

In other news...

Rhinebeck is quickly approaching. That means I have very few days left in my 40s! The big 5-0 is looming right up there in front of me. It's all good though. What better way to turn 50 than in the company of fiber-loving friends at Rhinebeck? I finally bought my tickets so it's official...I'm going to Rhinebeck! 

AND!!! It looks like there will be a trip to WEBS squeezed in on Thursday when I arrive. I'm flying into Hartford and my lovely hostess informed me that WEBS is about 45 minutes away and if I only have a carry-on (this may be an issue, but I will work around it!) we can zip over there for a short time before she has to be back home. WEBS! I'm going to WEBS! Thanks Christine! Big excitement even before the big weekend at Rhinebeck! 

There will be several friends there to help me transition into my 50s. Friends who I know here in Michigan, and friends I have known only online. I am finally meeting Christine (and hopefully Mary Beth) who I have known online for 11+ years. We have been part of an email loop which has seen members drop out over the years but there are still 11 of us who have kept in touch. Thousands and thousands of emails have been sent and read by all of us over the years. I have met some of them, and hopefully will someday meet them all. (HI loopies!)

Jane will come from GA, and I will also be meeting her for the first time, after knowing her online for quite a few years too. Jane has been so helpful to me as a test knitter for my patterns, and I have enjoyed our friendship so much as it has grown. I can't wait to see her in person! 

My friend Tamara will be driving from MI (hopefully Linda will still be able to join her!). Frankie used to be in our knitting group but she moved to NYC several years ago. She will be joining us as well.  

Now that the event is getting closer, I finally decided to get my butt in gear and have been knitting furiously these past few days on my Rhinebeck sweater. I am almost done with the back now, and that is only the first piece. Luckily sleeves and fronts are smaller, but that is 4 more pieces. Yikes. I am focused though, and hopefully will have it done in time. But, I just know that if I do finish it, temps will probably be in the 80s that weekend. And if I don't, well it will probably snow or something. So I'll work on getting it done so the weather will be picture-perfect for everyone who will be there.... never mind showing off the sweater, huh?

So that's the excitement around here. I'm off to make an appointment at the eye doctor to check out Corneal Refractive Therapy. It's a great alternative to LASIK for chickens like me who are afraid of the lasers, but still want to see without going through their day wearing glasses or contact lenses. If anyone has experience with this please leave me a comment!

I also need to call my doctor to make an appointment to get the results of all the tests from the past few weeks. Here's hoping they all say I'm normal! (not that I believe for a minute that I really am normal, but I'd like my test results to say I am!)

Moving on....

The bruises have faded.

The horrible sounds and memories of the crash are replaying in my mind less often.

I'm starting to get over the sadness of losing the car I loved so much. Well, I WAS starting to get over it. Yesterday, I saw another green xB in my town. They were a limited edition, are very rare, and I have never seen another one in the Romeo area. I have not seen another one ANYwhere in over a year. Yet yesterday I had to spot one coming down the road. It was like a knife to the heart. With a twist. 

I still freak out a bit when I see cars pulling up to intersections, hoping they'll stop. I am much more aware of every car around me and what they're doing, and trying to second guess their every move. It's rather nerve-wracking. I'm sure this will eventually pass, though I will continue to be more careful and aware.

I continue to be thankful and feel blessed about my lack of injury and pain. That is most important in this whole situation. (But I still want my car back, dammit)

I guess you never realize how much you rely on your transportation until you are suddenly without wheels, without warning. I am so lucky to have a neighbor/friend who was so generous and lent me her car throughout the week. I was able to do most of the things I would have normally done, and my inconvenience was greatly reduced because of her. Thanks Donna!

I got my new car on Wednesday. It's kind of cute (NOT as cute as my xB). It's a cool color (NOT as cool as my xB's green) and I guess I'm happy. When I got the insurance check, I paid off the loan on my xB and had some money left over. I got a good interest rate on the new car, and my payments are less than what I was paying on the xB,  even with no money down. So I'm not out anything, financially, because of this accident. No, my losses are emotional rather than financial or physical. 

Notice I am calling my old car "the xB" rather than Yarnbox. The reason? Because my new car will also be Yarnbox, until May. I had renewed my personalized plate in the spring, and decided to just transfer the plate for now, rather than have to pay the full fee again so soon. I have a temporary in my window for now, because I haven't been able to bring myself to put that plate on my new car yet. It feels like it's a Yarnbox imposter. I have 2 weeks to break down and do it. 

So, here it is. My 2009 Chevy Aveo5 2LT. She's got some features that the xB didn't have. I'm thinking I might need to have a sunroof put in, just to make me feel a little better (and because I deserve it, right?) 

The color is actually prettier than what it shows in this photo. I haven't had a chance to get a better picture, due to weather issues.  Weather...that means there is now mud splashed on my new car. We are supposed to have 5 days of sun (and HEAT) now, so she'll be getting clean again today. I may be taking her for a little road trip this weekend. Depends on if I head to the lake when Mike and Jake leave this afternoon, or if I wait until morning to go. 

Happy Holiday Weekend, everyone! Have fun, and stay safe! 

ps...this car has side airbags, and OnStar, which both make me feel much better.

Oh my poor Yarnbox....sniff

So, it's been quite a summer. A pinched nerve in my back (not once but twice) leaving me pretty much incapacitated until I could get fixed up by my wonderful chiropractor. 

Then, I ripped my leg open and needed 18 stitches. 

I raised my hands up and said to the universe: "What next?" 

There was my mistake. Universe answered and said "How about THIS?"

This morning I was coming home from Best Buy, with a back-up drive for my computer. I've never gotten into the habit of backing anything up. I've heard so many horror stories lately about people losing important files, especially photos. I've been pushing my luck for too long and decided I needed to start protecting my digital information.

I got the last one of these on the shelf at Best Buy. On sale, too. It even coordinates with my orange laptop cover! 

So, I was minding my own business, was less than 3 miles from home, and had myself a little bit of excitement. A guy pulled out from a side road (while I was traveling toward the intersection at 55 mph) and he attempted to turn. I think he thought I was going to stop (he had a stop sign, I did not).  I had enough time to lay on my horn and try to swerve around him, but he hit me right on the side and flipped me over. There is nothing that compares to the feeling you get when you are starting to roll over. I put my hands over my head and just prayed there would not be another car coming down the road to hit me again. I came to a stop, upright, within a few feet of an accounting building. I'm glad I didn't hit that too.

Anyway, I am ok (as far as I know). Sore, and will most likely be more sore tomorrow. I assume the insurance company will say my dear Yarnbox.... the car I have loved most in all my life, is totaled. Here is a photo of where the roof scraped the road (or vice versa!) More photos on flickr here 

Where has summer gone?

Wow, summer has really flown by. (Doesn't it always?) So many plans are formed when school lets out, and then the lazy days just flow one into the next and before you know it ... POOF! It's over and school starts again.

We have just returned from a camping trip. It was a week for Mike and Jake, who left last Saturday. I brought Kaitlyn and a friend to the campground on Monday, and came home yesterday. Mike and Jake will return today. During the days when it was just the 2 of them, they did some fishing, golfing, and just hung out together having some "guy time", which I'm sure they both enjoyed a lot!

The 4 of them went to Cedar Point on Tuesday and I had a nice QUIET day by myself at the campground.

While they were gone, I:

~made some progress on my sweater (still a long way to go and time is running out!

~read (Whack a Mole by Chris Grabenstein... I have really enjoyed all 3 books in this series)

~watched Olympics

~basically enjoyed my solitude. 

Wednesday we went into Monroe (hometown of Custer) and went to the historical museum. Very interesting stuff! One of the biggest battles of the War of 1812 was fought in the area. 

We spent Thursday on Put In Bay Island which was a TOTAL blast. Took the ferry over, rented a 6-seater golf cart for the day and just took in the sights, toured the Heineman winery and Crystal Cave (which was the world's largest geode, and you got to be inside of it. SO COOL!) Played 18 holes of mini-golf with a War of 1812 theme. Lots of history on the island. And lots of fun things to do. We had lunch at Mr. Ed's Bar and Grille, which was right across the street from a beautiful park overlooking the marina and lake. We loved buzzing around on the golf cart along with hundreds (thousands?) of other carts. The day was beautiful and we really had a great time. 

Mike has the camera, so I will post photos later on. 

Now it's back to reality. I'll have to catch up on laundry (everything smells like campfire of course) and restock the fridge and pantry. Jake missed his "Dawg Days" this week, which is where the kids go and get their schedules, get their pictures taken, order yearbooks, turn in emergency cards, etc etc. I'll have to take him in before school starts to take care of some of that. I can't believe I no longer have a child in elementary school, after all these years. Jake is off to middle school. And Kaitlyn is a senior. It's a big year in the Bloom house.  We still need to buy school supplies (once again, I urge all teachers...please send a school supply list to your students before school starts, especially if you have items on your list that are out of the norm....did you ever try to buy school supplies after school starts? They've already gone on clearance and there is nothing left). When I worked at Target, every mother of every 6th grader came to Target after school started, looking for a clipboard, and boy were they pissed that we didn't have hundreds of them on the shelves waiting for them.  (Note to self...Jake is a 6th grader...pick up a clipboard....it'll probably be on his list)

We also need to get Kaitlyn's senior pictures taken in the next few weeks. Her photographer will be my good friend Debbie, who is so creative and has a special talent for getting great shots. She did Kim's wedding photos and they are stunning.  Check out her website. Beautiful photography. She is also mentoring Kaitlyn, since my dad's photography genes seem to have been passed down and she wants to also make photography her career. Grampa couldn't be prouder!

Time to tackle another load of laundry. More will be coming when my men pull in with the camper shortly. I just got a call that they are on the road.