I’m Back [in the saddle again]

I’m back to blogging! Please come visit me over at my new place: http://spokalulu.wordpress.com/

Don’t forget to tell me any new & important things in your life when you leave me a comment, either here or there. I haven’t been able to read your blogs for the past 2 months. (Life without internet has its drawbacks.)

Good with Chicks

Mothers’ Day

We took the boys out for ice cream on Saturday evening and this sign was in the local ice cream shop.
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I was going to post a picture of my mother and me, taken about 7 years ago at Christmas time… but I can’t find the picture in my computer files or on a CD, and the scrapbooks are already packed so I won’t be able to scan it into the computer.

I didn’t get a new picture taken of the 2 of us when I was there in March.  I didn’t have my camera along and she wasn’t the picture of good health; unfortunately, she’s even less than the picture of good health now.  She continues to lose weight, and I’m sure the cancer continues to spread.  I’m also sure that this was her last Mother’s Day, which made me feel guilty for not being there, or for even enjoying the day with my family.
Despite medication (which she doesn’t like taking), pain continues to be a problem. I’m hoping for some relief for her in the form of certain meds that are legal in her home state.

If you know me on facebook, you will understand why I did not participate in the “post a picture of your mother” event. I simply didn’t have the heart to do it this year.  However, I didn’t have a pity party, nor did I want one.  I spent 20 minutes chatting with a few neighbors in the sunshine; half of us still had mothers to call on the telephone. That puts me in the lucky category.

Please tell me how you celebrated Mothers’ Day.

Girls’ Night In

We shared a meal, scrapbooked our trip to NYC,  had an old-fashioned pajama party… and tried to not think about the fact that 2 of us are moving away this summer.

It had been freezing cold in New York City but our toes were as warm as our memories.

Sharing 42 out of 276 (pictures, that is)

My BFF came for a visit over the weekend.

We had a lovely lunch at the Red Fox Inn: peanut soup and crab cake sandwiches. Yum!

This historic inn located in the town of Middleburg has been in business since 1728.

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We spent the better part of one day exploring Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Across the Potomac River from Harpers Ferry is the C&O Canal and Towpath. The Railroad and the C&O Canal were in competition with one another. In the end, the trains were faster and cheaper. The C&O Canal Towpath is now a lovely trail for hiking and biking.

Harpers Ferry is nearly the half-way point on the Appalachian Trail.  It is also the site of John Brown’s fort.

This town changed hands 8 times during the Civil War.

It’s a long way up these steps to the place where Thomas Jefferson wrote eloquently about the view… but it’s worth it.  Along the way you will pass a church that escaped shelling during the Civil War by flying the British “Union Jack” flag, proclaiming that it took no sides — neither North nor South. You will also pass a church that did not have the same luck.

[click to embiggen]

Above is the spectacular view (from Jefferson Rock) that so moved Thomas Jefferson:  the meeting of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers amongst mountains and rocky valley.

Here is where we could travel southward on the Appalachian Trail, if only we had time…

But it is time to leave Harpers Ferry.

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We had a busy weekend…

Not only did we visit Middleburg and Harpers Ferry, we managed to visit two wineries and attended a Guinness St. Patrick’s Day party.
Thank you, SuperDad, for being our designated driver! 😀

KCINNOTX actually liked Jake & the Burtones (above) better than The Acoustic Burgoo (below), but being up near the front and actually being able to hear them clearly might have influenced her impressions.

On Sunday, we traveled into The City for a museum and a foot-killing, pain-filled tour of the monuments.

World War II Memorial

[click to embiggen]

Vietnam War Memorial,
a.k.a., “The Wall”

[As with all pictures, click to embiggen]

The Lincoln Memorial
Gratuitous heads of school children being photographed by their leader, left in photograph for perspective.

(Below) View from the Lincoln Memorial toward Washington Memorial. The Reflecting Pool has been drained for maintenance since October 2010.

I very much would like to see this Korean War Memorial at night,  on a dark, rainy day or a foggy, misty morning. The statues portray soldiers sweeping through field and brush in miserable weather. Our beautiful, sunny Spring day did not do this memorial justice.

Not that I’m complaining about the weather!

In another week or two, the Tidal Basin will be filled with the reflection of Cherry Blossoms. For now, there is the promise of blooms in bud and a haze of pink on the distant trees.

Speaking of promise… here are a few photos from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. His message is appropriate for today’s world:

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

It was a wonderful weekend.

I treasure our friendship and I especially appreciated the good times together (and the good weather!) while taking my mind off other things.

Tomorrow I’ll be “flying the friendly skies.”
I’ll be silent from blogging for a few weeks while I am visiting my mother. She had cancer surgery last week and I am going to be her post-surgery caregiver.

Friday 5: A penny for your thoughts

It’s high time for a Friday Five, so those pennies will add up to a nickel today.

1. My BFF flew in for a visit last night. I’m excited to be able to share a few of my favorite things with her this weekend!

2. I very much want her to make future visits, so I personally cleaned the hall bathroom (a.k.a., the boys’ bathroom) instead of just sending the boys to do it.

3. Boys don’t notice dirt and mess, nor do they seem to appreciate clean.  What’s up with that? (I’m talking about grime, not just clutter.)

4. Decluttering is such a hard thing for me to do. Once I let the clutter in, it mixes with important things and I have trouble sorting it all out, especially when it comes to papers and paperwork.  But even beyond things easily recycled, I have to keep reminding myself:  Just because it is useful or pretty doesn’t mean I should keep it.

5. My mom had cancer surgery on Tuesday. I’ll be flying out there next week to be her caregiver until the end of the month.

True warmth

I offer you tea
A listening ear, eyes, hands
True warmth from the heart

Friday 5: Blessings (when Boring is Good)

Betty wrote about blessings a few days ago, and I thought I’d do the same here. Her post started with the thought that she didn’t have anything to blog about — life was good, but possibly boring. That certainly rang a bell!

1. Life with my husband

“You are the perfect woman for me because you’re so incredibly dull.”

My husband actually said this a few months ago. Oh yes, he did! I wrote it down and told him I was going to blog it,  so he decided it would be best to clarify his statement…

a)  Dull is good when the man is an introvert.. It makes the wife easier to live with and less expensive (AKA, low maintenance).
b) Dull is more comfortable to live with… the home is for serenity, safety, and comfort.

We do lead a somewhat dull life. We rarely go out and we rarely host a get-together, but we have comfortable and pleasant times at home together.  My dh used to say that I was “cheap to keep” — he has tempered that into the more palatable “low maintenance.”

2. Girls’ Night Out... or perhaps I should call it Girls’ Night In
There is a small group of us that are getting together on a semi-regular basis at one person’s home. For the cost of a box of hair color (bring your own) and a bottle of wine to share, I had my hair colored, cut, and styled a few weeks ago.  While this blessing isn’t at all boring, it does keep me rather low-maintenance… how many women get a color, cut, and style for under $25?

3. The DVR and on-demand television
I’m not a big TV watcher, but it sure is nice to know that I can record a show and have it on-hand to watch whenever I feel like it! (This is something we will probably give up as an “unnecessary expense” when my husband retires.)

4. Hanging out with family
On any average night, you will find us sitting around the dining room table talking over supper for at least 45 minutes.  On Friday nights, we normally have “find dining” while watching a show we recorded on TV. Wipeout is the favorite for all ages.

5. Friendship
There were 4 of us squeezed into a NYC-sized hotel room last Saturday night, two of whom had never met before Saturday morning. After the show, we stopped at a deli for some hot soup and then came back to the hotel. We had planned to change into something warmer and go back to Times Square to people watch. Instead, we changed into pajamas and talked in the dark until long after 3AM. 

Thankful Thursday Thirteen

Absolutely Fabulous

Start with Champagne…

Then do some stretching exercises…

And get ready for a ladies’ night out!

I wear sensible old lady shoes so I kept mine out of this particular shot.

 

c-c-c-C-O-L-D !!

Waiting for the show to begin…

Mamma Mia! was absolutely FABULOUS.