Thursday, July 24, 2008




This is what I hoped for. This is what I feared wouldn't happen. Okay. I know it looks like a dog and a cat. But it's a dog that's never lived with a cat and a cat that's never lived with a dog. Yeah. I'm sure The Dog thinks The Cat is a dog and The Cat thinks The Dog is a cat. (I say this because earlier today when I called, "here, kitty, kitty, kitty", guess who came running?)

But that's okay. I was afraid The Cat would be hunkered up in a ball in our bedroom - where The Dog can't get in. I was afraid he'd be so freaked out he'd never come out again, he wouldn't eat, he'd be sad and unhappy. I was afraid this might end his life as we knew it - because, at age 14, he's still a pretty frisky kitty sometimes.

But, the scene above actually takes place in the very same living room. Okay, they're on opposite sides of the couch and can't really see each other. But still. I witnessed an amusing scene this morning where The Dog approached The Cat a leeetle too enthusiastically and The Cat stood his ground, swiping his de-clawed and completely unsharp (but what does he know?) paw at said dog, who then ran away. The Dog didn't give up completely, though and returned and a very lethargic "chase" took place around the chair. Neither of them really cared that much and they were both willing to let the whole thing go. So The Cat has been downstairs pretty much the whole day. This isn't all that new. The Cat made an appearance and encountered The Dog on, like, the second day of his arrival here. They were both snuggled up to their respective owners on the same (granted, very large sectional) couch on, like, day three.

So, really, my fears have never come to fruition. And I'm so glad. I just want everyone to be happy... :)

Monday, July 21, 2008

We're baaaccckkk! We had a wonderfully relaxing, lazy vacay in PA's "Grand Canyon". The weather was stellar. We hiked, we biked, we swam, we ate. We played cards, we read. We went to church, we got ice cream, we had friends and family come for a visit. We had a ball. Here are just a few highlights from the week - a conglomeration of all of our photos/cameras:

Eva is getting a close-up view of the zillions of teeny-tiny frogs she caught.

"The kids" on the bridge in Blackwell - Dustin and Emily, Matthew and Martha (and Taco).

Martha got this amazing shot of a young bald eagle that we were able to get quite close to on our bike ride up into the canyon. There were two young ones. We didn't see the grown-ups that day...

This is what we woke up to every morning - just 20 feet in front of our cabin. Look how crystal clear that water is! What a great swimming hole - we were in it every day!


A view of Pine Creek looking upstream from the bridge in Blackwell. We made the short walk up to the bridge every night - and were rewarded with a glimpse of the mature bald eagle the last night. No bears, though...


Here we are after a hard day of swimming and playing enjoying one of many great meals on the cabin porch...


Matthew is standing on "Barbour's Rock" along the West Rim Trail in the PA Grand Canyon. You can see Pine Creek and the bike path below... What a beautiful hike.

So, now it's back to our regular routine of summer busy-ness and fun! Today Chris is golfing, Matthew and Martha went to open a bank account and get groceries for homemade pizza and I'm heading right into my scrap room for the rest of the day...until I get to eat some of that yummy pizza!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Family. It's a wonderful thing. And I just love this little family unit. So happy to have them here. So far, they seem to really be enjoying the cooler, albeit damper, temperatures of PA. And God does put on a pretty good show around these parts at this time of year.

So, we're beginning to also enjoy the benefits of having people in the house that like to cook. And I'm so enjoying being more conscious of what I'm eating and having good food in front of me. And, Martha has been very gently encouraging me to walk. I've gone out for two teeny little walks this week - unfortunately, quite a vast improvement from what I had been doing.

Oh, and Martha discovered these AWEsome toadstools growing under the pines at the end of our driveway. Check it:
Is that not the most amazing thing? Martha got some great pics, too, of not only the stool, but some added embellishments for dramatic effect. She cracks me up!

I did a SIStv assignment today and that was to update the Digital Blog with a review of new products available. That was kinda fun. Here's a link, just in case you want to read my riveting review. There ARE some really cute things available, though. I'm really glad I like what I sell!

I also did the church banking today in anticipation of the busy day I have planned tomorrow which includes doing our own banking AND my hair and pedi appointments. And packing!

We head up Friday to our rented cabin in Blackwell, PA in the PA Grand Canyon. It's such a beautiful area and we always look forward to spending this week there ourselves - this time accompanied by M&M. There's a bike path just a stone's throw from our cabin and a fantabulous swimming hole right in front of our cabin. Not to mention all the hiking you could ever want, too. I just love sitting on the front porch with my feet up, reading and generally relaxing. Who cares if it's stinkin' hot and humid? That creek is all I need. We have a few meals out planned and the rest we'll - and when I say we'll, I mean they'll - cook at the cabin.

Matthew's already been doing a little work - down at Grandpa's helping to fix up the house. And today he started someone with guitar lessons. Martha's been gathering some materials for a scrapbook she's going to work on over the summer, including while we're away. How thrilled am I about that? Tomorrow I will also be gathering, in my spare time, some scrappy things to take. I already downloaded some digi files to a CD and I'm also going to take some supplies so I can make some ATC's while I'm gone.

I've got a big day before me - better get some sleep!

Saturday, July 05, 2008



The weather co-operated and we were able to see some great fireworks in Williamsport, PA. I loved playing with my camera and getting some interesting shots. There was a big old BRIGHT streetlight about 15 feet right smack in front of me, but I managed... :) Hope your celebration of the independence of our country was great. It always chokes me up when I truly take a moment to think about what all these fireworks are FOR!

Friday, July 04, 2008

Granddog in the houuuze! Oh, yeah. Look at that cutie. I can't even quit taking photos of him. (That's Taco.) And he did bring his mommie and daddie with him. So, after months of anticipation and prayer, Matthew & Martha & Taco have landed - and we are just beyond happy about it. (I have to say that b'cause they're gonna see this...) ;)

Seriously, though, they had an uneventful trip across country over the weekend and arrived safely at our door at around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. I know the transition away from AZ, though their choice, won't be easy for them. And it's my prayer that they will grow to love it here even half as much. Um, no, not really. I want them to love here even more! But, you can't force that kind of thing.... We're just so thrilled to have both of our children and their families within our very grasp. We'll soak it up and enjoy it just as long as we can, because it means the world to us....

It's a crappy looking 4th of July so far. Chilly. I don't know if the fireworks will happen or not because it may rain. But, we're kinda just hangin' today and taking it easy and we'll see what happens later. I've finally got some scrap time, so I'm eating that up, too.

And - I'm really excited about this - I decided to take a photography class offered at SIStv by one of our design team members. And it has proved to rock my photographic world. It has absolutely made ALL the difference in my understanding of my SLR digi camera. Like, as in, before I had NONE, and now I know what in the heck I'm supposed to be doing. In MANUAL mode, even! Thank you, thank you, Courtney - you have just given me my new camera!

Having said that, though you're going to see the quality of my photos improving, I still need a LOT of practice! But at least now I know what in the heck I'm supposed to be practicing! :) I'm a happy girl! I'm sure I'll make all my subjects very sick of me - but it will be worth it because I'll have all these GORGEOUS photos - of them scowling at me!