Good day

Nice breeze, lots of sunshine, and one of my favorite kids here most of the day. Got lots of laundry done, swept out the garage, and cleaned up the back sidewalk.

Along with terrorizing the cats, messing up the computer (easily fixable), feeding grapes and a glue stick to the cats, and generally being very busy. :o)

Next week he starts preschool at Head Start - he's gonna love it!

Glorious morning

I'm loving the cooler weather and cannot wait to spend tomorrow outside - whether it's in the garage because of rain, or out in the garden pulling weeds. Autumn weather energizes me!

This photo is of my morning glories, taken this morning. They are all volunteer - each year they reseed themselves under this fence and by late August they are lovely.

The Boys

Tucker:


Max:Just some current photos of the kittens - now called "the boys" (just like my brothers!).
They've readjusted to being home after spending more than a week at the vet's. I love that they've been de-clawed, though I hated doing it.
No more scratching on the furniture or my legs. . .

And the winner is...

This is Randy with Brian, the casino "host" from the ship. He's from England, and says he loves his job. The three guys all took gaming lessons from Brian, and now we all know how to "split" and "double down" when playing Blackjack.
Randy's win was for the slot-machine tournament. He played a qualifying round for the finals, then got 100 spins on a slot machine. The person with the highest score won. He got $500 cash, that lovely t-shirt, the trophy, and a goody bag full of treats. We were sitting on the balcony, enjoying the view and a bottle of wine, and missed the finals. He had fun making us think he'd lost, then pulling out his wad of cash to surprise everyone. Drinks were on him! :o)

Great Catch!

Randy's King Salmon weighed in at 10 pounds.
Angela's King Salmon weighed just over 20 pounds.
Yes, they had them butchered and sent home. Can't wait to feast!

More glacier trivia

The glaciers were some of the high points of our trip. This collage of photos is of Harvard Glacier at the end of College Fjord in Prince William Sound. It's a mile and a half wide, and 300 feet high. They think it's at least another 100 feet under the water. I think the ship's naturalist said it was 25 miles long. The air temp was 48 and there was a stiff breeze while we were there. There were seals lounging on the icebergs nearby.

Glacier

The ship was less than 1000 feet from this massive glacier - the closest this captain has ever gotten. We got to see huge chunks of it falling into the water ("calving"). Each time it happened we heard a "crack", then a thunderous "boom" as it hit the water. That's where those little icebergs come from. They also come from under the water when pieces break off and pop up to the top. This was AMAZING.

Kitty news

Picked up the kittens from the vet yesterday where they stayed while we were gone. Turns out that "Molly" is now "Max". I never checked, just took Cindy's word for it, but she never really looked, either. She had another friend look when they were very young, so it's an understandable mistake. I don't think we did any psychological damage...

We're home now

We got in about 4:00 this morning. Long day of driving, flying, waiting, flying, waiting, driving. You get the picture. I have over 460 photos to edit, along with a few minutes of video. When I get through them, I will put together a Yahoo album so you can see the highlights of our trip at your leisure. :o)
The photo above is Greg and I standing on Denver Glacier in front of the helicopter we rode in to get there. Yes, we know we look hot in those boots and vests!
More to come...

Hello from ALASKA!

We're wearing long sleeves and light coats, and it is WONDERFUL! Words cannot adequately describe the beauty of the landscape here. The mountains with waterfalls, bald eagles flying around everywhere, whales playing in the water, small icebergs floating around, glaciers in valleys, the list goes on and on. Greg is standing on our cabin balcony right now trying to photograph a sea lion playing and feeding in the water near our ship.
Yesterday WE WALKED ON A GLACIER! It was amazing!
The food is bountiful and mostly delicious. I've tried some new things, including sushi. Of course there is seafood aplenty at dinner each night. Tonight is our second formal dinner and the dessert buffet at midnight.
Randy caught a 10-pound salmon on his fishing trip, but Angela had to show him up and catch a 20-pounder!
Randy also won the slot machine tournament in the casino and won $500 cash! We all sucked in the blackjack tournament. Everyone played except Ang - Greg and Alan were "on the board" for awhile, but got knocked off early on.
Tons of photos to show everyone when we get home - along with some short video. Better go now - I'm paying for every minute I'm online.

Away we go!

We're leaving soon for Omaha to spend the night, then fly out tomorrow morning.

The kids will hold down the fort for us.
The kitties are staying at the vet. They looked so sad when I left them this morning.
Be back next week!!

Hey Toto!

I'm not in Kansas anymore! Or Oklahoma, or Texas - I'm home! It was a short trip, but the drive made it seem like I was gone longer.
I was invited to stay another day, and I really, really wanted to, but just couldn't. I must prepare for the cruise. Yes, THE CRUISE!

Only one more week...

Hola from Texas!

It's HOT here and everyone drives too fast, but I've enjoyed my short visit with Tonita and Daniel. Minor car repair done this morning so I'm sure to have AC tomorrow on my drive home. Clearance clothing shopping achieved at the mall, along with a quick tour of some interesting places in town.
Tomorrow I'll go home - a long day of driving by myself and I'll be glad to get home and snuggle my kitties (and maybe my honey!). :o)

Late bloomer

Last weekend I walked out the back door and smelled something WONDERFUL. I knew it was a flower, but wondered what had bloomed? Down the stairs and around the corner were these gorgeous lilies, sending their sweet fragrance far and wide. Even though I've had this garden for several years, I never cease to be amazed at the beauty of Creation!

Sweet corn season

Like many rural Nebraskans, we have access to a boatload of free sweet corn this time of year. It is at it's peak of ripeness and sweetness right now, and we seem to have it for at least one meal each day. It's been many years since I had enough at one time to freeze it, but that is the project for tomorrow. Today we picked in the sunshine, with a nice breeze blowing. The kids had a great time. This evening we shucked it - that wasn't perhaps the most fun thing for them, but they were troopers and we got it done. Abbie didn't care for the little caterpillars we found periodically, and I remember being a bit squeamish about them when I was a child.

Tomorrow we blanche, cool, cut, bag, and freeze it. Next winter we will be very glad we did. The taste will take me back, not only to the midsummer months we're experiencing right now, but to my childhood. I learned how to "do" corn with my mom many years ago. I hope when Ben and Abbie get to eat some of their corn this winter, they will remember a fun trip to my house (Ben just asked me if we ever get to have a "Corn Festival" around here. "That would be like Heaven to me, smothered in butter and salt!" - he really just said that! :o)

Welcome Ben & Abbie

We have visitors from Texas this week. Tonita's youngest two, Benjamin and Abigail are visiting and we have lots of plans! Weeding the garden, cleaning the garage, painting trim - oh, wait, they're on vacation. Maybe we should swim, fish, play with Randy's kids, go to the movies, and go to the zoo instead. :o)

Happy Birthday wishes

To Grandma Regier - today she turned 89 years old. I joined Aunt Jan, Uncle Wendell, and Aunt LaVerna at the nursing home for the monthly birthday party for the residents. I took her a bag of chocolates. :o) Not sure she ever figured out who I was, but it was nice to be with her today.
I do not know how old she was when this photo was taken, but she sure was a cutie in her day!

And to my brother Alan - didn't forget you! Not sure if I should post how old you are... :o)

My flamingo family

They are healthy and having a great summer. If you drive by, give them a wave! :o)

Bird flu hits trailer park

So sad...

Am I a pirate?

Oh yeah, baby!

We saw Pirates 2 today. Though not as good as the first movie, in my opinion, Johnny Depp makes any movie worth sitting through for 2 1/2 hours!

Okay, Orlando was pretty hot, too.

This movie was much less believable than the first, but leaves some glaring unanswered questions sure to be answered in the next installment.

Nick tells me the third "Pirates" is due to be released next Memorial Day. I'm counting down already. Yeah, I must be a pirate...