Foto Finish: Peace

Suffering with the Santa Ana winds' allergies this week, I didn't have the gumption to go about to find a new photograph for this week's theme, so I looked through what I already had.  I tried to keep "PEACE" in mind, and this was the one that popped out for me.

Is there anything more peaceful that a snoozing kitty?  :^)

Printers That Dream

Up in the main office where I work, is one little printer that I'm pretty much the only person who uses. 

This morning when I went up there, I found this on it:

I wonder what the little thing was dreaming about?  Seems like it may have been a scary dream, don't you think?

Poor little guy.

Foto Finish: Kodachrome

What a wonderful topic for Foto Finish this week!  While scanning through my photo files, this is the one that caught my eye & held my attention, while thinking of "Kodachrome".  I believe these little flowers were in a planter at my bank...

If you want to see more wonderful, colorful photos, hop on over to Cat Patches!

Stray Stitches Giveaway!

Linda at Stray Stitches is having a

400 Followers giveaway!

She's giving away 6.5 yards of floral fabric....

Isn't it lovely?

Travelin' Dad

What a great time I had last night!  My Dad is on one of his occasional trips from Arizona to No. California.  He always stops first in So. Cal. & rests for at least one night, and as many of my aunts & uncles & cousins that can make it, all go out for dinner.  This time, he's staying 2 nights, so just he & I went to dinner last night.  We went to BJ's Restaurant & Brewery ~ he told me to choose, and I had a hankering for a Pizookie!  We each had a giant, delicious Cobb salad & a chocolate chip Pizookie.  And we talked & talked!

I love listening to Dad's stories, even the ones I've heard before!  The best from last night was from when he was a boy (the 3rd of 7).  His Dad was the BOSS of the family.  They were all to be home and at the table for dinner, the only excuse was if you were working at a job.  And when he said "Shhhh!", EVERYONE shushed.  One night, his Dad shushed, and cocked his head to the side, listening.  He said he thought he heard something out in the garden.  "Bob & Norm, you boys go out and see who's out there."  My Dad said that he & Uncle Bob figured it was some neighborhood boys out there & they'd get to kick their bums!  So he & Bob quietly went out the back door, and around to the side where the garden was....to find a great big MAN there!  Dad (Norm) said "There he is Bob!  Let's get him!" and then realized that Bob had turned around & ran straight across the street to the neighbor's house, who was a constable!!!  At this point, Dad said that he was paralyzed!  He said that he couldn't yell, or move his legs or arms...and that big man was coming right for him!  The man picked Dad right up - and started laughing, saying Norm was the bravest boy he'd ever seen ~ the big man was my Grandfather!!  He had snuck out the front & around to the garden.  He carried Dad back into the house & told everyone how Norm had stood his ground and was just the bravest boy, while Bob had taken off running across the street.  My Dad says that that was pretty tough to live up to - being the Bravest Boy!

So, tonight some of my aunts & uncles & maybe some cousins are coming & we'll all go out to dinner.  I don't know where we'll be going, but I do know we'll have fun.  And then Dad will take off tomorrow to continue his trip.





From the back, L -> R are Donald & Keith (Pete),
next row is Richard & Hap, then in front, Norm & Bob
Dad, 4 of his brothers & his sister-in-law, were all in the service during WWII.





Oh, did I mention...Dad will be 94 this May.

Start Where You Are

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where

you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your

command, and better tools will be found as you go along."

-- George Herbert

This came in my "Inspirational Quote of the Day" e-newsletter today.

What perfect timing!

Over the past couple of years, I've become so inundated with stuff.  I am aware that a lot of this has to do with being my Mom's sole caregiver as she descended into the beginning & middle stages of Alzheimer's Disease.  I knew something was wrong at the start, but I could not get my Mom's doctor to listen to me.  Part of that was the fact that we almost always were his first appointment of the day, and that's when she was at her best.  I'm not sure what finally triggered him to take me seriously, but by then, the meds didn't seem to help her much.  As we travelled that path, I would go to her house in the morning, to make sure she took all her meds (she just lived a few houses away), then off to work.  When I came home from work, I would stop at home, drop my things & go back to her house for dinner, usually staying until she went to bed.  A LOT of junk gets to piling up with that kind of routine!  Then my one sister moved back to California from Australia, thinking she could stay at Mom's & give me a break.  At that time though, Mom was truly in the midst of AD, and it was just too much for us.  Our other sister came down from No. California to help, and with the help of my niece, who works in the elder care industry, we found a decent care facility.

My sisters helped me, almost doing a "Clean House" for me!  They got me 3 big cabinets from IKEA for the room that became christened "The Fabric Shoppe"...but we still had to use some plastic bins, as it wouldn't all fit in the cupboards!  For maybe 6 months, I managed to keep the dining room table & coffee table fairly cleared off & tidy.  Then I slowly began to fill them up again.  <sigh>

And then my Dad decided to clear stuff out of his house.  He hit the big 90, and wanted to make sure that we got the stuff he wanted us to have.  However, it really wasn't stuff that we wanted to have.  2 car loads of his stuff later, I once again had trails through my house.  I almost felt like I should post a sign:

PLEASE KEEP TO THE MARKED TRAILS.

WE HAVE NO SEARCH & RESCUE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME

My couch is about 20 years old, and is in bad shape.  The recliner broke.  The dryer gave up the ghost.  There are piles of crap everywhere!  Yikes!!!

But....

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

On January 4th, I took myself to IKEA & bought a new couch, chair & ottoman, to be delivered and assembled on the 17th.  (I could assemble it myself, I have the technology, but it was a free deal, so why not?)  On the 15th, the big truck from 1-800-GOT JUNK should be at my house.  I will be pointing at that, and that, and THAT!

Wish me luck!

Foto Finish - Scenic

Here's my entry for this week's Foto Finish at Cat Patches .  This week's topic is Scenic....

I took this shot of the Snake River, near the 'Singing Bridge' at Twin Falls, Idaho while on my "Girlfriend Tour" roadtrip in 2007.
To see some more scenic photos, pop on over to Cat Patches!

A Little Drive in the Country....

Over my Christmas vacation, I drove up to Northern California to visit my sisters, nieces & nephews.  It was a wonderful break from my regular work routine!

I spent the first half with my sister Nancy, the Artist, and on Christmas Eve we decided to take a little drive in country.  Nancy paints and thought it would be a good day to get some shots for potential new paintings, so off we went.

Here are some of the photos that I took with my little camera, a Nikon Coolpix point & shoot that lives in my purse....

I just loved this spool, sitting in the field.

 I wonder what's at the end of this road?

MmmmmOOOoooooo!



There were lots of big boulders randomly scattered around the countryside.

I wonder if a giant was tossing them around.

As my friend Izy said, "What a great wonky road!"

We were somewhere between Lincoln & Wheatland, CA, and along the way we passed tangerine groves, a new winery that will be opening in a few more months, cattle, horses, 2 deer, and even saw a sign at one house for a fused glass artist. 

It had been overcast & raining the 2 days prior to this day, and it absolutely POURED on Christmas Day.

But for this one day...just a little slice o' heaven!