Blast from the Past

This photo was taken after Dee's last day at elementary school. After a triumphant march around the school hall, with all the parents and younger grade kids clapping and cheering (known as the "4th Grade Clap-Out"), Dee joined a select few in the principal's office to announce the official countdown to the end of the school year, shouting out the last seconds over the loudspeaker. What a great way to end five wonderful years at a great school! Papa and I clapped with the rest of the parents and I, along with many other parents, shed a few tears ... watching Dee and her classmates, some of whom she'd been buddies with since kindergarten, say farewell to a major part of their childhood!

Sniff, sniff, it's been almost a year and I still feel very sentimental!

Rabbit of Saville

By far, the funniest Looney Tune EVER!

Makes me crack up every single time.....(sorry, you gotta sit through a brief ad before the toon starts!)

http://looneytunes.warnerbros.com/web/toons/toons_classics.jsp?check=1&id=toons_classics_rabbitofseville&adsite=site%3Dlooneytunes.com

Grand Tetons

Wow, they meant it when they called these mountains "grand". Add to that description "marvelous", "magnificent", "awe-inspiring" (or as our British friends would say: "oar-inspiring"!)

Someday, I hope to take a photo this beautiful! Usually, I look through my viewfinder and THINK my picture will be gorgeous like this, only to get the photo back (months later, because I am the Queen of Procrastination when it comes to taking film in for developing) and it's just blah. Somehow, my mom always manages to get the lighting, shadows, contrasts, etc. perfect!

Or maybe I only get the perfect ones and she has 40 rolls of "blah" pictures sitting at home on her shelf!

All I Want for Spring Break is a Good Night's Sleep!

It's night number 3 with my new "machine", the Resmed S8 with detachable humidifier. Who would have thought something that looks like a science experiment gone wrong would make such a difference! A month or so ago, I decided to take advantage of having a good insurance plan and take care of my so-called snoring problem. (I never had a problem with it, anyway!!!) Anyway, after a couple of excruciatingly long doctor's visits and two very uncomfortable overnight sleep studies - both of which involved having a tube inserted through my nose and pushed down just inside my throat - yuuuuuuuuuuucccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkk - I was finally rewarded with my very own portable CPAP machine, complete with head gear, "nose pillows" system, and "elephant trunk" hose. It even came with a cute carryall bag for portability!

I know it's early days yet, but so far I can say that I've gotten two very good nights of sleep and I've had the most productive weekend with less tiredness than I've had in at least a year. All I can say is, YAHOO and I really hope it continues to be as effective!

This gorgeous photo was taken by my mother, who's life long passion has been taking pictures. At every family gathering, graduation, sports game, vacation, etc., she was there clutching her camera and snapping away for dear life. She has always had a particular love of nature and I have many memories of her in all kinds of weather, in many uncomfortable positions, craning her neck, twisting the camera this way and that, in search of the perfect photo of that mushroom, flower, stalk of corn, mountain…

The photo here was taken near the end of a fabulous family reunion that we had this last August in celebration of my oldest brother’s 50^th birthday. We enjoyed a few wonderful days of camping, hiking and seeing amazingly breathtaking sights such as this one. More special was reconnecting with all of my brothers, my sister and my sisters-in-law. I also had the bonus of spending some extra time with my mom as we hiked the boardwalks surrounding Old Faithful. She has always been very active, but age has robbed her of her quick steps, so we moseyed down the paths, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the many incredible geysers and just enjoying each others’ company.

Thanks, Mom, for your sweetness, loving memories, and your great photographic eye!