Friday, March 18, 2011

The first hints of Spring

We're at our beloved campground. The first warm days after winter. Bright sun. Fun to be outdoors. Daffodils are up, ready to bloom in a couple weeks. Tons of leaves piled up from the winter - tree branches down. Planting Astilbes. It's a Friday night. People starting to arrive for the weekend - eager for a break from the winter. The central hot tub will be a gathering spot for old friends to catch up on the news. The water, off for the winter, will be turned on next month. Snow birds will be returning, then. We spent the day enjoying the sun while cleaning out the flower beds.
But it's hard to write about such mundane things when Japan is in meltdown and the middle east is a cauldron of unrest. How to balance our mundane with their earth-shaking catastrophes? Yet life goes on.
Feel sort of schizophrenic - concentrating on today's busywork, while our world is in various states of collapse. Son, Stephen, on a ship assigned to protect the carrier, Ronald Reagan, is no doubt in the middle of the Japan situation. Hoping the nuclear radiation isn't affecting him.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

February 15, 2011

I'm still learning how to post things on this blog. I just posted pictures of our New Year's Dinner at Ken's house, pictures of the snow and ice around our apartment complex in the last "big one", and a couple taken last week when we were visiting our campground, for the first time since last September. The pictures aren't in good sequence, but I guess you can make sense of them.

It was good to get back to the trailer after being gone for so long. It was COLD outdoors but we were toasty inside, with a good furnace and an electric blanket. We are so grateful for the great insulation in this old quality-built trailer - so different from the new easy-to-tow lightweights of today. Mostly we just "chilled" as they say. Tom watched TV and I spent most of my time deleting old emails that pile up. And each afternoon brings a shower and soak in the hot tub and some socializing with other members.

Winter months are busy for us. Tom is busy with his NJGM Chorus and I'm working with several churches in our Presbytery, so we're visiting various churches on Sundays and there are meetings during the week as well. I'm on the Finance Committee of our Co-op, where we're looking into various investment options. It's a joy to see the sun earlier in the morning, and the darkness coming later in the evening. Summer will come! And we're looking forward to our summer garden plans.

For those interested in my hearing loss - I can see some improvement, but nerves take a long time to heal. Unfortunately, the middle tones of the organ are still absent, so what remains for me to hear is an unpleasant cacophony of tones having no relationship to "music."  Thankfully, I can hear voices, with my hearing aids. Other than this, our health is fine. (As I write this, I think Tom has Mac watching the Westminster Dog show - hoping he will pick up a few pointers on how a Cairn is supposed to behave.) We're also watching the development of Amendment 10A as it goes through the voting process and seems to be gaining ground. We're praying that it passes, this time. I'm active on Facebook these days, so I encourage you to find us there.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Ken stirs his coffee

 
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Plows clearing our driveway

 
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Chris has a thoughtful moment

 
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Family at New Years

 
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Family assembled - New Years

 
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Tom and Chuck New Year's Dinner

 
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Bob Moon and Anne Cain - New Years

 
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Ready for New Year's Feast

 
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Son, Ken, setting New Years table

 
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Kathleen ponders a dinner question

 
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Daughter-in-law Melanie & daughter Erica enjoy a laugh

 
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Daughter-in-law Kathleen, Son, Ken, New Years Dinner

 
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Son Chris explains, next to son Ken

 
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Ice in our courtyard

 
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Our courtyard after the big snow

 
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view from bedroom window

 
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Ice on the shrubs at our apartment

 
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Looking toward rec hall 2 10 11

 
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Winter's Day 2-10-11

 
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