A Fond Adieu...

We leave tomorrow morning....we're going home again. We'll be taking life from this place and leaving a piece of our hearts....again. We have no idea what new adventures we will find because we simply don't plan our trip that way. The whole idea is to get there and then just be. Tomorrow evening, I will be.

A Chord of Three Strands

My mind requires an occasional stroll down a rhythmic path as it tries to make sense of the world around me. Today, as I was browsing through pictures from this past weekend I found myself wandering down such a path. I do not do so deliberately, it just happens.

I was born as the youngest of three. It matters not that other children will be added to my family tree by a stepmother and a stepfather. Of my full blood siblings, I am the youngest of three. I had a son who, eventually, became the oldest - of three as well. I was young, so very young, but at his birth, our lives became instantaneously intertwined with chords of love. I struggled to raise this child while still nearly a child myself. We managed, we survived, and we thrived. Three years ago, he blessed me with the birth of my granddaughter, Miss M, who is – yes, the youngest of three. I was a witness to her birth while standing at my son’s side. I was a witness to the instantaneous intertwining of their lives – their chords of love. In it's desire for rhythm, my mind speaks of a chord of three strands - youngest, oldest, youngest – female, male, female - interwoven together as part of a larger familial tapestry of fierce primordial love. A chord of three strands that cannot be broken…..and my heart swells just a bit more.

I am so blessed to have her as a part of that chord. My beautiful Miss M. My beautiful light of the sea.

Mysterious Letters

The lovely Megan sent me this link in response to my dictionary post. What a treasure to find and what a delightful gift to send to me. Thank you Megan. It makes me wish I had thought of the letter writing idea myself, but still, you know I'm going to be following along.

The Dictionary

Such a useful book with many interesting wonders to find within if only one spends time perusing the pages. There are words, obviously, but what is intriguing about those words is the volume of new to me words I can use to supplement those I currently over use. Sometimes those new words can give clarity to what I've meant to say when I haven't known how to say it....if only I look inside. Okay, sometimes I need to use a loose interpretation, but the words are there.

I do get quite bored and sometimes frustrated with my vocabulary, but as much as I like having an expanded vocabulary, I do not want to be one of those people who will use words just to sound smart. I want my chosen words to be appropriate to the conversation, and sometimes, some times, I want my choice of words to have meaning for just one recipient if only because the word(s) were used in a private conversation. Those are the times when so much can be said with so few words.....and I smile.....knowing.

There are other things that can be found in the dictionary....at least, in my dictionary. I don't know from where or from whom or from how long ago, but I suspect they are a token of love from a child.

Today, on this day, I find it appropriate that tokens of love are found in the pages of a dictionary.

Good morning, glory

May your day be as beautiful as my morning.

It's raining, it's pouring,

but we still found time for exploring. Saturday it rained and poured off and on pretty much all day, but we still found time to do a lot of exploring. I just don't have pictures of it, for obvious reasons. Thank goodness rain never keeps outdoor people at home.

This weekend found us at the Rifle River area, in a place neither of us had been and the weather was perfect for keeping the bugs down and the crowds away, which gave us the freedom to explore with complete abandon. It was way too much fun and did we ever have good laughs going on. And what the heck is a railroad ballerina anyway?? I'm telling you, that's just the sort of thing that happens when you can't hear the other speak clearly and your mind formulates what it thinks it heard. I still laugh about it.

There was a break in the weather Sunday morning, but my goodness, did we have the heat and humidity! You could hardly walk without dripping sweat. Still, we climbed to the top of the observation deck to check out the view. We walked down to the fishing dock.


We hiked the path to Scaup Lake and found some great fungus and flora along the way.





We decided to save a better exploration of Scaup Lake for another time. Perhaps in the fall when the air is crisp and the woods are full of color?

This is the Rifle River from later in the day. It was so hot that as soon as a breeze would blow away the mist, more would form from the cool river water evaporating.

So, on the drive home we got caught in the most amazing storm I have ever experienced. We were driving down the highway through a torrential downpour and my traveling companion had just commented on how odd it was that there was no wind when, wham! We got pounded by the wind and it just kept getting stronger....and stronger.....and stronger. It seemed like the trees were going to bend sideways. Brent tried to use a semi-truck as a buffer for the wind, that is, until he thought the truck was going to blow over and he was forced to hit the brakes hard and pull off the road. Holy cow! I have never seen sustained winds and rain to that degree. I should have been scared and I probably would have had I not been trying to figure out how to change my camera setting to get a video. Unfortunately, by the time I had it figured out the wind was dying down and we could see the trees again. Later, the weather channel said it was 60 mile p/hr winds. Are you kidding me? That's all? I swear, how some of you people ride out hurricanes and typhoons, I will never know.

Great night for a boat ride.

You might have an idea that I love the outdoors, the woods, the water....you might be right. I like nothing better than to be outside and it doesn't matter the weather, but fabulous summer evenings beg for a sunset cruise.

I especially love the cruises in which we do nothing more than drop anchor and rock in the waves. Last night found us anchored just outside the pierheads so the captain could help a buddy clean the bottom of his sailboat.

Here we have captain C, all decked out to go for a dive. I'm so envious of all the cool gear he gets to wear! I need to learn how to dive......let's do it, Jewels.

Of course, shenanigans from the crew are a must!

This would be F.Y.s. proving (?) he could do a backflip. Honey, I give you a score of 2, but only because you actually made it over!

This is the beautiful and always charming, but sometimes goofy Jewels, F.Y.S's girlfriend of fore.v.e.r.

Come on, wouldn't you have tried this picture too?

It wasn't long before we set about the business we were there for, which was relaxing, talking, enjoying the sunset, relaxing, relaxing, relaxing......

Jewels did a bit of knitting (I knew I loved this girl).

F.Y.S. dangled his feet off the pulpit. I have a similar picture of him in the same spot from about 6 years ago.

That would be me, with my feet up. Do you get the idea I may know how to relax?

Yes, relaxed.....happy.....

and content. What a pleasant evening......

Next up? Well, this weekend will find me heading to the woods and water again for a little B&L Time.

The Timinator

F.Y.S. visits with me on Tuesdays while Jewels attends her cake decorating class. I like that. It gives me 2 hours of just the two of us and it feels so good to connect with him. Last night, we sat on the porch (seeing a pattern here?) talking while he worked on a crossword puzzle and I attempted a long-tail cast-on for a new hat I'm making my granddaughter. Tim, my fabulous companion for 15 years now, decided F.Y.S.'s and my little get together looked like so much fun that he had to be a part of it and jumped in my lap to join in. He's not very good at casting on, but as you can see, he gave it his best effort. (I didn't tell him he needed opposable thumbs to do it right.)

It's interesting to knit with a cat in the house. I can be as quiet as a mouse (ha, that might be a clue) and still he knows when I sit down to work a few rows. He shows up looking all woebegone until I move my project and pat my lap, which, in theory, gives him permission to jump up. In truth, he'll jump up regardless if I ignore him or don't move things off my lap. He seems to believe it's his lap and anything in his way is just cozy bedding put there for his own personal benefit.

A dear friend of mine nicknamed him the Timinator and it sort of stuck with me. I have to laugh because there have been times in the past when I would check my answering machine and there would be messages for my cat, from said friend, that would entail plots against me to pose a breakout for my cat. I mean really! Who plots against a cat owner to bust the cat out of the house?

This same friend and I got Tim jacked up on catnip one night and we laughed ourselves silly with his antics. Finally, when the poor thing could take no more he backed himself into the cubby underneath my desk and lay there with his eyes closed and his front paws curled beneath himself, which only caused more fits of laughter from us as we remarked on Tim's new 'kitty garage'. Um, perhaps you had to be there for that one.

Can I just add that Tim still plays a wicked game of one-eye, still hates 'the claw' and will attack it viciously (but without hurting me) and has been known to play tag with my sons when they were little.

I love the Timinator!