Happy Purim!

http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm

Peanutbutterjellytime

p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqHwWnycaHY

Tappy's peanutbutterjellytime

Don't ask, it's a long story... nutshell, you can enjoy the world famous pb's at the ren faire, and the lovely Merry Wives as well, this was the halftime show at a recent concert of theirs.

Trevor's Solo

Trevor performed the theme from Final Fantasy for his piano solo Wednesday at his HS Choir concert and did an amazing job. It was beautiful and I really enjoyed watching him up there all on his own, being confident and showing his talent. So PROUD of him. The choirs were enjoyable, the theme was music from the movies. Next is their trip to New York, which he is very excited about. He is going to LOVE it.

Apology for the inept photo posts!

I promise I will get these rotated properly SOON (anyone have advice)? . The thing I don't get is that a couple of them stayed rotated, but the others rebelled.

Stolen moments today

I love to run away when I can and walk here, and it always feels like a faraway place, a demi-paradise... especially since one of the best stamp stores is around the corner.

He is such a visionary soul, down to the very last berry. Mmmmmmm,... loganberry.....

One of our very favorite eateries.

FHE at Tom's Farms with the abundance of springtime all around.
Noggin loves blueberries, so he got his own box and

enjoyed every last one. Even after all the pizza and smoked Shark and root beer.

A few stolen moments of bliss today.

Riverwalk and Carlsbad

We had lunch along the river and Nessie couldn't stand up after.

Carlsbad and the Riverwalk

We had always wanted to experience the otherworldliness of Carlsbad Caverns, and it did not disappoint. July 2006

little creations

Doug's birthday card, my Basic Grey box, Recipe box and layout of Big Sur pic, with the quote by Brigitte Bardot " A photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you."

Thanks to GAR

Gar Travis is the photographer to the stars of historical reenactment, among many other subjects. Thanks for being a friend and including me among your collection of great photos!

a blissful memory

This one reminds me of when Logan was in first grade and his wonderful teacher was Mrs. Jensen, whose husband's name is Buzz. We liked to call her Mrs. Lightyear now and then.

PUPDATE

The news is very good, so far. Edmund and Howard are getting along swimmingly, and they seem very happy to have each other. When I go out to visit and give treats, Ed likes hold something in his mouth and to circle around and come by for a snuggle each lap, kinda like a Monopoly game only he doesn't collect $200.00. Howard stays close by to remind me he is the favorite and most faithful and most adoring and most, lick, lick, lick... Doug is so relieved, and glad to have a beautiful couple of dogs. He loves his doggie pups.

Shabbat Shalom

About a month ago I had the privilege of seeing my friend Jane the soprano diva performing Leonard Bernstein at Beth Shalom. She is a gutte neshumah. I was farklempt. First was the Shabbat service, I have been to a couple before, but this is the largest temple in the Valley, so it was exceptionally beautiful singing and music, and I have been wanting to take the family to experience Shabbat every Friday evening since! I really enjoyed looking at all the different colors and shapes of yarmulkes, I think it would be a good business to make them to fit better, kind of like Victoria's secret for head shapes. It really was a mitzvah to me.

Sir Edmund Blacklabber

We visited the Riverside Shelter last night, hoping to find a pound puppy to love and to keep Howard company, and after a little searching, we found Ed.  He seemed to be very sweet and interested in us, calling us back to visit him more.  We did visit him more and fell in love.  We brought Howard over this morning for a meet and greet, and they were very content with each other, so, after the required snip snip and adoption papers, antibiotics for ear infection and kennel cough, we brought him home tonight.  Poor little ( well, 75 pounds ) guy had a rough day, but is very happy to be out of the asylum.  

Norman

Norman died yesterday at 2:00.  Jenessa and I were with him out on the front lawn in the sunshine, it was a beautiful day.  We had him for 12 years, so we are all very sad, we told him he was the best dog ever.  He had been sitting out in the rain alot the past week, and looking like Eeyore, but he seemed to stop eating sometime Saturday and he got really sick Sunday, so we brought him inside. Then Monday we took  him out on the grass to rest  and made a call to the vet, but he just was done.   As soon as it was over, I could tell he was running across the grass in the breezy sunshine, chasing a ball in doggie heaven, with "What a Wonderful World" playing in the background.  He was the first dog I ever had and I will never forget him.

shoulder to the wheel

So, the day after Doug got home, my Mom called. She had fallen and I spent the rest of the day in the ER at San Gabriel and packing her things to come for an extended visit. Her shoulder is fractured. She is healing and it has been 20 days now. She is very anxious to return home to her independent life, but it will be at least a couple more weeks.

Friday when he got back, we enjoyed a clam chowder/ sonoma chicken salad dinner with Logan at DCA. Then we listened to the acoustic guitar music ( the broken one and a half song loop, we realized ) as Logan spent the next 40 minutes on the Smoke Jumpers, being a carefree 9 year old.

Saturday morning Doug was working in the front and back yards, and realized that both of the pups were missing. We set out with the pickup on a search and rescue, and harsh reprimand, mission. After the cursory check of the nearby busy streets, there were the fugitives cheerfully sniffing around the yard of the one and only couple in the tract who love having the homeowner's association. It became a stealth mission to shove their not very lightweight bums into the pickup bed in one smooth motion ( I can't believe I lifted Norman into the truck without a second thought, though my back had a lot more to say about it for a couple of hours). As soon as we returned to our only Saturday with a free schedule for the past and future 6 months, the call came from my Mom.

miss my sweetie

He will be back home tomorrow! It will be so good to have him home again. I could spend every day with him, so it has been too many days without his presence.
The past couple of weeks we have been praying for our friends Brett and Morena Barnard, and their 4 girls. We have known them for 16 years. Brett was diagnosed with major cancer growths in the abdomen and finally had his surgery last night, ten hours of surgery. Already miracles are happening and the Doctor was able to remove possibly all of the cancer, a decision that he had made against past experience, apparently. I have been following the updates on his CarePage, which is a fantastic way to get direct information about a patient's progress. They removed an incredible amount of organs and such, and he is able to communicate although he is on a ventilator for a couple of days to come. Things look promising for the future, of course he will have a long recovery and some major challenges to face. What a relief. We have lost several friends before their time to cancer, however, we have also seen amazing recoveries as well. So many people can actually learn and gain from these kind of experiences that friends have endured and it is so encouraging to observe the whole process of people coming together.