Monday, June 14, 2010......Aunt Karin can throw a birthday party....a pup party is her specialty....first there was the trip to the Island for us and the birthday pups...... .......there is one park in the area where dogs on leash are allowed.....
.......these photos are on the Gulf side....the park is on the intercoastal waterway side but is a nice place to take them for a walk and a little swim......
...... we went to an intercoastal cafe where dogs are welcomed....the park trip and cafe were our contributions to the celebration.....and then the major party....this year we were not able to have all four dogs together to celebrate...several weeks ago, Tank tore the CCL (ACL in humans) tendon in one of his back legs while running out for a ball....and he is unable to rough house with the other pups....surgery has been recommended but our son has decided to wait awhile and see how Tank does...he is a little better but not good enough to play as he usually does.....we will see....Aunt Karin ordered Tank and Hannah a memory foam bed....it is due to be delivered today....she also bought them all more toys than the royals at Buckingham Palace have....and made them each a chicken and rice dinner and a pup birthday cake of cornbread, turkey bacon and cheese....it has been a real celebration....Jedi was also included because the big dog's 5th birthday was Jedi's 9 month birthday....and of course, he believes he is a big dog too....
.......Hannah was partied out and picked her cute birthday monkey as her baby to sleep with.....Thank You, Aunt Karin.....you are a way generous party girl.....
Short Sail.....and New Course for Robin.....Congratulations, Captain.....
June 6, 2010.....Sunday.....lyrics in one of Ray's newer songs mention "sitting on my front porch in my wicker rocking chair".....well, well.....last night at 11:30, the temperature on that same front porch was 88 degrees....earlier in the day....92 degrees....this is a screened porch with a screen door...so it all is fully open....and it is Hot....but we are not complaining (yet).....one way to cool off is to go out and sail on Passages with our friends, Captains J and Robin....it was lovely.......
.....here Ray tries out the water and holds a rope tethered to Passages.....Shark bait but cooler..... ........this is a fabulous sailing home.......
.....in their element in Tampa Bay....the Captains are radiant.....
.........the guests were not sea sick so the Captains were extra happy......
.....Robin is Captain of her own ship come tomorrow.....she is leaving her position as Director of College Counseling for a popular private school to open her own business doing college counseling.....if you have a child in high school who needs a veteran to groom them for acceptance to a college or university no matter how select and competitive....Robin is your life line....for 25 years, she has developed world wide networks of contacts and expertise....she is the Best...Robin is the most enthusiastic and dedicated professional I have ever known....your child cannot miss under Robin's guidance (phone, Skype, internet, in-person visits)....comment to me and I will direct you privately to Robin back through your email address.....Congratulations on your impressive career, Robin dear.....you are now set for smooth sailing in the private sector !!!!!
Hello In There.......
Sunday, May 30, 2010......almost two months since the last post....days pass so rapidly....most of my readers have drifted away most likely....but here I go again.....sitting here in my back room watching a blue jay peck around for worms....lots of shade in the backyard but I can see the bright broiling sun of our summer illuminating the Airstream.....and as my friend, Tim, has said...."every loss has a gain".....we are not leaving for the north or the west this summer....but we have rediscovered our world here in Tampa Bay through the eyes of our visiting friend, Brigette, from Germany...... ......we are holding our coast dearly as we wait to see what the greedy monster British Petroleum's oil spill will do to our major love.....
.......there is no finer edge of the earth anywhere........
.........we took Brigette inland also to swim in a natural spring....Germany is a "culture of bathers" according to Brigette......she loved her first trip to Florida........
....... our first Tampa Bay Rays game courtesy of our buddy, Nan, the number one fanatic of the Rays......
.......thank you, Nan......
........after Brigette departed, we headed to our favorite campground for a rest.....Safe travel, Brigette.....
........ ......
........all is well that ends well....
......hello, in there...this is a beginning.......
Celebrations.... Sea Dog Emergency Averted........
April 3, 2010....Saturday.....recently, we had Spring Breakers at our house....Tommy, Carol and Jud....they escaped the frozen north and we were glad to see them....while they were here, we celebrated Carol's birthday....... ...this is a Tutti Fruitty cake....Ray told me it was Carol's childhood favorite....it was actually Ray's favorite but Carol loved it too....first three layer cake I have ever made.....very good....everything totally from scratch the old Southern way.....
.......we walked off the cake out at Robinson Preserve.....beautiful place......
....no celebration is complete without backyard sitting.....J and Ray did some music for us....
.......on to a favorite place to eat....Star Fish Deck.....fried grouper....cheese grits.....hushpuppies....there are none better......
.......cocktails aboard Passages....with sunset included.....
.....we really enjoyed our visitors and now they are safely back home.....next....more Spring Breakers....a dangerous group they are......
.......J and Robin took their Sea Dog hopeful, Buddy, out to sail for the first time....then before they had been out long, we got a call...."We left all my pots and pans and Buddy's dog biscuits....can you bring them out to us?".....well, but of course!!....no novice Sea Dog can learn the Sea Dog ropes without dog biscuits....and no Captains can sail their ship long with no pan to cook the chicken in.....right?....Robin did also ask for the tea pot....I forgot that and didn't remember she had requested that until the next day....but we were able to see Buddy in action boarding the dingy from the deck of Passages and seeming to love it....
.......wading in the water coming ashore to do his business.... .......he probably would have taken to it
without the dog biscuits..... ......there the boy is....safely back on board.....waiting for one of those biscuits his Mom just picked up from his Aunt Terrie.....and Congratulations to our niece, Lindsay and her daughter, Livi....Lindsay has just taken her first position as a Speech Pathologist......Spring Break has been good......Ray and Dee had to have skin tumors and lesions removed....but the pathology reports are back and there are no malignancies....they are doing very well....thank you for all the checking on them....we appreciate it.....celebrations...... emergencies averted.....
Handcrafted Bowsprit for the Cutter.....
March 14, 2010....Sunday....during the Christmas and New Years dramatic sail to and returning from Key West....Captains J and Robin had damage to their main sail and their bowsprit deck due to intense weather that had not been predicted....no worry....J can fix it....J is the Captain of his own ship....today we met J and Robin out at the current slip for Passages to help work the bowsprit he made onto the vessel....to make certain it did fit.....
.....Ray held it up for me so I could get a shot of it....beautiful smooth wood....and heavy....about 30 pounds........all handmade by someone who says repeatedly that he doesn't know what he is doing....
.....the bowsprit fit.....now there only need to be some minor adjustments and it can be installed....for a few minutes of work we got a beer and a sandwich and the pleasure of the company of our friends and neighbors....their home is up for sale....and they have one foot on the boat....soon we will go out with them and Buddy, their seadog, for a day sail.....it is good to be able to handcraft things....it is even better to know for sure what you want to do and how you want to spend the rest of your life......and then to do it........I am sea green with envy......
"Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself." Tolstoy
March 12, 2010....Friday.....here we are in one of the first electrical storms of the spring and summer season.... it has been so long since this happened that during the early morning hours this morning, Hannah actually leaped fully over Ray and hunkered down between us.....thunder storms have not ever bothered Hannah....but it has been so long since she has experienced this kind of weather....I think she has forgotten that it doesn't bother her....I love it....I hope it does not hamper my computer use this morning....it has hounded me each day I have not posted to the blog....but I have been on a different...and not exactly better, circuit recently.....we have spent lots of time recently chasing down the Picture of the Year nominees....I do not intend to do that again....while I love film....I truly love the escape and the potential to gain an insight from film....I am totally perplexed by some of the nominees over the last several years and especially the winner this year......"At the moment you are most in awe of all there is about life that you don't understand, you are closer to understanding it all than at any other time." (Jane Wagner,The Sun) ....ok, I am comfortable here pulling words out to communicate with you....I would also like to decorate with some photos...we still have not had a consultation with someone who could help me figure out the MIME unsupported image message I still see when trying to import an image from the Picture area of the new computer....I hoped it would mysteriously work today...it did not....instead of changing Dell....I think I am going to need to step out and change my approach.......... Anna Maria Island.......yes...yes....I went back to the Pictures on the new computer and loaded one I knew I had taken....and it showed up on the blog....I think the problem with the MIME message may have been trying to use photos that I moved to Pictures from emails? ....I will try another one.....
......Woody and Ray have made some metal and mosaic garden art pieces and they have worked on a beach theme stage set for a charity fund raiser.....
......I don't have photos of the stage set......
.....recently, I took Mother to Birmingham to meet her first great grandchild, Livi.....here Lindsay gives Livi her bath and Nana Lyla supervises the process.....
......Aunt Lauren and Livi adore each other......
.....Brother, Tommy and sister, Carol have also visited us recently....and we are planning a Brother and Sister trip soon.....
.....I cropped Carol out of this photo of Ray and me so I could use the photo for something else....and the only other photo of Carol at this last visit with us is an MIME photo....so anyway.....here we are...changing ourselves......
LIVI AURORA......Tiny Dancer......
January 25, 2010......what a blessing this new year....this new decade....this new life.....our great niece, Livi Aurora was born 01/10/10.....a special looking set of numbers.....we can hardly wait to meet her in person....but until then...her Gammy, my little sister, Lisa is keeping the stills and videos coming.....thank you, Lisa....and Happy Birthday to Ray and my Mother recently.....
....this one of Gammy and Livi is while she was still at the birthing center......
....Lyla is a small pup but now looks bigger next to Livi....Livi was 5 lbs. 12 ozs. at birth....much too small for newborn clothes....but who needs clothes when you have a snuggle buddy like Lyla?.....or patient watchers like Lani and Lucky.....
.actually, all the pups participate in Livi's care and monitoring of the humans who provide care
......the Mother, Gammy and G-Daddy, great grandmothers, aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles are under the spell of Princess Aurora....Sleeping Beauty was also called Princess Aurora....this I did not know until Livi was named.... ......Welcome, tiny dancer....you are much loved and are such a blessing to us all......
Jedi.....Knight of The Force......
December 14, 2009....Monday....Karin has her new baby....Jackson has a new brother.....The Force has another Jedi Knight......this little English Cream Golden, Jedi, is precious.....he had to leave his first adoptive home placement due to a serious medical diagnosis of his single Mother...right after she adopted him.....he is 12 weeks old..... .....Karin loves this photo of the boys....this is the first few minutes after Jedi arrived....Jedi was named by the little boy in his original adoptive home....he is a Star Wars fan, of course....
......big brother, Jackson, is doing very well with the new baby....only a little jealous, at times....I am getting lots of puppy sugar and kisses from the grown dogs too.....Jackson, Tank and Hannah.....
.......this is one precious baby...... ......look at those leg bones....Jedi will be a massive boy....May The Force be with him, his new Mom and his patient brother, Jackson and his Aunt Terrie, Uncle Ray, Hannah, Tank and Tank's Dad, Dee...and with all of you too.....Jedi, Knight of The Force.....Welcome Home......xoxoxoxoxo
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