Sunny Florida

I can't believe we were just in Florida only days ago. Florida 80 Bend 30 - Wow!
It is good to be back though. We had a really good time and it was great to see family.
We ate lots of Moms good cooking, hung out, and relaxed.

Golfing was a highlight- a first for both J & I. We did pretty darn good too!
I have to admit I am bummed it is so expensive because I could be hooked! We don't need any other expensive hobbies.

Only got to swim once cuz the weather cooled and clouded over some the last few days of our stay. But of couse our one trip to the pool ended in me getting attacked by fire ants on my right foot. I still have one big bite that doesn't want to go away.

Christmas in Florida has a whole different feel to it but it was fun to watch people decorate their homes and yards and palm trees. And lets just say that The Villages is a pretty unique place in itself and all those retired folk have got it pretty good there ! Nightly concerts in the square, 27 executive golf courses (several more professional courses), a couple bowling alleys, umpteen pools and rec centers, clubs and sports leagues, any restuaurant or store you could need- all golf cart accessable! Pretty cool!

Until next time Florida...Hope to see Mom and Dad on our turf next!

Winter Wonderland

Wow- well it certainly has been a while since I could get to sit at the computer and check in with everyone, let me tell ya that things sure have been different in our household in the past month !

Since last we met we had a pumpkin carving party at our neighbors. Ours are on each end, the big ghostly one and the smallest feline one.

We had our first snow storm a couple weeks ago and for 24 hours it felt like New England- we bundled up and went for a walk, of course the only people out in the streets, came home and made hot cocoa and it felt like old times. Well, now it has snowed everyday for a week, I have been driving in 4 wheel drive now for a couple days and J had his first plow hell in a 14 hour shift just last night. Here is a picture of our first snow storm.



Our new addition, Minou aka Pricilla (we discovered she really does know her pound name), was certainly a lot of hard work at first and tiring- keeping seperate kittys in one house- and Minou who was very sick and was very contagious so we had to be careful, and of course there has been the medicine, lots of medicine- the poor thing. But she is a champ we love her to pieces but she is still little Miss Sneezy! Her and Mocha have finally clicked and we can rest easier about that too!
Oh and look- surprise- Mocha in a bag !




Well we are off to Florida for a week- the sun will be an intersting change particularly after what J just went through! It will definetly be nice to see family! Ho Ho Ho

Welcome Minou!

We are now a family of four with our new adoption of a beautiful Tabico- We call her Minou! She is in quanratine right now and it is a bit of a bummer but everyone is doing just fine and we are hoping to let the new sisters meet next weekend!





She doesn't stay very still right now and our camera has an awful delay so we are working on getting more pictures...

Mocha in a...

Mocha in a handbag...




Mocha in a cube...(this photo was about a month ago)

Mocha in a paper bag...

What will Mocha be in next?

Miss Mocha

Surprising as it is to everyone, including me, I have turned into a "cat lady" within the past year.

It began quite innocently with some neighbor cats...

Whitey and Sweet Pea


Then on a cold December day I came home from work and fell in love with a scrawny little Mocha and it has been an amazing relationship ever since...






These are some of the earliest photos we have of her, we lost a lot of the pictures from the first few months we had her (cheap camera). We think she was about 5 months when we rescued her. Her unofficial official birthday then is December 15, J's birthday! It was the perfect day to bring her into our home and hearts! We just recently celebrated her unofficial official birthday of One year on July 15th! She is awesome! Stay tuned for some fun and more current photos of Mocha soon!

Rufous Vs. Anna

Oh sweet hummingbirds! Once they finished painting our house a couple weeks ago I was able to put up my hummingbird feeders at our new home! We had seen a glimpse of one prior to getting the feeders up so I was really anxious to get them up to see if we did have some local resident hummers. Well let me tell you it took just one day, and they found both feeders! And they have been here everyday since! One feeder is outside our bedroom window and off the back porch, the other is off the dining room window. The first morning of feeding began right at 7:00, I thought "how sweet", the next morning they were here at 5:30 am- 15 minutes before J's alarm goes off- he was actaully cursing the little things, not so sweet anymore- they have been arriving every morning since at 5:30- I am used to it now and I think J is too. We have two pairs I believe and I think they are pretty young cause the males don't look fully colored yet. It was such a surprise that they could be so loud. We had daily hummers at our place in Portland too but they didn't make half as much noise as these guys. Once I started watching them I relaized they are a differeent species of hummingbird. In Portland we had Anna's visit us regularly, I even rescured one once! But here in Bend we have Rufous regulars- so I began to wonder the differences between the two- other than color and obviously sound and here is what I discovered...

Female Rufous...

Male Rufous...

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)

Often described as "feisty," the Rufous may have the ideal size-to-weight ratio among North American hummingbirds. This bird outflies all other species, and usually gets its way at feeders at the expense of slower, less-maneuverable hummers. The Rufous has the longest migration route of all US hummingbirds.
Physical DescriptionAverage weight: male 3.22 g, female 3.41 g. Females are larger than males.
PlumageAdult male: Non-iridescent rufous crown, tail, and sides; back may be rufous, green , or some of each; bright orange-red gorget, white breast. Green-backed Rufous cannot be reliably separated from Allen's in the field without extensive experience and a good view of the spread tailfeathers through a scope.Adult female: Green back and crown, white breast, streaked throat, rufous sides and base of tail feathers, white tips on outer tail feathers. Very similar to female Allen's and Broad-tailed.
DistributionObserved in every state and province except Hawaii, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. There was even one very unusual report from extreme eastern Siberia! The Rufous is the most widely-distributed hummingbird in North America. Winters in Mexico and possibly Panama.

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

Anna's is the most common hummingbird in southern California, and one of only three species that are permanent residents of the US or Canada (Allen's and Costa's are the others). Unlike most other hummers, Anna's has a (minimal) song.
Physical DescriptionAverage weight: male 4.31 g, female 4.07 g. The Anna's is the largest hummingbird seen on the west coast.
PlumageAdult male: Metallic green back, dark rose-red crown and gorget, grayish breast.Adult female: Green back, grayish-white breast, white throat with some red spots, white tips on outer tail feathers.Juveniles: Young of both sexes look like the adult female, but may have unmarked throats.
DistributionObserved in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and British Columbia (resident on Vancouver Island).

I was unsuccessful at my uploads of male and female anna's pictures...but if you are interested please visit www.hummingbirds.net and you can learn more just like I did!

Now I understand what all the noise is about- feisty critters! Well I love having regular humming visitors, they are such a joy to watch! I encourage all of you to take the time to feed some hummingbirds!

My two favorite kids in the whole world!

I am so excited that now my two favorite kids in the whole world now have their own blog too! We dont get to see each other much so this brings us a little bit closer. I did have the pleasure of spending a few glorious days with them this spring and here a some pictures from my trip... I was also lucky enough to see my best friend too...here we all are..




and with Mom...





I love you guys!! and I miss you!!

The Gerrard AT6 Mark II and the Masterwork M-1716

We have just rediscovered music and it is rocking!

It has been a long time since I played a 33, at least15 years but I am thinking maybe even 17 or 18.

We are having so much fun with our new, old phonograph and its mint condition speakers and wooden case. I scored at the thrift store! We had been looking for a piece of furniture for this one wall, and we have always had it in our minds to find an old record player somewhere ( cant believe we got rid of the ones we had as teenagers!) so anyway this became a two for one- it serves as functional and fun!

Now we have a reason to sort through the used record bins at the Goodwill and I can help my mom get the hundereds of albums I inheritied from my late great Uncle Winnie out of her spare room and onto our turntable!! You see the catch, as most of you know, is that those albums are in Maine so the transporting part is not as easy as I would like it to be. Not easy, nor cheap but I will hopefully start getting regular shipments.
Furhter, I need to find one of those middle pieces that you use to convert the player to play 45's, because I have a 45 collection that was my dads from like the 50's and 60's that I listened to all the time as a child and sprouting adolescent .

A few notes about old records- they sometimes have posters and stickers inside- I am on the hunt for something way cool! Also as I learned last week - double check the record inside the sleeve before purchasing- not only can it be scratched beyond belief and likely unplayable, but upon further examination, not even the album or the band that I thought I was getting ready to play! Fleetwood Mac Rumours does not equal Glen and Bruce's Christmas Jamboree!

My most favorite score as of yet is one that is tantalizing my ears right now- Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits- for a buck!
What an awesome record- I know and love every word! I will never forget the night I got to hear all those tunes live from the man himself in Memphis TN- Sept 99- It was phenomenal and I'm not ashamed to say that I cried...love you Mr. Gambler!

Vinyl will forever live on in the B household!

Pretty Pictures

Well here are a few pics from our Crater trip like I promised, as you can see there was still snow even at the end of June! Next time we go we hope to take one of the boat rides that actually goes out into the lake! Maybe at the end of tourist season :)

Recent escapades

Well a fellow blogger friend suggested I create one of these things so that we can all stay in touch just a little bit more, especially since the move, so...here it is. I will do my best to try and keep it relatively current and have included my beloved other half as part of this, should he also like to share some thoughts. For now, let me tell you that it has been just over a month since we picked up our lives and moved to Central Oregon and we can't believe we waited so long! We are pretty much settled and adjusted, but for a few things here and there. The job situation isn't that bad- at least we are both working and there are still options out there to explore. We love our house and where we live so I would say that things are going quite well!

Well sadly we havn't had the opportunity to go exploring our new home turf as much as we would like...but we have done a few things.

The first escapade we went on involved going underground and in the dark- we visited some old lava tube caves- one was called skeleton cave and the other I am not recalling right now.
It is cold underground and very dark- always remember to dress appropriately and to bring extra batteries for the flashlights!
This caving is definetly more of an excitement to John, personally I prefer to stay above ground...my mind gets to wandering when I am down there, earthquakes, cave-ins, freak murdereres hiding in the dark corners, you name it I start thinking it, and then it makes me a little clausterphobic, but I grin and bear it and can't wait to see daylight again!! There are many more caves around that John is eager to explore so hurry up friends and come visist so I can pawn someone else off on this kind of adventure!

The second escapade was a lovely day trip to Crater Lake for our first year anniversary! It really was lovely, it had been 6 years since our last Crater visit, now we are so much closer so we can take a drive there anytime! I have pictures that I will post as soon as I get them loaded to the computer.

Next we plan on hitting some water spots- floating down the river one day and finding a nice lake the next- it is going to be in the triple digits this weekend afterall!!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!