Floatin on the Freshies

It has been forever I am sorry but boy have I been busy- this new job has got me on the go, starting to get settled in a little so hopefully things will let up a little.

We got to hit the mountain a couple weekends ago with our friends Amy and Sam. J & I got to explore the backside of Bachelor for the first time and wow!

Sam caught Amy and I resting as we made our way through Mother Nature's beauty.
Good times.

Dreams Come True

Happy New Year!

We are going into 2008 with a fulfilled dream. I got a Christams Eve phone call offering me my dream job! I am the new Executive Director for a local child and youth serving non-profit! I am so excited and together we are thrilled for what this means for our future. So dream BIG in '08 everybody! Anything is possible and the sky really is the limit!

Found it!

Can you believe it? I found my ring!
Stubby stole it and brought it to join in his collection of toys. I know I checked this spot previously so either I overlooked it or he hadn't quite brought it there yet I don't know...it doesn't even matter cuz it is never leaving my finger again! I am so thankful, only earlier that day I was trying on new rings and felt sick to my stomach cuz nothing is right or fits my wedding band right so it was pretty disheartening, but no more, now I dance! How cool! Yippy Skippy!

Gobble Gobble Ho Ho Ho

Hi Everyone
Scored a new and interesting photo of J & I from a big benefit I put on for work earlier this month. The picture is originally in color but had this weird light thing going through it, I edited it some and turned it to black and white and thought it was fun, you can still see the light streaking through but I still like it!
Havn't been able to upload new pictures lately because I can't upload the new camera to the computer. A new computer is in the works for the new year so hopefully this won't be a problem for too much longer. Guess we could still use the old camera...hmmm.
Well anyway this was from my work camera so I was able to email it home.



Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We had four, much needed and well deserved, days of relaxation and fun!
Winter has finally arrived, the bitter wind and ice is upon us. The good snow for skiing isn't here yet, but we are hoping to participate in our favorite winter time activity for J's birthday in a couple weeks, keep your fingers crossed!
The Christmas spirit is starting to fill me up, but it has been hard with all this commercialization starting now well before turkey day, it just is not right. Anyway, we decided to make a Christmas village and are having fun making it come to life! So wherever you are and whatever you are doing we wish you all a safe, warm and fun holiday season!

Diamonds for the pipe gods

I did the unthinkable. Something that for four and a half years I was so afraid of doing. And I finally went ahead and did it. I lost my engagement ring. Yep. Gone forever, down the drain, perhaps on a short or a long journey to its resting place.
Almost lost the wedding band too. That would have been more traumatic, but maybe its blessedness is what helped it to get caught in the drain before hittin the pipes.
I suspect it may have been little Stubbers that assisted me in my loss but I am not positive and I take full responsibility anyway, but man it sucks. I may be able to get the same ring from the designers but I won't know until they come back from vacation in January. I don't want a different ring, I tried on hundreds before and this is my ring. I hope it works out. Thank goodness for insurance, otherwise I would be totally devastated! I am going back to never taking them off again that is for sure!

Hiatus

Wow, I know. It has been a while.

Things got crazy for a while with the arrival of our new edition...ringworm, quarantine, hadwashing, medicine, clothes changing, did I say handwashing, for a whole month.
We even had family visit during all of this, so it was a bit exhausting and challenging- yet worth every second, and all that dryskin from the handwashing!
Stubby RULES! He is so fantastic, he's gained almost 5 pounds in two months and is energetic and loving!
Then of course we had to introduce him to his sisters..eeks...didn't go so well at first. Lots of growling and hissing. It was nerve racking. But now they are all one happy bunch, lots of wrestling and licking, and we have even woken up to have all three of them in bed with us!
We got so lucky and are so blessed. Stubby was meant to be a part of our family and we are sooo happy to love him!
Picture updates will take a while, you see, I finally got that new camera I have been eluding to in many a blog past, and my computer is such a hunk a junk that I can't get the camera disc even in the drive to download the program, so, alas pictures may take a while.
In the meantime I need to go feed my family of five.

Miracle

One week ago today. J had a life altering experience when he discovered a kitten trapped in his work dumpster. It was stuck with its head outside a drainage hole at the bottom.
I have a picture of the hole but it wouldn't post. J jumped in the dumpster and tried to pull him out but his head was stuck on the other side with his neck stretched through the thickness of the dumpster and the pipe. They tried every kind of lube you can think of and still he was not coming out. His kind co-workers helped by actually grinding and splitting the pipe, without injuring the kitty, and releasing him from his torture. However, the kitten was not doing so well. He was covered in slime and who knows what, and very cold. The police were called and they too were kind samaritans and rushed him to an animal hospital. The vet tech explained that he was basically a corpse upon his arrival and they did not think he would make it. He had no body temp, his pupils were dialated, they told everyone not to get their hopes up.

However, those vets saved his life. They gave him a warm bath and an I.V. and they showed him some love, and low and behold he is fine. He is more than fine, he is thriving in our back room/office right now, as I write he is sniffing my feet and trying to get my attention.

The animal clinic is calling him the miracle cat. We call him Stubby. (note he is missing his tail, but for a cute little stub).

Stubby is now a member of our family, although he has yet to meet his sisters.

This is his first night with us when he still had his bandage from his hospital visit.

We love you Lil' Stubbs!

Garden Update

I went out in the yard to do some dead heading and take a few pics and here is what I found..

gorgeous pale pink and yellow day lilies...


a lone purple cone flower who lived through being a dinner for deer..three plants toast

the quail family

and finally, the beginning of the liatris! I feel like we are so behind the rest of the world in bloomage

almost had a new camera today, but it was out of stock, with that said, lots more pictures to come!

I successfully did loade these pictures from our old camera today as sort of a test, these other pics that I have been trying to load have been from other sources, usually just saved to my computer from an email..hmmm

Big T

Well my older nephew, Big T (cuz he is now older brother to Little T) has been making quite a name for himself in the dirtbike racing world of Maine Youth Riders. He consistently is taking home the first place trophy again and again.

I have some great pictures of him catching air and taking some jumps but for some reason they won't upload, however this one below did. I am not understanding what the malfunction is, my blogs are dependent on which pictures will upload or not, it is annoying. Guess I should talk to the Blogspot folks and see if they have any suggestions...anyway, Congrats Big T, keep up the good work, ride hard and be safe! Go #616!

the stork has arrived

He's Here! Our little nephew is here!

Welcome Teekin Mahki, born 07-12-07, 6 lbs 10 oz

and lets also welcome, drumroll please.....

Joseph William Gaspari!

Little Joey, 7 lbs 2 oz, was born on 07-03-07 to my bestest friend The Aimer in NYC. (he is not pictured, I'm still having issues with publishing pictures, not all of them will work but for some reason baby t did )

Baby Teekin and Little Joey- welcome to this earth, may you know peace and love and happiness. Bless your little lives as you grow and learn and thrive. It will be such a pleasure to meet you and share in your sweetness and purity!

No pictures

For some reason the blogger site is not letting me load pictures and if it does then they are solid black or even a solid blue...I wrote a big story a week or so ago about my trip to Arizona but it is not as good without the pictures, I have been trying all week to get even one picture in there and still nothing so I am giving up.

In the meantime I hope everyone had a great 4th of July- Summer as they say is truly here now. Garden is looking great, I will try and get some pictures up but I don't know what is gonna happen. I also tried to blog and put up my Nephew keeps ringing in first place at his dirt bike races and I have some great pictures of him jumping I' d love to share. Funny, if it isn't the camera it is the computer.

Hope to see you with pictures soon!

108 in the Shade

I finally decdied to give in and post this posting anyway, it is from last month already but as you can see it is when I started having trouble posting pictures, they keep turning out solid colors....

I have tried and tried to get it to work to no avail. Then I thought maybe it had something to do with the source, all of these pictures were my work camera and emailed home. Baby Teekin's worked so that makes me happy but I have tried two other postings where I am not having any luck, one of them is not from my work camera so I am boggled, anyway, enjoy the story without pictures, I intended on having! a lot of them included so you will have to use your imagination!

108 degrees in the shade

Mind you this was certainly not the hottest temperature that my patio thermometer reached, tis only the hottest temp when I thought to capture the moment...I believe it reached 115 on a couple of days during my recent working vacation to a national Big Brothers Big Sisters of America conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. And boy, it sure was hot.

Thank goodness for the pool!

This is the South Pool, it was the main pool and one of five that our conference center/resort had to offer...by far the way I wish I could travel more often...the Scottsdale Fairmont Princess. There were five pools in all. Here is the one with two waterslides...it was so fun to get to go down them a bunch of times in a row like when we were kids.


My room was awesome- it was located in one of the Casitas, little cottage like villas that stood aside from the actual hotel part. It was a shame J couldn't share the beauty of it with me...although I know he wouldn't be down with the heat. Thank goodness for air conditioning. I needed a sweater in my conference rooms. Brrr. Go figure.


Rabbits everywhere, very cute, small with big ears. They were fun to watch.


But the best part about the whole trip was that I was able to reconnect with an old friend. It has been 10 years since I roomed with a girl named Angela. THis, when I decided to move across the country for a term, see another part of America and take classes at a different university. I ended up at Northern Arizona University (Go Lumberjacks! ) in Flagstaff, AZ.


This was an incredible adventure that I got to go on and Arizona will always have a place in my heart. Last time I saw Angela was 8 years ago when J & I moved from Rhode Island to Oregon and took a 2 month roadtrip to do it. We stopped in Flag, where Ang was finishing up school and visited for a while. Turns out we had some Exoploder, I mean Explorer repairs so this was one of the stops where we stayed the longest. We kept touch via mail for a couple years and eventually lost touch. When I found out I was going to Scottsdale I immediatly thought of Ang since that is her home of origin. I had her parents info but the phone number didn't work (little did I know that the greater Phoenix/Scottsdale area had changed their area code ). I did internet searches and discovered you can find out a lot of stuff about people if you are willing to pay for it...kinda scary. But to no avail, every number I found, even one for her brother turned up a dead end. So I gave up for a few days and then decided that I would make one last attempt and send a card to her parents address and see if it would work. Nothing. More than a week went by so I lost hope.


Monday morning, day of trip, at the airport telling my colleague this very story and how I wished I had found my friend and then with15 minutes til boarding the plane, like it was meant to be, voilla, my phone rings , it is Angela!!!! Yay!

We made contact! And we got to see each other several times and hang out. She took me on a hike that embarrasingly kicked my ars!


Pinnacle Peak

What you can't see in this illusional picture is the second ascent/descent on the other side that is the contnuation of the trail to its endpoint where you turn around and do the double ascent/descents again. This was 6:30 in the morning, but let me tell you it pretty darn hot already and I would bet that by the time my sorry butt made it back to start it was 90 degrees already.


AZ Wildlife...Mr. Lizard, biggest one I have seen in the wild.

Gardens and Summer Music

Our front yard has begun its full transformation with the addition of some grass. Mind you this was a while ago. I will post a real time picture update next thing.

The little quail family and the glow ball...

Well this is the first real flower that began to bloom in our slow to grow garden, a pretty purple/dark blue delphinium, but I forgot to rotate the picture first and now can't delelte it to fix it, so you'll have to cock your head to the side...sorry

Well, Gregg might have started the summer music season off, but his musical magic was under a roof with walls. Leave it to one of my favorites, the Indigo Girls to begin the outdoor summer music jam!

20 years later and Emily and Amy are still rockin. They will always be not only some of my favorite singer/songwriters but also some of my favorite harmonizers!

I had this picture zoomed in better but for some reason I can't get it to save...ay yi yi.
Anyway this is one of the outdoor gigs here- get this, it is at a gym...some fancy pants athletic club that has an outdoor space perfect for small live shows and to my surprise there are a lot of shows I am signed up with tickets to see there...the other place we have is an ampitheatre, still smaller scale but obviously much bigger with perhaps bigger acts, it is ironic there aren't as many shows I will be attending there- although I am really hoping to catch the Gambler, Kenny Rogers there at the end of September! Although, has anyone seen him lately? I hope he has sued his plastic surgeon cuz he looks freaky, not like the Kenny I grew up with or saw in 99'. Yikes! Another reason I need to go- so I can see this for myself!

Saw an artist new to my friend and I, Jonatha Brook, the other night, it was good, she's an eastcoaster, nice voice, writing and playing talent, but we didn't know the music, it was getting cold and Bonnaroo was broadcasting live, and Widespread Panic was playing -so needless to say we retreated to the homefront to get warm and jam out. Two live shows in one night, not a bad deal.

Next up, The Neville Brothers July 6th, a first for J & I, so we are really looking forward to it.

May everyone enjoy the universal language of music and the way it can make you feel or make you move. There is really nothing quite like it! Rock on.

The Beach

Ahh, how I love the beach, the smell of that salt water, the feel of it in my hair. I had the pleasure of visiting mama ocean a few weekends ago with my girlfriend. Silly enough, though I walked the beach with my camera I fogot to take a picture of her, I guess the weather was blahzay so I was uninspired. However, we did encounter a gull who was good at catching starfish and was trying to make a meal out of some, although you could tell they were sort of heavy for him. One guy was missing an arm, lucky for him it will grow back. Of course, if I had a better camera I coulda zoomed in and got a great shot..ho hum. The money I had been saving for that new camera took me to the beach instead, a good compromise at least.

The weekend did not go unphotod however, thanks to my cell phone.

We spent the day exploring Yaquina Lighthouse and beach and then went in to downtown Newport and perused the shops and took in the bait and warf smells...and then we heard a comotion and low and behold- sea lions- napping and barking, at least 20 of them just below the street.



And of course the main reason that brought us to the beach in the first place...Gregg.

Mr. Allman and Friends were playing at Chinook Winds in Lincoln City and we had nearly front row seats!!! I took lots of pictures on my phone and only one really came out and the zoomed version is too blurry...bummer...imagine if I had that new camera!! We'd be able to count his wrinkles!! He looked great though, the skinniest I have ever seen him except for pictures from when he was young. His voice was amazing and melted me into my chair on several occasions including accoustic Melissa (with a sax player too! oh my!) and a beautiful stripped down version of Dylan's Just Like a Woman, with Gregg on vocals and his Hammond B. He is truly still rocking after all these years! (Although we won't mention that the show was only a mere hour and a half- as someone (JB) said "old man+ casino = short show". Oh well I still love ya Gregg and I hope to see you with the Brothers sooner than later, it has been too long!!




And the road goes on forever...

The Face of a Monkey

Today we got to go out and play at Smith Rock State Park-this place has over 1000 climibng routes and truly is a climbing mecca. We decided to take a hike around the place to scope out all the climbing and catch some great views. It was a beautiful day, not too hot, nice breeze...a waterfall along the way...

Monkeys face in the distance...

We saw otters! Our first ones in the wild! Three of them swimming and snacking in the Crooked River along the trail! If we had a better camera we would defintely have pictures! Oh well. We heard there were snakes on the trail but we never saw any... we walked around the south side of Smith Rock along the river instead of taking the shortcut over Asterisk Pass. Little did we know what lied on the other side...Misery Ridge. They call it this for a reason!

At least there are rewards for the journey... a great close up of Monkey's Face, it really is quite amazing, especially watching people climb it. The view was unbelievable, everything from Mt. Hood to Mt. Bachelor ...if we had a better camera we would surely have pictures of the snow capped beauties...oh well...we got Monkey's Face...

A good afternoon in the high desert!

Black Butte

Happy Easter everyone! We spent our day hitting a trail for the first time this year. We decided to do an old volcano called Black Butte which is just out past a town called Sisters like 30-40 minutes away. J has actually been working out at Black Butte Ranch now for months doing jobs at several "summer" homes. Anyway, we invited my friend Amy and her dog Jack to join us and off we went.
Now mind you this was only a two mile hike to the summit- but with a steep gain to just over 6300 feet.

Our timing was fabulous becasue the rain came in shortly after we finished and by the next day the whole Butte was covered with the white stuff!
The next day not only brought snow but also aching muscles- whoa, did we feel the burn! I think we are starting to realize what happens to your bodies as you get older!

Anyway the view from the top wasn't as fantabulous as it is supposed to be- 360 degrees of Cascade Mountain beauty and beyond...but instead it was kinda cloudy so only a handful of mountains and buttes were out. As a result we do not have the pictures that we hoped to have from the top...but here we are anyway...





Now we need to hit the trails hard so we can go back on a clear sunny day- conquer her- and also get some radical pictures! (I am saving for a new camera so we can actually take good pictures, finally!)

Anyway I can't reiterate how much we really love where we live, such a short drive in any direction to experience nature at its best!

Yeah Spring!

Well it looks like our perrenials made it through their first Central Oregon winter! Buds are popping everywhere...the bearded iris', the japanese iris'. the peonie, the daylily's and the stella doras! So exciting! and who knows how the rest will fair...the lady's mantle, the daisies, the lupine??? Only time will tell...yeah for spring! We can't wait to see where all those beautiful colors end up...



First signs of new life...

A neighborly gift brought the first punch of color to the front porch!

Starting to see the return of wildlife too...butterflies, birds...can't wait for the first sign of hummers! I think I will put a feeder up in another month or so. We put up a mixed seed feeder this past weekend, still need to restock the sunflower seeds and suet. Yeah Spring!

It's a Boy!

We're gonna have a nephew! Just got word that my brother and his wife are going to have a boy! ETA: July 30th

And what do you know my best friend is having a boy too! ETA: July 7th

Wow- it will be raining baby boys! How fun to shop for babies- it has been a while...

Congrats you guys - I can't wait to find out what you will name the little buggers!

Anxiety and Relief

Just wanted to send out good thoughts and wishes for those Central Floridians who are suffering the devastating consequences of the early Friday morning tornado.

Friday was filled with lots of anxiety between J and I as we worried and wondered about our loved ones. We knew Mom and Dad were "OK", but what about their house, what about the aunts and uncles? What an awful feeling as we watched the news stories and pictures that littered the news and internet. Those houses were too familiar and we were scared. May we never have to fight with jammed phone lines again or have to listen to the frustrating emergency beep telling us there has been an emergency in the area and phone lines are down.

Turns out Tessie the Tornado (do they name tornados like they do hurricanes? Well, they should) touched down a mere mile and a half away from the B house of residence- too close for comfort!
Thank the good sprits and angels that all is well and the house & its inhabitants did not take a surprise detour to Kansas. Relief.

But not everyone was so lucky and I send my love, strength and positive energy out in hopes for a quick recovery and rebuilding. And I count my blessings for our families' safety.

Good ole' Rhody

The Atlantic Coastline is always a treat. Then again isn't every coastline!

What a trip to go back to Rhode Island. Last time John and I were there was summer 2002, things sure do change. A lot is different, a lot is the same. I really did love living there, but I also wanted to experience different places, so... It was definetly a walk down memory lane. We each got to share different college stories and instances because although we knew each other then, we still had our own things going on. J also got to represent as he gave me a tour of where he grew up, he couldn't believe how things had changed. We had a lot of fun!

The wedding was fabulous. Certainly a great party, good food, dancing and a happy bride and groom. Congratulations Eddie and Judy!

Old friends and old bars and restaurants are pretty hard to beat too. The Mews, I love ya but what happened?

Got to visit with my dear freinds Angie and Mike and meet their beautiful little children. I hate that we cant hang out more often.

Bummer about the Patriots, but it was good to be watching from home turf!

Yeah for Willow Tree Chicken Salad! Eddie, remember quarterly shipments!

The very north end of the beach pictured below, Narragansett Beach, is where it all began for J and I one gorgeous sunset evening walk on June 6th, 1998. We had hoped to get the chance to go for a walk on this visit, but 40 mile an hour winds kept us on the sidelines. Maybe next time.

And of course the famous towers and adjacent Coast Guard House (yummy shrimp cocktail and frozen cocktails on the ocean sum up many summer afternoons). The sea wall which can be seen in the first picture, runs by here and is a great spot for sunrises, bike rides and picnics.

Sweet memories.