We had a FABULOUS vacation. I took 3GB of photo's. I am not ashamed of that! They are beautiful and Alaska was beautiful. The weather was excellent. For those of you who know about the rain curse that Jay and I have, it seems to have skipped this vacation. We had stunning weather in places that always have rain. We saw fantastic whale behavior....bubble net fishing....by a group of humpbacks. We say bears fishing and catching salmon. Eagles,seals,sea lions,orcas, dolphins and several different kinds of birds. We have an edited disc of 147 photos. Some day I hope to be able to share some of the best (how do you chose?) with you all. Vera

Yesterday when Jay and I got home from Merrifield Garden Center I noticed what I thought was odd behavior at the bird feeder. There was a male Goldfinch hanging upside down from the bottom of the feeder. When I approached the feeder the bird did not fly away and I quickly determined that he was stuck. I ran inside and got the step stool and called Jay to help me. Together we untangled his leg from the feeder and saw that it was injured. Time for a shoe box and a call to Suzanne for the phone number of the bird rehab lady. Bird lady was not home so I left a message and put seed and water into the shoe box with the very frightened bird. Two hours later the rehab women called back. I went into the house and the box was on the floor upside down! The work of a cat? Anyway, when I lifted the lid to check on the bird, out he flew! Thankfully, right into the sun room which I quickly closed off from the cats and the rest of the house. Mr. Goldfinch landed in one of my curtains and I was able to enclose him in it and take the whole thing with me in the car to the bird rehabers house. She said he looked like he was hurt just a little and that it was a good thing that he could move his leg and that he could fly. She thought he had a good chance for recovery. So that was my bird adventure for yesterday.

Well, Jay got his new hip today. Surgery took only 1 hour! really amazing. He has a nice 8 inch incision along the side of his thigh. He is not having pain because he has an epidural. Tomorrow they will give him oral pain meds and turn off his epidural. He will sit on the side of the bed tonight and go to PT tomorrow and walk. Home on Thursday or Friday.

Well, we (Jay)did it. "We"bought a flat panel TV. 40" Samsung. Fits in cabinet in the living room so Jay can watch it while recuperating from his up coming hip surgery. We have moved the love seat to in in front of the window and moved the ugly lazy boy chair out of the computer room and into the living room. 10 more days until surgery. It's a good thing too since walking is getting harder and more painful for Jay everyday. I will be doing private duty nursing from the day of surgery until the end of the month. Hope you all like my butterfly icon. I took the picture at a butterfly garden in Maryland. If any of you reading this have a chance to visit one, I recommend it. Vera

Look! I have an Icon. Thanks to Lori. This is a photo of a Sharp Shinned Hawk who thinks my bird feed is the most awesome buffet. I don't think he is too successful since I still have hundreds of birds at the feeder when he is not around. I wish you ALL much happiness this year.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a New Years Eve punch? We are going to have hot mulled apple cider but would like a punch with some alcohol in it. Also, suggestions for sparkling wine to toast the New Year are welcome. Not dry. Thanks.

Tomorrow night is a "blue Moon" night. That means there are 2 full moons in the month of May this year. For those of you reading this that don't know me, the moon has played an important part of my life ever since the first walk on the moon on July 21st, 1969. Jay and I were both awake (in our separate houses) watching on TV this momentous event. We had had our first non-date on that day and the rest is "history" as it is often said. Take some time tomorrow eve and look up in the sky. You will feel good about it. Vera

Jay and I went on a w/e retreat with 30 members of our congregation. It was very thought provoking and educational and emotional. There were at least 5 women in the group who were cancer survivors. A pretty significant number. Did a serious illness cause them to seek a more spiritual aspect of their lives? We didn't ask or answer that question and I still have conflicting views about my own spirituality but I did come away with more knowledge on which to base my beliefs. Even if they change on a daily basis. I am hoping that there will be opportunity to get together with some of the group again and continue our dialogues. Vera

Well, several days have passed. Mom is moved into her kitchen and mine is demolished. The upper cabinets are on the wall as well as the lower ones that will get counter tops. The counter people are coming to measure on Thursday. We bought light fixtures and a ceiling fan for the sun room. Have decided not to put a fan over the breakfast nook table. Next up will be decisions about the floors. Then a new fridge and some kind of window coverings. Will be working the next two days. Rebecca is coming to paint Mom's walls in the new den and old den (new bedroom). Ethan is going to tackle the ceilings. Hope everyone stays warm and dry and safe over the next few days when OOBLICK might be falling from the sky. Vera

Hi Everyone. I have been encouraged by my "friends" to create my own LJ so here I am. One of these days the younger generation will come by and help me learn how to post photos and other groovy things. Meanwhile, an update on the upstairs kitchen. We have cabinets! and they are on the wall! At least a few of them. The wall dividing the old space and the new space is gone. There was some UGLY wall paper on the walls at some point. And someone drew a backwards map of B'klyn and Staten Island. Don thinks this is where Jimmy Hoffa is buried. Anyway, hope everyone has a nice w/e. I will be working. V