150/366

Pickle Ball

I'm posting another Pickle Ball image because this afternoon my son wanted to go play with some friends and somehow he talked me into playing.  Obviously I'm not in this image, but I probably played for about an hour.  

It was actually more fun than I thought it would be but I still prefer racketball. 

Hopefully I'll get to play again before returning home...

The weather was stunningly beautiful today.

My heart is grateful that:

I let myself get talked into trying Pickle Ball and I enjoyed it

197/365

Chess Players

The minute I walked into my fave coffee shop I saw these two guys playing chess. While I was waiting for my drink to be ready I asked them if I could take a pic of them and they readily agreed.  

I've never seen them there before but I don't usually go there in the early evening.

I'm grateful for:

seeing friends enjoying each other's company while doing something together that they enjoy

53/365    

Decor

I was visiting a photographer friend of mine in his studio today.  He has several of these camera statues scattered around and then I saw these mini-albums that he offers his clients.

I did a little reorganization and voila.

My heart is grateful today for:

the smiles and laughter my "group" shared around the table after our

exercise class this morning

13/365

Girl's Night Out

It has been such a long time since we've declared a girl's night out.  Among the many reasons, people have kids who are being homeschooled, some work, schedules are difficult to coordinate.

All it takes is one to organize the night out, and in honor of several Feb birthdays, one person actually did take it upon herself to arrange the evening.

We need to do this more often.

Almost Year's End

5/365

"Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written".  Jn 21:25

I was just looking back on the posts from this year, a paltry 4 before this one.  I can hardly believe that's all I posted.  Where has the year gone?  And how bad of me that I didn't post more!  And just 4 posts in spite of my determination to post at least once a week.  Ooops.

So much has happened this year both good and sad.  I stayed in NY last winter for the first time in 10 years.  It was nasty cold with a lot of snow, but my hiking buddies and I managed to get out to snowshoe or use spikes almost once a week, which made the winter a little more tolerable. 

This Fall we continued finding trails and the one below is one of the last hikes we did before the weather turned snowy.

Last April my youngest daughter and her husband were blessed with their firstborn child.  James made his arrival three weeks early but completely healthy and happy.  The parents are over the moon.

8 months in this picture

In May my oldest grandson graduated from college.

         This past summer one of our hiking buddies passed away after a 2-year long struggle with bone cancer.  I was out of state at the time.  We think about her every time we hike.  She is missed.

In early October I attended my 50th College Reunion in Jamestown, ND.  I hadn't been back or seen anyone from my class in all those years.    Everyone reconnected so easily and we had such a great time.  It was a bittersweet weekend.

           In late November my second oldest grandson began his BB season so I spend a lot of time attending his games.  After this year's season there are only two more seasons to go.  That is, until the little guy starts sports.

 

 That's a quick review of the past year.  In between the big events were all the mundane activities that make up a life.  Sometimes those mundane things seem bothersome or annoying or pointless.  When I feel that way I try to remember how much I'm blessed 

*with good health

*with family

*with adequate finances

*with friends

*with a nice home

*and on it goes

Basically I try to keep things in perspective.  

I'm Caught Up

In spite of experiencing internet problems even as I create this blog, I've managed to catch up with the current day's post.

The first Sunday of every month is a Fellowship Meal immediately following church. This month it took place at the pastor's home. It was great. Good food and good friends.

This first image shows an Hawaiian custom that I JUST LOVE TO PIECES, removing one's shoes before entering the home, which in Hawaii is usually just a matter of slipping off one's flip flops. Yeah!! warm weather.

This is the group that was present for the luncheon. Not the entire church--several families were absent because of illness or being out of town--but I gave it the good ole' college try with the group that was there. Even Michela didn't complain. If you remember last year, she was the one in the photo with Leah who had her hands over her face. She's way too adorable to hide her face, so I appreciated her cooperation today.

Posted at 5:30 pm on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009

Moving Day (Friday, Jan 30)

My friend, Chelsea, moved today. A couple of her friends showed up to help, while I babysat for the day.

The new kitchen.

Living Room