39 Candles...count em!

I love bugs!

The other day it was warm outside and the ladybugs came out of the woodwork. Funny but they really do. They hide underneath the siding on the house and when it gets warm they come out and start trucking up and down the house.

It was difficult the photograph them because they were so busy crawling all over the place. I'm not sure where they were going or what they were trying to accomplish but with my camera only inches away I had to move my hand right along with them to capture these photos.
The entire house gets covered like this on a warm fall day. I know that the title of this post is "I love bugs" but I don't love bugs INSIDE the house. So, when they come inside the house and cover the walls and doors I suck them up with the vacuum cleaner. (sorry!) I'll get indoor photos this weekend of their favorite little huddle spots.
This photo is my favorite.
...and who ate all my decorative corn?

I'm baaack!

It has been awhile since I've updated this blog...I know I know. But, I've been busy and since I haven't been taking very many pictures I just don't feel very introspective lately. So, I've had nothing to share. I guess I've been moving FORWARD so quickly that I haven't had time to look around at what is HERE.

So, for this entry I am choosing 5 pictures from the last 40 days.
Yes, this is me in some new "skinny jeans", platform heals, scarf, cami, and jacket...I was asked to model in a fashion show for a local store by a friend/colleague of mine. It was tons of fun struttin' my stuff on the catwalk. I was nervous as hell and my shoes almost fell off but I held it together for the team! And if she asks, I would do it again.
We took S and K to a baseball game in Milwaukee...I found this building interesting on our walk around the river.

Happy Golden Birthday!

Emmitt turned 14 on the 14th! She is still a spunky old girl. We took her out for an evening drive through the country and let her put her face out the window and enjoy the breeze. Sadly, we haven't done this in a very long time. We, as a family, have become so busy lately and oftentimes we leave her behind, tucked away in the laundry room during the day while we go out and enjoy ourselves.
We came upon some cows crossing the road and were forced to slow down and let her bark at them. The farmer in his pickup truck wasn't too thrilled with this but we didn't care, it was our dog's birthday! We also came upon several deer and we slowed down to watch them perk up their ears and stare us down. She loved every minute of it. Hmmm, what will we do next year?

Just two photos

My hand prints in the sand at the lake.
This is the last of the cucumbers and the beans. I have pulled most of the zucchini plants. The peppers are supposed to be red but they are not ripening on the plant and I have become impatient waiting for them. There are more tomatoes to come but we haven't had the heat this year.

Weekend Walk/Ride

D got our bikes fixed up so I decided to coast downhill all the way to this bridge just on the outside of town. It's about one mile and ALL downhill.
I spent some time walking back and forth on the bridge examining all the worn out boards and touching the bent nails and splintering wood. When I walked along the middle section of the bridge it would rattle the metal supports and make a musical sound. The birds were chirping and the crickets and frogs were still making all of their lovely morning sounds. The cows were bellowing and echoing from somewhere in the various neighboring fields. And the best part of all is that there wasn't a car in sight.
I decided to cross at my own risk...
I parked my bike and walked the rest of the way up and around the hills.
The strange thing with spiders is that when they are in their natural habitat I'm less likely to have the fearful physical reaction that I do when they are inside my home or on my property. As much as I proclaim to hate spiders and would gladly choose a world without spiders in exchange for all the bugs they eat, I think they are fascinating and I respect them...when they stay where they belong.
I wound my way up this road for another mile...or maybe it was two.
...and as I finish this post I'm reflecting on what I'm trying to say here. I don't think of myself as very profound. I seem to have a lot of pictures with bridges and roads...and a spider which is one of the things I fear most in the world. So, I've crossed a major bridge in my life, I'm heading down a new or even familiar road and I'm boldly facing my fears...there! And as I was going through my pictures I realized that I only took pictures of flowers past this point.

So, the walk back to the bridge was a piece of cake...but once I hit crossed back over the bridge again it was ALL uphill. I was able to ride some of it but I also walked some and I also stopped for a drink of water at the park in town. It was a good ride/walk and I'm sure I'll do it again.

Can you still do a handstand?

Sometimes I just get the urge to do a handstand or a cartwheel and I love sitting on the floor. I feel like my soul has not aged...only my body and the world's expectations of who I should be and how I should act. I'm not a "rule follower" though!

Hey!!

I'm here...moving forward! Summer vacation is over and I begin teaching today. I'm also hosting a teenager from Norway for the next 10 months. I've been practicing yoga and going to dance classes...So, needless to say, I'm very busy! I don't know how much time or need for posting right now.

Summertime Doings

Tractor at the town fair/parade.
I have curly hair too...just like this!
The girls in the parking lot before the parade. They marched with a bunch of "bookaneers" from the town library summer program. Ooh were they ever mad to find out that daddy, mommy, and little brother got to ride in a speed boat down mains street with our teacher friends and a boatload of their children.

The last of the raspberries...I'm still amazed that those vines were right under our noses all this time! These two just look like they belong together. It made me happy posing them.

After The Storm

This is just some of what settled after the storm. The hardest part was my garden. It got hit pretty hard. I had to pull out several plants because they were so badly damaged. The tomatoes are hanging in there. The beans no longer have their poles but continue to move forward. The trees fell like dominoes on the hill in the back of the house. Thankfully none of them fell on the house. Strangely they all fell UPhill. And the first picture is just the beauty of the force of mother nature!

I don't have much to post about. It's summer and I've been wonderfully busy with absolutely nothing to do all at the same time. I just finished a book called Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. All I can say is GO READ IT RIGHT NOW. This is my new favorite book. I identified with the author on so many levels. I've been living the last week in a dizzy cloud of thoughts...
I have pictures to upload but it's taking to long and I have other things to do... I'll be back someday!

Balloons Over The House

We were eating dinner on the front deck when one of the kids noticed these two in the distance. Usually they just disappear on the horizon after a few minutes and we all go back to our daily lives...but...

they kept getting closer and closer. You can see this one nearing the house across the street. One of them actually went down for a landing not to far from the house but they later changed their mind and started airing up again.
Here they come. The big question from the kids was, "are they gonna hit the house?" or maybe I said that, I don't know.
It was complete chaotic excitement when this one came right over the house and we waved at each other. It was even quiet and close enough to hear them talking!
The second balloon slid by in the trees next to the house...then the whole family (5 of us) ran out to the back of the house to see if we could follow them up the hill. They were going faster then we could move so I had the bright idea to jump into the car and follow them. The kids were jumping up and down screaming and as we all piled into the car in a matter of seconds...

We followed both of them for a few country miles and finally settled on watching this one navigate itself over a cornfield.

and safely into the grass. It was quite an adrenaline rush! I felt like a storm chaser!

This Is What Happens...

When You Leave The Porch Light On All Night!! We woke up to find her sitting on the house. After observing it for awhile we noticed she was laying eggs!

Berries

My neighbor was out picking berries the other day and after having helped her I discovered that we too had berries growing all over our (totally unlandscaped) yard!! The kids had fun picking and eating them right off the vines and we actually had enough to eat for dessert that night. After dinner we checked the back hill only to find double the amount from the side yard. There are plenty that need to ripen so that we can freeze them for later use.

This is the backyard. There are a ton of weeds but also quite a few berry bushes in the mix. I had to blaze a trail for the kids to follow me.
It had rained quite a bit in the days before so it was very slippery on the hill. You can see P picking the lowest berries. I could not get them up the hill far enough to do very much picking and it was a challenge for me to stretch and pick that high up with the hill. We may have to build a few stepping stones into the hill for me.
I love the different colors.

Trip Home Part 1

Here are some pictures of my trip home last week. All went well (for the most part). My parents dropped the news that they have decided to move into a condo/nursing home. It's one of those places where all they have to do is say the word and there are people there to help. I could tell that my mom wasn't being genuine when she said how happy she was about it. I told her that I was happy that they were happy but I wasn't thrilled that they would be selling the house. Even though I've been out of their house for over 20 years it is still "home" to me. It will be strange to visit home and have to stay in a hotel in a strange suburb miles from where I grew up. But then again, it's not about me. I get that...

Clevleland, Ohio


Reflection of the Terminal Tower
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The kids were very curious about all of the garbage in the water. They spent the better part of an hour calling out the things they could find. It was like playing "Where's Waldo?" The other highlights of the day were the revolving doors at the museum and the escalator at the mall...we sure are raising small town kids! I'm happy that they were able to see and digest some city life and culture.