Bye bye, Oregon

I head home tomorrow after a wonderful week with my family.

This is little Mia, who is 21 months old. She is going to become a big sister in a month. I was a teenager when my niece and nephew were born, and this new generation really blows me away!

Big treat for you on Monday, a video that Phillip made while I’ve been away. Don’t miss it!

Happy birthday to my sis!

My self-imposed two-dog limit was put to the test when I met Tashi, this beagle/springer spaniel mix. Oh my, it was love at first sight!

Happy birthday to my sister Nancy who turns 60 today! (Yes, I was given permission.) The whole gang is here to celebrate, her kids, their spouses and the three (and 8/9ths) grandchildren. Photos tomorrow!

A whole lot of cute

Dillon is now 19 months, and Lexi is almost 4-1/2.

My brother-in-law Rick recently retired and is living the good life.

One day a week Nancy and Rick take care of the kids. It was exhausting just to watch!

Miss Telsha

Hip hip hooray! It’s popcorn toss time! One of the highlights of Telsha’s day.

She is a sweet senior lady, about twelve years old and she reminds me a lot of Clayton.

Who needs air conditioning?

You remember Elliot? The diaper man as Sue pointed out the other day? He’s a complete love.

Nancy and I went to the coast yesterday. After 100+ temperatures in New Jersey, 66 degrees was absolutely blissful. The coast is gorgeous, nothing like in the East. That large megolith in the distance is called Haystack Rock, and it’s huge.

It’s enormous, much larger than the others. I could look at this coastline forever.

A five-star restaurant

Congratulations to Donna & Oscar & Spencer for
The Margarita Bowls are a Big Hit at the Grand Opening of Kramer’s Kantina

Bachelor #1

Phillip is trying to remember which night is trash night and which night is recycling night. Or which shelf in the freezer holds the bountiful harvest of turkey burgers. I leave Saturday morning for a week in Oregon with my sister and her family (husband, children, grandchildren, basset hounds). Nancy will celebrate a milestone birthday next Thursday, but I’m not sure I’m allowed to say which one, so I’ll remain quiet on that. Maybe Phillip will email me a photo or two of the boys, but fear not, there will be lots of cuteness and many photo ops in Portland.

High rollers

We used to take Clayton and Spenser to a huge dogpark when we lived in Baltimore. It wasn’t an official dogpark, but on weekend mornings and weekday late afternoons the only people there were dog owners. Because it wasn’t official, they cared for it like a “regular” park, and one day that meant laying down manure over some large area that they hoped would grow.

I didn’t know this until after we’d arrived and the boys had meticulously covered themselves in it. They were the happiest dogs south of the Mason-Dixon line. I called Phillip to tell him to ready the hose and to bring the dog washing paraphenalia outside. I opened all the windows in the car and did my best not to breathe through my nose on the way home. When I pulled into the driveway, Phillip ran out with gloved hands, raised like a surgeon who had just washed. I think we had to repeat the baths a couple of hours later, and we called a dogpark moratorium for the next few days.

A pound here, a pound there

Phillip thought he looked fat in the last picture yesterday. But he’s not! As you can see here, he is a lean, mean, deck-building machine.

Stanley’s weight loss regimen is proceeding slower than we’d hoped and I fear we might have to take more drastic measures. Shhhh! Don’t tell him!

Please pass the junk food

In preparation for building the deck, Phillip spent the weekend cleaning out the garage. Do any of you have garages that house cars? That would be so cool!

Snack time!

Maybe tonight we’ll both sit and watch THEM have dinner…