Talina, over at HarvestofDailyLife  was nosy curious about her reader’s work/computer areas.  So, here is a pic of my work area - no retouching or cleaning was allowed.   I have some of my fairies, pics of my grandma who is 92 now, my fish tank, my ebay stuff for sale and my computer software and books near by.

And, since I had the camera on, I wanted to share one of my orchid plants…. it has FIVE stems of flowers this time!  I put the pot in the floor so that the flowers would show better than in the window where I keep it.  Archie could not resist the fun. :-)  Notice the upper left hand corner.. those are some buds that I am waiting for to open.

We got up early, again, to make the hour drive to Jamestown Settlement.  The drive was very pretty.

We saw nearly two centuries of our nations’ history - from the founding of America’s first permanent English settlement in 1607 to the decisive Revolutionary War victory in 1781 and implementation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Our first stop was the Powhatan Indian village.

Then we walked to the pier to see the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery - re-creations of three ships that brought English colonists to Virginia in 1607.  We only boarded the Susan Constant because it was so hot on the ship - especially below deck!

Next we walked to James Fort.  Wattle-and-daub structures topped with thatched roofs depict dwelling and a church, guardhouse, storehouse and governor’s house during the period 1610 - 1614.  We watched a demo of a matlock rifle and saw all of the tobacco drying that was used as money. 

Most of the structures had armour vests hanging on the wall and many had gun racks over the door.

The governor’ house had many ornately carved items.

And the governor’s house had this beautiful fireplace.

I flew home early the next morning.  I missed my house, family and animals…. but I had a WONDERFUL time with my Great Husband.  Thank you, husband

This morning we got up early and went to see “The Dark Knight” in Norfolk.  I had seen the movie and wanted Great Husband to see it.  I enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first time.  He really liked it, too.  Heath Ledger was the VERY best Joker!!.  I took these pics of some of the buildings in downtown Norfolk.  I loved the old buildings in the old cities.

After the movie we went to the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton.  There are many hands on demos for old war planes, early air and space exploration. Their site says

“Take flight to the Virginia Air & Space Center, the visitor center for NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base. Your imagination will soar as you launch a rocket, pilot a space shuttle, come face-to-face with the Apollo 12 Command Module, and a DC-9 passenger jet.

We had a lot of fun playing with the lunar landing exhibits, flight simulators, and sitting in the old plane cockpits.

And we went to the future!

Today we went to a gun show in Norfolk.  Great Husband enjoyed the show but after the first few vendor tables, I thought it all looked the same.  He wants to sell at gun shows, so he did a lot of observing.  After the gun show, we went to eat and then came back to the motel for a long nap….. that “getting old” syndrome!

Updated…

We also went to Verizon to update our phones.  Mine was not working properly and our contract was up, so we got newer phones for a decent discount.

The reason for our indoor activities was Hanna.  It was suppose to hit early Saturday morning but it was only a bit of wind and some rain.  Not the hurricane that we expected.  By Sunday, the sky was clear and blue, again.

After a great night of sleep, we headed out for Virginia Beach to do some wandering.  We walked to Atlantic Beach.  It was my second time of being at that coastline.  The last time was 1976 wheb I went to see my friend, Diane, who lives on Long Island.  I am used to the rocky coastline of the Pacific.  Although the Atlantic coastline is very beautiful, there isn’t any spray from the waves hitting the rocks.

My footprints in the sand

Seagulls on the beach.  There were the cutest sandpipers running back and forth to the waves but they were going to fast for me to get their pics.

Great husband and me at Neptune

The Great Neptune

Then we went to the Virginia Aquarium.

I am not sure what we will be doing, yet, for today.  We like not planning and just winging it! :-)  I will post again by tomorrow with new pics of today.

Last Wednesday night I began a journey from Flagstaff to Norfolk, VA to spend a few days with my husband.  Rascal Flatts has an 11 day pause in their tour.  I left my house at 1am to travel to Phoenix.  My flight left at 6am.  I had to find the parking lot where I was going to leave my car and take their shuttle to the airport.  I have not flown in 10 yrs, so all of the security was nerve wracking for me.  I tend to get pissed while I am standing with no shoes, no coat and watching my stuff me examined by strangers.

Anyway - here are some pics of the flight.  I had a layover at JFK before I got on a smaller plane to go to Norfolk.  The smaller plane was better… they sure do pack the people in those big planes!!  That flight was 4 hrs - of being stuffed in a seat.  I did not get up once, so when the plane stopped, all I wanted to do was stand up!!  But it takes some people forever to get their shit together and disembark!  I had a window seat on both planes which was cool.  The flight from JFK was just under an hour.

Bye-Bye Phoenix

Passing Kansas

Flight info

Lake Erie

Landing at JFK

Flight to Norfolk

Landing at Norfolk

I was up for 36 hrs when I landed at Norfolk and extremely tired! It was great to see and get a hug from my husband!  We went to a wonderful restrurant for dinner and then it was a shower and to bed.  I slept like a rock!

I had lots of happy stuff to post about this week but this post needs to come first.

One day 11 years ago, I met a pitbull named Star.  She was 2 yrs old, had some puppies and her owners were trying to find her a new home… lucky me!   I got her home, she took off after my cat - through the window!- went under the fence and was gone.  I looked and looked for her and then I had to go to work.  When I got home that night she was sitting on my porch waiting for me.   Soon after, a HUGE dog came over the fence and we got puppies!  Four of them lived, 3 died during birth because they were all so very big.  Star was an excellent mother.  She was patient, kind and loving with my boys, too.  She never bit or snapped at any human - if she wanted you to leave her alone, she hit you with her head.  Every night after her dinner, she came and found me to thank me with a smile on her face and a wagging tail.  She loved every one.  The past several months she has had troubles breathing at times, did not want her dinner, could not jump on the couch to “her” spot and could not get on the bed to sleep with me.  The past 3 weeks she had lost a lot of weight.  And the last 3 days she did not eat…. just follow me around the yard, smile and wag her tail.  I took her to the vet last Wednesday.  She had golf size tumors in her stomach and the prognosis was very bad.  I decided to try and give her the same love and dignity that she gave to everyone.  The vet and I decided to let her go.  I will go back to get her ashes and my family and I will take her to Keyhole Sink (an old Indian hunting ground) and spread her ashes.  We were very blessed to have had her in our lives for 11 yrs.  She showed us love, patience, kindness and acceptance. She was always a very happy dog…… she wagged her tail at me til the end and I will always remember her big smile.

Our family has been blessed with many friends and well-wishers. A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you!

Yesterday the oldest boy, who is 12 and a half (a little George Carlin there) was at a skatepark with some friends.  The skate park is in the park where his soccer practice is located.  I usually drop him off early so that he can “hang” with some other kids his age…. then I take the younger boy to his soccer practice.  Anyway, the oldest called me to ask if he could go to a girl’s party that was about to start.  I told him no, because he was there to go to soccer practice.  He made the right decision not to try and sneak out to the party…. I know that telling the “cool” girl that he couldn’t go was probably embarassing for him.  I think that I am borrowed time with him - that based on my experience with my older girls, I will become “stupid” soon for about 4 years and then I will become “smart” again.  My thought is - does this happen with boys, too?  Will I get “stupid”?  I do not regret or doubt my decision - I am just wondering if teenage angst is teenage angst, no matter the sex?  I am very proud that he made the right choice……. this time.

On another note - great husband is in Canada for a few days.  Rascal Flatts has one concert tomorrow night.  We do not have cell coverage out of the states, so I will not be able to talk with him unless it is an emergency until Sunday afternoon.  I will have to stary extra busy so that I do not miss him too much.  With him on the road 90% of the year, all we have is talk and we do LOTS of it!!  Sometimes, when he is home, I want to call him so that we have time for just talk…. life and chores get in the way of our communication, other than what is needed for the day…. no just chatter, and discussing life, politics, kids, world events.  Staying busy should be no problem…. the boys and I are about half way to finishing the weedeating the acre that we have and there are soccer games tomorrow morning to attend.  Maybe I will have some pics of the games and the great looking acre to post on Sunday…

Have a great weekend!

I got to experience the 4th of July again today but in a VERY different way.  One of the boys left some parade gum in his pants pocket.  I did laundry on Sunday.  The gum became liquid in the dryer and then hardened all over the inside of the dryer.  I used a nonflammable cleaner because I have a gas dryer.  This is a pic of the label….

It was cleaning the goo pretty good off of the dryer walls….. but then I had to go pee…. my hands were all soapy, so I tried to wash them before using the toilet-NOT!  My hands were so slimy and I tried to pull the zipper of my pants but could not get a hold of the zipper pull………. I nearly wet my pants trying to get them off.  My hands are still slimy and the open cut on the finger of my right hand is throbbing from the cleaner… I hate plastic gloves enough to deal with the throbbing.  I wish I had some vinegar to “neutralize” the cleaner (since it has alkaline in it) but we decorated Easter Eggs with the last of the vinegar. 

The dryer is all clean and is being used again.

That job was inbetween being shipper, bookkeeper, log book enterer, photographer and It tech person for great husband’s business.  He is doing his other job right now… driving Rascal Flatts equipment from Nashville to Ontario.

I am soooo ready for bed, just as soon as I fix dinner, wash dishes, fold the clothes in the dryer and feed all of the animals.  I LOVE my job!

I am in the process… the LONG and FILTHY process of clearing out a huge shed of 15 yrs worth of stuff.  Old papers, pictures, baby clothes from my girls (they are 33 and 26 now), fabric pieces from my dress making days, collectibles like Coke stuff and craft stuff.  Boxes of school work from the girl’s elementary school days.  Broken and unused furniture (4 mattresses! and 3 bed frames that the mattresses don’t even fit!).  I have been taking things to the dump (so much of it is rotten from flooding and cardboard boxing) and taking things to Savers/Goodwill.  Some of it, I am repacking into proper plastic tubs with sealing lids on them.

I ran across these old pics of me - the first two are from 1973!  the third is a photo from my CA driver’s license dated 1981

I sure was skinny!

I was very pretty then!  If you can see between all of the red spots that the pic found in the box that it has been in since 1984 when it expired.  My dad always used to say that I was pretty because I got teased about being 5″9″, my red hair and my name.  It always made me feel bad but he always tried to make me feel better.  Looking back, I think he was right.. I wish that I had seen that at that age, I am sure that my self esteem would not have in the toilet until I was 48 yrs old - that is when I met my husband, who not only tells me that I am pretty now but he shows it by how he treats me.  Love you, husband