So much to catch up on!

This is one of those 'stream-of-consciousness' kinds of writing.   I've been lax in my writing and now I'm paying the price for it...where to start and there's so much that's been going on.  

As most of you know, my youngest daughter moved to California...she sent me this photo of her in San Francisco at Miette.  I LOVE the little scalloped cookbook and told her to go there if she had a chance and so she did.... ahhhhhhh, I just love it! 

Of course, after she moved there, it didn't take very long for her sister and I to fly out there to see her...here we are enjoying iced coffee, frozen yogurt and beautiful sunshine....

   This phrase is so important..... and a constant reminder to me. 

oh yes, and youngest daughter got her CA vet's license, so now she can work as a vet there as well as CO.

 We've been looking at houses all summer and Fall....this one had a spectacular view of the lake but was rather old and rather expensive for what it was....still the view....ahhhhhh

 We flew back to Ohio for my 40th class reunion.  I was a high school librarian for 4 years and was actually voted 'librarian of the year,' oh yes I was!!!  Here I am in that same library....  40 years later!!

The 40th reunion was lovely...I so enjoyed seeing dear old friends...

Here's all of us posing together.... can you find me?

We visited a county fair and loved seeing the bees...I thought of my lovely friend Rachel in England whose husband is a bee keeper....what a lovely hobby!

Out of order, but I couldn't leave it out, this gorgeous old Victorian in Davis, CA

We enjoyed seeing the town and all the new and special spots

At the county fair, we watched the horse teams, so lovely and precise

I love the times I spend with my family and cherish each and every moment.  Here, these little miniature homes were being auctioned off for charities....

And no visit is complete with a wonderful trip to a cupcake shop...I'm always looking for the most darling shops, gathering ideas, looking for inspiration.  Here, my youngest daughter gets ready to find a vanilla vanilla, her favorite!

Of course, one of our go-to favorites in cupcakes in Sprinkles.  Yes, I'm GF, but it doesn't stop me from looking, right??

And Sherry....here we are again at Paris in a Cup in Orange, CA  I've recommended this incredible tea spot to many....remember, make reservations!!

Inside Paris in a Cup....yummy!!

This was the first annual event that my youngest daughter wasn't able to attend....we had a wonderful Fall Harvest time, but of course, it wasn't quite the same without her...

Recently (in October), we flew to Arizona to see my mom and took her out for tea...she LOVES to go out for tea and had a wonderful afternoon there....I think we were there for about 3 hours!

We also had an excellent dinner in northwest Tucson....here was the view of the mountains as we sat outside in the early evening enjoying our fantastic meal

But then it was time to leave Arizona....but we didn't fly home....

Where did we go?

Tune in next time!! 

A Summer Full of Memories...

The fires were absolutely devastating....

It's been a wild and crazy summer, full of events....some very expected and wonderful and some not anticipated and not so wonderful.  Some made us laugh while others made us cry out loud....

Our beautiful blue Colorado skies were filled with thick dark smoke and it lasted for most of the summer.  The sky is still not perfectly clear as there are lingering fires whose smoke still fills our skies.

But the community was so thankful

 We had some REALLY FUN TIMES, too.... like shucking corn with my granddaughters....

Here, the youngest one gets her first full ear completed

My middle and youngest daughter at the pool....just like when they were little

A lemonade stand to help raise money for the humane society

And a certificate received by my granddaughters when they brought the $50.00 to the humane society

Fishing and being outdoors

and celebrating my birthday at a lovely teahouse in Boulder, CO

taking a painting class with all of my daughters

and showing off our 'almost identical' paintings!

taking my granddaughters to a local farm to feed beans to the chickens and turkeys

and getting them matching hats to wear in the sunshine

going to Red Rocks to hear James Taylor sing live and sitting in the 5th row

and visiting my youngest daughter at a local vet clinic and seeing her ON DUTY as a real doctor for the first time

and having tremendously hard good-byes as she moved away from Colorado

and watching that big truck pull away

and cleaning out the place where she lived and re-lining shelves

and redecorating her home with finds that we painted and refurbished

and flying to Ohio for my 40th class reunion

and going to my favorite fair from my childhood and seeing all the farm animals

and visiting family in Virginia and driving in 'the old car'  ah....ooooga!

and having 'girlie' week in CA with two of my daughters while the 3rd went with her husband and daughters to Disney World in Florida

and enjoying my favorite spot on the beach....and enjoying the emptiness of the beach in September

and having to say good-bye again and leave the youngest in CA while daughter #2 and I flew back home to CO

I am back home and looking back on my summer, it was quite wonderful.  I still don't have a home to call 'ours,' and I don't have a b&b or a tea shop or an idea of what to do next....but I'm full of love and thankfulness for all that I do have which makes me feel tremendously blessed....

Thank you for reading and being there with me along the way.... xoxo

Two Years Ago

I'm melancholy....  My youngest daughter is moving away and I've never been away from her.... she has traveled; has done coursework for her degree in veterinary medicine, but NOT moved away, bought a home in another state, and packed up and left....and yet, that is what's happening...

I'm very happy for her, for all of her success and for all of the joy in her life.... I know I will get used to it, but right now, I'm just a bit melancholy....this is her last weekend in Colorado....for well, who knows? 

So...looking back, in 2010, right about this time of year...I wrote this in my blog, so instead of just writing sad stuff, I want to think about all of the good....and I'll get back on track in a few weeks, so please bear with me.  My middle daughter and I are going to have to get used to this...we hang out with her a LOT.

so here goes.... 

Amanda and a fellow Canadian vet student with... yes, a SNAKE!

My youngest daughter is in her 3rd year of vet school here in Colorado.  It has been a lifelong dream of hers to go to Africa.  She has wanted to study the environmental impact of man on the environment and animals and the causal effects of each on the other.  Her dream came true with this acceptance.  Mid June and she took off--backpack, exofficio underwear, and rain gear in tow.  She returns Aug. 11 in the evening...and she is getting married on Sept. 2!  Needless to say, a LOT has been going on this summer!

Amanda and Chad

The EnviroVet program takes veterinarians, doctors, and veterinary students to places they could only imagine.  Amanda has learned how to use a blow dart, dissect a snake, do things I can't even pronounce! I learn through her, and it's a journey of a lifetime. 

Here she is working on a brown pelican

Here, they are doing a dissection of an alligator

 Her wonderful guy and I are painting and prepping their townhouse, I'm cleaning and organizing her closets ( I know, I know....she's going to 'freak' out when she comes home ) and I'm making LOTS of things for the wedding, including the favors, table decorations, parts of the wedding clothes for the little flower girls...and of course, the cupcakes!

Here's a few of the decorations and things we've been working on:

Boxes of favors are completed, each filled with organza bags filled with organic lavender

seeded papers to help plant wildflowers instead of weeds...

Boutonnieres for the groomsmen and significant male folk

And of course....the little flower girls....here's the youngest....in her 'dress' rehearsal.  I don't want to give it ALL away.....but I'll post wedding photos and such after the wedding....love to all!

She is wearing little 'glass' slippers with butterflies on them So, I'm SO HAPPY to hear from you Amanda!!  We're all waiting for you to come home and walk down the aisle!!

Amanda...you make me unbelievably proud and you've shown me, your sisters, and everyone else around you that to dream is to be....and that when we want something badly enough, we must persevere!

Now, two years later, this young woman, my daughter, is married, has graduated from vet school and is now a doctor...and she's going to go on to pursue a PhD at another university in another state....she wants to teach other veterinarians at the University level AND she wants to do wonderful things to save and protect our wildlife and planet....she would truly like to be the next Jane Goodall.  She and her husband are planning to start a family.... and I'd just love to have you all with me to wish them both all of the best and to send them off with blessings of good health, joy and love.... 

                                          this mom has got to pull it together here.....