I'm Baaaaackkk!!!

 We returned from our trip to the great state of Oregon to visit our #2 son Craig and his wonderful family.  I mentioned that I'm not fond of flying, but we had good flights coming and going and all was well.  As always when your on a vaca it goes way too fast and is jammed full of fun things, family things, just plain good things.   Here's the trip in a nutshell.  First and foremost was seeing the Grandkiddos.  They are growing fast and involved in tons of school, church, family and other activities.  Here's how they were featured day to day:

Katie can be found reading every chance she gets.

Taylor enjoying the camera we gave him to learn on.  He loves it!

Sophia is ready for a photo op at every turn! I think I have more pics of her than anyone! Hey, a willing subject matter too cute to pass up.  Then there's the scenery of the Pacific Northwest:

Astoria, Oregon where many movies were filmed...Kindergarten Cop, The Goonies, and Short Circuit just to name a few.  Beautiful little town!  There was big tower that everyone climbed up on and then flew little airplanes off of it.

I started to go up the winding staircase and my fear of heights kicked in and I decided to not go.

Jack flew my plane for me!

 Mount Hood as seen from Trillium Lake.  We had such a fun time in the beautiful weather.

Jack even found us a retirement home!

Bigfoot wanted in...who would say no to him?

There was a project that needed done....a trampoline for the kiddos!

That will keep them hopping!  Another reason we took the trip at this time was for Craig's 40th birthday! Can't believe it he's soooooo old! Ha!

There was decorating to be done.

Flaming dinners to eat.

Gifts to open.

Candy bar birthday wishes to be had.

Candles to be blown out.  Happy Birthday Craig!  We finished off the trip with the usual other things..

Family photo moments.

Swimming at the lake.

Paddle boarding.

Water balloon fights!

Silly string antics too!  So much fun... not enough time.  As everyone probably knows, there are lots of fires burning out west.  Portland was getting the ash and poor air quality problems that go with that.  It became overcast and the sun was always a crazy red color.  I captured this shot during the day.  The sky wasn't black but the sun was exactly this color.

Hopefully there will be an end to it soon.   Even though we had a great time, it was good to get home.  A big thanks to Jordan for staying at the house to take care of Chubbs.  

So long sweeties!  Big hugs to you all!
  

The Long And The Short Of It

It's been a long time since I've blogged....and there's been a shortage of stuff to blog about...that's the long and short of it.  Or so I thought.   I had to dig in my brain to find out why I haven't been blogging and realized I was just busy.  You know, just busy like everyone else and so I have dug up some things I've done these past few weeks that have kept me busy.   Jackie and his family came last weekend and we went to a few spots that Evelyn hadn't been.   Like Grandpa's Cheesebarn.  I wish I had some fabulous pictures to share but I didn't take any! Dang it.  It's a cheese paradise and I will have to blog about it one of these days.   I have decided that Eveylyn needs a t-shirt for Christmas from there that says:  "I cut the cheese at Grandpa's"...Yep, a classic!  Hilary Clinton visited there on her campaign road trip in Ohio.  I wonder if she has a t-shirt?  Then there's work.  Just the usual blood and guts.  I noticed today, in a shocking way,  that the soap at the scrub sinks is different.  After my first case of the day I was given a break and I stopped to wash my hands on the way to the break room.  I pushed the soap dispenser on the sink and it came out red!  I jumped back because I immediately thought it was blood! Someone has a good sense of humor around there!  Friday last week was Jack's birthday.  I told him it was his birthday week.
Jack: "Birthday WEEK?"    Me: Sure, a surprise everyday!"  Jack:"You're really happy I'm finally the same age as you."  Yes, I'm 6mo older than Jack. 43yrs ago I laughed at him because he wasn't 21 yet and couldn't sign for stuff.  He told me then I would regret laughing about that.  Dang, he was right.  Anyway, here's his little surprises each day:
Monday: A senior pass to the National Parks good for free entry for life. You had to get it by Aug. 28th because the price of it would jump to $80.   I already got us AARP cards so now this card can go right next to that one in his wallet!
Tuesday:  His favorite cookies...Oatmeal, raisin, chocolate chip.
Wednesday: Pistachio nuts
Thursday: I paid for his lunch at Main Moon Chinese restaurant that he goes to every Thursday.  He always gets the same thing.  When I told the clerk who (or is that whom?) I was buying lunch for he immediately said...in a cute Chinese accent..."OH, I know....Garlic Shrimp and diet Pepsi!" Yep, that's the guy! (side note: The diet Pepsi is for me! Jack doesn't touch the stuff!)  We also had his birthday dinner...shrimp creole on Thursday night because I was on call this weekend.

Texas Sheet cake too!  Work was happy because I took the leftovers there the next day!
Friday:  Gift card to Home Depot.   That ended the birthday surprise each day,  week!  I think he enjoyed it! Other news:
Chubbs got a haircut:

And a dumb bow I made him wear for the pic!'

He was exhausted!

Flowers from the garden are always fun!  And finally....the real short of it:

Little toad on the garden hose just hanging out.  Well, that wraps it up for a bit.  We're  heading out for Portland, Oregon on Wednesday to see my #2 son, Craig and family.  We haven't seen them for 2 years! Very excited to spend some time with them.  Jack's a bit bummed out because it's going to be in the 60's here and it will hit 100de a few days out there!  I'm not thrilled with flying so say a few prayers for me.

See you in a few weeks!

A Fly By

I was sitting on the deck yesterday afternoon talking with my sister when a huge..I mean HUGE, plane flew over.  It sounded like it was going to land in the backyard for crying out loud.  It also looked like it just skimmed the pine trees on it's way over.   We have an airport in Ashland that's for small aircraft not far from here but we don't see big stuff flying over.   Later when I was on the computer doing really important stuff...like a little facebook stalking...I heard it fly over again...and again..and again.  I asked Jack if we were being invaded but he said there was some kind of event going on at the airport and it was happening all day.  Gee, how did I miss this?  Probably because I'm not fond of flying and going to an airport "event" isn't on my to do list.  But I thought it would make a cool pic for the blog to catch that big momma flying by.  So I hustled outside with my trusty camera and waited...and waited... and...well, you get the picture. Which is more than I got.  Not one to just stand around I took the time to snap some junk in the yard.

Pumpkins are growing...still no airplane flying by.

Marigolds are looking merry.

Tomatoes are coming on in droves...or clusters..but no airplane.  As I walked around with my camera around my neck I started to notice some small indications that Fall is coming in another month.

Leaves near the woods looked more yellow.

Dogwood leaves are getting red.

Black walnuts are ready to fall off.

Buckeyes are also getting ready to litter the yard.  Still hoping to get a pic of  plane I kept the camera close as I grilled some burgers.  Then, miracle of miracles, I heard the sound of the plane!  I grabbed my camera and was trying to get it on and the lens cap off as quick as possible but that darn plane was quicker.

If you click on the pic you'll see it...I circled it so you wouldn't miss it.  Jack said: "Remind me next time to not marry a girl from Greece who never saw an airplane before".  Funny guy.  I'm only half Greek, never even been to Greece.  Lived in Chicago on the flight pattern of O'Hare.  Not my fault he moved me to the rural outposts of Ohio where a plane is a rare sighting. A let's not forget that as a blogger I'm always on the lookout for something like a nice fly by to post about.  Throw in some produce and what a page turner this post is! Have a good week.  

Same Old, Same Old Or Weird and Wacky?

 Holy cow it's been one of those weeks.  It really wasn't until Friday that I thought it was one of  "those weeks".  Work had me in an uproar but that's another story best left unsaid.   The thing is,  I've been struggling with blogging.  I've gone long between posts, at least for me anyway.  I took a look back at some blog posts from years back to see what I had to write about.  I kept thinking my life must have been more exciting back then.  Nope..same old same old.  I've been blogging for 9 1/2 years now and I feel like I'm repeating each year with pics of the same things only older and bigger...I'm not really just referring to me! Ha!  Anyway, I did have a few pics to put in and try and get a post out.  I was taking a bunch of shots the other day after a nice rain.  We've been lucky with lots of rain to keep our lawns bright green and the garden overflowing with lovely tomatoes.  I took a few of the Creepy Woods and just had to share one particularly weird one.  This one is for my dear friend Shady.  He keeps telling me that the Yeti lives in the Creepy Woods.  I think I caught a pic of him.

Look to the right and see if you can pick out that dark brown hairy thing....hmmmm.  Keeping with the weird and wacky pics, when we were at the orchard last week we bought some different peaches. Donut peaches.  Can you see why the name?

Very tastey, very low in calories compared to a Dunkin Donut!   Another photo made me wonder if we lived near a lake.

I took this one from the top of the hill behind our house.   It's just clouds across the way but I can always pretend we live near a lake.  I keep telling Jack we need to sell and buy a lake house.  Problem is we don't live near a lake and I'm not in the mood to move and some how I doubt the lake will come to us.   As I mentioned earlier, we have had some nice rain.  We also  have had some nice rainbows.

Not the clearest shot but it looked pretty clear in person.   These next 2 pics are not the weird and crazy....

It's Jack checking out his new apple tree.   He's holding a few green peppers from the garden.  That reminded me that I took a pic of some stuffed peppers I made last week.

Hence the amazing stuffed peppers.  Yes, this post is bouncing around.   It's how my mind is working these days.   As I contemplate about blog posts being the same over the years I remembered my Mom giving me something she found of mine from years ago.  My high school activity pass we had to get each year.  Of course it had a photo on it.

That's me from 1968....fast forward to the here and now.

As Jack noted..."Hey, you had the same haircut back then"....yep,  sometimes it's "same old, same old" and "weird and wacky all in one.

Ode To A Tree

The weeks of Summer are flying by.  It won't be long until we're bidding this month goodbye and welcoming in August..the dog days of Summer!  It's been a much warmer season than last year.  We've had many 90 degree days and much humidity.  That has also led to rain and a good growing season.  Our tomatoes, beans and green peppers are coming along nicely and today we enjoyed the fruits of the garden with fresh green beans and some salsa I made yesterday.   But sadly this month we had to say farewell to the only tree that shaded the house.   Anyone who's followed my blog knows our property is surrounded by pine trees.  When we moved in 16 years ago I was inspired to call our place "Whispering Pines", which also explains the name of my blog.

They are three deep in some places and keep the wind at bay on those very cold Winter days.  They shade the yard as the sun sets, but not the house.  We had a lovely ash tree that did that.  It was a nice big tree that hosted a few parties under it's branches.

Pinatas were known to hang there on occasion!

However, a nasty disease, ash bore, has claimed many of the ash trees in our area.  I'm not sure I spelled that correctly or even know what exactly it is,  but I do know many folks have had to have their trees removed.   We were one of those folks.

This photo was taken a few days before we had it taken down.  Not a leaf left behind.  The middle gable on our house is the computer room.  I've sat in there with the window open many times and watched the different birds that called this tree home come and go and enjoy it's hospitality.

Afraid it would come down in a storm and smack the house, we deemed it necessary to take it down on our terms.

What once shaded us in the heat will now warm us in the cold.  Ode to a tree...we will miss you and are looking for a replacement that will one day grow as tall and majestic as you were.  I doubt we'll still be here to see it to it's full height, but someone will thank us for it I'm sure!

Typical July

It's been a week since July 4th and the weather and happenings are pretty typical for us.  It's been warm and sultry the past few days with  a few severe storms just for good measure.  Monday the city of Ashland lost power in many places including the hospital.  You can imagine the panic of the families who had patients in the OR.   We have back up generators that kick in pretty quickly but it sure seems much longer than 5 seconds when you're in the dark!  Monitors, anesthetic machines and most of our equipment have battery power so no danger there.   Once the surgeries were done we  weren't  allowed to do any elective stuff until we had regular power.  We've had lots of rain and I'm not one to really complain about that.  It means I don't have to water the gardens!  I don't know why that makes me so happy but it does.

My hydrangea bush is flowering nicely! The blooms look pink here but they are really a pretty blue.

This angle makes them look bluer!   I hadn't been on a good walk in the cemetery for a long time so I stopped by the other day.  Thanks to the patriotic holidays we've celebrated all the graves of folks who served in the military were decorated with flags that the Boy Scouts put up before Memorial Day.  One section of the cemetery has many Civil War Veterans and someone donated money to spruce it up a bit.

The stars that mark the graves of veterans were cleaned up and fixed where needed.

Sure looks nice!  But there was another new addition that was super nice too.

This beautiful bench was placed there  by the VFW.   What a nice way to say thanks and honor those that have served and those who are buried here that lost their lives for our country.  Glad I took the time to walk and notice all the changes.  Makes me proud of our community.

This little dude was enjoying the day in the cemetery too.  Lots of deer make their home in the woods that surround the property and they are not very afraid of humans.  Probably feel pretty protected here with no hunting allowed in city limits!  More storms are predicted for late tonight/early tomorrow in our town.  Hope it's a beautiful day where you live and you're able to take a walk around your community.   You never know what or who you might meet.

Beautiful July 4th!

Again the 4th of July finds me at the Pines without even a sparkler to light!  Jack's at Boy Scout Camp and I'm on call today.  But it's all good because we have beautiful weather and so far I'm not working.  I have many projects in my brain and will do a few but will mostly enjoy the quiet and probably take Chubbs for a walk in town.  There's a steak in the fridge with my name on it...with a few tidbits for the 'ol Chubbers too.  We did have a fun celebration early over the weekend.  Sunday we all gathered to enjoy some ribs and to just hang out.

Nothing like a game of corn hole to put some action in the day!  I think Cameron is holding his breath that his Dad's throw won't go in the hole!  Do you see the new puppy in the pic?

Jack and Evelyn got a new pup named Kip.  They say it's really Evelyn's daughter's dog but they all sure seemed pretty attached to the little guy.  He's so soft and cute!  He's only 9 weeks old so you can see how big he's going to get. He's a Golden Doodle.  In my day those were just mutts but now they are a real breed...another name for expensive! But we already love him so welcome Kip!   On Saturday Jack and I headed down to Loudonville for the annual antique and car show.  There wasn't much in the way of antiques but tons of cars!  I didn't even bring a camera for one pic..I'm slipping in my blogging brain!  But I found a couple of treasures to bring home.  One was a big metal red "S"...yes we had tons of 7th grade humor about me and my big red "S"....

Not sure where it will finally reside but I say if you have a big red "S" you should show it off! (hey, that line never gets old! Ha!)  I hope everyone has great day.  Stay safe and enjoy somthing red:

Like fresh raspberry pancakes....or maybe something blue...

Like fresh blueberry pancakes....or maybe something white...or I should say black and white..

An old July 4th pic I showed a few years ago...my sister and I at our neighborhood July 4th parade.  I believe we were celebrating Hawaii becoming a state in 1959.  We looked thrilled!  Happy 4th America!  God bless you!