Toes in the sand...

Shells in my pocket...

Some fun on the beach...

Don't anyone knock it...

Do you see that pelican sitting on the post? Even after all the other birds had flown off, he stayed, as if he had laid claim and was unwilling to give it up.

When in Florida...

... find an Irish pub!

It was a dark and stormy day. But we didn't let the rain stop us. We spent the day in the historic part of Naples. We walked on the beach and watched some dolphins playing, or feeding, just off the shore. We window shopped, but were too wet to go into the shops (much to Kevin and Allen's relief).

And then we found McCabe's Irish Pub, and found a familiar feel to settle into and have a pint or two. We found out from our server that the original Tommy Bahama's pub wasn't too far away. By the time we got there, it was pouring down rain, but we still sat at a table outside under a large umbrella... still feeling right at home. The rain here is so nice because it is warm.

My brother and his wife have a really lovely home in Naples that we are lucky enough to be able to use. We would rather bring our meals in and sit out by the pool than go out to dinner. I am not sure, however, that we are saving any money at the local "Whole Foods" grocery store. It is a great food market, and we seem to spend quite a bit each time we go (great wines!).

Today is supposed to rain and be cloudy, but so far the sun is out. So we are off to explore again. Stay posted... I will keep you up-to-date on our adventures!

A visit with Steve

Beth's father, Steve, is one of the nicest people I know. We had a nice visit with him at the nursing home he lives in. Unfortunately, Steve's memory has fallen victim to alzheimer's. He doesn't remember me, but he is so kind, he smiles and is glad to see me. He doesn't remember that we share a birthday, or that he has been to my home in Idaho several times, but I am sure to remind him.

Beth is really great with him. She laughs with him, even though sometimes he thinks she is Aunt Rita. 

We took him outside where we could visit without all the other residents interruptions. And he was at the top of his game: he danced and sang for us, told us things that I couldn't quite understand, and generally just enjoyed a few moments with people who were familiar.

Critter heaven

It isn't often that you see the caterpillar and the butterfly that it turns into at the same time. Obviously, this one didn't turn into that butterfly, but it will turn into one just like it in about 2 weeks.

Beth has a rooster named Reggie, an Ent who is making a face at me (if you don't know what that is, you need to watch "The Two Towers" or read Tolkien's trilogy), and poisonous toads in her yard. Rosie, her little Cairn Terrier, has almost died eating them. She has finally figured out that they aren't good snacking material.

Oh man, lots of big, honkin' spiders! This one on the left is about the size of my fist. The one in the middle is very tiny, maybe 1/4", and the one on the right is a couple of inches long. I used my ultra-telephoto lens so I didn't have to get close to them. Scary creatures, but they eat the mosquitos and are harmless to big animals. Beth calls them her pets. I think she is crazy!

Now on to photos of alligators. Saturday is my big drive to Miami on "Alligator Alley." I am assuming they call it that because there are lots of gators. I want to get a good shot of some without them eating me. I will probably use my ultra-telephoto lens again... don't want to get too close.

Just another day in sunny...

PARADISE!

I am basking in 80° with a slight, cool breeze. It is perfect weather! I am so relaxed. Beth and I are having a great time... we drank too much wine last night, but what's new with that?

The critters around here are fascinating. I have been snapping photos for the last hour just around the pool.

On my way to sunny Florida!

I love sitting in airports watching folks and their different expressions, some look lost, some are confident, some are really happy like me off on a vacation adventure, and some are so immersed in their electronic stuff that they notice no one and appear to have a little transparent cocoon around them.

Yes, I am immersed in electronics in Seattle... but not for long. Just wanted to get in this post quickly so I can go back to people-watching. I am making up stories about people based upon their expressions. It is fun.

Maybe more later when I am sitting in Denver.

The Autumn Curtain Falls

The fall equinox has come. Our forecast for today is more rain, although I see plenty of blue sky peeking through those white clouds. Our weatherman predicts freezing temperatures tonight, so I plan on bringing in the potted plants I intend to keep over winter. And this is a photo of the last harvest from the garden, unless by some miracle my kale is still there when we get back from Florida.

The leaves on the maple in the front yard are just beginning to turn yellow, as is the weeping willow in the back. And after yesterday's soaking rain, everything is looking perky. 

So it is with a mixed heart that I welcome Fall and say so long to the shortest summer I can remember in recent years that was preceded by the wierdest spring I ever remember.

Last day of summer...

It's raining. Typical for Idaho to welcome fall. But we really need the rain, so I am happy to see it. Besides, I leave for Florida Tuesday morning where I can extend my summer for 3 more weeks.

I had a reason for going to Florida for 3 weeks, but now I am a bit in a panic being gone for so long. Fortunately, I can work while I am there, but dang... who PLANS to work on vacation? Just stupid Ali... sigh...

On the other hand, we are planning on having a really good time... we are staying with Beth and Scott for a little while, meeting our friends from Ireland—Anne and Allen, staying in my brother's house in Naples, and going to Cape Canaveral to watch a shuttle launch. Work will just have to come second.

July 2009 will mark 30 years that I have lived in Idaho (hard to believe I have even been alive that long). The weather has absolutely changed here over the years. I see a definite warming trend over all when I compare summers in the past to summers now. But one thing that seems to remain true is what I call the "fall curtain" that descends on us at the end of summer with rain and gray skies. 

I love the fall, gray curtain and all. I love the crisp, cool evenings. I love pulling my sweaters and sweatshirts out of hibernation. I love the smell of the rain, the colors of the trees and shrubs in my yard, and the general feeling that our part of the world is preparing to take a long, deep sleep. I just wish we didn't sleep in quite so long.

A mother's favorite words...

I miss you! I love you mom. 

Yesterday morning at 10:05 am, I greeted Maegan at the airport for a weekend visit home. She called me 2 weeks ago and said she missed me, her bed, and needed a break from the crowded dorm. So I booked her a flight home (very cheap from Boise to Spokane... cheaper than driving).

We went out to lunch together, she went to the football game last night at her old high school with one of her friends, she hung out with her brother, Conor, and she came and sat on my lap and snuggled up with me (not quite what it used to be when she was smaller, but I still appreciate it long legs and all).

Today she has requested all homemade meals. I am off to make her favorite breakfast.

I feel peaceful when the kids are home. If Byron were here, it would be complete. I have holidays to look forward to for that very reason... when all the kids are home, I just feel better.

The blonde big-bag lady

Up until my sister started her own business importing gorgeous handmade bags from Vietnam, I was the type who had a single bag until it absolutely wore out, never matched what I wore, and probably told a lot about how un-stylish I was.

Since my sister set me straight on stylish and beautiful bags, I have quite a collection. And I change bags regularly, quite a bit more than I used to.

Sam gave me this really nice bag for my birthday this year. I love it... it is big... basically a bottomless pit. I took it with me to Boise, and since I was only there for a day, used it to carry my bare essentials so on my flight home, I wouldn't have to check a bag.

Since my trip to Boise, I lost my ipod. I thought I either left it in Maegan's car since we needed tunage on the long and never-ending drive down south. Or some horrible little person stole it out of my car that I try to remember to lock in the driveway, but often forget. I have called Maegan and Byron begging them to look again in her car because I just can't stand the thought of someone taking my stuff, especially since it was a Christmas present from Kevin.

Yesterday, I decided to change bags. I emptied my new bag to transfer stuff (amazing how much stuff there is, too). Lo and behold, the ipod has been in the bottom of my purse this whole time. Now that is a big bag!

Fall bounty

I am so enamored by my garden, perhaps because I waited for so long for it.

This morning is the moment I have been waiting for since I planted the seeds in the new soil in my beds.

My mom turned me on to a new eating trend: the raw food diet. When I was out in Virginia, she brought down her vitamix and made me a smoothie out of a mix of fruits and vegetables. I know it sounds wierd, but it was delicious, and I now have my own vitamix that liquifies my breakfast every morning.

So I headed out to my garden this morning to pick some ripe collard greens and kale... mmmm. I love collard greens steamed with a little balsamic vinegar drizzled on them. Kale is also good prepared that way, as well as mustard greens and turnip greens. I found out the hard 

way that mustard greens are NOT good in a morning smoothie! 

This year was not a good year for tomatoes, but I have gotten a few. I don't think there is anything better than a fresh tomato off the vine. 

My friend, Becki, had a really nice crop of tomatoes this year... she was lucky until the frost in July that basically took them out. This has been the strangest spring/summer I can remember in a long time.

Anyway, I am sitting here looking out at another gorgeous day with my garden in the background enjoying my breakfast of champions made from the stuff I grew and feeling wholesome.

Life is good...

Joy in the harvest!

It sure seemed like a lot of grapes that turned into about a quart or less of juice, but the thrill of seeing the harvest through to the end was no less satisfactory!

After picking a basket full of grapes, I looked online to see what the best way to convert them to a simple grape juice would be... and just as I suspected, it was about as simple as you could make it up. 

The surprise was our fresh grape juice tasted more like fresh apple cider. But whatever... it was sweet and tart at the same time, and delightfully refreshing.

Babes in the woods

I came across these cute little spotted babes in the woods this weekend. So young, they didn't even know to run right away, and posed long enough for me to get several good shots. I don't know where their mother was, but I have no doubt she was close by... probably calling them "Hey goofy kids... don't you know there is danger nearby?" (I seem to recall saying that very thing to my kids from time to time)

I would have thought their spots were gone by now, but my friend explained today that this year she has seen many late arrivals in the wild due to a crazy spring and late summer.

Regardless, I feel like I came across a treasure...

Weekend at camp

You just have to love a camp that has martini-making as one of its workshops.

Camp 4-Echoes, a girl scout camp on the southern end of Lake Coeur d'Alene, hosted a womens' campout as a fundraiser for the Girl Scouts of the Inland Northwest. I was excited to participate.

I signed up for the plate-painting class, skipped the scrapbooking class to go canoeing with Cindy, wore myself out hiking around the woods on a digital camera scavenger hunt, ate myself silly with all the food available, played bunco with a bunch of women who all had a different idea of how to play the game, and probably haven't laughed that hard and long in forever.

Women have such a wonderful way of bonding with each other. This little gathering of about 70 was a brilliant fundraising idea. This was one well-organized and nicely planned event. After the martini making class, we had the cocktail hour, at which time hors deouvres were served and there was a silent auction. Then a very nice dinner was served with plenty of wine flowing. It should come as no surprise that Cindy and I had an interesting time making our way back to our little teepee in the pitch black of the night. I was really glad we were not assigned to the tree-houses.

Stateline Idaho... seedy no more.

This is Friday's post, but I didn't have the photo until today.

There is a little wine shop at State Line in Idaho on the border towards Spokane, a place that used to only be known for half-naked to fully-naked dancing girls, and very accommodating "massage" parlors. Most of the men drank beer or whiskey, and I doubt there was much wine, unless it was pink.

State Line has certainly cleaned up its act. Today the whores-I mean masseusses-are gone, the girls dance just half-naked, and in the back of the tobacco shop is a cool little wine tasting bar. 

And where there is wine, you will usually find us... fully clothed.

One happy thought...

I finally got to meet Miya, Sara's new daughter from China, today at lunch. That actually calmed me for a bit. She is so adorable. I, of course, did not have my camera to post her cute little photo, but here is the links to her mom's blog where you can check out lots of her cute little self.

Just another manic Tuesday?

Or is that double mondays?

This is exactly what I feel like today. I feel like I am having a heart attack!

Today started out as such a quiet, relaxed day, too. But it quickly turned to "?%#" in a heartbeat, and I am simply trying to breathe. Just breathe. Kevin even told me to just take a few deep breaths.

Now I know what an anxiety attack feels like. Give me some B vitamins!!!!!

I just thought I would share... thanks for visiting.