a 1 minute, 44 second look at my day

So I'm in a new club: The Empty Nest Hiking Club. So far we've got two members. :) Here's our 'inaugural hike' at Battleground Lake. We had a nice day, and the weather cooperated -- skies were gray but no rain so no complaints!

(By the way, for those of you who saw this last night, I fixed the choppy problem! Woo hoo!)

adventures in empty nesting, part I

Ah, the first weekend of the... da da daaaaaaaa.... Empty Nest. Went on an impromptu road trip this morning to Winlock, a little town about 30 miles north of here. We've lived in this area for a long time, but Winlock is one town we've never explored. Turns out they have the (brace yourself) World's Largest Egg. Whoa! Who knew?! It is sort of ironic, yet fitting -- empty nest... egg...

moved in and tuckered out

Hubby and I are back home from the college move-a-thon! We helped Offspring #1 move from her 'summer apartment' into her 'school year apartment', and helped Offspring #2 move into his dorm room. Everything went well and they are both settled into nice, comfy places. Our house sure seems awfully quiet now!

I've got a wee bit o' bloggin' to catch up on. *yawn* Maybe tomorrow.

here we go...

This is the big college moving weekend, and it looks like this:



OK, it doesn't realllllly look like that. Anyway, I will try to post 'from the road' if I can.

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found the picture here

per marie's request...

Here it is... a copy of the little poster I made for a "Bye Bye Barbecue" we had as a college student send-off.

Pictured left to right:
Marie's SBC; My Offspring #1, My Offspring #2

Yep, these three have known each other a long time, and now the journey continues up at college...

quiz time

I saw the "What Time of Day Are You?" quiz on Purpletologically Speaking's blog. I read that Purpletologically Speaking is "Sunrise" -- She enjoys "living a slow, fulfilling life." She is "caring and giving" and "enjoys making people happy." That sounds really nice, doesn't it?

So I took the quiz too. Umm.... Here are my results:

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits. Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle. Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it. You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

Wow! "More than a little eccentric"? "Unusual habits"? I sound like a freakin' oddball!

I'd love to blog more, but I must get to bed so that I can lie awake pondering my place in the world.

blissfully bloggin' 'bout the breakfast berries

Ah, it is good to have both Offspring #1 and Offspring #2 home this weekend. Next weekend is the big move-in extravaganza at college. Sniffle. But we won't think about that for now. :)

Anyway, Offspring #1 picked these raspberries from our garden this morning for breakfast. We are having a bumper crop of berries this year... along with some terrific tomatoes and prodigious pumpkins. (OK, I'll stop with the alliteration now.)

I'm thinking about trying this smoothie recipe later:

Rasberry Smoothie
1 medium banana
1 cup of red raspberries
1/2 cup of yogurt
1/2 cup of ice

Blend all ingredients. Pour in glass. Take in backyard. Sip while admiring garden. Ignore weeds and lawn that needs mowing.

quote of the day

I was looking through USA Today after dinner (I know, it's a fluffy newspaper, but I like it), and ran across this quote:

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."
--Nelson Henderson

I must confess I don't know who Nelson Henderson is, but I like his statement. It's a good one to ponder. While I know I've done some planting of trees (both literally and figuratively), I'm sure I could do more...

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Credit: Art from here.

shoe blogging à la cheesehead

(Blogatorial note: I am shamelessly stealing the idea of shoeblogging from Cheesehead.)

*Sigh*
Offspring #2 will be heading up to college in a couple of weeks (where he will be joining Offspring #1). This means (cue dramatic music) the empty nest will soon be upon Hubby and me. I gotta say since Offsprings #1&2 have been incredibly delightful, we are not looking forward to them being gone.

Another *sigh*

What will Hubby and I do with the extra free time? Well for starters, we plan to get back into hiking. When we lived in Colorado (pre-kid days) we used to enjoy hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park. We now have Mt St Helens in our 'backyard' here in Washington, and figure all of the hiking trails there should be fun to explore. So in anticipation we each bought a pair of new hiking shoes. I picked up these little beauties at REI yesterday. Future blog posts will likely contain Views from the Hiking Road...


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st helens photo credit

oh davey

I used to enjoy Davey and Goliath (that 'classic' stop-motion animated tv show) in the 60's. But it would have been even cooler had Barry White been the voice of the dad...

Interviewed by Presbyterian Gal!

1. What inspired you to become an optometrist?

Well, I don't know how "inspired" my decision was, but I gravitated to that profession because I enjoyed (and was good at) science & math and felt a career in health care would be rewarding. (And it has been!) I must confess a big reason I specifically opted for optometry (ooh, cool word play) is because of the reasonable hours -- It is very family (and "life outside work") friendly so that's been great.

2. Which book of the Bible is your favorite and why?

I could say Leviticus because the rules are entertaining, but I'll go with Mark on this leg of my journey since it is (as far as I know) the oldest gospel and therefore probably the most accurate portrayal of Jesus' life.

3. What was one of your most defining moments in life that changed or altered your course?

While I don't think I've had a moment that altered my actual 'course' per se, the defining moment that impacted my life was the senseless, random murder of my brother in 1996. My life had been fairly idyllic up to that point (just your normal life stuff anyway), then suddenly I had that evil and its aftermath to deal with and all of the myriad ramifications...


4. Who was your favorite teacher?

No contest -- my first grade teacher, Mrs. Dobler. We bonded so well that to this day she sends my kids birthday cards! She had two boys, so my mother always let her "borrow" me for the annual church Mother-Daughter banquet. (This picture was taken on one of those occasions.) She is one of the kindest people on this planet.

5. If you had to trade lives with anyone living, dead or fictional, who would it be?

I guess I'd pick Kathleen Norris. For me, it wouldn't get any better than living in small town Dakota and writing theological musings.


Alrighty then! If you'd like to play, here's the scoop:

1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.


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Credit: original (i.e. unaltered) 'interview' cartoon found here

The Thunderhead... AAAAAAH!!

I really did think about Presbyterian Gal when I was at Dollywood since she had expressed interest in the theme park. In fact, I thought about her so much, it was almost as if she was there...

etymologically speaking...

We arrived home from Tennessee (great trip all in all!) and have been doing the usual post-vacation laundry, put-away, etc. I'm not quite up to my usual blogging speed yet. Sigh. I will never be a blogebrity if I just do this microblogging. But, alas, I must turn my attention back to the floordrobe and carbage.

Are those some nifty new words or what?! Here are the definitions as found at word spy, a site that sleuths new words and phrases which have appeared in recent newspapers, magazines, etc. (Check out the other cool words there!)

blogebrity: n. A famous or popular blogger. [Blend of blog and celebrity.]

microblogging: pp. Posting short thoughts and ideas to a personal blog.

floodrobe: n. A pile of discarded clothes on the floor of a person's room. [Blend of floor and wardrobe.]

carbage: n. The garbage that accumulates in some cars, particularly in the back seat. [Blend of car and garbage.]