A Fresh Start

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I am practicing making collages and this is my first attempt. I have a lot to learn - for example how to move the pictures around in the collage, I haven't figured that out yet. And I have no idea why the text is centering itself either. I think the more I learn about computers, the more I don't know!

Anyway - here is the only clean and unChristmasy {is that a word?} part of my house. Although I still have my Christmas sheets on the bed. They are flannel and will stay on until our COLD weather is over. You know - it was in the 60's today, but it gets chilly at night!!

I think I will be looking for some new bedding this spring, something a little more bold, but for now this is ok. I always start my "spring cleaning" after Christmas. Things are so dusty and cluttered that it just feels good to do a good cleaning. So...I moved the bed and vacuumed underneath and washed all of the bedding and then washed and rearranged the things on the nightstands. I'd say I'm about 1% done with my "spring cleaning." At least the 4 Christmas trees are packed up and put away!!

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

Our little grandson Benjamin turned 3 yesterday. It was very difficult to get a picture of him looking at the camera - there was too much going on all around him. Our daughter and her family are building a house and living in an apartment until it is finished. It is very COZY in the apartment and so no room for a party at home. Ben had his birthday at Chuck E. Che*se, and that is the reason for the distraction. You put a little boy in a room with noise and lights and video games and that is all he can think about!!

His theme was Thomas the train - and his mom made the cute shirt for him. {there is a number 3 on it}
Big sister is ready to hit the games.
Cousin Cooper is ready to go.
Ben had so much fun playing all of the games. He liked to drop his coin in the slot - he didn't always stick around to play the game! Here he couldn't reach the basketball goal so we cheated a little and gave him a better place to stand.
Best buddies.
Elizabeth's good friend Elliott came and they had a lot of fun together.
We all had fun and then continued the fun in the evening at our house for dinner. Bob wasn't able to go to the party so this way he was able to see Ben on his big day. It was a beautiful day weather wise - mid 70's - and the kids had fun outside before dinner.

Happy Birthday Benjamin! We love you.

Last of the California Trip

Bob was generally busy the next few days and I spent my time with a book by the pool. Pretty relaxing - I loved it!

On Saturday we had a free afternoon so we took a drive up to Joshua Tree National Park. We didn't get out of the car as we left kind of late in the day and wanted to finish the drive in the daylight hours. It gets dark - very dark - around 5:00 in California this time of the year. At least in the valley it did, once the sun went behind the mountains it was dark!
This is a Joshua Tree - pretty aren't they? Not much shade in the desert though!
The rock formations are just something else! My pictures don't do them justice.

This is the view from a lookout point and you are looking down in the valley toward Palm Springs and the other cities. I didn't realize there was a body of water out there in the desert. Something to see on another trip!
We flew home on Sunday and the weather in Texas has improved. (Yeah) Bob is a new member of our homeowners association so he came home and left right away for his first meeting. I got to watch a few shows that had collected on the DVR. I had to relax after lounging all week!!

More Sun and Fun

Day 2 in California was just as nice as the first day. The day starts out cool and then gets very nice. This picture was taken from the car on the way to dinner last night. There are a lot of hot air balloons around here.I took this picture from the car too - it is a picture of Panera - we stopped for lunch here on the way from the airport on our first day and ate outside on the patio.
This is downtown Palm Springs. They have statues of stars here and there - this is Lucille Ball.
We ate dinner here last night. Bob had fish tacos for the first time and really liked them. I had chicken fajitas and they were very good too. It was a fairly large restaurant right on the main street in Palm Springs.
You can see how large it is.
I took this picture on the way to the spa for my complimentary manicure and pedicure. These flamingos are right in front of the hotel.
Pretty black swans on the property.
The flowers are gorgeous.
Tonight we drove around Palm Desert. The big shopping street is El Paseo and has lots of upscale shops and art galleries. These next 2 pictures are some sculptures that were in the median.

Today we ate breakfast at Mimis and so we were not hungry for lunch. Instead, this afternoon we drove around and saw some more of the country and stopped for an early dinner at Arnold Palmer's Restaurant. We sat in the bar and had the best meal. We had the homemade chips for appetizer and they were yummy! Then Bob had ribs and I had a burger - not too exciting but good. The end to another lazy but nice day. Tomorrow Bob has to work for a living - he has some meetings etc and golf in the afternoon. I plan to work on my bible study and do a little reading. Such a life!! We are thinking of all of you in the colder climes - wish you were here!!

California - Here We Come!

We picked a great week to leave Texas - highs in the 40's and lows in the 20's! Bob has to present at a conference in Palm Desert CA and it sounded good to me.The airport is like the one in Hawaii - outdoor. I love that! It makes you feel very tropical. The picture below is of the area inside security - where some of the gates are located. There was even a playground for children. How wonderful that would be while waiting in the airport with the little ones.
Here we are at our hotel, the Desert Springs Marriott. We were given a room with a view of the parking lot and I persuaded Bob to ask for a change. We are both so glad we did. We now have a view worth sitting on the balcony for!

This is the view from our balcony.


Tonight we just wandered in to Palm Springs for dinner and walked along the main street. I took a few pictures and will post them tomorrow.

Happy New Year 2010

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve with our family. First, we met for dinner with the whole gang, plus some of Laura's in laws. We had quite a wait for a table but finally our group of 9 adults and 6 children was seated and served. After dinner we stopped at Ryan and Jessica's for an hour or so. Our goal was to be home by 10:30 and we made it. We watched a couple of episodes of 24 {we are addicted} and greeted the New Year!

2009 was a wonderful year for our family - the highlight being the birth of our 4th grandchild - Jackson Ryan.

We look forward to 2010 - I, as always, have many goals - we'll see how I do!!

Happy 2010!!

A New Year

by Joyce Blakney Duerr

As the New Year dawns upon us

We seek Your forgiveness for the sins of the past.

May our one resolution for this coming year

Be to walk with You from the first day to the last.

Fill each day with a new awareness of Your presence

And make us a blessing to those around us.