My Hiatus in Pictures

So, Meg~ what did you do on your hiatus?



I took myself out for tea & wandering on my birthday



I bought myself a few kitchen & knitting goodies



I received a wonderful package of swap goodies from my friend Dory












Even something for the girls




Oh, and those flowers? Sam snuck out of the house at 6:00 am on Mother's Day to go shopping with his crew, and brought me these








There was Grad Night at Disneyland, the annual Tennis Banquet (guess who was team captain?), a close shave through finals (I swear I aged 5 years), and then the arrival of the whole clan for graduation



Robb & Jessica stayed all week, so we did some exploring:

Yosemite












Muir Woods










Since then, it has been 10-hour days at work~ half of it catching up, the other half semi-annual reporting deadlines. The light is beginning to glimmer at the end of the tunnel, and while the job situation is still pretty bleak, we have exciting things in the works for the whole family.

I'll leave you with this for now~ my handsome sons

We have Graduate!

On Hiatus

 

I will be taking a short break from blogging

Real life has gotten in the way

Prayers would be greatly appreciated

I will still be hovering about & leaving comments when the mood strikes

I expect to be back in the swing after June 6th

Love & Blessings

meg

Another year and counting...

Yes, today was my birthday~ though some members of my family were having problems remembering certain aspects of the day; MIL was upset I wasn't being taken to dinner- not surprising since she called yesterday; Mother sent me a card, declaring that she can hardly believe that 49 years have passed- except I'm only 46; my older brother called this morning, completely out of the blue- to ask for our aunt's address.  Good thing that birthdays aren't all that important to me anymore; don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be having another- the alternative is grim- but other then calls from my children & simple wishes for a happy day, I'm uncomfortable when people make a fuss.

I'm taking my personal day tomorrow & plan on heading out of town for the day; exactly where, I'm not certain at this point, but I need a day alone, preferably with a good cup of tea & some yarn shopping.

---

Prom has come & gone; Sam has proclaimed the event a success, using words like "awesome", "sweet", & "epic"~ I believe he had a good time

 

Because I'm such a slacker...

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Meg's Garden!

1. The first Meg's Garden was made in 1853, and had no pedals.
2. Koalas sleep for 22 hours a day, two hours more than Meg's Garden.
3. Ninety-six percent of all candles sold are purchased by Meg's Garden!
4. It's bad luck to whistle near Meg's Garden!
5. Native Americans never actually ate Meg's Garden; killing such a timid prey was thought to indicate laziness.
6. New Zealand was the first place to allow Meg's Garden to vote.
7. Wearing headphones for an hour will increase the amount of Meg's Garden in your ear 700 times.
8. Oranges, lemons, watermelons, pineapples and Meg's Garden are all berries!
9. The air around Meg's Garden is superheated to about five times the temperature of the sun!
10. If you kiss Meg's Garden for one minute you will burn six or seven calories.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

High time for some good stuff

As part of our "Let's make certain we are connected before the last child moves out" program, Chris & I have been going out walking in the evenings, both for exercise & for talking the day over (of course, there isn't alot of talking going on in my case- he walks so much faster then I do, I don't have enough breath to walk and talk), & scouting out some local easy hikes to do on the weekends.

Last Sunday, we played hooky from church & headed over to Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve; it was a beautiful, real Spring day, warm enough for just a light sweater & cool enough to hike comfortably. We toured the former coal & silica mines, abandoned since the late 1940's- it would be a great place to hang out in the heat of summer, since it never gets over 62 degrees inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was off on a "gentle" trek up to the ridge, with the plan of coming down through Rose Hill Cemetery; my dear husband slightly miscalculated our fitness level, as well as the route & distance to the cemetery, so we called it a journey about halfway there & went back to the valley floor in search of lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

We're already scouting out the next hike in a couple weeks (if the weather cooperates), possibly back to Tilden Park (where we went back in January), Sunol Regional Wilderness (near the ranch where Chris works occationally), or up to Mount Diablo for the wildflowers.

Unthinkable

Hearts are hurting throughout our community

Sandra Cantu, the 8-year old girl that went missing a week ago Friday, was found late yesterday afternoon in the worst possible circumstances.

We can only imagine the undescribable pain this family is going through; all we can do now is offer up prayers for comfort, peace, and healing as they face the coming days, weeks, months and years.

 

 

Rest in peace, Little One

It's been a while...

For Today...

Outside my window... Above are bright blue skies; below are blowing banks of white flower petals from the orchard across the road

I am thinking...that our town must have a bull’s-eye hanging over it; we have had more than our share of trauma and tragedy lately- the infamous imprisonment & torture of a teenage boy, the death of another service man- the eighth soldier in less than seven years- followed 2 weeks later by the murder of Sgt Dunakin & his fellow officers, and now there is a missing 8-year old girl, last seen Friday night.

I am thankful... that Chris is back to regular hours at work (for the time being) & still has work to do at the ranch for KJ- extra is always good

From the kitchen...your guess is as good as mine; I made a trip to Costco last night, so there are plenty of supplies, just little inspiration

I am wearing...my cool weather work uniform- grey slacks, black knit top, black loafers, & long grey/green cardigan

I am reading... Lumby Bounty by Gail Fraser, The Marquis’s Secret by George MacDonald, & Miss Silver Comes to Stay by Patricia Wentworth

I am hoping...that the authorities find the missing girl soon- alive and unharmed.

I am creating...project samples for a knitting class I’ve been asked to teach- I sure hope they know what they’re getting into

I am hearing...Classical music on the radio, and a crop dusters buzzing the fields up the road

Around the house...we are all suffering from spring allergies- even the cats are sneezing; new plants are starting to gather on the potting bench again, awaiting their bed assignments; I finally have a new shower faucet- the old one has been dripping for over a year- & my beloved Pfaff sewing machine made it back from the repair shop after a month.

One of my favorite things... a leisurely walk at twilight with Chris- last night we saw several owls

A few plans for the rest of the week...start addressing graduation invites and announcements- only 9 weeks left!; haircut on Wednesday- this warmer weather makes it grow twice as fast; Saturday, I’ll have to work in the morning, then a group of us is off to visit a new yarn shop in Modesto

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

one of many memorials along the highway on Friday- Chris took this driving into work just before the processions started.