The Lake

Last weekend we enjoyed not only spending time at the lake house, and eating all the good food, and catching up with the friends who had gathered ... we enjoyed the lake from all perspectives....

In the cool quiet of the morning, the lake is very still...

The view across the lake, at another lake house ...

The view from the dining room window, as friends relax on the lower deck by the lake ....

Watching the kids have fun, from one of the upper decks ....

Captain Tim concentrates as he pulls the kids around the lake ...

Fearless teenage boys ... Doug, James, Josh ...

Josh showing the others how to use the kneeboard ....

We really did "relaxo at the chateau" last weekend! Good times.

The Great Outdoors ...

... As seen at Elk Lake and the lake house last weekend. We are so thankful to have wonderful friends who invite us to visit this beautiful place.

Sunset on Sunday evening ...

Yes, I really take pictures of chairs.... After the rain ...

Kayaks, quietly waiting for their turn on the lake ...

Gross skull found at the edge of the woods.

Teresa thinks it was "Mama" (the raccoon). (Sad!)

And these were the 2 turtles that Chris found on Monday morning as he drove around the lake. He was nice enough to bring them into the bedroom and hold them above my head while I screamed under the covers to GO AWAY.

So Much Color, So Little Time

We took a little road trip on Saturday, to the Franklin Conservatory.

We'd been there a couple of years ago and wanted to visit again because I had read about a butterfly exhibit, and a re-do of the Chihuly glass sculptures. This time, Matt, Em and TR came with us. We were not disappointed! There were enormous, incredible glass creations everywhere ...

Layered in the ceiling ...

Hanging in fantastic chandelier-type shapes ...

Arranged in a boat ...

Smack dab in the middle of the greenery in the tropical rain forest room ...

Hanging in the entrance ...

Flowers on a vase ...

Another fantastic flower image ...

And they were worried that their guests would miss the ant exhibit? Seriously?

Tara liked the glass in the ceiling best of all:

Still Sweet

And curious.

And beautiful.

And loved!

Friday Evening

Another exciting evening in the works at our house.

Cat and dogs hanging out, enjoying the great outdoors

Car being washed.

I'm thinking about baking a cake.

(Thank you, Betty, for the new gluten-free mixes.

Hoping they taste really, really good.)

Looking forward to the long weekend!

It Took Me A Week

Now that we no longer have cable, we've had to surf the few remaining channels we do get for worthwhile tv shows. We stumbled on "America's Got Talent" a month or so ago and got hooked on it. Last week, Reba McEntire was a guest artist on one of the episodes. (Yeah, I know, I look just like her, don't I?) I mentioned to Chris that I had seen her as an opening act, at Music Hall, sometime around 1980 before she had made it big. But I could not for the life of me remember WHO she was the opening act for - all I could remember is that it was a male country artist who was very popular at the time.

For the past week I have been going crazy trying to think of the name ... we did searches on the internet, I kept turing over names in my mind. It was right on the tip of my tongue but so help me, I couldn't come up with his name. Then all of a sudden last night, while watching AGT again it came to me in a flash. What a relief! Kind of like getting rid of a migraine headache after suffering for days ....

Do you recognize this man? (Probably not, he's not a big star any more, though his web site says he still tours sometimes.) It's B J Thomas.

Dreaded Day

Once a year, it comes around. It's a day I never look forward to.

Say a prayer for me at 12:10 today.

.

Faces

This reminds me of the Highlights magazines we always see in the pediatrician's office - you know, that one seek-and-find picture puzzle they always have? With hidden combs, pencils and toothbrushes??

There are supposed to be 10 faces hidden in this tree. I can only find 9. How about you?

Busy

Getting way too busy again....

This past weekend was a whirlwind - Beth Moore conference on Friday afternoon, evening and Saturday morning.

Had sweet Tara on Saturday evening, took her to her first concert (!) - Kansas, outdoors at The Taste of Blue Ash. A wonderful cool night for being outside - wrapped Tara up in a big fleece blanket, she was snug as a bug in a rug.

Sunday morning was church, where our friend Karen was baptized (wahoo! score one for the good guys). Afterwards we went to Marcaroni Grill for lunch. Then home for a while, Matt & Em picked up the precious baby and then the hubster and I headed out again for a cookout at Celia's, then over to the family homestead for a birthday party for Pops.

And poof! The weekend was over!

Labor Day weekend plans have been made - another fun & busy weekend. I'm excited that we're going to Columbus to the Franklin Conservatory to see the wonderful Chihuly glass and their butterfly exhibit. And then on Sunday we're off to Chateau Relaxo for an overnight trip in Kentucky.

Tools of the Trade

Our friend Dick has a gift for woodworking, carefully creating beautiful pieces such as this "work in progress." Not only is he a talented woodworker, but he's an awesome painter and gardener, and a wonderful musician. Oh, and he can cut hair. (And I think once he even claimed he could sew, for pete's sake!)

A Dog's Life

Glanced out the back door the other evening, while enjoying dinner and there she was, watching us eat, sprawled on the bench.

Is the dog too big for the bench, or the bench is too small for the dog?

Wishing ...

I was here ...

Or here ...

Or here ....

Feeling like I need to see some OCEAN!

Excited

I'm going to the Beth Moore simulcast at VCC this coming Friday and Saturday ... I'm so excited! Several of my good friends from our small group will be going also ... even more fun that way!

That's all I wanted to say. Short and sweet. I'm excited!

Reflections of Me

My husband often teases me about being easily distracted by shiny things. If that's the case, I got really distracted today at a classic car show in Newport. So many cars, so many colors, so many fun reflections. Can you see me? (In real life, of course, I am not so small nor am I so oddly shaped...)

Oh, and did I mention that the Wienermobile was there also? Awesome.

Happy Dog

Yesterday was a beautiful and unseasonably cool August day.

We just had to take the dogs to the park for a run.

They all had a blast, especially Tyson.

Riding ....

Running ...

Leaping ...

Drinking ...

Smiling!

And full of burrs.