if this is February 2nd...

then yesterday was Jacob's birthday!  I did call.  I sent a couple texts, and a card in the mail, but I forgot to post!  (he's not alone in the oops!-I-forgot-to-post department)

So, a late, but sincere acknowledgement:



Happy Birthday, Jacob!

cake courtesy of google images



Mea Culpa

In the midst of all the activity of the weekend, something important was overlooked.

 

We painted, shifted goods, cleaned cupboards and floors, and and and.  By Sunday night I was in full sinus infection mode (my teeth hurt) with an earache and restricted airflow but even that is no excuse for forgetting to acknowledge

Tim's birthday. 

 The present had been secured before Christmas because I've learned not to make any plans for that week between Christmas and his birthday on January 2.  This has probably worked well, though, because if I'd had the presence of mind to say anything over the weekend - it probably would have been just

Happy Birthday! 

 Today I'm feeling up to the challenge of communicating something (reasonably brief, because he'll squirm with the added attention) about him.

We are about to begin another new adventure, while some might say we've had our fair share of them.  And we have.  We have lived and been and seen and known some amazing people and places and things and opportunities, all because this guy isn't afraid to step out and try something new.  He's good at what he does.  He's level headed, solid in his outlook, focused, generous, self effacing, supportive, compassionate, and working on a set of killer abs (but I was going to be brief).

I've shared his adventures for 30+ years and look forward what's ahead for us. 

Happy birthday, Tim.

Birthday Greetings

Happy Birthday, James!

Happy Birthday Kate!!

The flowers are for Kate - Happy Birthday - hope you have a great day!

A busy weekend

We had a great time with the Kahls. As you may well imagine, this little guy drove the bus for the weekend.



Aidan turned six. He kept Grandpa busy with stories and boy stuff. He and Charlie took several walks - some with Naphtali, one on his own, and he, James and Charlie delivered birthday cupcakes to friends in the neighborhood.



Grandpa worked on project for Naphtali while the rest of us did a MOA adventure. James had registered Aidan's birthday at the Nickelodeon Universe, giving him a free pass for rides. We tagged along and enjoyed a couple rides with Aidan. It was my first (and probably last) trip to MOA.





I was amazed (not by the mall) that on the trip there - it was a surprise - we'd been in the car for a while, everyone is talking, distracted, engaged, we're swooping along the road, under here, over there. At some point we make a slight veer to the right, joining a different flow of traffic, no signs, no buildings or landmarks, and Aidan says this is the way to MOA! He did that several times. He knows his way around, recognizing an area, or an off ramp as the way to thus and such! Amazing.




There was en easter egg hunt Sunday morning before church. James hid the eggs while Mom, Aidan and Charlie released a bit of energy. The morning was lovely. (the weather for the weekend was pretty much made to order) The songbirds in their neighborhood are a treat. Crocus were up and open. Tulips won't be far behind.



Aidan taught me how to make dumplings. Chinese dumplings. They were tasty, we were all starving so no one thought to get any pictures...Naphtali sliced the leftovers to saute with some bok choy the next day mmmmmm

And then we had to go home.

happy birthday!!

Birthday greetings go out to Jacob today!!




He and Kate also celebrated their anniversary yesterday.

With his new work schedule Jacob has gotten into the habit of calling on his way home on Sunday evening. Always a treat. Last night he reminded me that I don't need to stress about my school work and that I can call him, Kate or Naphtali for pointers and tips any time. I just may do that!!

Happy Birthday, Jacob!!

birthday greetings

my mother celebrates her birthday today and my mother-in-law tomorrow.



happy birthday to you both!!

committment issues

if you are an expert, acting in the roll of an authority on something, please, please commit to an opinion!! it does me no good to read an article on 'the best time of day to exercise' (substitute the issue of your choice)if you never say what that best time is!! i understand there are probably liability issues involved in giving firm advice, but there must be a way to address a question without shillyshallying through an article rephrasing the question half a dozen times, giving equal print to alllllll the viewpoints before wrapping up with the affirmation that, yes, there is a best time, it will vary for individuals as well as individual circumstances and we all have to find it for ourselves. merci beaucoup!!



i apologize but there is no elegant segue.......

we enjoyed our family gatherings this past weekend. good conversation, good food, good grief! -24 degrees new years morning!! not wee-hours-of-the-morning -24 but around 8:30/9:00 -24!! the jordison clan enjoyed a new venue this year (thanks again to leslie for making it happen) making the old traditions that much easier on all of us.


tim garnered birthday wishes all around and scored a german chocolate cake, complete with candle, to complete the festivities.




he and james went to see avatar while my mother's scrabble board got a workout.

aidan should probably have a seperate post but in the interest of time i'll squeeze him in here, reminding readers that he is the most delightful little guy!!
now it's back to work, back to my own bed and routines, back to emails and phone calls instead of face-to-face conversations. we're already scheduled for the cities in april, for aidan's birthday and i've started turning a few calendar pages wondering when i can squeeze another trip east into the plans.....

mmmmm

i was right - it was a birthday pizza! thanks, tim.

delicious doesn't begin to do it justice. (and yes, i burned the roof of my mouth)

vacation

naphtali, hubby james and grandson, aidan (the kahls) spent the last week with us. always a delight to see them, this year we changed our traditional september hike to accomodate aidan's upcoming school days!! hard to believe the little guy is starting kindergarten. hoping to find somewhere less crowded and touristy we decided on the snowy range of wyoming. it was beautiful and we had the place pretty much to ourselves. cars were coming in as we left friday morning but our hike to the indian bathtubs (there's a story!!)











fishing at mirror lake,
and the attempt to find hog park resevoir all took place in relative solitude. delightful.







we celebrated naphtali's birthday
with a party the likes of which she hasn't seen in years (complete with paper hats and noise makers) thanks to aidan's relentless party-planning drive.

james built a campfire every night and we sat and enjoyed the tranquility. we had deer in our backyard,
listened to various birds calling, saw humming birds flit and swoop, watched a storm build and roll through the valley.
we had the lodge at river ridge cabins and i will gladly put in a plug for them. look into river ridge before you travel out that way. nestled between the sierra madre and medicine bow mountains in southern wyoming we enjoyed our options for daily activities.
charlie was happy to see us return. thanks to marg for taking care of him. tim and i sat out back saturday night and saw our own hummingbird and a double rainbow in our very own backyard. neither of us was energetic enough to rush inside for the camera....
i'll post more pictures over the next few days......

happy birthday!!

tomorrow will find me on the road so i want to get birthday greetings on their way to kate.


as usual i find my stock of pictures is woefully lacking. we are looking forward to a quick rendezvous with jacob and kate in omaha the first week in june. i will get pictures. head shots.

i'll add congratulations to kate for her graduation this week from northeast(south west?)university. (how can a state as small as connecticut have so many particular directions?) she's worked hard, held good grades all through the process and we're very proud of her.

in the interest of equal press i'll note that james has also graduated from carlson in the last week. we'd like to recognize his hard work and long hours - congrats, james.

today

today's entry was meant simply to bring jacob's surgery to the attention of my faithful readers. he's scheduled to have his shoulder repaired today - let's hope everything goes well.

and because on other occasions readers have expressed a preference for photos i have included yet another first for your perusal. we leave for parts north tomorrow morning to help aidan celebrate his 5th birthday. an assortment of flotsam goes with us including these:


my first ever 'blown-out'(technically they weren't blown-out but what else do you call them?), decorated eggs. i'm pretty sure this is a first. if not i'm pretty sure someone may correct my misrecollection. enjoy your weekend.

happy birthday

and the celebrations just keep rolling at the jordison's this weekend!! i'm not sure if this puts jacob in a new demographic group but this should be 26 for him. hope your day is memorable and your friends close!!

easily distracted

saturday was a good day. the wind howled ferociously all day and snug inide i accomplished all the things i had in mind for that particular set of hours. tim and charlie ran some errands and at one point i found myself completely distacted by a pot of flowers that i promptly re-potted in the middle of my cleaning. you can see the cord to the vaccuum running along side of my mess.

it took the aid of a cutting mat to hold the marbles in place while i inserted the glass into the bigger jar and several hours later i undid the whole thing.
oh well.


it was also my mother's birthday so i spent some time on the phone with her. happy birthday, mom.


tim did the cooking that night and i only have these 2 skewers to bear silent testimony to the incredible shrimp we inhaled. jumbo shrimp, grilled to succulent perfection with just a hint of heat courtesy of a thai garlic sauce. they were as lovely as they were tasty and i didn't even think of pictures until it was too late. so when he bounded back into the kitchen calling where's the foil??!! i thought where's the camera!!??

he cored an apple, stuffed in some butter, brown sugar and cinnamon wrapped it in foil and set it on the fading coals for about 1/2 hour. i told him not to unwrap it until i was there and ready to record the event. he rolled his eyes but he did give me my cue when the time came. mmmm the picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. so tasty. just enough for the 2 of us to enjoy.

happy birthday kate!!

sunday is our daughter-in-law's birthday.
kate is a student at eastern connecticut state university. and we're proud to tell you that she's carrying a 4.0, on the dean's list.....looking forward to an easier summer load. just one class. and work. and shasta, lola, baby and jacob to care for.
happy birthday, kate.

i'm visiting my daughter's family to celebrate aidan's 4th birthday and naphtali's teaching me new skills so bear with me...
so we'll start with a picture of (guess who) aidan!

she is also making me learn how to add links into my text. For example, if you had read her blog entry from March 30th you would have read about her favorite fabric store, and i think she is going to drag me there tomorrow to see if she can help me spend my money. always more fun than spending your own. In case you are ever in the area, this is her favorite place to buy fabric.

green grass

oooooh! it's just plain cold today!!
we enjoyed several good walking days in the last week. our lawn is turning green. i've been excited to see tulips and daffodils up about 3-4 inches. autumn joy sedum is peeking through. a peony has broken the surface. but, as this weekend has proven me right, its still too early to do a full scale cleanup of the leaves etc protecting some of this new growth. so i'm waiting. some days more patiently than others. and i have done some token clearing here and there. i checked the hens and chicks i propped along the cement wall as an experiment last summer and it looks as though they've done well over the winter and will start to fill in nicely...the pussy willow branches that i got from a friend have gotten "rooty" so they are in the ground. i'm not afraid to experiment....there have been "inside" projects that i've tried to get finished up in anticipation of warm days calling me outside....
the end of the week will find us in the northlands helping our grandson celebrate his birthday. how can he be turning 4?? we'll make a long weekend of it. i just hope their snow has melted.... charlie gets to go along and they usually make the offer that we could leave him there. not much chance of that. he's needed here.
the end of that week will see tim on his way to omaha for a few days of administrative work at the home office. he'll have time to unpack and catch his breath before a 3 day stint in kearney for meetings. i've got state garden club meetings in north platte in there sometime. and may doesn't look much better....