Monday Ramblings...

First of all, can we all just have a moment of silence for the nice long blog post I just wrote, only to have it disappear into the blogger files of obscurity? I hate it when that happens.


Okay.

Now for my attempt to re-write it.

• My weekend was lovely. I had visitors coming Saturday night, so I spent most of the day cleaning and putting things away from vacation. It was a sweaty day, since the temp was over 100 and we don't have air conditioning. But the house is so clean. And it's so nice to be fully recovered from vacation...
• Ryan came to visit WITH A GIRL!!! A girl who is sweet and lovely and has the most beautiful eyes... Her name is Mindy, and I think perhaps she is the answer to our prayers. I really really liked her. It was so fun to visit with Ryan and watch them together and take her around Spokane to show off our great little city.
• Asia got home from the funeral yesterday at around 3:00. Slept one night in his own bed and is now on his way to Seattle for his first week on the new job. Poor guy.
• E. had to go the emergency room in Astoria with Grandma and Grandpa over the weekend. He had a little sore on his ankle that was bothering him, and ended up getting all fat and swollen. Turned out to be a Cellulitis infection. He's on antibiotics. And crutches. He's supposed to keep it elevated and keep weight off it... there's pretty much nothing cooler in the world of a six year old than being on crutches...
• S. is being the good little mother hen to her little brother. She told me on the phone about how worried she was about his leg... she's a great sis.
• I have a friend who is also a friend of my parents, who is also a nurse. Her name is Jan. She went over and looked at E's leg at Mom and Dad's and recommended he go to the E.R... She's also an amazing photographer. I've been getting emails from her all weekend with pictures of the kids. Love that. Really. A lot. Thanks, Jan.
• One of the highlights of our week at the beach was getting to do a photo shoot with my nephew, Cameron, who is going to be a senior this year. First of all, I love taking pictures... finding the best light and the best angle and setting the mood. It was so fun to hang with Cam and make him laugh, all the while clicking away. I got some good shots that I'll share later.
• Can't believe he's going to be a senior. He's the oldest of my neices and nephews. I remember getting the phone call that Steve and Lorraine were going to have a baby... I screamed I was so excited. Seems like it was yesterday.
• S. and I got to spend an afternoon together at the beach house... we had lunch at a sweet little restaurant called "Bread and Ocean," then wandered around Manzanita. The charm of this little beach town is in it's lack of tourist-trap cheesiness. It's full of great little shops, which are somehow void of the typical baskets full of imported shells and tacky resin windchines... Anyhow, S. wanted a hat - the girl looks great in hats, and we found the perfect one - a darling little beachy hat from a free trade shop. She looks so cute in it. She also used her own money and got $12 worth of salt water taffy to share with her cousins and her brothers. She's a generous little thing. Love that about her.
• Did a fun little sunset photo shoot of S. in her beach hat - so many pictures to share... so little time...
• I went the the farmers' market on Saturday. Bought corn, carrots, nectarines, a fresh flower bouquet and two loaves of yummy bread. I love the farmers' market. I love the sights and the sounds. And the color. Such color...
• It's supposed to be over 100 degrees again today. The fourth day in a row. It's really too hot to do much of anything. My goal for the day is to get my studio cleaned out. It's so cluttered in there... hope I can get it mostly done without melting. Really. It's that hot.
• I've got loads of pictures I'd love to add to this post, but blogger isn't cooperating. Ugh.
• Time to refill the coffee cup and see if this thing will post now. Wish me luck!