Folkstone, England

Early morning in Folkstone before heading to the cruise ship in Dover.

We could have had take away for the ship, but darn, they weren't opened yet!

Ivon and I were up way before dawn (still on Oregon time). It was beautiful watching the sun come up.....

We got into a taxi after a few hours and headed the short distance to Dover.

The white cliffs are unbelievable!! They are so white....as the ship headed out to sea they were playing the song, "The White Cliffs of Dover". It made me think about those that were returning home from World War 2, what they were thinking as they saw these cliffs and knew they were home and hopefully to be reunited with their loved ones.

The trip we took to Eastern Europe touched me to my core. The things we saw and learned. Many from those that had family that lived the nightmare of Hitler and then communism. We are so blessed and we can never forget what happened. Eastern Europe was so beautiful, the medieval towns and villages were my favorite. I love reading about the ordinary people of this time period. Much of this trip was a dream come true.

St. Petersburg, Russia

I have been thinking a lot about our trip to Russia this past summer. I didn't have warm fuzzies while I was there....soldiers were all around. I felt like all the people are being 'watched' and maybe not in such a good way for their protection. It really made me thankful for the freedoms that we have in this wonderful country, that so many have died for, so we can have this precious gift. Thank you doesn't hardly seem like enough when you see how the people of other countries live. So many don't have this gift, they might have veiled freedom. They put on a show for the world but it's not really there.

My sweet crazy boys ;-)

Steve was here visiting with us for four days a few weeks ago from Alaska, or as any of you know, Steve would say from "the Alaska". It was good to have him home and laugh at his antics. He's always a lot of fun!!

I'm now sitting here waiting for Derek to get here from Idaho. It's past midnight and it shouldn't be much longer till we hear him unlocking the door.

How lucky I am to see both my guys that live so far away within a few weeks. Both visits are short, but so much better than nothing! The only trouble is, the time goes much to fast when they are here. Sometimes wouldn't it be nice if we could slow time down just a bit!?

This picture is for

Stephanie, she keeps telling me I need to blog and to put pictures with it! Ardith and I were talking last night, and I was telling her about the Hardrock cafe in Munich that has a guitar on display that was made from a piece of the Berlin wall. I'm flashing a peace sign with my fingers, (it seemed like the right thing to do at the time). I also had to touch it, I never thought I'd ever be this close to even a piece of the infamous wall.

On our trip to Eastern Europe, I learned so much about the pre World War ll. It was such an eye opener. I must say, things I learned weren't very uplifting either. The people of Europe, especially Eastern Europe, have seen more than their share of horrible acts of man. Most of these thing were very inhumane, it's a bit haunting to me. I think there is a special place in Heaven for the victims of this era. We are very blessed in America!!!

Do You Have "IT"?

A bunch of us went to the Elsinore tonight to watch a silent movie called "IT". It was filmed in 1927, it was so fun!! Clara Bow was the lead and lead she did....she was so cute, and those eyes!! Gary Cooper played the newspaper reporter (Ardith noticed this right off, way to go Ardith!). Gary Cooper wasn't even in the credits, I guess he was to new to Hollywood. There was a gentleman who played the organ through out the movie, he did a wonderful job. We were all leaving when he began playing "Phantom of the Opera". Who can leave and not listen to this!!! I for one cannot! We all sat down again and enjoyed this.....what a great end to a great night!!!!

HAIR

I got a much needed haircut this afternoon! It feels so good and I feel like a different person. When I'd look in the mirror, all I could think of was how much I hated no shape in my hair. I cut my own bangs twice just because I was looking like an old English sheep dog. I couldn't see!! Here is to beauticians everywhere, this diet Pepsi is for you!!! ;-)

Sunshine

It's sunny out today, maybe because it's my birthday! Today I'm not married to an older man anymore, we've caught up in age. For six months out of the year, I enjoy teasing Ivon about being so much older than me, then BAM, that's over with! There is an upside to being 61, I'm that much closer to getting the big bucks from Social Security (that is if there is anything left). One can only hope. I'm wiser now than I was, (but I forget a lot of things). I've earned every grey hair on my head (that I cover with hair dye), the wrinkles on my face are out there for everyone to see, I can't do much about that but embrace them (even if I had the money to do something about them, I don't want to end up like Joan Rivers and have my naval under my chin!) Life is wonderful and I just enjoy my little corner, doing my own thing and being happy!!

Haiti

Those poor people in Haiti, another aftershock that was almost as strong as the original quake. The upside I guess is that help is there and supplies are arriving. The downside, how many people were still alive in the rubble? Is this going to hinder or help the search? The Lord works wonders, sometimes things that look like problems turn out to be blessings when we look back on them. For those of you that have read "The Hiding Place", I always remember, "be thankful for the fleas". Those of you that haven't read it need to read it to understand the fleas.

I was blogging, giving you all this great information. Hit return (I guess that's a button NOT to touch) and it all disappeared. Maybe the computer was telling me the info wasn't so great after all!! It's raining outside, I love rainy days! Rainy days are great days to read, get caught up on projects, nest....it's just cozy for me. I do like sunshine too, don't get me wrong. On sunny days everyone wants to be outside having family picnics, going for walks etc. It's been fun rambling, my girls should be happy for now. Well we'll see.....

I'M STILL HERE

check back soon