If I had the time...

I would tell you all about the lovely wedding we went to yesterday at Fauntleroy Community Church. I did not bring my camera as it was the wedding of a photographer and about a third of the guests were photographers or stylists and they certainly had it covered. The bride and groom were co-workers of the DH when he was in advertising at Macy's. The reception was at Salty's on Alki and the food was a wonderful surf and turf buffet. Delicious! The view of downtown Seattle as day faded to night and the lights of the city came on, was breathtaking!

Or I would tell you about the picture that DH took of the elderly lady walking with a cane in White Center as she led her miniature PONY down the sidewalk.

Or I would have a list of the treasures for sale at Florabundance, the yearly Arboretum sale. I exercised restraint and only bought tomatoes, beets and peppers.

But, I must write the parent letter for my classroom and I want to maybe, just maybe, get out into the yard, now that the fog is burning off.

Weekends are altogether too short!

Cock a Doodle Doo!

Cock a Doodle Doo!
Originally uploaded by mtnester.

I didn't get up with the roosters today but I was at the Kornowskes' by 9:15 this morning watching their 'bad boy' roosters sequestered in their mini-pen to prevent them from picking on 'the girls' who have free rein of pecking and scratching everywhere in the yard and pasture. The 'boys' were crowing with all their might as if indignant at their segregated status.

I was back in Kent to run with Lindsey as Joe and Val hiked behind us. We covered six miles of long hills around Lake Youngs. I managed to keep pace (sort of) with the long legged strides of my teen aged running companion. A quiet doe crossed our running path, frog chorus greeted us from trail side bogs, and the smell of skunk cabbage was unmistakable at some points.

As I was having my rural run the DH was on a flight to Port Townsend with our pilot friend, Tom. It was a lovely day of clear skies and temperatures of about 65.

So much is blooming; really too much to mention. Tomorrow I will go to the NW Perennial Alliance Plant Sale. With all the compost spreading I have been doing I have become very aware of my plant inventory and I hope I will be able to exercise some self control in my purchases.

Easter Sunday...

Easter Dinner
Originally uploaded by mtnester.

...was very wet but relaxing just the same. We went to our friends' Joe & Valerie. We were joined by their other friends, Penny and Emil. The food was plentiful and delicious and served in their newly remodeled kitchen. It is SO lovely and spacious!


The Egg Collectors: Galen, Lindsey, and Nathaniel found 99 eggs hidden in the pasture in about a half hour's time. I think we all enjoyed the gathering a little more than usual knowing that Valerie begins her chemo for breast cancer this Friday and cooking food and entertaining are going to be on the back burner at their house for a while. As Penny said at one point during our conversation today, there is no woman stronger than Valerie, she will get through this and we are all here to help her in what ever way we can; both practical and prayer-wise. Click on the mosaic above to see more of today's Easter celebrating and Valerie with her new SHORT haircut! It is very stylish and looks great on her.

Rejoice!

Happy Easter everyone! Although spring has been slow in coming, plenty is in bloom here in the Pacific Northwest. My camera focused low to the ground today but there are plenty of bushes and trees in blossom too. Our own pear is close to bursting out; my guess is a week away...if we get sun. If you run your cursor over the pictures during the slide show it will show you the titles and names of the plants.

My mom is in the hospital tonight recovering from gastrointestinal problems that we all hope are getting closer to resolution. It is NOT cancer, and for that, our family offers up prayers of gratitude this Easter Sunday. In fact, she fully intends on being home for Easter dinner. She was quite upset at not being able to fulfill the role of Easter Bunny for her youngest grand kids and she was VERY particular with my sisters about the details for the Easter dessert she had planned, even as she left for the hospital Friday night! I love you Mom! I wish I were with you in Green Bay!

Clear Skies At Last

The rain stopped yesterday and everyone is talking about it even Flat Suzy the Duck who is visiting from Lodi, WI was getting a little peeved at all the gray skies.



So besides carting Suzy down to Pike Place Market, here is the short list of what I have done with my Spring Break;

1. Went to SAM with the DH to view the Colonial America art exhibit on display from Yale. Very good from a perspective of learning about American history but not really my favorite type of painting. I had to think of it as a history lesson, not art appreciation.

2. Went to a play: The Underpants (Not at all racy, as you might think) The play was set in Germany in 1910. It was originally written as a satire of what the playwright saw as the ridiculousness of the emerging middle class. The lead in the play has her bloomers drop (she didn't tie them tight enough; pre-elastic days you know) during a parade, as she is standing on tiptoe to wave at the king as he passes by. All kinds of silliness result between her, her totally embarrassed husband, a gossipy neighbor, and males attending the parade who also saw her drawers drop. It wasn't gut busting humor but light hearted and I appreciated trying to understand the lens through which the play may have been viewed in 1910.

3. Lots of chores: cleaning files, cleaning the oven, paying bills.

4. Talking and writing: on the phone, on the computer; to the daughter, sisters, mom and dad. it is so nice to have time to talk, time to listen.

5. Reading: Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold.


This is actually a reread for me. I first read it in the 1970s. Then last year when I read Omnivores Dilemma and Sand County was referenced, my memory was jogged so here I am reading it again, with new eyes. The book was published in 1949 by his son, Luna. Leopold is considered the father of conservationism. I find his writing style very lovely, almost poetic. Also, the setting is Wisconsin, near Sauk County, and the flora and fauna he writes of are familiar to me from my youth. I get a burst of nostalgia for days gone by tramping through the woods with my grandma or grandpa DeNoble, having them point out flowers, bushes, berries, and signs of wild life.

6. Today I have 4 yards of compost/manure to spread in various needy garden beds. But first there is breakfast and I will stroll around my yard, cereal bowl in hand, looking for, as Leopold suggests, 'birthdays' amongst my plants.

"Tell me of what plant-birthday a man takes notice, and I shall tell you a good deal about his vocation, his hobbies, his hay fever, an the general level of his ecological education." from Ch. 7 in Sand County Almanac.

My 'Little Black Dress'

I wish I could say this is me IN the dress, but it's not. It IS the dress I bought today at Ann Taylor which is not a place I regularly shop, this was most certainly a splurge. I already have the perfect red shoes to wear with it and I think I can find a scarf or jewelry with red to spark it up. We have a wedding to go to this month and I have not bought a dress in over a year. Skirts yes, dress, no. I am not overly fond of shopping, especially if it means I must look for something specific, so I was really glad to find this little classic in less than two hours. Why is it that I can find a dozen or more dresses that would have looked good on me when I was 30 but next to nothing for middle aged me? Dress Barn is OK for work clothes, Marshalls is good for browsing and finding an occasional 'steal', Chicos has colorful clothes but nothing with staying power, Target and even Fred Meyers are OK for jeans or t-shirts, and don't even SPELL Macy's in front of the DH, we crossed that store off my list when he was laid off! So today was my lucky shopping day!



Pleated Skirt Sweater Dress
A classic sweater dress with a removable self-belt. Rolled edge at scoop neckline and short raglan sleeves. Waist seam with pleating details at front skirt. Pull-through loops at waist. 20 1/4" length.

Where Does The time Go?

Today I worked at school for close to 5 hours. We strung up the wind socks that the kids made last week. They will be so surprised to see them hanging from the ceiling beams with their streamers all aflutter. That job alone took over 3 hours! Then we reassigned kids in their 'Activity Center' groups. We also selected books for next week's guided reading groups and did a bit of copying on the copy machine. Lastly, I rearranged every one's table mates. I do that nearly every three months and it always causes a stir.
At home, Hubs was exercising at the Y, putzing in his studio, reading, cleaning the kitchen, grocery shopping, and surfing the Internet before leaving at 3:20 for his bus route. Then, at last the sun made a brief appearance and I proceeded to do a serious pruning of the wisteria which as you may know is the Hub's favorite botanical feature in our yard. He loves it so much that he finds it hard to take pruning very seriously (Kind of like the plant version of 'spare the rod and spoil the child'). So every year I take the pruning into my own hands and then I shudder to think of how he will respond. Today I was sure to make a scrumptious dinner of Chicken Enchiladas in a Green Sauce with freshly made salsa for dinner. I HAD to tell him about the pruning; it was one of those things like a big bad secret that was hanging in my mind. He kind of scowled and threatened to take revenge on not one, but TWO plants that I love. I did remind him that I AM the one that knows more in the line of gardening and I HAD consulted specifics on Wisterias before grabbing the loppers. He hasn't seen it from the lower yard. We shall see if his rant is 'to be continued'.

Our Hawaiian Visitors

The sunshine was in their smiles but certainly not in Seattle's weather. This is Chase and his mommy, Tanya. I taught with Tanya here in Seattle oh so long ago. When was that Tanya? 2004? I have kept up with The Adventures of Chase but this is the first time I got to meet him. He is a charmer, that's for sure! A walk on Alki would have been nice if the weather were warmer but it was gray and windy and only about 45 degrees out for most of today. Certainly not a good beach walk day to Hawaiians.



I had fun being 'Auntie Teresa' and brought out some old toys from Anna Rae's closet. Chase loved making music and he was a real good listener to his mommy and played only with his fingers, not his toes which was a mighty tempting idea.



He has nimble little fingers and spent a lot of time with the Fischer Price School House putting the people into the desks and cars and on the seesaw on the playground. He was easily occupied by these toys for the better part of three hours which really amazed me. You're right Barbara, hanging on to the old Fisher Price toys is a very good idea!

Unfortunately...

the Dracaena needed to have their dead foliage lopped off and I am not at all sure they will regenerate from the root system. My plan is to plant pole beans up the trunks for this season. If no greenery emerges we will need to completely cut them down and pull out the trunks. Surprise! Surprise! Today it was sunny in Seattle and although it wasn't above 50, if you were working in the sun you could toss aside your polar fleece. I worked for at least three hours preparing a bed for lettuces and moving a rose bush (an odd rose bush that likes partial shade). At this time of year the amount of work in our gardens is formidable and I must say I was certainly feeling yesterday's ten mile run. Our house is the perfect size for retiring in, but the yard work; that's another story.

It is the first day of Spring Break for Seattle schools and this is what it looked like on Alki beach this morning; rainy, gray and cold. It was only 39 degrees this morning when I did my first ever 10 mile run from Fauntleroy to Alki and back. Cheery yellow daffodils and blossoming cherry trees punctuated an otherwise dreary run. I wasn't the only fool out running and we were all soaking wet. I wore my most waterproof jacket and still managed to get soaked to the skin. The hot shower at the Y at the end of it all was welcome solace. My time for the ten miles was one hour and 37 minutes. Report cards stood in the way of writing a post last week. They are behind me now and I look forward to a week of running and hopefully some gardening if this rain ever lets up. I might just give up and pull weeds in my rain gear. At least the roots should be easy enough to pull up.

It feels good...

to come in first! My time was 29.01 This was not my best but it put me at first place for females ages 51-60 in this morning's Cove to Clover 5k which was, as I had predicted, a real butt burner with lots of up hill running and twists and turns in the first mile. I think my time put me at something like 20th overall but I am not sure. It was a small race of about 350 people and the proceeds went to Highline Food Bank. I do know the male for my age group had a time of about 25 minutes and the best overall time for a male was 20 and some odd seconds and the females' best overall was 24 something. When I drove to the start line it was SNOWING! Yes, there was snow again in Seattle. So it was a COLD race too. My lungs protested against the cold air and I had a bit of a coughing jag when I finished but I feel SO much better than last weekend. Mick Kelly's was packed and the beer was flowing at the finish line. I think I will make this run a regular on my schedule instead of doing the usual St. Patrick's Day Dash downtown. Although I know there were some crazy folks who did BOTH races today; they really earned their beer!


First!
Originally uploaded by mtnester.

By time I got home the sun was shining and the wind blowing. Gale force winds are forecasted but I don't think they are that fierce (at least not yet). It is still cold enough to know that winter has one more week with us and we keep our winter clothes handy and the space heater hums at my feet. Even these Crocuses are huddled together and keeping their petals wrapped close.


The day is slipping away so quickly and I really need to work on report cards for my students. Remember the little guy I wrote about back in December, the one who has a Sensory Integration Dysfunction? His behavior IS improving; he still doesn't produce work like the other kids but at least he joins us at the tables or on the carpet, he rarely asks to 'stir up the crayons' anymore, and chairs were overturned only once last week. Best of all, he came into the classroom on Tuesday and after greeting me he says, "You know, I love school!". Now THAT'S progress!

I've surrendered...

to the heavy stuff; amoxycilin and cough syrup with codeine. Today I finally gave in and went to the Dr. filled my two prescriptions and stopped at Full Tilt for ice cream which is the only thing that feels good on my throat. It was tough to decide but I chose a small bowl of Toasted Coconut and Jameson Caramel (that's Jameson as in whiskey, which is said to be good for a cold, right?) The Dr. thinks I have a bacterial infection. I have not had to take antibiotics in a LONG, LONG time. When he said amoxycilin I was thinking 'bottle of pink liquid' which I gave to my daughter for ear infections as a baby. Boy but was I disappointed when I saw this bottle of 'horse pills' that I have to take twice a day. Those, along with water, not whiskey, should do the trick.
In addition to getting a possible 'cure' I was lucky enough to miss a staff meeting. A messy staff meeting at that; the one where we set budget priorities. That Washington education budget shortfall that we read about in the news, the $8B one? It's hitting home. Seattle School District has a shortage of about $25 million.
I am sure I will post more about the changes that means for me and my Sanislo
colleagues once our budget is finalized. It ain't gonna be pretty!

Round Two...

of my cold is worse than round one. The hardest part is getting a good nights sleep. If I can't breathe through my nose, I wake up in the middle of the night with a sore throat or a nagging cough. Don't talk to me about your arsenal of cough remedies, nasal spray, nettie pot, Sudafed, Nyquil, syrup for just the cough, gargling with salt water; I've tried them all. They work, kind of, temporarily, but the cold is still here. It has been three weeks now, I can't smell a thing, don't like to cook, eating is no fun (imagine that) and I think I must be getting cranky.

This morning I spent 3 hours sitting in bed with the laptop reading newspapers and a very interesting six page article in the Atlantic about how this recession will reshape the population centers of our country. Then when my eyes couldn't focus on print anymore I went to TED and listened some interesting talks one of which was by Elizabeth Gilbert:



Isn't the Internet wonderful? I am one who does not sit still easily and there it was, three hours, "poof!" gone. The DH had encouraged me to cut back on my exercise routine and so I did not run Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. But I just couldn't take another day without putting in a couple, three, four miles. So I ran, during a break of blue (we had snow, hail, rain, and sun today)and I it felt great. I am looking forward to the the Cove to Clover 5k next Sunday, cold or no cold.

As for the FAFSA and CSS Profile, I'm almost done. Otherwise I wouldn't do something as frivolous as writing a post. A phone call to the U of Chicago in the morning should clear up my last few questions.

Speaking of frivolous, here is Thing One and Thing Two along with me in the classroom last Friday as we celebrated the children's author Dr. Seuss:

The Red Tape...

of life is engulfing me. Excuse me for a month or so as I delve into taxes and the money muck of our life. The FAFSA and the CSS (the worksheet alone is 18 pages and there is a fee to file) are sitting on my computer desktop, waiting for me to lay bare our financial status. This year the hardest part is looking at the losses. I find no comfort in knowing that I have company. Ah well, I am not one to shirk hard work. It's time to dig in and be done with the mess. I'll post again when I've put this onerous task behind me. Since Honey Girl will graduate in 2010 this is the last time I have to f@%* with financial aid forms. If you are wondering what all my fuss is about read this NY Times article. And my advice to those of you with young kids; why are you sitting on your thumbs; get GET.

Winter's Encore

...happened this past Thursday. Darned if that Groundhog wasn't right. We had snow Wednesday night and this is what I saw Thursday morning:

a blanket of white in the blue light of early morning;



Snowdrops nodding towards the icy crystals at their feet;



Schools had a two hour late start so the DH and I took a walk in Shorewood. The Olympics stood out in their winter whites.

Home...

to 5o degree weather and a freshly mowed lawn. I took the bus home from the airport for the first time. $1.50 is a whole lot cheaper than a $25. cab. It did take 50 minutes (mostly because of the wait time at the bus stop) but the weather was so lovely I didn't even mind the 7 block walk from the bus stop. I had just enough time to unpack and put together a cheese and sausage platter for the wine tasting. The 7 year old Wisconsin cheddar from Laney was a hit as was the old fashioned German sausage from Maplewood Meat Shop. The Glen Fiona 2007 Basket Press Reserve Syrah more than made up for the nasty corked wine we brought to a tasting earlier in the month.

I had a wonderful time visiting family and friends in Wisconsin, packing in a lot of visiting, shopping, eating, and card playing in seven days. Now here I have been sitting for 3 hours plus, organizing photos on Flickr, listening to Boot Liquor on SomaFM (if you must listen to country music, this is the one to listen to). It's time I shake myself away, maybe go on a run and do a little yard work. The rain is due to return.

But before I wrap this up, I want to say "Happy Birthday, Jeff!"



Isn't my younger brother handsome? He's hardworking, generous, and blessed with a serious 'gift of gab'. Enjoy your day, Jeff!

Nose Woes

My cousins Barb and Michelle posted Nose Stories on their blogs and asked readers to share their own. I have two.

It was during holiday meal preparations at my Grandparents'. Baked beans must've been on the menu. I was probably 4 years old. I found a dried navy bean on the floor. Why oh why did I put a navy bean up my nose, I do not know. But that is what I did totally without bribery or coercion. STUPID!! Once it was there it wouldn't come out and of course I panicked and was totally terrified to tell my parents and especially my grandfather, who was somewhat stern and had a 'smartest man in the world' complex. I remember lots of tears and commotion and the threat that a bean plant would grow clear into my brain. Then I remember a white light bulb inches from my face, grandpa holding my arms tight so I wouldn't wiggle and he could get a good look. I remember talk of using tweezers and the feel of a man's big white handkerchief against my face streaked with hot tears and being told to "Blow hard!" and the bean flew out and the relief was enormous, both physically and emotionally.

Memory number two is really my daughter's Nose Story. It would be interesting to hear her version. She was probably 6 years old we were going out for lunch at Kid Africa's near Green Lake. "Mom, Dad, I have a bloody nose." she mumbles from the back seat. Sure enough, vivid red blood is coursing from her nose. Chris dashes into Kid Africa's, comes back with fists full of napkins. We are parked, the back door opened, pinching her nose, sopping up blood. It seemed to take forever to stop, she is quiet yet fidgety. You know, Honey Girl is almost never quiet (unless she is reading a book). I tilt her head back and peer into the nostrils, one is a black and empty, the other has something blood soaked. I of course suspect the worst; it looks like brain tissue coming out of her nose. I express alarm, trying not to be alarmed. 'The daughter' begins to cry. "It's a tissue she sobs." "What tissue?" I ask as none of us had colds and I am not a reliable, save the day mommy, with tissue up my sleeve. "Barbie's tissue she cries," flushed red with embarrassment. You know those Barbie doll sets with the little shoes, hair brushes, and make up kits. Well, the one in the back seat with her had a teeny tiny Kleenex box and she had sampled the tissue,inhaling when she should have exhaled and "Whoosh!" up her nose went Barbie's tissue! That brought some relief for me but we were still stuck with how in the world to get the dang thing out. DH opens the glove box and hauls out a pair of needle nosed pliers with green handles, she shrieks, I shriek and he decides "Maybe this is NOT the tool to use." I do not think we stayed to eat. I do remember ordering milk shakes and heading home and I think she blew it out on her own. I guess it is up to Honey Girl to tell the rest of the story!

Visiting the Frozen Tundra

I haven't been posting, I'm not teaching (it is Mid Winter Break) and I am not gardening. I am on a much needed vacation visiting relatives in the Mid West. To save time and catch you up to speed I will give you the short list of what I have been doing:
1. Friday 2/13 flew into Midway Airport in Chicago. Schlepped me and my luggage aboard the #55 bus to my daughter's apartment. She was delighted to open the stinky French cheese I had brought. She fixed a delicious tartiflette for dinner. Frans chocolate caramels with smoked sea salt made for a perfect dessert. Went to sleep easily with a light snow falling in the lamplight outside her window.
2. Saturday 2/14 went shopping with the daughter in downtown Chicago. Bought a rice cooker/steamer Cuisinart cooking appliance for the daughter as well as shoes at Nordstrom. (What's wrong with this picture; I am the one who was supposed to get shoes!) Met with daughter's boyfriend in the pm and went to the Art Institute and saw a great exhibit of work by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munck. Once back at the apartment I grocery shopped and cooked dinner of basmati rice and chicken and in the new appliance. It's tricky; I think it will be useful once she gets the cooking times down. I had doubled the recipe and the cooking times were off; I ended up sauteing the chicken on the stove top.


3. Sunday 2/15 I cleaned the top of their refrigerator and rearranged a few dishes and appliances to make room for the rice cooker/steamer. Daughter,the boyfriend, a roommate, and myself all took the Metra downtown again to see the movie Coraline. It is wonderful! It is in 3-D which was a new experience for me. The animation is riveting and the story line is kind of spooky. A little girl living in a secluded creepy house somewhere near Ashland, Oregon with 2 parents who are too consumed with their garden writing careers to give her so much as five minutes of their time, discovers that she has a parallel mom and dad behind a secret door in the wall. The parents behind the wall try to woo Coraline away to their side with candy, circus shows and toys; every indulgence a child could possibly want. They want her to leave her real parents and stay with them but first she must agree to have buttons sewed in the place of her eyes, which she wisely refuses to do. Lots of danger and terror ensue as she tries to get back to her 'real parents'. Upon watching this movie I thought maybe nightmares such as this were the reason my own daughter refused to wear buttons on clothing as a child. After the movie we went to an Armenian Restaurant and had a delicious dinner. I had a combination plate. My favorite part was this huge lamb meatball in a yogurt mint sauce. When back at the apartment I finished reading Nine Parts of Desire and I left it behind for 'the daughter' to read. Then I finished 'the daughter's' taxes.
4. Monday 2/16 Walked 'the daughter' to campus and said our good byes, not tearfully, but wistfully; I wished I could've stayed longer. I made a necessary trip to the bursar's office to iron out a wrinkle in the bill. Then I took lots of aimless pictures of the old buildings covered in naked vines and church steeples cutting crisply into blue winter skies.


Once back at the apartment, I packed up, dragged my luggage to the Metra station, back to downtown again and once on Michigan and Van Buren, walked about 6 blocks to the Union Train Station. I think I had to ask more people how to find the Amtrak gate for Milwaukee than I have ever had to ask for directions to anything else. Boarded the train to Milwaukee
just in the nick of time. This was fun. The train is comfortable. I read my new book and ate the mozarella and tomatoe sandwich I had bought at the Corner Bakery. An hour and a half later I was hugging my sister Lynn in Milwaukee. We went shopping at the Boston Store and this time I shopped for me and bought two pair that were about equal in price to the one pair I had bought my daughter. Then we went to have coffee at Alterra, a coffee shop overlooking Lake Michigan. It is in a very cool building that was an old mill with a water wheel. Then we met our niece, Terra and her friend and we all went out to dinner at Wicked Ale brew pub. The hamburger I had was delicious with blue cheese and grilled mushrooms. Hugged the sister good bye (That was pretty incredible for her to drive from Madison to Milwaukee just to see me!) Niece Terra was then kind enough to chauffer me to Green Bay. We talked and talked about family, friends, relationships, jobs, and running and injuries. The one and a half hour drive went quickly. Then there I was sitting with my mom and dad at their kitchen table smiling and talking for an hour more. What a full day!
5. Tues. 2/17 Walked in the morning with my mom. Then we went to Laney Cheese and bought 4 yr. and 7 yr. old cheddar. Went to Fleet Farm with dad and looked at everything from bird seed to garden seed and plumbing and light fixtures. Second sister Lisa, her husband Tim, and nephew Tanner arrive, more hugs more talk. Tanner, mom and I play the dice game Left Right and Center and then the card game Uno. Mom is lucky to have a grandson that loves games as much as she does. 6:00 and the pork and beef roasts are done, my brother Jeff (Happy Birthday, Jeff!)arrives and we sit down to a delicious meal finished off with scham tortes and strawberries. Plenty more talk and a game of Rummy between mom and I follows. Now there is snow falling outside. It is so peaceful and pretty, hardly appears to be the storm that the weather report forecasted. But I guess strong winds could change all that. I know no one here is happy to see more snow, but I am secretly pleased. After all, it is still winter in the 'frozen tundra.'

Kreativ Blogger Award

An award has been bestowed. Aleurs! Woe is me! Ok Barbara, of Our Life Together..., this is the one and only time! Audience, I am agreeing to this only because Barbara has been a faithful commenter on my blog for probably two years and she is a fellow kindergarten teacher who burns an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm in the teaching of her young students. She is a colleague and blogger I would love to meet in person. Thank you, Barbara.
This is it though. (Those of you who blog know that awards are bait for readers, right?) Which is ok; but I blog mainly for me. It is my selfish pleasure and my gardening journal (see side bar). So here goes, I keep the thread going by bestowing the award on 7 others:

Rules:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.



1. Tanya, teacher friend and mommy to Chase: The Adventures of Chase Talk about a woman who tries to do everything to perfection, Tanya's it. She's a dedicated ELL teacher, mother to 19 month old Chase, soon to celebrate her second anniversary with her husband, Chris, a serious yogini, and she's beautiful. Along with all that,she has the good fortune to live in Hawaii.

2. Barbara, cousin and a Middle School Special Ed. teacher: Half Past Kissin Time.com She received a Golden Apple for her teaching a couple years back, need I say more?

3. Michelle, cousin and seriously funny sister to #2 Barbara:Second Chances

4. David Perry, garden photographer extraordinaire; I long for the recognition that artistic photos like David's give to a garden. He no longer allows comments so I doubt that he knows he has paisons like myself idolizing his garden photograpohy.
A Photographers Garden Blog

5. Billy Goodnik, a Santa Barbara gardener and musician; It is just our nature to admire someone who is a wee bit more ahead of the gardening crowd. Of course he has mild winters and early springs to his advantage. The Gardenwise Guy

6. Rosemary, She's an enthusiastic gardener, a retiree from the field of education, and she's our neighbor in the Great White North of Ontario, CA Visit her at Rosemary's Blog


7. I know I am supposed to give the award to 7 bloggers, but my reading arsenal jumps to newspapers and Boing Boing and the West Seattle Blog and NPR after I peruse the above six blogs. Sorry folks, that's all I write.