9.28.2008

Random Bits of Life

Here are a few shots from Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. This was where we spent the second half of our Uncle Noah Wedding vacation. It was very relaxing and quite beautiful. The sand was soft, and quite the hit with LLSS. Aunt Emmy and I were roped into creating many sand structures that were immediately crushed by the adventuresome wee one.

Here she is with Aunt Emmy, likely trying to get the bubbles!





Here we are enjoying the waves as the wash over our feet. We did get soaked a few times when slightly larger than expected waves kept right on coming up the beach!

Home improvements continue, as do Daddy improvements. Mike hangs a new shade. Clare creates some artwork on his leg!











An unexpected visitor, but a very welcome one...our dear friend Matt, a former Detroiter resident and expert ball thrower stopped over for the night a few weeks ago. He played hours of fetch with an eager retriever, Clare. Bouncy balls are great icebreakers. This picture is from early the next morning. Clare forgot how much she loved Matt the night before.

Little Lovey Sweet Sweet contemplating how many nectarines she can eat for free at the U-Pick orchard.




Here she is, trying to make her count....














Ah, the victory dance! Clare loves U-Pick, and so do we. Fifty combined pounds of peaches and nectarines, picked in less than an hour, all for less than $20. They were so good too. There are plenty in the freezer to enjoy in pies and smoothies.






Plugging her ears like a good girl while Daddy cuts firewood. Our first venture into the woods.

Uncle Jimmy and Auntie J-Dawg came for a visit last weekend. Clare had too much fun. Check out the top-notch service provided by her guitar-playing uncle!

And there she is with Jim and Jessica and Ernie!

9.24.2008

It's Been A While

Our journey "South" has been quite an adventure. Little Lovey Sweet Sweet has adapted quite nicely, enjoying the clothing-free options that warm weather can provide. Mike is liking his new job as it offers more diversity of chores than his previous one. We have moved into our new house and are discovering all the joys and expenses of home ownership.

Leaving Sitka was very hard for me. It meant leaving Alaska, a place I truly feel at home. It also meant leaving some of the most wonderful people I have had the pleasure of sharing my life with. Hopefully, someday we will return to live again in such a wonderful place.

Mike and I faced a pretty challenging decision about our adopted cat, Trucker. He had that disgusting ear problem caused by uncontrolled growth of polyps in his ear canal. The local (Sitka)free vet was able to fix him up, but we feared a relapse and the overwhelming choice of draining Clare's college fund to fix him up or putting him to sleep if we took him with us. Thanks to the kindness of our friends Brad and Rebecca, we were able to leave him in a loving home. Bye Trucker. We miss you!


Check out this incredible Chinese mantis. Mike found it while removing greenery from the siding of our new house. It was tucked up under the siding. We weren't sure about its reaction to being handled, so we put it in this jar for safety. It actually was quite docile, and we later released it on the lawn, then relocated it to the back bushes so that it would be safe.


Mike and Clare on the front porch of our house.

Here is Clare at Uncle Noah and Aunt Carolina's wedding. Blue Bunny tagged along for company.