Can You Just Imagine

 Song - Imagine by John Lennon

I can't imagine what you have been doing for the last 6 months!?

It has been 6 months since my last post and I have been missing putting together songs, text and photos to share with you!  Let's just say that my October 2022 knee replacement didn't rehab very well but I have recently been doing much better.  Oh my I am getting so much done around the house and it feels great!

In April Mr. B and I spent 10 days visiting his bio-family in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.  Above is a photo of the Texas Bluebonnets blooming along the highway.  We were just there for the tail end of the spring bloom. 

 

A lot of time was strolling around cemeteries looking for Mr. B's family headstones and paying our respects. 

We met wonderful new relatives, got re-acquainted with some relatives we had already met several years ago, went on picnics, out for dinner, to Native American celebrations, on boat rides for dinner....

 

....and ended the trip in Waco, Texas at Magnolia Market and The Silos. The night we arrived there was a tornado warning.  We got inside our hotel and had a wonderful cozy dinner while watching things whip around outside.
 

Above is the view from our hotel room.  Trains ran all night long and while you might think it was noisy it really wasn't as I guess they were very insulated.

 

 One of my favorite treats there were Joanna's biscuits....Mmmmmmmm!

Every year a group of my girlfriends and I take a long weekend together.  This year we went to the little town of Cayucos near San Luis Obispo down the coast of California. This is the sunset from our incredible home we were renting. And below are some otters playing in Morro Bay. Great meals, stories, laughter and love.

Mr. B and I spent several week days in San Francisco doing research on one member of his family tree who was a sea captain and operated a ship building yard in the early 1900's. We did our research at the Maritime museum and treated ourselves to some fun lunches in the city.

This summer Mr. B and I spent a month in my favorite relaxing place - Lake Tahoe at our family cabin which sits at the base of Mount Tallac.

Loads of bear sightings this year as I have heard that because of California's long winter they are coming out of hibernation very hungry!

Our grandson's and their parents came up to join us for a week. Lot's of walks, beach time and loads giggles.

"The highlight of my childhood 

was making my brother laugh so hard 

that food came out his nose."    

Garrison Keillor

The Balance of Mother Earth

Song - Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple 

 

 After a long and crazy year, 

Mr. B and I were ready 

for a relaxing vacation in Tahoe.....

.....or so we thought!

The first day in the Sierra the skies were fairly blue. I could see a little haze down low.

By the next day the smoke was getting a little thick. I could just barely make out Mt. Tallac in the background from Baldwin Beach.

 

 

By the third day things were looking pretty bad so we hung out at the cabin with my new best friend - an air purifier and played some Canasta. Mr. B had to head home for a few days so I had some time on my own to paint, go to the beach, read and work on some needlework.

 

 

By the time Mr. B returned a new fire (Caldor) had begun to burn and it was blowing smoke our way.

We went to the beach to retrieve our emails and phone messages (no WiFi at the cabin). 

There was no one around and it all felt rather eerie. 

It was snowing ash....

We packed our essentials and headed home for a few days while things cleared up.

I hope the earth can find her balance again.

 

 

And now for a little excitement....

 

One afternoon while sitting on the cabin deck enjoying a glass of wine with Mr. B, I noticed a large brown dog playing at the cabin next door.

It was a baby bear playing with his mama above.

Mr. B grabbed the air horn as I grabbed my camera just as they were coming our way!

They were walking behind our cabin.

 

Junior doing a tough guy pose

 

 

 They walked all the way around the cabin and when Mr. B fired the air gun, Junior scrambled up a tree and Mama went to see if he was OK.  All was well so they continued their walk.

 

They crossed the street in front of the cabin and Mama decided something smelled mighty good in the "bear proof' garbage box.

Meanwhile Junior decided that he wanted to check out the "greens only" dumpster.  Well, it really is brown in color but it is for depositing branches, sticks, pine cones, yard waste, etc.  He found a nice pine cone to play with until Mama went in to retrieve him.  

 

 

I kept imagining if someone came by at this point to drop off some material into the dumpster - what a surprise they would find - two bears inside!

 

 

 Mama finally wrestled Junior into following her down to the creek 

to hopefully find a sip of cool water!

Ahhh....life in the mountains!!!

 

 

 

"Love, like fire, goes out without fuel."

--Mikhail Lermontov

 

Blissful Moments

Song - Sierra by Boz Scaggs

I have been "unplugged" for the last three weeks up in Lake Tahoe......

I was busy watching wildflowers grow......

....and big puffy clouds move across the sky......

We had warm weather, lightening storms, hail and brilliant sunshine.
 

 

There were ice creams to enjoy at Camp Richardson....

....and a 40th Anniversary to celebrate at Sunnyside.

 My mom came for a few days and enjoyed dipping her toes in the lake.

 After beach time I would return to the cabin to paint, read or enjoy a wild game of Canasta!

Mr. B enjoying a glass of wine with lunch at the Beacon.

An Osprey was spotted on the way home from Angora Lake.....

.....and a Red-Breasted Nuthatch near the cabin.....

....as well as Flickers in the late afternoon.

And chubby cheeked chipmunks ran to and fro getting ready for Fall.

 

And Mr. B got in lots of walks and swims in the lake.

BUT my very favorite part of all.....

...was a visit from this little cutie - my grandson Henry!

He got to dip his toes into Lake Tahoe and.....

...took a warm bath in the cabin's deep kitchen sink!

You know the saying "Go Jump in the Lake"!

Henry's dad and uncle did!!!

 I spotted a mama bear across the street from our cabin.  She had three little cubs stumbling along beside her.  I couldn't get a clear photo of the cubs as she was being protective......

....but later in the day Mr. B found them down another street in the forest.

And that's what I did on my summer vacation.  How about you?

"Laughter is an instant vacation."

--Milton Berle