Peace

Song - Going To The Chapel Of Love by The Dixie Cups

I have to tell you first and most importantly - we just had a wedding!!! 

Do you remember the children's rhyme about the old lady who swallowed a fly? That keeps going through my mind lately as I have been unusually busy for the last few months. So like the old lady who continues to swallow larger & larger animals to catch the fly, I have been embracing one event after another, after another!

In July we had a family trip to Montana....where I proceeded to get a bronchial/sinus infection for several months! Never went to the doctors as I have this little stubborn side of me that Mr. B knows ahhh so well....

 I also had a solo art show at Chow restaurant in Danville.

And a large solo show in Benicia during the month of August that took me months to prepare for. I then needed to plan for a reception and the show needed to come down after Labor Day and be stored somewhere.

"My Little Helper"

Also during the month of August we cleaned out our garage and remodeled/redecorated our downstairs bedroom & family room! 

 This meant picking out paint, molding, carpeting, light fixtures & furniture. And we also  helped to move our middle son from LA to Monterey!

 

Concrete color choices that don't match - let's see - do I really want a PINK patio....NO?

Garland making on the new patio

We had a new patio poured around our pool and a lot of yard work was done all in preparation for our eldest sons wedding in our backyard! (Insert a big smile here!) 

Lighting was strung up all over the yard.....above is the father of the bride working with two of our sons on the hanging of lights.

...and it turned our yard into lovely magic in the evenings.

I took endless trips to the nursery to purchase more and more plants - just because I did know what else to do with all of my excitement!

Boutonnieres were done with backyard flowers & succulents.

Two of the brides best friends came over the day before the wedding and we all worked on making the flowers for the wedding.  I just loved, loved, loved having women in my house!!!  (Just to remind you - I came from a family of 2 brothers and had 3 sons - that's a lot a guy energy!) 

The wedding took place on the evening of September 17th and it was simply beautiful. The lighting, food, ceremony, dancing, friends & family were all wonderful.....as were the bride & groom!

  

Several days after the wedding, Mr. B and I headed up to Tahoe for a much needed time to relax.

However..... 

We have had bears, Yellow-jackets and loggers around our cabin.

Not as peaceful as we were hoping for....but we are grateful for it all.

Peace

Tis not in seeking 

Tis not in endless searching

They quest is found

Be still and listen

Be still and drink the quiet all around

--Engraved on the back of Edward Rowland Sill's chair at The Greek Theater in Berkeley

Important Milestones

Song - Dances with Wolves by John Barry


Seldom in life do things go as planned but I just returned home from a wonderful birthday trip for both me and my son, Andy who also had a milestone birthday this month.  Oh yeah, and just for fun we brought along Mr. B and Andy's girlfriend (so darling and funny) Ashley!

Now, Ashley and I are not happy fliers but we enjoy where those crazy airplanes can take us....

...especially after we have our Breakfast of Champions!  A double Bloody Mary for Ashley and a double Gin & Tonic for me.  It gets us right on that tarmac!

We arrived at Salt Lake City and then took a little puddle jumper to Idaho Falls.  Jumping in our rental car we take off for Victor, Idaho.  On the way there the guys spot a Mama Moose with her Baby as well as a Bald Eagle.  Two points for the guys and zero for the girls.  Don't worry we do catch up!

 After a day of touring and relaxing at Teaton Springs, we have a reservation for a fly fishing float trip down the Snake River.  The guides split us up with Mr. B and Andy in one boat, while Ashley and I head down the river in another boat with a different guide.  Ashley is a first time fisherwoman and I am just taking photo's and painting on the front end of the boat.  As Ashley is being taught how to cast, she actually catches a fish.  Go Ashley!

Ashley must of caught 20 plus fish on her first day of fishing.  She actually could of caught 30-40 fish but she got so excited that she forgot to set her hook.  It was all catch and release so it was all good fun.....well, maybe not so for the fish.

Our three person fishing boat.

Tanner, our guide and Ashley

Ashley's first Cutthroat Trout

The next day we head on to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for two days.  Unfortunately Andy and I got food poisoning and are in bed for two days.  But Mr. B and Ashely enjoy the town.

No one we know but a great shot of the Antler Arch in the town square.

On Tuesday we head off to the Teaton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. 

That would be a Glacier in the middle of the shot.

 

 

We headed North to Old Faithful ( see photo above) and the Old Faithful Inn (below).

What an amazing place, you kinda feel like you are on another planet with the ground bubbling and changing colors beneath you.

While heading North towards Livingston, Montana we encountered a tremendous amount of beauty.

We even picnicked near some.....

"Hey, what's in that picnic basket BooBoo?" - Yogi Bear

As we found our way up to our next destination, Chico Hot Springs, Montana and we realized that we had crossed the Continental Divide three times.  That's were the water decides if it will flow East or West.

As we headed into our last days in Chico Hot Springs, Pray, Montana, I meditated on the joy of this trip.  

The four of us in a car for 8 days and not sure if we would still be speaking near the end, but instead we got to know one another just a little bit better and found we can have fun together! 

A lot of beauty, laughter, great meals, lightening storms, heat waves and celebration.  

Being together.

Thank you Mr. B and Ashley for a wonderful birthday celebration!

"There is certainly something in fishing that tends to produce a gentleness of spirit, a pure serenity of mind."

Washington Irvin

100 Things to Do in My Life

Another project that I have been working on is coming up with a list of 100 things I would like to do in my lifetime.  I saw the idea at Karen Walrond's blog www.chookooloonks.com/blog  who was inspired by Mighty Girl (Maggie Mason)  http://www.mightygirl.com/  They both have incredible lists and plenty to say about how to come up with your own list. They were able to sit down and in 2 hours come up with their lists. For me, I need to spend some time mulling over all of the possibilities and see what fits.  You are not allowed to add things that if you don't accomplish, you will feel bad about (like clean the house or losing weight).  You also do not need to complete the list.  They are just ideas and once you write them down, you will find ways of making some if not all of them happen.  They also do not need to be things like going to the other side of the world and doing something outrageous.  Some can just be doing something you may have already done before but just with a different person  (fly fishing with my dad) or multiple times (taking 1,000 photo's of dogs).  I am only up to #16 on my list but everyday I get newly inspired by something and "Ah - that needs to go on my list!" Hope you have fun coming up with your list of 100+ ideas of exciting things to do in your lifetime!

 Here is my list so far -

1. Photograph 1,000 faces
2. Climb Mt. Tallac
3. Stand on the Great Wall of China
4. Eat a Crossant in Paris with my girlfriends
5. Bake cookies with my granddaughter or grandson(some day!)
6. Go to the Smithsonian as an adult
7. Fly fish with Jim in Montana
8. Go to all 50 states
9. Learn conversational French
10. Kiss Jim at the top of the Eiffel tower
11. See Maxfield Parish's Pied Piper at the SF Palace Hotel
12. Travel across the US in an Airstream
13. Go see Mt. Rushmore
14. Visit John Lennon's "Imagine" in Central Park
15. See the rose gardens in England
16 Live in another country for a month