Life from where we are

Joshua is 21 years old today.......where did all those years go?? It seems like yesterday you were riding your bike on the "smooth road" & down the "big hill" while I was praying you wouldn't fall off & get Nana into trouble for letting you do it!

I just came across this......everyone is so true. How many do you agree with? 1. Each and every birthday is a big deal. Even if you can no longer count your age on your fingers, you deserve a birthday party with friends, a cake, presents and silly games. 2. You can learn new things from almost anyone, including a giant purple dinosaur, a cartoon mouse, or a cookie-eating monster. You just have to keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. 3. There’s nothing better in the whole world than a friend showing up at you door asking if you can come out and play. So don’t mope around the house all by yourself. Go ahead. Ring a friend’s doorbell. 4. Just because you have to eat things that are good for you doesn’t mean you can’t make a face when you do. Maybe that tofu and sprouts sandwich would actually taste better if you scowled at it for a while. 5. When you’re indecisive, rock/paper/scissors is as good a way as any to make up your mind. 6. It’s a phase. Sooner or later you’ll grow out of...

Today was supposed to be snow again but when I saw the blue sky this morning I threw on some clothes & boots & took Molly for a walk. We were both a little "stir crazy" as we didn't get out at all yesterday as it poured all day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we are still on the edge of this new storm so supposedly we won't get much!!! That probably did it...........why did I say that!!! Okay back to editing my pictures......there were over 1,000. I'll let you know when they are on my web albums.

Of course with our bodies in a different time zone we were wide awake early.....like 3:00AM but I said I was not going to get in the car until 7:00am! I wanted to at least have daylight to drive the rest of the way. I managed to hold Popster back until 6:45AM & we were on our way. It was a light rain & the roads were wet but clear. The closer we got to Albany there was more snow on the roads & eventually the rain turned to snow. When we got to Rte 50 we were following a Time Warner cable van that turned into our street..........clue # 1! At the intersection halfway down was a big pile of snow & the rest of the street wasn't plowed.......clue # 2! My neighbor's car was in front of him stopped on the street in front of our house.....clue # 3! See the red flags on this next picture...............that is our cable wire & telephone wire hanging about 4 feet off the street! Next piece of bad news......the power was off & had been since 1:00AM. We had left...

We were up bright & early as we had to leave by 5:30 AM. We picked up Keira on the way.....it was Terry & Lucy's day to babysit. The drive went very smooth so we decided to stop at a rest area for coffee. Notice the name on the sign........my brother calls it cost-a-lot! This tray of drinks only was $25.00! Very pretty! Keira conned Granddad into some sweets! We got back into the car & about 30 miles from the airport ran into the morning rush hour! The english have a very interesting way of dealing with traffic...........they just keep alternating the speed limit from 60 t0 50 to 40. Seems to do the job & even though the traffics slows up it never comes to a complete stop. Meanwhile Greg, Jennifer & Nigel were in the same traffic coming from their direction. We all managed to meet up in the departure building at the same time. We didn't have to wait to check in so were able to have an hour together before we went through security. Love this picture of...

It was a really gloomy, rainy morning & after Naomi & Curtis showed up Lucy made us all a big breakfast. Curtis had homework to do....he needed to write about what he thought a school would be like in the future & also made a model of it. We all had some input to give him ideas & set out for a ride around in the rain before going to buy supplies. This is a private road leading to Royal St George's...where they hold the British Open every so many years. We ignored the "private" & just drove down it! No one was playing in the miserable weather! This is the pro shop The club house with security cameras - they didn't see us! This is the view from near the ferry in Ramsgate...on a nice day you can see France! This is in Broadstairs - the home of Charles Dickens This is Bleak House where he did all his writing looking out over the ocean. Must have been a day like this when they chose that name! We took a trip to a pet store & then on to Tesco...

We got up to a rainy, gloomy morning.....but hoped it would get better. Naomi arrived & brought her border collies, Flea & Blitz with her. They are totally crazy dogs, with so much energy, but she is amazing with them. She trains both of them to do agility...Blitz is only a year & a half so she is still learning. Flea does competition with her & is very good! Molly prefers to sit on Terry's lap & is not too crazy about those other dogs! We went here for a delicious lunch...they had a typical Sunday dinner of roast beef, pork, & ham along with all the side dishes & of course, yorkshire pudding! While we were there it looked like the weather was going to clear up, but no such luck it started raining again. We were going to take a drive to Dover which is where the Chunnel that goes from England to France but we wouldn't see anything with the weather being bad. Instead we drove to Paul & Zoe's house. They live in Sturry , which is near Cant...

We got up very early this morning as Greg was picking us up by 9:00 to drive us to Terry & Lucy's house. They live in a little village called Minster (click on route map) which is near Ramsgate in Kent......it's approx 150 miles & about a 3 hour trip. Nigel was coming with us but Susan had to work. It was very icy on the side roads when we started out but the motorway was fine. A beautiful day with blue skies & fluffy white clouds The Dartford bride which crosses the Thames estuary.......there is also a tunnel when coming from the other direction. Entering Kent Our welcoming committee! We arrived there just before 1:00 & Paul, his wife Zoe, Curtis & Keira were also there. Terry & Lucy moved here five years ago so this was the first time I had seen their house. Lucy had a nice lunch all ready for us & we spent the afternoon visiting before Greg & Nigel headed back home. It was around 4:30 so we had a little time before it got dark to take a ...