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Things to bring:

• Binoculars
• Flashlight
• Camera with extra batteries and SD cards
• Rain gear
• Hiking shoes/boots
• Swim suit
• Light sweatshirt or windbreaker
• Birding list
• Pocket knife
• Insect repellent
• Sunscreen
• Hat
• Day pack
• Plastic bags

We are in the midst of planning the annual vacation. This spring it will be Costa Rica. We are going during the first part of the "Green" read "Rainy" season. Hopefully, it won't be too green as it is still early in the season. We have made our selections as to the parts of the country we want to visit; La Fortuna and Quepos. San Jose (day 1): We plan to spend the first (and last)nite near San Jose. Reservations have been made at the Orquideas Inn. I will let you know about the accomodations upon my return. It looks to be quite a charming hotel and is close to the airport; especially important on departure day. Things to do in the area: The Gold Museum; Cafe Britt Farm (for coffee), La Paz Waterfall Gardens. La Fortuna (days 2 thru 5): Reservations have been made at the Arenal Observatory Lodge. Our room has a view of the volcano. With any luck, we will have the nightly glow of lava from our room. Things to do in the area: Lake Arenal; bird watching; hiking; Cloud Forest; Hanging Bridges; Hot springs. Quepos: (days 6 thru 9): Resversations have been made at the the Mono Azul (the Blue Monkey). I love that name. It is very near Manual Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast. Things to do in the area: the beach; wildlife; horseback riding; canopy tours. No matter what we do, it will be a great time.

June Already

Jeez, I can't believe that it is June. I have not been here in quite a while. Busy with work, etc. Any excuse will do, right? Anyway, I just returned from a week in my home state of Minnesota. It was my parents 50th wedding anniversary and we had a big blowout for them. We were so busy hosting the party that we did not get many pics. Before we left however, I did create a short dvd to give to my parents. It is not long, we played it intermittently at the party.

Living with CRUD!!!

I, like hundreds of thousands of citizens, have been suffering from the CRUD. You know, the stuff that clogs your lungs, sinuses, eustachian tubes (they help you keep your balance by the way), and body aches. Well, I don't really have body aches...just arthritis.

I thought I had managed to dodge the bullet, but I started to get clogged up last week. Anyway, I spent my time and money going to the dr. to have him tell me he wasn't going to give me anything for it...my lungs were not that congested.

I would have to agree, we do tend to take too much medication, especially antibiotics.

Moving on to more interesting topics, I just downloaded some cool music...some new...
1. The Guide; Bourne
2. Starlight; Muse
3. Girl; Beck
4. Fidelity; Regina Spektor

and some not so new:
5. Rocket Man; Elton John
6. Black Hole Sun; Soundgarden
7. Nothing Compares to You; Sinead O'Connor
8. Smells Like Teen Spirit; Nirvana

The ability to download music really is the greatest thing. It used to be that you had to buy the whole damn album or tape or CD and more than 50% of the songs were crap. With downloading, you only buy the music you like. You also have the opportunity to listen to obscure artists that you've never heard of before and discover some real jewels. More bang for your buck!

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Linwood Cemetary to take some shots of the monuments. This cemetary has been around since 1828 (or something like that).

Here are some of the more interesting shots:

People spend lots of money immortalizing family members that are gone. Some of these monuments are very elaborate.

This one is especially pretty. She is missing a finger tho.

I was quite entranced by her. I wish I had wings : )








These next two shots tell quite a sad tale. Two families, two lost children, eight years apart.

And no parents beside them.

I wonder where they ended up?























This next monumuent was provided by the "Woodmen of the World". Quite the phallic symbol. A great big dick. I did not see the resemblance until I loaded it to this blog...don't turn me in ;)

Bye for now.

TGIF

I wish I could have few weeks of Fridays. It would be nice to take some time for myself but I don't see that happening. I'm the Mom, I am not supposed to have time to myself. And it is too early in the year to start taking my vacation days.

I am still scanning family photos. And the end is in sight. I have about nine albums left. but the photos of Hawaii don't have to be scanned...they are already on CD!

To make my life easier, TOM bought me an external hard drive to storel all the photos, music, and important documents. 320 gigabites...it will definitely take a while to fill that up. I love it already. I could tell that my hard drive was getting slower. Can't have that.

Anyway, of my recent scans, these are some of my favs...taken 1979 and 1980. Sounds like a long time ago...



Chip and Dale

Sean, about 6 months old

Sean, about 6 months old

Sean, about 6 months old

Post post comment: I no longer wish my days (my life) away. I take each day and appreciate it for what it is.

Long Time, No Write...

I have been having alot of connection issues these days. My router is not working properly and then I started having trouble with my modem.

I am still furiously scanning photos, although I am slowing down quite a bit. I knew it would take along time.

Here are a few of my favorites from recent days:

Barb, Alan, and Sean, Colorado, circa 1982
Barb, Alan, and Jeremy, taken by Sean, Switzerland, circa 1983
Sean and Jeremy, Germany, circa 1983
"Pure Joy", Barb and Sean, Colorado, circa 1982

Back to the Grind

It was back to work today. It was nice actually. After the holiday we had, work is definitely better.

TOM did call Mom today to see how everyone was doing. G-ma will go to AZ on Friday as planned. The shingles are clearing up. I'm glad she is going. She is worried about her 91 year old sister.

Mom is reducing the amount of antibiotic. Apparently, it reached toxic levels, so she is down to one dose a day.

Dad is playing nursemaid and doing a fine job. That's good. I don't feel so guilty about not being there. He should take care of Mom. She has been taking care of him for almost 50 years.

I am still scanning photos. I am currently working in 1984, Paris. My kids were young then...so was I. Maybe I need to go back and take another look.


(Photo by TOM)

Christmas in Minnesota

You can't beat it ... Day 1, December 23: Departure from Atlanta uneventful. Traffic from Columbus was light. Economy parking lot full; at least we won’t have to walk so far to retrieve the car. Airport security moved pretty quickly. We got to our gate in record time. Pickup in MPLS uneventful; we actually arrived early. Timing at the baggage claim, good. I would rather wait a few minutes than have Dad circle the airport for an hour…traffic was crazy. Mom was still in the hospital so we went to see her. We were there for about an hour, got lunch to go, and went to the house to see Grandma. She had lunch cooking : ) We ate. My brother brought his extra car for us to use during our stay. He saved us about $300 in car rentals. For this I am grateful. We will spend a few days with him and his family. Does that sound like gratitude? Take his car, move in, and then kick him out of his bed. Went to visit Mom and discuss our options for Christmas Eve dinner. We had to work around her antibiotic schedule…every 12 hours which gave us plenty of time. Day 2, December 24: Called Mom about 9 a.m. The plan was to get her released for the day so we can go to my brother’s for dinner. We received Dr’s approval so we went and picked her up. We were in charge of the ham, so we could not leave till about 2. She could come home for a few hours. It has been two weeks since she was home. After surgery she went to the nursing home for physical therapy. As always, my bro’s house is immaculate. They repainted the kitchen and redecorated. It looks really nice. We will be spending the next two nights with him and his family. It will be fun. Actually, the most fun we had on the entire trip so far. Of course the nephew’s got a lot of really great gifts: Ipods, notebook computers, and some very expensive ski clothes. Mom, Dad, and Grandma left about 6. Mom was tired and Grandma was not feeling well either. My bro’s bedroom is very small. Day 3, December 25: We drove to St. Cloud to spend the day with TOM’s oldest sister and her daughter. We had a lot of fun that day. We visited for an hour and then we decided to try and find some food. Would you believe that the only place that was open was the casino? Well, it was and that was where we ate Christmas dinner. It was pretty good. Being at the casino we had to play. We gave Sis $20…she took home $60. She can really use the money. TOM won $100…paid for dinner. We did not tell my Dad. He would have felt left out. He likes the casinos. Day 4, December 26: Grandma is not well. She has blisters in her mouth and her face is swollen. We spend the day at the emergency room. By the time she gets checked into the hospital is it 6 p.m. We spent the whole day there. Apparently, she has shingles. Very contagious…just like chicken pox in the initial stages. I hope we (me and TOM) don’t have any problems. What a day. Wasn’t this supposed to be our vacation? Day 5, December 27: Mom got sprung. We brought her home about 12:00. We stopped by to see Grandma before we left. She is looking good. We don’t know when she will get out. Dad got home early from work so TOM and I made our escape to visit the brother in law. Anyway, we got to meet the new granddaughter. Pretty baby. We stayed for a couple of hours and then left for the hospital to visit TOM's sister. Seems to be a theme here… We had to drive thru rush hour traffic. Not good when you are not sure where you are. Anyway, we stayed with her for about an hour. She still looks rough, making progress tho. By the time we made it home my G-ma had been sprung. She looked terrible and was not feeling to good either. Hope she gets better so she can travel to Arizona next week. She has a sister that needs some looking after. Day 6, December 28: We spent the day taking care of sick people. Running to the doctor and the pharmacy, cooking, laundry, grocery shopping. I worked harder this trip than I ever do at home. Only one more day till I can head for home. Bro and his family came over to visit this evening. It is good to see them again before we leave. Day 7, December 29: We fly home today. We can finally get some rest. I do not even care that our flight is delayed. I am on the road, ready to go home. And it did not snow until the morning of our departure.

Today is my Birthday...

TOM had my youngest son buy me some speakers for the IPOD. It is nice not using the earbuds...they are not comfortable at all. And as my hearing is not too good in my right ear so I don't get the full benefit of them. Because it is my b-day, I told TOM that he had to go shopping with me. And he did, with a smile on his face. I have a couple of things to get my youngest. We are going to do a 7 Days of Christmas for him while we are gone so he won't feel so alone. I am going to hide some little gifts around the house. One for him to find each day that we are gone. We are going to have a beer and pretzel day, a sweet tooth day, a smell good day, a movie day, a money day...I still have to think of a couple of themes. But maybe this is enough. It will put a smile on his face. He doesn't do that enough. It is his b-day tomorrow. We will have some cake and ice cream. His brother is coming from Atlanta to see him. He has to work tho, so we won't have much time to do anything else. Maybe go to lunch. In any event, it will be a nice. Today was gorgeous by the way.

I Love Snowmen . . .

I received these cartoons and I thought they were funny. I do not know the origin so I can't give credit. Enjoy. . .

My mother had a total knee replacement yesterday. The surgery went will until the doc realized that he knicked an artery in her leg...They had to call in a vascular surgeon to fix it. Because of the little mishap she had to spend the night in intensive care. I called for an update today to see how see was doing and she is doing well. I did not get to talk to her tho. My bro is an RN so he was there to check up on her. He said she is doing fine and has a nice nurse to take of her. I really feel sorry for my Dad. He is not good at waiting at hospitals and I am sure that yesterday was hell for him. He got thru it tho. I bet he was really happy when the nurses told him to go home.

From the Urban Dictionary...Definition of coolbeans 1. Ultimate synomym of cool 2. When something is uber cool 3. WWII era slang for cool 4. When you don't want to say warmbeans

Christmas is fast approaching. Three weeks but I have finished my shopping. I still have to purchase a leather jacket for my son, but at least I know what I am looking for. It's not like I have to find it. I mailed the box of gifts to my Mom's house yesterday. I did ensure the package, but I sent it the cheapest way possible. One option would have been almost 50.00. That is more than I spent for any one gift in the box. We are traveling to MN on the 23rd...leaving from Atlanta...Do I need to say more? I can only hope that the weather is good at both ends, so at least that won't be a reason for delay. I will also be bringing my notebook and some dvd's so if I do get caught in the airport, I will have something to do. My boys are not traveling with us as they both have to work before and after Christmas. I did purchase a small fiber optic tree so that it would feel a bit more like the holiday. We will celebrate here on the 19th or 20th. It will be strange, but it is the best I can do, I promised my Mom I would be home for the holiday. Well, I better get to scanning. I still have a lot of photos to go. Of course I can always read a book, but when I get tired of doing that.

Love in Black and White TOM and I went Christmas shopping yesterday and we were able to get most of it finished. At least everything that needs to go to MN. We are traveling for the holiday along with millions of other Americans. I can only hope that we survive the trip. I do have one son that I still have to shop for. He is 23 years old and whenever we ask him what he wants he has no answer. I can always buy him clothes, but he never seems to wear them. I can’t figure out his style. He did admit that he would like a nice leather jacket...if he can pick it out. At least that is something. I am also working on a trapeze photo collage. I am using b/w photos of my parents, grandparents, and in-laws, as well as my brother and me and TOM. I am including them here for your viewing pleasure…if I can keep the wireless connection open long enough to get the photos uploaded…. Wish me luck ! This is a photo of TOM and me on our happy day. My dad doesn't look to happy. Neither do I for that matter, but that was 30 ago and we are still togther. TOM's mother tried to talk him into leaving the morning of the wedding...she told him he had plenty of time to leave...now that's a mother-in-law for you : ) This is a photo of my Mom on her wedding day. For the ife of me, I cannot find the photo of her and Dad together. I am sure that thru the process of scanning and archiving all of the family photos I will find it. I can then put it in it's rightful place in the collage. This is my Mom's parents. I love this photo. They divorced when I was a child, but it is nice to see them at a time when they were happy together. My grandmother is still alive and kicking...and pretty active too. My grandfather died when I was 12. This is a photo of my Dad's parents on their 45th wedding anniversary. My Grandma had cancer, and they didn't think she would make to the 50th anniversary, so they had the party early. By the way, she did make to her 50th wedding anniversary and we had another big blow out for them...: ) This is a photo of my brother and his wife. They have been together for about 15 years now and have two great boys. We plan to spend a lot of time with them this holilday season. And last, but not least, this is my in-laws. As you can see, they had a simple, civil ceremony. They are both gone now and greatly missed. Although, I never forgave her for trying to talk TOM into leaving on our wedding day : )

It's Beginning to Feel alot Like Christmas... I haven’t been here for a few days. I have been busy scanning photographs. I am sure that my husband thinks that I am crazy. Trying to decide what to do for Christmas gifts this year, I don’t want to spend too much money. I will probably give money to the boys…make it easy on myself. I did talk TOM into going shopping tomorrow. It should be an interesting day . . . There was an article about snowflakes in the one of my magazines. I didn’t realize that you could photograph snowflakes (with the right equipment of course). Check it out if you have time, the flakes are really quite beautiful, www.snowcrystals.com. These are a few of my favorites.

I Love My IPOD... I finally ordered an IPOD a week ago. I decided to get the Nano...I hope 2 gigs is enough. Anyway, I ordered it online for the same price as wally world, but my name is engraved on it and I did not have to pay shipping. I know I should have waited till my bday. TOM would have purchased it for me, but I did not feel like waiting. Anyway, it arrived within 2 days and every day a load one of my cds to the computer to add to the library. I am still trying to figure out how to keep some tracks from loading to the POD, because they are not my favorites. I don't necessarily want the entire album. I will figure it out. Only 2 days til Thanksgiving. We are going to have the requisite turkey and mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn, rolls, mincemeat and pumpkin pies, and watergate salad (only with french vanilla pudding mix). Wally world was out of pistacio pudding mix. I will just add some green food color...the boys will never know the difference : ) I hope not anyway...later.

"The Mermaid Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd "Something struck me then: I'd never done any of those things my mother had done. Never danced on a beach. Never made a bonfire. Never waded into the ocean at night with laughing women and tied my life to theirs."

My Life Today I slept good last night. I ate fajitas and refried beans for lunch today with the data migration team. They are more fun than the A&C team. I ate oriental grilled chicken and fried rice for dinner by myself. I bought a Seacret From the Dead Sea hand care kit at the mall. I bought a box of artificial snow for TOM. He will really get a kick out of this. My son broke up with his girlfriend of five years. Work is good. I drove to the mall by myself. The first time in three days I have been alone. Except for when I am in my room. I did not overeat today. I have been eating too much the last couple of days. My sister in law is tired. I got a new toothbrush. I watched Dog the Bounty Hunter. I called TOM three times today :-) I called my son to let him know I am there for him.

I'm a Traveling (Wo)Man Back in B'ham again. We went to 'Brio Tuscan Grille' for dinner. The food was pretty good. I had italian salad and balsalmic marinated chicken with vegetables. I also ordered dessert...to go. The Apple Crisp, although they don't give ice cream on the to go orders. Melted ice cream would have better than no ice cream...see previous post if you don't know what I mean. I have a feeling that it would have been better with ice cream, even if it was melted. TOM did a small project for me today. He added a sliding pull out shelf to the computer cabinet. It turned out pretty good. It will make it much easier when scanning the multitude of family photos that I am archiving. TOM did a previous upgrade to the cabinet. He dropped down the front of the drawer to make a handy dandy desk top. This was a cabinet that came from my grandmother. It was not very attractive and I hadn't used it in a long time. It has been in the garage. Anyway, after the remodel last year we have room in the house for it and I needed something to store all of my electronic gadgets. A computer desk that looks like furniture. It needs a paint job now, but I will have to do that myself, TOM doesn't want to paint it. This is a photo of my grandparents, Beatrice and Thomas Barth, on their 50th wedding anniversary. I choose not to tell you how many years ago this photo was taken, except that I was still single. And that's all I going to say about that. Anyway, here I am in my hotel room. I have made the requisite phone call to TOM to let him know that I arrived safely. He was in bed, preparing to go to sleep. He's an early to bed kind of guy. And of course, because I was otherwise engaged, I missed the first half of the Amazing Race. It's usually pushed back because of a football game or some other sporting event on the tube, but today it starts on time. Figures. Anyway, I got to watch the second half.