Could they be any happier?

Here are our new friends George and Tanya on their honeymoon in Aruba. We had the joy of serving as their marriage mentors in September.

Here's where we go almost every day

More from Scottsdale

The weather has been great here. Mornings always start by the pool. I'm out here before 6:30 and at dawn's early light. It's wonderful. Cynthia and I have coffee together and have been working on the history of our years together. We're finding it's so significant for us to be able to recall where we've been, what we've done, and celebrate our years together.
This is the condo. Ted and Linda's old place is to the left. Imagine the gentle rumble of earth movers and the beep beep beep of equipment backing up with an over lay of bird songs, and a cool gentle breeze. The nearby construction quickly became the white noise of progress to me...


Here's sunset at Hayden and Indian Bend. The crane is busy every morning at 6 building a new water way under Indian Bend so it doesn't flood every monsoon season. Ted say's it rediculous to spend millions of dollars on this. I think I might agree.

Here's a scene in Jerome. This is a mining town turned ghost town turned artist community. The day we were there it was inundated by bikers from a rally over at Cottonwood. The streets were alive with activity and music. The gallery's were filled with some fine examples of local art.

This a Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter residence, office, and school during the last 20 plus years of his life. He did over a third of his 1100 designs after he was 70, and lived into his 90's. He was working on five projects when he died. Amazing.

Every Thursday night is an art walk in Scottsdale. Cynthia and Linda are discussing the finer points of expressing one's self in lead crystal.

Here Ted is plotting his next move during the art walk. Probably getting home to let Daphne out.

Some Scottsdale Pics

Some pictures from August

Oregon Garden

So Friday we went to the Oregon Garden with Al, Cheryl, and Clayton. We kept our carbon footprint small by squeezing into the Avalon for the 1 hour journey to Silverton. It was a beautiful day, and the gardens, started in 2001, are well on their way to being a destination of choice. Here are a few photos...

Nature is worth observing

So our camera died while we were visiting Soltane two months ago. I need a camera because a picture is worth a thousand blog words. So we got a new camera the other day, but too late to capture so much that we've seen and done.

Our last tail gate party (almost a month ago) was to the zoo. We saw lots of animals. A bald eagle flew up to us and landed just a few feet away with no cage between us. Very cool. It was a good day. We ate at China Delight, too, which always makes for a good day.

Other cool things we've seen (not at the zoo).

Aimee and I were on a bike ride and saw an Osprey tear a 1" diameter branch off of a tree in mid-flight and deliver it to its nest in an electrical tower. It was amazing.

Cynthia and I went for a walk on Springwater trail and in a single view (could have taken a picture if I had a camera) we saw peacocks, ducks, turkeys, goats, sheep, and a deer that came down off of Powell Butte.

Farther down the trail, again in a single view, we saw five nutria, a turtle, and ducks with their babies (could have taken a picture if I had a camera).

We looked at a big frog in our pond, too. We have a squirrel that comes around now, and lots of new birds. I've got carpenter ants in the back wall of the house, too. So much nature all around.

Al across the street told me we had a big orange cat on our roof early one morning. Not sure how he go up there (or down). I cleaned the gutters recently, so I know he's not up there any more.

I washed the windows inside and out. It's amazing how the outside comes inside when the glass is crystal clear. I'll wash the windows more often. Nature is worth observing.

Tail Gate Party

Miss Cynthia and I have scheduled special days out each month. We call them "tail gate parties," or "TGP's" for short. We started the tradition after having several lunches out of the tail gate of our rental car while touring and hiking around in Arizona. This month was "Skamania hike and seafood buffet."

The weather turned bad on us with everything from wind, rain, hail, and sun. Our answer was we did everything in spite of it. We drove the gorge, visited the Vista House, Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Dam, the Fish Hatchery, and then over the Bridge of the Gods to Skamania Lodge.

We experienced waterfalls, rivers, lakes, streams, historic pictures, local art, gift shops, lunch in the car, sturgeon, trout, dams, fish ladders, the "boom" of the guns used to scare sea lions away from the fish ladders, bridges, woods, golf courses, freezing cold wind, rain, hail, sun, snow, rocking chairs, the smell and warmth of a huge fireplace, the chill of huge picture windows looking out over the gorge, and lots of seafood. There was more, but here are a few pictures...

What's Old is New

Hey, here's a poster my brother, Scott, had in high school. I've kept it all these years and had it tacked on walls in my studies, my garages, and I don't remember where else. Now it's probably almost 40 years old, aged, a little tattered. Pretty cool actually.

Now it will go on my wall in my office at the church building. Thanks Scott, you probably had no idea this piece has been around all these years. Good taste is timeless, Bro'.

Snow Business

So today, March 28th, we have snow. Something surprising and wonderful for this time of year.

Let's enjoy that each day brings new wonder; sometimes obvious and other times hidden in and around the normal and less than wonderful.

What's wonderful in your world today?

Birthday Beach Trip

Miss Cynthia and I spent a couple of days at the beach for my birthday. We enjoyed the galleries and came face to face with art of all kinds.













I went for early morning walks on the beach and enjoyed Seaside before most others were awake and out on the streets.




My most memorable moment, among many, was when I popped three ibuprofen in my mouth while walking into a gallery (back was hurting something awful). When I swallowed, two went into my tummy, and one into my bronchial tube. I tried to sneak out of the gallery to go die, but Cynthia saw me with that urgent look on my face and followed me. I drank water, stayed calm, and within about five minutes I finally coughed it up while sitting on a park bench on the streets of Cannon Beach. It blew out of my mouth into my palm like a slimy bullet. Cynthia looked at me and said, "promise you'll never take pills without water again." "I won't" I said. She said "No, I want you to say the whole sentence." After three attempts at satisfying her with variations of this promise, I sat for a while, spitting and sputtering. Later we laughed about what passers by might have thought as Miss Cynthia badgered me like a witness in a court room. "Say it! Say the whole sentence!" I'll bet someone had a fun reflection over dinner about it.

So I will continue to live past my 50th Birthday. Let's see what we can do from here. One thing is I'll always take pills with water. Maybe I'll eat better, get more exercise, and rest more, too.

Some of Christmas Time

let's get together, yeah yeah yeah

Greetings! Certainly, it has been a long time since I've posted any news about my life. Allow me to update you all on the goings on.
It was SO good to have Chris and Catherine and Finley all out for the holidays. I miss you guys already. But life must go on, right? And so it does...
On Monday, Trippe and I began our winter term at Clackamas Community College and, since a few kinks in Trippe's schedule have been smoothed over, we're both satisfied with our schedules.
We're taking a British literature class together which has proven to be pretty fun thus far, then I go off to speech and Spanish while Trippe works on his online writing class. It's so nice to be together at school. It feels so much better to have him with me! (Plus we save gas money by carpooling.)
Trippe let me steal his other phone from him since mine has gone haywire and it's really nice. I was frustrated at first, but I'm getting used to it and beginning to enjoy it. So, anyway, that's all I can think of right now. I hope EVERYONE is well.
Happy primaries!