Before Sundown

We




drove











to


the


river









so
he
could


fish


by
the
dam




while
I

fished
for
images

Before
Sundown.

God Bless America

Ever wonder: Why me?

I did this morning. I woke up with laryngitis. For a whole week, I'd been rehearsing with our rural community's choir to sing at today's Memorial Day service.

Last year when I attended the program, I was moved by the performance of – what I call – "The Little Choir that Could." This year, I was excited to join the group. However, as I opened my mouth uttering raspy sounds this morning, Dan chided me to spare him the pain.

"There must be some reason for this," I thought.

Sitting in the audience, I realized a new opportunity:

to tape and share this Memorial Day Choral Tribute.


(Dan's singing in the back - second from the left.)

Thank you to all our veterans. And may God Bless America.

One at a Time

"I received a bag of chocolate-covered espresso beans from your shop as a gift," I explained over the phone. "I'm curious: Do I grind them up to brew or eat them?"

"You eat them," the clerk assured. "They're REALLY good."

I tried a few and decided:
She's right.

Later I discovered: but not near bedtime, and even so, only One at a Time... unless you're like my husband who enjoys a caffeine buzz. Whew!

They're Here

This
afternoon
when I got
home from
a trip to
the bank
with Dan,
I found
Tickles
in delivery.



I
emailed
him
at
work
with
the
news:





"Our
re-financing
went
through
just
as
our
family
expands!







"Maybe
there's
a
cat
condo
in
our
future?"



Giving
thanks

for
a
new
4.75%
rate

on
our home
mortgage



and
for
Aaron's
mama
cat's
quintuplets.


Yes. They're
Here!

Go Fish

We

went

to

the

lake







to


fish


this


evening.






While the
boys cast
their lines,

I snapped
my camera –

and caught
a loon.



They got – not even a bite.



Instead

they
took

to
the
swings.



Then Aaron tapped his watch, "Let's go! I can still catch 'The Office.'"



On the drive home,
I stopped
at the creek
to catch
the sunset.

Aaron protested,
"Come on, Mom!
I'll miss the show.
How many thousand
photos of the sun
do you have anyway?"




Later as

Aaron

watched

his

favorite

character,









I saw

the uncanny

resemblance.




(Minus the glasses)



Was that part of the lure,

I wondered,

for Aaron
to choose
to sketch
Dwight Schrute

for his art-class
hero-drawing
assignment?


Go fish!

Last Day

B
e
a
d
i
n
g


H
o
p
p
i
n
g



L
a
u
g
h
i
n
g





Watching




Finger painting

with

shaving cream



Undressing

and

dressing

dolls



Building

with

blocks






Creating

with

Legos





Making

giant

snowballs




Rolling out

play dough





Smiling
with
a
floured
nose



Hunting

Easter

eggs





Eating

snacks






Learning

dental

care



And
picking
spring
bouquets!




Just a few images to celebrate this preschool year's Last Day!
Here's to Summer.

Norway's Constitution Day

May 17th is Norway's 4th of July.

This year Norwegians are celebrating more than independence as a nation. They're exploding over a Fairytale in 23-year-old Alexander Rybak – Norway's newest "Prince of Pop" who won last night's EuroVision Song Contest held in Moscow.

In the 54-year history of the best-viewed non-sporting contest in the world, no one has scored even close to Rybak's 387 points. Why?

Since winning the opportunity to represent Norway in February, Rybak has given scores of interviews and made appearances – which have been replayed hundreds-of-thousands, if not millions, of times on YouTube – each one reinforcing his charisma, humor, gratitude and humility. And he's done this in three languages: Norwegian, English and Russian – the language of his parents.

When Rybak was five years old, he immigrated with his parents from Minsk, USSR (now Belarus) to Norway. Soon after, Rybak began lessons on the instruments of his pianist mother and violinist father.

Years of musical training and the heartache of young love inspired Rybak to write, compose and perform his winning song that captures both his Norwegian and Russian heritage. Check it out and see if you're not stomping your feet by the end too!



Heia Norge! Gratulerer alle sammen! Spasiba Alexander!
To Norway: host of EuroVision 2010.

Along the River

Come

walk

with

me




where

the

sun

shines

freely



upon

the

yellow

violets

growing




under

the

leafy

canopy





of

the

shaggy-

barked





sugar


maple


trees







Along


the


River.


Thanks for sharing a moment on the trails of my childhood home!

Spring Bouquet

T
u
l
i
p
s










pear


blossoms




b
l
e
e
d
i
n
g

h
e
a
r
t
s


Passing along my gardener neighbor's kindness in a Spring Bouquet.

Today's Textures...

...appear everywhere:


shooting

forth

red

maple

seeds,



corrugating

the

shed's

steel

wall,





vining

along

the

barn

door,






sprouting

from

the

violet's

bloom,








resting

in

the

hammock's

web,






fluttering

in

the

poplar's

tops,



bursting

from

the

dandelion's

head...



Mmm... Seeing Spring Along Life's Road.