Happy Mother's Day!

I hope your Mother's Day has been a very good one!  Jim & I went to Bellingham & had lunch with Ty & Nicole & Nicole's parents Tim & Tina.  We were treated to a yummy meal of oyster mushroom/swiss chard or kalamata olive/artichoke quiches, fruit & either mimosas or bloody mary's before lunch.  The kids had even made strawberry ice cream!  After lunch we visited & took a walk, then Jim & I headed south for home, stopping at Trader Joe's on the way.

I called my Mom & we had a good visit & I talked with my middle son Nate & my oldest son Eric!  All in all, a perfectly wonderful day.

Jim's sweet Mom, Mary, at her 90th Birthday!  She passed March 21st, 2013.  Mom had celebrated her 92nd birthday 6 days earlier.  I loved Mary so much and think of her every day--she treated me like the daughter she never had.

And here's my Mom, Arlene (the woman in the middle with the calm smile).  Mom will celebrate her 85th birthday in May.  She is the foundation of our family & raised all 5 of us with love, kindness and a whole lot of patience.

I hope this finds all of you well and happy.  Safe travels and thanks for stopping by.  Cheers from the oldtimers at the end of the road.

Lilacs, Groundhogs & Grad Students

I haven't been here for awhile.  Was really busy last weekend cooking for the breakfast I'm hosting this Thursday morning at the clinic in honor of my current--and final--grad student!  I have been a precepter for 10 grad students & enjoyed nearly every second.  I feel that this is my legacy to my profession.  My grad student is also applying for my job.  Way cool.

Everyone I talk with in our area is raving about how nice the lilacs are this year.  Our next-door neighbor has a huge lilac bush bursting with blooms.  They literally scent the entire area here at the end of the road.

I had an interesting moment early this week.  The alarm on my phone went off.  The dog woke up, walked over to the bed wagging her tail & walked with me to the door of the bedroom.  My thought was 'This is a Groundhog Day moment'.  I think Ari & I have played this scene out every day for more than 7 years (since she was a pup) and we would do it again the next morning and the morning after that and well, you get the picture.  It was endearing mostly but also a little disconcerting.  It was as if my life had become very routine--rote really.  I thought about it for a second & then found the comfort in knowing that things were going to happen in a specific way at a specific time.  It won't always be like that but for now, it's fine.

I hope all of you are safe, happy & enjoying your present location.  We're all fine smellin' the lilacs here at the end of the road.  Next up--rhododendrons. Thanks so much for stopping by.

The End of a Work Week

Gosh, I'm tired tonight.  Have been waking up about 2 AM the last few nights & then unable to fall asleep again.  We got a pizza for dinner last night for the first time in years & we both decided never to do that again.  The gluten & cheese definitely came back on us.  So we had simple food for dinner tonight--vegs & hummus, red lentil dal with Indian Fried Rice.  Good stuff.

Jim had quite an adventure today.  We got a good deal on upgrading our network speed with Frontier. We were told it would be "blazing fast!"  Who can refuse that?  The technician came today to do the work.  I sure wish you could've been here to hear Jim's stories about this guy!  Jim described him as "twitchier than my nephew with ADHD!"  Then my darling husband proceeded to demonstrate how the tech would slip his tools off his belt, click them off & on rapidly or play with them & then put them back in his belt & then exclaim that "there has to be a splice somewhere!  I'm going to have to re-wire the whole *@% house!"  Well, that didn't happen.  He found it--right where Jim told him it was!  He also dinked something with the phone jack--the buzzing noise is GONE!  And best of all, we went from 6 mb per second to 23--"blazing fast!"

Jim's de-winterizing the trailer & cleaning out the fresh water tank for its' first fill.  I might start putting things away out there this weekend.  Our gorgeous weather is due to end Saturday at the latest.

I think that's just about all the news that's fit to print from us at the end of the road.  I'm goin' to bed.  Thanks for stopping by.

Wordless Wednesday

A Rescue Dog and Her Little Boy Share Hats

Meet Zoey and Jasper--a rescue dog and her little boy.  Jasper is a spunky little 10-month old Chinese-Korean kiddo with loads of character and a big happy smile.  Zoey is a rescue dog that had a rough start.  Born in front of a small store in Taiwan, she was literally washed into the gutter before a schoolgirl rescued Zoey and her siblings and put them up for adoption with Animal Rescue Team Taiwan.  Soon she was transported to Los Angeles and a happy new life, with a new mom--commercial photographer Grace Chon.  For more photos of Zoey & Jasper, go to Grace Chon's web site.  Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Wednesday from the oldtimers at the end of the road!

Our Daughter-in-Law Nancy--Nearly a Pharmacist!

I am proud to report that my daughter-in-law, Nancy, has completed the academic work for pharmacy school!  Just completing the prerequisites would be challenge for most of us.  It's very science-heavy and takes about 2 years to complete all the required pre-req courses.  Nanc has always made every step of her journey look effortless!

Once Nancy was accepted to pharmacy school, the academic rigor increased ten-fold.  Every two weeks she & her cohort had a new unit.  One unit might be neurology, the next endocrine, the next behavioral.  Each unit is two weeks long and there is an exam on the content studied at the end of each unit.  If you pass, the weekend is yours (Nancy spent most of those weekends preparing for the next unit).  If you fail, you study your brains out over the weekend & retake the exam.  Life is much easier if you pass the second time.  I am very proud to report that Nanc had to re-take only two exams!  Students endure two years of this challenging, demanding schedule.  The longest break you have is one week.  This is the academic work that Nancy has just finished!

In about 10 days, she begins clinical rotations.  Most of Nancy's rotations will be in Oregon with the exception of one rotation at Yakama Nation next spring.  Each rotation is six weeks long.  Approximately one year from now, Nancy will be graduating from pharmacy school and we will all be there to cheer her on & celebrate this huge accomplishment with her.  Nancy is brilliant, persistent and has remained remarkably calm as she achieves all of her goals.  I know she will make a world-class pharmacist & will carry on the fine traditions of her chosen profession including education, conscientiousness, professionalism & integrity.  Nancy carries all these traits and more in her.

Here are Nancy & Nate (my middle son)--


This card reminds me of Nancy & her journey:

Warm congratulations, Nanc!  We are so very proud of you & all you've accomplished!  With great love from two very proud Parents-in-Law at the end of the road!

Thanks for stopping by.  Take good care, safe travels & be well.  And hey, if you have any questions about your medication, ask your pharmacist!  They're a wealth of knowledge!

Celebration Day

We've had several very cool things to celebrate lately!  Yesterday we celebrated our granddaughter Emma's 16th birthday.  Emma is creative, smart, and very much her own person.  Among her gift requests were any of the seasons from the TV show "Supernatural".  We have no idea what it's about but she loves it.  She also requested "anything with the British flag on it".  Note her shoes--Doc Martins that we did not purchase for her but which she is completely in love with!  The messenger bag has a British flag on the front and I even found Duck Tape printed with British flags!  Emma was a very happy girl!

We were also celebrating Nicole & Ty's 2nd anniversary.  They were married two years ago today on Orcas Island up in the San Juans, which has always been a special place for them.
Their wedding day

And on their 2nd anniversary

And a third cause for celebration--after I saw my first patient this morning we went out to the front desk & I was just about to ask Vicki to schedule them for 4 weeks as is typical.  Before I could say a word, she said "I have to schedule 5 weeks out--4 weeks from today is Memorial Day."  Really?!  Wow!  We're entering what I lovingly call "Holiday Season'.  Here's the lineup--Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years & Retirement!  Life is so great!

Time for bed...we call it a day early here at the end of the road.  Thank you for stopping by.  Safe travels & much happiness.

Weekend Update

Good morning!  We're cruisin' right along on our weekend here.  I look forward to the time when every day will be Friday or Saturday but for now, there's a lot to do on the weekends.  Take this weekend, for instance.

Friday I got a haircut, cleaned the bathrooms & dusted the house.  We went out for dinner with our friends Sharon & Mike.  This is the weekend of the Tulip Festival street fair so we hightailed it up to Mount Vernon first thing Saturday morning to do our grocery shopping.  We're really very fortunate to have a fantastic food co-op in Mount Vernon.  They have nice fresh produce--local whenever possible, a stellar deli (say that fast 3 times!) & the friendliest staff you could ever hope to meet.

It's time for vegie starts & bedding plants.

The produce department 

Our friend Sharon gave us rhubarb from her garden & we had purchased fresh strawberries at the co-op so I made strawberry-rhubarb crisp.  We typically don't have dessert but we made an exception yesterday!  We love pie but crisps are a great alternative now that we're gluten-free.  Here's a link to the recipe--it's fast & easy, very delicious & exceptional with a scoop of Naked Coconut flavor Coconut Bliss ice cream.

We're on our way this afternoon for lunch at our favorite restaurant, The Oyster Bar on Chuckanut Drive.  We're celebrating our granddaughter Emma's 16th birthday along with her mom Elisabeth & our youngest son Ty & his wife Nicole (yes, the painting helpers). It's amazing to think that Em, who was born 12 weeks early & weighed 2 pounds 12 ounces, is now 16!  It's funny--Em is still a little peanut.  She referred to herself for quite some time as "a premature".  She is sweet, funny, smart & delightful--just can't wait to sing Happy Birthday to her in the middle of the restaurant.  When we celebrated Em's 15th at the Oyster Bar last year, we sang Happy Birthday to her quietly (it's that kind of restaurant) & when we finished, everyone there clapped.  I wonder how it will be this year?  I'll post photos tomorrow.

Safe travels out there--the weather is quite dicey in some areas.  Jim told me this morning that there are even tornado warnings in the South.  Thank you so much for stopping by--

Happy day from the folks at the end of the road.