It's Just Me

Yay - weather is heating up!

2010-05-20T18:46:00.000-07:00

Is there really anyplace better to live than North Idaho? I mean really? I am now hiking Tubbs about 3 or 4 times a week and LOVE it. When my husband is with me we make a little loop through Sanders, and then back up Sherman and soak it all in.

We visited Lake Tahoe last October and loved it, but noticed how built up it was. It kind of hit us on Sunday as we did our loop that WE live in a resort area like Lake Tahoe. WE live where others dream of living!

Now summer is coming. We will be on our River, and we will motorcycle to various places and we will count our blessings, yet again, that we live in such a wonderful place and tell ourselves, yet again, that we will never leave..... never.

My cousin Tracy did have to remind me that the 'Root' (Bitterroot Valley, Montana) is THE best place to live, and I have to agree with that. If I could have stayed there, I would have. There are quite a few former Bitterrooters here though and I have talked to at least one about the fact that if we HAD to leave the 'Root' this is the next best.

Here are some pics of us enjoying all that this area has to offer.....

The interwebs, the blogosphere, the nasty mean anonymousness.....

2010-04-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

So I was very excited to start this blog and hit it pretty gangbusters and then slowed down and then didn't know what to write about and on and on..... I have spurts where I get an idea to write something, but then I start thinking about every single angle of it, every word and think about who will read it. If so and so sees it will this bother them? What about this person or that one? I had something happen a while back that kind of spooked me and really got me thinking about it all and I thought it probably really isn't worth it being all 'out there' where everyone can see.

But then there are times I want to speak my mind. And that's what I really started this for. I think for a while I was doing that on HBO. I thought that was fun because there was more back and forth - more instant feedback - but then it got mean over there, and it's just meaner and meaner. There is a 'gang' over there and they love trouncing people and my blood pressure is way high enough as it is, I don't need to have some people I don't even know (none of these people show up at any of the outings where you all meet face to face) raise it up higher.

Today was a very bad day as a fellow blogger who I love to read, admire, and who is one that inspired me to blog in the first place, was litterally torn apart over there - it was disgusting. She is a blurker there and rarely posts, but her latest blog piece was highlighted and then the ugly display of blogbullying began.

I let her know that I was behind her and didn't like what they did - and that's all I can do, because I'm not about to say anything over there - they'll just turn to me and rip me.

So HERE I can say what I like - and if someone comments nasty stuff I can delete it!!!

So here it is:

I don't like our current President's policies - and I'm not a racist because of it
I'm disappointed that Health Care Reform passed - and no I don't want children dying in the streets of lukemia because of it
I think Global Warming / Climate Change is all about $$$$$$$$$$$ - and while I'm sad that the glaciers in GLP are receding I don't believe that WE can fix them or even need to.
While everyone is getting frothy because they arrested someone 'a tea bagger' for threatening a senator, another person was arrested for threatening to kill a republican member of congress and his family - it's burried.

Ok - I feel better now - and I'm really going to try to post more here and I don't care who reads it, who likes it, who doesn't like it.

The Southernmost place!

2010-03-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

Here's where we were today. Now need to go to the Northwesternmost point in the US?

Off we go....

2010-03-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

I'm going to a conference for work tomorrow in Miami. In the old days of my work travel, my husband never went with me.... I went to LA, Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Antonio and even Switzerland by myself. Now I don't travel as much for work, but my husband has discovered that travelling is fun - so he's going with me and I'll take some PTO days.

It's nice to travel for work and combine some down time. The conference is Tuesday and Wednesday - then we'll take off in our rental car (free - I used my miles I had racked up on those places I went alone!) and head down to the Keys. Have always wanted to go to Key West and see all of that. We're going to stay 3 nights at White Sands Inn. It looks to be our kind of place - low key, not too touristy. It has a kitchen and a BBQ. We'll stop at a store and stock up and mostly cook for ourselves. This place is in Marathon, FL which is about mid way in the keys - that way we can travel down to Key West one day - and explore Big Pine another day - and just relax.

I'll post some pics along the way - it's my goal to find some out of the way Cuban food. I've looked and not found much for recommendations, but my husband and I can always seem to find the divey out of the way good and cool places so we'll see.

Oh and I hate flying so tomorrow will suck.... It will be a long day with 3 plane changes. Then get the car and drive to downtown Miami - 3 nights at the Hilton where it costs $28.00 a night just to PARK.

We're not really big city people - but of course we'll make the best of it - and I did discover that some peers of mine from another Airline will be there - so it will all be good.

Will check in from Florida!

Tubbs Hill Hike today

2010-03-13T18:08:00.001-08:00

Tubbs Hill today - 2 mile loop. Very easy for sure. But so beautiful. I will do this hike again tomorrow.

Snow flakes today -

2010-03-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

It has been such a nice mild winter - makes the last one drift out of memory - but I was looking for some photos today and ran into this one - it was taken 3/10/2009......

More Hiking - and the car is out

2010-03-07T20:47:00.001-08:00

Got the car out this weekend. Was nice to see it and drive it. I've missed it! Kyle and I went hiking - we were going to do Tubbs Hill, but decided to show Kyle Mineral Ridge. Was a nice day for Mom and Son. We took the car with top down and after the hike stopped at O'Shays and had a beer and something to eat. Then Sunday my Husband wanted a hike too - so Mineral Ridge again! Another great day. We met an aquaintance of ours on the trail and he recommended Rich Landers hiking book. We stopped at Hastings on the way home and picked it up. Great book with lots of hikes and we have a bunch marked - bring it on!!! Kyle and his friend Max hiked Mineral Ridge today too and these are some of the excellent pics he took. Oh and watched the Zags tonight - they won - GO Zags!

Hiking our local area

2010-02-27T16:53:00.000-08:00

In an effort to get moving more, and because it was a beautiful day, and because we have not explore the area in which we live enough, I googled North Idaho Hikes this morning and came up with the Mineral Ridge Loop Trail. Going to try to find a local hike we can do on the weekends when we aren't off playing somewhere else.

The trail head for this is about 3 miles off I90 from the Wolf Lodge Exit - so not far to get to.

The first link that came up for this hike said that it was 3.3 miles and that the elevation change was minimal and that it was an easy hike. I knew where the trailhead was, but we hadn't hiked it before - I should have thought about it a little more and would have realized it was a RIDGE which means hiking up. It was up, up, up. I hate climbing up, but with stops to rest it was ok.

I admit I whined a bit about going up hill. So the first 2 1/2 miles go up. Once at the top, it's a mile back down. The trail uses switchbacks, so you are not going straight up by any means. I wish I had brought my trekking poles or walking stick. Will make sure and do that from now on.

The view from the top was very nice, although you get I-90 as part of the view. You then hike along the top for a ways and then out on the western point of the ridge where there is a beautiful view of the lake.

We did this hike in about 1 hour 45 minutes. It was just about the right length and difficulty for me and I really enjoyed it. Once we got to the top the sun came out and it really did feel like spring in North Idaho!

Am I going to become one of THOSE?

2009-12-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

Am I going to become one of those bitter people? This is the second Christmas without my Mom. My Dad is gone, and my Sister Angie is gone. I heard a song (Silver Bells) from my childhood the other day that brought me down - I burst into tears with longing of that time - the last Christmas we had as an intact family...... Oh it was so sad and I had such regret!!! I'm not into Christmas and just want it to be over. If the economy wouldn't have been so bad this year I would have been ready to take a vacation during Christmas - and do non-christmasy things - but we're going to Vegas in Feb and couldn't do both.

Don't get me wrong - I do love my life and I have much to be thankful for. I have a good job, a great husband, a loving Son. I have my Sister - that last link to that family. I am healthy and have a nice home. But sometimes just remembering and thinking about the past - makes me so sad. And I miss those people so much.

So what do you do? Wallow in it a bit sometimes and get it out of your system? That is what I tend to do. Sometimes it just feels good to cry and miss my Dad and Sister and now my Mom. And to tell myself that it isn't fair. That I didn't get enough time - that I didn't get to tell them everything I wanted. My Dad and especially my Sister didn't get to know Kyle.

I hope someday to have grandchildren - and I think that will complete that circle. Christmas time will change again - looking through a child's eyes instead of a jaded, wounded bitter old person...... that's what I'll look foward to.

I'm Back -

2009-12-15T21:48:00.001-08:00

Won't go into detail - but had a little bit of strange stuff that happened in relation to my blog - so I freaked out and took everything down - but decided I do not want to do that - not going to let it happen.

I have alot of stuff to talk about and so I'm going to continue!!!

More to come.....

I Did It!!!

2009-11-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

What did I do? Well in August I hiked to Grinnell Glacier in Glacier National Park - why is that a big deal? Well because it was over 7 miles, but it was a 1600' elevation change in 3.5 miles!!!! UP UP UP! I can out walk many - on flat ground. Uphill? UGHHHH. First of all I smoked for many many years. It isn't so much my legs that cause a problem it's my breath - I can't keep it....

Anyway our friends Wendy and Mike and my husband and I had long been wanting to do this hike. In the last few years we have been going to Glacier together at least once a year. We had been going on the 'cheap' weekends because we like staying at the old lodges and they can be expensive. When you go at those off times, the park is less populated, sometimes the boats are done for the year etc. This year we were determined to do the Grinnell Glacier hike and we wanted to take the boat to cut down on the already long hike. So we booked way early and booked lake facing rooms at Many Glacier for 2 nights in August.

I have to say this trip was in the back of my mind all summer. Through our trip to Yosemite and our trip to the Redwoods. Why? Because of the hike! Could I really do it? I worried and fretted about it. I hoped for bad weather maybe to keep us in the lodge. Maybe I'd have some injury I would use as an excuse..... It all crossed my mind. And I even said it out loud a couple times - told our friends I didn't think I could do it. Keep in mind that Mike and Wendy are 7-8 years younger than us! Have never smoked etc.... sure no problem for them....

I decided I needed trekking poles. We ordered them online from REI and went to Spokane to pick them up - I had no idea if they'd really help.... I had my hiking boots - had barely used them, but got some good smart wool socks. We took our backpacks and made our plans for carrying cameras, water and some protein bars etc. We were ready to go!

We arrived at Glacier - and Many Glacier Hotel - LOVE that place. This was the first time we had lake facing rooms - and I'm not sure I'd pay the extra to do it again. We didn't have a balcony - the rooms on the other side are just as nice, and we've always had adjoining and a balcony. We settled in, had some drinks and dinner and then off to bed - up early to the hike!

I did finally resign myself to the hike and then lookout! Was ready and wanting to do it. It looked like rain and we had all the good gear so off we went. Boat, hike, boat and off to the real hike. It took me some time - I had to rest often, but all the better to check out the scenery. It was so beautiful. I just trudged and trudged. Kept going one foot in front of the other. The scenery just really made up for all of it!

Ted, Mike and Wendy were just fantastic - never pushing me, always telling me to take my time and do whatever I needed to do. There is a last little part of the hike I think maybe 1/4 mile that is just fricken straight up - switch backs to help - I guess many people don't do that part - WHAT??? I knew about it - had read up and there was no way I was not going to do that final piece and get the REWARD of the glacier itself. And OHHHH was it worth it.

Going down..... As hard as going up was I thought going back down would be a breeze - NOT. 1600' elevation change down is hard too. My trekking poles were invaluable going downhill. They kept me from falling many many times. My toes were pushed into the toes of my shoes and were really hurting by the end of the hike (update - I lost a toenail on my left foot about 3 weeks ago - from that hike!). It did start to rain on us the last bit of the hike - but the feeling at the end of it was sublime. I was tired, sweaty, wet, sore - but elated. I had brought a little milk type carton of wine and we passed it around while waiting for the boat - sighhhhhh.... I did it.

This is one of the most physically demanding things I've ever done - I am out of shape and admit it - I HATE to exercise, even when it's disquised as recreation. Maybe if I had pushed myself when I was younger I'd be better off now - maybe not. I guess it's never too late to do something you want to do. I wanted to do this hike and I did it. I feel much more confident to do more hikes now and at 48 years old I think that is a good thing.

There are other hikes in Glacier that are longer, but flat - I look forward to doing those - really next year I want to do the hike to Granite Park Chalet - 7.5 miles one way. Spend the night and a shorter hike out the next day. It's long, but you are already starting basically from the top - so pretty flat - I think I can handle that now!

The 70's!!!!

2009-11-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

OK - went to my 30th class reunion in August in Hamilton Montana. I had the BEST possible High School experience that I think anyone could. It was a small school. Not too clique-ee. By the time we were Seniors everyone pretty much got along and could hang out together.

I did not grow up in Hamilton. Still to this day, I don't completely feel like I belonged there because many of my classmates went to school together for ALL 12 YEARS! Can you imagine? I think that is the coolest thing, and I have to say I was so excited when my son graduated from Post Falls High and he was a 12 year-er (he didn't get why I thought that was so cool).

I later in life found out I was a Bitterrooter because I was conceived there. We moved to Deerlodge so I wasn't actually born in the 'root. We then moved to Oregon and then Idaho, so it wasn't until my Freshman year that I moved to Hamilton. I had gone to 6th, 7th and 8th grades in Coeur d' Alene and there were so many people! I loved visiting Hamilton in the summer so wanted to go to High School there. It was a very tough decision to leave my Mom and Sisters and go to Hamilton with my Dad and Stepmom.

Since the reunion a bunch of us have found each other on Facebook. It has been a complete blast from the past. Finding people you forgot about is a very strange thing. I don't have my yearbooks - that's a problem. Don't thumb through them now and then which reminds you of people. I didn't take alot of pics back then - no digital you know. But a few of my friends have posted pics from those long ago days. Oh my -

The one on the far left is me -

What prompted me to post this tonight was something one of our classmates posted on Facebook.

" it's a complete 1970's Jeans Fashion Show Flashback : ) Mel's Ditto's (they made everyone's tush look sweet) Cindy's Windowpanes and Kim's H.A.S.H. Star jeans : ) Love it!"

As we get older I think we tend to forget how things were when we were younger. We think that WE didn't have brands and certain things that we had to wear - well we did...... we had the drama, we had the peer pressure and we had the agonizingly old parents. It changes but it all stays the same....

more to come....

Thanksgiving - and I am Thankful

2009-11-17T20:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was extremely difficult last year. My Mother passed away on October 24th. For years now, Thanksgiving and Christmas had been at my house since I have the only Grandchild. My Mom really really enjoyed not cooking any longer and while I would stress myself out a bit worrying if it was all ok, it usually was and I loved hearing my Mom rave about my food.

I looooovvve food and love to cook. But I know I got that from my Mom and then from her Mom too. My Gramma was an excellent cook and My Mom was too. My Mom worked full time when we were growing up but we didn't get fast food often or eat out that much. My Mom or Gramma usually cooked.

So anyway, last year was a disaster. We were all sad, and my food really was not good. I bought a huge turkey and it took too long to cook and was just yucky. Gravy was bad... Ughh

Well this year I have a new enthusiasm. I figure that now Mom is watching and we are all more settled with her being in a better place with plenty of loved ones. So I'm actually excited to cook this year. And it shows - since I have everything I need already.

I enjoy cooking for my Sister - she was the baby and she just never really cooked much. She spent quite a few years in Georgia and they ate differently for Thanksgiving there and so she missed our Western Thanksgiving traditional food. At least what we consider traditional. Roast Turkey with bread stuffing (lots of sage and onion and celery), mashed potatoes and gravy, jellied cranberry, rolls, corn, green bean casserole, candied yams. I'm adding cranberry orange bread, ambrosia and a turtle pumpkin pie this year.

My employees are taking Friday off so I'm going to take Wednesday off - that way I can really take my time prepping.

Once the day comes I'll get up and get the bird ready, stuffed and in the oven. The rest of the day will fall into place. My Sister will come over. We may have a beer or glass of wine. Maybe watch some football - but often times we end up popping in Christmas Vacation! If it's cold enough we'll have a fire.

I hope we will all enjoy the day and not be too sad. Mom wouldn't want us to be sad. She'd want us to enjoy (she once told me she loved to cook for me and watch me eat because I enjoyed it so much!).

I'm thankful for my Husband, Sister, Son. And the many many friends I have. And for my work Family too. I'm thankful that the company I work for is hanging in there in this economy. We usually enjoy a little something at Thanksgiving and a little something more at Christmas time - but this year it won't come. Still I'm thankful to be working and looking forward to things getting better.

I'm thankful for all my Mom taught me - including cooking. And I'll put my all into it for her!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Me smart - you dumb... duhhhh

2009-09-16T20:33:00.001-07:00

So I have a link to Huckleberries online - you can see it there on the right. I post - sometimes I get all fired up - and I have gotten better about not posting in anger - or just going off on a rant.

I try to really think about what got me fired up, and why. It has been good for me - because my initial reaction is to react and sometimes that isn't the best. There are some VERY sharp liberals over there - and they will rip you to shreds and spit you out very quickly. So what's the problem? My opinon counts for something right? I'm not an idiot. I read, and interact with the world around me so I should be able to hold my own with the liberals right?

WRONG. Why? Because libs use 5,000 words to your 1. They LOVE to discount you - slash your achilles in one quick swipe. How do they do it? They instantly call you stupid, redneck, idiot, racist, bigot, not well traveled, not well read.

There are some things I really like about our new President. I don't particularly like his policies, but I love the way he speaks, I like that he smokes, and drinks beer and the latest - that he called Kanye West a Jackass! Those things make him REAL to me! But what I don't like now is that if I don't agree with him - his policies then I'm racist.... To me that is a big step backwards.

One of the biggest problems I see with libs - and really a better definition is progressives - is that they are so superior. They can't fathom that someone thinks differently than they do - and if so it must be some flaw. Lack of education or world experience that they've had. If they can just get to you - somehow they'll make you see the light.

They will also jump right to the 'you heard it from Rush, Beck, Faux News......" and if you say you didn't - it's your own opinion based on your life experiences and education they will say "you shouldn't have opinions based on those things - you must see the bigger world like we enlightened have" - which again means "you dumb me smart - duh"

So why do I hang out there? Because I do find some very intelligent debate there. It isn't just a free for all - DFO reigns people in and keeps his site from becoming an echo chamber and I really appreciate that. Sometimes I feel myself backing off from the really political stuff because I have somewhat of a thin skin and I can't take some of the jabs. But I'm always reading, and gaining knowledge - alot of times the 'libs' are just enforcing my thinking (that, I'm sure, would NOT make them happy!)

I've also been there long enough to feel like I have made friends there. I gave some precious hucks to one of the contributors there to make some bbq sauce and he gave me some beer. I love Cindy Hval - she is a very gifted writer who has made me cry with her writing, there are others who have really made me think about things and I guess it is just a community that I like.

Global Warm... I mean Climate Change... I mean $$$!

2009-06-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

And so it starts and where will it end.....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090608/ap_on_re_us/us_climate_bill_cost

The money trail of 'Global Warming' (oh yeah I forgot, since we don't seem to be warming any longer, the name is now 'Climate Change') will be HUGE. Many people will become rich - all while we have the audacity and ego to think that puny little us have the power to change our climate, the Sun? That we alone created the change and then also have the the ability to change it again? And with money? Simply charging people to do what they've been doing will certainly fatten the coffers of many, we will ALL pay more for everything - because many, many will simply pay and pass on the cost.

But never fear - if your family makes under $42,000 a year you will get a rebate to help pay for the rise in your power bills. You would get back between $161-$359. This in comparison to the rise in price they are predicting to be $98-1600. Sweet.

I am so disgusted with this whole Global Warming, Climate Change thing I could gag. The way we are being manipulated is epic. The name will contiune to change as needed, but the money trail will be wide and long.

My Blog Runneth Over.....

2009-05-03T16:49:00.001-07:00

OK - I have been busy the last two weekends. I have tried to document our Europe trip that we took almost a year ago. So now if you go through my blog you will be where I left off. If you want to start from the beginning, go here:

That will take you to the beginning.

If you had been following along before and want to continue from where I last left off, go here

Previous

You'll want to go to NEWER POSTS from there, otherwise you'll be at the end. And I'm not even finished. What a fun thing its been though. I'm reliving the trip, reminding myself of what we did, when and where.

It is a travelogue so if you like the family whipping out the slide show, enjoy. If you have plans to go to London, Scotland or Ireland you might get some good info from it all.

The last bit......

2009-05-03T16:27:00.001-07:00

Up in the morning fairly early, had breakfast and then JR, Carol and Ted and I got the first bus back in to Dublin. Tony and Pat, Wendy and Mike had taken some clothes to be washed and needed to wait for the place to open.

We put our luggage in a huge locker at the bus station and then wandered Dublin some more. I was looking for a souvenir for myself some earrings or something. I never did find anything. We, of course, ended up in a few pubs and had some lunch too. We stayed at a hotel near the airport this last night. In the morning we took off for London at 7:30 am then a flight out of london at 12:05 pm. Me, Ted, Mike and Wendy stayed in Seattle since our flight got in there at 11:00 pm and we didn't want to drive home at 1:00 am. The next morning we headed to the airport early and got an earlier flight than booked. We were home - on Saturday.

What a wonderful trip. I've relived it all writing and posting here. I had a craving for some sun, Guinness and a Castle or two today for sure...

Won't ever forget this trip. The next trip we are all planning together is in July on the motorcycles, over to Oregon and down the coast to the Redwoods. After that we'd like to do a week long Western Caribbean cruise. Hopefully we will always like traveling together and I hope we will all be able to for many years to come.

Rock of Cashel, Hore Abbey and Cahir

2009-05-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Up in the morning to a great breakfast and then off to explore. Ted and I took off up the hill to the castle.

Then we walked down to Hore Abbey - had to kind of go over a fence as there isn't any real public access to it.

We then went back in town and caught the bus to Cahir. It was a short bus ride, and seems so strange to be on a bus going down the road and suddenly see a castle out in a field.

Cahir castle was cool and right in the middle of town.

This castle is very well preserved and very cool. After we checked out the castle, we took off to go find the Swiss Cottage. We took off on a path - beautiful. Woodland, golf course, river - but we never did find the Swiss Cottage! Somehow we missed it. We needed to head back to catch our bus.

We got back to Cashel and almost immediately ran into Carol and JR. JR had discovered a beer garden, so in we went. What a wonderful late afternoon we spent. Sitting outside, Guinness, good conversation, the sun.....

We had dinner at the same place as the night before - good stuff. Then it was off to bed. Tomorrow, back to Dublin and then to London and then home :(

Off to Cashel!

2009-05-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

We went back in to London with our luggage and got a bus ticket to Cashel. These were pretty inexpensive, and could actually be used to take a side trip too. Mike and Wendy wanted to visit Cork, and we were going to either go with them or go to Cahir as there was a cool castle there.
The B&B we booked in Cashel was really cool as the back rooms had a view of the Rock of Cashel!
We got settled and then took off to explore the town.

It was a really cool little Irish town, just what I expected I think. You could easily walk the whole town. We stopped at various pubs and just enjoyed the beautiful day. We decided we'd tour the castle in the morning and would just wander around town until something looked good for dinner.

We had a great time exploring, and eventually found a place to eat - good food and we ate there the second night too it was so good!

Off to bed -

Dublin Day 3 - Wild Wicklow Tour

2009-05-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

We were able to catch the bus right outside our hotel for this tour. It was to be a day tour through the Wicklow Mountains and Glendalough

Caught the bus and off we went!

This tour was very relaxing and very scenic. Our tour guide really had an accent and she had lots of stories, history etc. The 'mountains' are not what we would consider mountains, or even like what we had seen in Scotland, but pretty anyway.

Lough Tay - the house back in the trees is owned by the Guinness family. They imported the white sand and with the almost black water it looks similar to a pint of Guinness!

A stop for lunch - sorry didn't take the photo till we were done! Fish and chips.

Glendalough was beautiful, amazing, awe inspring. So old - so much history and so beautiful. We looked at the chapel and gravestones, crosses etc and then took a hike to a lake. What a beautiful day. At the end, we got a shot of Jameson whisky for our troubles.

We caught this bus near our hotel, then once on our way we were told it wouldn't be dropping us off at the same place - WHAT? Anyway our guide had the bus driver do it anyway since we weren't told. This was our last night, so we all kind of split off to get something to eat. We got some stuff from the grocery store, and had some beers down in the lounge. Another great day.

Dublin - Day 2

2009-05-03T13:28:00.001-07:00

Up the next morning, and went out the back side of the hotel to a place I had heard of for breakfast (we didn't eat at the hotel - way too expensive!) called Harry's. It was quite good and we ate there every morning in Dublin.
Ted and I wandered around the town after breakfast and then took the bus into Dublin and then did the hop on hop off bus tour. We kind of split up then, but somehow we all made it to the Guinness Storehouse tour at the same time - imagine that. I had not been drinking Guinness all along the trip. I had started with Stella as it was lighter. I found out though that it was higher alcohol so I then switched to Guinness. Guinness tastes SO much better there and now we were at the place where it was made! The tour was fun and at the end you go to the top and get your free one!
We had a couple of Guinness there and then back on the bus. We toured a bit and then decided to walk around. Temple bar area, lots of pubs etc. We ended up at the Brazen Head - Ireland's oldest pub and had something to eat. For some reason I decided I wanted to have a drinking contest with JR so we were drinking our Guinness one for one....
We hit alot of pubs - what a fun time. That is what you should do in Dublin right? It was just as I imagined it would be and so fun. I didn't beat JR - I did have a few 1/2 pints. JR said he quit because he didn't want me to be feeling bad the next day. Great times!

There was a street performer too - he was kind of scary, and standing on a box very still. As people would go by, he'd stamp on the box which made a very loud noise and scared the crap out of them. So I started messing with him and putting money in the box he had there - trying to act like I was going to sneak it in without him scaring me etc. Quite a crowd gathered around - I was done and was walking away when he stopped and pointed to me and then to his cheek - he wanted a kiss. So I went up to kiss him on the cheek and at the last minute he turned and got me on the lips! Funny. Carol immediately gave me some antibacterial stuff!

We made our way back to the hotel. Fun day and night. The next day was our tour to the Wicklow Mountains.

Here is a little sample of what it is like in the Dublin Pubs

Dublin

2009-05-03T13:00:00.001-07:00

Our first meal in Dublin....

Dublin was tricky for lodging. We wanted to stay right in the city and be able to walk or take buses etc but I could NOT find anything for us. It was hugely expensive, or there weren't enough rooms, or it was in the party party section of town.

I finally found something for us that was in Dun Laoghaire, but with the train right there to easily get into town. There was an expedia deal for stay 2 nights get one free, which made it a good deal, I think around $115 a night. It was the Royal Marine Hotel and was VERY nice. We made it to the hotel, got checked in, then headed out. We had reserved seats on a haunted bus tour of Dublin and we needed to find it! It was scheduled to leave at 10:30 pm. We headed out - found the spot, then had some time to grab something to eat. We couldn't find anything nearby, and finally ducked into a McDonalds -

The bus tour was fun. We had a long day and night - and we soon discovered that the ease of using the trains or buses were not going to work for us because they quit running at 12:30 am or so.... We got a couple cabs and headed back to our hotel.

There is a ghost in this pick - that little white circle - see it?

Our night became a little longer, as some partyers set off the fire alarm sometime in the middle of the night - OH the noise. And we didn't know what to do. We threw some clothes on and made our way outside, then heard it was a false alarm.....

St. Andrews and on to Dublin

2009-05-03T12:44:00.001-07:00

After a wonderful breakfast from Alan and Kate, we were off to St. Andrews. When we arrived, we got a great parking space near the old course, the beach and not too far from town. We all kind of headed off in different directions. We didn't have much time to spend here since we had to turn in the cars and catch our flight to Dublin. Ted and I walked along the beach, then got a coffee and sat on a bench and watched the golfers. Talked to a guy from the States for a bit. He had been golfing just about non-stop since he got there.

We met back up in the parking lot, only to discover that we had tickets on our cars. Somehow we had all missed the sign that said "Did you Pay and Display?" ughhh.

Back to the airport, turned in the cars and off we were to Dublin! We paid $340.00 total for 2 for a flight from Edinburgh to Dublin and then from Dublin to London. This was on Aer Lingus.

Redlands Country Lodge, and The Village Inn

2009-05-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

We got to Ladybank, Fife and had to call for instructions for our B&B, Redlands Country Lodge. I had picked this one out as there wasn't much else around, and I liked the looks of it. We usually wanted something right in town so we could walk to dinner etc but this one was a bit out of the way. But what a great place! And our hosts, Alan and Kate were so great. We paid abour $120 for each room and they also had a common area we could all share with chairs and a fridge, games, tv etc. Alan's other job is being in a band called The Soul Kings - just great people. Mike and Ted went off and got us some refreshments while we got settled. Alan then recommended a restaurant for us that wasn't too far away.

This was the common area

We headed off for The Village Inn for dinner!

What a cool place. Alan had called for us and reserved a table. We ordered the Guinness and wine and then what to eat. Their menu was quite big, but when I saw the Chicken Rob Roy I had to have it. Breast of chicken on a bed of haggis and Served with whisky cream sauce. I had loved that dish when I ad it in Edinburgh.

Ted decided to have the Fillet, and Mike was brave and had the Fillet Rob Roy - which included haggis.

They also brought out platters of french fries and vegetables which were cooked perfectly. This dinner was really memorable, including dessert!

I think we all have agreed that this was our best meal of the trip. While we were eating, a HUGE military tank drove by - as you can see from the photo of the place, the road wasn't wide to begin with, so the whole place shook when it went by. After our wonderful time, we headed back to our B&B. JR took the lead and was on the wrong side of the road - we at first thought he was kidding, but he wasn't moving back over - all we could picture is that tank coming back and smooshing him - luckily he got back over before anyone came the othe direction!

We sat around and told a few stories and then headed to bed. Tomorrow, St. Andrews and then back to the airport, turn in the cars and fly to Dublin!

Huntly Castle

2009-04-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

We stopped here on our way to Ladybank. JR took us down some lane that looked as if cars didn't belong! And was right next to a school. We thought for sure he was lost and didn't know where he was going. Next thing you know we are at this castle! We were the only ones there and the people working there were so nice. They had a little dog and we visited with them. This castle was cool and the day was so beautiful.

The rest of the day was driving through the countryside. We went through little towns where the houses had thatched roofs. Lots of fields and sheep. Everything green and pretty. Jr needed to stop and get pics of the sheep. The babies were so cute.

This stuff is called Gorse and it was everywhere - Scotland and Ireland. It made things really pretty with all the yellow flowers. Here is some more info on it:

Gorse

On to our final night in Scotland and one of the best nights of the trip!

My Blog Runneth Over...

2009-04-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

OK - I have been busy the last two weekends. I have tried to document our Europe trip that we took almost a year ago. So now if you go through my blog you will be where I left off. If you want to start from the beginning, go here:

That will take you to the beginning.

You'll want to go forward from there, otherwise you'll be at the end. And I'm not even finished. What a fun thing its been though. I'm reliving the trip, reminding myself of what we did, when and where.

It is a travelogue so if you like the family whipping out the slide show, enjoy. If you have plans to go to London, Scotland or Ireland you might get some good info from it all.

The Pines - in Elgin

2009-04-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Elgin. We stayed at the Pines - a very nice B&B. Here's how I chose where we stayed. We wanted at or under $130 a night. We wanted all ensuite (with baths). We wanted breakfast. We also wanted to be within walking distance from pubs, restaurants etc. We wanted to be able to get to our destination, unpack, and walk to the pubs etc. This place was a little iffy on walking distance from the middle of town, but it ended up being just fine.

Our room at The Pines

Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness

2009-04-26T21:11:00.001-07:00

I love castles. All we visited were different and beautiful. I did not get tired of visiting them. We bought a heritage pass which was 58 pounds for 2. That was good to get us in to most castles etc in Scotland and it paid for itself so we weren't always having to dig for money.

This castle was on the water and beautiful. The weather was grand for us. We did not see the Loch Ness monster, but from what we understand you must have Scotch Whiskey in order to see it and we had none with us.

Eilean Donan Castle....

2009-04-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

This castle is one of the most photographed in the world. It is beautiful and with the wonderful weather we were having it was a treat to visit and photograph, plus reading the history etc. always great.

We decided to eat here - I ordered a salad, which was very good. Ted decided to have a burger - well a Scottish burger I guess. We waited and waited and waited. Everyone else got their food and still no burger for Ted. I went and checked on it - it was coming, just be patient.... We finally found out why it took so long when it did arrive. The burger was like a giant meatball with a bun around it! It took that long to cook! I guess they hadn't figured out that if you squish the burger it will cook faster - oh well Ted said it was good!

My Salad

Ted's meatball hamburger!

On the way to Elgin...

2009-04-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

The next night we were going to spend in Elgin. So we were on our way with stops planned. The next stop was the Glenfinnan Monument. What a beautiful place. We hiked up the hill for the ultimate view.

You may have seen this in the Harry Potter movies.

Wendy checking out what's under that kilt!

Back on the road again. The scenery was amazing.

The dinner search......

2009-04-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

Really the only dilema we ever had on the trip was where to eat. With 8 of us, I think we may have all had different expectations for dinners or breakfasts or whatever. Maybe one couple just wanted a pub, drink a few beers and then have dinner, maybe someone else wanted something a little more fancy etc etc. We did read that there was a place on the water that was good, so we wandered down - it was still pre dinner time. We checked it out and then said lets find a pub for a drink - but then we continued to look for dining options. We checked out another place we had read about - checked their menu, and even made a reservation - there was a wait - and then cancelled and moved on. We finally split into 2 groups. Mike, Wendy and Ted and I wanted something light and with a view of the Loch - maybe even be able to sit outside because it was so nice. We ended up here.

This is the scotish version of shrimp cocktail!

Here is our view

We headed back to our B&B

Carol and I talked about buying this place - we wouldn't replace the e, it would be the loung bar.....

The next morning EARLY, Ted was wide awake. As soon as he heard me stir at all he said he was outta there with the camera. He got some beautiful shots.....

Our B&B

There was a trials bike race going on in Ft. William. I love trials bikes and they look so funny with no seats. They went right past our window in the morning for their race.

We LOVED Ft William. We would go back there and spend a week. We'd take a car and just explore and come back to the Buccleuch each night. It was heavenly there. Unfortunately we were only there for one night so after a really nice breakfast at the B&B we were off.

A Stop for lunch

2009-04-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Stopped for lunch here - good food!

Then into the Highlands - ahhhhh

We live in beautiful country, but the Highlands were breathtaking. I'm sure being there in spring made it even better. And having the kind of weather we did helped so much. We knew we were enjoying unseasonably good weather, we didn't realize how much until a few days later.....

Ted in the Highlands!

The Highlands without Ted!

We arrived at Fort William for the night - what a beautiful town!

This was the view from our room at our Bed and Breakfast. All the rooms were very nice.
It was called Buccleuch Guesthouse and the rooms were all ensuite (with baths) and they had free wireless internet!

Scotland Countryside

2009-04-26T18:43:00.000-07:00

We headed to the airport to pick up our cars. We had decided that Mike and JR would drive. Ted and I would ride with Mike and Wendy and JR and Carol, Pat and Tony would be in the other car. JR would take the lead and we'd follow. We didn't get gps - but we had some maps and knew which way we wanted to go so off we went! First stop was to be the William Wallace Monument near Stirling. Driving was definitely a challenge. First being on the wrong side of the car, then the wrong side of the road. We had our maps, and us girls in the back tried to gently give some clues about turns etc coming up but we didn't want to make Mike nervous or uptight, so we kept it fairly quiet. Apparently in the car ahead of us it was a bit different. They had the navigator in the front with 1 map and then a different map in back with the girls and the maps not quite matching up! I picture them with loud rock and roll music playing and lots of yelling "turn right, no turn left" while in our car, we have classical music playing and Wendy and I reading a book, telling Mike he's doing a good job. Really once we go the hang of it we really just needed to watch for road number changes, and figure out ahead of time which way we needed to come out of the roundabouts.
Soon we were pulling into the William Wallace Monument - nice! The parking lot was empty! We must have arrived right before it opened - what timing we have. Then Wendy and I made the classic Vacation joke - "sorry folks, parks closed - Moose should have told you out front". So we get out of the cars and guess what - it IS closed....... They were doing some construction or something.... we were bummed, but onward we went.

The closest we got to the William Wallace Monument

Next stop Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle had the BEST gargoyles. We had fantastic weather and just a beautiful castle.

Thoughts on Edinburgh

2009-04-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

I loved this city. Smaller than London, lots of history. The people were all very nice. I did shop a bit on the Royal Mile and bought 2 wool scarves. I thought that would be a nice souvenir that I could enjoy in our North Idaho winters.

I could have spent some more time in Edinburgh. There was much more to explore.

We were now off in a bus shuttle to the airport to get our rental cars. The next few days would be filled with driving through the Highlands of Scotland!! On the wrong side of the road driving.....

Bus tour of Edinburgh

2009-04-26T18:23:00.001-07:00

Next, we took a bus tour - the hop on hop off kind - and you can ride it all you want in 24 hours. It is a really nice way to see the city.

A shot of our flat in Edinburgh

Our last night in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Continued

2009-04-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

The next morning we met Mike and Wendy for breakfast - our first real Scotish breakfast and Mike and I wanted the real deal. This is the traditional breakfast in all its glory. There is black or (blood) pudding, haggis, 1 egg, sausages, ham, beans with mushrooms, potatoes, toast, tomatoes, toast and a potato scone. I did eat the black pudding - I wouldn't say I was crazy about it, but it wasn't bad.

Mike contemplating eating the rest of his black pudding.

Next we were off to Edinburgh Castle

The canon goes off at 1:00 pm every day. (The Scots were smart - they do it at 1 because then just 1 canon ball!)

Onward to Scotland

2009-04-26T16:57:00.001-07:00

Time to take the train to Edinburgh. We tried to incorporate all modes of transportation on the trip, so decided we'd do a train for this piece. We left from Kings Cross station near our hotel on May 5th at 9:00 am. It was a total of 51 pounds for two tickets. We purchased these well in advance online. The tickets cost more the closer to the departure date, so we saved considerably. It was a 4 1/2 hour journey.

We arrived in Edinburgh and walked to the Flat we rented. It had 4 bedrooms - we chose the ones we wanted and got settled. We had a full kitchen and a washer and dryer. We did use them those 2 days - was nice to have all clean laundry again and not be carrying around dirty clothes.

We took off walking to the Royal Mile to explore..... We of course found a pub and something to eat. This was one of my best meals - chicken breast stuffed with Haggis with a white whiskey sauce. Ohhhh it was good.

I loved the closes along the Royal Mile - they were cool looking, and kind of spooky at the same time.

We took the tour of Mary Kings Close. The history of Edinburgh is amazing. Really enjoyed it. Some of our group did a couple of walking tours of the Royal Mile and they thoroughly enjoyed them.

This is one of my favorite pics from the whole trip - we call it the Album cover!

Random thoughts and pics of London

2009-04-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

London was big, bustling, busy, clean. The transportation I think is amazing. You can get anywhere quite easily. We did a lot of walking. That's good because of all the food I ate and the beer I drank.

I'm not a big city person, and when I'm on vacation I don't really want to shop. The architecture and history was wonderful. I know we didn't scratch the surface and there is much more to see, but I think we got a good overview of London.

It is a big city, so things were expensive. Pints were about $9.00. I don't remember the exact costs of the food, but it was probably about double what you'd pay here for a pub meal. We usually ate twice a day on the whole trip. Once we were out of London and staying in B&Bs we had our breakfasts included.

The view from our hotel

Our last meal in London

2009-04-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

We found a place near our hotel called La Porchetta. It didn't have much atmosphere - kind of like a cafeteria. Great big long tables that everyone just shared. But the food ended up being the best we had in London. It was Italian food and oh so good.

The last of London....

2009-04-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

We decided to visit the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square. There was a concert going on and it was a lively scene. We just walked around - visited the outside of Westminster Abbey.

I LOVE gargoyles

Tower of London

2009-04-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

The last day in London, some of us visited the Tower - JR went on another walking tour, which he really enjoyed. We all met back up later. The Tower of London was very interesting, a lot of very grisly history there.

We purchased our tickets online so we could get in faster and not have to wait in line. Then we got there and found out it had done us no good whatsoever to buy them online ahead of time. Luckily we met a very nice tour guide in line and he let us tag along with him to the front of the line. It was very busy that day so it helped us to get a jump on some of the things we wanted to see like the crown jewels. I believe tickets were around 15 pounds.

Stonehenge and Bath

2009-04-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

We took a tour of Stonehenge and Bath. We caught a bus not too far from our hotel. It was a little cold and blustery that day, but not bad at all. We really did luck out weather wise in London. We had a little bit of rain a couple of times - once on our first day - we ducked into a pub until it passed and the second time when we were stuck in traffic on the double-decker bus - we just hopped off and into a pub! Not a bad way to wait out the rain in London for sure.

So off to Stonehenge. The countryside was beautiful. Spring was a little further along over there than here.

Stonehenge is a sight to behold in person. Of course you can't get very close - but it is amazing.

After Stonehenge we traveled to Bath. We did a little self guided tour of the Baths and then wandered around the city. Ducked into a little sandwhich shop for lunch. A very pleasant day.

Stonehenge / Bath tour was 90 pounds for 2 people.

2009-04-26T13:33:00.001-07:00

More of London

We did a Haunted London Walking tour on our second day - here is some video of Gordon our guide.

And later in the tour we saw this!

The Great Adventure - London

2009-04-26T11:33:00.001-07:00

We all met in Seattle on the 30th bright and early in the morning and headed to the airport. We were all so excited. We had been planning and planning for over a year and now it was here. We had our passports, various tickets, confirmations, reservations, money. We had agonized over how much to pack, what to bring. What would the weather be like. Would it rain on us the whole time. My husband and I ended up with Osprey luggage. They are a soft type of luggage, wheeled, but can also be worn as a backpack. We got 2 of the 22" size, which could be put in overhead if needed, although we checked ours on all our flights.

We also took two smaller backpacks as carryon and I bought a Fossil crossover bag for our passports, money, credit cards etc. I did bring a laptop with me - and we had a pay as you go cell phone, although we only used it a couple of times.

Long flight to London. We flew on Air Canada from Seattle to Toronto, then to London. The total price for 2 round trip tickets was $1130.94. We were happy with that fare, it was when prices were quite high because of fuel prices. Our fuel surcharge per person was $140.00. We also had to get to Seattle. We got round trip tickets on Alaska for $79.00 each.

We arrived in London and took the tube to the closest station to our hotel and then hoofed it. We were HERE!!! We got off the tube at Kings Cross. Had a little trouble finding the hotel, but called them and got on the right track. For the price we paid for the hotel we were very happy.

Here's a shot of the hotel in London. Nice room and great price. We bought oyster cards for the tube - you pay 15 pounds (I think that's what I remember) and then you load up some pounds on it. Then you use it and it will always give you the best price through the day as you use it. At the end of our time in London, we turned the cards in, and were refunded the deposit and any funds left on the card. It was a great deal in my opinion. We did walk a lot though too. After we settled in to our rooms and freshened up etc we took off walking. We got a bit of rain so ducked into our first of MANY pubs during the trip. I LOVED the pubs. They were always so inviting, warm, cozy. And the beer was always good.

Here's Ted at our first Pub in London.

And some of the others we visited that day .....

Time to eat - our first meal in London - pub food of course.

Shepards Pie and Fish and Chips! And of course Guinness!

The Great Adventure

2009-04-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time (April 29th to be exact) we left with 6 of our friends on a great adventure. It was always my plan to do some type of trip report on it, but here it is almost a year later and I haven't done it.

So now almost a year later I'm going to try to get some of it documented here.

For us, it all started here.....

St. Patricks Day 2007 at the Beacon. That was when Ted and I were invited to go on a trip with the others in the pic. The plan was to go in April or May 2008. The destination was London, Scotland and Ireland. Of course as soon as we were invited, we were in. We started saving our $$ - and ended up saving a bit more than originally planned as the dollar did its thing!

Our friend JR was the main planner, but we all had our input. There were certain things all of us wanted to see and do. We had traveled together before on small trips. Weekends, a few days in Vegas, stuff like that. We always got along fine and had a good time. We all made a deal on this trip - we'd have a general itinerary, but all were welcome to do something else, go off on their own, whatever.

For the next year, we watched fares on flights, deals on packages, researched hotels, B&Bs, had and itinerary, then changed it, then changed it again. We found our flights in February, so that nailed down our dates. We'd leave for Seattle on Tuesday April 29th, spend the night there, get up and get a flight to London. We'd return to Post Falls Idaho on May 17th.

For me, planning a trip is almost as fun as going. I love researching, looking for prices, reviews, looking at photos online. I wanted to do what I could to contribute to the trip, so I kind of took on the lodging. We agreed on a general top price that we would pay per night, which helped. We knew that London would be hugely expensive, but luckily, since 3 of us work for an Airline we were able to get a deal at a Holiday Inn in London for $110 per night. After that, I just continued to book our lodging, one place at a time. We ended up with some pretty fantastic places and my wonderful friends usually let us pick which room we wanted first at the B&Bs since I did the bookings. I'll put some of the pricing here - it's been a year and I don't know how much prices may have changed with the economy, but it may help people get an idea of costs. We did try to pay for all that we could before we left. Also, for us, we did NOT charge things - we saved our money for this trip. We didn't want to come home, with bills facing us. Since we had a year, we just socked away everything we could. We sold a couple of toys we had, and we did use our tax refund and the stimulas money too!

We did as much online ahead as we could. The itinerary was set.

April 29th, Spokane to Seattle
April 30th, Seattle to London
May 1, Check into our hotel in London - maybe a walking tour, get settled
May 2, Double-decker bus tour, sight see etc
May3, Stonehenge and Bath
May 4, Sight see, pub visits etc.
May 5, Train to Edinburgh - get settled, walk the Royal Mile visit castle etc
May 6, Edinburgh, more sight seeing eating, drinking etc.
May 7, Get rental cars, load up and head to Sterling, see the Wallace Monument on to Fort William
May 8, Eilean Donan Castle, Loc Ness, Urquhart castle
May 9, Travel towards Aberdeen, then south to Dunnottar Castle then to Ladybank.
May 10, Short visit to St. Andrews, then to airport, return cars and fly to Dublin check in and get settled. Ghost bus tour that evening
May 11, Dublin - hop on hop off bus tour, Guinness storehouse tour
May 12, Wild Wicklow Tour.
May 13, Take bus to Cashel - check in to B&B. Visit the Rock of Cashel and visit town.
May 14, Head to Cork and Blarney Castle
May 15, Free day - to do whatever
May 16, Head for home :(

Friends.....

2009-04-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Haven't felt too inclined to write of late. Life happening, busy etc. Last night we went to some friends house and had a little beer, some bbq, salads, smoreos and a fire. It was to celebrate my husbands 50th birthday. We had a great time. These friends of ours are something. We always have such a great time with them. We seem to have the same interests, and temperments. We laugh and laugh and laugh. We have traveled together, and so have shared memories and stories that we like reliving.

One in our group had big big news and we were all crying and happy for her. Our host showed us his latest wood working project, a beautiful kayak all hand built and something to behold.

So today - just very thankful for our friends.... Don't know what we'd do without them.

Nikki - Princess and the Real leader of this Family!

2009-03-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

Meet Nikki.

We got Nikki 14 years ago. I wanted a dog, my husband wanted a 4 wheeler - we both got what we wanted and we still have both!

Here is the lowdown on Nikki.

Howls at trains and sirens. Any time - ANY time. At 14 now her howler isn't working much any more, but she still goes through the motions - just doesn't make much sound.

She is gentle to a fault. Squirrels in the yard? No problem - go on over and have some of her food! Birds? Sure! Mice? OK. She shares her yard and food with everyone... She does bark at strangers, but doesn't mean anything by it.

She sheds. No she doesn't shed, what she does is SO beyond shedding. She is part Samyoed and they do what they call 'blow coat'. The joke in the family is that we take a bit of Nikki every where we go.

Our neighbor LOVES her. He thought her howling was 'cute'. He doesn't have a dog, but bought treats to give her through the fence, and THEN he asked if he could buy a leash and keep it at his house and take her for walks! She loves to go and so sometimes we'll go outside, or be coming back from somewhere and see Norm walking our dog....

We once accidentally left the gate open and she disappeared. She was gone for 2 days and we were beside ourselves!! Finally my husband spotted a sign up on a telephone pole and there she was. He tried calling the number and no one answered. He could tell from the background in the pic where it was taken, so went over there. Nikki was quite happy - the house was full of kids, nice fenced back yard etc. I picture her in a hammock, being fed grapes and saying 'shhh - don't tell them I'm here" We always say she was at the doggie spa.

She's 14 and that probably means we are on borrowed time with her. I don't know what we'll do without her. She has been such a great family member. She has always thought she was just a little job and wants to jump up on the bed, sofa, chair - whatever to cuddle up with you. So far her health seems fine and we are just enjoying the time we have left with her.