Projects=distraction

I'm filling up any idle time I have with some projects. One in particular I've had on my list is a collage board. Think of a modern day cork board. This will go in Sophia's room. I went to JoAnn Fabrics to collect all the articles I would need for this project. Talk about unorganized! That place was a mess. I must have walked up and down those aisles a dozen times trying to find a half dozen items. Took me awhile to decide on the fabric and then remembered I didn't know the exact size canvas I'd be using, and have no clue how to convert feet into yards. So I went up to the person behind the counter and told her to cut me a piece as long as the width of my outstretched arms. Rick later informed me that this is the Italian measurement system. As any craft store takes pride in their knowledgeable patrons, this lady looked at me in disgust and quickly informed me I'd be safe with 2 yards of the fabric.
Once home, I quickly wrapped the fabric around the canvas to make sure it fit (check), unloaded the bag with my list of materials to add to the fabric (check), painted the canvas white to make sure my old painting project didn't peak through the fabric (check), and then went to get the staple gun. The staple gun is Rick's. I should know by now to have added that to my list of supplies. So my project would have to wait until I could locate Rick, to locate the staple gun. In the evening, we went on a search: garage (nope), storage shed (nope), storage area in lower driveway (nope), trucks (nope), back to the garage to look in the cupboards (nope, but we did find all the beach toys we were looking for last week before camping, and now have duplicates of in a who-knows-where location).
So this morning I planned to go out for the staple gun. But Rick beat me to it and presented me with my own brand new staple gun, fresh from the hardware store. I will be hiding this with my other supplies that have disappeared through the years...my drill, hammer, step ladder, do-it-herself kit (which is a pink and blue tool kit, and yes he's secure enough with his masculinity to have brought numerous things out of that kit to job sites and he wasn't afraid to use them, and subsequently misplace them). So in with my other contraband goes the staple gun, once I've figured out how to use it.
So my easy project will have to wait until my next window of opportunity (i.e. Sophia's naptime). Thanks Lynn, for the project idea. Hope it's as easy as you made it look! Stay tuned for the results.

Good-bye, angel

I lost the baby. It was measuring only 8 weeks at my 10 week appointment. No heartbeat. I knew right away something was wrong, just looking at the ultrasound screen. I was already getting that sinking feeling heading to the appointment. I have been through this before, but it still breaks my heart. My Dr. said I should do some more testing to figure out why I continue to have miscarriages. I am so lucky to have Sophia, she really is a blessing. I just hope we find out the reason behind all this loss.

Lake Siskiyou

We went "camping" in the Lake Siskiyou area of Shasta City. We actually rented a cabin, but it was more like a shoebox with a bathroom. The are was beautiful though! The weather was hot, the company was fun, and I need a spa day to recuperate from chasing around Sophia. Camping isn't what it used to be now that we have a kid. Everything is so much work. Who knew dirt would be the least of my worries? Lots of things are actually hidden in the dirt...fish hooks, cigarette butts, bottle caps, straws, you name it...Sophia wanted to taste it. And boy I thought I was so smart about creating a nice dark coccoon for Sophia to sleep in at home. Little did I know that our light sleeper would not thrive in a shoebox surrounded by a bunch of Travalini's. But she actually adapted to the place in the next few nights. We were able to work out somewhat of a routine.
Here's the beautiful lake, with Mt. Shasta in the background.



We took a 4 mile hike one morning.



Sophia playing in the water.



Drove out to the headwaters, where supposedly the purest water can be found. Lots of hippies with all kinds of containers to collect water.

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Also went out to one of the oldest trout fisheries.



Tons of sweetpeas...



Trevor and Mario and crew cooked a huge dinner of chicken and tri-tip, feeding at least 60 people.



Most of the ladies were walking around with wine glasses, I walked around with Sophia and Gatorade.

July 12 on the 12th

The twelfth fell on a Sunday this month so Rick had some say in the pictures. He decided to get some revenge on all my candid shots of him, to take one of me. I was making us breakfast, in my lovely PJs, glasses, no bra, no makeup, un-brushed hair self. We had a lot of errands to run, mainly getting ready for our camping trip the following week. Sophia had a few moments to stop and smell the flowers and get some swing time in between errands. Also had to tend to the garden since it had been awhile since I watered it. The garden is really flourishing, and I collected enough veggies to make a vegetable lasagna, which I thought was pretty good; Sophia not so much. I got a rare picture of the ginseng flower. This flower blooms yearly, but for some reason the birds tend to get to it the day after it blooms. I finished up some invites, baked the lasagna, and bathed Sophia to get ready for bed.

Celebrating the 4th of July: All aboard!

We visited the USS Hornet in Alameda. Meet our tour guide.


Sophia wanted to "read" every museum exhibit description, and gave everyone that wanted to listen, her own historical recount of the pictures with lots of "see, see!" enthusiasm.

Looking out one of the portholes



Rick was just as enthusiastic about the fighter planes.



His and hers patriotic converse.



The flight deck, overlooking the SF bay.



These days, it's pretty difficult to take a picture with Sophia.