Here's the Palm Diner breakfast club minus Joe who got cut off the right hand side of the photo. Sorry Joe!

Here's Natalie, David and Beth.
 

a day in Fort Lauderdale

We all went to Ft Lauderdale today to see Lain's friend Jamie's
gorgeous condo and to ride the water taxis. Very fun day. It
included views of big homes of the rich and famous, like
Jay Leno.

The best part was a visit with Judy and Ray Schalow who spend Jan-March in nearby Lauderhill! They are enjoying semi-retirement and grandparenting near Minneapolis.

The cousins had another bonding opportunity!

Sour milk chocolate cake with glossy frosting. Richie's
favorite. But mom made it for US girls!














Uncle Victor and mom - both doin great.














Cele Packer holding her own and learning to blog.
 

Party on Thursday at Pearl's

Pearl staged a family party for Thurs 12/28. Lain & Carl
had gotten alot of goodies. Here's Lainy and I with the
plates of babba-ganoosh and hummus with pita and olives.
 

Christmas time 2006 in Florida

I flew on Christmas Eve and arrived into Miami where sister Lainy
(on the left) and her family picked me up. Meet Natalie, twelve.


















Here's my mum with her new Toyota Highlander!




















Lainy, my mom, Beth (sister's middle daughter, almost 16)
and I went to a flea market to look for purses, earrings, etc. We didn't
find what we were looking for, but we did get some things anyway.











Here's me with my sister. We ALWAYS have fun together,
being goofy and silly. And even when we're serious we have lots of laughs.

Happy Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for the two beautiful young ladies
that prepared a feast in my cozy kitchen on Wednesday. Jennifer and
Ruth ALWAYS have fun together no matter what they're doing, and
definitely had fun exploring the anatomy of this turkey as they
prepped and stuffed it. YUM! Congrats Kim and Darrin on baby
Isabel, who apparently weighs around the same as this 12.4 lb bird.















Pumpkin pies aren't that hard to make, after all. Can these girls
resist tasting the fruits of their labors?



















Somehow some aliens came in and sliced out a sliver! I do hope you
enjoy your feast today and count your many blessings. Judith

Election Week

This was a pretty exciting week for politics, with a new female Governor
elected to be Alaska's leader. I worked at Election Headquarters where
the precinct captains brought in all the gear, ballots, etc. It was cold, too,
with single digits on most days -- above zero, that is. In Fairbanks it was
double digits BELOW zero, and I have to be there for two days next week.
Here's a photo off my balcony. The water dripping down the gutter froze
solid, and the bird suet hangs just next to it. So there's a little visitor
enjoying the food despite the ice. I think it's a chickadee, but I'm not sure.
(the bird is on the bottom right of the suet cage).

This is a little alpenglow, the pink on the mountains as the sun sets -
around 4 p.m. We're losing 8 minutes of daylight every day now.















Last weekend's hike in Girdwood. It was single digits, but we yacked
alot and hardly noticed how cold it was. That was a fun weekend with
lots of girlfriends. It also included selling a couple things on e-bay.

late fall in mid October

The birch leaves are still hanging on for dear life while the snow
creeps down the mountains surrounding Anchorage. My winter
tires are getting put on today.
 

Lilly and I out for a walk to collect leaves while we babysat and played.
 

Happy Fall. Time to collect samples of all the colors and iron them in
wax paper.
 

Autumn 06 Anchorage

Ah, Autumn is Alaska. Alas, it's sad but inevitable, so why not enjoy
the natural beauty? You can see the termination dust on the Chugach.















Better view of the top 2,000 feet of the Chugach in snow with nearby
Chaney Lake near my condo.

















 

Greg and Tammy (Jackson) Heimbuck met me in Denver for dinner
tonight. What a treat to see Tammy. It's been almost 5 years since
she left Anchorage. They're a great couple enjoying Colorado Springs.

 

It was great to have a reunion with Jack Cahn, first cousin that I haven't
seen for at least 20 years. Ellie and I had lunch out with him and Barbara
and then relaxed in a coffee shop over lattes and conversation, as comfy
as cats in the sunshine. I'm grateful to have had the chance to reconnect!

 

Here's a fuller body shot of us both. Not bad for pushing the mid 50's eh?
Comment if you like it! (Boulder Creek behind us). I head to Denver later
today.

 

Boulder Sept 16, 2006

Ellie Halpern and I hikin around Boulder. We've known each
other since our Milton days and will be celebrating her birthday
tomorrow. It's early fall here in central Colorado.

 

at Rich and Jenny's in Charlotte

David and I had fun visiting Abby, Richie and Jenny.
Here's Rich crooning about the south.




















David was introduced to real finger lickin' good southern food
at the Chicken Box: fried okra, hush puppies, fried chicken, collard
and turnip greens, mac n'cheese, sweetened ice tea. He is incredulous!




















Here's David and Rich just before we hit the road back to DC on Sunday 9/3.
















Richie and Jenny, still young and in love.

the road trip to Johnson City TENN

David flew in to DC and the next day we drove our rental car out of
Union Station for a road trip to Johnson City, TENN, where I lived
in the early 80's. Below is my former "cottage," which someone
bought and greatly improved. New roof, new siding, carport, the
works. The town and countryside is every bit as lush and beautiful
as I remembered.

















We shared the driving in a red Chevy Cobalt. Dave, the burgervore.
















This is by Wautaga Lake in some of the first sunny
minutes of the trip thus far. Yippeee!! sunshine to
drive to Charlotte in. Too bad for the slow traffic and
holdups in Boone.















I had missed the beauty of Appalachia. Seeing corn grow,
horses, cattle, kudzu - it was fun to see again.