Happy Father's Day

My dad is a card. Seriously! He sometimes seems to be very serious and quiet but don't let that fool you. My dad is a champion shaggy dog story teller and perfecter of deadpan humor.

At least he thinks he's funny...ask my mom and she may have a different story.

Anyway, I was reminded recently of one of my favorite "dad stories", so I thought I'd share it with you.

Around 1989 or so, I had just recently gotten back to the good ol' US of A from Germany. I was in school, trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. Dad was working for an electric company and part of his job as plant manager was to go on business trips from time to time. Several times he got to go to Florida for those trips. Dad had taken my mom a couple times, and my little brother. This time around though, they didn't show any desire to go.

I happened to be visiting with my folks when dad said he guessed he should have asked me if I wanted to go before he turned the extra ticket back in. I said something like I would have liked to go or that would have a been fun... A short time later dad excused himself from the room. He came back saying he called and got them to leave the ticket open, and would I like to go? I debated for all of about 5 seconds (I mean, I was in school and all, and had finals coming up, and Florida was a long way away and...who am I kidding? I was stoked to go!)

So I packed my books and research papers and flew off to Clearwater, FL with my dad. While he was in meetings I studied and wrote my term paper.
I knew it was going to be a cool trip because the first thing we got to the hotel the kid who was hauling our bags up to our rooms grabbed the suitcases and said, "Follow me!" and practically started running. We followed along and he suddenly stopped along an outside railing on one of the upper floors of the hotel and pointed to the horizon. Then we saw it: the Space Shuttle was taking off across the bay! We got to see the launch and the first section of the rocket fall away. It was pretty darn cool!



Plus, the hotel had a parrot in the lobby! I'm a sucker for parrots. (Even if they are mean little turds who want to bite my finger off... but I digress.)

So we spent a couple days at Epcot,



Busch Gardens and the Ringling Mansion (wow!)



and took a dinner cruise in the harbor that went past a bunch of rich people's houses (the only one I remember was the one that at that time belonged to Hulk Hogan.) It was pretty neat getting to have my dad all to myself.

My favorite memory however, was at Epcot. See, they have these Renaissance players that wander the park and put on little mini-plays.


We stopped to watch them do a hilarious version of Romeo and Juliet. I remember that when Romeo dies they made him go lay in a chalk outline. The funniest thing, though, was that they picked my dad to be Romeo! My dad!
Little did they know that they were getting in way over their heads by doing so...

So, they feed lines to the audience members they pick to "assist" them and then the "actor" is supposed to repeat them. They were at the part where they say that Romeo spied Juliet across a crowded room and my dad spontaneously bursts into a version of "Some Enchanted Evening!" The crowd cracked up laughing and the players were trying not to laugh and the poor girl trying to wrangle my dad was looking more confused than she probably had ever been.

But it was perfect. And it was totally my dad. And it's one of my favorite dad memories ever.

My dad: who takes neat pictures and sends them to me.





My dad: who catches big fish and does not send them to me. (Thanks, Dad.)



My dad: who makes me laugh and always lets me know he loves me.



I love you, too, Dad.

AWOL

Yes, I have been absent from posting and commenting and so on for a few days. I am actually on "vacation" - which means I am not at work, but me and Secret Agent Man are taking a few days to get my actual web site set up. So I'm not around much, but I'm trying to take some time outs and make a little presence here and there.
Once we get this sucker up and running I will be back and link to the new site. In the meantime, here are a couple neat-o pictures my dad took when he and my mom drove by Multnomah Falls on their way here last week.

Memories

My dad sends me lots of pictures. He likes to take pictures, always has, and I occasionally post a couple here and there. Over the past week or so he's been sending me a lot, but they are not of the beach or the grandkids. He has been scanning in a bunch of old photos dating back from the 30's through the 80's, of family and friends. I love seeing these old pictures, even if they are of relatives, and other people, I never met. I really love this one of my Great-Aunt Neva ("Nene") and my grandmother (middle and right) with an unknown friend of theirs. Looks like it dates to the 30's sometime, judging by the clothes. I love the hats!



He also sent me these of himself and my mom that I think date around the time they got married, it looks like. My dad looks like he's got that James Dean cool thing down, and my mom was so cute!



Then he sends pictures like this.



Can you tell I was a little shy as a kid? That's my grandmother again, my dad's mom, Marion.
Thanks, dad!

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And now for something completely different... I got my first bloggy award!




From Pastor Sharon. She rocks walks Dances with God! She is one cool pastor and I would totally go to her church if only she would move here and start one!

This award was apparently started by Bookin' With Bingo. What a great way to share some of your favorite blogs! Pastor Sharon got one and is passing it along in true blogger fashion. I will pass it on as well, and maybe introduce one or two of you to some new and different blogs. I am so lame, I rarely take time to comment on their blogs, but I do read them, and about 473 (well, okay, maybe not quite) others, nearly every day.

B for Beautiful: I give this one to Beth Niquette who does wonderful, fanciful drawings and cloud "paintings", and truly has a gift for seeing fabulously unique things in our ordinary world!

I for Informative: I give to Michel at Facts Are Strictly Optional, because I learn something from her everyday. Things like how wonderful Little Debbie products are, or that there is such a thing as Bacon flavored vodka! Sometimes (frequently) I become informed just by reading the comments other people leave. Most important, though, I've learned that I do not, under any circumstances, ever want to work for the Government and live in Sudan. Thanks, Michel!

N for Neighborly: I give this one to Janie at Midlife Slices. She was one of the very first people in the blog-o-sphere to truly befriend me. Janie, seriously, you are welcome at my house for margaritas any time!

G for Gorgeous: goes to Jason at The Jason Show. He has wonderful stories of family life, great pictures, funny stuff, sad stuff. He knows how to make fun of himself while providing valuable lessons of tolerance in a not-so-tolerant world.

O for Outstanding: goes to Eileen at Sane Without Drugs. She is crazy and makes me laugh, but also makes me think about stuff. I love her photos of her flowers and cats (and everything else). Just one thing...will someone please rescue poor Fluffy?!

Now go check 'em out! I love you guys!

Just So's Ya Knows

...for all my thousands hundreds dozens er, few readers out there, I am on a temporary schedule change for the week so I don't know exactly when or what I'm going to be posting for a bit. But hopefully by the end of the week I will have some new artwork, or maybe (hey Janie!) some pendants made up to post.
In the meantime -
- another neat-o beach picture from my dad!

Thought I'd Share Some Disappointment

Cape Disappointment, actually.
These are some pictures my dad took when they were recently at Fort Columbia State Park at sunset. This is a beautiful park, and if you're ever on the Long Beach Peninsula or even in Astoria, OR, it is well worth taking the time to stop.
Or so I've been told.
I'm a terrible tourist. I so rarely do things I should. But I have talked to my dad and next time we are visiting the folks we are definitely going to go by there.
Really!

Nothin' but Nothin' (and some pictures)

I am an insomniac.
This is nothing new, I have struggled with this off and on for the past 20 years or so of my life. Usually it kind of goes in phases: lasts a couple weeks then goes away. But I find as I get older (and entering that lovely pre-menopausal stage of my life [yes, yes, I know I'm old only 44 but it's happening nonetheless...]) the sleepless stages last longer and longer. Lately I've been having to drug myself a couple nights a week just to get a few measly hours.
Of course it doesn't help that I have a cat who likes to take showers in the middle of the night (no, sadly, I'm not joking) and because he can't reach the shower knob ('cause of course, even stretched out he's only about 2 1/2 ft tall...long?) so he slams doors and yowls and hollers until someone gets up and turns on the water. He has been known to do this sometimes 3 or 4 times a night.
(And no, we can't put him outside because he is declawed (I know, I know) and we have lots of coyotes and owls in our area and I do not want him becoming a late night snack.)

Hubs sleeps thru it all takes turns with me when he can. I get up in the middle of the night most of the time because he is a very sound sleeper (lucky duck). He usually is the one to get up around 430 or so, however, if/when that darn cat starts up again or decides he's hungry, or wants in the garage or whatever he thinks he needs. He is a very demanding little critter. Kind of like a 4 year old I'm guessing.

The cat. Not the husband.

Anyway, the point of this is that last night when I was laying awake for hours and hours I had this great idea for a post today.
Except now I can't remember what it was to save my life.
And no, it wasn't about skinning cats.
Although I thought about it...
Not really.

So instead you get some lovely pictures my dad took. So it's not all bad.
I believe these were taken in The Dalles, OR when the folks took their recent trip here to visit. I added some filters via the Pioneer Woman's "action sets". (Thanks PW and Totally Rad Actions).



ps> Just in case you think I'm telling a tall tale, here's a picture of the suspect brat cat I'm talking about. He walks in there, meows and then paws at the back of the shower until you turn it on, just slightly, so the water drips on him and gets him soaked. Then he jumps out and goes in the closet and takes a tongue bath to dry off. He's so weird.

The Things Kids Say

I have no kids.
Which suits me fine, although our folks may disagree...
I do enjoy, however, tales of my brother's kids.

This brother shall be referred to as Bro #2 (he is the younger of my two brothers).
He has 3 kids, Zeke, Evelyn and Finn.

Zeke and Evelyn are quite the little characters. I'm sure Finn will be also, but as of yet he is not talking much.

My folks (or Grandma and Grandpa, for the purposes of this post) are visiting this weekend. This little anecdote comes to me via my mom (Grandma). This will show you how funny these kids are.
First let me preface by saying my brother and his wife are pretty straightforward with their kids. They don't talk baby talk to them and pretty much tell them the way it is.
For instance, when Zeke was -oh - about 3 or maybe just 4 years old, he told my mom that she was a girl because she had a 'gina, and boys don't have 'gina's, they have a penis.
Ha! I can only imagine my mom about had a stroke!
And when Zeke's momma was preggers for the 2nd time he pretty much knew all about it except for one thing that confused him, which was why couldn't his mom have a dinosaur? He finally figured he could settle for a little sister.


Any-who, apparently yesterday when the grandparents were visiting, Evelyn was playing with her baby doll. She decided that the baby was hungry so she went to get the doll and "give her the boob". (This is what Bro #2 and my sister in law says when their real baby is hungry - that he wants "the boob.")
She then proceeded to lift her shirt and pretend to nurse. At some point she must have decided that wasn't working because she told Grandma she didn't have enough boob and could Grandma try? My mom, being pretty game for a grandma, obliged by then pretending to nurse the baby doll.
At this point, Zeke came along and saw what was going on and gave Grandma a funny look and said, "Grandma...can old girls nurse babies?"
I'm pretty sure my mom just about lost it before she told him that yes, sometimes they can.
Kids!

Cold, Wet & Windy

My folks live almost as far south and west as you can get in Washington state, about 1 mile from the beach on the Long Beach peninsula. They walk to the beach a lot and my dad takes lots of pictures to send me.
And even when it's cold, wet and windy, you know what? It's still the beach and it's still pretty.