One Year Ago Today

June 12, 2009 - what a day. It was the day of Don's open heart surgery to repair the badly damaged mitral valve - 7 1/2 hours - the waiting - the worry - the ups - the desperate downs - always held steady by our son who suffered along with me, yet helped me through it all. Thank you Rusty - I love you! And the support from our daughters and their families - the visits to the hospital - the time spent there so I could have a break now and then over the next 9 days that Don spent in the hospital - I love you!

Now - one year later -

June12, 2010 - up early, but not as early as last year. Final preparations for the day - then off the a local park when Don was doing a 5K walk with co-workers. What a way to start the anniversary!!!

Don enjoying the view of the bay before the race started . . .

Don and some of his co-workers before the race . . .

And our grandson Jahn - who did the race with Grandpa . . .

Jahn-Zyel with a sign for grandpa before the race . . .

Don and co-worker Grant - who couldn't stay for the race - but came to cheer Don on . . .

Here come Don and Jahn - about to cross the finish line . . .

And Ben and gets into the race too . . .

And then it was time for a picnic in the park with all the co-workers and our daughters and their families . . .


A year ago we'd never have dreamed this would be where we are - what a day - what a year!!!!!

Geese - growing up

Another trip to the ponds - and the geese are certainly growing fast . . .

Wisteria

A while back I showed you some purple wisteria on a fence in town. Today I have the most beautiful white wisteria to share. We stopped at a farm stand to get watermelon and some salad vegetables - ended up with some cherries from California - first of the year and bags of other fresh things. Next to the parking lot was the most amazing white wisteria - and with my little pink camera in my pocket I couldn't resist.

Alphabe-Thursday

Ok - just one more meme.  This one is from Jenny - and it is such fun, and quite a challenge to come up with "S" things.  I think it is a good way to delve into our creative minds.  I came across this meme on A Garden of Daisies - both are great blogs to visit.

S is for Sunny days and a Sunny yellow kayak on the lake . . .

S is for Sleigh ride - this is the center of an amazing quilt made by my friend Diane. . .

S is for Sweet Little Boys -  building with legos and a Sunday Afternoon . . .

Notice that Jahn-Zyel is wearing his grampy's watch . . .

S is for Security - protection when getting x-rays of your teeth . . .

S is for Seagulls - in all their beauty.  I do love to photograph them and try to capture them with their wings out . . .this was taken at the Alaska Ferry terminal in Bellingham - and we had to wash our car the next day . . .

 S is for Silly Sewing Frogs - that Buddy E., he loves to get into things whenever possible.

Outdoor Wednesday

I love to take photos of seagulls - their feathers are gorgeous - and they are good actors - posing for you whenever you need a good photo.

These seagulls were sitting on a fence at the lighthouse in Newport OR, when we were visiting my cousins there. They call this Bachelor Row - they seem to be waiting for the dance to start.

I love this shot - the feathers are so beautiful . . .

Coming in for a landing . . .

Flying high . . .

Seattle - part two

Here are the rest of the photos of Seattle, continued from the previous post . . . this time with the smaller and older buildings . . .

This was one of my favorites - such detail . . .

An apartment house in the middle of businesses . . .

Oh look - someone has made a little garden on top of the apartment building . . . it seems to be walled in with plastic panels - perhaps to keep the wind off the garden . . .

Did you ever wonder what the top of a gas station canopy looks like?  Well, wonder no more . . .

A house, painted a soft green - in the midst of the big tall buildings . . . wonder who lives here . . .

Someone left the dormer window open - it is going to rain - they better run upstairs and close the window . . .

 A church?  A seminary?  Church headquarters?

Another home - dwarfed by all the skyscrapers . . .

And yet another.  At one time this must have been a family neighborhood . . .

A sad house - all boarded up and the windows are covered with plywood - do you think this house sits quietly and remembers the fun times and the families that lived here?

Another church - built of stone, with a very mossy steeple . . .

This wonderful building reminds me of an old high school - do you think it could be?

So many wonderful windows . . .

 And so we come to the end of our tour of one little part of Seattle - it is so interesting and I'm sure these buildings hold many memories.