My mentee

I am a mentor to this young college senior--who is graduating next spring with a Nutrition major.  Oh, and she also happens to be the daughter of one of my favorite friends from college days! We met up this afternoon--along with her mom.  The time flew by --so much fun to see them both!

A Yearly Task

And now I have "people" to take care of this onerous task!  (That's what our kids are for, right?)                             

 

 

 

Morning Walk

Fuzzy little monster

Cable from camera to laptop--damaged by some sharp-toothed wild creature during the night, as we all slept.

The prime suspect.

A favorite lunch spot

At the Bischofshof

Regensburg--one of the oldest cities in Germany

This hat store has been here in Regensburg at least since the late 1940s, according to Dan's aunt Therese, who worked in Regensburg at that time.

Berchtesgaden

To translate: Death is certain--uncertain is the hour.  Lots of sadness in this area--a block away is a building mural to the "sons of the strong people of Berchtesgaden" who gave their lives in a number of wars--the most recent being WW2.  Hitler's Eagle's Nest is nearby.

 

Konigsee--a very long lake with very clear water, at the base of the mountains.

This is a cake!

You can see the people and the buildings around the square reflected in the window.

As long as I'm on this theme--here were some of the offerings in one of the fancier lunch spots (we didn't eat there--just feasted with the eyes!)

Tuesday Oct 18 Salzburg, Austria--Dinner Concert (Mozart highlights)

Just outside our dinner/concert location.  This was a short walk from our hotel.

Inside the dinner location--no flash.A mostly candle-lit room.  Notice the ceiling. How does one capture the magnificence of these old buildings in Europe?

Prien and Chiemsee in southern Germany

An evening shot--looking across the lake you can make out the outline of the mountains. This was Monday evening. We stayed near the Chiemsee--a beautiful lake region that has an island with another one of Mad Ludwig's castles.

trip planning

From Saturday--last minute planning for our trip to Germany and Austria.

Canning with friends

Last night we were invited to do some tomato canning with the same friends I visited last Friday.  Of course, the canning was just an excuse to open a bottle of wine, order a pizza and catch up!

An unusual gathering

All five of us siblings in one place? We cannot remember when this last happened! But my brother Eric was in town for a medical conference and it was my brother John's birthday, so I pulled together an impromptu party (that 15 of us were able to attend despite such last-minute notice, so what does that say about our Saturday night social lives?) My sister, who is always so good at thinking ahead, organized us into a group photo which we hope to surprise our parents with come Christmas. We had our spouses take photos from 3 cameras and will pick the best--and it won't be this photo! (Why can't 5 people all smile and look at the camera at one time??) ......Birthday boy is in the silly Jimmy Buffett shirt   :-)

My friend's kitchen

As I sat at my friend Karen's kitchen table this past Friday, I gazed up at her wall. She has treasures tucked everywhere in her cozy house. The items here reflect her Norwegian heritage. She did the the rosemaling on the blue piece.

Our last "first day of school" picture

Andy is a senior. Today was his first day of school and, as we have done every year, we took a picture. My "little Andy" is not so little anymore.  (Sniff, sniff... sigh...where did the time go?)

Squirrel mystery-Tuesday

Looked out at the deck this morning and spotted a dead squirrel lying UNDER a chair.  How did this happen? No sign of being bitten or carried by another animal.  It could have fallen out of the tree, but then how did it get under the chair?

Frisbee game

Labor day recreation with the family.

Farmer's Market Bargain -Sunday's shot

I love how much Swiss chard you can buy for a dollar at the Farmer's Market. We have been able to enjoy it at three meals.

Last of the peaches

The last few peaches were baked into a peach crumble on Saturday.

Another basket to lounge in

Wish I'd had my camera the other night when Dexter was perched on the edge of my bedroom chair, looking down into my wicker wastebasket--and fell in!  He has a thing for baskets, small and large, but laundry baskets with clean clothes in them are especially nice!

My role model

Dexter watches Pumpkin hunt down a moth.

One odd kitty

Dexter falls asleep in the strangest positions...

Just can't keep my eyes open any longer...

A favorite chair has been staked out.

Colorado peaches

This is the best part of the summer--when the tomatoes are ready and the organic Colorado peaches that I order are delivered to my house! 

Getting tomatoes at the Farmer's Market

New stuff

We had an old gas grill--a hand-me-down from a relative--that needed replacing.  My oldest son assembled the new one this afternoon.

Perfect deck weather

Our deck is finally finished, treated with clear stain, and the furniture returned to it.  Time to relax on it, and the weather couldn't be better!

Odd lily

My camera was "lost" for several days.  But I found it (underneath some files in my car) and am back in business!  When this lily is ready to bloom, it comes out of the ground as just a stem.  This was one of the surprise flowers that existed in the garden when I moved in and it took me awhile to make the connection between the bushy plant it is in the spring (and which dies off, leaving bare ground) and the late summer blossoms. The first shot is from 5 days ago; the second from today. One of the stems fell over.  It's kind of a top-heavy design for a flower!

Woo hoo! Time to plan a party outside!

Our lovely new deck:

Saturday August 6 Almost there!

The deck, getting covered.

Friday August 5--Standoff

Little Dexter would L...O...V...E to be friends, but sedate lady Pumpkin wants nothing to do with this idea.

For 8-4 Thursday

It's easy to pass by impatiens and think they are "pedestrian"--but they are really champion flowers--blooming virtually nonstop from spring through summer, even in the shade.

Farmer's Market Day

What cat doesn't like a bag?

All framed up

Saturday--the deck takes shape

Bobcat in the backyard

Yup, that's a bobcat coming into the yard.  And it left behind these holes for deck footings.  Since the deck is located so close to a very large tree, digging holes required an augur to get through the roots.

Inquisitive

I had forgotten how curious kittens are.  This one is checking out everything. As you can see by the blurring in the picture, he is on the move!

The new acquisition

Everyone around our house is getting so OLD--my husband and me, our nearly grown boys and our cat, who must be ~100 in cat-years.  So we brought a lively youngster into the house.  He doesn't have a name yet, but belongs to my oldest son (who will take him along when he finally moves out again). We got him from the Animal Humane Society and he is the most extroverted, happy kitten I have ever seen.  However, it is quite difficult to catch a photo of him. He doesn't sit still much! The Resident Cat is still not sure what her role is supposed to be, but with time she will figure it out (I tried to explain to her that she is the Wise Old Great-Grandma now!)

Monday's picture: walk in the neighborhood

I took a walk yesterday morning, admiring the neighbors' gardens.  I had my camera along (hoping for my day's shot) and came upon these two mailboxes that were almost completely hidden by the bushes. (Someone is going to need to do some pruning pretty soon!)