my one and only

look at those guns.

my beloved showed up at a family reunion on sunday in a tank top.

oh, so classy.

thank you for making me laugh.

but please wear a t-shirt next time.

...

when we first were married john's after hours "uniform" consisted of a grey tee and colored hoop shorts...is this new look a step up or a step down?

Marco Polo and the deaf girl

When Delia was born deaf we often wondered what "normal" would look like.

It took us many years to realize that "normal" is just that, normal.

My normal life is different from your normal life.

...

Along this journey of deafness we discovered that most of the time Delia fits in with the other kids just hunky dory and on the rare occasion we do need to explain with a bit more detail, prepare her ahead of time or sign to her when it is noisy.

For the most part Delia does great with other kids...she is her usual bossy, demanding, stubborn yet wonderful self.

However, most of the time her interactions with friends & cousins is out of the water.

You see she can not hear in the pool, bathtub or ocean.

Her Cochlear implant BTE (the way in which she hears) is essentially a mini computer that can not get that wet.

Do you see where this story is going?

Yesterday in the pool with her cousins, "they" decided to play marco polo.

This taxed my sign language abilities, so I pull out her BTE, explain the rules and told her to be on a team with someone since she can't hear.

Of course, Dels is game to play...even if she didn't follow all the rules.

Just anther example of how a deaf child, inspite of hearing wonderfully with a bionic ear, is still a deaf child.

She'll never really be able to "acoustically locate" the "polo" in marco polo.

She can pretend she knows what she is doing but...

...

Sometimes my normal is a bit different from your normal.

Hip Happy Monday!

Happy Monday!

Chin up!

Stay cool!

Be happy!

Give thanks!

Bake Sale Betty.

Yep, all I do is eat out.

I do love food.

Good wholesome food,

tasty food,

new-to-me food.

These hips aren't just DNA.

Bake Sale Betty is in Oak-town and for several years I have heard nothing but rave reviews.

So, when a good friend, who is with child called and wanted to lunch there I jumped at the chance to check it out.

A glimpse of the baked goods...I scored a couple of cookies "on the house".

Wow.

Way to win me over...give me something free and I will return.

The lunch option was a fried chicken sandwich as the egg salad was sold out.

Winner, winner chicken sandwich.

Let is be said, I am not a fried chicken fan but this was pretty scrumptious.

Tables at Bake Sale Betty are repurposed ironing boards with stools stretched down the block...move them around as you wish.

The line for lunch was down the block too, but undocumented as there were a gaggle of fire fighters in front of us in line.

Lunch.

Lunch as documented by 2 bloggers.

Her hand and camera and my foot.

Funny.

Oh, did I mention the dessert option was strawberry shortcake.

Yum.

I saved 1/2 my sandwich for John to enjoy as an after-school snack and likewise the shortcake dessert for the kids to have as an after-school snack.

Yep. I share.

Sometimes.

...

So, if you live in the area, go to Bake Sale Betty.

Wait in the line like the locals and do not count calories.

If you do not live in the area but will be visiting I will be happy to take you to there and wait in line with you and because you will be on vacation there will not be any calorie counting.

...

Let them eat...

I get by with a little help from my cat.

I clean.

I cook.

I create.

At least I try to do all of the above.

And more.

Working on this month's garland of the month garland.

Club subscriptions available in my shoppe.

Wait, who is that supervising the workmanship.

Mr. Jose.

I get by with a little help from my cat.

Break time.

Chalkboard Love!

My friend Monica has an amazing chalkboard set up in her backyard for her kidlets.

Perfect for long division.

Brilliant.

Love it.

Good thing she is so kind and generous because she is giving us a chalkboard from her stash for our backyard.

Yipee.

Stay tuned.

the girls.

May introduce the pullets to you by name,

Please meet Wellsy...her breed is a Welsummer.

Omelet.

or Fluffy.

or Cloud.

We can't agree but I call her Omelet and she is by far the loveliest one of the bunch.

Roxy, Omelet and Wellsy discussing how to get back into the coop.