HIp Hop Rules The Gym!

For some reason Picasa isn't giving blogger the edited versions of the pictures so you can hardly see Emily, who is in the center of the top picture in the black tee....I'll try later....anyway it was another Hip Hop dance recital and the girls did really well. Emily is going to start her fourth session next week, so by the time school ends, she will be an expert! Again, I felt she did an extra good job. But for some reason she is getting more and more reticent about performing for us...darn...I have begged her.

Nature's Point of View

This snow and sand pattern fascinates me. I would have loved to sit wrapped in a sleeping bag and watched just how the wind sculpted these snow mounds, then mixed sand and snow in such swirly layers. In one place it curls, in another it wanders, it's light and dark, and goes in every direction. And it looks like fudge ripple ice cream, it makes you want to dip your finger in and taste! If you enlarge it, you will see even more remarkable detail. This time of year, the lake is like an art gallery that constantly changes. I like to go every day and browse.

Sun and Clouds

Oh, it was so beautiful to see the bright sunshine....across the lake! On our side it was gloomy and cloudy. Still, it was nice to look over there and see the sun make a reflection of the B.C. Cobb plant chimney on the still waters of Muskegon Lake.

And by the way, word is out, big Walleye are to be had in this lake. One record-breaking Walleye was caught a few weeks ago, and many fisherman are reporting near-record catches. Apparently all the right factors are in place to make the walleye attain their largest size possible, and many feel there is a monster out there just waiting for the right fisherman in the right place. They are saying six feet depth or less near shorelines that have obstacles, and they say to be quiet because these champions can be easily spooked. They are less agressive, too, so active lures and trolling aren't recommended. 

Happy Birthday, Ray!

This picture was taken in our duplex apartment, which we lived in when we lived in Dalton. Ray was 8 or 9, can't quite remember which, but I do remember the SPIDERMAN cake we got him! He just loved it, and so did his friends. The only kids I really recognize are Laura and Jamie behind Ray, and that baby girl looks tantalizingly familar, but I just can't think of who that would have been! Anyway, that was WAY over 20 years ago, but I am not going to say how many. Just that Ray is totting up another year, and as each year goes by, it just keeps getting better and better. I want to say a few words about his latest book, but I will save it for another blog entry. Meanwhile, Happy Birthday Ray, you are so special to this family and we are all very proud of you. Your Mommy loves you!

Land Art

Sky, water, sand, fence, and snow. Then the road. This year, before the snow came, the bulldozer plowed up the beach sand into a strange pattern. Did they learn this in bulldozing school, that if you plow the sand up in a long bulwark parallel to shore, and then plow up moguls in evenly spaced intervals at right angles, it will keep the west wind from blowing sand and snow onto the road? Well, it didn't work. But what it did do is twist and swirl the wind so that patterns like this one would form in the snow. A hundred cameras couldn't document the constantly changing configurations of the patterns, so I settled for three.

Wintry Land and Seascape

Driving around the ovals. Hot coffee in the console. Good tunes on the stereo. Big waves hitting the channel walls and splashing up onto the pier. Seagulls huddled on the inland lake watching the cars use the turnaround, hoping one will stop and empty a bag of popcorn into the parking lot. Ruffled waves on the smaller lake, big waves on the big lake. And wind. Lots of wind. Sand stings the eye, and hair blows in front of the camera lens. The wind cuts like a knife. There is beauty in the sand.

First the presents.....

Saturday we had a birthday party for several of our family members/friends. Laura and Hailie both celebrated birthdays in December, and Emily, Brandie, Ray and Danny have January birthdays. So we all got together for dinner, cake and party fun! Here they are opening their presents after dinner. On the table in front you will see a copy of Ray's newest book, "Song of The Selkie." I am going to read it tonight, so stay tuned for a book review. By the way, in case you don't read Ray's blog, (but of course you do!) a selkie is a mythical Irish creature...but getting back to the party, we counted 25 people there, so we all had a very good visit. Good thing, too, as the coming weather is going to make future plans a little dicey! 

And then the dancing....!

The Casper Slide is a fun dance that requires lots of Cha-cha-ing, hopping, and clapping. The instructions are right in the song so anyone can learn. Even the littler ones, like Paige, enjoy doing it, and BOY, can she hop! We also had a bean bag toss game, a relay, and a fishing game where we used a very l-o-n-g cane pole to fish prizes out of the "fish pond."
Upstairs, we played Catch Phrase (for about ten minutes, but it was great while it lasted!). And visited and ate gold doubloons and cake.
Brooke was feeling under the weather, so she laid in my bed and watched tv. It must have worked its usual magic because she recovered a few hours later. 

Favorite Pictures Category

This is a picture of my Mom when she was in her teens. It's wonderful that it can be preserved digitally so that no matter how many years go by, this photograph can never fade away.

Does anyone know whose house this is? The siding almost looks like Grandma Horton's house but I don't remember a fieldstone foundation on her house.

January 1, 2007

Today is the first day of a whole new year. The presents have all been unwrapped, the decorations are coming down, and for most of us, life is once again returning to its pre-holiday routine. But for some of our loved ones, there have been life-changing health concerns. I don't want to mention them by name because after all this is a blog and medical issues are private. One of our cousins from Texas, an Army veteran who has been serving his country honorably for a great many years, has a stomach condition that could turn out to be very serious. He and his family will need the support of prayer at this time and I hope all of you who are reading this will pray for healing and for comfort.
One of Fritz's cousins is getting a biopsy and we are waiting to hear on that. She is young and an exceptionally nice person, we hate to see her have to go through this worry but hopefully it won't be anything serious.
And last but not least, a family friend who is always there when we need her has undergone a very serious illness in which she was hospitalized in intensive care with a lung disorder. Although she is recovering, she is still very weak and unable to return to her normal activities. She has hardly had a sick day in her life and has always been a very hard worker, so this enforced idleness has been doubly hard. I am sure a card or phone call would cheer her up.
As you go about your daily routine, please take a moment to remember these good people and say a little prayer for their healing. Here's hoping this new year will be one full of restored health and happiness for them.