Memorial Day "pause for thought"

Another Memorial Day

Freedom Is Not Free 

Kelly Strong 
I watched the flag pass by one day. It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free 

Now, go find a Memorial Day service near you.

A boy's life

Josh came over yesterday.

Here is a peek into his life.

The first thing he did after we arrived home was some schoolwork. The numbers 7, 8, and 9 received some solid attention.

Then on to the Happy Feet puzzle with Great Nana. Which has three missing pieces, to our disgruntlement. When I get some motivation, I shall pull apart the couch, vacuum it, and probably find missing puzzle pieces.

Lunch time. Banana, frozen blueberries, rice crackers...

...and fruited Jello.

Off to Jenny's house, where he played with his cousins while I had my first ever visit with a chiropractor.

Then he and GN did the toucan puzzle. Josh has as astounding amount of patience and tenacity when it comes to jigsaw puzzles. He will spend an hour on one puzzle, trying out pieces, turning them around to see if they fit.

Then, the Gorilla documentary while eating pistachios.

Now the couch really needs vacuuming.

Papa came home.

There was much excitement.

And another puzzle.

Watching the finches and blue jays through the front window.

Papa went for a run. After a while, I sent Josh and GN for a wee walk to get out some of Josh's wiggles . Meanwhile, I worked on concocting some dairy-and-gluten-free brownies for the boy.

I probably let the boy stay up too late, because right about the time I asked him to don his jammies, a switch flipped in his head. He pooped his pants, shut himself in the bathroom, and stayed there for an hour. First he was screaming, then silence, then he kept flicking the doorstop. Sproingggg, sproingggg. Then the door would open and quickly close again, over and over. Finally, he let me clean him up and put on his jammies. Then he had a screaming fit again so I put him to bed, without the brownies.

He woke up this morning much happier.

I asked him if he and GN were buddies now?

Nod nod.

And if she was one of his girls?

Nod nod.

Directly after breakfast, he ate brownies.

Silly signs

Off to the Sheriff's Office for my Concealed Handgun Licence.

Oh yeah!

I am always impressed by good spelling.

The sheriff's Office needs to try harder.

At least they apologized.

And, they got the apostrophe right.

I'll give it an A-.

So.

Paid the fee.

Got fingerprinted.

Let's see if the background check turns up any misdeeds.

...ever I saw his face

The Roberta Flack version, in case you're humming it.

First, I forgot my concert ticket.

In spite of trying really hard to remember it.

Problem was, I switched purses.

Luckily, Nicole was being a smart-alec (I think) and worrying over hers, so we were only 15 minutes from home when I discovered the loss. Jeff was sweet and drove halfway to meet us. 

Then off to the mall, where Nicole and Karen had make-up appointments. I felt no such inclination, but ended up with a Bare Escentuals touch-up anyway.

Our night-on-the-town faces.

Wondrous, is all I have to say.

That, and Why is my face so round?
Like a full moon.
Oh, I know, it's because I have no willpower!
On to Dantes, in downtown Portland. As in Inferno. Which is an apt moniker, as it turns out. So, Nicole, didya check out the website before you dragged us in there. Didya, huh, didya? The first bad sign was when we arrived at 7:30 for a 9:30 concert, expecting to get a table and dinner. It was not to be. The word on the street was they would open the doors at 8:30. So, I hopped on over to Voodoo Doughnuts, another reason why Portland is weird. 
Are we seeing a theme here?
There is always a line outside Voodoo.  Luckily, it wasn't very long on this drizzly Saturday night, and before you know it I had gathered a couple of bags of delicious doughnuts. Voodoo is internationally known, believe it or not, yet it  is a real hole-in-the-wall. I suppose if they moved to a better location, (or even cleaned this one) it would lose some of its.....ambience? But their doughnuts are kooky and wondrous.
Second "first".
Voodoo doughnuts.

We were finally let into Dantes and headed straight for a table in the annex.
Check out the wondrous ambience.

While we sat and squinted in the dim light, we ate doughnuts and pizza.
Karen and her Voodoo doll.
She said, I suppose all these pictures are going to be on your blog.

Good to the last lick.

Things were looking distinctly better after a doughnut or three.
And a cup of Coke.

Or, in my case, a glass of righteous Sprite.

Here I am, trying to look sultry.

Didn't quite pull it off, did I?

What about the concert, you ask?

Yes, there was a concert.

Christian Kane.

Nicole was a big fan.

I say BIG!

And that's not a statement on her height.

And I say WAS.

Let's just say that the music stank and the musician was rude.

Nicole was shattered.

But I did take this cool pic of her with the other guys from Leverage.

That Nicole, she's nervy when she's motivated.

And Karen snapped this one of me, taking the photo. Which was an embarrassing situation because my flash wasn't turned on and it took me four or five tries before I figured it out. Timothy Hutton was "less than amused".

I was [that close].

To famous people.

Oh, and did I mention the elevated almost-naked dancers?

Trust me, you don't want to know.

Although, I must say that there were a few times I thought they might dislocate something.

Like a hip.

Third "first".

I'm pretty sure they were strippers from upstairs.

We headed home around midnight.

Nicole was sadder, but wiser.

Karen and I were slightly glad that she had given up on dragging us back to Dantes in June for another concert.

Pop! 

That was Nicole's bubble bursting on the way home.

She said I suppose you are going to write everything we say on your blog.

Well, I have to admit, I was mentally editing the conversation as it happened.

Shame on me.

I just can't help it.

But Nicole said that I can choose the venue for our next outing.

Wanna come?

P.S. How's that "wondrous" working out for ya? Not sure I like it.

The first time...

Minor things can become moments of great revelation when encountered for the first time. Margot Fonteyn.

Saturday was a day of several "first times". 

The first "first", a pedicure, a birthday treat from my friend Karen.

I was made for this!

My idea of heaven is foot-rubs on demand.

Seriously.

After I broke my leg, Jeff was quite compassionate and could often be talked into giving me a foot-rub as we chilled on the couch. I had a lot of nerve damage in my foot, so a gentle massage was blissfully therapeutic. Apparently, my groans of sincere appreciation were not enough to encourage him to continue the practice. 

Sigh.

This.. 

...may be the beginning of a long, long, love affair. Karen, Nicole and I sat on our massage chairs and were thoroughly pampered. Foot rub, leg massage, lotions, sea salt, clippers, polish, hot wax, the works.
Lo, a trifecta of gorgeous feet.

Then, small, delicious Sammies at Quiznos for lunch.

Karen and Nicole headed out to indulge in hair beautification, while I went home to admire my toenails.

We girls had big plans for the evening.

Stay tuned for more high adventure.

Re-united and it feels so good....

If you hear Peaches and Herb singing that song in your head, you are at least as old as me!

For the three people of my acquaintance who haven't seen our awesome (I must find a new adjective) family pictures, here is a sampling of the goods. 

The photography session was a hoot and I think it comes across in the photos.

First, Jon's little family, looking cool in black.

The whole gang.

Let me tell you, getting the kidlets to co-operate was a challenge. Lindsay is really good at acting like a loony to make them laugh!

My babies, all grown up.

Bethany and Chris and the motley crew.

Looking a little distracted.

We call this the GQ shot.

Obviously, some of our guys can carry it off better than others!

Ornery grandsons.

The Man and Me.

Hmmmm.
Which group is cooler, girls or guys?
Vote below.

Our offspring and their honeys.

Charlie is under strict instructions to not get a spouse for a few years.

He is dating around, in case anyone is interested.

Between engaging in awesome physical feats like performing flips off the swing.

Well caught, Lindsay.

Wow.
We're getting to be a bit of a crowd.

Ha.
Ha.

New adjective: wondrous.
I'll try it for a week.