Mish Mash

I've had a few things on my mind to share, so today is the day I do it. I'll try to keep it interesting for you, and pepper it with a few photos.

My friend Jennifer is still in Seattle getting cancer treatment, and is doing well, but it is a long battle with no guarantee at the end. Right now it looks like she'll be there a minimum of three more months, and maybe longer. Then, she'll stay another three months if they determine to do a bone marrow transplant. I miss her! But I know she is getting the best possible earthly care, and she is in the hands of a faithful God, so I'll put aside my missing her and be joyful that so many care for her.

Andy and I have been doing a bit of walking (I walk, he runs, then turns around and comes back to me, and we walk back to the car together). I've been taking my camera with me for these excursions, and have a couple of fun things to share as a result. This bird nest was in the tree all winter, right at the beginning of one of our walks, and I did not notice it until last week:


Finally the snow has melted from my flower garden, and the perennials are just barely starting to make a move at growth. These are Columbine, the first to appear. I'm waiting on the delphinium and lupine - I actually did see a lupine sprout the other day, but it wasn't in a place where it will survive. But still, I now know to keep my eye out for those little guys!

Jansse has continued with swim lessons, and this is a photo of him practicing the butterfly stroke. He plugs away at it, and I am proud of him for that. Last week it was nice enough for him to have his lesson in the outside pool at the hot springs. He was very excited about that, but I think his teacher was cold and really wanted to use the indoor pools.
Yesterday we had a herd of elk about 150 yards from our back deck. This photo is a bit distorted, but that's because I cropped it so much. Points out my need to get a telephoto lens - now I will have to start the saving up money process!
On our walk this morning I took this photo. Fences are often beautiful in their own way. Just liked the knots of barbed wire.
That's it for the photos. But not for my thoughts - you knew that, didn't you.

We are saddened here by the news that Andy's family's property in Big Sky is on the market. While we understand the need, the logic, and the purpose of this choice, it is sad to us because ultimately it will severely reduce our access to members of his family, particularly his parents. It will put Jansse in the position of having very little access to his grandparents, and that is just sad. Nothing more to say about it but that it is sad.

I am not going to take the bar exam this summer - yes, changed our minds on that! It is a relief not to have to study and try to pawn Jansse off on camps and friends in order to make that happen. Instead I will take the exam in Feb., so that my studying can be done while Jansse is in school. It allows me to continue with some art projects for now as well, and that is very satisfying to me!

The driving factor in deciding not to do the bar this summer is that Andy is going to aggressively pursue hip resurfacing this summer - he's been approved by the doctor to get the surgery, so now it is a matter of scheduling and insurance related issues. It did not make sense to try to squeeze these two major events into one summer. Hopefully by September Andy will be in significantly less daily pain, but still be allowed to run some. The surgery has to take place in L.A, so we will have some traveling to do for all this. The great news is that the recovery will not be devastating to his practice because really, he might only be gone from work for a week to 10 days. It is helpful that his office is in our home, so he can continue to do some work while he recovers. So, this is all a very good thing. In fact, it really is a God thing, so it must not be just good, but it must be great!

On the art front, I'm a little overwhelmed with all the ideas in my head. I'm trying not to get over committed for other people so I can just do stuff for me. That is not as easy as it sounds, as I am currently working on a little book for Jennifer, which records all the Bible verses people have sent to her. I'm also finishing up a circle journal (think round robin quilt type event with paper instead) and about to start another. Plus, I have five classes on the schedule at the scrapbooking store. So . . . finding time to do what I want is a little difficult, but I'm determined to get there soon!

Enough! Bye for now!