This just in...

In tonight's email... an update letter from Chris and Nicole Schelb, Margaret's nephew and his wife, who live just outside Midland, MI. It included photos of their boys, Conner and Cole. One photo was so incredibly beautifully that I had to post it. Their Grandma Carol must already have a spot chosen on her wall for a framed enlargement!

The BEST dip!

Just finished prepping veggies and dill dip for Margaret to take to the barn tomorrow for an end of summer pot-luck lunch and play day.
The dip is a slightly tweaked version of one that Margaret's mother, Helen, made for all holiday get-togethers. It turns up at every gathering in this house, too!

1 cup Hellman's or Best Foods Mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 T. dried parsley
1 1/2 t. dill weed
1 1/2 t. Mrs. Dash Original seasoning

Mix well and chill several hours or overnight. Great with chips and fresh raw vegetables!

Topiary triumph in the patio

It's kind of a Martha Stewart/Sunset Magazine sorta thing. A pot, a metal plant stand and some 4 in. plants. Who'd have thought we could make it look like our gazing ball is floating in ivy? It's always such a kick when an idea works! (Can't help but wonder if the ivy will keep holding together when the metal stand inside eventually turns to rust dust!) In the meanwhile, it's pretty at night with a solar spot-light on it...

Does she KNOW she's a dog?

Sometimes when Nica curls up on the back of the couch you'd swear she is a cat! Then, there are the times she jumps to the back of the love-seat, stretches out and perches her front end on Larry's shoulder. That's when we call her a parrot! Or a goat! No matter who or what she thinks she is, we know she's pure love.

In our hearts this week...

Margaret's uncle, CSM, Richard G. Lee, USA (Ret), 80, passed away at home in San Antonio, Texas, on July 15. He is being buried with full military honors this Saturday at Walnut Grove Cemetary in Delphos, Ohio. Our love and prayers go out to his daughter, Karen, and her family, his son, Doug, his sister, Juanita, his sister and brother-in-law, Anne and Byron, and all other family members who will be in attendance. This is a recent photograph of Uncle Dick (courtesy of Karen Lee Goulding) enjoying a visit with his great-granddaughter, Maddi.

What are grilled "Quesadillas Extraordinaire" ?

We have "kicked up" (thank you, Emeril) our grilled chicken quesadillas a few notches this summer. We start with the basics - flour tortillas, pieces of chicken breast and some shredded 4 Mexican cheese mix, plus sliced green onions, sliced black olives and cilantro. We used to add salsa. Then we discovered Trader Joe's Low Fat Black Bean Dip, which is slathered liberally on the tortilla as a base layer.
But... it's the still bountiful summer produce that has made them extra ordinary - diced raw zucchini and left-over grilled corn sliced off the cob. (Beware of over-stuffing the tortillas or folding them in half can become engineering feat!) Cook on each side just long enough to heat through and to get nice grill marks on the tortillas.
They're big. They're messy. They're great!

Happy Birthday Mark McKay

This handsome, gray-haired devil is Margaret's nephew, Mark. (Picture taken during a California visit in 2003.) He turns the "Big 45" today, and we send him wishes for a great day and a spectacular year ahead.

Gilbert vs. Vista

Great news for Larry - "Gilbert", his CD catalog software, opened in Vista without a hitch! Getting his new computer connected to the internet? That's not proving quite as easy... While Margaret blissfully blogs, Larry is on the phone with our good friend and unparalleled "guru", Terence Love. (Terence is also the proprietor of our favorite jazz club, Steamers Jazz Club and Cafe.) Between them they are trying to get the new computer to recognize a wireless connection to a router that allows us to run two computers off one DSL line. (And we like computers because...?)

A couple of hours later...Terence did the best he could over the phone. Then, he told Larry who to call next - NETGEAR, manufacturer of the router. Hanging on the phone with a help desk is never fun, and not always productive, but sometimes it's really worth it. By early afternoon we had internet access on both computers again. Yeah!

Pre-dawn feeding frenzy

Visible through our patio gate - a finch feeder nestled in a vine-covered trellis and garden hook. For the birds, it's a combination jungle gym and feeding station. For us, it's endless entertainment. We love the complement of sounds in the early morning, the burbling of the patio water fountain against the birds' songs. (Later in the day, the fountain helps mask the noise from the busy street behind us.)

Out with the old.

Larry's old computer had become slower than snail-mail. A representative from Geek Squad declared it in need of artificial respiration, or worse.

In with the new!

So, what's a guy to do? Welcome HP M8530. It may take a day or two for him to get everything up and running, and to tutor himself in Vista.

Ahhh, Vista, that's the rub. There's a serious question as to whether Larry's CD catalog software will be supported by Vista. For now, that precious information is being stored on Margaret's computer, still running along smoothly with XP. What happens when her 'puter passes on to the happy processor hunting ground is still anyone's guess. Some wonder why we maintain two computers. Well... we started our lives together with two, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? For now, Larry's awfully glad that there's a "Gilbert-friendly" [the catalog software] system in the house.

Video Victory

I think we've got our video glitch worked out. If all goes well, say hi to Grandpa and Joshua!

"Celebrate, celebrate..."

We bought gasoline for under $4.00 a gallon today ($3.999)! I actually filled my tank for just under $40.00. Who would have thought that a $39.00 tank of gas would be cause for celebration? (But I'll take it. Sure beats those $50.00 fill-ups...)

Getting to know Joshua

We had our first visit with the new baby today - took pizza for lunch and enjoyed a couple of hours with the whole family. We'd heard a rumor that Joshua likes to let people know he's there. He was, in fact, quite a quiet little gentleman, even letting his Grandpa and Margaret hold him long enough for his mom to get to eat! His big bro and sis are very sweet with him, as the pictures show. We especially love the shot of the "three little angels". Thought for a minute that we'd manage to add a slide show of our visit to this post, but it didn't quite work out that way. Maybe next time. Also, stay on the lookout for a video. (New camera, got to learn how to download to the computer and then upload back to the blog. We're new at this, but with patience, we'll get it!) Note to David: So far you are spared any additional photos. Your day will come!

In our thoughts this week...

...Margaret's oldest niece, Tracy. No mid-life crisis for her; she's taken on a mid-life challenge and we're thrilled for her. Finding her nest empty earlier this year, Tracy decided to start a whole new chapter in her life. She sold her house this summer, moved to Chicago, and attended her first day of class at a renowned pastry school on Monday morning. (We just love this picture of her and Nica, taken when she visited us early in 2007.) We're so proud of you, Tracy!

...Margaret's wonderful step-mother, Elaine, who celebrated her 80th. birthday on Tuesday. We know she really enjoyed an extended visit from her daughter, Jill, and new son-in-law, Albert, this summer, even though they weren't able to stay all the way until her birthday. She's had a lot of repair work done on the exterior of her house this summer, as well as having it painted. She says she was surprised and delighted by a birthday card from the paint crew on her special day. Many, many happy returns, Elaine! We love you!

"Let The Sun [flowers] Shine In"

Margaret is quite addicted to fresh cut flowers (and doesn't have much of a cutting garden in the patio to fill the vase), so buying bouquets is an every couple of weeks event. Prior to the 4th. of July, she purchased a bunch of sunflowers from South Coast Farms, the Community Supported Agriculture co-op we belong to. They were so bright and summery and cheerful, we've barely been without a vase-full since. Sure hate to see the season end. (And, sure wish there was room, the right light, and adequate ventilation to plant a few of our own next year. Would love the blooms and the seed harvest!)

Our at-home "kids"

Don't get us wrong, we love our two-legged children and grandchildren! (We don't get to see them nearly as much as we would like.) Still, the "kids" that give us smiles and laughs and kisses and love every single day are the two that live at home with us, Sassy and Nica.

Our cock-a-poo mix, Sassy, joined the family in February of 2002. We found her at the Long Beach shelter where they told us they believed she was about a year old. She's quite the snuggle-bug, and a bit of a princess, too; in her mind the softest, warmest spots are always hers for the choosing.

We found Nica, then five months old, on a website in May of 2006. A rescue group had taken her in and treated her for a broken leg; she was made available for adoption when her cast had been removed and she was allowed limited activity. We packed Sassy in the car on a Sunday morning and the three of us went off to meet her perspective sister. When the little "schnoodle" rolled on her back on a stretch of grass and wrapped her paws around my arm, she "won" me.

Robin's kids - Brandon and Ava

Brandon Michael (Perez) is our "big boy", he's going to be 15 in October. We know that he adores his little sister, but it's not that easy to tell in this picture.

Ava Deonne DeeMinter was born on February 3, 2008. At just six months, it's easy to see what a little heart-breaker she's going to be! Check her out on YouTube ("Ava's first bite"). http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9sqx9xSEMNk

Jonathan and Sophia

Sophia and big brother, Jonathan, who will be five in November, couldn't wait to get their new little brother home!

Sophia Huertas

Joshua's big sister, Sophia, (David and Heather's middle child) turned 3 on August 11. Here she is in the side-walk cafe that she got from us for her birthday.

The new baby

Welcome, little one! Grandpa Larry and Margaret can't wait to hold the newest grandson, all 20 and 1/2 inches, 7 pounds and 4 ounces of him. Of course, Grandpa's more than a little excited that he and Joshua Laurence Huertas share a name.

Say hi to "Squirrel"

As we await a photo of Joshua... meet "Squirrel". An unofficial member of the McKay-Israel menagerie, Squirrel loves to hang out in our patio garden and torment the dogs. Here, he's carrying off the fish net Larry uses to clean out the fountain and water garden!

The pink haired lady

One of my students just knows she is giving me gray hair. I teased her that I would have to start dying it soon. She dared me to dye it pink. So I did.

Okay, it wasn't really pink dye, just that spray on stuff. By the end of the day most of the color was on the inside of my ballcap. The rest was running down my neck. But, I bet it's a while before any of my kids dare me to do something again. Never kid a kidder my darlings!

Our new blog!

Thanks to inspiration from my cousin in Texas, Karen Goulding, we are taking our first tentative steps into uncharted cyber-territory today... our own blog!

We should soon have a photo to post of the newest member of the family, Joshua Huertas, born Saturday, August 16, at 4:26 p.m.

As we weave our way through this new communication form, more photos of the family will follow.