Ahhhh, yes

I had a wonderful day, yesterday, with my family. It was a long day and I was nursing a headache, but that is much easier to set aside when having fun.

The day started at the crack of dawn. As had been predicted it was about 28 degrees when I left for the early ferry. I was completely oblivious, or perhaps it was too tired to think, so took off from the ferry for the number one child's house as if it were all just a "normal" day. The roads were far from normal, and the first indication came less than a block from the pier. My light little truck slid around the corner and continued to fishtail. AND I was the first off. Luckily the folks behind me were not too close and from that point on the speed limit was 20mph, MAX. Several more times I found myself losing traction and noticed that not a single driver was sitting on my bumper. We were pretty evenly spaced out, and going between 10 and 20mph. About the time I arrived at the Interstate I decided that I would take a pass, as the I-405 is notorious for spin outs. It proved to be a wise move and the area around Lake Washington was warmer and I was able to resume a more normal speed. Of course I also began to encounter traffic, and they were getting pushy until I watched a joker in a 4 wheel drive truck hit the jersey barrier after a patch of ice. (It was ALL ice down by the ferry). I haven't a clue why folks with 4 wheel drive think they are more stable on ice and can whip around everyone else. I was bad. I waved as I went by. (Hey, he wasn't hurt physically, and needed a reality check, and I needed some humor to cut my stress level back a bit.)
By the time I got to the house I was a bit tense, but hugs from little girls quickly took care of that. Being the Mom I am I called the other kids and told them to "drive safe."

We had a wonderful time. The girls adore being together, with the three older more oft than not, holding hands. The baby was perfect, waiting until she got home to melt down.

Even the cats got in on the fun; losing their heads in their catnip laden stockings.

I got my oldest grand daughter a "kid proof" digital camera. As of this morning she had 167 photos on the thing. The girls were hilarious posing. I think there are a lot of pictures of nasal hair. And chins. Very few shots with an entire kid. My poor parents would have saved so much money had we had digital cameras waaaay back then. Even with just black and white, to have to pay to develop a roll of film and be lucky to have ONE photo could be costly. But then again, the novelty would soon wear out as one had to put in a new roll of film every twelve pictures. That, of course, involved removing said roll from its foil pack and carefully winding it on to the take up reel "just so." Then insert the reel onto the cassette thing and carefully slide it all back into the camera all the time hoping that enough was rolled on the reel so as not to have to start all over again. It didn't help that Dad didn't want us to waste a frame on either end. He could get 14 pictures on a 12 shot roll, and we were encouraged to do the same. Any way, I digress...

The Mimers shot pictures for the rest of the day. I had a little discussion on what was inappropriate when she made a poor choice that was supposed to be a joke, but it was quickly remedied and she learned about "delete." Her sister the Plum (with no "b") smiled and cooed at everyone she saw. The other two big girls got new bikes from their other Grandma so there were plenty more pictures to be taken outside. (I look forward to bikes trips with the entire family in the near future.) After testing the toys and eating we parted company and I headed for the ferry. I knew not what kind of wait I would encounter, and knew that the dogs would be eager to check out their many presents.

First up was a "Secret Santa" gift from one on the Corgi forum. Trying to get them to open things individually and on their own never worked. The grass was always greener.

Henry was in heaven. He got a stuffy and got right to work removing the squeaker, then the stuffing.

Kate was happy to just sit quietly and watch. I'm pretty sure she was thinking that Henry would soon be done with his snail and she could show him that hers was still sitting pretty, with both the squeaker and the stuffing still inside; and doesn't it look oh so very inviting?

After all chores were done, and all presents tasted and played with, I settled down to do some research on the computer. My daughter and grand daughter had found me a copy of a picture that was framed, signed and titled by the artist. She had even taped her business card to the backing. It is an amazing picture and I will treasure it always. I learned a lot about the artist but the first "hit" was her obituary. That made me sad, but made this even more of a treasure. I cannot for the life of me, figure out how a signed print ended up in a thrift store, but perhaps this is just one of those "meant to be" things. Even the green matting is perfect as I will be painting the front room a shade of green.
(This picture doesn't do it justice. I had to take it at an odd angle to keept he flash from covering the little girl.)

Joyce Moresi, thank you. It is beautiful. I will take good care of it. I only wish I could have called you today and thanked you personally...although I think I would have skipped mentioning the thrift store part of it.

Life is great and there are pleasant surprises around every corner.

G2