the friendship stone

It's been 14 years since we first met - she was young and feisty and full of life.  Today she's still feisty, but feeling the years that have added up to 80.  This friend I'm talking about is my dog.  She's been a faithful companion, a character and someone who continues to love my family, no matter what! Sally is 15 now and nearing the last stages of her life.  She's been diagnosed with kidney failure and requires fluids every other day.  It's been a roller coaster with her good days and not so good days, but somehow she carries on.  I'm told by the vet that once she stops eating, the end will be near.

You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this. . .well, this is why.  I have made so many friends through her.  She's absolutely the most popular dog in the neighborhood!  She even had a boyfriend for awhile!  Many people walking by stop to say hello, especially children in strollers - they love to give her a pat and sometimes I truly think she knows more people on our street than we do!  Occasionally, I'll see someone pull over in their car just to say hello!  In the summer she stays at a special place when we go on vacation; a beautiful organic farm lovingly taken care of by couple who offer, "farm vacations for good dogs".  Annie and John are some of the nicest people I've ever met! 

In the past few months she's slowed down a lot, but continues making friends on our visits to the vet, not only with other clients, but the staff as well who all offer  their best and take care of both of us. 

These are only a few people who've touched our lives because of her and as we go into this time of transition, I will remember their love and sweetness and always be glad I've been lucky enough to be acquainted with so many of her friends.

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Did you go to summer camp?


Last summer I went to "family camp" at Camp Seafarer.  It was an amazing experience especially for me as I went to the same camp 30 years ago as an 8 year old camper.  I was fortunate enough to attend this camp for 5 years, every summer diving into the most incredible activities one could possibly imagine.  I couldn't wait to see if the camp was as big as I remembered it.  Guess what, it was!  The cabins were exactly the same ones we slept in then, and we loved every minute of it. It is a great way to go back to ones childhood memories, and do it all again, with your own children.

Can you believe the camp uniforms?

 

My older sister from Ca. initiated the idea that all three sisters should go with their families in the summer time, to give us, the sisters and the cousins a total week of spending quality time together.  This is the first time that all the cousins had spent a week together like this.  It was amazing.  They did many of their "firsts", this summer, just as I did 30 years ago. 

 

Here we are in 1967 and then again in 2007	We haven't changed at all, right?

 

I love tradition

For instance, they went fishing, sailing, skiing, archery, riflery, zip lines into the lake and they learned how to eat the famous red hot fire ball candies I had told them about over the years.

 

First fish.....	Wow second fish...eeks fish!

First time at riflery...Aim	Fire....
Pretty good for beginners!	Pull and Release!

 

First time on the wheel....	for gymnast too!
Driving already	Sportsgirl is a little more adventurist!
Her first ski	Her first Batik

The kids were free to roam all over the camp as they pleased, and each one would make their own plans with different cousins.  The time spent with their cousins was fantastic, and they also loved being with each other. 

The pier	Interesting!

 

 

Fun in the cabin before lights out.	The best belly laughs!

 

 

We would be woken up every morning with the bugle just like we were, way back then.  We were busy from morning till evening, not only having new experiences with all the sporting activities, but meeting families from all over America.
One of our most successful summer vacations!

 

 

   

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Blogging. . .never thought I’d be doing this, but what the heck, I’ll give it a try. 

 
 

I suppose what I’m most excited about these days is my new workroom!  Along with our new addition this fall, I inherited a workspace.  The dining room actually worked fine for a lot of years because it’s really two rooms made into one.   However, most of the materials I worked with were packed into a tiny room, everything stacked on top of everything else. . .you know what I’m talking about.  Now, I have a beautiful room, with beautiful light, counters, shelves, design board and great set of organizational pieces from Ikea to store fabric, paints, beads and camera stuff.  And since it’s been so long since I’ve actually played with all these toys, I’ve had the best time organizing and getting re-acquainted with my “inventory”!!  It’s still a work in progress, but here are a few photos.

 

“Mmmm. . . fabric!”	“Yummy. . .fabric!”

What I love most about this space is working on several projects at once.  There was always a problem when we needed the dining room - clean up could take awhile.  Now I can leave my sewing machine and ironing board set up  and projects strewn all over the place!  Aaaah, freedom!    I have some new friends in my life.  They are a quilt group I joined up with a few months ago.  There are six of us and we meet every month or so for four hours.  It’s an eclectic group for sure with tons of talent and each person expressing their own style.  We’ve been working from the “Art Quilt Workbook” by Jane Davila & Elin Waterston and “Color and Composition for the Creative Quilter” by Katie Pasquini Masopust and Brett Baker.  Everyone takes a turn teaching a chapter and then we take what we’ve learned and apply it to a themed project at home.  Also, each time we meet one person takes a turn and provides a small “bag-o-goodies” (fabric, beads, hand made items, wire and other embellishments)  for our ‘postcard challenge’ which can be any size we choose.  You’d be amazed what everyone comes up with!     

“January goodies.”	“This is what I made.”

So, as time goes by, I’ll share more photos, but now I better get back to work!  Thanks for reading! 

I decided to start my blog with one of my favorite passions, images from my travels and stories.  I will now have a place to share with you some of the most amazing experiences I have been fortunate enough to have had. 

One of the most enigmatic and fascinating places I have ever been to is India.  After the first trip, I left with a feeling like it would be a long time before I made it back

We are joing the ranks of Technorati..... Technorati

I have come to realize that writing a blog is not an easy task .......so Jill, Laure, and I are working hard on our first entries.  We will be writing separately and together about our lives, our families, our experiences, our passions and of course the friendship stone.  We hope that you will come and visit often, read about our worlds and enjoy our art.  Remember your comments are so very important to us. We look forward to having you become a part of our world in  "the friendships in our lives" . The slide shows and the photo galleries will be updated with my photography work and with my family.  I hope you enjoy them!

Have wonderful day,

Cathy

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