I missed my own mom and my children on this day, but it was sweet to spend it with John. I got told Happy Mother's Day very early in the morning by the man I love and I sunk into his arms all smiles. The plan was to go to Dad and Iris's early, but unknown to me was the other plan to go to the Cemetery where John's mother is laid to rest. Immediately I became aware that the cemetery was ... Read More

John and I decided each time I am in Perth that we should take on a project, like the last time it was the kitchen floor. We were online when we discussed the next project. Since airplane tickets are so much money, getting new furniture all the time is out of the question. John had two sets of tables and chairs given to him, both old, and one set was one too many. We decided which table to keep and ... Read More

Last week, Dad and Iris picked me up to give me a peek at Dad's bowling club as well as take me shopping and to lunch. The Sunday before, at their house, I commented that I had no idea what the game looked like or how it was played. The object of the game is to deliver bowls closer to the jack (the small white ball) than your opponent to earn the right to score points. The player or team ... Read More

After many days of preparations, early celebrations, Christmas Day with the family was finally here. To honor my dad, and make him feel part of the day, I had put out his favorite Christmas greeting on a prominent place in the living room. :)He liked to kid, but really, behind the scenes, he along with my mom, did a lot of work to make every single Christmas, MAGIC. While we were still getting ready for the day, John got a ... Read More

My Dad and Mom a long time ago. He never looks for praises He's never one to boast He just goes on quietly working For those he loves the most His dreams are seldom spoken His wants are very few And most of the time his worries Will go unspoken too He's there.... A firm foundation Through all our storms of life A sturdy hand to hold to In times of stress and strife A true friend we can turn to When times are good or bad One of our greatest blessings, The man that ... Read More

Iris has become someone special to me, she is more than a mother in law. So, even though we were deep in floor mess in the kitchen, there was no saying no when she invited us to come to the house for dinner and meet her side of the family.       ... Read More

This was a different Easter for me. I suppose this was the first time since 1979, that I was away from the bosom of my family for Easter. After talking to them, I think I was missed. I did miss them too, however, I was kept very busy with my new family. We did make it to church, at Morley Baptist, the pastor gave a sermon on the facts about the resurrection. Interestingly enough, Rodney's blog post today and radio show also ... Read More

  Sunday, we were invited to Cathy and Graham's to an early Easter Egg Hunt. (Given that they will be very busy on Easter) :) It was our job to pick up Dad and Iris, and because we had a party at the zoo that night, I didn't bring my camera. So, John allowed me to use his this day, with his fish-eye lens no less, which is very different for me.           And out of deep respect for Graham, and to be fair, I ... Read More

Carrying on in doing things like no other couple does, two weeks after our wedding, Georgie held a wedding reception for us. She asked us to dress up like we did for the wedding which I was happy to do, I'm such a girl. :)                     The evening was wonderful. But one part of the evening was truly special, listening to John's dad sing Around The World in 80 Days. Good song choice as John and I had to go around the world ... Read More

So what do other people do the day they are getting married? You mean they don't sit out in the car blogging about the day before just to kill time like me? hehe We are at Siesta Park where the internet connection doesn't reach our chalet. John and I are very excited about getting married today and didn't get a lot of sleep last night. So at the chalet I worked on some photos to put up and we jumped into ... Read More

My dad loved recording with his reel to reel tape recorder. One of the things he liked to tape was me. Here we are together singing, "(I'm in Love With You), Honey." I was about 4 years old. I couldn't find much information on this song, like who originally recorded it or anything. I did learn that it was sung once on the Judy Garland show, which Dad was a big Judy Garland fan. Animoto is great for slide shows, but the free ... Read More

Long ago, I gave my dad a photo collage of photos for Christmas. I made the theme to be "Daddy's Girls." If I recall, he really liked it, and it hung in the living room for years. For a long while now, it got moved to the basement. A few days ago, I don't know what happened, but the glass, photos, and three sides of the frame just gave up the ghost, and it all collapsed to the floor. So I thought ... Read More

Well don't laugh, but lately I've been thinking about Bobby Sherman. I don't think of him often, but it so happened that this song popped into my head that I remembered he sang. I don't think I've ever seen it on an album of his, but it was on the "B" side of his more popular song, "The Drum".  The song was "Free Now to Roam" and it had an odd minor melody, not very typical of the songs sang ... Read More

After the zoo, we all went to Dad and Iris's house for dinner. Iris served delicious turkey, potatoes, gravy, broccoli and cauliflower cooked in an amazing sauce. ... Read More

After visiting the ships at the Harbor, we strolled around Baltimore Harbor in the evening.... ... Read More

The Santa Maria was a small nao, about 70 feet long, used as the flagship for the expedition for Christopher Columbus in 1492. She carried 40 men. Interest in reconstructing the Taylor Santa María started in the 1890s for the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage. The 1892 reconstruction depicted the ship as a nao. A subsequent replica built in the 20th century depicts the Santa María as a caravel. Commissioned as part of the 500th Anniversary Jubillee of the Voyage of Christopher Columbus, ... Read More

Mom handed Cameron one day a car to play with. I wondered where it came from, as it was obviously old. She told me it was my dad's. Since it was my dad's, the very moment Cameron wasn't interested in playing with it, I put it on my shelf, and there it has been decorating my room. However, it wasn't until today that I thought to investigate about this little toy car. First thing I did was borrow Laura's new camera ... Read More

It was so nice to see my dad's old truck back in the driveway! We have a lot of unloading, unpacking, stacking, putting together, and trips to the dump to make. Anyone, stop by at your own peril, you may be put to work! Here are the guys unpacking. Mrs. Moore stopped by to lend a hand, too! Thanks, Lisa! ... Read More

It's Father's Day here in the U.S. I couldn't let it pass without some mention of my sweet dad. He was the best of men. He is very missed. I found this poem on the internet and I thought to share it: ... Read More

Today is my mom and dad's wedding anniversary. Since I love looking at their old courtship and early marriage photos, I thought to make a slide show for this occasion. I miss seeing them together now that dad is gone, but he sure is in our hearts in a big way. I know he is in mom's.   Click here to see the movie, "Julian and Juanita" ... Read More

“Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice”    I couldn't resist sharing this photo Miranda took. Silas is getting so big. I just love how he is looking up to Enric in this picture. It would be great if he played guitar and piano like his dad.   ... Read More

I really can't say I am a country music listener, but growing up, our house was often filled with the sounds of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton, just to name a few. So, I am a little bit country thanks to my dad. I can remember him taping songs on his reel-to-reel, then to cassette, playing 8 tracks, records, and finally on a CD player. Just recently, I found a few of his CD's which I converted to Mp3s. 1. ... Read More