These moss-covered rocks are down over the hill. When we were building the house, I tried in vain to convince our builder to haul some of them up so we could use them for landscaping. But the hill is really steep, and we would have had to winch them up somehow. At that point, it was too much trouble. I still think they are great and would look very rustic in the landscape. But I don't think they are going anywhere.

We took a quick weekend trip to Easton in Columbus and ate at my favorite restaurant in the whole world, PF Chang's. It was a 1 1/2 hour wait unless you sat at the bar, which we were happy to do. I had no camera with me except for my phone, and it was realy crowded, so I snapped a quick (crappy) shot of the lights. I highly recommend the Chicken Lettuce Wraps and the Asian Pear Mojito.

This is how my brain feels on this yucky, rainy, foggy afternoon.

Everything is greening up around here. The title is a throwback to a Bill Cosby episode, when Rudie's little friend Kenny said, "You can call me Bud."

My two favorite little dudes.

My son-in-law's dad passed away last week. He never got a chance to meet his grandsons, which is so sad. Today SIL made a little fire to burn some of his dad's old papers. The boys kept asking what was going on, and he told them about ashes to ashes and dust to dust. They didn't understand, but I think it was important that they were involved. The weather was nice for once, and it was a relaxing family time.

I'm being forced to learn more about my digital SLR, since my point and shoot is gone to the camera hospital. So I'm practicing with DOF. So far, so good.

The flu has made its way through my house, and it hit me last night. Fever, shaking, coughing, the whole nine yards. Since Sarah was the previous victim, she knew just how to fix me up with Nyquil and Sprite. The fever is gone today, but I am still moving slowly. No green beer for me.

My friend Terri turned 50 today, and her husband cooked up an elaborate plan for a surprise party. It was held in a cool old loft room that used to be a department store downtown. If you are as old as me you will remember the hardwood floors, the pneumatic tube system that used to run through the store so you could pay and get your change from the main office, and the elevator that a little old lady sat in all day and pushed the buttons for you. This chair probably sitting where my mom bought my baby clothes.

These two saw me fiddling with the camera, trying out some shots, and started standing in front of me saying "cheese!" I couldn't disappoint them so I plopped them on the bench and told them to hug each other. This usually turns into a wrestling match, and today wasn't any different. I don't think they have a future in modeling, at least at this age!

This is my first attempt with my husband's Nikon D70s. I have no idea what I am doing. I can't figure out the macro, I can't figure out how to turn off the flash. I know it is an awesome camera, and I am not a stupid person, so hopefully I will figure it out.

Even though we have been having unusually cold and snowy weather for this time of year, my daffodils are already up and swelling with blooms. Spring must be around the corner, right?

Our last full day in Antigua. We tried to store up as much of the memories as possible.

How lazy can people be?! This guy walked around through the pool, pouring drinks. I even watched him climb into the huge hot tub to serve drinks so the people wouldn't have to walk across it to reach their glasses. I at least paddled my own float over the bar to get my drink!

The colors of the ocean here are so beautiful it almost hurts your eyes. Looking out just brings you a sense of calm. Or maybe it's the wine talking!

We left home at 4:00 am this morning to begin our vacation. It was a one hour drive to the airport. At 4:35 traffic on the interstate came to a halt for an accident. About 10 minutes later, some idiot in a utility truck rammed the back of a pickup about 10 cars behind us and then proceeded to try to push it up the berm. It flew by us, shooting sparks everywhere. Five minutes later we saw smoke and flames. Both of those cars were on fire. We had nowhere to go if it came our way. I had visions of jumping out of the car and over the guardrail to get out of the way. The firetrucks had a tough time getting through because the traffic was in gridlock. We sat motionless for 1 1/2 hours. We finally got to the airport, but missed our flight. In a small town like ours, you are usually out of luck if this happens. Luckily the USAir agent was also in the traffic jam. She rerouted us through another city and we got to Sandals on time. This pic was a firetruck, taken as we rushed by on the way to the airport. If we had left home 5 minutes earlier or later, we might have been in one or both of these wrecks. Guardian angels--I believe in them.