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Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Thanks, Uncle Ken

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Family, Musings on July 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

A few weeks ago, my uncle Ken passed away quite unexpectedly. Admittedly, I didn’t know him as well as I would have liked, and that is my own fault.

Particularly guilty of letting my life fill up with busyness, there are too many things I keep putting off until someday. One of those things is getting to know my extended family better.

Going to the memorial service, the one thing that stood out with utter clarity was that my uncle knew how to live. I mean really live. He squeezed all the fun, excitement, joy and adventure out of life that he could.

What a way to live.

I can’t think of one time I saw him that he wasn’t wearing a huge grin and laughing.  Always full of life. I can hear him and my uncle Ed joking, as they most often did, at our many family gatherings when I was a kid.

During the service, letters from his children and a few of his grandchildren were read. The underlying theme in them all was Ken’s passion for life. He skied, backpacked, traveled in an RV, and loved photography.

And just a day before he passed away, his first great-grandchild was welcomed into the world. One life beginning, one ending.

I hope that baby will someday know, and perhaps follow, his great-grandfather’s zest for life.

Seeing the many photos, hearing the heart-felt words that reflected Ken’s life made me want to follow his example and really learn how to live.

She Who Will Miss That Big Smile

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Happy Birthday, Doug!

Posted in Family, Musings, tagged , on July 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

See that photo?

That’s my dad and my oldest brother Doug, way back more than a few years ago.

Today is Doug’s birthday and according to stories I’ve heard, he’s always been a bit of a firecracker.

Doug was 19  and had the world by a string when I was born. He married my sister-in-law when I was a a year-and-a-half old.  By the time I was four, he welcomed his own baby girl with open arms.

So my big brother has always been a combination of hero, parent, sibling, cowboy and mystery to me. When I was a kid, I thought he was about the coolest person on the planet. He also had an ample supply of sweet treats  which helped cement his place as a favorite in my little world. I remember one time when we went to the woods to get Christmas trees he made me the best snow cone using real snow and strawberry pop.

Growing up, Doug was larger than life. Partly because of who he was, partly because of what he did. He was a real honest-to-goodness cowboy. Sometimes he’d be gone for what seemed like months at a time (although in reality I’m sure it wasn’t quite so long) as he worked on remote cattle ranches. But when he came home, fun was sure to be right on his heels.

He drove too fast, listened to his music too loud, and lived life like it was one amazing adventure.

Although age has a way of settling even the wildest spirits, Doug still has that air about him. Still looking for that next great adventure. Still ready for fun.

So to my big brother, who always seemed able to add one more star to my starry-eyed gaze as a child, I hope your birthday is extra-special. And you have many, many more exciting adventures.

She Who Still Thinks About Snow Cones and Huey Lewis

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Women on Target

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Family, Musings, tagged , , , , on May 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Captain Cavedweller’s wonderful mother came for the weekend.

Our way of celebrating Mother’s Day is for the two of us to go to a shooting class the local gun club puts on through the NRA.

No tea parties with big hats and buttery scones for the two of us.

Nope.

We have semi-automatic weapons, the smell of gun powder and the need to blast bullets into a tiny little target.

Last year was the first year we took the Women on Target class and Cherry, CC’s mom, loved it so much I asked her if she wanted to do it again this year. She enthusiastically replied yes.

So she drove several hours just to spend the weekend with us.  CC was working Saturday which left us girls to go to the class and hang out all day. It was awesome.

Getting up bright and early, we both were excited about going to the class where we got to shoot no less than 20 different types of guns.

After shooting one 22 rifle, Cherry decided she was going home and buying one. She loved it.

My favorite part is the shotgun area where we got to blast clay pigeons out of the air. I really want my own shotgun and the ability to shoot these in my backyard. Yep. That’s what I’m holding out for.

Whether you like guns, fears guns or don’t know a thing about guns, I highly recommend this class for any woman. It’s a great time of sisterhood as well as a fantastic way to learn about guns, safe handling and just have some good old-fashioned fun.

Thanks to our local gun club for sponsoring the event and making us all feel so welcome!

She who Had a Fabulous Time

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A Monday List

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Family, Musings, tagged , , , on November 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

1. I decided to finally tackle the spring cleaning I promised myself I’d get done in April of 2009. So far, I’ve managed to complete two rooms.  I need to finish the other five tonight if all my plans are going to come together this week. Anyone have a super cape I could borrow? Or a magic wand? How about some fairies? Fairies could be helpful.

2. While I was frantically cleaning,  Captain Cavedweller finally agreed to update two lighting fixtures in the kitchen. The first light caused the following:

  • A mess of monumental proportion.
  • Captain Cavedweller to become quite agitated.
  • Crumbling wires from the old fixture that quite possibly had been there since the invention of electricity.
  • The need to call an electrician and beg for help.
  • A gaping hole in my ceiling.
  • The inability to turn on any of the kitchen lights for fear of what will happen with the crumbling wire.

3. After the first light, the second one is still in the box, unopened. Guess who gets to call electricians and beg for assistance? Here is a hint – it won’t be CC.

4. I staggered through the cobwebs on my treadmill and actually walked on it today. The treadmill and I are not on the most friendly terms and this recent interaction has caused us both to be conflicted and confused.

5. I am supposed to be writing a novel this month for a contest. The goal is to reach at least 50,000 words by Nov. 30. So far, I’ve written 15,660. This does not bode well for getting the novel done in a little more than a week.

6. Captain Cavedweller has requested prime rib for Thanksgiving rather than turkey. This has caused me to be conflicted and confused. What’s next? Carrot cake instead of pumpkin pie?

She Who Needs a Few More Hours in the Day, Please

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