Kirby

Most of you who read my blog know Kirby.  And if you do, then you know that there is only one Kirby.  They threw away the mold!  He is priceless, he is special and I love him very much!  He came into my life one bright and sunny day in 1997 and life has never been the same!  And - if you know Kirby, then you know that I NEVER get a good picture of him....but I did!  Ha Ha, Kirby!  I got a good picture of you!!  You are the best! And I love you!

Townsend Men

 As most people of his generation, Lee is well connected to his cell phone.

Notice Kirby doesn't have a cell phone anywhere evident in this picture!

Dinner Party

We had plenty of reason to celebrate this week.  Lee has been visiting from Hawaii and Casey has come home from Clemson University for Spring Break.  Of course we almost didn't recognize Casey with a beard of all things!!  But the same old charm was still there so we knew it was him!  Here he is with his mother, Christie.

Jake had one of his best friends to spend time with but he didn't really want to share his bed.  But Lacy doesn't mind - she loves cuddling!

Lee and Kirby deep-fried a turkey for us.

If you have never tried to take a picture of my family you have never lived.  They get so tired of my camera but I don't let that bother me.....I just keep on shooting!

Tommy Condon's Pub in Charleston

Lee is here visiting from Hawaii and of course we ended up at Tommy Condon's today.  That made me stop to think of all the times we have taken folks there when they come to visit so then I had to go looking for all the pictures.  There went some time!  First the picture from today.

I didn't want Lee to show his Coors Light as it is pretty bad stuff but I couldn't take the picture AND wrestle the bottle from him.

Ed is Kirby's old Navy buddy and he was visiting Charleston last May.  They hadn't seen each other in about 40 years.

In December of '09 Ken and Connie were here on their boat heading to the Bahamas.

This was Lee's first visit to Charleston to see us, in June of '08, and of course we introduced him to Tommy's.

Three years ago next month we had Rick and Tanya and Steve and Mollie visiting.  We all explored the pubs of the eastern seaboard together when on our boats.

Girls like Tommy's too!  Mollie, Tanya and I found our own table at Tommy's.

And this was our first visit to Tommy Condon's.  It was our anniversary in 2007.

History

It was 1991 and I was working as a cashier at West Marine in San Diego as we prepared our sailboat for cruising to Mexico and maybe beyond. By my working at West Marine we saved more on my discount than I made on my hourly wage. :) But there were benefits of many kinds. The discount on boating supplies was just part of it. I was able to be around other people who had boats and dreams of sailing around the world just like I did. One of those people was a repeat customer named Jim. Jim and I hit it off the first time I waited on him. He asked me to reserve a new Garmin GPS for him at the special price of $850!(can you believe that price??)  He said he was going cruising just like we were! I put the GPS in reserve for him and a few weeks later he came back to claim it. That was the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship.

A year or so later, I was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico when, to my surprise I spotted Jim at the local marina. We both were there fulfilling at least a part of our dream. Fast forward almost 20 years and you will see Jim and I having lunch at Tom Ham's Lighthouse in San Diego. We have both had our Mexico adventure and more!

Jim (Delphis) Whitley and I were meant to be friends!  Somehow we have always remained in touch.  He has been such a great friend and I love him dearly!  (OK, he doesn't like it when I call him Jim Delphis but Delphis was the name of his boat and for a few years that was the only last name I knew for him!)  So, if it is appropriate or proper or possible or whatever - I want to dedicate this page to my dear friend!!  Love you, Jim! 

Balboa Park, San Diego, California

These are simply some pictures that I like of Balboa Park. We went to the Science Museum and when we came out the sun had peaked out from the big rain clouds. Still some clouds moving by but it was a lovely day.

I paid a dollar for this one! I just don't like to take their picture without contributing...makes me feel badly. I don't usually pay much attention to their music - I just love street musicians. They follow their passion.

I know this looks like a parade but it is just the crowds coming along the promanade. I waited until there weren't any people real close to me - they really just kept coming. I had forgotten how many people there are in Southern California!

Don't forget to click on the pictures to get a good look.  So much better that way!

San Diego Trip

I will try to get some photos up today.  I took so many and it takes time to sift through them, crop if needed, reduce the size for the internet and then upload them.  I will begin with my two grandsons!! (you can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them - they are better that way!)

 This is Kevin.  Kevin will turn 5 in March and is as sweet as they come.  He is also VERY smart and will focus on a building project longer than I have ever focused on one thing in my life!  So I guess all he got from me is the blue eyes by way of his father.

 This is Justin, who turned (terrible) two in February and he also got my eyes!  He is almost too smart for his own good and will mimic anything his big brother does.  He even ran into my arms upon my arrival after watching Kevin do the same!

And here they are surrounding their daddy at Balboa Park, downtown San Diego.

Ryan and Lisa at the Science Museum at Balboa Park.  We had a blast there with the kids trying all the wonderful science displays.  Kevin was in heaven with some of them!

And I can't forget my wonderful granddog!!  Blackjack is always so overjoyed to see me and makes me feel very loved!  He is about the most vocal dog I have ever known and each morning he would lay by my door and wait for me to get up.  When he saw me he would begin to talk about how happy he was.  Always had to quiet him down so the kids wouldn't wake up (I was still on east coast time!)  At least he has given up on his habit of wanting to sit on my lap - he used to just climb up!!  He is just too big now!

It was rainy the first couple of days and we were fortunate to see lots and lots of rainbows.  This one stretched from one side of the house to the other.  I think that means good luck doesn't it?

 Astronauts at work

 The construction crew

 Bikers

Snail collectors

Little scientists at work.

The allure of water

And there is nothing quite like a bubble bath!

This One's For You, Diane!

I had a wonderful evening with Joe and Diane while I was in San Diego!  She told me how much she loves my blog - so this one is for you, Diane!  Thank you for letting me totally disrupt your life!  I had a fantastic time!

So, I am home and brought a doozy of a cold home with me.  The network at work was down all day so it has not been all good since I got here.  But - it was fantastic to see my Kirby and my Jake so I can't complain.  Hopefully tomorrow I will feel better and can get caught up a bit at work.  I will have more pictures to post as the days go by.  I took too many!!  Now I have to sort through them all - but that is so fun!

San Diego Visit

Here I am in San Diego using Lisa's computer!  We are getting ready to visit the Children's Science Center in Balboa Park.  I am having a fantastic time and have already taken about 150 photos but have no way of sharing them right now.  My red-headed grandson's have grown so much.  Justin, who just turned 2, is walking and running all over the place and will mimic anything big brother does.  Kevin will be 5 next month and knows his alphabet, can read some and has better focus than I have EVER had!  They are both amazing and we are having such a good time.  The fact that we keep seeing rainbows doesn't hurt a thing - don't they bring good luck or something?  And a double rainbow must just mean life is going to ALWAYS be fantastic!

Fun and Games

 We had the Shumbies to dinner and Train.  I fixed my first real lowcountry dinner - cheesy grits!  What a hit!  I need to work on my method of cooking grits a bit but it really was great.  I did it just like shrimp and grits but instead of shrimp, I used chicken.

Casey was home from Clemson for the weekend - broken hand and all.  I am so proud of him making the Dean's List his first semester at college!  Way to go, Casey!

 Brendan is my first-born grandchild and I am so proud of his commitment to soccer.  He has his eye set on his goal and he does not deviate from it!  He starts practicing with the Charleston Battery this month!  Go, Brendan!!

 My Kirby wins most all of our games of Mexican Train.  He is also the scorekeeper.  Hummmmm.  I am beginning to wonder..........

 We seem to spend more and more time with just Michael and Christie and not the boys as they go about their own lives.  We barely got relocated to South Carolina in time to enjoy a few years with our oldest grandsons.

 Jake had a good time too!  He loves playing with his best bud - Lacey.

I just thought it would be fun to do all the pictures in B&W - what do you think of it?