6 Kids, 3 cats, 1 dog, Mom, and Dad

Watching them flutter by or Another butterfly

There are a few of this type that love to hang out on the black-eye susans.

Wild flower mix or One of the residents.

I scattered a butterfly and hummingbird mix in my yard and all kinds of cool flowers are starting to bloom. I've seen a lot of butterflies out there and finally managed to capture one in a photo!

Blah blah blah or Yep yep yep!

I had an awesome weekend. I was in Colorado last week for training but really didn't have all the free time I would have liked to have to explore while I was there. I got home and in bed at around 3am on Friday night/Saturday morning but was up at 10am and ready to tackle the day.

I went to Portsmouth with Middle Daughter and we had an awesome breakfast at Colby's on Daniel Street. If you haven't been there yet, and you live in this area, hustle on over and have the best home fries ever!

I admired the artwork on the wall and ended up buying this....

What made it even cooler was that the artist has her studio nearby so we stopped in and met her. Her name is Lainey Hunter. She was very nice and we had a great conversation with her before going back to buy the painted window.

Today I got up, enjoyed coffee in Durham, walked around Pierce Island, and then spent the afternoon walking the Marginal Way in Ogunquit with Middle Daughter. It was a gorgeous day and I'm glad to say I spent most of it outside and walking.

I got home and took some pictures of my wildflowers and you can see how they're doing by clicking on the Flickr box to the right.

I hope all of you had a great weekend too!

How to pick or I'm just saying!

When I think about other women in terms of dating I get nervous. I am mostly thinking it would be nice to just go out to dinner or have someone to hang out with on occasion.

The last time I dated, 24+ years ago, it was enough to know that they were hot and weren't picky about looks since they were willing to date me. Now...I'm a widower, I have kids, and I have to think about all those things.

I also miss Mary. I flew into Denver today and as I drove away from the airport tears came to my eyes. The wide open flatness of it all, with lights sparkling in the distance, reminded me of our time in Arizona. And then I started to think how the remembrances were something that only we shared...and it is gone.

But, I'm only 43 and there is a lot of life yet to live. Now...if only a hot chick would have one of her friends come up to me and tell me that she like likes me, I'd be all set!

Happenings or Life around here.

We had a house full of people yesterday to celebrate the two youngest princesses' birthdays with a cookout. I have one nephew that is a bit spoiled. He was caught teasing Fizban several times and since he's nearly seven I think he's capable of being told no and remembering.

When Fizban gets stressed she sleeps on my laptop keyboard. I think she associates it with comfort from when she was a kitten but hasn't gotten on there in a while. She did yesterday after everyone finally left.

I find myself reading books that I normally wouldn't have read. I'm in the middle of reading "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom. A man dies after what he considers a meaningless life and meets five people in heaven that explain the reason why he lived.

I like it, so far. It isn't a novel filled with excitement, adventure, and fantasy but it is entertaining regardless.

I like puns or A good book to read.

I just finished reading "Pet Peeves", a novel by Piers Anthony that is part of the Xanth series.

I started reading the Xanth series when I was in high school and have been a fan ever since. He releases a book every year and it is always a fun read.

This time, it was a fun read and also was relevant to my life right now. One of the main characters, Goody the Goblin, lost his wife of 20 years and was trying to figure out what to do with his life. His wife was cursed to die before her time and that certainly applied to mine.

He eventually meets up with another goblin girl during the course of the story and they are perfect for each other. He finds, that he has a capacity to love another and doesn't dishonor his wife's memory in the process.

I have always enjoyed this series, but the story spoke to me in a special way this time.

Cupe, Web, and Wild or Step away from the camera.

Here's a pic of Princess Middle Daughter's soon-to-be-famous cupecumbers!

This ground web showed up after being misted by the backside of the lawn sprinkler while I was watering the wildflowers.

These flowers are just starting to bloom and I'm hoping that they will attract some cool butterflies or hummingbirds!

Ditto for this flower. Amazingly dark blue in color they get bigger and are still that dark.

Stuff going on or Rambling mind of a stationary man.

Funny and happy things are happening in my life, really! I just can never remember any of them when I start to blog.

The two Youngest Daughters had their birthdays yesterday...yep, same day
three years apart. My baby is 14 and will be a freshgirl in high school and
the 17-year-old is going to be a senior. How time flies!

Princess Fizban was doing her kneading routine in her bed today and then
finally flopped herself down to rest. When she did the bed slid too far
over the edge of my desk and fell to the floor. She was embarrassed (who
wouldn't be?) and didn't want to be consoled at first but rather went to
another room as if it was my fault. She came back later and rubbed against
my legs and purred that all was forgiven so things are back to normal.

Our vegetable plants are doing well on my deck though Good Friend's took
quite a beating the other day when they had a hail storm in their area. Middle Daughter's cupecumber (that's how she pronounced it when she was little) have flowers and small cupes and my tomato planets have started to flower too. The basil is growing like crazy as is the lemon basil. The lemon basil smells incredibly good and I can't wait to find something that needs it in a recipe!

Wildflowers are starting to bloom on my side yard! I scattered a can of the wildflower seeds mix a month or so ago and they are starting to flower.

I took this picture of our house but when I did the lens had misted over
because the camera was in the air-conditioned home and it was hot and muggy
outside. I think it is an interesting effect.

Anniversary memory or The year that I forgot.

Let me say that I think I'm pretty good about remembering things like birthdays and anniversaries, especially when it came to me and BW. I was never one of those husbands that spent the day in the dog house because I forgot her birthday or because I got her an iron for our anniversary. I was always prepared and did my best to make the day special.

Except once...

I was working at cable-not-in-business-any-more-tron and busy taking care of things in product support. I spent a lot of time in the lab, on the phone, flying around to fix problems, and answering questions from people in phone support. I knew our anniversary was coming up, knew it was coming up, knew I needed to do something...and then forgot all about it on that day.

I got home and when I walked in the front door I noticed the windows were covered, tropical decorations were everywhere, Hawaiian music was playing, and Beautiful Wife greeted me at the door wearing a hula skirt...and a smile.

I was happy, of course, but my mind still failed to make the connection as to why I would be greeted in such a manner. BW noticed my confusion when she said Happy Anniversary and then burst out in laughter at my obviously crestfallen and guilty looking face.

We had an awesome night and the fact that I had spoken about our anniversary for the weeks building up to it earned me her forgiveness. That's the only time I ever forgot or was unprepared for our anniversary.

What to do or Anniversary for one.

I'm thinking of going away during the weekend in August that would have been my 23rd anniversary with Beautiful Wife. The date really only means something to me now but I'm not sure how to spend it.

I've thought about going to some place fun like Key West, or Quebec City but then I started to worry that those places would forever be tainted by the self-pitying weekend I spent there right after my wife died.

I'm not really a wallow in self-pity type of guy, but still...why take the chance? I just know that I don't want to be around here with everything that reminds me of what we had and would have had together.

I guess I'll do what is contrary to my nature...wait until the last minute to decide and not make any travel plans until then!

How do you feel or How should I feel.

I find that I'm insulating myself from feeling. I think that is because no matter what I feel to start I end up feeling sad and depressed.

If I'm happy and having fun I feel sad because I think how Mary would have liked it or that she would have laughed when I told her the story.

I still find that's what I miss the most...someone to talk to about whatever. The times I resented her 'bothering' me when I was working when she just wanted to chat nearly breaks my heart now.

Good for the ego or Hanging out in Disney World.

We were in Epcot when it started to POUR. Fortunately, we were near the France Pavilion and I scored a table under an awning right next to the cafe. Sainted Mother, Son, and myself all fit at the table and enjoyed a strawberry tart and sipped café au lait while the rained drummed pleasantly overhead.

When it finally started to clear we made our way over to Japan. When I finished shopping and went outside it was raining mice and ducks again so I sat under the overhang to the building and watched people running in the rain.

Another family sat down nearby and one of the college-aged girls said that she had to pee so bad that she was going to go right over by the trashcan and go. Her sister said she could do that because she wore those 'butt floss panties' and then the entire family started to laugh.

I looked over and the college-aged girl said, "Oh look! He's trying not to laugh!" and then "So where are you from?"

We chatted for a while and every time my mom tried to interject with something the girl acted like she didn't even exist. Eventually, everyone came outside and listened to our conversation before the rain finally stopped and we moved on our way.

I had the opinion that she was being nice to me because I reminded her of her dad but all the daughters and son told me that she was totally into me.

Probably one of those white lies meant to make someone feel good...and it did!

A magical time or Now I need to rest.

We had a great time at Disney World but I always come back from there feeling like I need to take another vacation to catch up on my sleep and just to relax.

We had a lot of fun and I only experienced occasional bouts of melancholy when I thought of Mary and the fun times we had before or how much fun she'd have being there with me then.

We did the Disney Dining plan and it certainly encouraged us to do more sit-down, make reservations, types of dinners because one per person was included each day.

I really enjoyed my time in Epcot but find myself equally enthralled with my time at the Magic Kingdom too. The new ride located in Epcot, Soarin', was worth the 1+ hour wait. Philharmagic, in the Magic Kingdom, is also worth the wait and one that we repeated multiple times.

I took a lot of the pictures that have me in it by holding the camera myself. The upside is that I'm in a lot more pictures, the downside is that my head looks humongous in each one!

Here's everyone with my favorite Disney chick, Belle:

Here we are in line for the Rockin' Roller Coaster:

Define service or Things I saw on vacation.

Me, the kids, and my Sainted Mother all went to Disney World for vacation last week. Some things that happened while I was there:

-A woman got in line with her wheelchair. There are more wheelchairs and motorized carts than you can shake a stick at in DW compared to how things were during past visits. And why not...if you have one of those you, and everyone in your group, gets to skip the line and be seated on the bus transportation first. Anyway, this woman had a tiny yorky on her lap wearing a 'service dog' vest. That dog quaked and quailed at any sudden sound or movement and nearly soiled the woman when the bus made the 'letting down the wheelchair ramp' sound. That dog was a pet, but they found a way to beat the system and avoid paying kennel charges, by putting on a service dog vest.

-No smoking anywhere in the park except for designated areas must be beyond the comprehension of most smokers. As soon as you exit a ride, while waiting in line, or while seated in an outdoor arena is not a designated area. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't like it if I spit in their drink, put gum on their seat, or blew my nose over their food...that's how I feel breathing in their filthy second-hand smoke when I'm looking at Cinderella's Castle.

-If your kid starts to cry, leave. It isn't a matter of whether you mind the noise being made by your little darling. We don't know the kid, or love them like you do, so it is just plain irritating. Do everyone a favor and go back to your room so they can have a nap and escape from the heat.

Other than that...we had an AWESOME time. We got to spend time with each other, laugh, remember, and just have a fun time taking in the sights, sounds, and rides that make up Disney experience.