Off to Black Sheep Gathering

Or off to join the circus if Angela has her way. It will be a fun trip either way with Holly, Angela, and Miss O along for the ride.


I will certainly take lots of pictures. Hopefully I'll even manage to post some on my return.


I'll leave you all with some random photos from Ireland.* Have a great weekend!

Sea thrift by the sea

Kilkenny cemetary

Kinsale Harbour

Kilkenny bike shop

*I truly plan to post more, but it takes awhile to go through 1300 photos. Trust me, most of them are not award winning (certainly only due to the lack of talent on the part of the photographer and not for lack of beauty in the subject matter at hand!).

If only I had the photography skills and talent of Jo's Richard!

You say it's your birthday!

You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

The Beatles – The White Album

(I love that song! It’s like instant energy and mandatory here at Casa del Chaos whenever there’s a birthday. In fact, I’m listening to it right now…)


<actual age removed for purposes of homeland security> years ago today, on an exceptionally hot Sunday morning in June two-weeks before her due date*, my mother was floating around Lake Tapps on an inner tube when she realized she was in labor. I arrived just a couple of hours later, handily allowing my dad to celebrate Father’s Day that same day (and a whole year early too!).

Me and Mom

I’ve been going through old family photos lately since I’m preparing to scan everything into a digital format (note to self: must remember to get scanner). So I just happen to have some first year photos lying around that I thought I'd share. (ages are approximate since hardly any of the family photos are dated or labeled ::sigh::)

me at around 5-6 months

still around 6 months
(my mother was convinced a fat baby was a happy baby - look how happy I am!)


one year


Mom, Dad and me (at 6 months)
I think my parents are about 14 here (LOL - just kidding!)

I have to say I'm not quite sure what's up with the curlers. What was my mom thinking? She's at a family holiday party for heaven's sake. If that's not enough of an event to warrant taking the curlers out what is? (note to self: remember to tease mom mercilessly at next phone call).

*and sadly probably the last time I was ever early for anything.