Gary's visit

Our friend Gary was in Fort Lauderdale for business week before last and stopped by to see us a couple times. It was really great to see him! He's our seventh Virginia friend to come see us. Not bad in four months!! Jim Baugh, Joe Dudley, Mary Herrington, Frank and Dana Constanzer, Chris Hassel, Gary Gillam....and more on the way!! My sister Nancy and her husband Bob will be here next week (she's originally from VA, though been in TX for many moons now), Vickie ( and possible Kathy!) coming Labor Day weekend. Michael and Kate are coming Sept. 8, not sure who's coming with them...I'm not exactly sure what Gary's doing with his cell phone....

horsie

This latest piece is based upon a couple things...when all the other little girls were playing with Barbies, I loved the little horsie models and would play with them for hours....mixed with the Aboriginal art that's been my inspiration for awhile...

too cute

Carolyn just sent me this picture of Kathy and Mary...it's so cute I had to put it up here!

Beach Week-end

So we had our first annual Friends of Jay Beach Week-End at my house combined with Kathy's B-day! Beautiful cake for the occasion, and lots of sun and kayaking time. The second picture shows the girls dancing on an Eminem song. Carolyn was double tasking (brushing her teeth)... Nothing like some jamming early in the morning to wake you up... right Frank? Yep, Frank turned on the music at the max of the volume capacity my player was able to handle, that is at 6:50 am or so... Not sure the neighbors like the first few songs though. We had a blast and I couldn't have had a better group of friends to come down and visit! No blender incident to report (we kept the blender safely in the cabinet) but I have to say the Bloody Marys were excellent.

Can't wait to do it again! View more pictures here... http://www.coolportfolios.com

TTFN,

~ Vickie ~

Hmmmm

Not sure why, but for some reason we have to moderate comments now, meaning we have to approve them before they are published. We didn't change anything, so I'm not sure what that's about. Anyhow, please don't let that stop you from posting a comment, I'll try to see if I can fix it. (I just fixed it)

And Vickie, I've seen pictures of you as a youngster and you were (and still are) adorable!!

Anyway, was browsing family pics and found it interesting how much these two pics of me and my sister, Nancy, are alike....she's coming to visit in a couple weeks!!

New Director of the National Hurricane Center

It occured to us early on, that our cat Lili has a unique gift! As the days became longer and hotter, Lili began to sit in the upstairs window and scan the sky. We thought that he was longing to go out and catch the beautiful birds that are here, or maybe explore the intercoastal. It wasn't until Bill Proenza stepped down from the Hurricane Center Director did we discover Lili's unique talent. Little did we know . . . he is a STORMCHASER and possibly next in line for Director. Here's how it works: First, he looks at the barometer that Carolyn and Jim gave us - checks out the sky -
















as the clouds build and the water in the barometer rises out of the tube - he gets a feeling, a sign, something primal happens. Then he runs and jumps up on the counter, up to the refrigerator and into his special storm-proof hiding place. If Lili is in his hiding place - a storm is coming our way. If he was to become the next Director of the National Hurricane Center - weather people all over the air-ways could correctly predict a storm. I bet Lili can sense a Tropical Depression off the coast of Africa. He is the best.















Having made this discovery about Lili's gift, I may be seeking a new vocational direction. Look out CNN!

private showing

After not getting in the art show I had entered, I put my pictures up here briefly yesterday, but then got cold feet and was afraid to show them at all. But Kathy's sweet note cheered me on, so here they are. Click on each one and it should open in a larger window. As many of you know, I was raised in the city and had never been around many nature loving folks till I married Wayne. Getting into kayaking last year opened a world up to me that felt like home. So, I would take these pictures on my adventures and then come back and write poems about what each shot meant to me as I saw it. I want to thank you so much for opening up this world to me.

Have a great weekend.

better late than....

When Wayne called for high school photos last month, I was thinking all mine were back in Hampton till I remembered this was on our computer. So, here you go, me at 17.