Jarbidge to the Oregon Trail

I was going to say ‘vacation’ but that would imply that I am taking time off from work to go somewhere other than my own backyard. I am going to take a couple days off next week, but I’m not going anywhere special.

No, Special is coming to me in the form of my almost one-year old grandson, Justin.

My son and his wife are leaving Colorado Springs tonight to make the drive here. They’ll be staying in my studio, so I won’t have access to my computer for most of the week. I’ll be taking photos, but I will wait to post my photo 365 until they are gone and the dust is settled here. And I will post a blog if anything breaks in the Kyron Horman case. But for the most part, I plan to be playing with that little boy with the Elvis blue eyes and the dark curly hair.

(I stole the photo from my daughter-in-law who just sent me a message to tell me they are on their way. YAY!)

Not only is my son coming up, but tomorrow is the day that Harvey gets his “pass” from the vet (finally!) and he will be able to play with Murphy and run and jump without fear of tearing out stitches. It will be a relief to not have to keep the dogs separate anymore! And it will be a bigger relief to finally give Harvey a much-needed BATH. He peed all over himself when he was in the pound and the first week here when he was still so sore from surgery, and we haven’t been able to give him a bath because of his stitches.

Tomorrow is BATH day, Harvey. (I hope he likes water…)

AND – we have more company coming! An old friend & neighbor who moved to Arkansas many years ago is coming by on Monday. He’s remarried and is in Oregon visiting his extended family and a few special friends. Keith’s boys grew up with our son and daughter, so there will be plenty to share and I am sure there will be lots of love and laughter and memories.

I have Monday off, but I will have to work on Wednesday. I’m aiming to take Thursday and Friday off (hoping the real estate market falls off for just those two days – isn’t that terrible??). We are planning a big party to celebrate Justin’s first birthday a month and one day early. Cake, ice cream and presents (BOXES!).

The best part of all this is that SUMMER will be here for a week. It is supposed to get into the 90’s (which is a tad hot and sultry for the Portland area, so I hope the kids are prepared for it. I know *I* am!) for most of next week.

All that to say: life is coming at us fast and so is SUMMER. YAY!!

Oh – one more thing – today’s Photo of the day:

I call it “reflection.”