Six Whole Months Have Passed!

Woah... where to start?

I think I will just promise that over the weekend I will apply myself and get this little blog up to speed! There. Ice broken. Whew.

End of May

Wow! A LOT has happened since my little "contentment" posting. Sheesh!

Firstly, I got a job! Wasn't even looking! My Broker from my RE/MAX days, Charlie,(bless his heart)gave my name as a recommendation when the owner of Townsend Bay Property Management called, looking for an agent to join them! I interviewed that day and was hired to start on the 26th! I really like the job & the 3 ladies I work with. It is 4 days a week, so I still have time at home, which is very important to me. Pretty frickin' cool! :)

On Memorial Day, Seth (Tiger & Violet's papa) popped up on facebook out of the blue. He has been in a very bad situation for the past 2 or 3 years, no contact with the girls. Lo & behold, he is out, sober, clean & getting out of Alaska. He wants fix it & he'll be here on June 4th! I have a lot of hope and an equal measure of aprehension. Poor Holly is so worried for the girls well being, should he slip away again. Hopeful, too, of course. But she has done and gone through so much. ugh.
Tiger is beside herself with joy! Violet is tickled if you ask her about it, but it is all Tiger thinks & and laughs & smiles & talks about ever since she spoke with him. She has missed him terribly. I hope, I hope, I hope for the best.

Hard working Holly Rae was sideswiped by a double kidney infection. On top of work, house building and papa's coming to PT news. How much can one little mama take!?! Her house should be ready to move in the first week of August. I hope then she will be allowed some rest.

Tara rented an ADORABLE cottage uptown in Port Townsend. So cute & tiny & affordable & perfect for her. She is super happy about it. Zero is allowed to live there with her, but Lloyd has confessed his love for the cat, so his address remains the same as ours, for now....

Heidi may, or may not, be headed for a visit to Alaska. She is going stir crazy here. Not working gets a little old (spoken from experience). I hope she finds some direction soon. Until then she seems delightfully distracted by pretty boys...

Willabee is finally coming home on June 5th! YAY! We have all missed her. Her vacation has been long enough that I can just barely remember what a teenager she can be! Ha ha. I'm sure it will all come flooding back very soon! It will be very nice to have all of my kiddies home again. At least in the same town. Same house isn't an option anymore, so same town will do.

Luke man is golfing with his dad today. He has been doing a lot of shifts at the Upstage. Helping Lloyd get wood in, helping around the house. His 8th Grade promotion is coming up on the 16th or 17th of June. And on the his Freshman year! Go Luke!

And last but not least, Naomi, has been sailing and rowing her little heart out at school. these last 3 weeks are a maritime unit and ALL of her classes have to do with (or are actually out in longboats on the bay!) maritime education & themes. She LOVES it.
Last Thursday was a BEAUTIFUL sunny day, they were out sailing and almost capsized the boat when a big gust of wind came up. She said it was soooo scary. BUT! They didn't capsize and she learned how to try to avoid & prevent it. Pretty exciting!

I am feeling pretty happy. Excited about being able to have some extra $ to apply to projects around here that keep getting put off for lack of funds. Really good stuff happening.

Life isn't easy but it sure is sweet.

contentment

During the past two weeks, Miss Tiger Rae Varah learned to ride her new ($7.99! at Goodwill) two wheeled bicycle! She learned in 1 day and is now zooming up and down Berry Hill Lane on long bike rides with Luke and Naomi. She is SO happy, she even rides in the rain-serious rain!! Violet seems content to smile proudly at Tiger's accomplishment. Her new bike isn't quite ready to be mastered. She draws pictures while they are on their trips.

We have the garden all ready to plant this weekend. Last year I planted most of it on or around Mothers Day, too. It turned out great last year, so I am hopeful about this years bounty! i have taken some before shots so I can chronicle our progress this year!

All of the rain lately has made for some very cozy evenings. Toasty & warm inside, good food, a new floor lamp ($5.99 at Goodwill!) casting a golden glow. We have had friends over for sweet visits (and tasty treats!). I am feeling like the house is starting t o feel like a home-our home! Still a lot of work to go, but there is a plan and I can see that it WILL be lovely.

Naomi starts her 'maritime studies' next week at school. She'll be going out in the bay in a longboat, rowing and sailing. All classes for 2 weeks are maritime centered. She is VERY excited and uncharacteristically talkative about it. Make me happy to see her interested and engaged. Port Townsend has some great things to offer, that is for sure!

Holly has handpainted trucker hats showing at Artisans on Taylor. She was part of the gallery walk held the first Saturday of each month. There was a large turnout & her hats were a hit! She sold 3 & was very happy about it. I think a few mint juleps made her happy, too!

As it happens, Saturday was the eve of our 17th Anniversary, so we were out to Holly's show and then dinner at The Public House with Heidi. Very nice. Tara showed up to finish off my plate and visit for a few minuts after getting off of work. Then we walked back to Holly's show, hugged took pictures and headed back up on the Mtn. A lovely eve and the next day was equally laid back and WONDERFUL. Coffee, comfort, company & contentment.

Life is sweet...

3 WEEKS!?!?

WOW! It has been 3 weeks since I have posted! I have been home for 3 BUSY weeks now. WOW!

Well, let's see...Lukas had a birthday & he is now 15 years old. We had a pizza party for him (Heidi has the pictures on her camera, will post when I get them)! We went craigslist b-day shopping and found GREAT deals on weight bench & weights. Huge savings, I love craigslist!! So now we have work-out equipment here at the house. Luke and Lloyd work out almost every evening, pretty cool.

Then came Holly's groundbreaking for her house. There was music & prayers for the workers and the families getting the houses. Some finger food & another tour of the Rosewind common house. (AWESOME!)
The girls played & played and ran & played some more! It is going to be such a great neighborhood for them to grow up in! Yesterday was Holly's first jobsite day, 8 hours of foundation work, then her regular shift at The Upstage, ouch! It's going to be physically draining these next few months for her. But, the pay off is soooo worth it all. A home, in Rosewind, in PT, with an affordable mortgage. Lifechanging! Yay, Habitat for Humanity!!

The weather has turned to SPRING and Lloyd has rototilled the garden, nights are still a little too chilly for tender plants.



I finished painting in the dining room & we got a new chandelier!
Another in-house miracle, I rigged up a shower!!! Yes, it is true-Naomi & I can both get a decent hot shower-in our own bathroom-from 1 heated bucket of water! We transfer the hot water into a solar shower bag (really simple actually) and the pressure is not bad at all. I am really happy with it. Naomi was impressed.

We did another craigslist shopping trip on Lloyd's Monday off. (the mill is trying to save $$ by having the guys take every other Monday off..? tick-tock) We drove to puyallup & got a canopy for his truck for only $100 dollars! What a deal! And it was a beautiful day for the drive, Naomi rode with us, she was just walking home from the bus stop as we were leaving. We had a nice time.

Tomorrow is Lloyd's payday, so, grocery shopping day! AND then, on Saturday morning-my girlfriend Rachel & her daughter Caila & Naomi & I are all driving down to Bend, Oregon! We are going to Rachel's cousin (and my good friend from childhood in Alaska) Sarah's house and all of us are going to Sarah's little sister Emma Hill's concert at the Tower Theater in Bend! It is sort of a family gathering for them & we all grew up together, so I'm going, too! I am really excited about it. Emma has a new album out & Sarah has a new house and a daughter I haven't met yet. Really should be a lot of fun.

Phew-there it is...the outline of my past 3 weeks. Of course there is TONS more, TONS! But, those are the highlights. I'll be sure not to take so long between postings. AND get my camera working for more pictures!

Home on the Range!

Yahoo! I made it home just in time. I arrived last night and the volcano blew up again today!

I am so happy to be home! What a wonderful greeting from my family and my animals. Hugs and licks and purrs(and that was JUST from Lloyd!) AHHHH HA HA HA. My little dog Hazel was the happiest, even this morning she was still overjoyed, so cute. Heidi was so relieved she cried. Tiger & Vi were very sweet, too, with sweet smiles and long hugs.

Today was sunny & warm & perfect! I had coffee made by my lover and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Tomorrow we are going to grill some moose meat that I brought home (thank you, Grant!).

Lloyd was able to get our oldy OLD rototiller running and tomorrow may see a freshly tilled garden here on the Hill! Hummingbirds were here and drinking at the feeders, the daffodils are ready to burst open.

My flight was so great-the two guys that sat by me were funny & nice & interesting. The weather was BEAUTIFUL. When we got over Port Townsend the pilot circled the plane around to slow our arrival to get in line to come in to the Seattle airport. It was like I had asked them to give me a perfect extended birds eye view of MY little town!!! It was SO SUPER cool! In all the times I have flown I have never had such a fantastic view. What a gift! It made me really happy. Blue sky, all shades of GREEN land and deep blue waters with the sun a-blazing over all of it. Wonderful. The only glitch- I watched 90 percent of Slumdog Millionaire and then the flight attendant wanted my digi-player back for landing :(
now I have to buy the DVD. I would have been able to watch the whole thing, but I took a break when snacks came to eat and visit with my seat mates. It was the right choice.

I had a good time visiting with my family and friends in Alaska the last week I was there. The trip was very worthwhile over all. It had very intense, but meaningful moments & a bit of good old lighthearted good times. I feel like it was very healing for me. I have held a lot of resentments and I think that I have finally worked through most of that. I feel genuinely live-and-let-live. And that has been my goal, my ideal. It was quite a journey. I feel relaxed and relieved and ultimately-HOME.

life is sweet...

The Red Beet

What a fantastic evening & scrumptious dinner at The Red Beet in Palmer with my LADIES!! Me, Susie,Char,Hannah,Jamie,Willow,Alice & Nikki! SO much fun, we laughed and laughed, a few happy tears, too!

And as promised here are a few photos of the kitchen:

This is where Sally makes the "MAGIC" happen! And this is the food wizard herself, making it look easy!!

Her food is AMAZING, the coffee-sublime! The ambiance is down to earth and so tasteful. Just a wonderful, comfortable space. We love it! Thank you Sally for doing what you do so well!!
We had such a good time and the ladies have promised to try to get together here once a month! YAY!
Life is good....

Volcanic delay!

The volcano (Mt. Redoubt) is setting my itinerary! It has been blowing it's top and causing flight cancellations. So, I am booked for Sunday and crossing my fingers. My Mom is really doing well, what a haul she's been through! She finally got her replacement glasses TODAY! The hospital lost her glasses during her surgery, so she has been without all this time. It was a huge relief to get them today.

I have been able to visit with some of my family and friends & reminisce about our childhood or the good ol' days. Some of them good, some bad...the sharing of the stories was all good! Wonderful to reconnect! Thank you Grace, Krystal, Susie, Jamie Alice, Kim & Andy. Lovely strong ladies. Tomorrow we are going to get a group together to go out to dinner at the Red Beet, a fantastic(!) restaurant here in Palmer. I'll try to take a picture of the kitchen to post here...it is a-m-a-z-i-n-g!

I am looking forward to my trip home to see my family. But I am taking the time to savor the end of my visit here.

Life is sweet!

Going home...

Ah, I have booked my flight back to my home, sweet, home!

Friday, March 27 & I can hardly wait. I miss my family and my pets and my home.I ordered seeds online today. They should be there waiting for me when I get home.If the weather is warm enough I will get my chickens ordered, too!

My Mom was released from the hospital on Friday the 13th. She continues to recover at home. She is on oxygen temporarily. I think she will be able to stop using it after her check up this Wednesday. I helped her do the application for social security disability, hopefully they get that approved in a timely fashion (right!).

We are considering having the entire family go up to Alaska for the summer. Depends on Lloyd's job at the mill. If the mill stays going, we'll stay put. If not, Alaska, here we come, for awhile.

Holly's groundbreaking ceremony is April 11th and the renovation work on her house starts April 22nd. I am sooo excited for her and the girls to have this dream come to fruition. Hopefully, Holly will finally get the financial breathing space she has been striving for, for years now. And having a home, with garden space, in town, for her and the girls...wonderful.

Lukas will be turning 15 on April 9th. We need to plan a fun day for him...maybe bowling?? We'll see what he wants to do. He sure is growing up fast! And what a fine young man, too. I love you, buddy.

Life is good & I am going HOME <3

Night Watch

Here I am in my Mother's hospital room. I have had a good night's sleep last night and a nap (and a double shot latte!)this afternoon in anticipation of being here and up over night. She had her epidural catheter removed today and 2 of the 5 chest tubes, also. Pain management takes on an entirely new meaning with the epidural out! Now the narcotics come in to play, ie: let the head games begin. In addition, it will take a day or so for a routine to settle in that will balance the pain coverage and her ability to cope, comfortably. On a positive note, her recovery is continuing to go very well. She would argue that the myriad of new IV's, blood tests, tape rashes, coughing fits, trips to far reaches of the hospital for various tests, shift changes, personality clashes with nurses, tv show interuptions, crappy food, changing meds, fevers, dressing changes, and many dignity defying events-SUCK! (and they DO!) Overall, she is recovering-slowly but surely.

Holly has done an excellent and amazing job of being at her side since her upgrade from critical care to progressive care. The nurse to patient ratio is lower and we all agree that there needs to be a family member with her at all times in this part of the hospital. That boils down to either me or Holly with her 24/7 or both of us here with her!! And as Murphy's law will prove every time- we both left, with other family here for a 2 hour, middle of the day break and all hell broke loose! She passed out and collapsed in my brother and her husbands arms (low blood pressure and weak legs combo from the epidural). She was unhurt, but scared the bejesus out of Grant and Archie!! Then today Holly went down to the cafeteria and the tape from Mom's brand new IV stuck to her face as she dozed off... When Holly returned a few minutes later there was what looked to be an IV in her cheek (it was just ON her cheek) and blood burbling out of her hand, all over the place!! So, I had to basically swear to Holly that I wouldn't leave the room while I am on duty for the next couple of days & nights. Holly went to get some well deserved rest. She is so good with my Mom. She is so amazingly patient with her. My Mother also has the greatest respect for Holly's intelligence and trust in her capabilities. Therefore, she is able to relax when Holly is at her side. Holly was afraid my feelings would be hurt at being relegated to #2 nurse on the list, but- it just makes me proud of how awesome she is!! I'm good-but Holly is "REAL GOOD"!!
Alaska is beautiful and I love the chance to visit with my family.
But, man do I miss my home, sweet, home!! And my sweet peeps who live there with me. *sniffle, sniff*

Life is good. Funny & hard & good.

Flying Colors!

After one whole week in the hospital to get her strong enough for surgery-She came through better than the surgeon expected!! She is amazing & her surgeon did an amazing job! She did not expect to live through the surgery & we basically all said goodbye Thursday evening. She is stronger than she seems and she even surpised herself this time! It has been very intense emotionally. It is nice to be in Alaska, it feels familiar, it is beautiful. It is really hard being away from home. The kids are doing a good job keeping things under control but...I feel helpless about things that need to be done there. And I miss Lloyd. He is sick and I am not there to comfort him. :( Or get comfort from him. *sniff* I am pretty drained so...I have more to say but I need energy and time to sort my thoughts first.

Life is precious

I'm so happy that my mama is still alive!

To see my Mama

I am flying to Alaska tomorrow. My mother is in the hospital with a very serious lung infection.
Empyema-infection in the pleural space surrounding her lung. The lung is collapsed. The condition itself is dangerous, but she has the added complication of having battled lung cancer-with all of the chemo & radiation they could throw at her-in late '05/early '06. There is a mass in her lung according to the CT. They believe the cancer may have recurred.
She has to have surgery to clean out the infection. I'll spare the gruesome details. She is in intensive care. My family wants me there. I want to be there. All of my mind is there, so my creaky bod should be there, too.

Heidi has instructions to cook, clean, cuss & yell. "you know-be me" :) She can hold down the fort for Lloyd and the younger kids. Feed the cats & dogs, MAKE DELICIOUS DINNERS-she can handle it!

Oh, my poor mama. She's been through so much. It makes me sad to see her scared. Cancer sucks. I am hoping she finds another helping of 'tough' inside, she's going to need it.

Hope for the best....

Life is precious.

Truckin'

SO, Holly bought herself a truck. I do not know if she will EVER stop grinning! She is so happy. She, Willow, Tara & I had lunch together, then went to goodwill & the auto parts store to "pimp" her ride. It was a complete and total BLAST! When Holly is happy-Life is Grand!

Willow & Heidi's test scores came today and they both passed with very high scores. Now for the gathering of financial aid info. They call them turbo testers-they finished in half the alloted time and in the 90th or higher on all but 1 subject! Smarty pants-with attitudes. Willow is interested in cosmetology. She will be running her own business one day, no doubt in my mind. Heidi is interested in culinary school, bit she needs to settle where she wants to live first. Here, Louisiana, Portland....it's up in the air. Louisiana is top on the list for her, though.

Lloyd made it through his extra long day, came home full of good cheer. He then told me a story about a scary experience at the mill. He & a co-worker were in an enclosed area working, finished up and were manuvering their way out over grates & stuff when there was a huge "BOOM" "explosion" Lloyd said. Then steam loudly pulsing from a giant pipe. Lloyd said "I'm getting the F outta here" and RAN! He said it freaked them all out, not knowing what blew & which workers were where in the mess of it. Turns out it was a pressure release valve doing its job to protect the main boiler from building up too much pressure. But-frightening, until they knew what the deal was! Ahh, love the mill (ack!). I think I'll buy some lottery tickets this week. ha ha

On the homestead-the SUN has been shining, leading me to believe that we will, in fact, have a spring & summer later this year.
SO- firming up on the chicken selection & going to get my little seedlings started in the house here in the next 2 weeks. I got a sale flyer for a tall 4 level shelf to put in the south facing window/non moving side of our sliding glass doors. That should work out just fine. My only worry is that crazy, perpetually bad child ZERO (Tara's cat, who lives with us!?!?)

Poor Zero is very intelligent & bored. He can't go outside because Holly's cat Simon lives on our porch and tries to kill him everytime he steps out of the house. Simon is sweet, fluffy, adorable. He rolls onto his back for you to scratch his curly tummy. He looks like a lion. And he is a KILLER, stone cold, ass kicking KILLER. Loves people, hates other cats, KILLS anything that moves. He does get along fine with the dogs. Hazel is much smaller than him and he leaves her alone. Between he & Magic, Simon is certainly the dude in charge, they are pals. They probably have formed a team to assasinate the pets that get to live in the house, while they languish outside. They plot. Well, Simon plots, Magic.....I don't think so!

La-La, Life is sweet!

Takin' care of business

Yesterday was spent in Port Angeles. The view from PA is lovely, especially with the sun shining. However, PA itself is icky. It made me feel motion sick by the end of the day. AND my business in PA took so long that I didn't get to visit my friend in Sequim on the way home. :( I was looking forward to it. So, I need to plan a grocery shopping in Sequim & visit Wendy raincheck day.
Today Lloyd had to be at work at 5:30am and has to work until 7:30 or 8:00pm!! Poor guy is going to be exhausted. I plan on having lots of piping hot food for him. He is usually tired but very pleased with himself after one of these "downs". I'll keep my fingers crossed for a good mood. Naomi & I have the house all warm & tidy. A tidy house is sure a mood elevator after a long day at work. You can relaxxxxxxxxx.
Gotta go rustle up some grub for this evenings meal!

Sun is shining. Life is good!

Out on a DATE?

Lloyd took me out on a date last night!?!?!!! At 6 PM he said-what movies are playing in town? So we raced into town, grabbed 2 slices of Waterfront Pizza, tons of people out in the chilly evening air, dashed to the Rose, tried to catch a movie but the theater was packed. So, we got buttered popcorn anyway (the Rose Theatre has the best popcorn OMG!)& decided to go out for appetizers. Lovers taking pictures of themselves out on their dates at the Public House-young couples, grey haired couples, candle light & roses. I had my favorite oyster appetizer and my night was MADE! Lloyd had beer & a burger. The music was drab so we decided to go elsewhere for dessert. Off to the Upstage, 4 eateries in 1 night,what a tour! The place was packed! So many couples out celebrating. Ladies in red dresses & men in red sweaters or red shirts, dancing & twirling. Heart jewelery on ears and necklaces-even one red plastic light up ring! While we listened to a Patsy Cline song get butchered, I watched one young couple gaze into each others eyes as he held her face in his hands across their tiny table, just smiling at each other so sweetly.

Love was in the air in Port Townsend last night. Thank you, Lloyd.

What a surprise! I didn't expect a date or all of the beauty & joy that I witnessed. My grin will wear off eventually I suppose....

Valentine's Day

Friday was GREAT! Willow was already in town, so I met her & Tara for delicious breakfast and bowlfuls of caramello lattes at Sweet Laurette's. A wonderful way to start the day! The rest of the day was filled with errands & window shopping, no rush, lovely.

We had grilled steaks for dinner with the kids as an early Valentine's Day dinner. Everyone loved it, of course. Is there really anything more delicious than med rare steak on the bar-b? Lloyd's mom sent us a bouquet of flowers-very sweet & thoughtful.

This morning we had coffee & then went outside & did some yard work, until it began to rain. OK- we'll finish that chore later!!
Lloyd's making a run to the dump & I'm catching up on e-mails & facebook & blogs. My Internet social life meshes perfectly with the dead van in the driveway that leaves me stranded at home! =)

Sweet, sweet Heidi is coming up for a week or 2 visit. I have to pick her up at the Bainbridge ferry tomorrow. YAY!! I can have some "all of my kids home" time. Dinner & gabbing & photo ops with all of us in the same place at the same time! It doesn't happen often enough anymore. So, I am very much looking forward to her visit.

Happy Valentine's Day

Life is good...

birds & boredom

Ho hum. I am looking forward to Friday. On Friday Willow and I will go to town with Lloyd in the morning so that we can use his truck! Vehicle=Freedom. Town=Showers! Willow is going to attempt her drivers permit test. We will also pick up some paint for projects around the homestead AND shop for groceries galore.

This weekend Lloyd is building a wall in the bathroom and a divider wall between the girls bedrooms. I plan to paint the floor upstairs. Then during the week I will paint the floor downstairs. That should tide me over until we can tile & carpet in the LR.

There is also the change the stairs project. Lots of plans for home improvement. We can do that jazz while it continues to SNOW outside. hmmpff! so there.

I put out bird seed and the cats & I are now being treated to quite the show. It's like kitty IMAX. Such a tease for them. We had Rufous sided Towhee's (pictured at the top) & Thrushes this morning. The towhee had red eyes-really strikingly pretty bird. One lone stellar jay showed up-over dressed for a casual event, as usual! Silly birds. I love it when the little hummingbirds show up. But-I am willing to wait if house projects getting done is the trade-off.

Salma is a SUPERHERO!!

ouch!

Damnit! I trudged around in the woods with Lloyd yesterday. We were locating the 2 north corners of our property. And then...I stepped into a low spot and POP went my friggin' knee. It didn't hurt instantly, but it hurts like hell today! It feels like my quad is bruised, too. GD knee. I injured it when I was 20 yrs old and it has hassled me ever since.

We have decided to bar-b-que tonite. Cold weather be damned! Two days of sunshine in a row and we are READY for summer! Bring it! We haven't decided the meat type, but there will be marinading & grilling involved. Ooooo, I can hardly wait. Salmon? Chicken? Tender (expensive) beef? We'll see....

Slappy the skunk is still visiting on a regular basis. He'll miss a night or 2 and then he's back. The cats have learned to leave him alone. I went to bed early last night. Lloyd & the kids were up watching a movie with the genny on, so the porch lights had my bedroom lit up when Slappy arrived. I watched him run around in my room. He is so small-like a small long haired squirrel- and so cute. At one point I thought he was going to jump up onto my bed. He ran across the floor toward the bed, then under it and into the battery room from the foot of the bed. Little maniac! He is so small, but so loud with his slappy little bare feet! Lloyd wants to catch him in the live trap and relocate him. ??? I don't want to harm him in any way. Conundrum. What to do about Slappy.

Ordering seeds & chickens & a turkey or two next weekend. We also have a line on some Icelandic sheep. We just need to decide how many to start with & figure out where their area will be here on the homestead. We may do sheep next year & just focus on fowl this season. Build it slowly so as not to overwhelm. Still talking it over. We've got a bathroom upgrade to do in the next two weeks, too. Very good stuff happening around here!

Life is GOOD!

RELIEF!!

Yay! The court dismissed all of the BS we have been dealing with for over a year because of Willow not having a note for 3 excused absences. Pain in the butt! OVER!!!!

And my dearest friend got married yesterday afternoon in a simple, heartfelt, lovely ceremony. I was honored to attend & I am sure that theirs will be a peaceful, happy, musical union.

Then, in the evening, Luke let Lloyd beat him in the father/son basketball game. He said some of dad's friends from high school were there and he didn't want to embarass him in front of them. What a considerate young man! HAHA.

Life is sooo good!

25 Random things about me from my facebook

1. Every once in awhile, I really like a peanut butter & dill pickle sandwich! (try it!)

2. I've had a racoon, great horned owl, boa constrictor, turtles, iguanas, geckos, doves, finches, goats, tarantula, chickens, squirrels, frogs, fish, hedgehog & chinchillas as pets.

3. I love the fact that I am named after my daddy-Dennis Michael Dunnigan.

4. I have been a doula at 18 births (NOT including the 6 that I 've given birth to!)!!

5. I love, love, love the smell of fresh basil.

6. I had my first child at 17. She is awesome and amazing. It turned out ok for us.

7. I dream of playing the fiddle, well. I took lessons for awhile-work got in the way....

8. I met Lloyd 22 years ago, married 17 years in May & he still gives me butterflies <3

9. Apparently, I snore. LOUD. Really bums me out. Asthma & allergies. Sooo not cool.

10. I really miss having girlfriends. I have a hard time making friends, wish I had more.
maybe if I didn't snore...or if I could play the fiddle...?

11. My house was burned down 3 times growing up (crazy arsonist stepdad). Yes, really.

12. I have lived in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon & Washington.

13. There are 2 bolts in my left knee and a new acl made from my own hamstring!
I tore it skiing at Heavenly Valley on my Honeymoon & haven't skied since :(

14. I have always wanted to live off of my own land. We are working toward that goal!!

15. Raspberries, blueberries, papaya, pesto, lamb, scallops, salmon, halibut, mushrooms, coconut & lemon/ginger are my top 10 favorite foods.

16. My maternal great-great grandmother was on the first all woman city council in the US
in Langley, Wa on Whidbey Island!!

17. I love to garden, it reminds me of when I was little and gardened w/ my grandma.
She was very patient and has beautiful hands. Very sweet memories.

18. I get motion sick very easily & it usually takes an overnight sleep to go away! ugh.

19. I have 3 tatoos. They all have some connection to Holly...hmmmm.

20. I have 6 children, 5 daughters and 1 son. 5 natural births & 1 c-section w/baby #3.
Holly, Tara, Heidi, Willow, Lukas & Naomi.

21. I am suprised by the way not having a job has effected me. I am in a good place now, but it has been an emotional rollercoaster.

22. I am afraid of flying & drowning & fire & the specter of dementia.

23. When I was young I rode horses 6-8 hours a day all summer long. Stupid boys got me distracted! I miss horseback riding.

24. I wish that my allergies would allow me to drink booze. I LOVE wine and a nice buzz!

25. I am very grateful for my beautiful family. I feel content. Peaceful, even. They are not just beautiful to look at. They are smart & funny & interesting & talented & complex. Not perfect of course, we all have our days. But overall, pretty sweet.