Week In Review

Packing, packing and more packing!
Two more weeks and our trek back to the Midwest begins. 

As can be seen by the evil eye I got from Belle, the animals are not too happy about all the packing.

As much as I wanted to go to the beach during the hot weather we had this last week there was no time. This picture was taken the week before.

We have a new pet! His name is Bob the Bee and he is a carpenter bee that has decided to guard our peach tree.

Remember the baby kittens last month, well their momma finally came back and brought a few friends. As soon as we walked toward them they all ran off, so we were still unable to get her and reunite her with her babies.

weekend reflection submission

With all the preparations for our move it was nice to take a break and get a little work done. This is one of my favorite shots from a very special session I did with a young Navy Wife whose husband left on deployment last month.

Needless to say there has been little time for exploring the city let alone creative work. So, I thought I would share this composite art piece I did last month in honor of my oldest brother's engagement to a very sweet woman. 

Today I am linking up with a number of great parties across the blog world. Please visit them and share in the fun. 

Jame's Weekend Reflection

Blame Our Family Curse Not Global Warming

Rapid City Journal photo

As a winter storm bears down on much of the Midwest bringing with it snow, ice and winds erasing all glimpse's of spring some may be inclined to blame it on Global Warming. Others such as Meteorologist Scott Rudge are sure to point out that this in not all that uncommon, as he did in an article for the Rapid City Journal.

Our family however, know the true cause is the family curse. Yes, you read that correctly, it is our family's curse that has brought this unusual burst of winter back to the Midwest.  
You're probably asking yourself why would a curse on a family living in Norfolk Virginia effect the weather in the Midwest, and what on earth is the curse anyway. The answer is really rather easy,  bare with me while I explain.

For years now our family has realized that when we make a major move the weather for some unknown reason (It must be a curse) becomes severe and some sort of meteorologic anomaly occurs. Personally I blame the curse on the fact that as a trucking family my husband and I chose to give each member of our family weather related CB handles. My husband was Greycloud, I was Silverlining, our son's were Lightning Flash and Tornado Ted and our daughters were Snow Dancer and Raindrop.

Here is the evidence to this theory:

In June of 1988 we made our first major move, leaving behind Southern California and moving to Oregon. That move was accompanied by extreme heat as the nations was in the midst of what would be known as the Drought of 1988.

Our next major move came in March of 1993 just months after our youngest child was born. Leaving behind the West Coast for a life in the Midwest we were met  by the  Storm of the Century. This storm brought record lows, heavy snowfall, hurricane force winds and tornadoes severely effecting the Eastern and Central portions of the US, when an arctic high pressure system in the Midwest combined with the extratropical area of low pressure formed in Mexico. I remember being shocked when we arrived in South Dakota by the snow patches still on the ground and being told by a local that there had been a major snow storm the week before.

In May 1998, after learning my mother was ailing we packed up and returned to California. On the day we left South Dakota a Tornado outbreak completely destroyed the South Dakota town of Spencer. I will never forget how the storms rolled in the night before the tornado hit Spencer. We had just finished loading the semi trailer with our belongings and were headed to a motel for the night when the Tornado sirens sounded in Sioux Falls. Tornado sirens in Sioux Falls is something that rarely happens. I remember one of the kids saying "we're moving so here comes the bad weather."

In November of 1999, once we knew all was fine with my mother we headed back to South Dakota as it had become our home. Now generally I would not recommend to anyone to move to the Midwest during the winter months but just this once the curse worked in our favor for the winter of '99 saw much warmer than normal weather conditions across the US.

It seems the curse extends to our children as well. In November 2003 our oldest Son "Lightning Flash" moved his family to Florida where he was to train as an aeronautic engineer with the US Navy. To mark his move not only did the Sun go wild but Tornadoes ripped through Southeast Texas and Central Louisiana.

Next our oldest Daughter "Snowdancer" or as she is better known here Mrs. G, moved with her husband and two small children to Virginia in April of 2008. During that month thunderstorms and severe weather swept across the Central and Southeastern United States producing floods, thunderstorms, hail and tornadoes. Mr. G was away on the ship at the time so I helped with the move by driving the moving truck. It was so hot when we got to Norfolk. Just days later on April 28th an "EF3 tornado carved a 10-mile, quarter-mile-wide path through Suffolk, VA…"
 
Then in April last year, after the death of my husband, my youngest daughter and I moved from South Dakota to Norfolk VA to live with Mrs. G and her family. Typically tornadoes start happening in May but last year thunderstorms and tornadoes began to pop up as early as March 2nd and continued to plague the Southeast US through April.

Now here we are April 2013 and the weather is going nuts again. A heat wave has descended on Norfolk.

While the Midwest is being blasted by snow, ice and very cold winds. 











The explanation to the current weather anomaly's is easy. Our family is making a major move!
That's right, Mr. G has been transferred and we are in the process of packing right now and will be moving from Norfolk VA to ... you guessed it the Midwest! It is official, house is almost packed, moving truck is reserved, the lease on a house in Rapid City, SD has been signed we depart on the 28th of this month. So now you know WHY the weather is so messed up.

So what do you think, Global Warming, Our Family Curse or just Mother Nature doing what she does best and keeping us guessing?

Sunday In My City: A Relaxing Ocean View

On a warm spring day such as today there is nothing better than a relaxing walk along the shore in the Ocean View Beach Park, Norfolk. 

After my last little jaunt to the ocean front with Max, Mrs. G and the kids decided they wanted to come and watch Max play on the beach. 

It was so beautiful. This was the first time I had been at the beach when the tide was out, it made for some great photo ops.

Like this one with all the rocks that have been hidden under the waves every other time I have been on this stretch of beach. 

The water was so clear today I almost wanted to walk a little further out to snap shots of the sea life. Then I remembered that Mrs. G wouldn't be happy with me if I tried to get in her brand new car with my shoes and pant legs soaking wet. And well it may have been 70 degrees out but that water was still pretty darn cold. 

This is Greenies Bar & Grill, it is a very popular night spot. My oldest son took me out to Greenies once and I have to say I enjoyed it very much. The atmosphere is lively and fun and the food was good.

As we were walking back to the car I looked up and this is what I saw. I am not sure what type of plane it is but it was huge! 

I hope you have enjoyed this little visit to Norfolk, to continue your virtual travel click the link below.

Love At First Scent

Have you ever fallen head over heals in love with a scent? A love born solely from the pure joy of the aroma and not from any fond memories that are triggered by the scent. Here is the list I made trying to answer that question.

• Fresh brewed coffee: awe, but this may be because it reminds me of sitting on the porch with my mother early in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee.
• Fresh hot homemade corn tortilla's: Pure heaven! But once again the scent evokes such glorious memories of my Abuela's kitchen. 
• That perfume my 7th grade Sewing teacher wore: well obviously it reminds me of her and she was great!
• Old spice: Okay, this was my husbands favorite cologne so not a scent loved for the pure joy of the scent.
• Morning Dew mixed with Pine and Oak: hmm, well this always brings back very fond memories spent in the forests of California and Oregon.
• Polo Blue Cologne: Once again a scent that I love but probably because I it reminds me of my very first love.
• Lavender: Ah yes this is the only scent I can think of that I absolutely love just because. There are no fond memories of other people attached to this scent. 

It took me seven tries but I finally found a scent I love for the pure enjoyment of the scent and no other reason. 

Now you may be wondering why I would think of such an off the wall question.  It came to me today when we took our dog Max to the beach for his first trip to the ocean. Now Max is a real baby when it comes to water. He loves taking a bath and will jump into a tub full of water if we let him. But Max hates it when it rains or when there are water puddles on the ground so we were not sure how he would react at the beach. 

I wasn't too surprised that he didn't like the waves and ran away from them any time they came near.

What did surprise me was that he fell in love the moment he got his first scent of the seaweed.

Watching him with the seaweed was hilarious. He ran from one clump to another snuggling with each one, laying down beside them and rolling all over them.

P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday Submission

And that my friends has to be love at first scent for he was surely in heaven!

Linking up with