This 'n That............

The blown glass bowl came out beautiful but photos are delayed. I use two computer monitors and one of them stopped working. The problem is that some of my programs insist on loading on the non-working monitor (my photos, for example) so I'm not able to get to them. Fortunately, my e-mail and Firefox load on the working monitor. The weather is finally beautiful which is especially nice because this is Rose Festival week. The parade was yesterday and dragon boat races and other events are taking place down at the river today. After a nail appointment this morning, my plan is to take Bella down to enjoy some of the activities.

Roger had a really bad gout flare-up so he's pampering his foot and it's very painful for him to walk so I'll have to leave him at home.

I am very much enjoying using the Kindle to read with. The first book that I loaded is "The Help" about a group of black women who work for whites in Mississippi during the 1960s. It is an exceptional book so it's hard to put it down.

Only one week and I'll be in California. The schedule is already pretty full but my plan is to reconnect with as many family and friends as I possibly can.

Afran and Phillipe finally got their passports so they are scheduled to be here from July 28th until August 20th. An old-time friend of Rogers, who is a genetic scientist, is also going to be here in August for about five days so we'll have a full house.

Roger's grandson, Chris, returns from Georgia (the country) on the 20th, after teaching English there for the past six months. We're looking forward to hearing about his adventure.

LIVE LAUGH LOVE GLASS

Live Laugh Love Glass is a new business that recently opened in Tigard. Today I had a personal lesson to learn how to blow glass. I had the choice of making about ten different items so I decided to try a bowl. The finished colors will be bright yellow, green with touches of orange with some clear glass areas showing through.

This is Jeff, a very talented teacher of how to blow glass. It was a fascinating experience and, yes, I learned how to soften the glass in the HOT oven, shape and blow it.

Jeff did the final part, thank goodness, that turned a "blob" into a ruffled edge bowl.

The colors that you see on the finished product will all change when the glass cools from 2000 degrees to room temperature.

Tomorrow, I'll be able to show you the finished product.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOSH

Enjoy the day !! Your grandpa and I hope your birthday is special - just like you..............

Kindle

Yes, I decided to continue to TRY to keep up with technology, so even though I still love the feel of a paper/hard cover book in my hands, I'm looking forward to learning to use my new Kindle. It came today so it's presently charging it. We'll see how successful I am in learning to use it.............

Happy Birthday, PAM !!

It's your day so we hope it's filled with wonderful things..................

We send our love from Portland.

AURORA - A darling historical town

Today Allison and I took a short drive to Aurora - about a 25 mile drive from Portland. The small town is mainly a 5 block long street with Victorian era houses on both sides, now used as antique shops and cafes. If you're an antique collector you'll have an opportunity to find anything and everything. If you just enjoy "walking down memory lane", it's equally as enjoyable. Neither of us purchased antiques but we managed to find a local bakery, a candy factory that specializes in hazelnuts and chocolate and a darling shop that sells soaps, candles, and personal accessories imported from France.

I'm not sure that I should mention lunch because we really indulged. We had a choice of two cute places that serve "girly food" but we opted for the pub that won awards for the best burgers. So..... after a bleu cheese bacon burger with batter dipped fries and a chili burger with home made slaw.... we pretty much waddled around the remainder of the afternoon.

IRS Audit................

Well, unlucky me. The IRS has conducted an audit of my 2009 tax return and they believe they have discovered unreported income so now I have a new tax bill with penalties. I thought that hiring an accountant to help me with my taxes would avoid this kind of issue. Apparently not........ sob.............