"Busy" indeed!

Today's photo-a-day challenge prompt is the word "busy" which seems incredibly appropriate considering I've been too busy to post since last Friday!  I have been keeping up with my photo challenge though, just not posting here. 

I've been so busy, in fact, that is completely slipped my mind that last month, on the 6th, was my 5 year Blog-iversary!  WOW! How did that come up so quick?  Yup, just as I was posting about being a SLACKER, I hit the 5 year mark. Kinda crazy, right?

So, let's see, where were we...okie dokie, we'll play a little catch-up on the prompts for the last couple of days. 

Saturday's prompt was "view from your bed" - you can see here the view out my bedroom window...dog toys anyone?

Sunday's prompt was "water" - I couldn't decide which of these I like better - so I cheated and posted them both. 



Monday's prompt was "alone"


Tuesday's prompt was "your favorite color" - here is what I posted, with a little explanation. Photo-a-day challenge, prompt for today was "your favorite color." On most days I would probably answer this with a post of something pink or purple (they tie in my book) but today the colors that ring "favorite" to me are the colors of our country's flag.

 As I mentioned, today's prompt was "busy" - I have so many to choose from...Today Kona and I participated in a heath fair. We were there for about 4 hours, and we were very busy.

 He's over all of this picture taking stuff...bring on the petting!

Ah, much better.

 Holding hands with random women? That's my boy...

 Enjoying the company of some other terrific teams.

Yesterday we were at the VA Hospital for a Volunteer luncheon.  We received a special pin in recognition of our 500+ hours of volunteering there over the last couple of years. It was very cool!

 Such.A.Ham.

 

On Monday we were at the VA for our normal Monday visit. Sometimes Kona likes to stop and smell the roses...or in this case, the ivy.  

My boy is always happy after his therapy visits. I think he smiles as much as the people we visit!

So that's it for tonight...busy enough for you?  Whew! Tomorrow's prompt is "hello" - I wonder what the day, and the prompt will bring.

Slacker

I've been called a lot of things in my time, but "slacker" hasn't been one of them.  I do feel like I've been neglecting this poor blog though, and I feel bad about it.  I love writing here and posting pictures, sharing my life's mundane details, etc.  I'll try to do better going forward, but no promises.  It seems that life is busier than ever nowadays, and while I'm not complaining, I do wish that there were just a few more hours in each day.

Now, in an attempt to catch you up on what I've been doing - I'll share a few photos of the last couple of days with you.

Never a dull moment...that's for sure.

Monday was Dad's birthday. He would have been 84.

 I've been doing lots of fun stuff with the dogs, both with my Love on a Leash group, and my Golden group.

 Temptation...

 We've received some very touching memorial gifts from our friends, including this plaque from Jill and Jeremy.

Someone sent this to me anonomously.  Pretty cool, but I wish I knew who to thank.

 And of course we've been missing Jack.

 My friend Teresa and her Mom, Pat, had this pillow made for me.  I just love it! That's my boy!

A Year Gone By

Sometimes the best of intentions don't quite work out the way we want them to. I was reflecting yesterday about my Dad's funeral.  It was a year ago yesterday. An ENTIRE year ago already has passed. It is so hard to believe. I remember when I wrote this that I had every intention, as I mentioned, to share more pictures and stories.  I never got around to it.  I don't think I could bear it. Now it's been a full year. I've gone through one of everything. I've gone through his birthday (March 4th) without him,  Father's Day without him and all of those other special days that we would enjoy spending together. I have so many wonderful memories with him. I still think of him everyday, but I feel like the smiles come with those thoughts more often now than the tears do. But the tears still come, and I'm sure they always will.

For now, I'll share these photos with you. My friend Bobbi, captured the whole day for me in photos. It may have seemed strange to others who were there that I'd asked someone to walk around and take photos, but looking back now I am SO glad she did this for me. These are invaluable to me and my family.  Thank you Bobbi, from the bottom of my heart! 

 It was nice to see so many people come to honor my Dad.

 Military Honors

The presenting of the flag to my Mom was beautiful. Such meaningful words.

 My brother gave a perfect eulogy. He couldn't have said anything better than what he said. I LOVE this picture that Bobbi took. I know in my heart that my Dad was indeed looking over my brother's shoulder and smiling. 

 My parents' beautiful grandchildren - all 6 of them.

 The bagpiper played "Danny Boy" my Dad's favorite, and "Amazing Grace" - it was perfect. 

I'll explain the orange another time.

 After the service, it was time for a celebration of my Dad's life at our home. We had a house full of wonderful family and friends.  It was a beautiful afternoon. Dad would have loved it.