IT MAKES "CENTS" TO ME FOR FRIDAY - NOVEMBER 8th

UPDATE: Saturday - November 9th at 7:07 p.m.

HI everyone,
I'll do my Friday "cents" post tomorrow on Sunday. I worked today. It was 4 hours that turned into 5 because it was unusually crazy busy at work...but it was so stressful that it felt like 10 hours today and I'm just physically wiped out.

So I'll blog about the henna tomorrow. I got fabulous results with it and I can't wait to tell you about my experiences with that product :) :)

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :) :)

Hi everyone,

I'm actually going to do my usual Friday post tomorrow on Saturday.  I went and had henna hair color put on my hair this morning. It was quite the process but I saved a lot versus regular color in the salon.

I went to the LUSH cosmetics store in Carmel.

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow and have photos and everything :)

Have a great weekend everyone. That's the news from the ocean shores of California today.  Love and hugs, Heather

I'M STILL HERE

Hi everyone,

I am still here :) :) I've been really lazy with posting the last couple of weeks.  Everything is okay at home.  The job front is still nothing, but I"m not discouraged. I'm working on some knit socks for my father, which should be really interesting. They're being knit completely on the fly. That means, I'm not using a pattern.  I'll share a picture or two tomorrow. 

We finally got some more rain again today :) :) Yes, I'm so thankful that God sends the rain. We need it, even here living on the ocean coast :) :)  That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

JOB UPDATE

Hi everyone,

I did not get the job that I was praying for. That's okay, because I know God has something better in mind.  Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. Keep praying, because I really do need a job so I can pay my bills!!! That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

JOB INTERVIEW TOMORROW

Update at 4:02 p.m. Pacific Standard Time

Hi everyone.  My interview was unexpectedly "rescheduled" for tomorrow at the same time.  It's a good thing I checked my email before leaving for the interview, because my "potential employer" wrote me an email at about 10:45 this morning, telling me she had to reschedule my interivew. Would that be okay?

Well, yes, because I don't have a choice.  I was a little discouraged because I was dressed up and ready to show them what I've got to offer. IN any case, I did respond via email and also included my phone number.  I'm just thankful that I checked my email, otherwise I would have shown up for the interview and told that it had been cancelled/rescheduled.

Pray that if this is the job for me, that God would work out the details. If it isn't the job for me, than I know God has something even better in mind.

That's the news from the ocean shores of California this afternoon. Love and hugs, Heahter :)

Hi everyone,

I've got a job interview TOMORROW, Wednesday - March 21st at 1 p.m. in the afternoon. It's a part-time job working for one of the local museum's here in town. Pray that I'll be calm and focused. I don't like the "interview" part of the job search. It always makes me nervous. However, I've got peace about this, no matter what happens. I really need a job. I've been out of work since December 2010. However, I want it to be the right place for me, too. This LORD or something better.  Thanks for your prayers, everyone. That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather

QUICK UPDATE

Hi everyone :) :) :)

I hope your past week was  a good one. I was really lazy with getting my "It makes "cents" to me" post up for Friday. It just never got written and so I'm going to give myself a pass for this week.  My purchases were basically the same as last week, minus the breakfast sandwiches :) :)

Otherwise, I've been having a really good week.  I've been watching "Road to Avonlea" on Netflix DVD. It's a gorgeous tv series that was produced in Canada. I'm also working on some more knitting. So that has been really fun, too.

What about you? What are you doing today?

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

QUICK UPDATE

Hi everyone,

How was this past week? Mine has been really good. However, I have neglected to clean out my closet...literally. So I need to do that today, or else I might get eating up by clutter.  I'll have my "It makes cents to me" Friday post up either tonight or tomorrow ;) :)

Today I went to Whole Foods, and bought enough food for the whole week :) :) Plus, I ordered two things from Amazon that I can get cheaper that way versus buying in the store. AND the plus side, is that these things will last months. 

Okay, I'm off to clean out my walk-in closet. How is your weekend going? That's the news from the ocean shores of California, Heather ;) :)

MY FATHER AND YARD SALE TREASURES

Hi everyone,

My dad returned home from the VA last Thursday. I was really happy to see him. Here is a pic of my father and I together. A friend of the family picked him up at the VA and brought him home :) :) She kindly took the photo for us. Here it is:

THIS IS MY FATHER AND I JUST A FEW MINUTES AFTER HE CAME HOME.  NOTICE THE SMIRK ON  HIS FACE? I THINK MY DADDY WILL BE JUST FINE.


When I saw my father pull into the parking lot with our family friend, I started jumping up and down and clapping. I was so happy to have my father back home. Even the dog could tell something was different about that day, because she kept sniffing around the house looking for him. When my dad walked through the door, the dog's tail started wagging so fast, you could have used it as a fan :) Isn't my daddy handsome? 

Oh, just a sidenote, in this photo I have lost a total of 60 pounds. You can't tell very much, because I've had that faux suede blouse since BEFORE I started my healthy living/weight loss journey.

I was having a bit of cabin fever and wanted to get out of the house this weekend. My friend P. told me that she had some errands to run. I asked if I could come along. She said yes.  Then we were coming back to the house to watch Downton Abbey on Netflix.  So we found a yard sale on the way home, and yes, I bought two things. Here's a look at what I found...all for $2.25.

The first item was a super cute satin pink pajama set for $2. It actually fits me. I washed it and now I feel really pretty and feminine when I go to bed :) Here is a glimpse of the fabric:

THE PAJAMA BLOUSE IS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL PINK DAMASK STRIPED TOP. THE PAJAMA PANTS ARE JUST PLAIN PINK SATIN. I REALLY LIKE THIS SET BECAUSE IT'S PINK. WHEN I WEAR IT, I FEEL REALLY FRILLY AND FEMININE.

The next item was just a small Christmas item that I spotted. This was only $0.25.  It's actually a dark green pillow with an embroidered center that was hand-stitched. It says "Christ is Born!" I gave this to my father, because I knew he would LOVE IT...and he does. It's sitting on his desk, in front of some books.

I'm working on a pair of socks for my aunt's really, really , really late Christmas present. I started them back in November. So when I actually finished them, I'll post a photo for you and maybe a tutorial, too, in case you want to make a pair for yourself :) 

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today...speaking of which, the weather has been a really interesting mix of sunshine/rainy clouds today.  I really like it a lot. Love and hugs, Heather :)

DAD IS HOME !!!!!!

Hi everyone,
Dad came HOME yesterday afternoon. I'm so excited :) :) He looks really good. He's out and about and moving around, albeit a little slowly...but he looks wonderful :) :) I'll post a pic this weekend :) :) :) That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

p.s. I'll have more vintage, crafts and other stuff up next week :) :) Thanks for visiting me. I LOVe visitors. You are always welcome here :)

HEATHER'S BLOG DESIGN ADVENTURE UPDATE

Hi everyone,

Wow, I finally managed to use up all my image storage space on Blogger. So I had to go back to my Picasa web album (which I forgot I even had still) and delete a bunch of unused photos. Plus, I deleted all my blog posts from my first month of blogging, to create space without having to pay for extra storage. I just can't afford to purchase more space, even though it's really cheap.

Have any of you ever experienced this?  Well, the one good thing is I've figured out how to create my own header ;) :)  So that is a step in the right direction :) :)

I did finally figure out how to add my own background image to  Blogger. Now I have to figure out how to make it fit the whole screen instead of repeating itself over and over. Uggg..I hope you don't mind my experimenting with my blog layout and design :)

If you want to read the update on my father, you can click here.

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

DADDY UPDATE - ALIVE AND WELL

I'm working on changing the look of my blog. I'm trying to upload a personal photo to the background template, but for some reason it's not working. Can any of you help me? Until then, I'm going to have a really plain blog :) :) :)

Hi everyone,
It has been awhile since I posted anything, let along give an update on how my dad is doing. The good news is that my dad is alive and doing very, very well. He is recovering nicely.

THIS IS MY FATHER, "BIG POPPA", ON  HIS WAY TO THE VA REHAB FACILITY.


I wanted to start with that photo first, because, my daddy is so handsome :) :) That and the fact, that I was so happy to see him doing so well after all that he's been through.  This photo was taken last Wednesday.  My father is a veteran of the Army...and because of that the VA payed for his entire hospital stay. However, the doctors determined that my dad would need intensive speech, physical and occupational therapy and that could only be found at the VA facility about 1.5 hours north of where we live.

At first Dad didn't want to go, and I didn't want him to go, either. There were so many unknowns. However, everyone that has had any experience with this particular VA has had nothing but high praise. It's the most modern facility in the entire VA system AND more modern than most hospitals in the private sector.  So the free medical transport came to take my dad up to the VA rehab facility.  The hospital was really sweet and brought my daddy a bagged lunch for the ride up there.

He "graciously" let me take this photo of him with his lunch in his lap, and the driver taking him up north.  That driver is rather good-looking. As he was wheeling my dad out to the van, I started singing the "Leave It To Beaver" theme song. My dad rolled his eyes and started laughing. I say he "graciously" let me take his photo. In truth, I told my father he owed me one, because I saved his life :) :) Yeah...so I got a really nice photo. My dad is shy with the camera. Isn't he handsome and looks so healthy :) :) :)  His anticipated release date is sometime this coming Friday. I'm praying so hard for his safe return home.


Here are a few pictures from when he was still in the hospital, that I wanted to share with you.

Our next door neighbor brought these jumper cables as a "get well" gift for my dad. He said that "For the man who has everything, I brought you these.  If your heart gives out on you again, I'll hook one end to your chest and the other end to my car engine. Then I'll give you a boost" My dad started laughing so hard...and that made me laugh. Laughter is really good medicine :) :)

These are my daddy's precious hands...more like the size of bear paws...but stil precious, all the same :) :)  He was using my aunt's computer laptop.  He was still having some trouble with hand coordination and getting his fingers on the homerow of the keyboard.  He's gotten so much better since this photo was taken. He LOVES doing Bible studies on the computer. Having this computer with him in the hospital was really good for brain stimulation.

This is literally my dad's favorite Bible. He made the leather cover himself years ago.  He likes to insert his own notes inside, between the verses and extra page inserts...sort of like his own personal Bible commentary. It's really sweet. This was one of the first things he asked for when he woke up out of the medically-induced coma.

This is one of the pages inside my dad's Bible. He made this page insert himself.  That tiny photo at the bottom, is a photo of me and some friends at a Christian retreat when I was in college (in Germany).  This is the same Bible that my dad carries everywhere with him, even to the grocery store. His reason is "You never know when you'll need a Bible...even at the grocery store" :) :)

My father's anticipated release date is this coming Friday.  He's getting a minimum of 4 hours  day of combined physical, speech and occupation therapies. That's so awesome.  He's got his own personal flat-screen computer...like a giant iPad, that hovers above the bed in his room.  He's so occupied now, that he hardly ever calls. Now in our family "no news is good news" I'm so happy that they're keeping him busy. I'm so thankful for the VA, because they are covering the entire bill for my father. Without that, we would have been in a world of financial hurt. God really provided for my tiny family in so many different ways.

There's so much to say, that I have forgotten. Feel free to ask questions. If you need prayer, for anything, feel free to email me. 

It rained so hard last night. So much so, that I was afraid the water would come through the ceiling.  Now it's wet outside, but sunny :) :) My next door neighbor, Lisa, has been so good to give me rides when I need them, till my dad gets home.

Thanks so MUCH for all of your prayers and good thoughts coming our way. My dad and I have appreciated all of them :) :)  That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

DADDY UPDATE FOR THURSDAY - JANUARY 12.

Hi everyone,

if everything went according to schedule, the doctors should have started my dad's procedure this morning at 7:50 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. They are putting in a new pacemaker/defibrillator. The procedure will take anywhere from 2.5-3 hours.  Please pray that the doctor/nurses working on my dad will have clear minds and skilled hands.

Oh, my dad has been saying some really funny things in the hospital.  He's also been saying some really profound things, too.  I'll see about sharing some of those stories soon.

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

DADDY UPDATE

Hi everyone,

I'll try and write some more later today, but I wanted to give you all a short update on my father.  He is getting better a little bit every day. Yesterday the nurses removed the tube in his mouth. That was great, because my dad didn't like the tube at all.  He can follow basic commands and he knows who I am. He now knows where he is and what happened to him, although in a really basic form.  I think when he is more alert, if he asks me details, I'll tell him what happened, since I was there.  I'm going to go visit him again today, to see how he is doing.  Thanks so much for your prayers !!!! They mean a lot to me :) :) That's the news from the ocean shores of California this morning. Love and hugs, Heather :)

PLEASE PRAY FOR MY SWEET DADDY!!!!

Update:  I called the ICU a little bit ago...about 10:30 p.m. on Friday evening tonight.  They are gradually letting him warm up/helping him to regain consciousness.  The nurse said he did open his eyes and wriggle his toes...and I"ve never been so happy in my entire life. That is a very good sign.  Please continue to keep him, myself and my aunt in your prayers.  I'm really tired...need some sleep...but thanks for the prayers. They make a difference.  Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather

p.s. I'm very lucky to have my aunt here, good friends and neighbors!!!!!
Hi everyone,

I am asking you to pray for my daddy today!!!  I'm going to make this brief...shortly before 3:30 p.m. yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, I heard my dad scream. He was upstairs in his room, I was downstairs making tea.  I called his name multiple times and he wasn't responding. When I went upstairs, he was slumped over to the right in his chair, unresponsive and purple...He wasn't repsonding to my voice or my touch.  I called 911 right away. They were here at the house in less than two minutes.

It wasn't a heart attack. It was not his pacemaker. They don't know what caused his heart to fibrillate.  He's in  a medically induced coma right now...and they may wake him up/warm him up out of that today.

Please pray for him...pray for me, because I'm having a hard time keeping it together. Pray for my aunt (his sister). She'll be flying in this afternoon.  That's all I feel like sharing right now. There are things that I need help with now. I've got fantastic neighbors helping me...and my dad will need more care when he wakes up. Pray that he will not be afraid or too disoriented, because I"m not even sure if he was aware of what has happened to him. Please pray!!!

Thank you.  I may update from time to time on my blog, but other posts will have to wait.

Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

MY TEA THINGS FOR JANUARY 4th, 2012

Hi everyone, 
Let me share my latest teacup and saucer with you today. Before I do that, let me give you a short update on our "plumbing" problem here at the house.  YOu can click here to read the original post. We finally had the plumber out for a third time in a week. They ran a camera down the pipe and discovered that the pipe was an old "Orangeburg" (sp?) pipe that was installed when the house was originally built back in the 1940s/50s.  The pipe runs 24 inches below ground, underneath the garage. When my aunt had the house remodeled, they never found that pipe, because they never looked.  When they installed new water pipe, it was installed only 18 inches below ground..so they never discovered the old pipe. Basically, the old pipe is very small and is collapsing in on itself. It will need to be replaced, eventually...but for now, my dad and I can use the upstairs bathrooms just fine with no problem. So, we're okay for now :) :) That's is a total answer to prayer.

Okay, now for the fun stuff.  This teacup with matching saucer was given to me as a gift by my aunt's friend.  She had purchased it at an auction. My aunt's friend said that it was in a box full of junk. It was like finding a diamond in the rough.

HERE IS A VIEW OF MY LOVELY PINK ROSE TEACUP WITH MATCHING SAUCER, AS SEEN FROM THE TOP. IT IS A LOVELY SHADE OF PALE PINK, WITH BEAUTIFUL CHUBBY, RED ROSES AND OUTLINED IN DELICATE GOLD

WHEN YOU SEE THE NEXT PHOTOS, YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY I TOOK THIS PHOTO FROM THE TOP VIEW.

THIS IS MY TEACUP AND SAUCER AS SEEN FROM THE SIDE VIEW.  YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE TEACUP ITSELF IS A SIMPLE, PLAIN WHITE WITH A DELICATE GOLD STRIPE RUNNING AROUND THE CENTER OF THE CUP. ALL OF THE DETAIL IS ON THE INSIDE OF THIS BEAUTIFUL TEACUP.

THIS IS THE BACKSTAMP ON THE TEACUP. IT SAYS "BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN - CHINA POTTERS - PARAGON - FINE BONE CHINA - ENGLAND REGD"  THERE IS ALSO THE LETTER "P" ON THE CUP.  I'M NOT SURE IF THAT IS SIGNIFICANT OR NOT. IT DOES ADD A BIT OF MYSTERY TO MY TEACUP.

HERE IS A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SAUCER. IT IS REALLY LOVELY.  I THINK PINK IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL, ROMANTIC AND VERY FEMININE COLOR. IT ADDS A TOUCH OF BEAUTY TO THE EVERY DAY THINGS OF OUR LIVES.

THIS IS THE BACKSTAMP ON THE SAUCER. IT IS THE SAME AS THE ONE ON THE TEACUP. THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL MARKINGS. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THEM OR THEIR MEANING. IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT IT COULD BE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.


Thank you for joining me for tea today. I love having visitors. Your comments also make me smile :) :) 

Oh, as most of you know, I live by the ocean. This is what the waves looked liked yesterday (Tuesday). Isn't it just dreamy?

I NEVER GET TIRED OF LOOKING AT THE OCEAN OR TAKING PHOTOS.

AT ONE POINT, THE WAVES WERE GETTING SO BIG AND SO FAST, THAT THERE WERE MULTIPLE WAVES CRASHING AT THE SAME TIME. 


That is the news from California today. Love and hugs from the ocean shores, Heather 

TINY PRAYER REQUEST

UPDATE at 12:29 p.m.

Well, the plumber came out again and used the metal pipe snake.  Everything is fixed ....again...for now. However, they will come back Thursday to put a camera down the pipe to see how our water pipe was connected to the city pipe when the house was remodeled about 13 years ago.  So we'll have to pay for that. So I'm just not going to worry and trust God that He'll fix it ;) :)

Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

Hi everyone,

Just a quick prayer request. The water pipe to our house is clogging...AGAIN. We thought it was "fixed" a few days ago. Everything seemed fine and we were glad to have the money to pay for the repair. Now it's clogged again. My dad is trying to run a pipe snake through the pipe to see if it will fix the problem.  We do NOT have the money to pay someone to look at it again. 

I know it's a small request compared to some of the others out there right now..but this is going to really hurt us financially, if we can't get this fixed on our own. Pray that this problem will resolve itself!!!

Love andhugs, Heather :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Hi everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Americans ;) :) :) Enjoy your day today :) :)

My dad and I took my aunt's dog for a walk this morning. Then we took a scenic drive along the ocean. Afterwards, we stopped at Whole Foods, so I could buy some coffee. Now we're home making breakfast.  We'll be cooking the turkey later today.

We got our turkey dinner from Whole Foods this year.  Believe it or not, this will be the first time that Dad and I have cooked a turkey ourselves. It should be easy. It's an organic turkey that's already fully cooked. We just have to heat and serve it, but still.... :) :) :)

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today.  Love and hugs, Heather :)

TEA COMING SOON TO A BLOG NEAR ME :) :)

Hi everyone :) : :)

Okay, now I feel like I'm finally getting back into the swing of blogging.  I'm working on a belated post that is about tea.  I found some really neat tea things at an auction about a month ago. So I'll be sharing those over the next few weeks. 

In the meantime, enjoy this photo :) :)

THIS IS A NEW SHOP CALLED "OLIO".  IT IS FULL OF VINTAGE CUTENESS. IT'S DOWNTOWN ON  ALVARADO STREET IN MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA.

THIS IS ALSO THE HISTORIC "RODRIGO OSIO" ADOBE. THERE IS A LOT OF HISTORY HERE IN MONTEREY.

That's all for the moment. I have literally hundreds of photos to get processed.  Plus I want to show you some new tea things that I recently acquired :)

Thank you for visiting me. Please come back soon. Love and hugs from the ocean shores, Heather :)

TIMEGOES BY SO FAST !!!!!!!

HI everyone :) :) :)

Golly, it's been almost a MONTH since my last post ;) :) I've been busy here and LOVING my new home ;) :) I've got lots of photos...and if I'd eventually write a proper post, you would get to see them :) :)

Let's see..I'm still job hunting.  I did interview for a job as a bank teller. I didn't get the job. That's okay. This LORD or something better. The "something better" is obviously what God has in store for me :) :)

I've also been working on losing weight. As of this morning I've lost a total of 22 pounds. Wow, it's gone fast...but my aunt introduced me to a naturopathic doctor.  It is an alternative medicine for sure. However, I wanted to try it, because she explained her healthy eating plan to me. It's all science and no fluff.  She also believes in eating meat. That's GOOD, because I LOVE to eat meat :) :)

She had me take a blood test, which revealed that I'm severely anemic, can't absorb protein, there's an infection in my gut and some other things that I can't remember.  So I've been following her healthy eating plan.  It's really similar to an elimination diet, where all the bad stuff is stripped away. I followed that for 5 weeks...and now I"m slowly reintroducing things back into my diet.

This is the best I've felt in over 10 years.  My naturopathic doctor told me of another patient who had Crohn's disease, who followed her eating plan, and also went "GLUTEN FREE" for five years...and after that time her Crohn's went into complete remission...AND she's able to eat regular breads with gluten now and everything is good. 

I have ulcerative proctitis, a minor form of colitis,...and so I'm going to try the same thing.  We did figure out that I have an intolerance to gluten and dairy.  So that was my decision. So far, so good, because my healthy eating plan is naturally gluten free right now.  When I start reintroducing bread into my diet, that will have to be gluten free.  I've been reading books and magazines on the topic. There's a lot to learn.  There's also a LOT of variety, so I definitely won't be without goodies to eat ;) :) :)

The weather has been rainy and sunshine...all in ONE day, for the last TWO days...so it's interesting. I never can tell what to expect.

That's all for the moment.  I'm still trying to figure out my new "sign off". That's the news from the ocean shores today.  Love and hugs, Heather :)

FINALLY....SOME PHOTOS OF THE NEW SURROUNDINGS.

Hi everyone,

I have lots of photos to share. I'll only share a few today. Mainly because I'm running out of room on my USB drive. It's time to buy another one soon :) :) So here's just a taste of where I live...

One of the first things I did was take a trip to Pacific Grove. It's right next to Monterey. There's a knitting shop there that I remember visiting years ago. It's still in business :) :) Yes, of course, I bought some sock yarn :) :) Here are three more photos of the place.

The hydrangeas are just gorgeous and pink. I love pink.

This is part of the Lighthouse Produce stand here in Pacific Grove. They have some really good organic produce, as well as international foods.  This particular produce stand operates in a former repair shop for cars.

You'll also notice  a sign for "The Farm Hen". It's the cutest little shop that sells the best vintage stuff I've ever seen. I'll definitely plan to visit this place again, soon :)

Most of the produce is sold inside the former garage/mechanic repair shop.

The rest of the produce is covered by these tents. I think that's very thoughtful. It keeps the fruit from getting burned by the sun.

The rest of these photos are of the ocean in Monterey, California. The weather is really shifty here. We do get sun. We also get lots of mist/fog from the ocean, since we are a city built on the ocean.

These particular shots are of the old fisherman's wharf here in town. 

Those are all my photos for the moment. I would have shared more, except my USB drive is running out of space :) :) Good thing, otherwise, I would have posted a boatload more worth of photos here today :) :)

That's the news from the Pacific Ocean today. Love and hugs, Heather

p.s. I'm working on different "sign offs" for my blog.  If you think of any ideas, please let me know :) :) :)

MOVING WEEKEND

Hi everyone :) :) :)

Just a quick update. Today a bunch of people from church are coming over to help my dad and I upload the moving truck.  So it will be a busy day. We'll actually leave tomorrow - Sunday. Pray that we get lots of strong people to help out. Pray for safety, a fast move, etc... This will be my last post until I'm in California and completely moved in.  That's the news from Oregon today. Extra special love and hugs to you all, Heather :) :) :)