The vacation

Audrey has had her very first ice-cream cone! Can you remember your very first ice-cream cone? That is the true definition of innocence right there! Absolute and pure joy.

Our vacation was an excellent getaway although not nearly long enough, as always. Bill managed to scare up some crazy food poisoning on the second day we were there and spent 2 full days recovering. However disappointing this was as far as quality time goes it successfully saved us from subjecting one more person to the questionable "fun package" that we purchased from the "Ripley's Believe it or Not", "Wax Museum" & "Undersea Adventures"! For years we have taken a family vacation in Newport, OR and stay at a condo at the "Embarcadero" at the end of the boardwalk and bay area. A close family friend owns it and generously lets us stay in it every year. We save our money on housing and spend it on food instead!!

This year we finally broke down and took in the "Ripley's" thing-a-ma-bob. The weather was unseasonably cool and sometimes very windy so we decided to find something to do indoors that wasn't the Aquarium. We've been there half a dozen times and were looking for a change of pace. Well, we got it alright. A change from quality entertainment to a regular "mock-u-mentory" of fun. We bought the package and wished we hadn't before we'd even gotten 5 minutes into the first bit. It had some moments of fun, like the laser harp, but of course, all roads led back to the GIFT SHOP. JayCe thought was the coolest thing ever, but even the gift shop lacked! It did have some fairly fun arcade games so that saved us at the end. It was kind of hilarious when it was all over.

We did manage to take in a tasty sushi lunch during the process - but then laughed even harder when we got the bill for that!! (A few days later we ate 10 times that amount for the same price at our favorite "sushi train" back in Portland.) We got a trip to the original Mo's in and Audrey decided that kale was "tasty"! This harkened back to my childhood memories of always eating the parsely.

We made it onto the beach for some kite flying one afternoon and the wind beat on us so hard that Grammy Carmen gave up and read her book in the car. If it hadn't been our only chance to spend some good sand time I might have joined her!We were all bundled up like we were ready to cross the sahara - but if that's what it takes to make a sand castle, then that's what it takes! Audrey was really bothered by the sand dermabrasion thing at first (no one could blame her) but once she got her hands in the ocean she forgot about everything else. Before you knew it she went from screaming bloody murder to stripping her feet bare and running circles in the sand for 15 solid minutes. We brought several kites - one of which was a brand new "Nemo" kite that Grammy had gotten her as a gift. It lasted about 20 minutes in the gale force winds. It had a good life while it lasted. Ironically enough we chose July because we wanted some home run beach weather - but our usual October foray seems to bring us less wind and just as much sun!

We saved a day at the tail end to spend in the "city" to take in Powell's ("Mom, is it really the largest bookstore in the world?") and another sushi lunch. Watching the kids eat this choice willingly - especially Audrey, who can polish off a bowl of miso soup in nothing flat, was definitely one of those "warm fuzzy" family moments.

At the end of the vacation Mom and Audrey and I went to the Cracked Pots Garden Show at McMenamin's Edgefield in Troutdale. That was a highlight of the vacation for sure. By this time my knee was well enough to walk without crutches for a couple of hours at a time. The primary criteria for having art in this show is that it must be made from recycled materials. This made for some very clever garden art. Everything from toaster "pigs" to light bulb "bees." I found the perfect artist to make the arbor that I want for our new "entry" to the yard. It was a lovely end to two excellent weeks off.

Now back on your heads!

What's in a crutch?

Well, I've done it. I've reached lucky number 7 on my tally of knee surgeries for my left knee. Last Friday I went in for arthroscopic surgery and am currently laying in a recliner with my leg propped on a mountain of pillows. Not a very productive posture so it's sort of torturing my overachiever side. The funky "cooler" on my head is the water supply for this air cast/cooling cuff - offically called the "cry0-cuff"! We went through lots of ice but it works like a dream!

The "good"news is that they actually found something concrete to fix (more torn cartilage) so there's a chance that I'll get some pain relief. The bad news is that there is ful bone-on-bone arthritis progressing on the outer edge of my knee from previous loss of cartilage. I could go on an on about my knee and all it's surgical history but its long and boring and probably ends with some sort of joint replacement somewhere down the line. I'm sure there's already plenty of sympathetic pain going on at this point so I'll just post this to get it over with so I can move on with the good stuff.

It did get me to take a real vacation - the first one in YEARS! Off to the beach...