New Digs for Mares Nest

well............. I've moved.
come on over and visit me at

http://maresupdatednest.blogspot.com/

thanks!

Dilemma

Gosh that's a strange word.  I had to double check to be sure I spelled it correctly. 
Dilemma
noun

1. a situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives.

2. any difficult or perplexing situation or problem.

3. Logic. a form of syllogism in which the major premise is formed of two or more hypothetical propositions and the minor premise is a disjunctive proposition, as “If A, then B; if C then D. Either A or C. Therefore, either B or D.”

 

Definitions 1 & 2 serve my purposes best here, definition 3 sounds WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much like my Algebra homework.

I have currently used up "100% of your 1 GB quota for photos".  So, if I want to post with photos-- and a post without photos is not my style-- I can buy more space.

or, I could probably start a new blog.

 I suppose I could delete my older posts to make more room..... Has anyone saved their blog somehow prior to doing such a thing? 
So, has anyone else had this problem?

 

 

September 20, 1931 to November 13, 2012

 

I don't think it matters if you know the end is coming, or even if the end is necessary and releases suffering - I think it's still the hardest thing in life.

And it doesn't hurt any less if you know it's coming. 

I thought it would.

I was wrong.

Dad with two of his granddaughters from Maryland

Dad with my brother and my oldest niece

Dad, my brother and my brothers youngest daughter

Dad with mom shortly after their move to the Veterans Home in King, WI

Dad with all three of his lovely Maryland granddaughters

Dad with my two middle daughters

Dad with 3 of my girls

 

Dad and me

 

Always smiling when I was with him

 

He loved cribbage. This is one of our last games together



The last picture of the two of us.

He is trying to make me have some of his coffee smoothie.

The rings on my middle finger are his and moms wedding rings.

His is so big I have to wear hers in front of it.  It is even too big for my thumb.

The last time he was alert, he grabbed my hand and asked if I was wearing his ring.

He went peacefully, with me, my daughter Becky and my mom there with him.

Rest well dad, you earned it all.



"November always seemed to me, the Norway of the year" ``Emily Dickinson

November has been a bit November-ish if you know what I mean.

Today it felt like ...

All the leaves are brown....

and the sky is gray...



There is a special subtle beauty in November, once the

lovely flashiness of September and October color is over and

the world becomes a symphony of neutrals.

outdoor projects started

and put on hold as life invariably gets in the way

There is always something that needs doing and it isn't always what a person

thought they were going to do, is it?

heavy clouds



Since I took this picture, this old house has been demolished.

sad, really isn't it?

 

whenever I see a house in this sort of abandoned state I want more than

anything to go inside and see what it looks like in there

There was an abandoned house kitty corner across the road from my grandparents farm

when I was small.  I remember going inside with my twin aunts.  How cool were they to

let a 10 or so year old tag along?  I remember there were still old

dishes in the kitchen, not in usable condition, but still they were sitting

there, on the table and the counter top.  There was a very old faded

print on the wall above the table too.  Or am I imagining that I remember that?

We didn't touch anything, or rescue any of the dishes or the picture. 

We just quietly went back to grandmas. 

MIA with Miss V and the big guy

The Minneapolis Institute of Art

JoY!!!

So classic

Even broken these are lovely

Daddy and V enjoying art together

does it get any better than this?

 



The modern area



 So much FUN!

 

like being in a cartoon!

and then there was the actual size of this piece! 

It was amazing, it looked awesome both close up and from the other side of the room

These last three pictures say it all

 



Miss V's first encounter with an original by her favorite artist

 



I so understand how she feels

Delicious Autumn

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” 

George Eliot

My dad has entered the hospice phase of his life so I have been going to visit at least once a week.



 

He is about an hour and 45 minutes from where I live so it's a fairly good drive.

 

This autumn has been fantastic for color.

These were taken a few weeks ago.

I love the green and red in these trees.

I really want to walk down this field lane

 In some ways it's a little strange going through this phase of his life with him.  It's all so new and uncharted, but it's also comforting in many ways.  Being able to show and tell him how much he is loved and thought of.  It seems the very definition of bittersweet to me.

 

None of these are dads, he is hanging in there, and his attitude is really wonderful

He and my mother live at the Veterans Home in King WI

The Veterans cemetery is really beautiful and peaceful, just like one should be.  You can see part of the buildings in the compound in the background here.

On Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and the Fourth of July, dozens of volunteers come very early and put American flags on every grave.  It's very amazing and beautiful.  Then they quietly come back in the evening and take them all down.

 This of course, is every one's favorite.  I've seen veteran dog memorials on line, but this one is special because it's here.

 



ALL FOUR GIRLS HOME AT ONCE!! and a frog

Miss V drove all the way accross the state to visit home this weekend! As such things happen sometimes, her sisters were all in the same town at the same time so they all came over for dinner! I can't even remember the last time they were all four together, just the four of them.  The definition of serendipity!

Yes, they are all taller than me. 

But dad is still the tallest.  Jes is pretty close to his 6'4" though.

 age order left to right, Miss V, Becky, Lissa, and Jes

it used to work for them all to stand up normal, but now Becky has to scrunch a bit.



Classic Becky pose, I'm kind of surprised there aren't any of her in her wedding dress doing this!

yes, their mouths really are that big

 number 1 and number 4

number 4 and number 2

 number 3 and number 4

 and Kona

she may have missed Kona the most

 and our stowaway tree frog.  he now lives in the kitchen.

I sincerely hope the cats can't climb up this high