A run of good things

Well, I sold my house in San Antonio - the price sucked, but at least my company covers some of the loss. Also, 3 weeks ago, I quit smoking!!! Right now I am in Romania, and I was worried about maintaining it here because everybody smokes, but really, I just have to inhale and I get a nicotine hit - no seriously, I have no desire to smoke. I took Chantix for 2 weeks, but then I stopped due to headaches and I am having no problems.

This week I am in Romania, where the refinery has planned a big trip to the Danube Delta. Then I go to Poland for a week, then to Spain for a week to see Gaby and Juan Jose. They live in Allariz, near Portugal. I am supposed to return to Romania Sept 8 to live for 3 months but the contract has not been finalized.

Every day here, we work until 4 and then I head to the beach along side the Black Sea for a few hours. The hotel is on the beach. Living here won't be so great though as there is not much to do and it is not easy to travel anywhere else except for maybe Bulgaria.

Anyway,
hello to everybody?!!!
Love,
Val

Frustration and Contemplation

My current project is painting a bench for the backyard. I planned to copy a design from a book I first checked out of the library and then purchased used from Amazon. It involves suns and squiggles, multiple colors, etc. Unfortunately, the paint I am using, exterior enamel, does not layer well, and my stencils are not sticking well enough for me to get a clean line. That's my frustration. (And, BTW, the pink is the primer). Any suggestions?

My contemplation? Frequently, the NY Times magazine has a feature that involves an interview with an interesting person...a chef, a designer, a writer. Some of the questions involve their daily schedule, their favorite foods, or an item they would never give up. As I sit on my little blue stool contemplating my frustrating paint job, I realize how much I use it.

It started out as one of two chairs accompanying a round child's table that Judi, Valerie, and Laura's grandparents gave to them. No plastic in the 60's; this was solid maple. The only remnant left is this backless stool, which now has Kristin's name carved into it. It has traveled around the US with me, and I use it to stand on to paint, to hang pictures, to wash windows, to reach things that are too high, and now to sit on and think. It seems indestructible. Hopefully, one day it won't prove me wrong and crumble beneath me, but, at least, I won't have far to fall! I could buy a new and safer replacement, but as long as it lasts, I won't give this faithful friend up!

I'm curious. What would you not give up?

Holy Helicopters, Batman!

One of the cooler things about having a wildfire in the area is the sudden surfeit of emergency vehicles in the area. Fire trucks, airplanes, and helicopters, oh my!


Here we are getting ready to board "Shania", a very large air crane:
Here are Lilli and Michael doing their pre-flight checks:
Toby, with his steady hand and sharp eye, is ready to man the pumps:


Lilli and Michael, taking off from the pond and heading back out to the front line with 2,000 gallons of water:


Way to go, guys!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 7th birthday to Lillian today!