Fountain pens

This is the day we brought Daughter #1 home. Pretty much the first few minutes we were there. Wow. We had no idea. Nary a clue as to what God had in store. I guess that's a good thing.

Last night Son #1 and Daughter #1 made dinner for us. We had crab legs. This was a first in our family and it turned out very well. Son #1 did a great job with the crab.


Son #3 enjoyed the crab:


And buckle your seat belts ---- Son #2 enjoyed the crab!! And the roasted potatoes that Daughter #1 made!! Who says miracles don't happen any more?



Daughter #2 started a new teddy bear today. This is what it looked like this morning:


These are pictures of the one she finished last night:




Is that impressive or what? She knitted the entire thing!! I'm proud -- especially because of the reason she's doing this.

This is George in a bag -- just a couple of hours ago. I canNOT leave bags around this house! I put it down for a moment and then saw that he was totally inside it when I grabbed my camera. He was making his way out by the time I clicked.



And this is Colby and George in one of their favorite spots --- the "In" basket on my desk. They absolutely love to sit in there when I'm working in the study. Cats are strange.




And now, the explanation of tonight's title:
Jim collected fountain pens. You know, the kind with the ink cartridges that make a mess if you don't use them the right way? He loved these pens. Many people knew that and so he received them on special occasions. I even got him one at Harrod's in London one year when I was visiting my brother and his family (the year that I missed one of my children's birthdays for the first time -- also Daughter #1, and also a huge chapter in her book. Come on -- with 6 kids I was bound to miss something!).

Anyway, I digress (a lot lately). Jim collected these pens. Some are quite beautiful and unique. Well, tonight, for the first time, I got them out. He had two lovely pen boxes in which to store them. Most of them don't have ink cartridges in them, or the ones they do have them are empty. So I decided to replace a couple of them. As I was attempting to do this, I decided that I am very much like these fountain pens. I may look okay on the outside, even a little attractive on a very, very good day (too bad you can't count on those days), but on the inside I'm empty. Nothing comes out. And when something does comes out because a cartridge has been replaced, it's not smooth and clean. It's messy and now I have ink all over my hands. When emotion comes out of me it tends to be messy. My insides are either empty or sometimes clogged so nothing works the way it should. I never know what to expect -- emptiness or a blob of emotions that I can't control. You should all be very wary of me .... you may wind up with "ink" all over you, too, if you get too close.


OK, I leave for the airport in about 5 1/2 hours --- gag!!! Yes, a 5:30 a.m. flight. I'm not sure whether to just stay up or try to get a little sleep.
Anyway, as promised, I will leave you with a discussion question (thanks to NONE of you for sending in a suggestion!).
Let's see ...... what shall it be?
Since I am going to a beach I'll ask something about that.
Here goes:

Do you prefer a beach vacation or a ski vacation? I absolutely hate being cold so that's easy for me. I also don't particularly enjoy falling down. But I know there are plenty of you snow-lovers out there, so tell me.
And include your very favorite beach/ski resort to visit.

OK ..... discuss amongst yourselves. I shall be back on Sunday night (sooner if I have internet in Cabo).

Buenos noche y adios!