Saint Augustine

A Fresnel lens from the light house.

The Saint Augustine Lighthouse

Half way up the 219 steps

Papa at the beach

We went to St. Augustine for the day. It is about three hours from Valdosta, so it was not much of a drive at all. We had been to St. Augustine a year ago and thought it would be nice to go back and do a couple of things in a little more detail. The main thing we wanted to do was revisit the lighthouse and climb to the top. When we were there last year, it was raining and no one go go up for obvious reasons. Today we went up all the way. I have to insert here that my exercise program has really paid off, it was not hard at all. The view from the top is spectacular, you can see for miles up and down the coast. Doing that was worth the trip.

Afterwards, we went to the old city and ate at the Cracker Cafe. I had crab cakes, love, love, love them Now we are back in Valdosta, we will get organized and leave for Galveston on Sunday.

Andrew in the hospital

Here is my gross out photos for the month. Andrew had surgery on his leg on the 23rd of January. The rod in his lower leg was removed. The break above his ankle had not healed and the ends of the bone were not alive. The doctor scraped the bone down to live bone, but in bone stimulant and did a bone graft from Andrew's right hip. Then a plate and screws were put on the location and the screws were removed from his femur. All of this should finally get the bone to heal and allow Andrew to walk again.

It has been eight months since the accident. I really hope this fixes his leg. His arm is pretty much back to normal. We are down here till Sunday to be sure the first week after the surgery is OK. So far I think he will be fine when we have to go home.

Ray's Mom

My mother in law Pauline is in the hospital right now with pneumonia. The pneumonia is just part of her ongoing decline. She is suffering from vascular dementia which has left her very confused a lot of the time. Luckily, she still can remember who we are. The nursing home got authorization from Ray and his sister to call in hospice, so they feel that she is slipping away from this world. I wanted to take this picture because of this sense of time slipping away. Pauline was always careful with her appearance and I know that in previous times I wouldn't have been able to take this photo. Knowing your parent is dying is always very hard, having them fade away while their body is still alive is the hardest.

First page of 2010

This is my first page of the new year. I used the last of my Basic Gray Eskimo Kisses paper. I think I have one sheet and scraps left of the pack. I have to say I really liked this paper and all the work I created with it.

Nook and Pantry Cards

I will be teaching card class the 27th of February making these cards at Scrapbook Garden. Basic Gray Nook and Pantry is kitchen and food oriented paper. However, I think several of these cards would make good valentines. Too bad that Valentines Day will be over before the class.

Freezing Fog

The terrible cold is gone for at least a while. Now we have freezing fog. It wasn't that bad early this morning when I went to my Pilate's class, but by eight o'clock, all the trees and plants were frosted with ice crystals. Normally, this only happens in the early morning here, but since it hasn't gotten above freezing yet, the pretty sight is still around to be enjoyed.

Andrea's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Andrea's first birthday today. Her party was held at Burger King, which pleased her brother and the other children invited to the party greatly. Andrea didn't really know what was happening, but she did like the presents she was given. All in all a good time was had by all.
Notice Papa the Burger King, Ray was not amused by me putting the crown on his hat, but I liked it.