No explanations needed...

Some people just know the way to this Gramma's heart...Thank you, Anne and Matt!

The photo is from two years ago, during the Mills Family Reunion.  A bunch of us - Farrs, Wrights, Kizerians, Gramma Griffin - spent a fun afternoon on the beach at Cape Meares.  Bonfire for hotdogs, beachcombing, photo shoot - all the ingredients for

 grand family memories!

16" square frame; photo about 5x7"; creativity by Anne Kizerian.

Just keep clam...

In 24 hours, the temperature raised 20 degrees from yesterday's high.  The day dawned - actually DAWNED.  With a real sun and EVERYTHING!!

Brother Chris invited Carrie to a coast treat = clam digging on Tillamook Bay.  With boat in tow, he picked her up at 5:45 A.M., and headed for the harbor and boat launch at Garibaldi.  Nice 10 minute drive, just in time to see the sun tip over the hills.

The clam digging was an adventure, as always seems to happen under Chris' tuteledge.  His wife Bev easily filled her limit then watched with amusement as Chris and Carrie coaxed more clams into their waiting bags.  Full limits - total of 60 nice Cockles. 

Then some sightseeing by boat on the bay, including seals hauled out on the sand bar.  Carrie says it was a stunning morning, no wind, bright sun, smooth water.  What more could a "working visitor" ask of the Oregon Coast?!  Carrie has good memories of spending time with her grandparents who loved taking various grandkids out to get crab or clams. 

The flip side is, of course, after the fun comes the work!  Cleaning clams is a bit time consuming, always better accomplished with several people to share stories, teasing, and getting the chore DONE! 

Cockles have to be heated in boiling water a few minutes to get them to open their shells - Carrie is lifting one out of the pot, headed for the cold water bath in the sink...

where the clams are shucked out of the shells, then cleaned of sand and innards.

Chris is used to digging and and cleaning Razors, which don't have to be scalded open.  After 60-odd years, he is cleaning his first Cockles, believe it or not!!

Now there's a nice bowl of clams.  The strange tan colored things are the diggers, the rest are bellies and muscles (little round things, which hold the shells tightly closed).  These clams were  ground, to make delicious clam fritters for dinner (good job, Carrie!!).   Several packages went into the freezer for more fritters and clam chowder later.  Livin' high on the coast!

The Supervisor was very clam through the whole process.

Thumb-twiddling...

...while the foot is healing. Surgery was April 4. On May 4 I will get the thing-which-shall-not-be-mentioned (Carrie's term for the wire sticking out of my big toe) pulled out. Until then - I am stuck. No walking around without a good reason - such as getting to the loo, or snagging an apple from the frig. Foot elevated at all times. Usually with an icebag slung on top. Carrie arrived from Arizona to be the Enforcer. She does a good job.

So here I sit. Mostly on my bed, with all sorts of entertainment surrounding me. Before the fateful day, I fixed a basket with cards, writing material, envelopes, stamps, scissors, glue stick, and so on. So if I sit here long enough you may actually get a genuine snailmail card from me!

Also loaded the shelves with books I've been meaning to read. Or finish reading. Some scripture study material. Some sketch pads and my trusty tool box. CDs to listen to. A few videos to watch. Love the laptop, my best friend these days.

And thank goodness for a phone!!! I can see why the punks love their phones, keeps you in touch with the whole world. Texting is part of my daily routine now!

Dinner served to the prisoner. Chow is pretty good, can't complain - since I don't have to cook it!!
Some sketching keeps me almost sane...if I can just find a good way to get the pencil shavings to the wastebasket in the kitchen, I'll be on top of all this inforced inactivity.

Our Katie-bug. Ain't she cute?!

Oh my - Carrie just introduced me to some YouTube hilarity. Go find "You Have HOW Many Children?" and have fun!

If it weren't for wanting to grow some lettuce again someday, I could get used to this lifestyle. But only if Carrie agrees to move in. Sorry guys, we need her!

Can't find one earring...

Losing one earring from a favorite pair is just plain tear-making. It's happened to me more than once. Sometimes I hang on to that lonesome half for a long time. I have a special little box for the orphans.

So when I FOUND a single earring that some other unfortunate person had unknowingly lost (you NEVER know when or where they bail off the ear...), I was at first sad, for the orphan - then for the luckless former owner - then it dawned on me, it was now MY orphan.

The double leaf design was right up my alley, loved the black and silver leaves! So as it rode home in my pocket, I was pondering how I could use it. AHA! Anne and Matt were going to be coming for a visit sooner or later, and Anne has a fabulous collection of jewelry making gear! She could help me remount the leaves and make two earrings from the one!

And that's just what happened!

This is the phone photo I sent to Anne so she would know what I was dealing with - always good to use something to scale small objects for photos, like this quarter.

And of course you can't make just one simple set of earrings when there are boxes and boxes of beads, baubles, sparklies and all the extras, and TOOLS, to make enough earrings for a harem...so we just kept on playing!

I needed something to match a new coral shirt...

and I didn't have anything to go with a favorite purple top...

so now I do!

And next time Anne comes with her goody boxes, I bet I can find some good excuses to make a few more sets of earrings - so fun! THANKS, ANNE!