JUST 3 LITTLE THINGS

A Webcam and too Much Time on our Hands!...

 
  

1 2 3...Days in Dallas...

1.) We missed the Oklahoma ice/snow storm...arriving in Dallas around 10:00 p.m. Wednesday night. Now we are lounging around in Dallas, not able to catch an earlier flight out. The non-stop to Maui only runs every other day and, alas, all the seats were still reserved on today's flight. So...here we are...killing time until Sunday morning. We actually enjoyed our day of rest yesterday. Spent the whole day without leaving the room (I didn't even get dressed!). We watched movies, napped and ate (too much) excellent room service meals and snacks. It felt good to recover from the unplanned mad dash we made to get out Oklahoma...no small feat with a company to run, etc.

2.) How do you like the view from our suite?? (Ed LOVES it, btw.) Thankfully, the room's more quiet than you might imagine. No broken windows, no teetering lamps, no sonic booms, anyway.

3.) Today we're blowing this joint. We're going shopping at the Galleria and take in a few galleries. AND, unless Eddie's teasing me mercilessly, we're going to the Dallas Bass Pro Shop.

Love and at Least 3 4 U 2, L

PS...Lacey, I will watch for a Hula Girl for Heather. Give yourself and Graham a big hug from Nonn. If you talk to Cale tell him to let us hear from him...we'd like to know he's not a popsicle. Love, Momma

Hurry-Scurry...

1.) As the incoming wild winter storms approach, our trip has suddenly gotten a lot more exciting, i.e. hurried. (The only reason I'm blogging now is to give my legs a rest from the endless ups-&-downs on the staircase.) We are scurrying (a repeating theme around here) to beat the storms and be in Dallas by tomorrow night. Our original plan was to drive to Dallas and catch a first class, straight (8 hr) flight to Maui. We were scheduled to stay in the Hyatt at DFW on Saturday night and then fly out Sunday morning. NOW, looks like we'll be in Dallas on Wednesday night. Best case, there will be a first class cancellation ( x2) and we'll get to Maui earlier! Worst case, we'll have a few (bad weather) days to kill in Dallas before we can leave, i.e. "get the hell out of Dodge".

2.) When we first decided to take this trip the weather was bitter, bitter cold. Since we couldn't just "drop everything" we had to wait a few weeks to get organized at work, home, etc. before we were ready to leave. During our waiting period the weather turned almost balmy. I jokingly said, "What the heck? Now that we're leaving the weather's gonna be WARM & SUNNY?" Well...be careful what you joke about. The weather warnings we are getting now sound pretty miserable. Snow, ice, winds, lengthy power outages. Sheesh. I'd hoped it would simply be cold enough to make leaving FUN. I did not wish for a wintry Armageddon. 

3.) I have almost all the Hawaii trip clothing packed. Now...for the Dallas trip. Suntan lotion in one suitcase, de-icer in the other...

1 2 3 . . . Siblings!

 
 1.) I came across this photo of me and my two younger sisters while looking for painting material. From left to right (and age descending) we are Lori, Cyndy and Nell. (This photo was made 2 years ago.) We are each three years apart, almost to the month (I'm a December birthday and the sisters are both Novembers.) My mother always said she planned our births to fall three years apart and I'd have to say she did a pretty dang good job of planning...IF (big IF) our little brother hadn't suddenly appeared on the scene when I was 16, ha!   

2.) ...Also, "Little" Brother never quite fit him, tee-hee. Danny played college football for the Arizona Sundevils and he's about 6'5 and 285#, having taken after our paternal whopping Irishman of Grandfather. (Get a load of those bear paw hands!)

3.) So...thoughts on my sibs...now that I'm 50 (and now that the majority of them are trailing swiftly on my heels): I think they're all JUST GREAT!! I'm thankful to count these three as my sisters and brother! (Love you muchly, guys!)

LOVE and at Least 3 4 U 2, L

1 2 3, Malihini

1.) All my "3's" are centered around Hawaii as we contemplate getting away to our third decade honeymoon. (32 years of wedded bliss, minus a day or two when Ed was grumpy.) The air around us is so rife with excitement it really makes us aware of how long overdue this vacation truly is. We always, always urge our employees to USE every bit of their vacation time because we KNOW HOW IMPORTANT it is for their health and their sanity, for their home lives.  As for our own self care...well, we've slipped too much over these past 5 years. At any rate, 2 weeks in Hawaii should reverse a good part of the damage, hee-hee.  (And if not, maybe we'll just turn around and head off for Jamaica or Tahiti when we get back!) (You know it.)

2.) Here's a list of what we plan to do while in Maui (besides swim, sunbathe, take ocean walks, collect shells, shop, spa day, star-gaze, sleep late, eat pineapple and mango, Kiss, hold hands, drink Kona coffee and mai-tai's, etc.): 1.) Go on an ocean whale-watching expedition 2.) Go to either the Old Lahaina Luau or the Feast at Lele Luau 3.) Hire a private tour guide to drive us (in our rental car) on an all day custom tour of the island (salt pools, waterfalls, rain forest, private beaches, old villages, etc...whatever we want, however long we want. 3.) Sunset dinner & dancing cruise on one of the (yet to be decided) dinner cruise boats. 4.) Air tour of the island in a Cessna (Ed) (and, possibly, me).

3.) What we WON'T be doing in Maui: Deep sea diving, windsurfing, waterfall repelling, monster wave surfing, canyoneering, ATV cross country tours, parasailing, ziplining, or, last but not least, biking down into Haleakala Volcano .

Aloha and at Least 3 4 U 2, L

*Malihini: tourist

A WATERY THREE...

 
1.) The new boat-dock's in place at L'Lodge. With its new construction, anchoring and cement floors, it is way more stable than the old dock. There's still a little work left for the dock-building crew but they are scheduled to come out early next week and finish up. We are excited at the prospect of having "Boo's Cruise" in a lift on the dock and right at our fingertips next summer. We are also hopeful that guests will be able to safely tie their boats up and pop in for a visit. The dock looks nice and peaceful down there right now, but come summer, the party waters will be roiling! At any rate, we're VERY glad to be rid of the old dock. It was a little worrisome--dipping, flapping, creaking, splintering and jerking around down there. We were concerned that it was going to just give in during the winds and break apart and float into the side of someone else's dock (or boat!) and cause damage. Not only was it an eyesore, it was a potential liability. Now that the new dock is in and looks spiffy, Ed and I have to get out there and paint the railing on the catwalk and pressure wash and re-seal the planks. Hopefully, when we get back from Maui, we'll have some fine weather for just that.

2.) Ahhh, Maui...Less than a week now until we leave. Today, we drag the luggage out and start trying to make sense of the  mounds of stuff I've piled on the bed in the spare bedroom. Ed's been urging me to take just a few things and wear them and then send them to the hotel laundry to be worn again later (and washed and worn again later, and so on) but his urging has gone largely ignored. Clean clothes daily are good enough for him. I, however, like clean, different clothes daily! I know he's trying to keep the amount of luggage to a minimum. Probably for 2 reasons: 1.) I'll buy more stuff when I'm there...and, said "stuff" will have to be packed back home. 2.) I still have a bit of a sore shoulder and likely as not, will be whining about what I can and cannot carry by myself. So, folks...I can hardly wait to go upstairs with him and begin the packing n-e-g-o-t-i-a-t-i-o-n-s, haha!

3.) Last night Ed reserved a Cessna 172 to lease and fly while I'm doing my afternoon in the spa. He's so excited to fly over the island and the blue-green ocean, for his log book to reflect hours flown in Maui, HI! He told me I should plan something equally as exciting for myself while I'm there. But I already have it planned. What stirs me the most is just the wide ocean itself. I can't wait for those long sunset solitary walks along the water's edge...hello deep ocean, hello deep inner me.

Love and at Least 3 4 U 2, L
 

3 Little Thoughts...

1.) I can take credit for this photograph (hee-hee). It's the door to black fridge at the Lodge! We were there most of the day yesterday, packing up some summer clothing for our trip, and cleaning up from Christmas. I had to laugh because since I was such a frugal Christmas decorator (remember the teeny tree?), all of "Christmas" went straight into the corner of a closet. Next year, I can pull it out (pre-decorated tree and all) and, ta-da, instant Christmas, ha!

2.) If you remember, we left the lodge sort of in a scurry. We were snowed in and not sure if we'd get out, etc., and with more snow on the way. Since that was the case, and since I'd had a houseful of kids, dogs and Boo for 4-5 days, we ended up leaving some dirty clothes in the laundry room. So...we decided we'd do up the laundry while we were there.  We did this, not realizing that the outside vent line to the clothes dryer had become plugged with lint and was causing our clothes to dry incredibly SLOWLY for 2-3 hours, until Ed has his "aha" moment and went outside and fixed the problem. Anyhoo...since the housework was done and we were just waiting on laundry to finish, I sat on the couch and looked through old family photo albums. I have scads of them and we boxed them all up and took them to the Lodge and placed them where they'd be handy for us, the kids, friends and family members to peruse. (Much better than having them locked away in a closet, which is where they were here in town.) Yesterday was the first time I'd had a chance to sit down and go through a few of them and I thoroughly enjoyed my (zig-zag) trip down memory lane. Without the help of photographs, there are so many things that would never be brought to mind again. I. Love. Photographs.

3.) I felt like I had weeks of preparation getting ready to leave for Maui, but now I find, after this weekend, almost everything is done! I've got my wardrobe prepared, only just need to buy a new pair of sneakers for traveling, My computer's ready. My camera's ready. Got my GPS (to use in the convertible we're leasing). Now I can put the suitcases out on the bed in the guest-room and begin to pack neatly and leisurely. Since the pressure's off and since my shoulder is still in pretty fair condition, maybe I'll get a chance to paint before I leave after-all. (!)

Love and at Least 3 4 U 2, L

1 2 3 Ha-wa-ii...

1.) We are funny. Getting in the spirit of our upcoming vacation, we've eaten 3 "fresh" pineapples this week. We are giddy as children.

2.) You're at a Luau Now. (Click song title to hear music once you're on the page.) 

3.) Glad the warmer temperatures are holding out here in OK. We are headed to Owasso today to shop for an add-on for my little ruby red Inspiron Mini Laptop that Ed gave me last Mother's Day. It's just the right size for traveling but my camera's memory card doesn't fit it so we're going to fix that problem before we take off to PHOTO OP land.

Love and at Least 3 4 U 2, L

**Again, not one of my own photographs posted above, but another copyright-free from my assembled stash. This one I think is from Hilo, Hawaii...the town of rainbows. Thanks go to the photographer who captured the lovely image.

3 Come Lately, Again...

 
1.) The 3 Little Things Gal is a little distracted as I begin to organize myself for a 2-week trip to Maui. I am pleasantly distracted, as you might imagine. The last vacation we took was in 2004 (I mistakenly said 2006 earlier) and since that time we've moved twice, remodeled a 1920's farmhouse (barehanded), opened a studio, built OMNI a new building & warehouse and then moved that livelyhood business, and so on, and so on, and so on. We are more than ready for this get-away to the world's most remote location. I can hear the ocean calling and I'm in a sand & sunset state of mind already.

2.) In the meantime...we're welcoming much warmer weather here in Oklahoma. And, I do mean MUCH. We've gone from the single digits to upper 40's and lower 50's midday. Yesterday, I actually left the house without a heavy wool coat!

3.) Lastly, I am very pleased to tell you that my shoulder's finally healing. (Shoulder?, you say.) For the past couple of weeks I've been enduring a bad case of "shoulder impingement" in my right shoulder rotator cuff. Even to the point that Ed had to help take off my blouses, etc. at night. (He was more than willing, but disappointed in the nightly outcome of his ulterior motives of "playing doctor" with an injured woman. Ha!) Anyway, after 5-6 days with my arm in a muslin sling (I was completely useless with my right arm in a sling), many doses of anti-inflammatory meds, ice-packs and lots of rest, I find that the aching is gone, as well as the swelling in my arm and hand, and that I now have more range of (pain-free) movement. I am continuing to baby myself...but, I'm on the high road now. And, thankfully so, as just days ago I COULD NOT LIFT CHARCOAL OR PAINTBRUSH TO CANVAS and that worried me. So...easy does it. (Beginning with now...getting away from this keyboard.)

Love and Least 3 4 U 2, L

(*Note: As you might have guessed the photograph is not one of my own. It came from a copy-right free source where photographers donate work for other creatives to use. Thanks go to that source and to the great photographer who captured the image!)

MANGO, COFFEE, PAPAYA, OH-MY!...

1.) Aren't photographs magical? Here it is snowing and 12 degrees and we can relive our Hawaiian vacation taken to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary in 2006. Of course these photos (and this unrelenting bitter cold weather) have us craving another lovely tropical vacation. And soon!

2.) In the meantime, I'm happy to report that a few rays of lovely bright sunshine are breaking through the frigid flakes now and then...it's quite white...rather starkly beautiful. And also (this is a good one!) tomorrow's forecast is something like 38 degrees, which sounds--at this late date--like nothing less than a lovely heat-wave.

3.) Until I can round up a travel agent along with the funds in our discretionary account to set out for the tropics once more, I'm sipping "Simply Orange" brand orange juice that is mixed with mango! It takes me back to the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean and to Hawaii! (It's yummy, try it!) Loverly, loverly, loverly.

Love and at Least 3 4 U 2, L

PS...I've temporarily posted an album with a few of our vacation pictures in the right hand column: Hawaii, Oct. 2006. If you're sick of cold and wind and ice, go look, you might find the LUSH GREEN in that album refreshing!