Well, it's been almost a month since my last post. So far I have a B in microbiology and a B in pre-calculus and an A in government. Pre-calculus is getting really hard; we are in trigonometry right now and learning all those identities are going to be very hard! Hope I can pull off a B. I will be perfectly happy if I do.



Tomorrow is our 28th wedding anniversary. How long ago but quick it seems. I am just plugging along here, hoping for answers to all my prayers! Babbs (Top left, my visit to Lance's in Cool. Barb, Tam, Owen; seated: Estella, Amelia, Ava, Olivia, Emma. Below, at Andy's in North Carolina; Andy, Lucas, Becky)

I'm back into the swing of school again. I am taking Microbiology, Pre-calculus, and American Government. I love the biology, government is plain easy, and pre-calculus is a challenge. Never mind what I told Lisa it did to me!

Here is the Gram stain technique I have learned, one of a few. It's really exciting. I actually did one tonight to practice for a quiz. It looked very similar to this one I found in a Google search. The purple (I know it looks blue, but it really is purple) are Staphylococcus epidermidis and the pink are Escherichia coli. My instructor said, "They look beautiful!" Of course, she does this as a job all the time, but she still shows enthusiasm when we are successful!

I have a tutor for my math class; just because I really want a little extra help. The instructor goes so fast and does a lot of things in his head when he's working problems. I really wish I could just see what was in that ol' head of his, but I can't. I think he likes to flaunt how smart he is, also. But, my first test wasn't too bad; I think I pulled it off with a C or better. I'll find out next week.

I plan on picking up Lucas and Lydia on Friday. Sarah will meet me in King City and they are going to spend the weekend here. I'm rather excited.

Now that summer is here I can post to my blog. So far, I've weeded all my gardens, and had some time with grandchildren, which are the flowers in my garden of life! I love being a Grammy!

Here are some roses I got a couple of summers ago with Gerlinde. They looked amazing this spring. To the bottom left is my artichoke. We've already eaten one artichoke from it; I picked two more yesterday. They are very organic, spider webs, flies and who knows what critters are crawling around in them. I usually give them a good soak in salt (just in case there are snails and slugs hiding) and lemon water. We just pick the organic off.














Sammee is wearing her purple coat. I'm not sure if she likes it or not. She looks pretty ridiculous.

I got my grades the other day and am proud to say, I maintained my 4.0; all A's once again. So, summer is off to a great start. In less than 3 weeks we'll be off to North Carolina!

My first time whale watching! I went with my marine biology class and we could bring someone along, so Becky came with. Here's a shot I got of humpbacks: fluking and swimming. It was an awesome trip. We also saw 2 gray whales, not as easily, and a sweet little minkie whale. There were hundreds of dolphins closer in.

Hello, anybody who actually looks at this! I've finally downloaded some pictures off my camera and would like to share.


<----------Lucas, demonstrates his amazing dribbling skills at his basketball game.













<---- Lydia in her beautiful birthday dress, a lovely contribution by Jamie Across-the-Street!



<----: "I love my big pomelo! I can't decide if I should eat it or throw it!"


Enjoy your days!

Babbs

I've finished 2 weeks of school. I love my marine biology class. The teacher is very excited about the class and you can tell he enjoys teaching it. We get to go whale watching in a few weeks. I can't wait to do that; it will be out of Santa Barbara. We will also visit the tide pools at Vandenberg and we are going to a bird estuary sometime.

I made my first speech in class and did fine. He only pointed out one thing that I can improve on: my transitions. That's a pretty easy fix. I was so nervous though; I could feel my face turn red when it dawned on me that everyone was looking at me! Horrors! People who know me best would know that I don't like being the center of attention. How awful.

I had my first math test and it's a good thing it was multiple choice. I drew a few blanks working some of the problems so I just started plugging in choices. So, anyway, what's the deal with imaginary numbers? I want to know.

Becky and I are re-watching the Avonlea series again. It's been a few years and we just have to visit with our old friends again. I think my favorite characters are Gus Pike and Peg Bowen "the witch of Avonlea." I turned to Becky and said, "I bet she reminds you of me." She agreed and lauged. Peg is not really a witch but she tromps around in her boots and smokes a pipe--not that I smoke a pipe. She refuses to go to church because everyone is a goody-two-shoes. She has long gray hair and wears what I like to call "comfortable clothes." She makes herb concoctions that help people. I think she's pretty cool. So, I think I will grow my hair long again, and get some boots. Having a nice pair of men's work boots with steel toes in them wouldn't bother me at all. I doubt if I will get a pipe though. I wouldn't care to be known as the "witch of Vandenberg Village" either. Or the "old lady pipe smoker..."

We went to see "Leap Year" tonight. It was a cute movie.

Have a wonderful Valentines Day everyone!

I just perused through this blog and I can't help but comment on some things. Poor Belle! No longer with us. Chester's new buddy is a little finch we call Pepper, I think. Pepper had a friend named Piper; Piper is no longer with us so Chester decided he would court the finch. We caught him bow-cooing to Pepper and it was so cute. So, Chester is trying to "bond" with his buddy, Pepper. I've read that Diamond Doves do that, so that's OK.

February 1st I start back to school again. Here is my schedule:

MW -- Math, 10:15-12:20, Marine Biology, 1-4
TTh-- Speech, 12:45-2:20
Online-- US History

There you have it. It's a good thing we only live about 5 minutes from the school because I may need to grab lunch between math and biology. What a long day! Friday's are my day off (besides the weekend) so that will be my cleaning/laundry/shopping day. Or I may just enjoy the day!

Enjoy yours! Babbs

Hi! Well, I refuse to use Facebook, so maybe I will keep my blog more up to date. I see that my last post was nearly 2 years ago. Wow. And it was on Andy's birthday. Such a long time and so much has happened. Lydia, etc. Sarah, if you're still checking on this: Surprise! I'm having to refresh on how to do all this so bear with me....


Lydia, about 12 hours old, last year.












And Lydia, on her 1st birthday, Jan. 6, 2010.




















Lucas, last year with his new baby sister....
















And last fall, camping with his new buddy, Braxton.
Braxton is Becky's boyfriend, by the way...














More to come...