In Loving Memory

Life through PB’s perspective is how I remember a large portion of my childhood.  Rarely in front of the camera, but always behind it, PB always said that photos were the ways to trigger memories.  We see a picture of a time or place and those memories come back to us. 

From my earliest memories, PB was synonymous with his camera. Whether it was taking photos of his travels all over the world, nature, or his family, he recorded his memories and ours with each click of his camera. 

 

He often said that “God gave him a special ability” to understand how light, color, and their relationship to each other work.  His photos of nature were stunning.  They were National Geographic worthy, but he never had the desire to put them on display in that way.  He had a deep appreciation for God’s creation and found a sense of joy in capturing it with his camera.  God HAD given PB a special understanding of how things worked, and if you happened to mention words like “pixel,”  “spectrum,” or “simulator” in his presence, you had better get comfortable in your seat because PB’s eyelids would close, and he would take whatever length of time necessary to impart some of his knowledge to you – like it or not!

 

God also gave PB a special ability when it came to his dedication to family.  So many of my memories as a child were when we were down at his house on the Patuxent River in Southern Maryland.  PB’s property that adjoined his mothers (my great grandmother’s) property was the setting for so many vivid memories of our family.  I remember swimming in the river, playing on the beach and the pier, learning to fish, learning to crab, learning to water ski, and my favorite – learning to drive PB’s boat.  I remember countless hours of boat rides on the Miss Ann – rides all around the river, in the bay, the coolers with fish, the baskets with crabs, and always stories of things that maybe didn’t go just right.  PB had a boat house and a boat ramp on the property, and he and my dad spent hours in the boat house – getting the boats ready/repaired and tuned up after hours on the water.  PB could fix almost anything and usually did – electric shock or hypothermia be dammed!  I remember all the summers that Shenley and I would play outside – swinging on the hammock, eating watermelon by the water, making “salad” out of weeds, “soup” out of sea nettles, tying chicken necks to line along the pier, and helping our mom tend to the enormous garden.

 

I remember riding in the back of PB’s light blue pick up truck, and Shenley and I in the open truck bed – no seat belts and no cares in the world.  I remember hearing the ice cream man down the road past their property, and Shenley and I chasing him barefoot – always barefoot – down the baking hot road.  If it wasn’t chasing the ice cream man, it was riding in the back of PB’s pick up to the Highs convenience store where PB always got us at least the double scoop ice cream cone.

He was dedicated to my grandmother, lovingly dedicated to his own mother, and he cared for Grandma Bette with patience and love until the day he died. He helped out my parents when they were starting out, became a father-figure to my dad, and made it possible for Shen and I to get a great private school education when we were young.  In all the years of being around him, I struggle to remember a time when he was angry. 

 

He was generous in every sense of the word. He was the type of grandfather who came to our music recitals, gave us real live chicks in our Easter baskets, always greeted us with bags of candy, and reimbursed us for our good report card grades with his very generous $ to grade scale.

His house was like a museum filled with his collections from his travels around the world.  Every inch of his home, literally, housed some sort of rare collectible, and he could tell you exactly what it was, what country he got it from, and some other interesting feature about it.  He made thermal hash, loved sweets, battled squirrels and raccoons wit for wit (to keep them off his bird feeders), was a champion skeet shooter in his younger years, and a true lover of nature.

 

He truly lived an incredible life.  He survived disease as a child, cancer as an elderly person, was a World War II veteran, and spent his career working for the Army on complex simulators and developing night and thermal vision technologies.  He found enjoyment in retirement – travelling with Grandma Bette between their homes in Maryland, Maggie Valley, NC, and Dunedin, FL.  When Grandma Bette’s health forced them to stay put in Maryland, he cared for her every day and still found ways to occupy his mind with his photography, converting to digital and cataloging thousands of slides and photos from the past, teaching himself to play the piano, and never complaining.  I got to watch my mom show him that same dedication as she cared for him and was a constant presence in the recent years as he battled cancer and times of loneliness as Bette’s mental health declined.

 

He loved Jesus and modeled God’s love to his family.  For all his piano playing, I think he only ever played hymns.  I asked him one time what his favorite hymn was, and he said it was Face to Face.  You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTkWah6kbWw  The lyrics say:

Face to face with Christ my Savior,

Face to face, what will it be,

When with rapture I behold Him,

Jesus Christ, who died for me?

 

(Refrain)

Face to face shall I behold Him,

Far beyond the starry sky;

Face to face in all His glory

I shall see Him by and by!

 

Only faintly now I see Him,

With the darkening veil between,

But a blessed day is coming,

When His glory shall be seen.

 

(Refrain)

Face to face shall I behold Him,

Far beyond the starry sky;

Face to face in all His glory

I shall see Him by and by!

 

What rejoicing in His presence,

When are banished grief and pain;

When the crooked ways are straightened,

And the dark things shall be plain!

 

(Refrain)

Face to face shall I behold Him,

Far beyond the starry sky;

Face to face in all His glory

I shall see Him by and by!

 

Face to face! Oh, blissful moment!

Face to face to see and know;

Face to face with my Redeemer,

Jesus Christ, who loves me so.

 

(Refrain)

Face to face shall I behold Him,

Far beyond the starry sky;

Face to face in all His glory

I shall see Him by and by!

 

What a peace to know the lyrics of this hymn are true for PB.  Finally he is face to face with his Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who loves him so.

Another “Snow” Day

Although we woke up today with temps over freezing and no precipitation in sight, our county canceled school…again.  Finally, in the afternoon we got some snowfall, so the girls went out back and built a snowman.  They were very proud because they built this snowman completely by themselves.   He turned out really cute!

While the girls were busy with their snowman, Cayenne was obsessed with this little pinecone.  Lyla wanted to make a little bird seed pinecone with peanut butter and hang it out for the birds, and the smell of the peanut butter was driving Cayenne crazy.  She was circling the tree, whining, trying to reach it, etc.  All with no luck, obviously.  She was not happy.

    

She finally just gave up and howled.  Oh, the humanity!!

She never got the pinecone, but she did pose for a picture or two and get a treat.  Rough life this one has…

13th Anniversary

Since 1/19 was our anniversary, Mark and I were excited to head out for a little 24 hour getaway while Mouse and Pops watched the girls.  We booked a night at a bed and breakfast just south of Charlottesville, so on our way down, we stopped for a hike at Ivy Creek Nature Area.  The weather was pretty nice for January, so we did a 4.5 mile hike through the woods, around a reservoir, and then back to the car.

At several points around the reservoir we saw evidence of a beaver hard at work.  I didn’t take pictures of all his work, but  there were at least five or six different points around the reservoir where he had set to work on some trees.

   

The hike was really nice and a great way to do something active together outdoors (which we love) on our way down to the B&B. 

After arriving at our bed and breakfast, we cleaned up and headed over to Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company for an awesome dinner.  After a big breakfast the next morning at our B&B, we headed back home and back to reality.

   

Speaking of back to reality, the next morning, on our actual anniversary, Nina gifted us with getting the stomach bug.  We were in the car driving when it all really hit her, and let’s just say she didn’t give me any advance notice to pull over before it all came out. So, what love looks like after 13 years of marriage?  Well, it’s Mark cleaning out the vomit from my car.  True love for sure! 

Snow Days and Delays

Since coming back from Winter Break, the kids have had snow days and delays a plenty!  The weather really hasn’t been that bad (other than typical winter), but the county made a poor decision to send the kids to school on a day they should have stayed home, and ever since, they have definitely erred on the side of caution to say the least.  Nevertheless, the kids definitely don’t mind, so it’s been days home from school or delays going into school a lot these days.

Cayenne is healing nicely from her little injury.  She loves to lick off the ointment that we need to put on her wound, so she has been relegated to wearing a t-shirt after we put the medicine on (so she can’t lick it off).  Today will be her last day of medicine, so thankfully we’ll be done with a dog in a shirt soon too!  Hey, at least it’s better than diapers!  In case you forgot, here’s little trip down memory lane…http://the-simpson-family.blogspot.com/2014/02/and-we-thought-we-were-out-of-diapers.html

So, while they girls have been enjoying their leisurely schedule, they were making a snow fort in the back yard then enjoying hot chocolate in it, having donuts with Poppy, painting, and going indoor swimming. 

  

We’ve also decided that they’re as entertained as the four legged one when it comes to going to the dog park.  I met a lady in our neighborhood who also has a young Vizsla at a dog park so the pups could run and play. While Cayenne and Bailey were sprinting at lightning speed around the dog park, this is what Nina and Lyla were doing.  Clearly there’s not a lot of deep thinking going on over here when school’s not in session!

It’s a Dog’s Life…

…and a pretty good one at that!!  So, this post is dedicated to Cayenne.  Unfortunately all the photos (with exception of the last one) were taken with my phone camera, so the pictures aren’t good, but you’ll get the idea of the very rough life this one leads.

Her morning starts cuddled up on her dog bed, covered in the ultra soft blanket Santa Paws brought her for Christmas.  While laying in her soft blanket, if anyone is up in the house, they’re normally sitting with her on her dog bed while petting her.  It’s a rough way to start the day.

As the kids head out to school, Cayenne heads out for her 4.25 mile run.  That’s basically her only “work” of the day, but she loves it and can’t wait to go, so it probably doesn’t even qualify as work.  After she gets home and gets a treat for going on her run, she picks up this red toy and commences throwing it at me until she gets a treat put inside.  If there isn’t a treat put inside, she whines and continues to throw the red toy at me until I put something in it.  I normally cave in pretty quickly to manage to enjoy my oatmeal in relative peace.

After her run, she naps then awakes to continue to be a bit of a pest.  She’s notorious for hovering directly over me while I’m trying to practice for the yoga class I teach.  If she doesn’t have her face two inches from my face, she’s trying to sit on my yoga mat or, in the case of yesterday, flinging her dragon around so violently that when she whacked me with it, it actually hurt! 

Her rough day continues with another walk just for fun, seeing her dog friends at the bus stop when the girls get home, more attention, more treats, then as soon as she thinks we’re done with dinner, she goes and stands by the basement door.  She waits (not patiently like it appears in this picture) to head down to the basement where she wants to play her game of tennis ball.  After the kids get to bed, it’s more snuggling for her – either with one of us or in her soft blanket.  Seriously.  I don’t know how she makes it through the day!!

So, she’s a bit of a princess.  When princesses try to play with non-princesses, sometimes they get a bit roughed up.  She got her first little little injury from playing with another dog last night.  The wound is small but pretty deep, so she had to go into the vet today.  She didn’t need stiches, but she’ll be on antibiotics for 2 weeks to make sure an infection doesn’t develop while the wound is healing.  But, not to fear.  She is completely fine and milking this for all the attention it’s worth too!