Bellows Beach

After our invigorating hike we decided it was time for lunch. We had planned to go to the Subway because it was next to the beach Rachel had picked out for us that afternoon, The Bellows. Unfortunately due to a water break, Subway was closed, so we went to The Bellows Snack Shack. After lunch we hit the beach. Now I have been to alot of beaches in my day, and I have to say Hawaiian Beaches are among my favorite. Aqua-marine waters, Carolina blue skies, puffy white clouds, a lush mountain range as a back drop to it all, it was my paradise.

Kris took care of Riley's entertainment, while Rachel had Hadley in tow. Rachel had the light duty because after about 30 minutes Hadley was ready for a nap. Of course the nap was not before Rachel got stung, for the 2nd time in 3 weeks by a Portuguese man-o-war. There had to be 10 kids in and out of the water bogey boarding for the 3 hours we were there, not one of them got stung. Rachel is in the water not even up to her knees for 3 minutes and gets stung. What are the odds?

After being doused by the lifeguard with some sort of de-sting spray, Rachel just kept on keeping on. I love these mommy-baby shots.

While mommy and baby were getting stung and sprayed. Kiki was playing with Riley, and I do mean non-stop. Running in and out of the water to fill buckets for sand castles, digging in the sand, I'm telling you I was exhausted just watching them. This is not a 15 minute play session, this is the entire time we are at the beach. Now you have to understand the whole time Kiki is playing, she is bent at the waist, so she can be closer to Riley. So not only am I exhausted, now my back hurts. Of course my back was nothing, during all this play time Kiki forgot her sunblock. Aloe is now her best friend.

What a View!!

With the better part of the trail behind us, we continue up and up. It seems like the end of the trail has gotten a few degrees steeper, some sick engineer's idea of a joke. We get to the end of one incline, turn the corner and see it is

still going up. Kris has relieved Rachel on stroller duty. I am saving myself for the return trip. As we reach the top of the hill, the view is stunning, and we all agree the hike was well worth it.

Full Day of Sun

Watching Rachel with her 2 girls is amazing. She is such a loving mother, her girls both adore her. It is really nice to watch their interactions. Rachel has the morning routine with the girls down to a science. I am in awe just watching how smoothly the drill runs. Once they have been taken care of Kiki takes over, and Rachel can jump in the shower herself. What does she do when she is by herself? Today we are heading to Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail. This is a breathtaking (literally) hike up the side of a hill with the Pacific Ocean surrounding the trail. It is the first real exercise I have done since the boot has been taken off, and I feel great. It is just so nice to be out in the open and doing something physical, of course being in Hawaii while I'm doing it certainly doesn't hurt. Now I am walking up this hill with the sun in my face and all is right with my world. Riley decides she will walk with the big girls. I am thrilled with this because I can use Miss Riley as my excuse to go slowly. When Kris and Riley fall a little behind they both come charging up the hill to catch up.

Rachel, who after this trip will always be "Wonder Woman" in my eyes, not only gets herself up the trail, but does it while pushing both girls. That is an extra 52 pounds. I, of course, offered to push it on the way down.

Jet Lag

Once we got to Oahu, Kris put in a call to Rachel, we grabbed our bags (first on the carousel), and waited at the big C for our ride to appear. 2 minutes later Kris, who will now be referred to as Kiki, was smack dab in the center of her 2 favorite "Hawaiian" grand daughters. Knowing we would probably be exhausted, Rachel planned a very low key day. Kiki was energized by the girls and totally switched into grandma mod. When I say grandma mod, that is by no means to be confused with slowing down at all. She actually reved up. Watching her running around with Riley was like watching the energizer bunny after chugging a full can of Hershey's chocolate syrup. I don't know how she did it, watching her was exhausting. I hit the sack around 5:00, that's 11:00pm east coast time, not to be seen or heard from until the next day. I know ho-hum.

First Class All The Way

I was awaken this morning by Kris singing "We're going to Hawaii, we're going to Hawaii". That was all I needed to jump up, throw a dress on and head out the door. Kevin drew the short straw and had the pleasure of taking us to the airport. The first thing we saw leaving the house was the full moon, what better way to start a trip.

Once we got to the airport we headed to my old stomping grounds, "Continental". We did the self check-in, got our bags tagged "Priority" and headed to our gate. That's right "Priority". For Kris's birthday I upgraded our seats to First Class. If we were headed to Boston it would have not have been a big deal, but when you fly 12 hours, even to Hawaii, First Class makes all the difference in the world.

Kris and I watched "Sex In The City 2" each on our private screen, then we watched "Please Give". Kris continued movies with "Back Up Plan", and I finished reading Janet Evanovich's "Finger Lickin' Fifteen". This of course was all being done while being served breakfast, a 3 course lunch, ice cream with assorted toppings, fresh baked choclate cookies, free flowing wine and anything else our little hearts desired. I am loving this trip so far......

All Set To Go

I'm staying over night at Kris and Kevin's tonight, we thought it best for our 3:30am wake up call. The sacrifices I make to go to Hawaii, I am surely destined for Sainthood.

So I find myself in Rachel's old bedroom, looking around at some of the remnants of her childhood. Her old white dresser and desk are still here, but her matching bed frame has been replaced by a wooden futon, courtesy of Justin. I remember when Kris and I went shopping for Rachel's bedroom set. She couldn't have been more than 5 years old....and now we are heading to Oahu in time to celebrate her 29th birthday...she now has 2 little girls of her own.

Happy Birthday To Me.

On August 18th I started my 54th year to grey skies and a non stop rain, but that was not going to dampen my spirits. It is MY day. First thing in the morning I checked my email, 36 messages. Now the only time I have ever had that many messages was when I went to South America and had no access to my account, and most of those were drug ads. I had no idea that as a member of Facebook my birthday is common knowledge to all my Facebook friends. I got well wishes from so many people, thank you one and all. What a great way to start the day.

Earlier in the month Anthropologie sent me my birthday card along with a 15% discount coupon. That, with a gift certificate John gave me for watching Layla started my day. I got 3 funky tops that I really didn't need, but hey it's my birthday.

From there I headed to see "Eat, Pray, Love". Love, love, loved it. I really saw myself in that character. I don't think any women of a certain age, could not identify in one way or another. With all my travels coming up maybe I could write a spin off, "Eat, Pray, Eat, Like Alot, Eat".

I think I'm on to something.... After the movie I headed home. Another 46 emails.

.... and what is a birthday without cake and ice cream? I opted for a chocolate eclair and Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby. I love birthdays.

To end my special day I got an hour and half massage. I've been going to David for my massages ever since my birthday last year. His massages are unbelievable. He uses stones and oil in way that I am sure is illegal in many countries. When I leave I am really not sure I should be driving, I am lightheaded and soooo relaxed. If I were George Castanza, it would have moved.

I get home, crawl into clean sheets and eat, pray and smile.

Social Butterfly

On Tuesday I went to a fund raiser for the Hospice of the Chesapeake. It was a crab feast held at a friend's restaurant. I was familiar with Hospice before, but since my mother's passing, I've become an admirer. The tickets were $50.00 and they had a great turnout. They had a wonderful spread of barbecue ribs and chicken, corn on the cob and assorted salads. Basically it's all the food that I hate to eat in public or without dental floss. Luckily, I hung out with my ex-neighbor and good friend Kathy Corry. A good friend is someone you can show your teeth to in public and ask if you have anything in between. The food and company was great. They also had a 2 kids playing guitar and singing. It was a wonderful evening.

Wednesday I was invited to the Annapolis Yacht Club by some friends I got to know through Woofs & Whiskers. We had an amazing lunch overlooking Spa Creek. This couple is so interesting and have done so many things, I felt like a sponge just soaking up everything they said. I had so many questions, lunch went by much to quickly.

Making the Time

Since becoming a "Lady of Leisure" I am actually doing things. Going out always seemed to be such a chore. Because I dealt with the public 6 days a week, on my day off all I wanted to do was just unplug and try to rejuvenate myself. I would do somethings, but I always went screaming and kicking. Now I am actually enjoying myself.

Saturday, Kris and I went to our cousin Maura's for her annual "Tea". She has a wonderful collection of antique bone china, all different patterns. I have as much fun looking at the settings as I do conversing.

As most of you know Maura live in Towson, so Kris and I decided to ride up together.....with address in Garmin we are all set. Anyone who has a Garmin know that they have a mind of their own. Kris's decided to take us on the scenic route, through probably thee roughest section of Baltimore. It was actually pretty funny, I kept saying, "Don't look anyone in the eye". We got through it laughing all the way, the kind of frantic, get us out alive laughing.

At Maura's we were joined by the Timmick Girls, Aunt Dorie( it's been probably 45 years since we've seen her), Aunt Mary and her daughter, and Molly's mother-in-law. It was a great group. The kind that you get to telling stories and in 20 minutes you've been there for 5 hours. We all vowed to get together more often, and said our huggy goodbyes.

Another Loss

Last week I got an email from Terry, the subject matter was "Dad".

I have not heard from or seen Terry since March, so I knew this was not good. I had the chance to meet Terry's father when we went west for our bike trip. We spent a lovely evening together with the rest of his family. He was a true gentleman. Terry's note said that his father had slipped into a coma and passed away the following morning. I am very glad that Terry made it out to Arizona. His father was surrounded by a family that loved him very much.

I called Terry to see how he was, an email just seemed so shallow. I wanted to hear his voice to make sure he was okay. I may have caught him a little off guard by the call, but we soon fell back into our comfortable manner. Once I knew he was all right and let him know if he needed anything to let me know, I said good-bye. I was happy to know that he too was surrounded by family that loves him.

Shed Much

Kris and I went back to the shop after unloading and got down to the fun part, cleaning.

It's amazing what you find under furniture after 6 years. I think Kris found close to $10.00 in change, I found 5 tennis balls, 3 squeaky toys, 2 bones, packing peanuts, envelopes, tags and enough dog hair to make 3 small dogs.

After sweeping up most of the big stuff, Kris and I decided to get lunch and call it a day. We had both started at about 5:30am.

Monday morning I went over to do all the touch up to the shop. It took me about 2 hours to get it up to snuff. The only time I got a little misty was when I wiped off the nose prints from the glass front door. I will drop the keys off to the guys next door tomorrow. Another chapter closed. 22 days and a wake up until Hawaii.

Convoy

With all the fixtures loaded we caravan down Rt.50. Okay our headlights weren't on so I guess we weren't officially a convy, but it's fun to pretend. Got everything unloaded, and I can't thank

everyone enough for all their help.

John and BJ had the pleasure of carrying an 18 drawer dresser upstairs, and a cathedral sized bench downstairs.....which is no small feat because of the turns in the stairwell. After they put their heads together and used their mathematical wizardry, they managed to get the pieces to the designated rooms. We were finished by 11:00.

That being said, my garage now looks like a furniture warehouse sans the warehouse. I see a garage sale in my near future. Luckily for me, I now have plenty of time to get it all together.

All Hands on Deck

Whenever something needed to be done in the Gunning household my father would bellow, "All Hands on Deck", and if you were within ear shot you had better show up ready to work.

After looking around the shop at the end of the day Saturday, I thought if I called John and Brian it would only take 1 load each SUV and I could have the store cleared out in no time. Even though Heather bought all my merchandise, I still had all the fixtures that needed to be removed. So I called the boys and gave the old battle cry and they agreed to meet me at the store at 10am on Sunday, no questions asked. Kris of course was already on board.

John showed up first. I was counting and boxing inventory to transfer up the street. By the time Kris showed up (on time), John and I had already filled the Element, and were working on his car. Brian pulled up, and the piece that was going into his car would fit better in 2 pieces. I knew when he asked for a screwdriver it was going down. Oh well...nothing a little gorilla glue won't take care of.

In the Dark.

July 31, 2010 Woofs & Whiskers last day.

I'm heading into the shop today with a happy heart. I know I am doing what is right for me at this point in my life. So we all get to the store and I walk in, go to the front to turn on the lights and Oops, no lights. I go next door to see if they have electricity. In the last 2 weeks it's gone off twice due to the heavy storms in the area...Yep they have lights. I have to use Morgan-Gerard's phone to call BGE. They have a turn-off order for he 31st. I won't even go into the conversation I had with the BGE employee 2 weeks ago cancelling service on the 1st because I would be open on the 31st and I would need service until 4pm that day..... anyway, they would not be able to turn it back on until Tuesday. NEVER MIND.

Not having lights is one thing, but I have no phone, no credit card machine, no register, no fax, no air and now my happy heart is copping an attitude. Luckily for all of us it was a beautiful day and I opened all the windows and we had a lovely breeze. By the end of the day, 3 friends that could not reach me by phone came in to say good-bye, my sister Kris came by to make sure I was okay, and Donna called me at home from Florida letting me know she was thinking about me all day. My happy heart is back, I know I am loved.

Blue Without You

With 2 days left at Woofs & Whiskers it seems that everyone who ever came into the store has stopped by to tell me how much they will miss Harper and I. I put on a happy face and tell them "It's all good, I'm closing because I'm ready for my next adventure". Of course they all want to know what that's going to be. I let them know I'm going to travel for a while

and see where the wind blows me. It's the pups that are really going to be "BLUE".

Yes... the Groomer colored her dog in memory of me. Poor thing. His name is Chewy, I am calling him Bluey.

Changes Are Coming

It never ceases to amaze me how much life can change in such a short time. Those of you with small children certainly see it everyday. My changes are nothing as dramatic as some are, but in my little world they are major. A year ago I had a booming business, a very special someone in my life, a home that I loved and a very good friend to walk dogs with. All that has changed now except my home, but I'm not so sure I love it in Annapolis anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I am actually one of those people that thrive on change.
I've been wondering what in the world I was going to do with all my excess inventory. I finally cleaned my garage out, just to refill it with pieces from my mom's house. I was dreading putting all the extra store stuff in there as well. I was imagining myself on ebay in my basement for the rest of my life. Uuugghhh! The owner of "The Grooming Salon" down the street came in on Tuesday and said, "Whatever you don't sell, I'll buy". OMG!! Can you believe it!! Thank you Baby Jesus.

Om Ar Hung

I have started a Tibetan Buddhist Meditation class. There are probably as many schools of thought on meditation as there are people in the universe. I have done meditation before, but I never had the discipline to make it part of my daily routine. I don't know what makes me think that this class will be different.

So here I am, week 2 of TBM and we are focusing on our breathing and mind. Inhale through the nose Om, let the air flow through Ar, exhale through the nose Hung. After 5 minutes of this, I am in a very peaceful state. It is impossible to think of anything else when you are so completely concentrating on breathing and Om, Ar, Hung. In with the good air, out with the bad.

Next... everyone is to concentrate on an emotion. I pick happiness. If I want to concentrate on anger or sadness I can call a family member. This is my "Happy Place". The women next to me just buried her husband yesterday, and of course, focuses on sadness. By minute 2 she begins crying and her sniffling is disrupting my "Happy Place". After the 5 minutes we have a question/answer period. The big cry baby begins to tell the story of losing her husband and my "Happy Place" is beginning to build a resentment wall. Now don't get me wrong. I am very sympathetic to losing a loved one, but don't they have a grief management group for that? I am here to find relaxation, sort of a respite from the real world. If I want to hear sad stories I can stay at work for an extra hour, or go back to AA meetings. Anyway 3 more weeks for "Enlightenment".

Emotional Roller Coaster

There are times in my life where thing seem to just flow, then there are other times where I just can't seem to catch my breath. There is so much going on in my life now that I feel like my plate is overflowing. With Donna leaving I feel this overwhelming sadness, but I also feel selfish for that sadness. I know this new start for Donna is something she has wanted for sometime now, and I also know she will flourish because of it... and because of that, I am thrilled for her.

Woofs & Whiskers now has an "Everything Must Go" sign up and I have 2 more weeks until the doors are closed for good. A very good friend of mine came in last week and I cried on his shoulder about Donna and Winslow leaving that morning. He just said, "Terry, it's like the sign says, everything must go". Richard has a way about him that is both spiritual and realistic, that statement pretty much summed up past, present and future all in one.

Farewell My Friend

Donna left this morning to start her new volume. When you reach our age and leave everything that you have known for the last 25 years, it's not just a new chapter, it's a volume. Harper and I met Winslow and Donna down at the neighborhood gazebo for our last round of chucking tennis balls. It is so sad to say goodbye to someone who has become a real friend, so I didn't. I told her to be safe and that I would see her in September. As I headed to work I looked towards her home and the familiar red truck was gone, I stopped and bought some chocolate and called my older sister to cry. Donna is now on her way to my younger sister to start her healing. Thank God for sisters.

Dog Days of Summer

I am trying to get as much Donna time in as possible before she heads south. A mutual friend of ours has a pool and has given us both an open invitation to drop by whenever we feel like it. She has a boyfriend with a house at the beach, so she is rarely there on weekends. Donna and I packed up the dogs a had a great day of sunshine. It was the day before the 100 degrees hit and it could not have been nicer out.