Smoke on the Water

Once again, I realized I've not posted for a long time but it's been such a busy summer.  

Currently we are experiencing major smoky haze due to the wildfires in British Columbia.  Tonight the sun was just a red ball in the sky.

Over the past few days, the air has been getting progressively worse.  For the first time today, I noticed a small bit of ash floating in the air.  Looking across the lake it looks like fog, but it’s smoke.  

My prayers go out to the brave firefighters who are working on the fires both in BC and California, and for the people who are directly impacted.

Looking across the lake at the haze

So...last time I posted, I was thinking about getting a tattoo in honor of my dog Buster (my "B").  Well, I did it!

First of all, thank you all for the opinions I received on the different images.  Although I didn't ultimately use any of the ones I showed you, your thoughts really helped me to work through and clarify in my mind the concept I was going for.  Obviously it was going to be permanent so I didn't make the decision lightly.

After looking at hundreds of Google images of bees, I finally settled on one of a honey bee (rather than a bumble bee).  I decided I wanted a bee with Buster's coloring, and one in flight to represent his spirit.  The bee I chose has a sweet face and his eyes remind me of B.  Norwich terrier eyes are described as looking like they have on eyeliner and this bee’s eyes looked like that.

I got the tattoo in late July, while I was visiting my sister-in-law in San Francisco.  We went to the tattoo artist that did her tattoos, and I was really impressed with him.  The process was fascinating, he did a wonderful job, and I’m just thrilled with the outcome.  It's hard to believe that he could take a large image and shrink it down to the size of a quarter. 

(P.S. the tattoo artist also has a dog named Buster, so it was extra special.)

The detail is pretty amazing, I think.  Anyway, no one else really sees it because it’s so small and usually covered by my sleeve or my watch, which is what I wanted.  This tattoo isn’t for anyone but me.  It’s my secret tribute to Buster.

After the fact, I looked up the artist who produced the original drawing and turns out she has an art studio a few miles from where I live.  She does a lot of wildlife and nature drawings, and I was able to purchase a print of the image from her Etsy Shop.  I have it in a frame in my office, and it's beautiful. 

In early August, Hub and I went on a looooong road trip in our convertible (3,000 miles total round trip) to a family reunion in Saskatchewan, Canada.  I got to see quite a few of my cousins that I grew up with in Iowa, and I met a number of new Canadian cousins.  It was interesting to try to figure out exactly how we were related.  My grandma was one of 5 girls, and the general relationship was that my grandma and their grandmas were sisters, which makes us second cousins.  Another interesting thing was to see the strong family resemblance between myself and people I've never met before. 

My grandparents were married a hundred years ago, in 1918, started farming, and the little cabin that they lived in was still standing in the middle of a field.  It was pretty cool to see, and so surprising that it was still there!

Little House on the Saskatchewan Prairie

Considering the harsh winters in Saskatchewan, I understand why they moved to Iowa 5 years later, to the small town I grew up in (where my Dad was born).  Grandpa apparently said no more farming and worked for the electric company until he died in 1960. 

On the way home, we drove through desolate North Dakota; visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana; and spent a few days soaking in the hot pools at Chico Hot Springs in Montana (near Yellowstone).  Overall, it was a great trip.

One thing I learned along the way is that Canada has crappy rest stops that are few and far between, meanwhile Montana has luxurious ones...each rest stop has multiple air conditioned private bathrooms instead of stalls.  

Now it feels good to be back in my normal routine, working, working out, and eating right (for the most part).   I do love my routine!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!