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Archive for Renee Spindle

Memorial Day Rememberance

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Today is the day we observe Memorial Day. A day we fellow citizens of the United States of America honor those who have fought and stood for our freedoms. A day to honor the military forces for their continued, diligent work to keep our freedoms in tact.

I am reminded of this poem that our family has talked about around this time of year, and I thought it would be appropriate to post this poignant poem today.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

– Lt. Col. John McRae, May 3, 1915

No comments Posted in Family, Holidays

Technology Can Still Amaze Me

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Today is Friday, and presently I am texting with Travel Man via Skype while he is 30,000 ft in the air on his way to Denver. I am still awed and amazed that we are able to have this type of communication. I mean granted we just spent two days together, but to be able to continue our conversations while he is on the plane is fantastic. I’m a lucky girl.

Travel Man will tell you he is grateful to have the communication avenues that we have today to stay in touch. We like to use Skype for the video calling, and the occasional IM(instant messaging). When he is out of the country we use Tiger Talk to text with each other due to the roaming restrictions on the phones. For his international travel we have also used Skype’s phone calling feature to make international calls. We just buy a set amount of Skype credits, and this way we stay away from any roaming charges on our personal cell phone plan.

Travel Man uses TripIt to keep track of every bit of his travel information for every trip. It logs airline reservations, hotels, and car rentals, and it notifies me (aka the Domestic Goddess) when there is a new itinerary in place. TripIt also has mobile apps for either the Android or iPhone to stay completely connected, and it syncs with Outlook. TripIt helps me, to help Travel Man make sure all of his plans are in order. Especially when he has back-to-back trips. For tracking the air travel I like to use an app for my iPhone called FlightAware. This app tracks the flights and notifies you of any delays along the way. I have used many flight trackers over the years, and this is my favorite to date. The user friendliness of the app is what appeals to me, and the accuracy of the information.

Since I am fortunate to have Travel Man in my life to keep me informed on the latest and greatest technology, it’s easy for me to learn about new apps, or new technology available. I’m glad we are both able to have lots of ways to communicate with one another. It’s how we stay sane. But you know nothing beats just an old-fashioned phone call to hear the voice of your loved one. What’s your favorite form of communication in this technological era?

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Travel Man, Travels

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Renee Spindle

For all the cupcake lovers out there take a look at this recipe .

No comments Posted in Family

A Parent’s Admiration

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Over this past weekend, my sister and her husband were visiting from Montana. The Party House was completely a buzz because Dooney (my sister Laura) and Stevo (Laura’s husband, Steve) were in the house. Also, my nephew, Jim was here from San Luis Obispo. Saying the Party House was a little packed was an understatement. Although, we were without Travel Man, and our youngest son, Zach. They were both working for a living.

We had great times, great conversation, and great food from Wednesday at lunchtime until the last meal yesterday at lunchtime.

But there was a moment that not everyone would have seen or heard, that was filled with such love I could not help but share it with you all. My parents were sitting in our family room, kind of off to the side of the room, in these two comfy chairs I have there for reading. The girls (myself, my sister, and Elaine) and I were getting the enchiladas rolled and put together for baking. And I could hear my parents in the corner talking about all of their kids and grandkids, and now Evan, the great-grandchild all in the same place at the same time. I just caught bits and pieces of what they were saying, but their conversation was filled with such love and pride, it’s one of those “moments” for me that I will always be able to recall. It was one of those “moments” that is so filled with love and family that you feel as though “your cup runneth over”. Sometimes when we are fortunate to get everyone together like this my Mom will say to my Dad, “Yo Rocky (even though his name is Jim), I can’t believe we done dis!”

Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner together, filled with wonderful, loving toasts all around the table. We are so incredibly fortunate to have such a loving, soulful family. I am just feeling thankful today. Blessed and thankful. My hope will always be that everyone gets to have this kind of family experience, at least once in their lives.

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Food

Have You Ever Seen a Birdie Condo?

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Renee Spindle

We have a nice patio cover off of our kitchen and family room. It has great shade cloth and it’s where Travel Man does all of his grilling. We also have birds, and its springtime so we have lots of birds flitting around the house. There is a cute couple of finches, or maybe swallows that come back to this particular spot on our patio cover every year. This year I was on a mission to make them move their nest location away from our patio cover. Mainly to relocate the mess that dribbles onto the patio.

In the little nooks where the birds normally build their nest we stacked a couple of rocks. I thought surely this will stop them from building. But lo and behold here’s what they did.

View from the ground View up at birdie level

There is a nest build right on top of the rocks squished up to the screen cloth on the patio cover. The birds diligently built this little nest because they are claiming their space. I was amazed at how hard they worked to build this nest. One bird would fly in and then the other, but there was so little space they could not squeeze in there at the same time. We briefly, and I do mean nano-second briefly, discussed knocking the nest down to avoid all of the mess. But when I cast my vote for the nest, I wanted to save it because the birds had worked so hard. There was some eye rolling over this decision by some of my family members.

The nest stayed, but oddly enough the birds did not. They “flew the coop” last week sometime. I guess they decided their tight quarters were not going to work. So, Travel Man said to tell you all, so you can tell your birdie friends, that we have a birdie condo for rent. Great location, warm weather, and a cat perched below watching your every move. This springtime story will go down in the family history books.