Welcome to the World, Parker!

This morning at about 6:30 (North Dakota time), my great-nephew Parker was born. My niece Lauren called her parents about 1:30 to let them know "it was time!" They hopped in the car, made the 2.5-hour trip from Bottineau and were in Bismarck with time to spare. The new Grandma (my sister Janis) was in the delivery room with her daughter as Parker make his appearance. And naturally, they're both quite smitten with the little guy! He weighed in at 8lb, 10oz, is 21 inches long and has dark hair like his ... Mom. Wow, that's sounds strange...Lauren is a mother. And okay, it's now official...I'm old.

On the menu tonight...

I haven't been good about posting ... again! And I haven't mentioned much about our crabbing season. Partly that's because we haven't had much luck. We've caught enough to satisfy our cravings and we've sent crab home with visitors but we haven't had many extras for making crab dip or crab pasta or crap tac.

Also, part of the fun of crabbing is the competition between the two crabbers - Randy and Bill. And this is the first week that they've both been here at the same time, and therefore, the official competition has finally begun!

We started out slow...and didn't get any keepers yesterday. And those we caught...well, they weren't the best looking crab - not like we're really picky because we aren't. So, Bill took the early lead with 3 keepers to Randy's 0.

We hoped for better results with the overnight set.

And I'm happy to report that we were rewarded! This was our catch: 5 dungie keepers and 2 rock. Rock crab are harder to crack (and thus the name!) but they taste great. Here's a look:

I won't include any pictures of the killing ... it's just not nice. Randy cringes. This little guy just wants out...it's really better if you don't look them in the eyes ... really, it is. This guy has rolled over and is ready to accept the inevitable:

Here's the pot...

Let's peek inside, shall we? Hey, it's steaming - is anyone timing these?

And finally, here's the finished product...

Pass the butter, please!

Happy Anniversary

A quick shout out to my sister (the oldest one!) and her husband as they celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary today. I really wish I had one of their wedding pictures to share - they were priceless - but since I don't, I'll substitute some others from their life. Sorry about this one, you guys, but I couldn't help myself! Really...

First, pictures of them when they were young...and didn't know each other.Larry seems a bit serious here. Makes you wonder what he was thinking about.

Janis was always ready for the camera.

Here they are with their daughter Lauren at her baptism...they're pretty proud parents.

Another with Lauren - this was taken when they were visiting us a few years ago.

And still another with Lauren at her graduation. Larry gave the commencement address. It was very good. And soon - within a couple of weeks - they'll be grandparents. Man, that just doesn't seem possible. Of course, it doesn't seem possible that it's been 37 years since their wedding. I remember it like it was yesterday...from one of the ushers lighting the candles using his Bic lighter, to the zipper in my dress popping just as we were preparing to walk down the aisle. My mother told me to suck in my breath as she quickly zipped it down, then back up. Then told me in a very matter-of-fact tone..."Don't breath or bend down until this is over."

Charli's life

This is Charli

This is Charli after a 5-mile walk

This is Charli after a 5-mile walk and a swim

Suffice it to say, Charli sleeps really well up here!

Low tides

We've been having a stretch of very low tides this week (from -2.4 to -3.1) and it causes problems when we want to use the RIB. Here, let me show you what I mean... This is what I saw from the deck:

Randy thought it deserved a closer look, so he headed down to the beach with Charli and the camera.

In case you're wondering, the dock really shouldn't be on dry ground.

And the RIB really should be in more water.

Saturday: my morning and evening

Here's the start and end to my day...How could you not love it here?

...and finally this

If you're reading this post first, well, you need to go to the first one in this series titled "Sunday in the San Juans" and then work backwards. Sometimes Blogger confuses me but I'm at a loss as to how to chronologically do these posts and make them come out right.

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So, after the yacht and the floatplane, I decided Charli and I should get away from the house. So, we took off on a walk. Just as we left the front door, though, I saw the cutest snail. Maybe you don't think snails are cute but well, they don't move fast either and that makes them a perfect photo target for me. I was on my knees getting these shots.

A face only a mother could love...

Do snail mothers have faces 'cause this guy doesn't look like he has one... Do you think she'd want a framed copy for the mantel?