The Calm Before The Storm

It was a total blessing that DH took me down to the ocean this past weekend. My in-laws are away so we had the house for ourselves and the three dogs. Oye! Let me tell you, the trip down did not start things out on a good note. Having three dogs packed into a Kia Spectra 5 is like trying to pack up three kids for a road trip. Buddy acts like he has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Duncan either knocks you out with his breath or his farts and Brie is the one that doesn't use the bathroom before we leave.

Besides that, the weekend was wonderful. We had incredible weather, beautiful scenery and lots of relaxation (or as much as I could muster). DH and I went to Mary's and stocked up on salmon, homemade bread and lots of delicious goodies. I spent a lot of time taking pictures and I have quite a few to share with you :o) I even dabbled in black and white photography. I've put the pictures into my Picasa Album for easier viewing so check out Plants & Flowers and My Photography.

DH enjoyed kayaking every morning. I wish I could do it myself but I know I wouldn't make it far with my arm. He always comes back with such interesting stories and so far, he's had no witnesses so I'm beginning to wonder how many of them are just "fish tales" ;o) He's come across seals on a regular basis but this time he, somehow, crept up on a sleeping baby seal! DH said the look on his face was priceless. Too bad he didn't take the camera but he's always scared it will get wet. Next time we have decided to get him a waterproof disposable camera and we'll see how that does and how many of his stories are true. LOL!

We packed light this time but I did take my stitching with me. I left my Two By Two afghan at home because I didn't want to get into transporting it around and risk getting it dirty. I almost had a finish with another project but I was missing one color. ONE color! Never fails ;o) So I spent my time on Checkerboard Bunny by Waxing Moon and he is coming along much faster than before. Hopefully he'll be finished by the end of the week but we'll see how much the afghan calls to me.

The dogs had a whale of a time. They were constantly playing, running and basically acting like children on summer vacation :o) Brie had a great time tanning her belly. She even took the time out to give me a picture -

I can definitely tell you that there wasn't a peep from any of them on the way home :o)

There was a good reason why we got away this past weekend. Last week I got news from my lawyer that LTD was supposed to have an answer for us this coming week. Well...today was "the" day. Apparently I did well on my FAE and LTD feels that there is no reason why I should not be able to return to my full time job. What really put me over the edge was the FAE report. It was chalk full of incorrect information. If you don't remember me saying, the one giving the test was more interested in sharing her trip to the Dominican than focusing her attention on the test itself. She claimed I was there for 13 hours over the two days when in fact I was only there for 10 hours and 15 minutes and that DOES NOT include the numerous times she was late and I was left just sitting there. Any-way...the nightmare continues but hopefully I'll know more by the end of the week. Sigh! What I wouldn't give to be back in my sanctuary again.