Let's Have a Drink Down in the Harbor

Once a month, Abi over at Creating Paper Dreams invites people to stop by for a cup of tea and a chat. I thought you could join me for a drink down in the Harbor.  There's lots to see before we sit down and chat, including wildlife.

And there's some really interesting things to photograph:

We'll probably even be able to find a fisherman for the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt:

After our little stroll, we can sit down at either Barbara's Fish Trap or Ketch Joanne and have something warm to drink while we catch up.
I'd start by telling you that we've decided to move Clara back to our local high school. Last year, after a series of very unfortunate events, we moved her to a different school which was exactly what she needed at that time. I truly don't know if we would have survived last year without that alternative.  But things are different now, and she's wanting to return to her home school. And we've all come to decide that it's probably the right thing.  She wants to run cross country and has made some really good friends this summer with a terrific group of kids who run at our local school. And, she's become very motivated to improve her grades so she can go to college and study animal behavior. That interest has been an outgrowth of her volunteer work at the humane society. Our local high school has an agricultural education track which would feed that interest and put her in with another nice group of kids.  She's worked very hard to get her life back on track, and we think she deserves to be rewarded by going to school where she wants - especially because she has developed such a good plan to succeed. So, now it's on me to get all the paperwork straightened out. 
I'd also tell you that Henry is getting ready to make the leap to college. He's all set to go off to the University of Oregon mid-September. In the mean time, he's having a great time with his friends. They're going to concerts, hanging out having house parties and basically enjoying their last summer together. He's decided to try out for the Club-level  University soccer team, so he's back to training.  As the time for breaking away gets closer, he seems interested in spending time with me again, and I am enjoying every opportunity to go to a baseball game with him or watch him play soccer.
If you were to say that I look different, I would tell you that I got some new glasses, which are much more modern looking than my old ones and that I'm wearing my hair a little longer and looser these days. I'd also tell you that I'm just feeling so much more relaxed these days. Since my summer classes ended, I'm enjoying spending a week or two with no commitments other than going to the gym and doing laundry. And, yes, the fact that Paul's health is holding steady also makes me breathe easier and look more relaxed. 
I enjoyed binge-watching a television show called "Hart of Dixie" on netflix and would ask you if you had any good netflix recommendations. I'd admit to watching the new summer television series "Under the Dome" and a few other guilty pleasures like "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Glades," "Project Runway," "Necessary Roughness," and "Longmire." I haven't picked up a book in several weeks!
I would tell you that, creatively, I've really been enjoying online classes, especially one where I'm making an altered book about traveling. And I'm being challenged by one about story telling. I would tell you that I'm mulling the idea about writing a memoir about the last year in my life but that I'm not really sure I'm up to it. And that's okay. 
Finally, I would tell you that I'm really excited about the 2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt that I'm hosting and that I'm going to be asking everyone to check in mid-week and join a linky party. I'd ask you if you plan to join in? (And I'd secretly hope that you would say yes).
And then I'd ask what you have been up to . . .