Tam’s Think Tank

Enjoying The Surf, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Karen just left to take the kids to the airport for their return trip to England. It’s been a terrific visit and I miss them already.

It’s easy to say you love someone because they’re family. You know, saying I love this person or that person because I’m related to them and that’s just the way it is. It’s another thing entirely to really like them, to enjoy spending time with them, and to love them for exactly who they are and the joy they bring to your life. Which is what I feel about Mary and Martin.

Blended families are sometimes tough. You never know if personalities will clash, if there will be hard feelings about one thing or another, or if lives can just smoothly and easily fit like hands to a glove. It’s a tricky business. I’ve been lucky in my life in that even though I’ve had extensive experience with the blended family structure, I’ve not really had a bad experience… ever. I’ve had step brothers and sisters, half brothers and sisters, step fathers, a step mother, sisters in law, brothers in law, and out and out and out… like ripples in a pond… an ever growing family. To me it’s a beautiful thing, lives joining. I feel a sense of belonging and connection. But as I said, it’s a tricky business. One that doesn’t always go well. I’ve known others who’ve had less than desirable (to be perfectly PC) experiences. It can be nearly devastating, and ugly, when personalities clash or jealousies arise. Thankfully, there’s been none of that for this girl… for me, as I said, it’s been good. And this last three weeks has been no exception to that. I’ve had a wonderful time with my family.

Getting to know Mary, and now Martin, has been a beautiful thing in my life. I never thought I’d have kids. In fact, I didn’t really want them. Not, of course, until I met “the one”, and then it was just a tad too late. We decided we were just a bit passed the point, age wise, of having children together. But I got lucky, because Karen already had Mary. So here I find myself… a step parent. Granted, Mary’s an adult, and really has been since I’ve been in the picture. But it’s been five years, and a lot has happened in all of our lives, a lot that we’ve been able to share… a lot of life.

What to say about Mary… she’s extraordinary. She’s a deep feeling and passionate person who isn’t afraid to say what she thinks, at least not to Karen, Martin, or me. I love that about her. I love that she has an opinion. I love that if she thinks she’s right she won’t back down until you buck up and prove her wrong. She can be tough, but listening to her argue her point, whatever it is, makes me proud of her. She always argues thoughtfully, considering, analyzing, drawing on what she knows. It’s impressive and I admire that greatly in her. She’s also incredibly bright, which makes her great company. She loves all the things I do… books, music, film, words, thought, art… and can talk about them beyond just the usual surface chat. She wants to know things, experience them, and see how things tick. She’s not just satisfied skimming along, which makes her the deep feeling and passionate person I mentioned earlier. Plus, Mary has a fantastic sense of humor and of play. She likes to laugh, to play, to be dorky, and to have a good time. From playing with the dogs, to goofing around with Martin, to being able to laugh at herself… she knows how to have fun. Yes, she can sometimes take things pretty seriously, but I think that’s an offshoot, a hazard, of being so smart, so passionate… she sinks her teeth into something and isn’t always willing to let it go. She wants to know why, or solve the problem, or find some sort of way to work it out. She believes she can and, actually, I do too. I think the girl could do anything she wanted to, anything she set her mind on doing in life. She’s fantastic. A stellar human being who’s very easy to love. I’m lucky to know her, and incredibly lucky to be a part of her life.

Martin… well… what can I say. He’s exactly who we both wanted Mary to find. He loves her, adores her, and challenges her. They compliment each other so well it makes me cry with happiness thinking about it. When you’re so happy in your own relationship, the thing you want most for your kids is that they find someone who makes them as happy as your partner makes you. And, thank goodness, Martin makes Mary that happy, as happy as we are. He has no idea how often we say how thankful we are she found him, or he found her, or they found each other. But we do, and we are so very grateful for him. On top of all of that… I like him. I like him very much. He’s curious about the world, interested in everything. He wants to know things, and if he doesn’t know something he wants to find out about it. He loves talking, having intelligent dialogue, and does it well. He gets excited about things, and has no problem being silly, or laughing. He’s also easy to be around. He’s one of those people who, for me anyway, makes you feel relaxed. He has a calm about him, a certain confidence of spirit. It’s something Karen has as well, which is probably why I find it to be an attractive trait in him. It’s just nice being around him, and it makes it very easy to love him. Mary’s found her match in him and we couldn’t be happier about her choice. He’s exactly who we would’ve chosen for her. He’s just, simply said, a very good guy.

So… we had a great visit with them, and I’m pretty sad to see them go. I so enjoyed being around them and every time we get to be together I only like them, and love them, more. I’m looking forward to Christmas… because if this visit was any indication, it’s going to be a great time spent with a couple of spectacular people.

Nap Time, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

It’s Sunday, and what do you do on a Sunday afternoon… you read the paper and take a nap. Weston looks comfy. So good actually that I might just take a nap myself. Time to sign off…

Sparks, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

I put the camera on a tripod and shot a few. In this one you can see spark trails coming up out of the fire. Mary, to the right, is blurry because she was moving. I actually asked them all to sit still and took one after this shot. It turned out really well. Fantastic actually. In this one, as well as in the other, you can actually see some stars up in the sky. Very cool.

Almost Ready for Roasting, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Last night we built a fire in the fire pit, gathered around it, roasted marshmallows, and made s’mores. It was the perfect night for it. We stayed out until about 1 a.m. Who knew it was that late. It was great though… the marshmallows were tasty and the star gazing terrific. We were even able to spy a couple of shooting stars. I love our house.

Water, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Yesterday we took Weston to a dog park in Hillsboro. The Hondo Dog Park. He loves it there. They have a small/timid dog area which works as he’s small and kind of timid. He made friends with several little pugs, running all around with them. It was great fun for him.

Threes, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Friday night, after Karen’s parents left to go to their hotel room, we finished the poker game we’d started (yeah, the one where Mary kicked my butt), played a couple of rounds of the game of bullshit (that’s it’s name, what can I say), and then played Yahtzee. Karen and I each won a round of bullshit (what does that say about us I wonder… LOL) and Martin was the winner at Yahtzee… and the only one to roll an actual Yahtzee during the game, causing us, of course, all to yell, “YAHTZEE!”, just like they did on those cheesy Yahtzee commercials. It was great fun.

The Stack, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

We’ve played a lot of Texas Hold Em with Mary and Martin while they’ve been here and it’s been a blast. We played a game while Karen’s parents, Don and Betty, were here as well and Betty joined in the game. I’m tellin’ ya, she took us all by surprise. She can play a mean game of poker. Impressive. I’m positive she would’ve cleaned us all out if she’d been able to stay for the whole game. It got late and they headed out to go to bed. This was my stack a little while later. Pretty good huh? Well, apparently, it wasn’t good enough. Mary came back and took all my chips as she and I played head to head after the others were out. Mary… you had some mean poker skills that night.

Jam!, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Karen’s parents drove up for a visit to see Mary, meet Martin, and see us as well. While they were here Karen’s dad made a double batch of Marionberry jam. Oh yeah! It’s SO GOOD!! Don, you rock as a jam maker. I gave him the best compliment I had in my bag o’ compliments when I told him that his jam was as good as my mom’s. That’s saying a lot. Yum!

Fine Fare, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Stan makes a mean bison burger and Connie makes a fantastic everything else. You guys rock! Thanks for the wonderful meal. Couldn’t ask for better food in a nicer location with more terrific people. It was a pleasure.

The Brie, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Stan doing his thang getting the brie all ready for dipping. Tasty.

Dinner at Stan and Connie’s Place, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Friday last week Stan and Connie had us over for a little staff appreciation get together. Stan borrowed my camera for this shot. That’s my foot sitting on the table next to my beerita. It was a good time, as it always is at their house. I felt very appreciated.

Scrambling For The Ball, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Rugby always looks exhausting to me. Guys flying all over the field, constant movement, clashes of brute strength. It’s gotta be so tiring.

In The Thick of It, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

The Falcons and the Hawks in action.

Before The Game, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Since returning from the beach last weekend we’ve pretty much stuck close to home, with a couple of exceptions. Last Thursday we had tickets to go see a USA Rugby match. It was actually a fund raiser for youth rugby in Oregon, and since one of our good friends is a coach of a youth rugby team, we bought the tickets and went to see the game. The added bonus was that Martin knows rugby, being from England and all, and we thought he might enjoy what the US has to offer to the sport. Right now, unfortunately, it’s not much, but in 15 or 20 years we might actually be able to compete with the big guys and girls in Europe. Who knows. But that’s another story really, as for us watching the game, it was fun. Very interesting to see the game played at that level. Up until now we’ve only seen the kids play so this was a treat for us. And Eric… nice job on the anthem man… you looked exceptionally dapper in your dress uniform when you sang it.

Devil’s Bridge - Kirkby, U.K., originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Wow, I’m actually posting this on Saturday, the day I’m supposed to be posting the photo hunt photo for the week. I’m impressed with myself. Especially considering that I’ve been very late in posting the last few weeks. Luckily I remembered today was Saturday.

Today’s theme… supported. I took this one last September during our trip to England. This is the Devil’s Bridge in Kirkby/Lonsdale. Both of the roads crossing these bridges are supported by the arches. In bridge building it has to be just so or the whole thing becomes disastrous. The Devil’s Bridge arch obviously works as it’s stood the test of time. The bridge dates back to around 1370.

If you’d like to join in all the photo hunt action, visit tnchick for all of the how to info.

Looking For The Ball, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Working our way forward… on Sunday, after we got back from the beach, we went to the Sah-Hah-Lee 3 par golf course out toward Estacada and shot 9 holes. Martin kicked our butts, though Mary wasn’t too far behind. Poor Karen and I brought up the rear. But hey, we had a great time. It’s pretty out there and the course was nice. What more can you ask. Other than, perhaps, to find your ball after it’s landed in the water hazard.

Raining Down, originally uploaded by Tokenhippygirl.

Happy fourth of July from the beach in Lincoln City, Oregon.