Last night we caught two new blossoms opening up on our Cactus Orchid – also called Queen of the Night. We missed the first one the night before because we were in San Diego. These two blossoms were hanging way over the balcony, but I got a good shot of them. Here is the picture: 
Here is another informational page by Glenn Rice in Missouri.
Check out my other cactus orchid blog notes on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂
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Nature Activities | Tagged: cactus flowers, Cactus Orchid, gardening, Glenn Rice | 
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Grandpa Ron and I just got back from a weekend in San Diego where we visited friends and the Palomar Observatory.
We drove up the mountain to the observatory yesterday but got there at 4:05 – and it closes at 4 pm!! So we walked around a bit and took some pictures, but we decided to try again today. The San Diego Train Museum was going to have to wait for another time! We got up to the observatory today just in time for the 2:30 tour. The tour was fantastic. We really enjoyed it. The guide was great. Grandpa Ron had been there as a boy in 1954. A lot has changed since then! Check out the links if you are interested in astronomy. Tony Flanders blogged about it on May 23, 2010 for Sky and Telescope. The observatory currently consists of three large telescopes. The biggest one is the 200 in (5.1 m) Hale telescope> Then there is the 48 in (1.2 m) Samuel Oschin telescope, and a 60 in (1.5 m) reflecting telescope. The gift shop has lots of books and star/galaxy related objects for kids as well as grown-ups!
Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com
by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂
Leave a Comment » | learning, Places to Explore | Tagged: California Institute of Technology, Hale, Hale telescope, Palomar Observatory, Samuel Oschin, San Diego, Tony Flanders | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
We never got into the site to get a ticket for the Women’s Conference! Three of us tried separately at 9 am and patiently awaited the magical moment when the auto-refreshed screen would tell us our place in the queue but none of us got into the queue! By the time I noticed my url was dead (and so was Leslie’s) and I went to another computer to try again at 9:50 am, the Main Event (Tuesday) was already completely sold out!
So we are signed up one more year for Monday only. Guess we’ll reserve the conference room for the webcast again. I’m actually not as upset as I was last year about not getting tickets because the webcast option is excellent. We still get the main stage presentations even if we don’t get to choose the side sessions that get televised.
It looks like they tried their best not to overrun the servers by shutting down the rest of the site (the links and all) but I bet they still were swamped given what happened to us…. oh, well….
Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂
Leave a Comment » | learning | Tagged: 2010 Women's Conference, California Women's Conference, The Women's Conference, Women's Conference | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
Hey, cool! I’m in the picture of participants for the Day of Transformation at last year’s Women’s Conference. I hope to be one of the lucky ones tomorrow to get in to the Women’s Conference site to get tickets for this year’s conference. Even though it is shortly after our wedding, I want to attend. Every year that I was able to participate has been so totally awesome! The speakers are always so insightful and totally special people! The webcast was so good last year that I will still look forward to that if I am not able to get tickets for the main day.
I feel lucky, though, because the theme is the same as our wedding theme: “It’s Time!” Also used frequently are the good words about nurturing Mind, Body and Spirit – and Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too won the Children’s Mind/Body/Spirit category of the International Book Awards and was a finalist in the Children’s Mind/Body/Spirit category of the National Best Books 2009 awards. It feels like a good omen for success!
For other interesting tidbits, check out my blogsite at https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com 🙂
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Happy Father’s Day!! Today is the first anniversary of the first public reading of Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! – As in it was done on Father’s Day Sunday last year at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA!
We went to Wayfarers today as well. It was another great experience!
Here is last year’s blog! 🙂
The book has won one award and placed as a finalist for another award. Sales haven’t been bad either! What a fun year!
Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂
Leave a Comment » | Book Notes | Tagged: baby, child, children, family, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, granddaughter, grandpa, Grandpa Do It, grandparent, grandson, kids | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
The National Wildlife Federation President Larry Schweiger had a great email I want to share with you regarding enjoying nature with the kids (The following is copied directly from the email.):
As a father and a grandfather, I’m always looking for inspiration on how to do more for my family. And so often, I find it in nature.
It’s not always easy to know how to get children outside in nature, or even find the time to do so. Sometimes the weather gets in the way, sometimes competing schedules.
But outside play is so important, even in some ways you might not know. Studies show outdoor time helps children grow lean and strong, ignites imaginations, improves attention spans, decreases aggression and even boosts classroom performance.
That’s why I thought you might appreciate hearing some helpful tips from a few “real life” dads on how to connect with your family in the great outdoors.
* Visit your local garden center. Let your kids pick out their favorite flowers, plan their dream garden or be an imaginary explorer.
* Fly a kite and take advantage of a windy day.
* Start a collection. Help your kids find leaves, rocks, flowers or other artifacts.
* Put on some boots and go splash in the mud on a rainy day.
* Mark out your own backyard nature trail using stones and branches. Have fun identifying the flora, fauna and bugs that inhabit it.
Want even more ideas? Sign the Be Out There Pledge today and you’ll get a lot more tips, information and support for making outdoor play a priority.
Whether you’re a dad yourself or simply have one in your life, take some time out this weekend to experience nature, make some memories and “grow” wild with your family – take the Be Out There Pledge today!
Sincerely,
Larry Schweiger
President and CEO
National Wildlife Federation
Austi and Grandpa Ron Out in the Walker River
Leave a Comment » | Nature Activities, Places to Explore | Tagged: child, children, family, fun, grandchild, grandchildren, grandma, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, Green Hour, kids, nature, Nevada, Places to Go, Sierra Nevada, Walker River | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
Wow! I have been running like a crazy woman! I have had so many blog ideas yet so little time to settle them down into real blogs. So many exciting things are happening right now! I hope to share them with you really soon. I haven’t forgotten, I just literally haven’t had enough time to do all I want to do. It is all about time!! 🙂
Check out ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂
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Posted by mygrandmasue
Grandpa Ron was among the thousands that mourn the death of Coach John Wooden, one of the greatest teachers of life lessons as well as a legendary basketball coach for UCLA.
Here are Google results for remembrances and special stories about John Wooden. He was a beloved mentor and character builder with many, many admirers and followers. His Pyramid of Success has been a guide for many leaders. An interactive version of it is at www.coachwooden.com – just click on the Pyramid of Success tab after you have clicked off the welcome page.
Here are some of John Wooden’s quips of wisdom as listed on BrainyQuote.
Leave a Comment » | People Who Make A Difference | Tagged: basketball, basketball coach, character building, Coach John Wooden, John Wooden, leader, leadership, mentor, quips, quotes, teacher | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
The Dot com women website has some great sparks for you to come up with some Father’s Day ideas close to home.
Check out my other blogs at
Leave a Comment » | Backyard Activities | Tagged: backyard, Backyard Activities, backyard fun, child, children, father, Father's Day, fun, grandchild, granddaughter, grandpa, grandparent, grandson, kids | Permalink
Posted by mygrandmasue
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