Gail B. Hyatt

Michael proudly displaying his catch. Our daughter, Marissa,
took this unretouched photo on Michael’s iPhone 5 camera.

We went trout fishing last night in the little pond close to our cabin and Michael nabbed these three beauties for supper. It was a GORGEOUS evening.

There was a rain storm on the mountains off to the southwest, creating the most amazing, everchanging scenes—moving shafts of sunlight, highlighting various portions of mountain forests and flat, sagey valleys below. The sky above our pond was constantly changing as well. Every couple of minutes one of us would say, “Stop. Look at the sky now.”
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Yesterday, the Hyatt’s had to say “good-bye” to Nelson, our velvety-soft, floppy-lipped, forlorn-looking, co-dependent, devoted companion.

I’m still in shock. My eyes well up with tears at the mention of his name.

Four days ago, he got into some trash and did what English Setters are notorious for doing—he ate it. Quite a bit apparently. It was the second time he’d gotten deathly ill from eating trash.

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Last November PBS began airing a documentary series called Circus. (Check it out!) I fell in love with it as soon as I watched the trailer.  After I finished the six hours, I immediately looked to see if the Big Apple Circus would be coming ANYwhere in the Southeast. I would love nothing more than to take the grandkids to see it. But no such luck. Apparently The Big Apple Circus doesn’t venture this far south.

So I began to search for another circus that would be coming our area and realized that I would have to settle for the next best thing, The Greatest Show on Earth. Read more…

Well, Michael and I have joined the circus. Well, almost. For the past two weekends, we’ve been at the circus. The Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus to be exact. Here’s the story:

And yes, that’s me.

Ever since I bought a copy of Toby Tyler and showed it to the grandkids, I knew I wanted to take them to a Circus.
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Uncle Loren has come to visit. And one thing we can count on when he comes are fun times. He’s the best about taking time to see his nieces and nephews, and not just seeing them, but making memories with them. I try very hard to capture these memories with photos because they are too precious to forget.

Here are some of the things that Loren does to make sure that his simple visits will last for a lifetime.

1. Capture them in pictures.
(Sometimes you have to let your ego go. Loren won’t think this is a very flattering picture of himself. He’s a very good looking guy. But it does show the lengths he’ll go to to capture a moment.):

Come on Nelson, say "Cheese!"

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On December the 18th, 2010, I am going to be hiking a 10K (6.2 miles) on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The last time I went hiking was in the summer of 2009 in Colorado. That’s me in this photo. I have to say, it was a pretty easy hike. And it’s a good thing, because it had been a long time since I had been hiking.

This one will be much more grueling and it will be in December. YIKES! But I’m up for it and so is Michael (my husband) as well as my daughter, Megan. Her husband, Joel, was going to join us but … conveniently … broke his foot. 🙂

(Anyone else want to come along? Click here to register.)

Why did I sign up for this 10K in the mountains? Because I want to help bring my newest grandbaby home … from Uganda. Read more…

“Bloom Where You Are Planted.” This one phrase encapsulates the philosophy by which my mother lived. She and my dad moved 28 times during their 61 years of marriage—and I’m talking different cities, different states, different countries. My oldest brother, bore the brunt of it. I remember him telling me that he went to four different high schools.

Somewhere, early on, she adopted this modus operandi. As soon—and I mean THE VERY DAY the truck unloaded—as soon as the doors to the new house were unlocked, boxes were unpacked, beds were made, pictures quickly hung in their spots and a roast would be in the oven. I kid you not. Next up, her mission was to meet the neighbors, find a church, a bridge club and a garden club to join. Goal: Get planted. Then bloom. Read more…