Helena again

When is your home not your home? For me, it's when the place where we hung our hats for 25+ years becomes the place where we are now homeless. We've driven by 505 S. Roberts - it looks familiar, but it's no longer ours. And that's ok. A young family again lives there. It's as it was meant to be. My flowers look pretty great, though!

And we're not homeless, as on the street, of course. We have dear and gracious friends who have opened their home to us. But this is their home, not ours. I'm feeling a bit adrift at the moment. There's a delicate balance between being guests and smelly 3-day-old fish. I'm feeling a bit fishy now. Susan and Kevin have made us so welcome here and they're not even in town right now. We've settled in very comfortably and yet it feels like time to keep moving so our welcome stays intact.

Sunday afternoon has never been my favorite time. I'm very inclined to obstinate, persistent introspection on that day. Some call it obsessiveness. So maybe after some fresh air at a picnic and then a silly movie, the fish smell will blow off. And tomorrow is Monday. I'll be just too busy for all that thinking . . .

Heading North

Well, the time has come to pack up and head north for a few months. It's sad and exciting and exhausting all at the same time. First, how do you pack for who-knows-what weather? And what will we miss out on when we leave Green Valley? And it's so fun to think of the journey and all the friends along the way and at the end.

So - mixed feelings prevail . . .

However, we are well into the journey now and it's been just great. We got to spend time with Travis & Shannon in San Diego. We got to spend a bit of time with them on both ends of our time in this wonderful area, while they traveled to Alaska via Holland America, and spent "quality time" with their pets. We really love the dogs, Hanna and Lexi, but I didn't realize how much we'd enjoy the cats. Cali and Sadie are truly dear little furry ones! Cali loves to hang out in their guest bath and we came to think of it as the Kitty Confessional (Dean's phrase). You'd sit on the john minding your own business but realizing all the time there's a cat nearby listening. So - forgive me kitty for I have sinned . . . ! And Sadie is a little purring machine. You just look at her and she's all a-hum! Makes us feel really special. They and Taffy did not get along well. At times they could ignore each other, but generally Taffy liked to keep them on a different floor of the house than she was, so they became quite cautious around her!

Highlights of SD time included Shannon's gift of 2 tickets to see the Padres beat the Cardinals, and two days of golf for Dean with friends of the kids' and now our friends too! And I got to go with the female side of these friends to Julian - a quaint and fun little mountain town known for apples. Apple everything including amazing apple pie! Had to taste it!

One of the very best parts of Shannon's job with Sam the Cooking Guy is the interesting and delicious recipes she's gained. For Memorial Day, the day after they returned from their 7-day Alaska cruise, she fixed scrumptious salmon coated with brown sugar which caramelized as it grilled, and Chinese style ribs that just fell off the bones. Amazing!!! Travis & Dean worked on their backyard drip watering system and got that all going. Trav & Shannon work so many hours, it was nice to help them on some projects while we were there that they simply don't have time for.

It was a wonderful time and before this goes too long, I'll sign off and say I'll write about our AMAZING trip up the California/Oregon coast next time. It's been so fun!

Maybe a change of scenery, as much as we love Arizona, is just what we needed!

Moving along

I've been a little blog-brain-dead lately. Guess it comes with shifting from place to place. We're in San Diego at Travis & Shannon's now. They leave tomorrow on a cruise to Alaska and we're pet sitting for the next week plus. Dogs are great - lovely creatures with great hearts. There's tiny Lexie - a black shizu (is that how you spell that? - sure isn't how you say it!), Hannah - the long-term love of Trav's life. She's 16 1/2 now - pretty old for a yellow lab. Has a bit of a hard time getting around and she's deaf as a post, but still loves her walks and seems to look forward to each day. And of course, Taffy has added a bit of spice to the mix. She's typically protective of her stuff, but she's learning to share quite well. Generally.

Then there are the cats. They have two gorgeous kitties - Callie who has been with them a while and is the main cat of the house. She's pretty suspicious of Taffy and stays close by to keep watch. And their newest feline is a gorgeous little girl called Sadie. She's a calico and is pretty terrified of Taffy. Taffy took after her last night and chased her up the stairs. But there are baby gates across the laundry room where their litter box and food resides and also one to Trav & Shannon's bedroom so that's the kitty sanctuary. Hopefully we'll reach some kind of understanding, if not an outright truce, by the time the owners return!

And of course, there's time in San Diego. We love it here, although there seem to be a lot of other people who agree with that! Dean has been invited to play golf two times next week with good friends of the kids. And I'm accompanying the female half of that friendship to Julian - a neat town somewhat near here. And I think I'll get to spend time with Crosby, the little guy Travis and Shannon have enjoyed so much. And there's the beach! And Ikea! Got to get some ideas for that sewing room in GV!

We have great neighbors in Green Valley keeping watch over our house. There is a local Sheriff's Auxiliary that does frequent drive-bys and they also walk around the house checking windows, doors and look for any sign of trouble. But our first line of defense is our neighbors. They're amazing! They know everything that goes on. We have Darrell and Pat next door, Jean, Joan and Kathy at three different angles across the street and others who also will notice any changes. Thanks to all of them!!!

Looking forward to being up north. Lots of amazing changes for Our Redeemer's - the foundation is about to be poured on our new church on Green Meadow Rd. Dean is really happy to get involved in the process again. But the best part is being with friends. Back to the hanging out, chatting, sipping coffee routines. I've missed that so much!

Count your blessings . . . Every day is full of them!

Creativity

I'm part of a group in Helena called the "Artsy Women." We have varying levels of creativity. Sue can pick up pieces of fabric and yarn and paper and put them together into something truly amazing. I have this wonderful necklace she made that I wear almost every day that has a metal dog tag that says "normal is overrated." What a lovely and freeing way to look at life! In April, the nudge (suggestion for creativity) was hats. I think it was unexpected, but the hats at the Royal Wedding made this the perfect choice for the month! Hats off to you, my friends Sue, Liz, Charlotte, Raini, Melisa, Debby, Lois and Susan (a friend I don't yet know!)!

I truly don't consider myself creative in the way Sue is. I'm in awe of her vision. I love to quilt but I need the security of a pattern that tells me what goes where. My creativity comes out in the fabrics. I love the colors, the feel, the joy of putting beautiful cottons side by side to see how they will blend together. It's a yummy experience for me. If you could see my emerging quilt room, you'd know how much I love fabric!

I took a quilting class last week - haven't done that for a while. I started out with my usual MO - cut out the pieces ahead of time so I can get started quickly when the class starts. By doing this part early, I can be a block-making machine. BUT - the teacher, Linda Marcou, showed me a technique that will make an enormous difference in the look of the finished quilt. I'd never considered how the adjacent blocks should be created to blend in in specific ways. I have to slow down and put on my thinking cap as I create the next pieces.

I should approach life like that more often - thinking about how my next act blends into my present activity. I'm a here and now detail person - not a "big picture" kind of gal. I'm lucky that I haven't gotten into more trouble in my life than I have!

Guess it's time to slow down a bit and maybe life will blend into an even more beautiful quilt!

Alternate Endings

Last Sunday, Easter, our pastor's sermon was about alternate endings - referring briefly to movies where the dvd version sometimes puts alternate endings in the bonus features on the disk. He talked about how each of the Gospels had a slightly different version of the resurrection.

Got me to thinking about alternate endings. When I grew up, the norm was for families to live in one area for generations. Grandpa and Grandpa would have homesteaded and succeeding family members would live there or close by.

My family didn't do things that way. When Dad and Mom were married in 1928, they went immediately from Kansas to Idaho to live because Dad could find work there when none was available to him in Kansas. They later moved back, but not to the immediate area where their families lived. It gave us kids an alternate view of how life could possibly be lived.

I've had the privilege to live in many places. First in Kansas, but then two amazing years in Germany, then Colorado, Montana and now in Arizona. Until a year or so ago, I guess we hadn't considered living anywhere but Montana for the rest of our lives. But this alternative beckoned and we decided to take a chance. Who knows how "the rest of the story" will play out, but at the moment, it's just the right place for us.

Sometimes life gives us what seems like no choice. Someone I care deeply about recently was told about the return of a brain tumor. But instead of anger, he has chosen the alternative of seeking peace in the midst of pain. In my grief, I honor that choice and am humbled by his courage and pray for grace for him and all who love him.

Now it's time to take Taffy for a walk. She has RDS - Restless Dog Syndrome. She makes us crazy until we get out of the house. I love that we live where cool mornings and bright sunshine awake us to each new day.

Consider your alternatives . . .

Earth Day! April 22, 2011

In the past, it has seemed that Earth Day was a nice time to plant a tree. That is, if the weather in Montana would allow you to dig in the dirt! But this year, we really got to do something fun - start making electricity!!!

Actually, the sun gets the credit. The 18 (I said 20 early, but I can't really count) solar panels on our roof went "on line" yesterday with the installation of a meter by a lady from Tucson Electric Power. It's working!!! The trick is to get used to using electricity during the day when we're producing it - like starting the dishwasher after lunch instead of after dinner. Not a truly big deal, but that's the optimum time to do those things. We will get credit for the kilowatt hours we produce but don't use, but we don't get as much credit as the kwh actually cost, so it's better to use them when it's sunny. Does that make sense?

I went to a quilting Round Robin meeting yesterday morning and when I returned, the yard was filled with people. Three landscapers came early Thursday morning and were there again most of the day Friday cleaning up our yard. There had been a lot of tree and plant damage after the freeze in February. And there was a man from the local glass company installing a new solar screen (heavy screening) on our dining room window that was very sunny and hot in the mornings. It's nice!!! And then there was the lady from Tucson Electric Power doing her thing. The place was abuzz in all sorts of good ways.

Even now, when it's partly cloudy out and the wind is blowing, we're "making' watts!" I just looked at the meter and it's making the max! Yea!!

Life in the sun is now cheaper!

Flowers!

I have to admit that I wasn't impressed by all the prickly things in the desert. Dean and I both have exhibited a bit of disdain for some cactus plants. However, that was before we experienced "the bloom."

Recently on our walks, we've noticed that everything is changing and it's fairly unbelievable! Those same lowly, prickly cactus are now covered with the most gorgeous blooms I've ever seen.

I spent years in Montana playing in my flower beds and had some success with blooming stuff. But until now, I didn't realize how these dry, seemingly lifeless sticks and lumps could become awash in color.

When we told our neighbor Jean how much we loved her blooms, she invited us to her backyard which was filled with so many beautiful blooming cactus. Then she sent us home with pieces of them to plant! Wow! We do have wonderful neighbors!

And at 6 this morning, the phone rang. We had called a landscape guy to come check out some trees and shrubs that had been badly damaged by the freeze in February. Well, he was returning our call ("you're up, right?", showed u at 7:30 and hasn't left since (it's almost 4 pm now) except to get some neat boulders and gravel. He brought two younger people to help. The woman told me I have "good energy." Hmmmm.

Things are being lopped and chopped, a new orange tree, a bougainvillea, and a - get this - gopher plant have been planted. The yard looks a lot different, but I have great hopes everything will be improved by its somewhat drastic pruning.

Maybe it's good to leave for a few months and come back to renewed growth. As I said before, ya just gotta come see!