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Monday June 8 2015 Day 96 I’M STILL ALIVE
Okay guys! I’m still alive. I haven’t yet gone on the zip line so that is one cause. That is now planned for tomorrow morning before I leave Larry and Charlene’s. That is a must for me.
I had another strawberry picking morning. It is so awesome to be able to get out in the warm sun, this time with cooler clothes on than a fuzzy house robe and do something useful. The strawberries desperately needed picking. I picked two large containers almost full. See pictures below this blog. When I take pictures during the day I have no way to post them at the house. When we get into a service area I just load the photos so they will be there when I am ready to post the blog. So the photos are in order as to time sequence as to when they were taken.
Back to the strawberries. “There is just something special about eating what you have planted and tended and cared for”, as quoted by Charlene. Well, for me there is something special about just being given the opportunity to pick something right out of her garden or anyone’s garden and eating it so fresh. Totally organic, so I could just spray it off in the garden and take that first big juicy bite and then the second and third and so on…Oh my they are so delicious warmed by the son, firm and bright red. And, I get to eat them on my yogurt and bran in the mornings. it has been so wonderful to taste the freshness of the berries and other produce from here and from other places. I had avocados from Lisa and Bill’s place, oranges from Betts’ daughter’s backyard tree, lemons from Paulette’s tree, blueberries from Daneece’s bushes, and now strawberries and sweet peas from Charlene’s bounty. I hope I am not forgetting any other homegrown treats. Remember, I have been on the road for several months now and it is getting more difficult to recall all that has happened in so many days. Oh, how I have loved these days.
After strawberry picking I readied myself for the day ahead. While I was outside Charlene was inside preparing a feast for a king’s lunch. We three were the kings. Now this lunch would probably not be considered a feast for all you hamburger beef eaters out there. Here is what she packed. Delectable bits of cheeses, two kinds of olives, walnuts, almonds, three kinds of crackers, honey crisp apples, fresh cherries picked the day before, hummus, broccoli, carrots, baby cucumbers, and turkey slices. I had some of everything except the turkey slices. Yum…yum… I know my husband would just LOVE THIS!!! NOT! Well, maybe the turkey slices. (I miss you Dave)! We sat out under the tall trees, listening to waterfalls in the distance. We were at some sort of picnic turnout in a national forest. It is necessary to have a permit for any stop you make in the public areas. You either pay by the year and show you tags hanging in your car or you go to the nearest self serve box and deposit your $5.00 daily user fee in the box. Well, Charlene and Larry never know which tag to display so they just put them all out. The day we climbed Beacon Rock was FREE DAY and I didn’t have to pay.
Before we had lunch we drove a ways and stopped at a lookout to see Mt. St. Helen. The side we could see was not the side that blew out in 1980. It is so sad to see the mountain so deplete of snow this early in the year. These snow capped mountains are a huge part of the water source that feeds the Columbia River. I mentioned the dry riverbed that I saw the day before that was fed from Mt. Hood. All those dried up water ways will eventually deplete the waterways on further down in the state of Oregon and Washington. There are a few trees I noticed that are dried up and dead due to lack of water. Usually those are on slopes facing the afternoon’s hot sun. It is nothing like it was in Yosemite where there were full mountainsides of brown dried up dead trees. Please check out the photos of Mt. St. Helen if you can find where they are with my mistakes in posting. Sorry about making you hunt and peck for them. That’s what I get for being in a hurry. I am trying so hard to practice retirement to not live in the fast lane but it is a difficult lesson to learn. I hope I was able to get some nice ones on my camera because I took my life in my hands and climbed over the lookout wall and went down the hill a bit (a pretty safe grade) and took the photos with flowers in the foreground. I think it made for a more interesting photo. So that’s another reason why I am still alive, I lived to climb back over the wall, didn’t get caught, arrested, or fined.
While at the lookout site I almost had the opportunity to get a ride on a motorcycle. A beautiful RED motorcycle! But…alas the driver did not have his rear seat attached. Three bikers drove up beside us and of course conversation ensued. When I asked if he would take me for a ride he said sure. That was Steve #1 (the big guy). He was with Nancy and Steve #2. We had a delightful conversation and I asked for their wisdom. Steve #1 said: “Live your life to the fullest.” Steve #2 said: “You only go around once so do what you want to do.” I think I am paraphrasing that a bit. Nancy said something that I really liked when she said it and now I can’t remember what she said. I forgot to take notes on my phone. I sometimes forget that I have that feature. I’m still getting used to this technology stuff. Well, at lease I had a picture taken on the RED HARLEY! (I think it was a Harley). It was big and beautiful. Oh how I would have loved to take a spin on it. Nancy was going to loan me her helmet. Okay Dave, you can quit shaking your head now. I didn’t go! But I might of!
After the Mt. St. Helen interlude we then drove to the location I described above and then ate lunch. After lunch we hiked down to see the lower falls in an area that has three falls, lower, middle and upper. We were above the falls so did not have great opportunity for photographic views. I took more videos than photos but I don’t know how to upload a video on my blog. We hiked back up to the road (everything here is either up or down when you are walking) and took off for the middle falls. We parked in a little turnoff and hiked down to the middle falls. We almost didn’t get to go because about half way down it was cordoned off with bright pink ribbon tape that said it was closed and we had to turn around. Well, Charlene’s husband is fearless, (and when I say that I am a believer that it is LITERAL) he stepped over the boundary checked it out and in a little while returned and said we could make it. Hmm… It was definite that Charlene should not go down the hiking trail due to the fact that she needs a new hip replacement. Well, guess who went? You got it! I stepped over the tape, looked around in the eerie solitude of the vast shadowy forest to make certain we weren’t on surveillance camera. Not only were not on surveillance camera, there wasn’t another soul around anywhere. I felt better that Charlene was staying where the tape was so if we didn’t come back maybe she could Med Flight us out. Larry and I went down, down, down and when I looked up he was nowhere in sight. He was gone! Then I hear this plaintive yell above the din of the waterfall noise. He was calling my name “Wanda”, (oh yeah, that’s me I thought in this Kathleen persona). I could barely hear him but I could not see him. Then, through the trees I could see movement and low and behold he was walking IN the water. It looked like he was walking ON the water because he was on a ledge of rock that protruded out from where the waterfall fell from above us. Oh my it was so beautiful! So…So…BEAUTIFUL! It was worth breaking the law. (Don’t tell my son the Policeman I said that). I did figure out why it was taped off as I traversed down the 2 to maybe 3 foot wide path with drop offs literally one step away. The mountain was seeping snow melt runoff due to the hot weather and the 45 degree decline was slick with mud. I found my purchase and traversed those areas without falling. Oh man, not only did I have to go down, I had to get back up. Would I do it again? MAYBE! Well if I answer truthfully it would be a definite YES! It was worth it. Now that is another reason I am still alive. I didn’t have to be Med Flighted out. I think maybe Larry is being a bad influence on me.
We decided we would not hike the next 3/4 of a mile to the upper falls. We’re not talking about a little walk in the park here. These slopes are SLOPES! Up and down. I absolutely loved it. I think all my stair climbing exercise between classes in Redding readied my calf muscles for these hikes as well as climbing to the top of Beacon Rock. If I lived here I would become a hiker. It is so amazing to be in such pristine nature, isolated, quiet (between waterfalls that is), without much to carry, just enjoying nature at its fullest. I never knew hiking could be so exhilarating. The best part of the day was that I didn’t get killed on a motor bike, I didn’t die on a zip line, I didn’t get arrested for climbing the wall and I didn’t tumble down the mountain side, and I didn’t get arrested for stepping over the pink barrier, nor slide down the muddy pathway. Thank you God that I survived the day!
This blog has been written in its entirety at the Kia Dealership in Oregon as I waited for four new tires, an alignment and an oil change. I am in the waiting room while customers come and go, each watching a bit of TV and me here just typing away. My elbow neighbor Charlie sitting beside me took a picture of me sitting here typing so I could put it on the blog. He has been been here longer than I have. I asked him for his world wisdom for the moment. Here is his reply: “Why are we as a nation getting involved with a war in the middle east that has been going on for thousands of years. They are going to continue fighting and fighting until there is no one left to fight. We should get out of there and let them do what they are going to do. All they are going to do is kill our troops while we are there.” Charlie was watching the news on CNN as he waited here these few hours. I have been here since 9:00 a.m. and it is now 12:12 p.m. Charlie is gone now, another person in this world that I will probably never see again but delightful to talk with. I have been so fortunate to have come across so many interesting and “real” people. I have enjoyed every encounter. Kim who works here also gave me one piece of advice: “Enjoy the moment.” I like that!
Well my yesterday tale is almost over. After we escaped the perils of being arrested for crossing the barrier we hiked up to the highway and walked down the middle of the winding road. See picture somewhere in this blog. And we headed “home”. Oops, I mean we headed out to Pizza Time at the Backwoods. Literally, the Backwoods. We entered from the back of a building, the tables were outside in the cool of the evening and we looked at blank Angus bulls peering over the fence at us as we ate. The mountains surrounded us sort of like a mother hen, drawing us close with a feeling of being safe. And the pizza was interesting and delicious. It was sweet with a real kick. We had Thai Shrimp Pizza. Hey, if I am going to try octopus, Thai Shrimp doesn’t scare me. It was really hot thought! And for me to say that you know it was HOT. As I ate it I realized it was really the hottest when I had a big bite of jalapeno pepper in the bite. It was a good hot.
Went home and went to bed and up this morning at 5:43 a.m. I arrived here at the dealership at 9:00 a.m. Charlene and Larry are a bit off the beaten path. When I was with my cousin Joyce she encouraged (demanded) me to get my GPS out and learn how to use it. Up to that point I had been using either map quest printouts or my new Iphone. Well, I followed her suggestion, mainly because she got it charged and working for me, and it is a good thing. In some of these places I’ve been (on the very day I left her place) I have been out of service areas. My phone would not even pick up any kind of signal. It was my GPS that delivered me safely to all my destinations. I have thanked Joyce over and over in my heart since then. NowI say it in print for the world to see. Thank you cousin Joyce. You saved my lost self. I have been able to get to each destination, clearly and safely due to your lessons. By the way Joyce, I miss you a lot! Tell Daneece hello for me! Joyce, I finally found the perfect cherry!
Love to all of you…
May 8, 2015 DAY 62 SAN FRANCISCO FOR A PURPOSE
I imagine there are hundreds of people who flock into San Francisco daily just for the delight of visiting and exploring all the city has to offer. Well, today Jeanette and I took BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) under the bay to visit with a different purpose. As a child I was fortunate enough to live in the San Francisco Bay area (Rodeo) an my mother made certain that we, as children, were exposed to as much opportunity and variety as possible on her limited budget. Her best friend Merle lived in the apartment below us (mother of my best and closest friend Albert) and owned a station wagon! What a luxury. In 1954 we had the grand experience of becoming a car owner of a new 1954 Chevrolet. But it wasn’t a STATION WAGON! Merel’s three kids and mama’s two youngest (which included me, as my older sisters wouldn’t be caught dead doing things with their younger siblings) would go on an adventure to San Francisco. We all sat in the back of the expansive wagon and played imaginary piano keyboards on the wheel hubs that stuck up through the floor. We waved at all the truck drivers and felt triumphant when they would honk their loud truck horns at us. We would be mesmerized as we traveled close to the edge of the bay bridge and peered out across the bay at Alcatraz. Many of the museums, exploratoreums and aquariums were free at that time. We always packed a picnic because I don’t even know if fast food places existed back then. If they did we didn’t have the money to go. We would also go to the Palace of Fine Arts which was like a fairy tail wonderland to me. High columns of magical doors and lakes that reflected the clouds skuttling by on a clear day. We often lived at the zoo for an entire and never tired of our adventures to San Francisco.
And now, back to San Francisco. I think over the years I have been to every garden, museum, tourist attraction, the different “towns” like China towns and eaten some delicious meals. Most of the meals were after I was grown, not as a kid. But today, San Francisco was for a different purpose. Jeanette and I were visiting a very special friend. Her name Kay and I have know her since we were teenagers. I saw her parents one evening in the basement of the J.C. Penney’s department store in San Leandro California and was bold enough (imagine that) to go up and and introduce myself (now remember I was a teenager) and to tell them how much I loved going to hear their daughter sing. They were always with her at concerts when she performed with two other teens. Their singing was so beautiful and had the unique harmonizing capability that caused the voices to sound like velvet. Kay’s voice still sounds like velvet. Her mom and dad were so impressed that I would come up to them and speak with them that they asked where I attended church. They showed up the next week and attended there after because they wanted their daughter to know me. Well, Kay and I hit is off from the beginning. She was a couple years younger but it seems I always attracted the younger crowds because I willing to talk to everyone. Sounds like I am patting myself on the back but I don’t mean for it to sound that way. It’s just the facts and I never thought anything about it.
This entire family had a great influence on my life in future years. They gave me a glimpse of what it was like to live in a beautiful home. At one time I actually ended up living with them before I married so I could save for the wedding.
Well, today Jeanette and I were privileged to once again meet up with Kay. We took the BART over and walked to a local cafe where Kay had taken a taxi to arrive. We sat in the middle of a very old San Francisco building, in a quaint cafe that served the most fattening, greasy, butter soaked San Francisco Sour Dough French bread, grilled to perfection! It was heavenly. It is a good thing I couldn’t find any to buy and bring back with me. That grilled sandwich was such a delicious fancy. I just watched (almost in horror) as I saw the renditions of foods that came from that kitchen and covertly watch as those around me actually ate the entire plateful of food. It was an amazing and interesting experience.
We three talked and talked and remembered and laughed and cried and just enjoyed the presence of friendship that only the old can really enjoy. I am smiling just sitting here writing and thinking of those precious moments. I so lived in the moment of those moments and soaked up everything I could. I told Kay I wished she would would sing me a song. Never in a million years did I think she would sing to me at the center table of a public restaurant, but she surprised me by singing the famous song about “San Francisco”. I think the title is “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. She sang the entire song in her beautiful alto/tenor voice. Her voice was a bit older and not as practiced as it was years ago when she sang on stage but it was so beautiful and throaty and heart searing, especially with the words she sang. Then we sang together (quite low) but it sounded so good together. All three of sang. I think I was the only one that knew all the words to the song that started out with these words…”Oh what a wonderful, wonderful day. Day I will never forget”… When Kay sang her solo tears were streaming down my face.
So soon it was time to leave. Kay said she needed to use the Lady’s room and asked if I would take her. The aisles were very narrow and we had to maneuver through a narrow galley kitchen. I asked her to put her hands on the back of my waste as I walked slowly and guided her to the Lady’s room. Kay has been blind since birth but never once has it caused a blindness in our friendship. I truly believe our friendship was a divine appointment of God. It is not just everyone who was privileged to have a friendship such as ours. That night I met her parents in the basement of J.C. Penney’s fabric department was meant to be. I am a better person for having Kay as my friend. As we left the restaurant a man came us to us and told us how beautiful our singing was. He said he kept looking around to find the source of the radio or player but couldn’t find it and then realized it was coming from our table. He gave Kay high honor when saying he especially loved the way she sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. And when I walked away from the cab that would carry Kay back to her apartment I felt like I was leaving a bit of my heart in San Francisco too.
I asked Kay what her wisdom would be. Here it is: “Make every minute count and cherish the friends and family that you have because you never know when your circumstances might change or when you might lose your friends and family.”
The Bart ride back under the bay to the east bay side was such an amazing ride. I have ridden BART many times when living in this area but it has been about 30 years. In the past 30 years the traffic and freeways have increased exponentially and it makes riding Bart that much more enjoyable. About halfway home I had the opportunity to speak with a young man traveling from San Francisco International Airport to a city close by where Jeanette lives. He was here on business from India. We had an enlightening conversation and I asked him for his wisdom. His name is Vikas. Here is his wisdom: “Give back to the word in some way. Help preserve the environment, help by giving food to those who need it and look around and see the many different ways you can help.” Thank you Vikas. If you read this blog please let me know by going to “contacts” and send me an email! I wish you the best on your travels here in the States. Thank you too for your conversation.
Well, I am hitting the road again tomorrow. The end of my respite is over. It has been a tremendous help to have a place where I could feel so comfortable and stay for a bit of an extended time. I need to regroup myself every few weeks. I thank Jeanette and Denny for this opportunity.
Lots more to say but I will use my wisdom and go to bed as early as possible as I must drive tomorrow. I have a feeling it is going to be a jam packed day! Seeing more family! My special nieces!
Good night 10:14 p.m.
April 16 Day 40 Richard M. Nixon’s Library
My day is always refreshing when it starts out at the gym. I am so thankful for my guest passes for this week. When I arrived home from the gym Betts was waiting for me at Linda’s house with a big bag of freshly picked oranges off her tree. Each orange is large and beautiful! Of course I ate one as soon as she left. It was big in flavor too. Oh so delicious!!! Never take for granted the beautiful, flavorful foods that God has designed for our pleasure. As I travel the country and see the great crowds of people (mostly in cars on the jam packed freeways) and go into so many grocery stores I am amazed that our world produces enough food for this country to eat. So many other places in this world are not so fortunate.
I did something today I should not have done. I went to a library and found they had a used bookstore there. Hmm…well of course I bought a few (MORE) books. Books are my downfall. All non-fiction, Christian related topics. Some I will actually give away because I already own them and just know that someone else will surely love the book as I do. Some I’ll keep. But the bottom line is that I have already bought too many other books that I do want to keep. I really go into the used book stores with one intention. I’m looking for all the books written by Norman Vincent Peale. Most are out of print and they are becoming more difficult to find. I already have several but would like to keep searching for more. If you haven’t read any of his books you might find him interesting to read. THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING was his first and most famous title. My favorite title that I have read by him is LIVE YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. His books actually gave me the courage to contemplate this trip I am on. One of Peale’s favorite verses is “I can do all things through Christ who Strengthens me.” Phil 3:14. I have adopted that verse as my travel motto.
I met a friend from over 32 years go for lunch at Chili’s in Yorba Linda. It was so good to see a familiar face from the past and get caught up on our lives. After we moved from Southern California in 1983 the friend Cathy that I met today traded homes with us for vacation one year. She stayed in our home in the San Francisco area and we stayed in her family home in Yorba Linda. Cathy loves the Lord and it was so wonderful to be able to just talk about the amazing grace of God in our lives and pray with one another.
We had the opportunity to meet a special lady in a booth across the aisle. She was eating a delicious looking lunch alone and I just felt I was supposed to hear her story. So when I saw she was ready to go I just started talking to her, and soon Cathy joined me and what a beautiful story she had. Her name is Lucille and she is 85 years old. She sounded and moved more like a 45 or 50 year old in good health. She was so interesting to talk to. I asked her if she would tell me her story. She opened up like a morning blossom and just radiated as she shared her life with her husband and children. She has been a widow for 8 years and had been married since she was 15 years old. She told how she and her husband built a garage on their property and for the next two years lived there with her husband and children as she and her husband physically built the house attached to the garage. She made a statement that took on a very deep meaning for me. She said “we lived in the house we built”. I heard that on a much greater scale. I saw the comparison to our lives. “We live in the house we built” meaning we live in the life we build around ourselves. I have experienced other’s lifestyles that are so different than my own and realize we all choose to live in different ways by the choices we make, by what we nurture and grow around us. We take it upon ourselves to “build” what we want around ourselves. We choose how we want to live, where we live, with whom we want to live and then wonder why life turns out like it does. Perhaps it would be better to live in the “garage” for a while and slowly with God’s direction allow God to fashion our house. As time passes our house would take shape, built on the foundation of God’s word. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” Psalm 127:1. “We live in the house we built”. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather live in the house that the Lord built, even if I find myself living in the garage for a while.
Yorba Linda is where we lived when both our children were born. We owned our house there for about 8 years. That was location where we had a mudslide that took all the hill below us right up to our yard. It actually sounded like a freight train going through our house as the hills above and below us gave way. Our next door neighbor lost his yard right up to his pool. That was an amazing and dark night! At one point that night Dave was trying to help the neighbor who lived in the house one street below us and became mired in the wet earth up to his thighs and could not get out. Well, eventually he did escape by lying prostrate and wriggling his way through the heavy wet mud. It was a frightening experience. We also had to be evacuated two times because of threat of fire. The homes in our neighborhood survived more than once because they were all stucco and had tile roofs. The homes in close proximity that had shake roofs burned. When I look back I realize it really was not a fun place to live. There have been a lot of changes in the “little town” of Yorba Linda in the last 32 years. It was way out of the way back then and we were there when the first four lane Highway was built. Now that same highway has 8 lanes. 5 lanes going one direction and 3 going the opposite direction. And that doesn’t include the turn lanes.
I guess that is enough of my history. Let’s go to today.
I actually went to two libraries today. The second one, also in Yorba Linda is President Richard M. Nixon’s library built next to his birthplace. The actual house and bed he was born in is on display on the grounds. Also the helicopter he flew in is on the grounds and we were allowed to go through it. A lot of famous people both from the United States and around the world at one time sat in those seats.
The library was beautifully designed and had interesting and informative displays both about his political career before his presidency, during, as well as a comprehensive coverage on the circumstances that led up to his resignation. Very interesting reading. I did not have the opportunity to see all of the library as my time was limited due to my overscheduled day. Days are never long enough for me. There is too much living to fit into my daylight hours. I thoroughly enjoyed the self-guided tour. I recommend seeing as many Presidential libraries as you have opportunity to do so. I always learn so much. Tomorrow Linda and I are going to President Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library. I am really interested in going to his. The one thing I am going to try to do is to remember to take more pictures on my IPhone so I can blog more. When I take them on my camera I cannot put them on the blog. I did have one taken by my phone today and I have already put it on for you to see.
In the room behind me there is a home Bible Study taking place. It is on I Corinthians 13. I’m half listening and it is a very interesting discussion. My friends attend a Lutheran Church here in their “little town” of 137,000 people surrounded by millions. The city of Orange covers 25.2 square miles. In Orange County California you cannot tell where one city begins and another ends. The homes just keep going on and on and on…The area is laid out in square grids on the flatlands. Very easy to navigate. All you have to know is North and South and East and West. The highest recorded temperature is 110 degrees and the coolest recorded temperature is 22 degrees. When we lived in Orange County we often experienced 90 degrees on Christmas day. I would not recommend retiring here. There are just too many people. Wisconsin is looking better and better. I’ll take the snow.
Well, this is an overview of my day. It has been a fun one. And the good part is that it is not even 9:00 p.m. yet and I am finished with my blog.
Good night
April 11 Day 36 San Diego County
75 degrees, clear weather, blue skies, traffic jammed roads, and wall to wall people. But…I enjoyed every moment of it. Today Bill and Lisa took me to Old Town Temecula. Temecula is know for it’s wineries, old classic cars which is called the Temecula Rod Run, and Old Town Temecula. Lots of tourists, lots of restaurants, lots of places to buy things. I had a wonderful car tour of the area, viewed beautiful homes that Bill and Lisa designed and Bill built. Amazing structures of art and beauty, fully landscaped with exotic plants and palms and lots of flowering vegetation. My brain is still thinking about snow in Wisconsin. I know 5 weeks has probably made a big difference in the landscape there but in my mind it will perpetually be winter there until I return. I have been in a perpetual spring the last five weeks. It seems that every place I’ve been spring was just beginning and now in San Diego county it seems that summer is in full bloom. Fence rows of bougainvillea in crimson pinks and white and reds, Lily of the Nile, geraniums, nasturtiums, roses and bird of paradise. Up close and person I could see orange trees full of oranges, grapefruits hanging on trees the size of melons, lemon trees loaded with bright yellow fruit and avocado trees in the thousands, each laden full of avocados. Our main staple for breakfast lunch and dinner is fresh avocados. Literally!
Just thought I’d let you know that I was applauded today. Lisa and I were walking across a side street at Old Town Temecula and a biker was stopped at the cross walk with loud pulsing music blaring from his Harley. Lisa and I started putting a little rhythm in our step in time to the music as we walked across the street. When we got across the street one of the cars full of young men inching its way down main street right beside us whistled, hooted at us, and applauded. Well actually I think it was me they were clapping for! I was doing most of the dancing. Maybe it was my big yellow glasses that caught their eye.
Bill, Lisa, and I had a wonderful afternoon of reminiscing, looking at old pictures of ourselves when we were young, eating a delicious dinner of wild Alaskan salmon, and watching the movie “What If”. Enjoyed the movie as I rarely watch any TV or movies. We just had a good old fashioned time of visiting, an art that is almost lost. It is midnight now and my hosts are finally turning in. I’ll finish writing this short blog and then turn in. My blow up bed is all blown up ready for me to jump into. I’m glad. Visiting takes a lot of energy. I think I could get used to being retired.
Tomorrow I will be attending the Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego North County. I like listening to this minister on my IPhone when I exercise so it will be fun to be able to hear him in person. I really enjoy the way He teaches the Bible.
Today was a fun day: lazy, slow paced, interesting,enjoyable and best of all another day to spend with my precious Lisa. There was quite awhile that I did not know if I would ever see Lisa again on earth. She has beat some serious odds against her survival of this awful cancer. Her story of the past 3 years is incredible. Please continue to pray for Lisa’s complete healing.
Good night. I pray you will have a wonderful Sabbath Sunday.
Missouri
March 7, 2015 DAY ONE
I wish I could capture words as I live through each moment. But alas, if I am writing, then I am not doing. So I must rely on my 24 hour memory to write all that my brain was experiencing yesterday. It was a beautiful, wonderful, uneventful day of driving. It was my wish to have it so. My prayer this past month was that God would allow the storms to go before me or come behind me. Because of my postponement of leaving last week I missed an awful ice and snow storm at exactly the place I would have been had I left on time. Today I sat in the church in Rolla Missouri and the pastor told about how the church had been used as a safe place for 60 of the people who were stranded on the highway after being involved in a 25 vehicle car crash on Interstate 44. There were no services at the church last Sunday due to the horrible road conditions and all the people who were stranded without a means of transportation, using the church as a place to stay. The church body braved the storm and accommodated the people with places to sleep and food to eat. Well, that was one storm I missed.
Back to yesterday, the sun was shining, the sky was full of beautiful clouds, the land was covered in snow and the air was pristine. I saw a wolf alongside the road, dead, but still beautiful. And I must admit I have never seen such beautiful artistic power lines. Really amazing works of art. I so much wanted to stop and capture their beauty with the camera but knew it would not be safe with people speeding by at 80 miles an hour. The speed limit was 70 and they were all passing me so I figure they were going 80. Fortunately there was not much traffic and I don’t recall there being any construction. I also was surprised as I drove into Rolla to see so much carnage and twisted burned out MAC trucks still on the side of the Interstate awaiting removal. So many skid marks and deep gouges in the earth made the accident all too vivid and real.
My first stop was in St. Louis where I promptly got lost following map quest’s written instruction. “Lost as a goose” as my mother used to say. So what does a damsel in distress do? Well, ask for instructions of course; did it on my hands free car phone by calling my source point, my nephew Eric. I only got lost a couple more times. Finally, safe and sound, I arrived on a quaint narrow street from the 1930’s. Beautiful, all brick homes with gingerbread and arched doorways and steepled gables. And we were all hungry and that is where the pizza above originated from.
Now, just so you know, my car is packed to the gills. I didn’t have time to cull my last clothing list so I stuck it all in. And after one day, my car is already a mess. And it will stay that way until I get to my next stop tomorrow evening when I plan to take everything out, and start over!
I’ll tell you one thing, I never realized just how much God still has to teach me. And…He is using every day to do so. I think I am in for an interesting trip!
Briefly, as this message is getting wordy, everything that was in my front seat was rearranged to the back seat (bigger mess) so nephew Eric could ride to Rolla with me. His wife followed, for a while until she realized I drive the speed limit and then I followed her for about two minutes. She arrived a few minutes before we did. And oh what a delight I walked into. Eric’s wife’s aunts graciously opened their home to me, sight unseen so I could stay in Rolla and visit my Aunt Gracie. A home that you actually felt love dripping from the ceilings. Their story is amazing and interesting and too long to tell in this post. Remember this adventure is to tell it like it is. Stay tuned to hear about these two identical twin ladies with hearts of gold.
March 8, 2015 DAY TWO
…A day that was more priceless as gold. Spent the entire day with my precious Aunt Gracie, my mother’s sister. It was one of her “good days”. She is experiencing memory loss. Some times the loss seems more severe than others. Aunt Gracie seemed to be her same usual jovial self. She remembered me, my face that is, but not a lot of the details of my life. She still had a recollection of my children at different times during the day. She asked the same questions over and over and I answered each one as if it was the first time. Moments are always new to her and she seems content most of the time, but at others, shows concern for what she know is happening to her. Even if she didn’t remember me, I remember her, and I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for anything. I so wanted to see her one more time in my life and I have done so. We talked and talked and shared long ago memories that she recalls vividly. It was so fun to hear her tell of them, and how new and refreshing they are to her. I think she especially enjoyed to have someone to listen to her. Her precious Bob is in recovery from a serious fall several months ago. He is able to walk with the aid of a cane but I can see the sadness that he has due to his loss of activity. He was always such a hard worker and doer of anything that needed to be done. It was such a beautiful thing to see how devoted they are to each other.
I went to church with her and then met up with her daughter and we all went out to eat. Aunt Gracie’s appetite is alive and well. When seeing how much she loves to eat it is surprising that she is so tiny and thin. She seems like a delicate flower, fragile and beautiful.
March 9, 2015 DAY THREE
My last day with C and S. Worked out on their stationery bike, more delightful conversations and story time, preparation for my next trip, packing up for the ride south and then time to meet my Aunt and Uncle before leaving Rolla.
Gracie and Bob were able to meet up with me the next day for a lunch at a Burger place. I passed on the menue, she ate half a burger. But she was not having a good day. She was unable to stay long and we parted with tears and hugs.
Went back to C and S home, packed the car and I was on my way.
March 10, 2015 DAY FOUR
Started the journey Saturday and now it is Tuesday and I feel as if I have lived a lifetime in between. And what a beautiful lifetime! Amazing how much can be packed into three days. Today I am resting. On Saturday I met up with my nephew Erik and wife Karen at their home and had a wonderful LATE LUNCH, as I was late for my first scheduled appointment. I tried so hard to arrive on time. I did everything except speed. I suppose if I had not left 2 hours and 40 minutes late I would have had a better chance of being there on a time. It was a lovey surprise to find out that Eric and wife were going to my second stop with me. Karen had made it possible for me to spend two night with her aunts in a location where I needed accommodations. If nothing else wonderful happens on this trip it will have been worth it just meeting these two delightful, godly ladies. WOW! What a weekend of learning and blessings from the Lord.
These two ladies, I will call them C and S, are identical twins. They are so full of the Lord that God’s love just drips from the ceilings of their home. I could feel the Lord’s presence when I entered their home. I have never felt so humbled to be in the presence of such loving and caring people. The parts of their story I heard while there would make a long interesting book and a better movie. I will have to write more about them later as I do have their permission to do so. They have lived an amazing 82 years. I wish I could have spent many more days learning from them and hearing about the wonderful miracles that have happened and are still happening in their live. From the moment I walked in and met Miss C my learning experience began. God started doing a work in me that even surprised me. I believe I was supposed to be there exactly when I was there. I was presented with a wonderful opportunity to reach out and share God’s love with a young man who was staying with them. As a new believer he was searching for so many answers. I know the words God allowed me to share with him touched him deeply and possibly will make a great difference in his life. It is always a great joy to be able to pray with others. However, this was a situation where I think I was much more blessed than those I was with. The seed had already been planted and God allowed me opportunity to water.
I arrived in Willow Springs last evening just in time for dinner. So wonderful to sit down and have dinner with friends that I haven’t seen for awhile. I am currently visiting with Kathleen and Mat formally City Church attendees. We played a wonderful game of 9 hole golf (cards). It was wonderful because I won! Up way too late again and so today I slept in, raided the fridge, spent time with the Lord, and finally showed my face between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m.. This was all done with advance notice as it was Kathleen’s (the other Kathleen) idea. What a great idea. I’ll try to log a picture of the homes I’ve been to so you can see the different places and styles.
After updating the blog I will go work out at the YMCA. I’ll try to log a picture of the homes I’ve been to so you can see the different places and styles. Hopefully this will publish with the slow internet speed here at the Willow Springs Library. None of the homes I’ve been in have WiFi. And not many more do that I’ll be with the next week or so. Uploads may be far and few between.
Friday July 17 2015 A DAY OF THANKS!
Why is July 1th a day of thanks? I’ll tell you why. Thirty six years ago today I gave birth to my son. He was born two months early and things weren’t going so well. He was transferred to another hospital to the NICU center. His entire first year did not go too well. But since we are celebrating his 36th birthday you can conclude that he did survive.
Tonight when I hugged him I was so thankful that I have shared 37 celebrations of his life. That he survived the first 24 hours was a great celebration! We did not know if we would ever share another birthday with him.
As I hugged him I thought about the parents who this week lost an eleven year old son due to being run over by a car while he was riding his bicycle. They only had 12 celebrations of his life. I am so thankful for every day that my son has lived.
Courtland and his family came over for a birthday celebration dinner. It is always a joy to have my family over so I can make food they like and share in the enjoyment of once again having my son at our dinner table. On birthdays we like to tell stories about the birthday person. It is a fun time and I always learn something new as I listen to the stories. It is delightful to hear the stories that the three and seven year old tell. The three year takes a story that someone else has told and enhances it quite a bit. I think he even believes that what he says is true. Tonight the seven year old told the story about his dad coming over and having dinner with us. It was a very current story.
After the story time I asked each one to give Courtland wisdom they would like to share with him. Dave went first and actually gave him the same wisdom I was going to share. He told Courtland to never get too busy with all the things and hustle and bustle of life that he did not take time out to enjoy the everyday and ordinary things with his family. He encouraged him to live in the moment.
So I had to come up with something new. My wisdom to Courtland was to not neglect his spiritual life. To be certain he trained his boys in the way of the Lord and had them in church so it would become a way of life to them. I told him to walk in the way of integrity so that his sons would see his life walked out as a Christian Father. I recommended that he walk the walk.
This morning on the way to the gym I stopped at a garage sale in my neighborhood. It is a family I only know through our neighbor get-to-gathers. The daughter just graduated and is going off to college. I asked her what wisdom she had for others at this stage in her life. Ashley’s wisdom was: “Don’t sweat the small stuff”. That may be a short sentence and one that we have heard many times over in our lifetimes but until you learn how to “not sweat the small stuff” you don’t really understand how difficult it is to learn. If more people could just learn that earlier I think the world would be a much friendlier place. Thank you Ashley for your timely wisdom. I pray that as you grow into full blown adulthood that you will remember these words of wisdom today and take them to heart. You are already one step ahead of so many others in know this lesson of life.
DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
By Kathleen Martens
July 17, 2015
Sometimes it’s the little things
That turn into all the big.
Little misunderstandings
Cause us to dance a jig.
Maybe we should listen more
And really hear what is said,
And just sleep on what makes you mad
Instead of worry, just go to bed.
Think on what bothers you,
Mull it over in your mind.
In the morning speak your piece
With words that are kind.
Understand the other’s view
And listen as they explain
There are always two opinions
Do not hear their words in vain.
Give just thought to their beliefs
It will be different that’s for sure,
And when you do understand
You may surely have the cure.
You will no longer suffer
From angry and malicious thoughts,
Because the small stuff is unimportant
In its struggle you’re no longer caught.
So…don’t sweat the small stuff
Place your focus on what is true.
Put your eyes on God alone,
And understanding will be shown.
Then the small stuff stays
Exactly where it should be.
Your spirit is no longer bound
By only what YOU see!
Well, I didn’t know that Ashley’s wisdom would by my inspiration for today’s poem. And timely I think it was. For you see, when I tried to publish this bog I did something incorrectly and lost everything except the poem. I had to totally rewrite everything (except the poem). It was as if I heard in my mind “Don’t sweat the small stuff”! And in the scheme of life, losing a blog really is small stuff.
It is late, Dave is asleep, so I will publish and go to bed. Dave is slowly making strides toward healing. I think he may have overtaxed himself today helping me do some things to prepare for tonight’s birthday celebration. His leg is still painful and red. His next appointment is Tuesday. He is still on oral drugs until then. Please pray that continued healing will be noticed daily.
My first blog was quite a bit longer and more detailed. Sorry for the “quick” version.
Good night and God bless you!
Visions of Poetry 