November 8, 2017

It's Geema and Spencer!!  It's been so much fun to get to know this little spitfire.  He is just so funny.  

Today is the 34 year anniversary of my original breast cancer diagnosis.  I've written the story in the past (and shared it to FB today) so I'll leave it there.  I'm forever thankful to still be 'here' and to keep moving forward.

Life in Lynden has resumed pretty smoothly.  The hard part is have LJ now retired and home everyday.  We often have to check our phones or iPads to figure out what day of the week it is.  

A couple of friends have been to visit from sunny CA, and Friday Joey is coming for a brief stay!!  We will hit some quilt stores, a guild meeting and a quilt show before I take her to Seattle, so she can keep her appointment before flying back to Napa in the afternoon.  

I'm really, really hoping that the weather will cooperate and I'll be able to make the road trip to Auburn CA the week following Thanksgiving to play with those wonderful quilting friends.  

In the meantime, prep will begin on the first large family Thanksgiving we'll be hosting here.  
Welcome back.  

Jeff's Quilt

This was made a long time ago...Jeff joined the Army in 1998 I think it was.  He became an Army Ranger and while the experience was valuable to him, it scared the heck out of me.  Anyway, I wanted to make him a quilt so I started with the idea of green and black, army colors.  This was an Eleanor Burns pattern, courthouse steps.  I think it was a Quilt In A Day....unh huh....sure.....

In those days I purchased a lot of my fabrics at NON quilt stores.  It cost less, looked pretty so what's the big deal.  Once I finished the blocks, I waited to finish because I hadn't found a border print I really liked.  I didn't want anything too flowery or girly.  In a quilt store I found that print.  Yes, it has flowers, but it was more masculine and so I bought it.  I gave the quilt to Jeff Christmas of 2000 I think.  Our first Christmas in Lynden.  Since then he has had two children, married Krista, had numerous dogs, cats, iguana's.  Moved several times.  The quilt has been loved, washed and worn about.  When I was up visiting last year I took a photo of this quilt.  I had been pretty astonished at the wear, of the BLOCKS!  All that inexpensive fabric.  And yet the colors and clarity of the border print still remained lovely.  Here is a close up.

As I lecture around Nor Cal, I talk about the 'difference' between Walmart fabric and quilt store fabric.  But now I carry this quilt with me to SHOW the difference.  No, I'm not saying you have to buy quilt store fabric.  I want you to know though, that the inexpensive fabric is not going to wear as well, over time.  

I'll return Jeff's quilt to him when I move back home, not to worry.  I did leave him with a wonderful red, white and blue quilt to use in the meantime....

August 1, 2015

This plant has gone crazy in my kitchen!  Everyday I plan to do some trimming, and some directing, but then I don't.  I need to find some of those command strips to hook it up.  I'm thinking of going to the left over the door...And maybe rooting a few pieces, now that I'm going to be home for several weeks and can tend to it.

Also planning to do some deer fencing and plant some flowers.  I know it's late, but summer lasts a long time in this environment. There is lots of pruning and weeding and feeding I can do in the front yard especially.  And maybe I'll pick some rhubarb and freeze it. or start a batch of rhubarb liquor!!  OH YES!  I still have two bottles of everclear that I bought for such a project.  

Including this one, I only have 3 more August's to enjoy here in California.  I really hope it's in this house and I won't have to move again.  It was so great to have Jillian, Ethan and Krista here for a visit!!!  And now that Krista has seen how the airlines handles kids travelling alone, it looks like we will get Jillian and Ethan visits at least a few times before we return 'home'.  

Looking forward to Mary Chapin Carpenter tonight!  This might put my concerts with her into double digits.  No where the 54 times LJ has been with the Beach Boys, but she is probably the artist I have seen in concert most often.  

Stay cool today, and Stay Cool Always!

January 29, 2015

This is the quilt that I made for my Mom, years ago.  It is folded over a chair in her living room.  I know that she used it from time to time, to cover up.  One of those patterns I have always loved and planned to make another.  Still might.

End of January.  L J and I went out to dinner at a local mexican restaurant, not the one that tossed salsa at me a few weeks ago.  It was pretty busy, so we took a seat outside and then shook our heads in wonder that here we were having dinner outside in late January.  Ah the joys of living in this environment.  

A week ago I attended our guilds annual retreat at Walker Creek Ranch and got a few things done.  

This is a piece that I had started in a class last year.  It is all inset or Y seams, for those of you who know of such things.  So it was a PITA to finish, but finished it is!!  I might still put a small border of the blue with a larger border of the floral to finish it off.  It will be a nice spring wall hanging.  

While there I thought why not? and came back and scheduled my first 

California retreat to host!  Hopefully it will all come together and work out!  In February, after our guild meeting and workday on the 14th and 15th, I'm going to hit the road north and spend some family time.  Going to actually take my machine and some projects to work on while there.  I'm hoping the weather will be okay through the passes.  

Happy 2015!!

Goodness, only one post last year?  Actually it's probably a good indicator of what kind of year it was.  Let's take a quick look back...
The year started out with all kinds of promise.  Started having some great time as The Chaotic Quilter.  Speaking to several guilds around the Nor Cal area.  Had a lot of fun, made some new friends.  Went on the Napa Valley Quilt retreat in January, then a new retreat at a charming place called Bishops Ranch in March.  Followed by a great time up in Auburn with a group of quilters from Vallejo.  It was in late June as I was driving home from a presentation near Fresno that I ruptured my achilles tendon and cracked the heel bone.  My previous post pretty much covered that. We did make the drive to Seattle the day after the cast came off, but it was in AGONY!  Turned out I had a raging case of bursitis in that right knee.  Thankfully the very good folks at a Kaiser clinic in Salem Oregon took good care of me, loaded me up with some good drugs and we continued on north.  It was a brief, but good visit with several family members.  I'm so thankful we went to my Uncle Robin's annual family gathering.
Had a successful cataract surgery in August.  Both done on the same day and almost immediate results.  Just as I was enjoying being out of the leg cast, pain free in the knee, able to SEE, I was at Costco and after returning my cart to the cart return, turned and stumbled out of my shoes and crashed to the ground.  Bad news, it was behind a car that was running and waiting to back up, thankfully we got her attention.  Good news, a couple of very compassionate people saw me fall and came to my rescue.  Biggest concern to all was the bleeding from the wound above my right eye.  You know how those head wounds bleed!  Yes, I could get up, so I slowly did.  My van was only a few spots away, with the tail gate still up, so I sat in the back there, as people provided me napkins.  Costco personnel were very kind, brought some bandaids and offered to call me an ambulance.  Oh no, I assured them.  It was just a little cut.  The hospital (where I had just been to pick up my trial CPAP machine) was only a mile or so away.  I would sit for a while and then drive over there, and if I didn't feel like I could, then I would call someone for help.  I got into the drivers seat, closed the door and proceeded to have a good cry.  When I tried to reach for the kleenex in the back seat, I realized my right arm was having NONE OF THAT!  Oh no....I was sure then my right arm was broken!  Calm down, take some deep breaths....realizing I wasn't going to be able to drive I called dear friend Jamie, who immediately got in her car and headed to help!  While still crying I realized that my right breast was swelling really fast!!  My poor little breast cancer treated boobie.....Jamie soon arrived and took me to the ER.  Tears, tears and more tears.  After an IV and some serious pain medicine, I was off for x-rays and CT scans.  Diagnosis, fractured elbow, minor concussion, head laceration and hematoma in the right breast.  Put me in a temporary cast, glued my wound shut and directions to see specialists in the next couple of days.....My biggest concern, was that I was scheduled to get on a cruise ship in Boston in two weeks!!  And I WAS GOING!!!  Good news again, I only had to be in a cast for the two weeks, then could go with just a sling, if I was careful.  Which I was.
Then on Sunday evening 10-12-14, I received a call from my youngest brother that my Mom had died suddenly.  She would have been 88 next week.  I'll post more on this then, as it is still kind of hard to talk about.  She had adamantly said she wanted no services and we did honor that.

Off to Boston I went, met up with sister Carol and had a really great two weeks with some cruising friends.  Except for the part of getting a sinus, respiratory issue.  Spent every morning coughing and hacking.  Carried tissue with me everywhere for the perpetual runny nose.  But I was going to make the best of it!!  Once I returned home, I realized that my poor right breast was still very unhappy.  Went to my doc, who sent me to a GYN doc who sent me to a surgeon.  Really nice man.  Thankfully I had had a mammogram just a few months before.  We did an ultrasound and it did confirm a large hematoma.  Now, all these months later, it is indeed shrinking, but very slowly.  As long as it doesn't get infected, we can wait it out.  No one really knows how a breast that has been through surgery and radiation is going to react, and no one really wants to go in there and take the hematoma out.  Including me!  So watch and wait.  
I drove north again and spent two weeks including Thanksgiving.  Got to spend some good time with Dad while up there.  He seems to be doing okay, very lonely.  Which would be expected when your partner of 60 years is gone.
Back to Napa for Christmas, which was thankfully pleasant and uneventful.  Just to finish off a lousy 6 months, we went to dinner the last weekend of the year to a mexican restaurant we had visited a few times.  This was the last time.  As the chips and salsa were being delivered, the bowl was dropped and and salsa went everywhere, mostly all over me........
Happy New Year!  Let's Move Forward....

Wholey Moley

Yes, it has been a very long time since I have been here.  And yes, a lot of life has happened.  So much for making plans for the summer, for the the two oldest grands to fly down and visit and then me to drive them home.  Tickets bought, thrown away.  Two weeks before the big trip, I ruptured my achilles tendon, while getting out of my car at a rest stop on my way home from a great lecture and overnight in Madera, a town close to Fresno.  I followed my instincts the next day, that something was really wrong, and turned out I have a rupture achilles and a break in the bone.  Great.  Prior to that I had confirmed that my diminishing eyesight was due to cataracts and at least got that surgery scheduled for mid August.  Problem being, now I am in a cast and immobile and can't use this great down time to do any real hand work.  Sigh....and to make it even better, I broke a tooth, the only one on the upper right that didn't already have a crown.  Jeez.....I've had few mini meltdowns, and I keep moving forward.  Getting around is tough.  I bought a $200 knee scooter thinking that would be the answer, but it turned out to just crush my knee.  Today, I'm working with the walker, since my new (second) cast angle works better, and I can toe walk a bit on it.  I'm supposed to be no weight bearing.  This is the best I can do.
As I live in my cute little hippie house, I am so thankful I have hardwood floors, so I can scoot around on my computer chair and my sewing chair.
Poor L Jay is trying his best.  And I appreciate the effort.  Enough said,
I'm 'supposed' to get the cast removed and get into a boot on the 23rd, and we would then leave and drive north on the 24th, so that I can attend a family reunion of sorts on the 26th.  If he says I need another cast, I just don't know what I will do......
I had some great plans for Jillian and Ethan for their visit.  We will get to visit with them for a few days if the drive north works out.
It's sad to watch the peaches on my tree in the back yard continue to ripen and I can't go out and pick them.  L Jay gets a few each day, but I had such great plans for them all.  A few friends have come over to pick a few, so that helps.
The hardest part of the whole thing has been taking a shower.  A very private thing.  But I have to do it after wrapping my cast in this bag, and then sit in a chair in the shower and L Jay has to sit there to help me.  The best part is I get him to do a great scrubbing of my back, the worst part is sitting in front of him in my naked big belly self to wash.  Ah love....
My neighbor is not doing well.  She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in I think 2005 and then after treatment pronounced cured, until it recurred in 2010.  She has been in one treatment or another since then, and done a fair amount of travelling but according to her husband, her numbers are now going the 'wrong way' so it looks like the end is nearer than we had hoped.  She has a vacation planned this month, 20 days to Alaska, with a cruise as part of it.  I hope she can make it and has a glorious time.  She is an amazing woman, who has not "battled with cancer" these last years, but continued to live her life in spite of it.  I hate that I am so immobile and cannot go over and offer her more support.......
Enough for now.  I should try to sleep.

The Front Yard in December

 Good afternoon.  I thought that after I showed parts of the back yard, I'd do the front yard this time.  And then I'll post the same views in the spring, summer and fall.  That way I'll have a record of the yard throughout a year.

This is the right upper corner of the yard within the fence.  I have put my two small wooden yard chairs in the garden, which you can see if you click on the photo to enlarge it.

 I'm told this is a potato vine.  And will be covered in flowers come late spring.

This is along the driveway, and I'm so excited that the tree in the left corner of the photo is sure enough a Crepe Myrtle!!!  The tree I have been admiring since I moved to NorCal and could never remember the name.  The landlord said it is either pink or purple, he couldn't remember.

I LOVE this funky gate.  It is going to be great to photo throughout the year as all those perennials and roses start blooming around it.

It is the reason I call this my little "Hippie" house.

All around the front lawn runs a flat stone path.  Wonderful.  

This is just outside the gate.  LOVE the stone planter!!  Everything is on an automatic watering system which makes it even more wonderful.

I pivoted left from the gate (outside the fence) and even out here is nicely appointed.  More rocks, some natural ground cover.

Rocco especially likes it out here.

From the gate, looking at the front door with the enormous wreath.  The solar lights I added along the sidewalk.  The window on the right is into the garage and has a "stained glass" look.






And a close up of the front door and the big wreath.  The window is into the main living area, which I added a lovely purple sheer to, just for some privacy.

I do indeed like this little house very much.  And so far it looks like my PG&E bill is about HALF what it was in the condo for this month last year.  
Thanks for taking my front yard tour.

Back Yard Joy

I considered this a treasure when we saw it in the back yard, and L Jay considered it trash.  Que sera, sera.....and I win!!

It is an actual old railroad cart that the original owner (house built in the 50's) put here for some yard art.  The wood is pretty fragile, but I'm hoping to care for it a bit and maybe have a planter inside that will have some trailing something in it next spring.  Do you love it???

Here is a different view, you can just barely see the cart there.  This purple shrub is   ?????  anyone?  The hummers love it and I love they are still here in December visiting it.

The orange flowers are great, and apparently will take over the yard if allowed.  In the sunniest part of the day, they are wide open and almost smiling.  Already here you can see (if you click on the photo it enlarges) they are already starting to close up for the evening.  

In the left corner of the yard is this huge mass of rosemary.  I do love using rosemary in my cooking.  I'm wondering if I ought to pick some and dry it upside down in the garage, or if it will produce year round.  Again, anyone know?

Behind it is one of the two peach trees that I am told are very prolific.  They are sadly clingstone peaches, so won't come off the pit nicely, but will cut up great for jams and chutneys which I'm planning to produce next year.
Are you on my gift list??

And hidden over here behind the now leaf less Ginko tree is what is left of the firewood that was here when we moved in.  I do love having a real fire and will probably be ordering some more wood after I return here in January.

Long ago (and far away, in a land almost forgotten) we thought (okay, I thought and talked Lynn into it) a fireplace insert would be a good idea.  It took four friends and a rental sander to shave down the hearth to get it into the space, but it was put in!!  Firewood back then was just about $80 a cord.  Now, and here it is $350.  Walnut is what the neighbor recommends, and that is the price delivered.  YIKES.

One of my favorite Christmas gifts ever was the bundling of kindling that my Uncle Dan used to gift those of us with fireplaces.  I really miss him, and wish I had told him more how much I appreciated him.

The speed and efficiency of this computer is so awesome, I expect to be here more often again.  Thanks for coming to visit my back yard.  Next time, lets have tea....

WOW!

It's been a long time since I have been here!

This is darling Spencer Harrison Templeton who arrived in October.  I got to spend some time with him when he was a couple of weeks old, and look forward to seeing him again later this month when I head north, for our Christmas visit


Much has changed since I was here last.  We have moved from the condo in Yountville after a 14 month stay, to a sweet house in Napa.  I call it my Hippie House.  The landlord in Yountville decided he wanted to sell the unit, and we didn't want it for the half million + they were asking.  So after some serious searching, we landed in Browns Valley in Napa.  I really like it a lot.  The cats have adjusted nicely.

I went from working in probably the nicest kitchen I will ever have to a .....well.....kind of a hippie kitchen.  But it does have a gas stove, and that was my highest priority in the kitchen.  We had a few appliance hiccups in the first few days, but are hopefully over all those and really to rock.

My sewing studio is at about 80%.  I finally have a studio with a hardwood floor! Actually did some sewing in it a few days ago.

The presentation in October at NCQC was a lot of fun, and so far I am booked to speak and/or teach a workshop at 6 different  Quilt Guilds in the Northern California area!!  Excited, and nervous!

My website is up, and I'm doing some fine tuning in the next few days.

Also, I've decided that what the heck, I'm retired.  I have lots of free time, right?  So I going to launch another blog.  This one will be dedicated to my experiences growing up with food.  Will be sharing stories and recipes from as far back as I can remember.  Planning to look for a name like "NOT Julia Child".  Shall let you know when ready for viewing.

More big news, I got a new computer!  I had no idea things could go so fast!!  A friend of ours added Office to it tonight, so I'm excited to play around in that.

Not planning to do much Christmas decorating as we will both be north for the actual holiday.  But some things will come out this week, and I'll get some photos to share, so you can see my new home.

Thanks for checking back.  All is good.  I will be back soon~!~!

Happy Birthday

Today is Genie's birthday.  And in just a few weeks she will receive a wonderful gift, her new baby boy, Spencer.  Three boys, don't I know what that feels like!
I wish her joy and peace and hope that she cherishes any full nights of sleep she can get before this little sweetie arrives.
Carter is such a blonde boy, Henry with his dark hair, it will be fun to see what Spencer will bring with him.
Happy Birthday.

Happy Fall

I have always loved the Fall.  And lately I have been really, really, really missing Ethan.  This photo is 3 years old, but that is the charming, happy face of pure joy that I miss.

This will be my second Fall living in the Napa Valley.  It is definitely different than the PNW.  Right now the Harvest is on, and soon it will be the Crush.  In the mornings when I open the door I can actually smell the scent of the grapes in the air.  

I will miss that nice crisp feeling of grass on those mornings when the fog is hovering.  The air is cooler here in the evenings now, but it is doesn't have the dampness about it that there is up north.  

My travel plans for the fall are to come up around the 22nd of October.  It will be my moment to meet Spencer who is due earlier in the month.  And get some hugs and snuggles in with Carter and Henry.  There is a quilting retreat with some old friends I'm hoping to make, and then further north to spend a few days and Halloween with Jillian and Ethan.  I hated missing that first day of school with them, but happy to get to do Trick or Treat.  

Last year when I drove up in late September, the colors around Mt Shasta were just breath taking.  This time I will stop and snap some photos!

The Chaotic Quilter is up and running - HOORAY!  I'm looking forward to my presentation coming up in about 3 weeks at the Meet The Teacher meeting of NCQC (North California Quilters Commission)..and hopeful to get a couple of bookings for next year.  Also going to send some info to the guilds I have presented to up north and let them know of my new programs.  I am hoping to be doing at least one a month by the time 2015 begins.  

Hope your Fall will be wonderful.

Checking In

Do you ever feel just overwhelmed with "things to do?"

I think it is at the times that I have the most running around in my brain, that I go find a place to hide.

Places like Facebook, FarmTown, Pinterest, my DVR.

Yes, I'm slowly working on my website.  Yes, I'm sewing a lot more than in the last several months (along with help from Dutch).  Yes, I'm getting out more, meeting more people, making more friends.  And with each of these things, my mind starts to go crazy with new ideas!!  I sat down in my sewing room the other day and reached down into a laundry basket that has "stuff" in it, and pulled out a large ziploc bag that has 12 lovely log cabin blocks and parts for more all assembled.  I had not recollection of when or why I had created it.  After several hours, and pulling it out and staring at it at Jamie's house it started coming back to me.  I think I made these blocks while at a retreat at Lake Cavanaugh.  And I think I know where the original pattern/idea came from.  Now if I can find that, I'll get this project done.

Yes I am the Chaotic Quilter.  And I do produce more when up against a deadline.  But I also dance dangerously close to the line of overload.  How to manage.

Today, I closed up the farms....turned off the notices. Yes, I have done this before.  Maybe it will "take" this time!!   And I'm heading into the sewing room to make a list of things to be finished.  I really do believe that when I put it on paper it gets it out of my head.  And start a list of projects to START because that one is going crazy in there.

There are so many books to read, things to create, people to meet, pictures to take, sights to see, roads to discover, music to enjoy, stories to write, kids to cuddle. It all represents the promise of a tomorrow.  I need to be better at appreciating the gifts of today.  

An Exciting NEW Adventure!!!

This is my first quilt top, photo taken before I actually quilted it.  I would take a new photo, but this quilt is up in Olympia at my sisters on "my" bed up there.  I will be sure to take a new photo next time I am up there. 

Isn't it pretty???  I knew I loved florals right from the get go, bright colors, clear colors and purple of course. 

Today I attended the Northern California Quilters Commission meeting, which was a presentation called Meet The Teacher.  There were 25 Quilters who each had 3 minutes to give a quick bio and description of what they have to offer to the surrounding quilt guilds as far as lecture/trunkshow and workshops. 

I was so motivated!!!  So I came home and right away, logged in and joined this group.  And now I have registered a website domain name and am in process of designing my first and official website!!  I was so surprised that the very first name I thought of was actually available, so I snapped it right up!!!  I'll share it and post it once I launch the website, which I hope will be within a week. 

I'm hoping to be on the list of presenters at the October meeting and get started out there sharing my love of buying, pressing, cutting up and reassembling fabric, designing quilts and sharing tips for new and not so new quilters. 

Wish me luck!!  And if you belong to a guild that needs a fun and motivating speaker, let me know! 

Mendocino

We took a Sunday drive and headed for the coast.  Our "end point" was Mendocino.  It was amazing to watch the temperature drop as we got further west.

Two stops provided me to take some cool photos.  Lynn spotted the cave down at the bottom of this one, while my attention was drawn to the wildflowers and the trees in the background.  All worked together.

It was a bit grey on this day, but cool was good.

Again it was the delicacy of the wildflowers that really caught my attention, and then adding the rock formation in the background made it just great.

I loved all of this one.  How the wildflowers grow up and into the center of this tree and then the rocks and waves below.  It really was a great spot.  And no, I didn't smell anything "funny" in the air.  If anything I caught a whiff of dill!

I should have cropped this one a bit before posting.  Anyway, while we were sitting here this pair of I think maybe turkey vultures started to play in the drafts occurring around us.  This was the only decent shot I got.  It was an amazing feeling to watch these birds just play...


This is one of two benches that were placed at this spot in the road.  It was really cool.  Hard to imagine how many people had rested upon it, while enjoying this wonderful view of peace and serenity.

Happy Birthday to Sister Nancy!

 Nancy Lynn.......In our family of 5 kids, the boys are the oldest (Steve, who is 5 years older than me, man he is REALLY old....) and the youngest (Kevin, who was born in 1960, always the easiest to figure out how old he is) and the girls (or the "princesses" as Steve likes to remember us with such fondness) fill in the middle.  I am the oldest and then 3 years later came sweet Nancy, and then 3 years after that came Carol.  So Nancy truly is the "middle" child in about every sense possible.


As a toddler Nancy had this white hair!!!  Mine was red.  Don't know how that happens.  But as you see her in these precious photos I have chosen, is as you know her.  Always with that wonderful smile.

She is the tallest of us girls at about 5'10".  She is the one of us who can sing, or is at least confident and willing enough to do it out loud.

Because we were each 3 years apart, we never got to attend school together.  Once I left high school, Nancy came in the next year.  She left and then Carol arrived.  She left and in came Kevin.

Nancy had no problem following behind me.  She was probably voted friendliest girl (while I was voted biggest flirt, which is basically the same thing, right?)

She also holds the record in our family of being the only one to wreck TWO family cars on the same day.....she was driving one of them, with a friend following her in the other one.  Nancy came over the crest of a hill and hit a disabled car in the road and then her friend Sheryl came right behind and plowed into Nancy.

Our first backyard wedding was with Nance.  She married Cliff on a warm July afternoon and in the following years birthed Angela and then Joey.   Darling Angela decided to be breech so Nancy had a scheduled c-section to deliver her.  Then when she was pregnant with Joey, she was working as a daycamp counselor in West Seattle and she tripped over a log, fell and found herself in preterm labor which couldn't be stopped.  So the good folks at Valley Medical put her in an ambulance and shipped her off to the U of W to have a repeat C-Section with her 32 week baby.  After arriving there, they prepped her and took her into surgery, but thankfully the OB decided to do an "exam" before

doing an incision.  Told Nancy to give a good cough and out came Joey.  Failed C-section!!!  Under 4 pounds but incredibly healthy.  In fact went home in just a few days.  I had arrived after the birth (NOT an OBRN in those days yet).  She was in a bed and first thing she told me was that she hadn't been able to see much of the baby yet.  So I corralled a wheelchair, put her in it and found our way to the nursery.  Guess I knew my calling, even then.  

Nancy had an in home daycare for many, many years.  Some of the parents and children she cared for became lifelong friends.

Which is easy to do with Miss Nancy.  Sadly Cliff died and she became a young widow with two preteen children.  And as hard and sad as it was, she was always strong and kept moving forward.
Went back to school, getting an education in computer sciences where she met her Terry.  They married a few years later and continue to live as close to happily ever after as they can.
This final photo shows her holding darling Henry.
Thanks Nancy, for being such a great sister, and a great friend.
I love you.  I miss our ability to get together easily.  See you soon.

A New Way of Cooking

I was raised in a family of seven.  My Mom could make a meal out of a can of Spam.  She would slice it into 7 pieces, layer it on a particular platter, put pineapple rings that were cut in half around the perimeter and a can of mandarin oranges sprinkled over the top.  I do believe that a couple of spoons of brown sugar was then spread over the top of it all.  And baked.  Always a salad of some kind.  Always some kind of a starchy side dish and always a plate with a stack of white bread on it and butter on the table.  My sisters and I were often in charge of the salad.  Anyone remember shredded carrots with raisins?  How about peas with small cubes of cheddar cheese?
One of my first attempts of "cooking".... a grilled cheese sammie.  We had a large waffle iron that you could reverse the waffle plates, and they were grill plates, so that is what the sandwiches were grilled on.  So I carefully butter the bread (white, Wonder probably) and put some nice thick slices of Velveeta on the bottom slices, placed the top slice on, and closed the waffle iron.  And then walked away.....mistake....big mistake....I came back into the kitchen to witness rivers of melted pseudo cheese oozing out the sides and down the formica counter doing a great imitation of hot lava......

So when I married, and had a family of my own, I always pretty much followed these parameters that were a "balanced" meal.  We had to have a protein, a veggie, a side dish, and I always gave the kids some kind of fruit.  And milk.  No one seems to drink milk at meals anymore.  And it worked fine for a lotta years.  But I have never learned how to make a meal for just two of us.

I even bought my sister some cookbooks to encourage her to do more cooking, aimed at cooking for one or two.  But for me.....always a main dish that could feed everyone in my condo row.  It is pretty much a joke for me to make a salad for two.  Never happened.  I just haven't been able to do it.  I just keep adding stuff.

I bought this magazine the other day, hoping it would help.  Tonight I grilled some ribs (2 WHOLE racks from Costco) and then supplemented with some fried fresh corn and scalloped potatoes for 2.  Never in my life have I cooked only 1 potato before tonight.  How odd to cook something that calls for things in a teaspoon or tablespoon quantity rather than cups.

Both came out very yummy, and I don't have GOBS of leftovers.  Yes, I know having "planovers" is always a good thing. but even I get tired of eating the same stuff.

So I will work my way through this magazine.  I do love these ATK recipes.

Watch this space.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame - California Style

Happy 62nd Birthday to Lynn!!  He has been a lifelong DODGERS fan (some of you may recall we had personalized auto plates reflecting this fact) and when he spotted the game on the SF Giants schedule the weekend after his birthday, it became a no brainer as to what his gift should be.

We live about an hour north of San Fran (the "city") and have driven in a few times as a day trip.  But I thought this would be more fun to go via Ferry from Vallejo.

This is the Ferry we boarded at 2:30 for the 4:15 game start.  It takes about 25 minutes to get to Vallejo.  Parking across the street we had our special Giants Ferry tickets in our hot little hands.  I was surprised that Lynn chose to NOT wear one of his several Dodgers ballcaps, but I proudly wore a Seattle Mariners cap!

They sell 300 tickets for this Game Day ferry crossing.  The seats were very comfortable and they have a bar on board.  I figured I would have a nice beverage on the return voyage and was disappointed that the ferry had to abide by ballpark rules, and no alcohol was available after the 7th inning....
The crossing takes just about an hour.  Under the bay bridge.  We cruised passed the staging area for the upcoming America's Cup race.  The dock is right outside this gate!!

What could be easier???

The weather in the valley had been very hot during the week, but we had been warned that it would be much cooler in the city and at the ballpark.  You can see the flags blowing in the photo.

Our seats were under cover so we had no problems with sun, or wind.  The temperature was absolutely perfect.

Our seats were 40 rows up from home plate.  How awesome was that???

Sitting to my right, 2 young ladies who it turned out had just completed their freshman year at Seattle University!!  They were both Marin county residents who wanted to be away from home for college, but remain on the coast.  We had a grand time comparing In and Out Burgers with Dicks.  As well as other hot spots in the Seattle area.

Sadly the Dodgers lost this game, only one of the series I think, and the young Cuban hotshot had the worst day at the plate ever.

After the game we had been instructed to return to the dock and board our boat home within half an hour.  Our boat ended up having to wait so we had to stand in line, for about 40 minutes.  But our line was right here, next to this amazing sailboat marina.  Not too bad of a place to wait.  We will definitely go to another game though I have been instructed that I CANNOT become a SF Giants fan.  Which is fine.  I don't do orange all that well.

Something Special

I love these sheets.  Lynn and I have been married for 39+ years, and I think these sheets are about that old.  It's like people who have a fondness for a pair of blue jeans that they have "worn to death" but can't part with them because when you put them on, they just make the whole world seem better.  They know all your curves and bulges.  You feel confident, happy and serene in them.
I feel like that about these silly sheets.  Chances are at least one of my first two children were conceived upon them.  Child number three was my "Reno" baby, but that's another story.
I've laughed in them, cried in them, nursed my babies in them.  Kids crawled into them from time to time.  Jeff slept on the floor next to them, when I told him that he was just getting too big to get in the bed with us.  So I woke one morning and nearly stepped on him.
I recovered from surgery in them, tried to sleep through chemo days in them.
They would have been the sheets Ethan was born into, but I just couldn't take the chance that they might be too messy afterwards.
All of our cats, Paco, Jessie, Quantas, Stormy, Gizmo, Bear, Patches, Wendall, Dutch, Rocco have slept upon them.
When Todd was gone on a trip, and I picked Laila (the 80# doberman) up at the boarding place for the night before Todd returned home, I awoke with her in the bed and it very well could have been on these sheets.
They are 270 count Egyptian cotton.  Faded, worn, and wonderful.
Just like being married for almost 40 years.....

I am missing these guys today.  I'm also missing Henry, but he wasn't at the computer that day, I think he was only 1 at the time.  But boy, can he do the screen time as well as the rest of them now!

Kind of fun so see the house.  Oh, and I need to get that quilt out with the sunshine angel, I do have a place to hang it here.  Lot's to do actually.  Though if I could do what I wanted today, I would just edit photos via PicMonkey.  Becoming my fave online obsession, which is better than Farming, right?

Normal

Just the word "normal" caught my eye today when I opened the blog to think about doing a posting.  What the heck is normal.  I've heard someone call it just a setting on the dryer.  When I was teaching childbirth classes, and got to the segment covering life with a baby, my couples would often ask, when life would return to normal.  A big lesson for them to learn, was that they were going to establish a "new normal".  Which is pretty much what I have finally come to accept.

So my new normal for day to day living no longer includes children or grandchildren.  They have been so much of what identifies me.  In some ways they were a convenient, and lovely excuse to not have to really take care of myself.  And it has taken me a lot of months to come to realize it.

My new normal is slowly starting to come together.  I am moving more, and eating less.  Since the trip to Florida and the time changes, I'm now usually asleep before midnight and up with Lynn around 8.  My next step is to get into my sewing room and get it reorganized, so that I can get to the work that I need to do.  I have lots of new projects in mind, which is good.

Tomorrow, I'll spend some quality time in there, move some things to the garage and make a good list of what needs to be done.  Lynn has a rare evening meeting, so I'll be able to work without having to stop and make dinner.  It is part of the new norm, that he is basically 9 -5 everyday.  In the past he had a couple of evenings each week that he would have commitments, so this is different.

It looks like we won't be back up north until near the end of August.  And I also have come to accept that none of the kids will make it down here anytime soon.  And that just has to be okay.

Moving forward.