Where I've Been, Where I am

It seems I've been "all over the place" lately.  If not physically, emotionally and mentally.

Physically, there was a glorious trip to Grand Teton National Park.  This event is shared with members of a good friend's family.  It is a wonderful time of relaxation, fellowship, activities.  Kayaking was wonderful.  There were bald eagles and ospreys to admire and watch.  Mountain lakes warm enough to dangle toes in--which was a very good thing as our feet got VERY muddy when we took side trips shore!  There were wonderful rocks, wild raspberries for picking, and the ever-changing weather to keep our eyes on.  Five members of our group went white water rafting and had an exciting trip down the Snake River.  That water was refreshingly cool every time it splashed over the raft.  Hiking offered new experiences and vistas as we ventured into previously unknown territory.  It was a very good trip, filled with blessings.

A death in the family, another family member in surgery for biopsies (benign, thank goodness), friends dealing with infirmities...  a little too much drama for my taste, but there it is.  Life is like that.

Now I am at Mercy Center in Burlingame, California for my first session at the Academy for Spiritual Formation.  Twenty-four hours after arriving I am no longer frantically thinking "What am I doing here!"  I've gone from frantic to curious to questioning.  That's progress of some sort.  As usual, I am basking in the music and worship (three times a day!).  The homily for this afternoon's service was exceptional.  An interesting "take" on the ten lepers.  Much to mull over.

I am challenged, tired, inspired, and blessed.

Blessing to you as well.

July 25

Blessings abound!

 It's been a long time coming--but a good friend and I went kayaking after a year of not going.  And it was marvelous to be on the water again.  So many things to see, hear, and smell.  Nature in her glory!  I probably overdid it a bit as I'm paying for it with some neck and shoulder pain but it was absolutely worth it.  There is a peacefulness that I won't even try to describe.

A friend instigated signing up for a glass fusing class so today we experimented with making six different pendents.  The "baking" won't be done until sometime tomorrow, so she will have to pick mine up for me because tomorrow my husband and I are leaving on

vacation!

We will be gone two weeks.  Going camping in the Tetons, kayaking, hiking, being with family, potlucks, playing games (banagrams here we come!), fishing, and just having fun.  It will be fabulous!

I am looking forward to some quiet time as well.  There is still some reading to be done before Academy starts in mid-August.  And, of course, some writing and thinking, and thinking, and writing, and more reading.  The last book is a bit dry, a bit too studious, and difficult to get through.  Did I mention that it's also the thickest?  :(

Fresh vegetables are springing forth from a friends garden.  We are enjoying cucumbers, basil, dill, zucchini, beets and fresh garlic.  The lettuce, green beans, and raspberries are finished--but we sure enjoyed them while they were in season!  Yet to come:  corn, peppers, squash, melon, and one of my favorites--home-grown tomatoes!  Yippee!

I don't know how often I'll have an internet connection over the next two weeks.  I'll try to post during our time away.

In the meantime, may you be as blessed as I feel right now!

A Second Opinion

We have just returned from a larger metropolitan area about 2 hours away.  My husband was getting a second opinion about a recommended surgery on his foot.  The specialist, to no surprise, recommended the surgery advised by the local doctor--but suggested a different method and a bit more adjustment to one of his tendons.  What he said made sense and my husband really enjoyed meeting and talking with this fellow.  And not just because he has a Harley Davidson and they got to talk bikes and automobiles!  So it is now official--we will be scheduling his surgery some time this fall after he has finished his fall projects and had the winter to recuperate.  We'll be making several trips to accomplish this with this doctor--but have decided it will be worth it.  Yee ha.  I don't always enjoy driving in the winter (especially north), but this is the best option.

We are blessed indeed to have the resources and opportunities to have our health concerns addressed within the realm of the "insured."  There are so many who are not likewise blessed.  And I wonder how in heaven's name they take of themselves.

I  was reminded today that my husband and I enjoy a fairly quiet and peaceful life.  It has its frustrations, but generally we are content.  And that indeed is a blessing that many folks seem not have. So I am grateful for all that is good in our lives.

Blessings to you too!

Good News

There has been much to be thankful for the last few days.  A good friend got a positive report at the doctor's office.  My daughter is healing well from her surgery and is looking forward to getting back to some activities thus far banned (river floating, swimming in her friend's pool, etc.)  Today I did a short trip in my kayak and have concluded that I can (and will!) do some kayaking on our upcoming vacation.  I don't think it can make my shoulder any worse and it was absolutely marvelous to be "on the water" in the warm summer sun.  A mostly good day...

Oh--and I have discovered the joy of having a wireless printer.  Yeeha!

Blessings to you!

Finding time

It's not that I don't like to write daily--it's difficult to find a good time every day.  I've got some thoughts in the back of my mind as to a solution.  Will see if it works.

Blessings most notable over the last few days:

A good appointment with a Spiritual Director (and helpful comments from a friend as well!).

Two chocolate bars to enjoy.

Fabulous news about a friend's macular degeneration.

Maintaining an even keel (for the most part).

Fun and games at church this afternoon.  Several folks showed up to enjoy Aggravation, Banagrams, and more!

The second floor mats ordered for my husband's car fit well and he was pleased with them.  The first set I ordered were NOT what he wanted and boy, was he gritchy!

So, there's a brief synopsis.  Not meaty, unfortunately, but enough to remind me of happenings!

Blessings to you.

Pleasant Summer Days

It's often quite warm here--on the desert side of Washington State--but the last couple of days have been  pleasant.  Today, my husband and I enjoyed sitting under an umbrella at a local Starbucks.  The temperature was pleasant, a light breeze was blowing, and we enjoyed reading a couple of chapters in our current book.  Times like these are blessings indeed.  May you have such blessings in your life as well!

Blessings to you!

Kid's Movies

My husband, a friend, and I went to see Despicable Me 2 this afternoon.  What a hoot!  We laughed most of the way through it--and some of the scenes were downright hand clapping!   And the entertainment continued through the credits.   We had a great time.

So I'm thankful for folks with imaginations and abilities to make such fun entertainment come to life.  As my husband remarked as were leaving the theatre, "It's downright amazing what people come up with!"

Thank you God for small things that make us laugh, smile, and feel good!

Blessings to you!

Missing the Point

So, it's been difficult to keep blessings on the brain the last few days.  Seems like there is a lot of not-so-wonderful stuff going on.  However, this morning I was reminded, unexpectedly, that it is indeed good to look for blessings and keep smiling.  So there you have it.

The liturgy this morning focused on "Deliver us from ourselves, O God."  Aren't we often our own worst enemy?

The silly little message this morning?  An espresso cup lid that had the word "SMILE" written so your eyes would see it as you took a sip of coffee.  And indeed, it did make me smile.  :)

So I am reminded once again that in the midst of everything, there are reasons to smile and it is a good thing to keep focused on those things.

Blessings to you!

Barley and Hops

A few years ago at a local Folk Music Festival a singer named Scott Katz sang a song that just made my brother and I laugh.  The title is "Beer is Good."  The first verse goes like this:  I don't wanna know the sad event that led you to forsake beverages of barley for the pleasure of the grape.  But I hear you sing the praises of your sulfite laden mead, and I'm thinking that a Heineken is all you really need.  Beer is good.  Beer is good.  Beer is good.  Beer is good.  Beer is good."  It continues on in a similar vein--a kindof rap and very fun song.  (If you care, the CD is titled "WRONG" by Scott Katz, Brown Bag Studios.  It's a great CD.  :)

At any rate, this evening I've been enjoying a "High Five Hefe" brewed by the Iron Horse Brewery in Ellensburg, Washington.  It's pretty good--described as a ginger honey wheat beverage.   Gee--ginger is one of my favorites and in a flavorful beer it is down right delicious!

I bought this bottle at a nifty shop in Ellensburg on a road trip a few weeks ago and this evening was the perfect evening to enjoy it.  Family drama has about done me in, so this large bottle of beer tasted wonderful with some sweet potato french fries.  Burp.  The dog enjoyed the fries as well.  :)

So thank you  God for providing the hops, wheat, ginger, and honey that went into this delectable beverage that has given me a soft/warmish feeling that offers me a bit of peace in the midst of a trying day.  I love my relatives dearly--but their trials and tribulations are both mind-boggling and wearisome. I'm reminded of the phrase that goes something like this:  Life would be a lot easier if there weren't so many people in it.

In the midst of all this I can still say that Life Is Good--and I am blessed in so many ways that I'm ashamed of being so snarky this evening.

Blessings to you this evening as well!

A Little Progress

There was actually some "down" time today to keep plugging away at a not-so-fun project that will be awesome when I finally complete it.  I'm updating my contacts, important dates, business contact information, and password information.  Whew!  Not only will this help me keep track of some things, but it will provide an accurate source of information should anything happen to me.  Not that I'm planning to depart the earth any time soon--but I've become increasingly aware that I'd better have information available for my husband if anything happens to me.  And it's a good exercise in organization as well.

"Down time" (or time not specifically set aside for something) is a rare commodity.  If nothing specific is scheduled, there are still the 'daily' intrusions of life: errands, laundry, menu planning, cooking, playing with the dog, being available for important people in my life, opening the mail, paying bills, keeping track of schedules, making phone calls, ad infinitum.  You know what I'm speaking of!

Sure, there is always something that needs "doing" but some spare time to concentrate on a project is welcome.  A bit of a blessing, actually.

Blessings to you!

Someone else doing the dirty work.

It's been over twenty years since my husband and I added the deck on the back of our house.  At the time, we also invested in a hot tub to relieve the aches and pains that construction would bring on.  So along with the redwood deck, we also got a redwood hot tub (yes, just a couple of years before they came out with the "no care" siding!).

At any rate, the first year and approximately every three years since we have repeated the treatment on the deck and hot tub.  It's not fun work, especially around the railings, and I've never considered it much fun.  As I've gotten older the chore has gotten more difficult.

So, when our currently living with us daughter offered to "do" the deck this summer I was overjoyed.  Unlike myself, she enjoys the warmer weather and seems content to turn on her iPod, grab the brushes and rollers, and work merrily away while the music plays on.

Talk about a blessing.  And the deck looks great too!

Blessings to you!

Thank God for Praise Band

Some days it isn't easy to find a blessing.  My daughter got news of a "2fer" surgery today.  Two procedures instead of one.  And then, poor thing, she will need a follow-up ultra-sound on a mammogram as well.  All this and menopause as too!

It was blistering hot today--the kind of heat that tires one.  And the family angst had both my husband and my daughter in tears.  We ended up in a group hug--smiles in the midst of crying.  We are on a long road of healing in this household!

So it's Monday.  And that generally means praise band practice.  And, between playing with a friend's dog who happens to show up for practice and playing the songs with the group, my spirit received a healthy dose of peace and thankfulness.  Praise band is always uplifting--thankfully so.  Music is a huge blessing in my life.

Thank you, God!

Only Change Is Constant!

A friend mentioned to me yesterday that I hadn't posted anything lately.  So I've pondered my lack of involvement with my blog and came to this conclusion:  The title "Life Goes On" strikes me as a tad negative when I'm actually trying to be more positive in my life.  So I've decided to go back to the original word that I based this blog on:  Berakot= blessing.  It seems like several "lives" ago that I originally dove into this.  Agilebabble was a reference to dog agility.  An activity that both my dogs and I have retired from.  And my "champ" Toby has since passed away.

At any rate, I am a blessed person and want to focus on that part of my life.  My apologies to anyone out there who preferred that "life goes on" phrase as the end of my blogs previously.  It doesn't feel "right" to me anymore.  So there you have it.

Blessing today?  Being able to change my mind about this blog and feeling like it will be more authentic as an instrument for my musings.

Blessings to you as well!

Balancing

A bouquet of flowers rests nearby on the table.  Originally obtained to adorn the altar at church Sunday, the bouquet now captures my vision on a regular basis and reminds me of God's glory in creation.  It is an informal presentation with joyous splashes of color:  lavender, yellow, pink, a bit of blue, and an amazing variety of greens.  Gazing at it makes me feel peaceful.

Which is not at all how I feel much of the time.  To say that life is complicated is an understatement.  Talking with my "best bud" today I remarked about feeling like I'm on a tightrope much of the time.  And even though I was speaking about a specific part of my life at that moment, I'm feeling like most things in my life are on a tightrope much of the time.

I am somewhat selfishly immersing myself in things that are important to me--only to find that everything seems connected anyway.  One of the books for the academy is a study of the Gospel of John.  I've always loved the beginning:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  Is that just cool or what?  :)   So even as I grapple with Pazdan's discussion on "A spirituality of the fourth gospel" I am being challenged by her consistent nudging to apply that spirituality to my own life.  (I am also fervently hoping that we are not expected to complete all the exercises in all the books assigned for the academy prior to arriving there in August.  I could use some help with interpretation!)  At any rate, I have a lot to muse on regarding family "issues" and my part in dealing with them as
life goes on.

God help me.  Literally.

June is here!

And it was warm today.  With sunshine as well.  So summer really is on its way!

A meeting this morning has me musing on how difficult it is for many folks to let go of the way things used to be and venture forth into a future of other possibilities.  And to punctuate that concept, my husband and I went to a graduation celebration this evening with a group of people we see infrequently.  Twice I was asked how my quilting was going--a hobby that I'd pretty much given up several years ago.  But how were they to know I'd passed on to a different life?

So the days roll by for everyone and things change for everyone and its impossible to know what directions people's lives have taken.  One thing is sure.  Most people's lives have probably changed a fair amount in the last few years!

So the question on my mind this evening?  How do you discern when it's time to bid adieu to a tradition that no longer "works."

Another question?  A friend of mine was informed that she was someone's "soulmate."  What does that mean?  (And neither of us could quite grasp that this was a proper category for her.)

People are sure interesting as
life goes on.

Some things are timeless

When I was much younger a couple of years ago I enjoyed the writing of Peg Bracken.  Peg used to write a column for (I think) Women's Day magazine and published several books.  I have several of her paperbacks.  Back then, if you can imagine it, paperback books sold for 60 cents.  I can hardly believe it either!  At any rate, Peg popped into my mind today as I trundled out to the backyard and started tackling weeds and other unwanted plants that had sprouted where they really should not have.  I remembered some of her advice from so many years ago, the main point being that doing something when you have the time to it is better than never doing it because you don't have the time to do it "right."

So I'm ok with having accomplished about one third of each of the tasks I tackled.  They are begun!  And there will be time enough to finish them as the days go on.

And her advice on "How to Do a Lot of Things at Once?"  Forget whatever your fourth grade teacher told you about finishing one job before starting another and begin several projects at the same time.  You'll have to finish all them and so will forge ahead!**

So what have I done today?  Part of the weeding, tracked down some of the dates I'd lost when my calendar took flight, tackled two phone calls I'd been putting off, and made some progress on re-organizing my address book, my website list, and (ugh) my passwords.

Not one of the projects is near completion--but do I feel good about having a plan, starting on my way, and getting SOMETHING done.  This is a good feeling as
life goes on.

**From The I Hate to Housekeep Book by Peg Bracken originally published in hard-cover in 1958; reprinted in paperback in 1962.  Another "ha, ha"--  According to the cover of the paperback edition,  her book "The I Hate to Cook Book" was a hard-cover bestseller at $3.75!

It's been a bit discombobulated lately...

After a wonderful vacation it's back to the daily stuff.  The weeds have managed to rear their pointy little heads in my absence.  An MRI remains inconclusive (the radiologist and the dr. seem not to agree).  Best case scenario--bursitis, treatable.  Worst case--bone thickening may require scraping.  In the meantime, "don't do anything that hurts."  Let's hope the cortisone has some effect....

My husband has been doing serious work on his latest project--finishing the upstairs in the garage.  He's turning it into a small apartment.  For some reason, this is important to him.  I wouldn't place a high priority on it, but there it is.  Currently, he's doing ductwork.  In the process he has torn up my space in our atrium in order to access the attic.  So efforts to get organized are once again on the skids.   It really does seem that for every step forward I end up going one and half steps back!

So I'm in catch-up mode with a list of "things to be done."  And one is getting serious about preparation for the Academy coming up in August.  Happily, another member of my congregation is going to attend and I'm looking forward to having shared experiences and providing support for each other.

Still need to get brave about finishing the set up of the new computer, transferring files, figuring out the new (wireless) printer, ad infinitum.  Yeah--I have the patience to read directions, but some of the new techno-geek stuff isn't as easy for me as it used to be.  I've got this awful suspicion that my 3-year-old grandkids may know more than I do about some of this stuff!

How do some people have so much time to post to Facebook?  I barely keep up with reading it as
life goes on!

Small Things

Hummingbirds.  They are wonderful to watch.  My sister-in-law in Bellflower has three hummingbird feeders hanging near three sides of their house.  It's especially fun to sit at the dining room table and watch them as they flit about and dip their long beaks into the feeder. My friend got a great photo of one while we were visiting there the other day.

Today, while visiting San Eliejo Lagoon near Carlsbad, my friend spotted a hummingbird and we watched it buzz into a nearby tree.  There was a nest (!) and we found the bird sitting on the nest, perched so her head and tail feathers were visible.  The nest was so small that it looked like a thickening on the stem--a tiny brown teacup.  It was amazing.

And, while not exactly small, we were charmed by a 17-year-old tortoise named Franklin that resides at the visitor center.  He was amazingly sociable, lumbering over to us at the sound  of our voices.  We suspect that he was hoping for some fresh veggies....

Vacationing with the sisters is grand.  Relaxing and no pressure.  This evening we had artichokes and salad for dinner.  The Riesling went very well with the menu!  And so we're truly enjoying ourselves as
life goes on!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Ok, so today it's a train.  My best friend and I are on the Amtrack Coast Starlight heading toward Los Angeles.  When we get there we will transfer to a train headed for Fullerton.  And then my wonderful younger brother will pick us up and we'll stay with him for a couple of days before heading for Carlsbad.

I could get used to train travel.  The food has been good and VERY plentiful.  (Burp.)  We've also had a wine tasting each afternoon.  The sleeper units are teensy, but there are pleasant places to hang out.  We've enjoyed the Parlour Car--have been reading, playing banagrams, and enjoying conversations with fellow travelers.    Having so much time to just relax and "be" is a treat indeed as
life goes on.

R & R

It's good to relax and actually be "on vacation."  We started out on a train from Tri-Cities, Washington to Portland, Oregon.  Having a sleeper car was a joy indeed.  We were treated so nicely--meals included, cheese and wine tasting each day, champagne on arrival (and offered at other times as well), a sleeper car to crash in, a parlor car to relax in, it was delightful!

From Oregon we travel the coast and enjoyed the scenery.  Arrived in Fullerton at 11:30 p.m. where my brother picked us up and took us to his home in Bellflower.

Being here is always a joy.  We enjoy each other's company no matter what we're doing:  running errands, playing games, sharing stories, having meals together.

I surely am enjoying this time as
life goes on.