Linda's Window

Many Thanks for Parting Words, Deeds and Gifts!

2012-01-25T13:45:00.010-07:00

Overwhelmed . . . that's what we've been from all of the dinner invitations, gifts and kind words on this, the week before our retirement and departure. Gifts were certainly not necessary or expected, but people have just showered us with every kind of kindness!

You may recall my mention of our dear friend, Jerry, from church. He's affectionately knows as "the candy man" because he always has his pockets full of individually wrapped mint Lifesavers, which he passes out, one at a time, with every hug or handshake. He and his wife, Jean, gave us a pretty gift bag last Sunday, and inside was this package. Every time I pop one in my mouth, I'll think of them -- two good friends, sweeter, themselves, than the candy. But Jerry's hugs just can't be packaged, and I'll miss them ever so much.

This morning my office colleagues - all four of them (Betsy, Karl, Deborah and Jessica) - took Dan and I to breakfast at The Range. They also gave me a beautiful card and a thoughtful gift, especially considering my photography interests. It's a little snap-on lens for my iPhone, that converts to either a fisheye lens, a macro lens or a wide-angle lens. How fun is THAT going to be?!!!

And then, at noon today, Dan's colleagues from both AFRL and POD gathered at P.F. Chang's and treated Dan and I to lunch. There were about 24 people there, and we had a great time visiting. I learned that Dan is actually the very first person to have retired from POD! From that party, we took away two nice gifts. One was a gift card (I didn't take a picture) and the other a gorgeous Nambé Copper Canyon bowl.

And I love this one! Our neighbors from Rio Los Pinos Dr (David and Lorraine, and son Nathan) took us to dinner the other evening (I think I mentioned, before, that we might have run out of time, but they squeezed it in), and Lorraine gave me this fun little snow globe, or, more precisely, a Texas Snowman globe. We all got a good laugh out of it.

We will be leaving Albuquerque with wonderful memories of so many good people. Thanks to all of you for making this transitional time in our lives so sweet.

Love One Another, For Love Is of God

2012-01-23T09:04:00.011-07:00

Sunday afternoon our church family hosted a farewell reception for us. It was such fun! Tables decorated with colorful bandannas and little vases of wildflowers; a serving table cute enough to make even the state of Texas proud; a beautiful (and delicious) Texas cake decorated by our preacher's wife, Christie; homemade cookies by Carol. All of this was coordinated by our dear friend, Celia. Thank you brothers and sisters of the Northeast church, for the going-away party and for years of encouragement, TLC and love. We'll never forget you.

Here are a few photos, taken by Dennis (that would be Celia's husband).

And then there's this picture . . . flattering, isn't it?! Dan has given it a title: "Take Me To My Grandkids, Pahdner!"

Final Days in Albuquerque

2012-01-20T09:54:00.015-07:00

Have you been missing me? I hope so!

Life has been moving at warp speed for us, lately, and my blog has suffered from neglect. Maybe once I get this move out of the way, I’ll have more time to be creative. Maybe.

So what has been keeping me so busy?

MY JOB
For the past 5-1/2 years I’ve worked the same job, and it has typically been a low-stress, not-so-busy position. However, now that I’m about to retire, everyone is giving me last-minute projects, knowing that it’s their final chance to have my help. I’ve been swamped and, most days, working over-time.

TIM'S BIRTHDAY
We took Tim to dinner one evening earlier this month to celebrate his 36th birthday. It was actually a dual-celebration - for his birthday and for a wonderful job promotion that he just received. Some of Tim's friends - a couple and their two daughters - joined us at the Mongolian Grill on this occasion.

CHRISTMAS IN JANUARY
Since Christmas for Mom and Tim was derailed due to hazardous road conditions, we thought it would be nice to have a Christmas-in-January get-together, over the MLK weekend. Tim and I both had that Monday off, but Dan had to work so wasn’t able to go with us. We went down on Saturday and came home on Monday. We had a very nice visit which included opening presents; Sunday morning worship; Sunday lunch with Mom’s lunch-bunch; a trip to Carlsbad’s wonderful little coffee shop (The Yellow Brix) on Sunday afternoon; some game-playing; and non-stop conversation.

PACKING
This last part of our move was supposed to be easy, but I'm struggling with indecision at every turn. When I try to sort things according to their final fate - to be moved, to be given to friends, to be donated to Goodwill, to throw away - I just seem to be spinning my wheels. Over the past year I've parted with many, many things. Some of them were major items, such as pieces of furniture, small appliances, etc. But now, at this crucial juncture, I find myself standing and staring at such insignificant things as a plastic pancake turner or some worn-out hot pads, and agonizing over whether to take them or leave them. I’m also struggling with timing. For instance, is it too early to pack or get rid of kitchen things? If I pack things up, that means the kitchen is basically CLOSED FOR BUSINESS. The indecision is making me begin to wonder if I've lost my mind!

GOODBYE GET-TOGETHERS
Saying good-bye is hard, but doing it over a meal seems to make the best of a difficult thing.
• I’ve occasionally mentioned our friends, David and Lorraine. They were our neighbors until we sold our house. And no one could have asked for better neighbors! We will surely miss them. Right before Christmas we got together with them for dinner. The plan was to go to Olive Garden, but when we learned that there was an hour’s wait to get seated, we walked next door and dined at Red Lobster. We talked about getting together once more, before our departure, but time has gotten away from all of us, and I don’t think that will happen.
• I’ve known Pam since we first moved here, and we’ve become close over the years. “Our place” for lunch has always been Sweet Tomatoes, which is where we met last week to share a meal, share family news, and say good-bye. Surprisingly, I learned that Pam is also moving from Albuquerque, in fact she will be leaving before we do!
• Our friends, Mike and Paula; Gabe and Alicia; and, possibly, Nolan and Shirley are taking us to dinner this evening at El Pinto, one of Albuquerque’s oldest and best Mexican restaurants. We eat Sunday lunch with these folks every week, so it will be a bitter-sweet time, knowing that our shared times together are coming to an end.
• Next Wednesday we will probably eat far too much, since my colleagues are taking me to a retirement breakfast at The Range; Dan has been invited to come, as well. Then, at noon, Dan’s office friends are taking him out for a retirement lunch at P.F. Chang’s, and I’m invited to that! With all that good food, we won’t need to eat anything the day before or the day after!

THE FINAL CLEAN
I’ve been trying to figure out the logistics of the final cleaning of the apartment. If we clean one day, and then spend the night there before leaving the next morning for Texas, we’ll end up having to use the bathrooms again, to get ready, and then have to clean them once again. But, unbelievably, this whole thing has been solved for us. A dear friend from our church family, Wayne, who takes care of the maintenance on our church building and keeps it sparkling clean, told us he wants to give us a going-away gift . . . to do the final cleaning of our apartment after we leave, and then turn in the keys for us. I tried to say “no,” but he would not hear it. What a blessing this is going to be! Thank you Wayne. We love you!

THINKING
Tim asked me, the other day, "What will you miss after you leave Albuquerque?" I've actually been thinking on that question ever since he posed it. Here are the things that have come to mind:
• Tim
• Our good friends
• The Northeast Church of Christ
• The light . . . The quality of sunlight at this high altitude, and the amazingly vivid blue skies, can't be matched at lower altitudes.
• The hot air balloons . . . Not only during the once-a-year Balloon Fiesta, but for most of the year balloons are dotting Albuquerque's early morning skies. I can't help but smile whenever I see them.
• The mountain . . . the mountain that lies on the eastern edge of Albuquerque is beautiful, especially in the evening, when the setting sun (there's that sunlight, again!) turns it a brilliant red. By the way, that mountain, glowing red at sunset, reminded the early Spanish settlers of a slice of watermelon, which is why the range was named Sandia, Spanish for watermelon. We won't have any mountains to look at in Temple.

Unpacking Kitchen Treasures

2012-01-02T20:05:00.005-07:00

On Tuesday after Christmas, Dan and I said our good-byes to the Spring Judds and headed to Temple. We had three full days to spend there, unpacking some of our boxes and putting things away. Since we don't yet have master bedroom or office furniture, we left boxes for those rooms untouched and concentrated on the kitchen. I always find the kitchen to be one of the most challenging rooms to pack and unpack, so thought that getting a head start on it would be good.

We were a good team. Dan hauled boxes into the kitchen, four or five at a time, and after I had unloaded, washed, and put away everything from those boxes, he would take the empties out and bring in another four or five. There were a LOT of boxes! I really didn't expect to finish the kitchen completely, but I did! All of our dishes, china, bowls, baking pans, plastics, glasses, tea towels and small appliances have a home in the cupboards, drawers and pantry! When we make our final move, we'll have a totally functional kitchen from the get-go! That might make it possible for me to participate in the February Daring Bakers' Challenge!

Not everything went as planned, of course - it never does. When I was at the house, back in November, our washer and dryer were delivered. They are front-loaders, made to sit on a pedestal (with drawer). Sadly, one of the pedestals arrived at the store broken, so they delivered the washer and dryer, put the washer on its pedestal, and left the dryer sitting on the floor. They told me, at that time, that they'd have a new one for me in a few days. When our Christmas trip was drawing near, I gave them a call, and they said they'd deliver the new pedestal on the morning of December 30, which was perfect for us. We stayed home that morning, waiting, but no delivery guys showed up. I called and talked to a manager, because there was no one available in Deliveries. She said she'd have to do some research and call me back. About an hour later, she called. "Sorry. I don't know who it was who said we'd have the pedestal to you today, but they obviously didn't do their research. I just checked with our buyer, and he told me that we have to get the pedestal for you from KOREA, and that, if I order it today, it won't be here any earlier than late January." Are you kidding me? With all of the big box stores beginning with the letter "L" in this nation, the closest pedestal for my Samsung dryer is in KOREA?!! She assured me that was the case . . . so we are hoping that we will get the rest of our already-paid-for order about the time we make our final move.

On Friday morning we packed up the car and headed back to Albuquerque, via Lubbock. This time it was really hard to leave. It's beginning to feel like home, and we're ready to settle in for good.

The Magic of Christmas Morning

2012-01-02T13:30:00.003-07:00

Instead of waiting for the children to wake on their own, Chris and Kelsey roused them at 7:00 a.m., so we would have time for the morning festivities before leaving for the 10:30 worship service. When Chris first woke Clara, she didn't want to get up. Then he asked her, "How many more days until Christmas?" There was only a moment of hesitation before she sprung out of bed with her answer . . . "NONE!"

Santa didn't disappoint! Robert got a train table (he's really into trains, planes, trucks and cars!), and Clara got a beautiful baby doll, as well as the yo-yo she asked for. Robert, sporting an awesome bed-head style, was so smitten with his train set that it was hard to get him interested in opening the other presents. Clara looked cute in the adorable cupcake hat that Santa left in her stocking (I think).

Clara seemed pleased with the world globe that we got for her. Since her Daddy has traveled all over the world with his job, we thought she might like being able to see where he's been.

Here's the carnage that was left after the packages were opened.

Kelsey outdid herself in the kitchen this Christmas. For breakfast she made a pan-full of scrumptious Monkey Bread.

And for dinner (no picture . . . sorry) she prepared a bone-in ham along with all the trimmings.

(Gloria R., do you recognize the clothes the children are wearing in the photo below? You should!)

It was a joyful Christmas for all of us in Spring, TX. Sadly, though, things didn't work out so well for Tim and for my Mom. Before we left, we exchanged gifts with Tim, and handed over Mom's presents, since he was planning to take them down and spend Christmas Day with her. But a huge snowstorm hit New Mexico right before Christmas. (It actually chased us out of the state and on into east Texas, where the snow turned to pounding rain.) Mom said there were 11 inches of the white stuff in her yard, and I-40, over which Tim would have had to travel, was closed down for awhile. Tim had to cancel his trip, so both of them spent Christmas without family. Mom didn't even get her presents, which were still in the trunk of Tim's car! As the snow began disappearing in Carlsbad, ice took its place. On Christmas morning Mom took a fall on her sidewalk, which was a sheet of ice! She tells me she's doing okay, but continues to suspect that she may have cracked a rib. Chris did try to make her Christmas morning a little more cheery by connecting through Skype, so that she could watch the children open their gifts.

Oh What Fun!

2012-01-02T08:44:00.006-07:00

We spent Friday night at our house in Temple, then drove on in to Spring on Christmas Eve morning. We arrived around noon, to a festively decorated house and children eager for Santa's arrival.

Kelsey and Clara had waited to bake and decorate the sugar cookies until I arrived, so I could be part of the fun. We started to work on them right away. Kelsey used a family recipe for the cookies, and they were delicious. Clara used the rolling pin to roll the cookie dough out, and did an exceptionally good job. I was really proud of her! After the cookies cooled a bit, we all helped decorate them with royal icing and sprinkles.

That evening the children donned their Christmas jammies, and came back downstairs so Grandpa could read The Night Before Christmas.

Right before bed, Clara wrote a note to Santa, which was left beside a plate of cookies and a carrot for his reindeer.

Remembering my own childhood, and how hard it was for me to fall asleep on Christmas Eve, I was surprised at how swiftly both children fell asleep after snuggling into their beds.

'Twas the Week Before Christmas . . .

2012-01-02T08:11:00.003-07:00

. . . and all through the house, not a creature was stirring - especially Linda!

I had planned to work Monday (12/19) through Wednesday (12/21), and then travel to Temple, with Dan, on Thursday and Friday; on to Spring on Christmas Eve day. But my plans had to be altered a bit. On Friday, 12/16, I did a mass-mailing project, at work. Even as I was doing it, I knew I shouldn't be. Whenever I do a lot of repetitive motion using my arms, back and shoulders, I end up with muscle spasms beneath my left shoulder. They are very painful, and usually last for a week or so.

Sure enough, over that weekend I ended up in the Urgent Care Clinic, begging for some muscle relaxants or something to stop the pain. The doctor gave me muscle relaxants and high-dose Ibuprofen. I took them Saturday, Sunday and Monday without any relief. I went to work on Monday, as planned, but by the time my 12-noon quitting time came, I knew I had to return to the Urgent Care. This time the doctor took some x-rays. They revealed some bone degeneration in my spine, which was probably causing a pinched nerve. At least I know, now, why this "animal" returns once or twice a year to plague me. I told him that we were supposed to be traveling, by car, for Christmas, and that there was no way I could do it with the level of pain I was experiencing. He gave me some pain pills to add to my others. Almost immediately I started feeling relief. I stayed home from work on Tuesday and Wednesday, using alternating heat and cold and my meds, and by the time we were ready to travel on Thursday I was quite comfortable!

I usually leave our home sparkling clean when we travel, so that we come home to a nice, relaxing, tidy place. But this time I was so consumed with pain relief that I left the apartment looking like a cyclone had passed through. But that was okay, because the important thing was getting to Texas to be with Chris, Kelsey and the children for Santa's big day.

Let It Snow

2011-12-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

My Last Company Christmas Party

2011-12-16T10:29:00.009-07:00

Over the past 42 years we’ve attended our share of office Christmas parties. At least, they used to be called “Christmas parties.” These days, in keeping with political correctness, we are invited to “holiday parties.”

A number of these parties we felt obliged to attend. A few were downright uncomfortable for us. I think of one, in particular, where the goal of a great number of the party-ers was to drink themselves into oblivion, passing through several other states on their way there, including the wearing-of-the-lampshade state. Others have been tedious, with speech after speech; award after award; power-point presentation after power-point presentation.

To be fair, there were also some memorably fun company parties; those at George Fox University come to mind. Nice folks, interesting talk, good food, no booze, and . . . they called them “Christmas parties!"

We went to Dan’s company party last Friday night. It was a catered dinner, held at the Balloon Fiesta Museum. (That was the party where I kept coming up short on silverware for the next course - but that's another (embarrassing) story.)

This afternoon I went to my office party, which was at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. This was my LAST company Christmas party! It was nice. The setting was pretty. I only had my cell phone, so the picture, above, isn't that good, but you can tell that it had a nice, warm, inviting feeling and was decorated beautifully. Great food, too.

At the end of the festivities, they announced (as is the custom at almost all of these parties) that anyone who found a red sticker-dot on the underside of their chair could take home one of the poinsettias. I looked, and saw a sticker. I tried to peel it off, but it was adhered solidly to the manufacturer's label on my chair. Finally I was able to tear off about two-thirds of the sticker, only to find, once it was out in better light, that it wasn't red at all, but orange! It must have been left there from some Halloween party where they played the same game. The emcees felt sorry for me, I guess, because they let me turn in my shred of an orange sticker for a poinsettia. "It's close enough to red," they declared.

That was nice. Since we won't be here for Christmas, and since all of my decorations are already moved to Temple, I haven't bothered to decorate for the season. Now, we have, at least, a nice splash of Christmas red!

The Finish Line Is In View!

2011-12-12T20:59:00.003-07:00

It took some effort - a number of failed attempts to sign up online, by ourselves, and two trips into the Social Security Administration offices across town - but as of today, our applications for SS retirement benefits have been officially filed. That's one more giant step toward our goal.

Yes, the finish line is in view, in the sense that we are finishing up our careers that began back in the late '60s. But I really prefer to think of it as a START line, since we're also starting a brand new, exciting stage of life together.

Just Blew Into Town Yesterday

2011-12-02T11:06:00.012-07:00

Dan, Tim and I enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day together, at my mom’s home in Carlsbad. To make it easy on everyone, we purchased the entire meal from a local meat market, Keller’s, so no cooking had to be done in Mom’s kitchen. I was a little leery, not knowing how good the dinner would be, although Keller’s has a good reputation locally. There was no need to be concerned. Everything - from the roasted turkey (mixed dark and light) to the freshly made mashed potatoes and gravy; from the sweet potatoes and stuffing to the hot vegetable dish; from the cranberries to the pies – was delectable. At Tim’s request, I did make a big bowl of our family-favorite pasta salad, but that was easy, and lent an air of tradition to the table.

None of us being football fans, we didn’t find much worth watching on TV. Instead we broke out the electronics and taught Mom how to play Angry Birds. She was slinging those birds at the pigs and their teetering shelters, like a pro, in no time! The rest of us found watching her expressions and listening to her giggles more entertaining than playing the game ourselves.

Go Nanny Go!!!

On Saturday morning we left Carlsbad. Tim drove Dan back to Albuquerque; and I headed east, to Temple. We try to check on the house once a month or so, and it was my turn. We were also expecting delivery of our washer, dryer and refrigerator, so I needed to be there for that.

The wind was blowing when I left Carlsbad, and by the time I got to Hobbs, I was in the midst of a full-blown sand storm. It only got worse as I continued west. At times it was a complete brown-out, with zero visibility. Luckily there wasn’t much traffic at all, but I decided that pulling over and stopping was a bad idea, because of the possibility of being hit from behind by some similarly-blinded driver. So I continued on, making fair time when I could see the road ahead of me, and creeping at a snail’s pace when the road disappeared. Adding to the challenge were the galloping herds of tumbleweeds, playing Frogger with me on the road. Some of them were as big as Smart Cars, so could have done damage if they made contact with my car. At Snyder, TX, things began to improve. The wind continued, but with more ground cover the sand tended to stay where it belonged (on the ground) instead of in the air.

Late that afternoon I arrived in Temple. The first thing I did was pull out the clean bedding that I had brought with me and make up the guest room bed. (We sold all of our master bedroom furniture, so I would be sleeping in the guest room.) It felt strange - even a little spooky - that night, sleeping alone in a new house, which was empty for the most part. But by the second night, it was feeling more like home. I felt bad that Dan didn't get to share the experience of spending the first night in our new house.

On the other hand, Dan wouldn’t have been a happy camper when he tried to take his shower the next morning. For some reason, the water heater breaker refused to stay on. An electrician came and looked at the breaker box, thought he saw the problem, fixed it, and left. But by the next morning, the breaker was flipped again. They've assured us they'll have it figured out and fixed by our next visit.

Sunday was nice. I attended worship service at the North Side Church of Christ, where our friends, the MacDonalds, are members. Afterward I went to lunch with them and to their small worship group.

Wednesday morning I locked up the house and headed back west. I only drove as far as Lubbock. Strangely, I got sick almost immediately after arriving at the hotel. I was so glad I was THERE instead of on the road! After a good night’s rest, I was feeling well enough to make the rest of the drive home to Albuquerque. But when I came out to start the car that morning, I was greeted with an ugly surprise. I had unwittingly parked under a tree "owned" by grackles, and they spent the night "bombing" my car -- talk about ANGRY BIRDS!

All the way home, I was tuned into the weather reports of howling winds and impending snow for New Mexico. The wind gusts were pretty beastly, but I was thankful that no snow flurries developed. Albuquerque continued to experience strong winds all night. There were a lot of damaged roofs and downed trees. The wind has died down today. We haven’t seen any snow, yet, but it’s still in the forecast.

I'm glad to be home. But I'm missing my "other" home.

Two Years Old - Already!

2011-11-18T22:25:00.007-07:00

Dan and I thought we might go to a movie this evening. I have a couple gift cards for the theater that have been burning a hole in my pocket. But about the time Dan was getting home, we got a call from Chris, inviting us to Skype in to Robert's birthday party this evening. It wasn't even a close call. We can see a movie any old time, but second birthdays only come around once in a little boy's life!

It was such a short time ago that we welcomed baby Robert to the world and to our family. It's hard to believe he'll be two next week.

Here are a few pictures I snapped from the iPad screen as we enjoyed the party. I'm sorry that I missed getting a picture of the cake - a cute 3-D car, hand-made and -decorated by Kelsey.

"Hi Grandma and Grandpa!" We were warmly welcomed by Robert to his party.

After we sang Happy Birthday, Kelsey cut the cake, and Robert took the first bite.

Big sister, Clara, helped open the presents.

A Tonka truck!

Clara clowns around with a mask Robert got as a gift from some of his friends.

Lots of hours of fun ahead with this classy little trike, from Mama and Daddy.

Happy birthday, to our sweet little boy. Virtually-attending is better than not being there at all, but next year I hope to be there in person, to share birthday cake and hugs.

When the Walls Close In

2011-11-17T10:57:00.013-07:00

One thousand square feet is easy to keep clean, especially when the contents are rather sparse. I wouldn't say living in our apartment, waiting to make the move to Texas, has been a vacation. After all, we are still rising early each morning and going to work. We are still fixing meals, washing dishes and doing laundry. But there are fewer responsibilities as well as fewer opportunities for creative outlets.

For example . . . no house maintenance projects; no Daring Baker (or other baking) projects, since my kitchen is bare of all but the basics; no Bible class lessons to prepare, since I've reluctantly turned over my class to a new teacher; and less blogging, because I don't seem to be doing many blog-worthy activities.

It hasn't been bad, actually. The only thing is that now and then the walls seem to close in, and I become a tad bit stir-crazy. The best remedy I've found for that is to keep busy. Here are some of the activities that are helping to keep me sane.

I'm watching more TV than usual. Netflix has been a good friend to me, of late. I've watched a number of classics as well as some newer, rather obscure movies.

I'm spending more time on the computer. I've found a few new sites that have free puzzles, of various kinds, and I stop by once or twice a day to challenge my mind.

I've been reading like crazy.

I'm working jigsaw puzzles. This is the second one I've worked on in the past six weeks or so. Since we only have one table - our kitchen table - it leaves little space for us to eat dinner. Dan's been very understanding about it, but I try to work them quickly, so that he isn't inconvenienced for too long.

I've been doing origami . . . just for the fun of it. I've especially enjoyed making my own origami boxes and gift bags. Awhile back I sent Robert and Clara some cards, and inside of each one was a piece of origami made from paper money. Robert's was a shirt and tie, and Clara's was a dress.

For awhile I was spending a lot of time positioning paper "furniture" on our house plan, trying to decide where we'd put everything. I finally gave up on that, and decided to wait until I'm there in person, and can shove the real stuff around.

And, occasionally I do exercises with my "senior" exercise DVD. I need it after all of these sedentary activities.

This weekend we might take in a movie, since I have a theater gift-card that needs to be used up.

And with Christmas so near, I have lots of shopping to do and plans to make.

In my effort to avoid being stir-crazy, I may have become somewhat hyperactive!

Did I mention that I'm at 36 work-days (71 calendar days) and counting to R-Day?

Autumn Colors

2011-11-11T16:14:00.004-07:00

Aware that the leaves will soon be drifting to the ground, I'm posting a few more pictures in honor of our last fall in Albuquerque. Our temperatures are, on some nights, dipping below the freezing point, so it won't be long before the tree limbs are bare. I'm enjoying the color while it lasts.

The Bathtubs of My Life

2011-11-04T06:15:00.005-06:00

Our new house, in Temple, has a beautiful, spacious jetted bathtub. I’ve been reading about how to take care of one, and have learned that it will need some special care, above and beyond what regular soaking tubs need. But I’m up for it. Bring on the bubbles!

I remember, as a child, how I loved my baths. I played and played in the tub until the water got too cold, and Mom had to add more hot water to the mix. By the end of my bath, the water was considerably deeper than when I started. And my fingertips and toes were wrinkled like tiny prunes.

But for awhile, when we lived in the apartment above our first Juneau bakery - the one next door to the Moose Club on South Franklin Street - we had no bathtub, only a shower. In my nine-year-old mind, showers were okay for getting clean, but not for luxuriating. Well, to be honest, I didn’t know the word “luxuriating” at that age, but I knew what I liked.

Luckily, at this same time, my Grandma was trying her hand at a new venture. She had invested in a tiny little laundry that she called "The Launderette." The Launderette, which was also on South Franklin, only a couple blocks north of our bakery, housed a small bathroom with a bathtub in it. Grandma used to let me come there, with my towel and clean clothes in hand, and take a tub bath now and then. I remember how the wet ends of my hair would freeze into stiff spikes as I ran home on some of the colder winter days. That was a small price to pay for a good soak.

For the past eight years, in the house we recently sold, I’ve been spoiled by having my first garden tub in the master bathroom. It might have been my favorite creature-comfort of all times.

In the apartment in which we are now living, there are actually two bathrooms. Initially, I found it surprising that a 1000-square-foot apartment, like ours, would spend square footage on a second bathroom. I suppose, though, it makes the apartment better suited for roommates, which would, in turn, make it more marketable. Whatever the reason, we’re happy to have the two bathrooms. We’ve each adopted one bathroom as our own. In “mine”, we did not hang a shower curtain, because I still prefer a bath, even though the apartment tubs are not nearly as comfortable as the garden tub I left behind. Dan, on the other hand, has “his” bathroom set up for showers.

So, as you might guess, when we finally move to Temple, one of the first things on my to-do list will be to draw a hot tub full of water, turn on those jets, and take a long, relaxing soak in my new tub. I might even stay in there long enough to get "pruney" fingertips!

Summing Up October

2011-10-29T08:45:00.016-06:00

1) A PICTURE OF ME (with Clara):

2) WHAT I READ THIS MONTH:
I finished up a book called One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd, by Jim Fergus. Author's note: "In spite of efforts to convince the reader to the contrary, this book is entirely a work of fiction. However, the seed that grew into a novel was sown in the author's imagination by an actual historical event: in 1854 at a peace conference at Fort Laramie, a prominent Northern Cheyenne chief requested of the U.S. Army authorities the gift of one thousand white women as brides for his young warriors. Because theirs is a matrilineal society in which all children born belong to their mother's tribe, this seemed to the Cheyennes to be the perfect means of assimilation into the white man's world . . ." A great read!

I am currently reading My Life, Deleted: A Memoir, by Scott Bolzan, Caitlin Rother and Joan Bolzan. It is the true story about Scott Bolzan, who suffered the worst form of amnesia after falling and hitting his head. He not only lost all of his memory of life-before-the-fall, but also lost the meanings of many words . . . words as basic as "wife"! Oh, my!

3) MOVIES I SAW: I watched The Story of 1 from Netflix. A little interesting, but nothing to write home about!

4) FAVORITE TV MOMENTS OF THE MONTH: I've been watching reruns of Numbers on Netflix. Somehow I missed this series the first time around. Good stories. Off-beat solutions to criminal mysteries. Great characters.

5) SOMETHING YUMMY I MADE: Caramel apples . . . using Kraft Caramels and honeycrisp apples. They were delicious, even though by the end of the next day the caramel was sliding off the apples and pooling on the waxed paper. Woops. Should have kept them refrigerated.

6) RESTAURANTS WHERE I ATE: While in Temple, Dan, Chris and I went to BJ's. Mmmmm. I highly recommend their Original Roast Beef Dip Sandwich . . . unbelievably scrumptious.

7) FIVE GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS MONTH: Cooler temperatures, fall colors, Balloon Fiesta, getting my 5-year pin at UNM Foundation, and visiting the Texas Judds.

8) A GOAL I HAD FOR THIS MONTH: To get our household goods delivered and safely stowed away in our new house. Check!

9) WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO:
I'm looking forward to the arrival of our new preacher and his family, in November. We've been seven (?) months without a paid preacher. The men of the congregation have taught some wonderful lessons and others have stepped up in many other ways, but we are all excited to get to know Bud Woodall, his wife and children.
I'm also looking forward to Thanksgiving, in Carlsbad, with my mom. To make it easier on her, we are bringing a fully prepared meal from Keller's.

10) SOMETHING I WANT TO REMEMBER ABOUT THIS MONTH: Having lunch with Clara at her school, and hearing Robert speaking some of his first words.

11) A PHOTO I TOOK THIS MONTH:

ABQ to IAH to ABQ in Four Days

2011-10-25T15:05:00.001-06:00

Question: What is better than watching all of one's household goods being delivered to one's new house?

Answer: Watching all of one's household goods being delivered to one's new house AND fitting in a quick visit with family.

Dan and I just returned home from another Texas trip. We are one giant-step closer to our move. Everything that has been in storage for the past three months has been safely delivered to our new house. For this trip we flew into Houston, on Friday, where Chris picked us up. We spent that afternoon and evening visiting with Chris and Kelsey and playing with the grandkids.

Clara, who is now in kindergarten, is a fountain of delight! She and I spent a lot of time playing with paper dolls that I brought to her. She has a great imagination, which she showed off in her self-assumed role as Director of Paper Doll Drama. Occasionally, though, the drama would pause as her left brain took over:

Clara: Let's put all of the clothes over here, Grandma.

Grandma: Okay. [Grandma starts stacking up the dolls' clothes.]

Clara: No, Grandma. We need to put them in different piles, like this. [She begins sorting tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes and hats into different piles. Grandma, being the fast learner that she is, also begins sorting.]

Clara: No, Grandma, jackets don't go with shirts. They need their own pile.

Grandma: All right. Shall I start a new pile for "things"?

Clara: Yes. [Grandma starts the new pile.)

Clara: But Grandma, animals have to go in a different pile, because they are alive. And these (referring to a French horn and a drum that came with the dolls) are music things, so they go in their own pile. [It isn't long before the "things" have been subdivided into musical instruments, animals, toys and "other things."

It seemed to me that Clara found even more enjoyment out of this organizing activity than she did playing with the paper dolls.

Robert, of course, has changed more than Clara since we saw them last. His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. Even during our short visit, he was using new words on a daily basis. But "STUCK" is his favorite new word. He fully understands the concept of "stuck," and finds a multitude of creative ways to use it. For instance, when a little Playmobil person won't easily come out of its airplane, Robert brings it to the nearest big person for assistance, declaring "stuck.!" When he decides that he's finished with dinner, but Mama hasn't yet released him from his high chair, he squirms and hollers, "stuck!" When Daddy has ahold of his hand, and Robert is trying to wriggle it free, he complains "stuck!" Or, when he's buckled into his car seat and not happy about it, he points to the release mechanism and cries, "stuck." He had me laughing almost non-stop.

Robert also seems to have a lot of natural physical ability. We were surprised to see, at his young age of 23 months, that without any coaching, he took off across a grassy expanse at the park, dribbling a ball with his feet, soccer-style, in a straight line!

At the park, Clara mostly played on the playground equipment.

The mosquitoes were ferocious, so we didn't stay long. When we got home Kelsey put some medicine on some bites that Clara had gotten, including one on her foot. Here she is blowing the spot of medicine so it will dry quicker.

Halloween is only a week away, and the Judd kids, having recently watched the Star Wars movies as a family, will be dressing as Princes Leah and an Ewok. Here are a few shots of them in costume.

Here's a picture of both children, with Clara sporting her "scary Halloween face."

Early Saturday morning Chris drove us to our new house (which is located about 3 hours away) so we could meet the moving van and supervise the delivery. We got there just before the movers, and everything went smoothly. After the Mayflower guys left, Dan sat down in his old, comfortable leather chair (which he hadn't seen in three months) in his brand new living room, just to "try it out." I thought we'd never get him to out of the house! He was ready to kick off his shoes and move in :-) Not so fast, Dan. We still have three months before we retire!

As we usually do when we visit the kids, we spent our nights at a nearby hotel. So on Sunday evening we said our good-byes to Clara, since she would be in school by the time we got to their house the next morning, and we would be gone by the time she came home from school. But, to her surprise, on Monday we (Kelsey, Robert, Grandpa and Grandma) all showed up at her school cafeteria to have lunch with her, before we left for the airport. Judging by her beaming face, having her "fan club" show up at school made her day!

Last Day of Fiesta!

2011-10-09T19:20:00.002-06:00

The weather for the 2011 Balloon Fiesta wasn't altogether cooperative. Last Saturday, Sunday and Monday were just about perfect, then rain set in for several days. However, today, the final day of Fiesta, provided great conditions for the mass ascension, early this morning. We didn't actually go to Balloon Fiesta Park to get up-close-and-personal with them, this year. Instead we just watched from afar. While we were getting ready for church this morning, we could see a "flock" of balloons that had drifted even farther west than our west-side apartment complex.

Everyone is in a festive mood when the sky is filled with balloons. While we were looking westward from our balcony, over the top of the apartment building across the street from us, several bathrobe-clad neighbors were looking east at the ones behind us. We hollered a "hello", and one lady, seeing my camera, called back jokingly, "Take our picture!" But when I lifted the camera to do just that, she hid her face with her hands.

I noticed a shape-balloon that I hadn't seen before. It was a strange and goofy superhero. I looked him up on the Fiesta website. He's known as Super FMG. "FMG" stands for Festival de Montgolfieres de Gatineau, which is French for Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival (from Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.

As you can see in the enlarged photo, he sports a red cape, googly eyes, bucked teeth and a lolling tongue! He made me smile.

It's over for another year, and I don't know if or when we'll be seeing this grand spectacle again. With the exception of friends, the balloons are what I will most miss about Albuquerque.

First Snow on the Sandias

2011-10-08T12:39:00.003-06:00

This morning, for the first time this season, we switched the thermostat from "cool" to "heat." And when we stepped outside to meet Tim for breakfast, we were surprised at the chill that was in the air. Then we saw it - what we used to call "termination dust" in Alaska - the first dusting of snow on the mountain, which signals summer's end.

The Mystery of the Extra Keys

2011-10-02T19:00:00.004-06:00

Yesterday morning, before leaving for Trinity, I took my wallet, my hairbrush, my hand sanitizer, my iPhone and my car keys out of my purse and put them into a smaller red tote bag. I also organized my camera bag with essentials for the day. During the day, however, I never took the red canvas bag out of the car. I stowed it, where it wouldn't be visible, in the back seat and just carried my camera bag.

This morning, as I was getting ready to leave for church I put the camera case, the red bag, my purse and my Bible tote bag on the table to re-distribute things for the day. I opened my camera bag and took out a few things that had accumulated in there yesterday. I emptied out some extraneous papers and items from my Bible bag. I decided to carry the red canvas bag to church, but wanted to take a few extra things that were still in my purse. The last thing I did was pick up the keys from the table and drop them into my red bag. Then I tidied everything up and put the other bags away.

A little later I glanced toward the kitchen, and there, on the counter, were my keys. "WAIT!" my confused brain screamed, "I just put my keys into the red bag." So I looked in the bag. There was a set of keys. Two Toyota car keys and a house key. They didn't belong to me. They didn't belong to Dan. We don't own a Toyota. On close inspection, these keys didn't look a whole lot like mine, except they were on a carabiner clip, just like mine are. My habit is to clip them to the ring at the base of my purse strap, so I don't misplace them. The strange thing was that, with all of the bag-shuffling I had done, I didn't even know which bag they had come from or, for that matter, whether they had just been on the table all along.

When Dan came out of the bedroom, I asked him if he knew anything about these strange keys. He had never seen them.

All the way to church I was mentally running through scenarios, trying to solve the mystery of the keys. Had some stranger somehow entered our apartment and forgotten his keys on our table? (That was a freaky thought!) Had I picked up the keys at the Trinity site somehow? Did I take them from the Owl Cafe? Did they belong to someone at work? If so, how had they come into my possession? Was I, subconsciously a kleptomaniac? (Okay, that might have been an even freakier thought than the stranger theory.) How would I ever get them back to their owner if I didn't know where they had come from?

When we arrived at the church building, I went directly to our Bible class, but Dan stopped to visit with Wayne. Wayne is probably the person who best has a finger on the pulse of the congregation. He always knows what's happening. In their casual conversation, Dan mentioned that we'd found some keys. "Christie S. lost some keys last week, Wayne responded." Dan asked Wayne what kind of car Christie drives. "A Toyota." Mystery probably solved, Dan thought.

After talking with Christie, we confirmed that they were her keys, and that was the start to solving the mystery. On Wednesday night, Christie and I had sat next to each other, at a round table, during Bible class. Apparently I'd picked up her keys when class was over and, absent-mindedly thinking they were mine, dropped them into my Bible tote or clipped them onto my purse strap.

I was extremely embarrassed! Christie, on the other hand, was thrilled that I had her keys. She had already inquired about replacing the car keys. It was going to cost her $125 a piece! Luckily she hadn't yet proceeded with that expensive proposition.

Before Leaving for Trinity

2011-10-01T19:34:00.004-06:00

This morning, before we left for the Trinity Site (see post below), I stepped outside of our apartment door to see if the balloons were lifting off as scheduled. They were!

A few minutes later:

They were still launching when we got into the car for our outing. We had to stop at the gas station before leaving town, and while Dan filled up the tank I took this picture of the sky.

It's a GOOD day in Albuquerque when the weather cooperates for the mass ascension of the first day of Fiesta!

Trinity

2011-10-01T17:06:00.015-06:00

At 5:29 a.m., on July 16, 1945, much of New Mexico was awaken by a huge shock wave, accompanied by breaking windows. A brilliant yellow light was seen as far north as Albuquerque and Los Alamos, as far west as Silver City, and as far south as El Paso, Texas! Army officials told the public that a munitions storage area had accidentally exploded at the Alamagordo Bombing Range.

It was not until after the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6 of that same year, that President Truman announced that the United States had created an "atomic bomb," which had first been tested in New Mexico . . . on July 16, 1945. Three days after Hiroshima, on August 9, a third bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 14 the Japanese surrendered.

The secret development of the atomic bomb was code-named the Manhattan Project, and the site where the first a-bomb was detonated is known as Trinity and is located on the White Sands Missile Range. Most of the time it is locked down, but twice a year the public is invited to visit. Today was one of those days, and Dan and I made the two-and-a-half-hour trip down to see the Trinity site.

There isn't actually much there to see. Originally there was a 100-foot steel tower, with a shelter on top, where the bomb was placed and eventually detonated. The tower was vaporized in the blast. All that is left to see is one of the footings from that tower.

A Ground Zero monument has been constructed at precisely the location beneath where the atom bomb perched on the tower. A replica of the Fatman bomb casing (the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki) is on display, and a number of historic photographs hang on the perimeter fence. It isn't so much what you can see; it's more about the sense of awe inspired by standing in the place where such a monumental historic event occurred.

Scientists estimate that the temperature of the fireball created from the explosion was approximately 14,710 degrees Fahrenheit! It was so hot that it melted the desert sand beneath the tower and turned it into a sheet of radio active green glass. This green material was dubbed Trinitite. In 1952 the Atomic Energy Commission contracted to have most of the Trinitite scraped up and buried. However, there are still very tiny pebbles of it all over the ground at Ground Zero. It is against federal law to remove any of the Trinitite from the ground. It is still somewhat radio active.

The site is still somewhat radio active, however they reassure you that you would get more radiation doing some rather routine things . . . a chest x-ray would give you about 12 times as much radiation as one hour at Trinity; a coast-to-coast commercial flight would give you about 4 times as much radiation. I have to admit I felt a little leery standing there, but, as you can see, the resident lizards really do have four legs and only one tail!

Buses are available to take visitors the two miles to the old McDonald Ranch house. The main bedroom in this old adobe-covered-in-plaster house was used as the assembly room for the Manhattan Project. I enjoyed walking through it. It has tons of character and must have been a lovely home when it was lived in by the McDonald family. Many of the Manhattan Project staff actually witnessed the explosion from this house -- only TWO MILES AWAY!

After leaving Trinity, we made a stop at The Owl Cafe in San Antonio, NM, about 34 miles away and on our route home. The Owl is one of those places that you MUSTN'T miss if you are anywhere in the area. It is most famous for its green chili cheese burgers, and the burgers are made with beef they grind, themselves, at the cafe. The reason we felt compelled to stop there was the historic connection the cafe has with Trinity. Trinity personnel frequented The Owl, and some say the green chili cheeseburgers were first made to satisfy their appetites. Another story we've heard, but I can't confirm, is that The Owl had the only telephone within miles, and that the report of the success of the bomb's detonation was reported from that phone.

The building is one of those places that is built like a maze. You enter into one room, and then wind your way through room after connecting room to find a place to sit. It's dark inside, and the walls are covered in paper money, scrawled with messages and names of those customers who tacked them there. Once a year the money is taken down and given to charity. I read that as of 2009 more than $19,700 had been donated. (This section of wall, below, was mostly or entirely foreign currency, but there are many walls plastered with good old U.S. of A. dollar bills.)

Balloons Balloons Balloons

2011-09-29T09:22:00.006-06:00

During the ten days of Balloon Fiesta, life in Albuquerque takes on a different pace. In one sense, it's a slower pace, because the traffic is snarled-up with all of the chase vehicles and tourists, many of whom are towing motor homes of one sort or another. And in the mornings everyone is gazing skyward, even as they drive to work. Yes, there are more fender-benders during this week than normal. But there is definitely an air of festivity. How can there not be with hundreds of multi-colored balloons dotting the sky?!

The Fiesta begins on Saturday, but even this week things are gearing up. There are more balloons in the air than on a normal early-fall morning. So it wasn't that surprising when my boss, Betsy, received a call from the Foundation President's Office this morning to cancel a meeting she had scheduled with the president. Why? He couldn't get to the office in time. He was caught in a traffic stand-still due to a balloon landing on the road.

A Few Lasts and Firsts

2011-09-25T07:44:00.008-06:00

When you plan a move as far ahead as Dan and I have this time, you start accumulating a lot of "lasts" and "firsts." I began thinking about this when it dawned on me that Balloon Fiesta will begin next weekend, and that it will be my LAST one. Albuquerque's ballooning tradition is going to be one of the things I most miss about New Mexico.

Here are a few other "lasts" we've already passed:

I've taught my LAST toddler's Bible class at Northeast. I'll miss teaching those little sweethearts, and hope I'll be able to help out with the Bible class program once we get settled into a new church family in Temple.

I just went through my LAST performance review at the UNM Foundation. In fact, that was probably my LAST performance review . . . period. (Don't get any ideas, Dan!)

On the day we moved out of our house, we pulled out of the garage for the LAST time, and said good-bye to our dear neighbors across the street. It would be the LAST time they would be our neighbors, but if there's one thing we've learned through all of our moves, it's that there's no end to some friendships. Let's keep in touch, David and Lorraine.

Now that fall is officially here, we've spent our LAST spring and summer in Albuquerque. Dan has celebrated his LAST birthday here. He saw our dentist for the LAST time, last week, and I saw my optometrist for my LAST eye exam.

But with every "last" comes a "first."

We just signed the closing papers on our house, and, with that, have just purchased our FIRST house in Texas.

I'm excited for the FIRST Sunday night, after we retire, when we don't have to set our alarm to get up for work the next morning. (Yes, we might still set an alarm, but it won't be for 4:30 a.m., which is Dan's normal rising time.)

And maybe my favorite first . . . I'm so looking forward to the FIRST time we can have a family holiday meal at our new house. "Over the river and through the wood, to Grandmother's house we go" will be my new theme song! (For those who are precise, I realize that the original lyrics are, "to Grandfather's house we go." He'll be there too, of course, but I'm changing the words to make the song mine.)

Getting Scrap-anized

2011-09-14T14:07:00.006-06:00

Since December, 2006, I’ve had a subscription to Scrapper’s Guide, an online digital scrapbooking group headed by Linda Sattgast, from Portland, Oregon. Each month, as a member, I receive a new digital scrapbooking kit, as well as training videos and a newsletter. I’ve been careful to keep the kits in one place on my computer, each kit in its own folder; and, inside each folder, subfolders for such things as background papers, embellishments, alphabets, frames, etc. But recently, locating any specific element I needed from those 58 main folders and three-or-four-times-that-many subfolders, had become an impossible task.

Last week I began an effort to re-organize my kits, using iPhoto. I finished this project last night, after many, many hours of work. My iPhoto image count shows that I have 5,842 different graphical elements in my collection. No wonder I was struggling to find what I wanted! But NOW I can enter a key word or a combination of key words to hone in on what I need when I'm designing a page.

Do I need a green marble? Just select keywords “toys or games” and “green” – up pops the green marble, along with a few other green toys or games.

Do I need to find a blue jeans pocket? Just select keywords “clothing”, “blue”, and “denim.” Up pop a couple of images from which to pick - one, the pocket; and the other a denim belt loop.

Or, perhaps, I want a red and white background paper with snowflakes. I choose "paper", "snowflakes", "red" and "white" and up pops this pretty paper.

My scrapbooking sessions are definitely going to be less frustrating, less time-consuming and more fun!

Quick Trip

2011-08-31T08:06:00.007-06:00

We found out, last week, that we needed to jump in with both feet and purchase a home from our preferred builder, in Temple, or miss out on the opportunity to get one of his homes. We hadn't planned to buy this early, but upon hearing this news we dropped everything and dashed down there, leaving early Saturday morning.

On Monday we took care of business. We managed to sign a contract on a home we liked, and get all of the supporting paperwork submitted. We are supposed to close on the house on September 30. We will be able to do that from Albuquerque, so it won't require another trip down to Texas right away.

Here is a picture of the front of the house. I've always wished for a brick home, and soon I'll be living in one!

My favorite part of the house is the kitchen. As you can see, a refrigerator does not come with the house. I can just imagine doing my first Daring Bakers project there. (By the way, for those who've been wondering, I'm on "sabbatical" from Daring Bakers until we get moved and settled.)

Another feature we're happy with is the back patio. It's all covered and is large enough to enjoy both, cooking and eating, outside.

The house has four bedrooms, one of which will be our office space. We'll have a jetted garden tub :-), and his-and-hers walk-in closets. Here's the corner fireplace, in the living room. Can't you picture our grandkids waking up, on Christmas morning, and seeing stockings full of trinkets hanging there?

Since we accomplished everything on Monday, we decided to drive home on Tuesday (yesterday). We usually take two days to make this trip, but wanted to get home, so decided to try it in a single day. It is, typically, a 12 to 13 hour trip. Dan and I shared the driving, and things were going pretty smoothly until we were 90 minutes from home. All of a sudden, traffic came to a halt on I-40. We sat with our engine and air conditioning running for about five minutes, until it became clear that we were not going to be moving anytime soon. We turned off the engine, covered the front windshield (facing west) with a sun shade and opened windows to allow a little breeze - though it was a hot breeze - to move the air.

After awhile, we got out of the car and started visiting with our "neighbors" in the next lane. We even found a spot, in the shade of a semi, that was a little cooler. We waited two hours before the road was reopened. When we finally drove by the scene of the accident, it was a semi-truck, overturned and burned down to its black, charred skeleton! Although our trip was extended another two hours because of this closure, and although we were totally spent by the time we got home, our day was definitely not as bad as that truck driver's!

Looking forward:

Looking back:

Now it's back to work and back to apartment living, here in Albuquerque.

First Day of School

2011-08-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

Wasn’t it just a few months ago that Chris and Kelsey gave me a gift – a Boyd's Bear figurine that reads “When a child is born, so is a Grandma”? That was the way they announced, to us, that our first grandchild was in the oven. Shortly thereafter little Miss Clara arrived, and we couldn’t wait to get down to Texas for our first visit.

No. It wasn’t just a few months ago. It was six years ago when we learned that astoundingly wonderful piece of news, and Clara is now five-and-a-half years old. The school bells are ringing in Spring, Texas, and Clara starts kindergarten today. (Photo swiped from Kelsey's blog.)

I know it’s been a long time ago, but I remember as clearly as if it were yesterday how I felt when my own babies headed off to school for the first time. My emotions were all tangled up – excitement, fear, hope, worry, sadness, happiness, curiosity and pride were all knotted up in my stomach. In some ways it’s easier, as a grandma – in some ways it’s harder – having a child go off to school for the first time.

The world has done a lot of changing since my boys were five years old. There are more scary things out there. There are new ways of teaching and learning. Children have less freedom. Teachers have higher expectations about some things; and lower expectations about others. The next time I get to visit with Clara, I’m sure she’ll be teaching me all sorts of things.

One thing, though, hasn’t changed. We, as parents or grandparents, still have to put our children in God’s hands and trust in his loving care for them. I’m so grateful that Clara and Robert are growing up with two parents who know and believe Him. As Clara steps out into this new adventure, she’ll be wrapped in a blanket of prayers and love and protected by the Good Shepherd.

Clara, I wish I were there to hear your after-school chatter today. I know you'll have lots of stories to share. I know you'll always do your best and make us all proud. I love you!

Seeing Albuquerque in One Day, with Takashi and Yoko

2011-08-15T16:25:00.017-06:00

First, here's a picture of one of the gifts Takashi and Yoko brought us. It was a box of absolutely decadent chocolates, from Boston, where they visited Takashi's cousin before coming to see us. Kind of hidden among the other chocolates in the box I discovered this little fellow. Isn't he cute? Too cute to eat!

This morning, as planned, we took our guests to Krispy Kreme. It was a "sweet" way to start the day.

Then we drove to Old Town. Dan and I relaxed in the plaza while Takashi and Yoko strolled and shopped for souvenirs to take home to family.

By the time we were done with Old Town, it was almost lunch time, so we headed to the Sandia Peak Tram, and rode to the top, where we had lunch at the restaurant there, called "High Finance."

We decided to take a siesta break during the heat of the afternoon, and then, around 5:00, I picked T & Y up at their hotel and deposited them at the Cottonwood Mall. They wanted to take a look around there before dinner. Dan, Tim and I met up with them later for pizza dinner at Dion's.

We ended the evening at our apartment, remembering old times and sharing stories of more recent happenings.

Tomorrow morning I'll be picking them up at the hotel and taking them to the airport. It's been such a short visit, but we made the most of it. We're already talking about "next time."

Look Who's Here!

2011-08-15T06:39:00.006-06:00

Takashi and Yoko arrived right on time yesterday afternoon. After taking them to their hotel room, to unload their luggage, we met up with Tim for dinner - Mexican food at Garduño's.

Yoko, we learned, is an elementary school teacher. She is sweet as can be, and seems to be a perfect complement to Takashi's personality.

We ended the evening at our apartment, where we opened gifts (Japanese visitors ALWAYS come bearing gifts!) and caught up on the past few years. The last time we saw Takashi was about ten years ago, when he came to see us in Juneau. Sadly, Chris wasn't able to join us for this reunion, but we placed a call, and the two of them had a nice, lengthy phone conversation.

Today, being their only full day here, we plan to see a few of Albuquerque's sights. We'll be picking them up, at 8:00 a.m., at the hotel. To Dan's delight, Yoko LOVES Krispy Kreme donuts, so we'll be going there to start the day. Old Town is next on the agenda, with a trip up the tram, to the top of Sandia, as a possible afternoon activity.

Please Pray for These Children

2011-08-11T18:49:00.009-06:00

Here is a link to an article in the Christian Chronicle about a terrible auto accident that happened in Alaska on Sunday. We know the Bennett family and would ask you all to join us in praying for all of the injured passengers, but especially Erika (age 10) and Brittany (age 16) who both remain in critical condition as of tonight.

http://www.christianchronicle.org/blog/2011/08/alaska-church-members-praying-for-critically-injured-sisters/

Quick Takashi Update

2011-08-11T06:57:00.003-06:00

This morning I have an email message from Takashi. Apparently he and Yoko arrived in Albuquerque sometime between midnight and 1:00 a.m., and found a hotel room for the night. They will be leaving early this a.m. for Boston, and coming back through Albuquerque, as originally planned, on Sunday. We won't see them until then.

I replied to his email, giving him my cell phone number. I hope that makes things run more smoothly.

Where In the World Is Takashi?

2011-08-10T21:31:00.009-06:00

Takashi and his wife's plans were to arrive in Albuquerque this evening, then go on to visit his cousin, in Boston, tomorrow morning. On their way back from Boston, the plan is to come back through Albuquerque and spend a couple nights here.

Dan and I headed for the airport tonight, in plenty time to be there before their flight would arrive. Tim was waiting for a call from us, to tell him where to meet all of us for dinner. We didn't know how tired Takashi and Yoko would be, so weren't sure whether we'd be going to a nice restaurant for dinner, or just grabbing something quick so they could get to bed.

We saw, on the screen, that their flight had landed, and we watched carefully as everyone came through the gate from the secure area. I was standing ready with my camera to get a picture for my blog. But they never came through the gate. We waited while planeload after planeload of folks came through the gate. No Takashi!

By this time, the airport was nearly EMPTY, and there were no more flights coming from LA.

I stayed by the security gate while Dan went down to the baggage claim area. We figured they'd have to be there if we had somehow missed them. But they weren't at baggage claim, either. Next Dan went to the ticket counter to see if anyone could help us in any way. The ticket agent kindly looked on the manifest, and told us that there was no one with Takashi's last name on board the flight they were supposed to be on.

Takashi and I had not exchanged cell phone numbers. We had only communicated through email. I sent him a couple emails while at the airport, the second one giving him my cell number. I'm hoping that he has a phone that will pick up my emails wherever they are.

We called Tim, told him the disappointing news, and arranged to meet at Applebee's for dinner. By the time we got to Applebee's it was 8:00 - rather late for dinner. But we placed our orders and settled into conversation with Tim. Of course, all of us were wondering where in the world Takashi and Yoko were, and if they were okay. Our best guess was that, coming from Japan, their flight was delayed, and they missed their LA connection. Maybe they are having to spend the night at LAX! If ONLY we had exchanged phone numbers.

At Appebee's, we waited about 40 minutes for our dinner. By then we were really hungry, and wondering what was taking so long, since there was hardly anyone in the restaurant. Finally our server came back to the table and said, "Could you remind me what you were getting?" We all just looked at her quizzically. I asked, "You mean, you haven't turned in our order yet?" to which she responded, "Well, yes, but I've lost the paper with your order on it, and I'm not sure what to pick up from the kitchen."

Huh?

Pretty soon a manager arrived at our EMPTY table.

He apologized that we hadn't gotten our meal and offered to expedite the preparation, if we'd tell him, again, what we had ordered. We told him it was just too late, and that we would have to leave. He brought us a $35 gift card, which we accepted. We went home, and Dan had a bowl of cereal for dinner, while I ate a PB&J sandwich!

What a strange evening. An empty airport, an empty table, empty stomachs, and an empty feeling as we wonder where in the world Takashi and Yoko are tonight.

Here We Are

2011-08-06T15:10:00.003-06:00

This is our home for the next six months. It's somewhere around 950 square feet, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. We use the spare bedroom for our computers and other office equipment/supplies. It's nice and clean, and quite comfortable. It is on the fourth floor, which has elevator accessibility. Being on the top floor puts us up where we get the evening breezes. I've been opening the sliders every night and enjoying that cool air. Beyond the sliders is a nice balcony, with a fairly high stucco wall, making it quite private. It faces west, giving us a nice view of the sunsets.

The apartment complex is called The Landings at Cottonwood, and it's rather large. Our unit is in the same building as the management office - the blue and gold one on the left of this photo. It's also the only building with four floors. The others only have three.

We are living just to the north of Albuquerque's largest mall, but we've been surprised that we don't hear much traffic noise. We will be quite comfy here until the big move to Texas.

Not Complaining. Just Saying . . .

2011-08-04T14:36:00.003-06:00

. . . this phase of our move has been a difficult one. But it's done.

The first thing that made it hard was the timeline. Since the buyers were paying cash - no lender involved - they wanted (and we foolishly agreed to) possession the same day we closed. That gave us less than a month to accomplish everything. Our realtor kept reminding us that it wasn't "over" until funds were disbursed, and that real estate deals could fall apart right up to closing. But, since we had to be out of the house the day of closing, we couldn't wait to pack, to sign an apartment lease, to have movers come and take away our goods for storage. I told our realtor that we'd simply be in very deep yogurt if the sale fell apart at the end. Thankfully, it didn't!

The second thing that made it difficult was that we found out, during the inspection, that we had major hail damage on our roof. Despite that tight timeline, we had to get the homeowner's insurance and the roofer to work together in getting estimates done, so we could repair the roof for the buyers. It all worked out, although we had to leave money in escrow for the repairs to happen after the buyers took possession.

The third thing that made it difficult was my bum knee. I was in a lot of pain, especially on the two days that we were actually moving things to our apartment. The apartment is on the 4th floor, which isn't much of an issue, because there is an elevator. But from the parking lot, there is a L-O-N-G sidewalk/breezeway that everything had to be transported down; then the elevator; and then another, equally long hall/breezeway to the apartment. Dan only had one friend helping him move, since the third one we had planned on wasn't able to come at the last minute. Those two, admittedly, did the bulk of the move, but I absolutely did my share, as well, and my knee is still not happy with me.

And the fourth thing that made this a difficult move was what happened on closing day. I backed my sweet little VW into a metal post at the apartment carport area and damaged the rear bumper. I cried for a solid hour over that. I feel sure I wouldn't have taken it so hard under normal circumstances, but this came at the end of the second day of moving. I was exhausted and stressed. I guess I'll just chalk up the repair costs to "moving expenses."

But this afternoon we are in our cozy little apartment. Most of the things are unpacked and put away, and, this evening, we will eat our first meal at home in over a week. We are TIRED of restaurant food, believe it or not. All of this work we've done, six months before we plan to leave NM, will make that big move much easier. Things are definitely looking up. And I'm still very grateful that our house sold as quickly as it did.

I'll try to post a couple pictures of our new, temporary home, tomorrow. It's going to be kind of fun being apartment-dwellers for awhile. It's such a different lifestyle.

Next on our agenda is Takashi and Yoko's visit. Since there is no place for them to sleep here at our little apartment, we will be putting them up at a nearby hotel at night. I hate that we can't provide for them here, but it is what it is. We'll spend every minute together, other than sleeping time.

My To-Do List

2011-07-28T06:30:00.000-06:00

Finalize arrangements for new roof (due to hail damage – unknown to us before house inspection!) – today

Finish packing household goods that are going to storage for 6 months – tonight

Re-inspection of house – Friday

Pack up household goods going to apartment – Saturday

A day of worship, fellowship and rest - Sunday

Miscellaneous catch-up day – Monday

Movers pick up furniture and goods headed for storage – Tuesday morning

Dan and friend move apartment goods to apartment – Tuesday afternoon

Buyers do final walk-through – Tuesday afternoon

Haul trash to dump and clean house for new owners – Wednesday

Close on house deal at title company - Wednesday

Collapse, with a sigh of relief, in tiny new apartment – Thursday

“Normal” life resumes – Friday

From This Perspective

2011-07-26T06:15:00.002-06:00

MOVING. From this perspective the landscape features heavy, taped boxes stacked against walls; mounds of miscellany waiting to learn their fate - pack, toss or donate; barren rooms echoing our voices; and floors strewn with scraps of packing materials. My back muscles and bad knee complain more every day.

And from this perspective has come an even greater appreciation of God’s promise of Heaven, for when I “move” to Heaven, I won’t be packing a thing!

"The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men . . .

2011-07-18T11:40:00.001-06:00

. . . often go awry." Robert Burns had it right!

I’m an organizer, at heart. You should have seen my precise schedule of tasks and appointments for our upcoming move that were spelled out in a beautiful, bulleted, 2-page “to-do” list. I was happily ticking them off, one by one, including renting an apartment for the six months we will stay in Albuquerque, before moving on to Texas; scheduling days off from work for critical events in the process of packing/moving/closing on the house; arranging for movers to pick up our furniture and goods for storage until the big move; scheduling someone to help in the final cleaning of our house; and arranging for friends to help move us into the apartment. Maybe I was a bit too smug about my perfect organizational plan. Maybe I was relying too much on ME.

This weekend everything was turned topsy-turvy, when we discovered our misunderstanding of our buyers’ date of occupancy. For reasons that aren’t important to relate here, we thought they would take possession on August 6. Now we understand, correctly, that they get possession on August 3.

Three days doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but I have just spent almost three hours re-scheduling the movers; attempting to change our apartment move-in date; explaining to my boss that the days I had scheduled to take off have just shifted; and contacting the friends who have offered to help, to ask if they could come on different days.

After finding out our mistake, on Saturday night, I prayed the rest of the weekend that things would work out. The key issue was whether or not we could get the movers to come earlier. Everything else, we knew, we could work out, one way or another. Although the movers are pretty booked that week, they agreed, when I called this morning, to squeeze us in on August 2. Thank you, God! (And thank you Mayflower.) Although we can’t move into our apartment on August 3, the management is willing to let us move our “stuff” in, while they continue cleaning and preparing it for us. Dan and I will stay at a hotel for the one or two nights that we can’t move in.

It’s all coming back together, a little like a broken vase, reassembled with Super Glue.

I’ve learned my lesson. It's not that I shouldn't do my part, by making a plan and working it; I'd be foolish not to. The lesson that I've learned is that this move isn’t in my mortal hands, but in God’s divine ones. My faith needs to be in Him, not in my perfect itinerary or my hard work.

I knew that.

But I needed a reminder.

Everybody Needs a Hobby . . .

2011-07-16T07:52:00.019-06:00

. . . and mine is photography.

I bought my first digital camera in 2001. It was a Sony Mavica and was big and clunky, but I loved it, despite its limitations. It only took 2 megapixel photos, and it stored them on a 3.5” floppy disk! But the picture quality was surprisingly good, even when the camera was in the hands of a total novice, like me.

Taken with my Sony Mavica - North Douglas Hwy., Juneau

Dan upgraded my camera, a few years later, to an Olympus with a few more megapixels.

Taken with my Olympus - Bosque del Apache, NM

From there I went back to Sony, in 2006, when I bought the DSC H5 (a SWEET Camera, by the way).

Taken with my Sony DSC H5 - Abo Mission, near Mountainair, NM

Finally, for Christmas 2009, Dan bought me my first DSLR camera, a Nikon D5000. I felt as if I’d moved up to “adult” status in the camera world.

Taken with My Nikon D5000 - Veterans' Memorial, Albuquerque, NM

Now that my Nikon and I have become better acquainted, I’m broadening my concentration to include more complex post-processing techniques. I’ve just concluded an on-line training video series, taught by Trey Ratcliff of Stuckincustoms.com. What I’m trying to learn is the art of High Dynamic Range (HDR) processing. If you want to see some HDR photography that will knock your socks off, just take a look at Trey Ratcliff’s online portfolio.

To process an HDR photo, you should have at least three raw photos taken at the same time, from the same location, one under-exposed, one correctly exposed, and one over-exposed. The software will then combine the three (or more) images, pulling the highlights from one, the shadows from another, and creating a picture in which all parts are properly exposed. Further refinements are then made using Photoshop and/or other software.

Here are a couple examples of my very first HDR efforts.

This photo was taken at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque. As you can see, in the original (upper) photo most of the picture was underexposed, because I was shooting into the light coming through the doors at the end of the hall. Beneath it is the same image - cropped and HDR processed - now with good exposure over the entire picture.

This was just a quick snapshot of our living room (upper photo). As you can see, I am again facing windows, but this time I metered on the interior, leaving the windows and outdoors completely blown out (over exposed). After the HDR processing, detail from outdoors is restored (lower photo).

My images aren’t turning out anywhere near as brilliant as Trey’s, but I’m starting to get the hang of it. Practice, practice, practice! When I get better, I'll post a few more. For right now I'm just having tons of fun learning something new.

Wheeee!

2011-07-09T13:59:00.004-06:00

Offer came to us on Wednesday.

Counter offer went back to them on Thursday.

They accepted our counter on Friday.

We have to be out of the house by August 6. Yipes!

We found an apartment today.

After they run our background checks, our rental contract should be ready by Tuesday.

We can occupy the apartment on August 5 -- one day before we must be out of our (their) house.

Everything is happening in hyper-speed!

We are so thankful that our prayers have been answered. I kept praying that the right people would buy our home at the right time and for the right price. I'm confident that Mr. and Mrs. O are the right people; the right time is now; and the price we agreed upon is fair for both parties.

A Nice Fit

2011-07-05T19:37:00.005-06:00

You remember, from my last post, that some people came to look at our house on the 4th of July. This morning I got a call from their real estate agent, saying they wanted to come this afternoon and take a second look. Of course, I told him we'd be happy to have them come.

After work I dashed home, briefly, double checked everything in the house, and scooped up my Kindle. I hadn't had lunch yet, so I decided that, instead of Barnes and Noble, I'd go to Sweet Tomatoes to enjoy a salad and to read for awhile. I needed to waste a good hour or more, to give them plenty time to view the house. After lunch, as I was nearing our house, I saw the people just coming out of our front door, so I made a block and let them clear out.

About an hour later, the agent called me again. "I'm sorry to bother you again, but my clients wonder if they could come by, about 5:00, and try parking their car in your garage, just to make sure it will fit. We'll only take about five minutes of your time."

"Of course. That would be no problem at all," I replied.

At 5:00 sharp, they all showed up. Dan and I both moved our cars out to the street, and let them pull their big Mercury into the garage. It fit just fine! They thanked us for accommodating them, said good-bye, and climbed back into their car. But . . . their car refused to start! ("Hmm. Your car seems to want to stay! I think you'd better buy the house," I wanted to tell them.)

Dan, the agent, and the man fiddled for 15 minutes or so with the battery terminals, cables, etc, with no success. Since our cars have sealed batteries, we don't even have jumper cables. We walked across the street, where our neighbor, Brad, was in his garage, working on something. He and a friend agreed to bring their van over, and some cables, and try to jump the battery. No luck. The battery seemed to be DEAD. Really DEAD.

So now, the agent and the man decided to remove the battery, take it to an auto parts store, and find out whether it was salvageable. While they were gone, Dan and the lady and I went into the house, where the air conditioning was humming along, making it oh so much more comfortable than out in the hot garage. I was wondering what we would talk about . . . it might be a little awkward. But only a few minutes into our chat, she mentioned that her daughter taught at Albuquerque Christian School, a school operated by one of the churches of Christ here in town. So I mentioned that we were members of the church.

The lady was so surprised, and so excited. She told us that, although they are coming from out of state, they used to live in Albuquerque. When she found out we worship with the Northeast congregation, she asked if we had a church directory she could look at. I brought it to her, and she began thumbing through it, identifying all sorts of folks that they know. Come to find out, we have dozens of mutual friends! Not only that, but it turns out that she first met her husband, as I did Dan, when they were students at Abilene Christian College (now University).

An hour and 45 minutes after they arrived, a new battery was successfully installed in the Mercury and it roared to life. By then the lady had turned from "shopper" into "friend." She told me, "I'm glad that the car died, because it was so nice getting to know you and finding out how much we have in common!" She even gave me a hug before she got into her car.

Whether this will result in an offer on the house is anyone's guess, but it did lead to an enjoyable visit with some nice folks.

Not Your Typical Fourth of July

2011-07-04T12:59:00.005-06:00

It's been ten weeks since we listed our house, and we're feeling the strain of having a house on the market. Every morning, before I leave for work, I go through a mental check-list, taking care of every little detail to make the house sparkle. And when a realtor calls, asking to bring a client, I've made it a habit to find somewhere else to hang out, giving the looky loos the freedom to check everything out, without being intimidated by me, the home-owner. The coffee shop at Barnes and Noble has become my favorite retreat on these occasions.

Today, being the Fourth of July, I thought it was a safe bet that no realtor would be out showing houses, so I stripped the bed this morning and began washing sheets and our light summer blanket. Dan and I had already agreed that today would be a "lazy day," for a change. Just after the sheets went into the dryer, and the blanket into the washer, the phone rang. You guessed it . . . a realtor wanted to show the house this afternoon . . . on the Fourth of July!

It really wasn't a problem. I was able to get both loads of laundry done, and the bed remade, in plenty of time. And, luckily, we hadn't made any big holiday plans. But a "lazy day" it was NOT, what with preparing the house and then vacating it in the middle of the afternoon.

Of course, it will all be worth it when that ideal buyer comes along. Who knows, maybe this 4th-of-July-caller will be the one.

Los Alamos Fire

2011-07-01T21:30:00.005-06:00

As the crow flies, Los Alamos is about 60 miles from Albuquerque. Some people here have been seeing the glow, at night, of the huge forest fire ravaging that town. I sat, for awhile tonight, where I could definitely see the smoke plume, and waited for sunset to see if I could photograph the glow. I may have given up before it was sufficiently dark outside, but I didn't see any fire glow. However, this is a picture of the smoke being lit up and colored by the setting sun. I "played" with this photo a little with various editing tools, which added a little drama to the image.

"Make new friends but keep the old . . .

2011-06-26T14:38:00.005-06:00

. . . one is silver and the other gold." So goes an old Girl Scout song I sang as a child.

This weekend we went to visit one of our "golden" friends, Keith, who now lives near Lubbock, in west Texas. Dan and Keith have birthdays within a few days of each other, and, when Keith lived in Albuquerque, we always celebrated them together. Since those birthdays are coming right up, we couldn't resist popping down there and having a celebratory birthday dinner together, for old time's sake.

Keith, his son Reed, Dan and I went to a great little Mexican restaurant that Keith recommended. Afterward Keith and Reed came to our hotel room and we visited until after 10:00. It was so good to be with them for awhile again!

Here's a quick snapshot of Keith playing his first-ever game of Angry Birds, on Dan's brand new iPad (an anniversary-Father's Day-birthday gift).

I took my camera, but the truth is that eastern New Mexico and west Texas don't have a lot of varied or scenic landscape.

We saw a lot of farm homes:

Grain elevators:

Train tracks:

And billboards (some a tad bit political):

A Penny for my Thoughts

2011-06-22T06:43:00.000-06:00

There is a penny lying on the mat in front of the door leading from the garage into our house. It’s been there a long time. I see it every time I go inside, but my hands are usually full, and stooping down to pick it up just hasn’t been a priority for me.

That’s not always been the case. Coins have been meaningful to me, for one reason or another, at various times in my life. Here are a few random coin memories:

GRANDMA'S LETTERS
Grandma (Rose) used to tape a dime, for me, onto letters she sent to my mom and dad. Although I was only two or three years old when Grandma did this, I’ve never forgotten it. Of course, that was in the day of hand-written letters. It’s not so easy to tape a dime to an email message. Oh, for the days of opening the mailbox and finding letters and cards from friends and family, instead of a pile of junk mail and bills!

BUBBLEGUM-BUBBLE REWARD
Speaking of Grandma, she was also the one, when I was four years old, who told me she would give me a silver dollar if I ever blew a bubblegum-bubble as big as my head. I worked on that for what seemed like months (probably wasn’t that long, in reality). I finally did blow a pretty big bubble and, although it certainly wasn’t as big as my head, Grandma, being Grandma, awarded me the silver dollar.

COINS FOR ICE CREAM
I can’t remember the details or the reason, but for a brief time one summer, when I was about five years old, we lived with my Great Aunt Agnes in Hillsboro, Oregon (what a jewel she was!). My older second-cousin, Don, lived close by and spent a lot of time with me that summer. Every afternoon the ice-cream man would come by on his little motorized cart. He charged ten cents for any of his confections – Nutty Buddies, Creamsicles, Eskimo Pies and Fudgesicles. We could hear his tinkly music from several blocks away, which always gave us time to run inside and ask Aunt Agnes for ice cream money. She had one of those little coin pouches, with the little metal clasp that you twisted apart. She would dig in there and count out ten cents for Don and ten cents for me. Sometimes we were given a dime, sometimes two nickels, sometimes a nickel and five pennies. But she always found a way to put ten cents in each of our little fists. Though I’ve eaten a hundred or more ice cream bars since that summer – some of them “premium” brands – none ever tasted as good as those bought with Aunt Agnes’ coins.

MOM-AND-ME NIGHTS
When we lived in the apartment over our first bakery on South Franklin Street, Friday nights were a special time for my mom and me. Thinking about it now, I suppose Mom prepared a bank deposit every night, from the money in the bakery till. But on Friday I got to stay up late and help her with it. I remember, as if I had just seen them yesterday, the TV tables that sat, folded up, in their holder in our living room. On Friday nights I’d pull out and set-up two of them, one for me and one for Mom. She would put the paper money on her tray, and pour out the coins onto mine. It was my job to stack the coins into precisely-counted-out piles and roll them up in the paper rollers that we got from the bank. Fifty pennies (50 cents) went into the red rollers; forty nickels ($2) in the blue rollers; fifty dimes ($5.00) in the green rollers; forty quarters ($10.00) in the orange rollers; and twenty half-dollars ($10.00) in brown rollers. (Half dollars were still common, back then, and they had Benjamin Franklin’s head on them, not JFK’s. Silver dollars also showed up in our till, frequently, but they did not go to the bank. They went into Mom’s personal stash. Over the years, she bought special things with those silver dollars, including some nice pieces of furniture.) When we had finished preparing the bank deposit, Mom would send me across the street to buy two bottles of Coca Cola, while she dipped up some vanilla ice cream, from downstairs in the bakery, into two tall glasses. Mmmm - Friday night Coke floats!

PENNY COLLECTION
At some point in junior high, I started collecting pennies. I bought one of those penny folders and, on occasion, would sort through the bakery till, at the end of the day, looking for pennies I needed. I still have that blue penny folder, and it’s pretty much complete, I think. I even have some of those (1943?) war-time zinc-coated-steel pennies, which we never see in circulation anymore.

SHINY COINS
Do you remember my blog about the dentist who used to give me mercury to play with? One of my favorite things to do (KIDS, DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME) was to rub a bead of mercury onto a coin. It would adhere to and dissolve onto the metal and turn it the most brilliant silver color.

A PENNY SNACK
I remember when 4-year-old Chris came in the house, one day, after playing with the neighbor boy, his eyes as big as saucers and a mixture of guilt and fear all over his dirty little face (they had been playing with Tonka trucks out in the empty lot between our houses). “Mama, I swallowed a penny!” he confessed. “What?!! Why?!! How?!!” I cried, dashing over to him. “Tim [the neighbor boy, not our Tim] dared me to swallow it, and I did,” he cried. I called the doctor – “Not to worry. As long as he’s breathing fine, this too shall pass! It happens all the time.” [Let’s just hope they don't swallow any of those coins I coated in mercury back in the day!]

Enough of the coin stories. I got a little carried away, I realize. I think I’m going to go pick up that penny on the mat in the garage. And I need to write a note to Clara, and one to Robert, and tape a couple dimes to them. (Robert, don’t SWALLOW the dime!)

Remembering June 15, 1969

2011-06-15T06:30:00.001-06:00

It was Sunday. In fact, it was Father’s Day. But this Father's Day my Dad did the giving. He gave away his daughter.

It was unusual timing for a wedding. We all went to the morning worship service, then left to get ready for our afternoon wedding ceremony. While we were getting dressed and primped for the wedding, many of our dear friends stayed at the church building to decorate and set-up for the wedding and reception.

Our wedding was simple. We each had only one attendant. My bride’s maid was my very best childhood friend, Shelley. Dan’s best man was his Uncle Wiley. We had two pretty little flower girls and an adorable ring bearer.

Those were the days when a wedding didn’t require a lot of money. It was not the custom to have a meal catered; a wedding cake, mints, nuts and fruit punch was all that was ever expected! The church fellowship hall served nicely as the reception venue. There were no facilities-fees for using the church building. No one had even heard of a wedding coordinator. We did hire a photographer and we did purchase some corsages, a bride’s bouquet, and a couple of flower arrangements. All in all, our wedding probably cost about $600, but $300 of that was for my wedding dress, which I paid for, myself, through the sale of my fox-fur parka, which I wouldn't need, living in Texas.

After the wedding and reception, Dan and I left for the airport, to catch our plane to Seattle, where we would spend our first night together. Typical of travel in Alaska, our flight was canceled; as I recall the plane had mechanical problems. But we were able to get on the evening flight, which still put us into Seattle that night.

Our honeymoon involved driving from Seattle, Washington, to Abilene, Texas, in time for me to start summer school. We drove down the Oregon coast; through Death Valley, to Las Vegas; to the Grand Canyon of Arizona; and on to Texas. We were traveling in our 1968 Mustang, with NO air conditioning. That trip through the Mojave Desert was a killer!

The wedding ceremony was simple – even plain – by today’s standards; but the vows were made and taken seriously. Forty-two years later, we’re still committed to them and to each other.

Happy 42nd anniversary to my husband, my friend, my partner in life’s decisions, my comforter in difficult times, the father of my sons, the grandpa of my grandchildren, my spiritual encourager, my protector and care-giver, my provider, the one who shares my dreams, the man who multiplies my joys and divides my sorrows.

Here are some lyrics I heard recently, from a bluesy-jazz number, first released in 1941, recorded dozens of times since, and still being recorded today. I think the words tell our story well:

In this world of ordinary people
Extraordinary people
I'm glad there is you

In this world of over-rated pleasures
Of under-rated treasures
I'm so glad there is you

I live to love, I love to live with you beside me
This role so new, I'll muddle through with you to guide me

In this world where many, many play at love
And hardly any stay in love
I'm glad there is you

More than ever, I'm glad there is you

("I'm Glad There Is You," Paul Madeira & Jimmy Dorsey)

Here's a YouTube recording of Johnny Mathis singling I'm Glad There Is You. It has a prelude to it, so you have to listen awhile to get to the main lyrics. Johnny Mathis has always been one of Dan's and my favorite artists. We loved listening to him in that '68 Mustang, on our 8-Track player!

Happy Birthday Dear Mom!

2011-06-11T20:00:00.004-06:00

Today is Mom's 85th birthday, and she's a YOUNG 85, for sure! I just talked with her on the phone, and she had a nice day. She went out to dinner with friends, Pat and Gloria, and then went to their home for cake and ice cream. Her friend, Ursula, was there as well. Ursula brought the cake, and Pat and Gloria supplied the ice cream. After that little celebration, Mom went home, cut the remaining cake up in pieces and delivered cake to all of her neighbors.

The blog I posted just before this is a little history of Clark's Bakery that Mom wrote. I think she did a nice job on it, and, so, want to share it here. Be sure to look for it below!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! May God bless you in the coming year.
Love,
Linda

Clark's Bakery History, by Margaret Clark

2011-06-11T19:57:00.002-06:00

My mom wrote this narrative about our family's bakery, in response to a request from someone in Juneau.

------------------------------

In June 1957 Bob Clark, his wife Margaret, and Daughter Linda flew to Juneau to venture into a new life of running a bakery, and living in Alaska. Margaret’s Father and Mother had started Ivan’s Bakery in a little Quonset hut down under the Douglas bridge. By the time our family got there, they had moved into an old building located in the heart of the city on Franklin Street.

Because Margaret’s father, Ivan had serious eye problems, he wanted to go to Seattle for surgery, and to not return to the bakery. He wanted Bob to buy and run the bakery. That was a nice offer, but Bob had no money with which to buy the shop. They made a verbal contract for Bob to work for a year, drawing no pay, and that would go for his down payment on the bakery. Margaret had started a job with Northern Commercial Company, and was getting a whopping $350 a month. They had left Salem, Oregon, leaving their house with a renter, and leaving their first new car parked, so there were debts to meet each month in Oregon. When Bob agreed to go to Juneau, the plan was for him to work a year for Ivan and then Bob and his family would go back to Oregon. Now, things changed quickly when the offer to buy the shop was on the table.

The Clark family moved into a tiny apartment which was located up over the Madsen’s Fishing Supply Company. The rent was $100 a month. It had only one bedroom, so Linda would go to bed in the bedroom, and soon her Dad would also go to bed because he was up at 4 a.m. to go to work. He had no car, so had to walk to work. When it was time for Margaret to go to bed, the davenport was made into a bed, and she would carry Linda out to that bed for the rest of the night. It was hard living, and we did not even have a hamburger out for an entire year, because money was scarce.

After a year of frugal living, it was time for Bob to take over the shop, and for Ivan to leave town for adventures of his own. The money was still not enough to buy the shop, and one day one of the local salesmen came into the shop and heard the story. He told Bob to take off his apron and come with him. Down the street they went to the 1st National Bank. The salesman co-signed for Bob to get the money he needed to buy the shop. What a blessing this was.

It was very humorous because at the end of the first day there was still no money in the bank, and Bob would take whatever money was in the cash register to go over to the Dock and get a sack of flour, and a sack of sugar to be open for business the next day. That went on for quite awhile before Bob had his feet on the ground and could afford to charge things that were needed.

This bakery building housed Ivan’s Bakery for about 5 years, before Sim McKinnon, who owned the building, decided to sell it. Bob’s and his family lived upstairs over that little building, so this was a major upset. The old building had been a House of Ill Repute in days past, and was not the best place to live, but it was good to be right on the site of the bakery. Margaret continued to work for North Commercial, for Elwyn Pym, hurrying home at the end of each day to help close up the shop, clean the cases etc. She also got up early enough to fry and glaze the donuts before she went to work at her other job.

Soon Nick Bavard, whose grocery store was across the street from the Bakery, decided that he wanted to rent the old store building. Bob took that project on, making many alterations in the old grocery so that the bakery could be housed there . Friends would come every evening and help us paint, lay floors, and do whatever was needed that day. Margaret’s brother, Ivan Womack was always there to help too.

This was a lovely big shop with a counter with about 12 stools where hamburgers or other sandwiches were served. Of course many came in just to eat some of the delicious Danish Pastry or donuts that Bob always provided. That building was located on the edge of the alley next to George’s Gift Shop. When Bob moved the business across the street, South Franklin Street was closed for most of the day while the moving company rolled his huge oven across the street. They took out the big windows to bring it into the building. Now the bakery became Clark’s Bakery and Coffee Bar.

Soon a second oven was added to that business as it grew too big for one oven to handle. It was a hard job because Bob cold find no one qualified to work for him. Bakers were not plentiful in Juneau.

After another 5 years, Nick Bavard decided to sell the building in which the bakery was housed. At that time there was a Spudnut Shop located just about 4 doors from us, and he was going to close his business, so Bob purchased that business, and moved his bakery/lunch counter to that location. This meant another huge move, and another remodeling job.

After moving in there, the business continued to be successful until about 1967 when the opportunity to sell it to a young man who had been in Juneau to work for Bob in previous years. He ran the business for awhile before moving it to the Foodland shopping area.

Reading Log, December 2010 through May 2011

2011-06-07T21:58:00.006-06:00

My reading has been chaotic the last few months. I've read everything from sci-fi, non-fiction, mystery, to detective and literary fiction. I've read old and new. I've read long and short.

The Multiplex Man, James P. Hogan
This sci-fi novel has an Orwellian 1984 feel to it. Government, in the name of environmental control, has gone off the deep end. Personal freedoms have vanished, and scientific technology has made possible the impossible. The main character, Richard Jarrow, wakes one day to find he has lost all memory of the past six months and is living in someone else’s body. Through an amazing number of twists and turns, culminating in a surprise ending, the mystery is solved.

Admittedly, I’m not a sci-fi fan, and this is the only Hogan book I’ve read. I can say is that the story did keep me turning pages and curious to the very end. I would probably give Hogan another try in one of those rare moments when I decide to read another sci-fi book.

These Things Hidden, Heather Gudenkauf
I chose this book because I so enjoyed The Weight of Silence, by the same author. I was disappointed in this one, however. The book was dark and lacked the redeeming themes of hope and love found in The Weight of Silence.

The book revolves around the lives of four women, all connected in unique ways to a small child named Joshua. Although I usually enjoy a story revealed from various voices and perspectives, I found this particular novel to be disjointed and lacking flow. The surprising revelation found near the end of the novel, which depended upon the coming-together of the four women felt, to me, contrived rather than simply coincidental.

Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal, Conor Grennan
It’s nice to read a biographical book where both the author and those he touched had such life-changing experiences. Conor Grennan set off on a round-the-world journey of fun and adventure. Along the way, he planned a brief volunteer stop at The Little Princes Children’s Home, in Nepal. Admittedly, this mission was more to impress others than it was altruistic. But his time at Little Princes changed his heart and the course of his life. This book and the author, himself, deserve a “thumbs up.”

Rex: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed Their Lives, Cathleen Lewis
This is the story of Rex, an autistic musical savant, as told by his mother. Rex is truly a remarkable individual, and the story is interesting. I would, however, have preferred more details about Rex and his journey and less about his mother’s personal emotions and thoughts. None the less, the reader has to give credit to the amazing perseverance demonstrated by his mother, the author, Cathleen Lewis. I do think that this would be an especially encouraging read for any parent dealing with a child with special needs.

Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Jacob Jankoski, the main character of this novel, leaves school before sitting for the exam to become a certified veterinarian, when his parents are tragically killed in an accident. He is left homeless and penniless, and is grateful to be hired on by a traveling circus as their vet (even without his papers). I loved how the author took the reader back and forth between Jacob’s circus days and his senior years, living in an assisted care facility.

This book is a life story, a love story, a story of overcoming, and a story of insight into the frustrations of aging. I won’t spoil the ending, but I can tell you that it left me with a big smile on my face.

I understand Water for Elephants has been made into a movie, but I’m not sure I want to see it. I can’t imagine how the movie could do a better job than the book of telling the story. Why risk being disappointed?

The Lincoln Lawyer: A Novel, Michael Connelly
If you like lawyer novels, this one is worth your time. Don’t let the title fool you, though; it has nothing to do with Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln in the title refers to the Lincoln town car the main character, Mick Haller, uses as his transportation and traveling office.

In this story, Haller, a defense attorney, finds himself in an almost impossibly complex set of circumstances that test his ethics and put his life, and the lives of friends and family, on the line.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, F. Scott Fitzgerald
I know. This short story is a classic. They even made a movie out of it. But I found it disappointing. Firtgerald’s character, Benjamin Button, is born a doddering old man and begins growing younger from that day forward, until, decades later, he becomes a helpless infant. Although the plot has potential, I felt that the characters, most notably Benjamin, himself, were flat. They didn’t inspire any emotional connection with me, as the reader, and I have to admit to being a bit bored as I read through the story.

Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
The story opens in 1952, when Kathy, Ruth and Tommy are students, and have been since their earliest years, at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic country boarding school. Their relationship as young adults, after leaving Hailsham, remains entwined, but fraught with emotional drama. Throughout the book, the Hailsham students make references to their destiny and speak using obscure terms, leaving the reader unsure and searching for clues to their fate.

As the story progresses, the reader gradually comes to a chilling realization. This novel is both depressing and thought-provoking. I still don't know how I feel about this book. It's still very fresh in my mind. Maybe after some time, I'll be able to make a determination. For now -- it gets neither a thumbs-up nor a thumbs-down from me.

This Evening's Sun

2011-06-07T19:28:00.003-06:00

This will be the last one. I promise. But the sun was even more RED than last evening. (The blurry dark area at the bottom is the top of our backyard fence.)

Cough Cough Cough

2011-06-06T19:41:00.005-06:00

For the past four days, Albuquerque has been smothered in a thick blanket of smoke, coming from the massive Arizona fires near the AZ/NM border. Around noon today I was hopeful, as it began to clear, and we saw blue sky. But this evening, when the wind picked up again, it became worse than ever.

Dan and I are fortunate to have air conditioning, which filters most of the smoke from the air we are breathing indoors. The majority of houses in Albuquerque are cooled with evaporative coolers (known colloquially as "swamp coolers). There have been continuous radio announcements telling folks NOT to use swamp coolers, as they will just fill their homes with the smoky air. The high temperatures have been in the nineties lately, so that's a major concern for those people. I really don't know how people with chronic respiratory problems are making it, since even those of us with healthy lungs are coughing.

Here's a picture of the sun, filtered by the smoke this evening, taken from our back yard. It looks like a red rubber ball.

That red sunlight causes everything to have an orange cast. This is what it looked like looking north from our back door (no Photoshop color enhancement on any of these photos).

And here is a photo of Sandia Peak, from our deck. Believe me, there is a big mountain behind that smoke!

Here's a picture sans-smoke, taken on an earlier date from about the same perspective as the one above.

Daring Bakers' May Challenge - Chocolate Marquise on Meringue

2011-05-27T01:00:00.009-06:00

The May 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Emma of CookCraftGrow and Jenny of Purple House Dirt. They chose to challenge everyone to make a Chocolate Marquise. The inspiration for this recipe comes from a dessert they prepared at a restaurant in Seattle. (Recipe HERE.)

This dessert has four components to it -- the chocolate marquise, the caramel sauce, the spiced/candied nuts and the meringue. I made each of the ingredients on a different day.

CHOCOLATE MARQUISE
The chocolate marquise is actually a frozen mousse. But when it's time to plate and serve the dessert, the frozen marquise is cut into serving sizes and rolled in powdered Dutch cocoa. After placing the frozen, dusted marquise on top of the meringue, drizzling with caramel sauce and decorating with a few spiced nuts, the dessert is left out so that the frozen marquise can thaw. It turns into a soft, creamy mouse, but holds its shape.

CARAMEL SAUCE
The caramel sauce was supposed to be flavored with tequila, but I omitted that and added extra vanilla.

SPICED NUTS
And now for my "true confessions." It took me three tries to succeed in preparing the spiced nuts. The original recipe called for almonds, but I opted for pecans.

Attempt #1 went into the trash after the nuts and the coating burned to a puffy black mass in far less time than the recipe called for. I decided that the problem occurred because I left too much of the sticky batter on the nuts.

No problem! For attempt #2 I drained the nuts after dipping them in the egg white/sugar/spice combination, and kept them well-separated from each other. I also lowered the oven temperature. They looked perfect as I placed the pan into the oven. As they began to roast, I started putting away the ingredients -- sugar, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and . . . WHAT? CHINESE FIVE SPICE!!!??? That was supposed to be CINNAMON! I knew better than to taste the nuts coated with this bizarre combination, so batch #2 promptly joined batch #1 in the trash. (Do you know how much pecans cost?!)

I didn't have it in me to try batch #3 that same day, so waited until the weekend. I even pulled a new recipe from the internet, and prepared my few remaining pecans for roasting in the oven. They turned out beautiful and delicious. At last. I guess it's true, what they say about the third try being a charm.

MERINGUE
The meringue was made a bit differently from any I've made before. The egg whites and sugar were cooked over a double boiler, just until all of the sugar was dissolved and the egg whites began to thicken. How did you know that all of the sugar was dissolved, you may ask. Easy . . . the recipe requires that you continuously stir the mixture with your fingers, feeling for grains of sugar! I was afraid I might burn myself, but came out unscathed. This hot egg white mixture is then beaten, like regular meringue. It makes a silkier, smoother, and, I think, lighter version of meringue. The meringue was supposed to be lightly browned using a kitchen torch, but I don't have one, so simply used a long-handled fireplace lighter.

Our neighbors and their grown son, who had joined them for dinner that evening, came over to sample the completed dessert. I was the only one who couldn't eat the entire serving. It was just too rich for me. And the chocolate was too intense. But Dan and our neighbors all raved over it, so I'm calling it as a success.

More Zoo Animals

2011-05-21T14:29:00.009-06:00

Dan and I took a little time today to go to the zoo (AGAIN, for me). We have season passes, so it doesn't cost anything for us to stop by for a visit, and I tend to do it a lot; Dan, not so often.

Today I camped, with my camera, near the giraffes and the elephants. Aren't giraffes beautiful animals? I love their eyes.

The giraffe in the background of this photo, below, is the baby, born in May 2009. He's getting tall, isn't he?

I hadn't seen Daizy, our baby elephant, since she was a newborn. She's going on two years old now. In the first two pictures, you can see Rozie, Daizy's mother on the right. I'm not positive, but I think that the elephant on the left is Albert, Daizy's father. Don't you see a family resemblance? :-)

When I first arrived, they were playing in the water.

After the water play, a little dirt bath seemed in order, apparently!

A Few Ten-Second Rants

2011-05-19T13:15:00.000-06:00

Call me grumpy Today. That's okay. Every now and then it just feels good to stomp my foot and holler (figuratively) about a few things:

Parents who consistently bribe their misbehaving child into compliance (or silence). Isn't this just rewarding the bad behavior? The child's thought process must be something like this: Whenever I do something naughty, especially in public, Mommy will give me a cookie!

People who text while driving. So scary!

Fast food employees who wait until you’ve placed your order and driven to the first drive-through window, to pay, to tell you that their credit card machine is down this morning – cash only. I never carry cash, so have to drive off, leaving my Egg McMuffin sitting at window #2.

Scoundrels who hack your Facebook and/or email accounts and use your identity to send fictitious emails to everyone in your address book. I’m still a bit touchy about this one!

Realtors who make an appointment to show your house, and then don’t come.

People who toss cigarettes out their car windows. Don’t they realize this is littering? And don’t they know it’s a fire hazard, here in drought-stricken New Mexico?

Hair stylists who look at a photo you’ve brought in and send you out the door with a completely different “do.” I’ve even had them tell me, “Oh, you don’t want that.”

Hanging Out With the Polar Bears

2011-05-17T16:55:00.002-06:00

I stopped at the zoo on my way home from work today, but didn't get much beyond my favorites, the polar bears.

Dentists - A Love/Hate Relationship

2011-05-12T09:50:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I finally completed the lengthy dental process, which started in early December when I lost a crown from a tooth that had had a root canal many years ago. Because the titanium post had broken, the tooth could not be saved, so had to be extracted. It was not a front tooth, but was far enough forward to be visible when I talked or smiled. The dentist recommended an implant (my second one, by the way).

Tooth implants are marvelous . . . and marvelously expensive! They involve the extraction of the tooth, the installation of the implant, six to eight weeks of healing, the creation of an abutment to hold a crown, and the placement of the permanent crown. For me, this process spanned five months.

Sometimes I think I’ve spent more time (and money) in a dentist’s chair, in my lifetime, than anyone else on the planet. Probably not, but, as some say, “Perception is everything.”

I still have nightmares about the dentist I went to as a child in Juneau. He used a jack hammer for a drill, and his assistant was trained in torture techniques. She used to slap my hand if I grabbed onto the arm of the chair too tightly. I know that my fear of the dentist stems from those days I spent in that stuffy little office.

As I grew older, dentists became gentler, their drills became faster and less jarring, techniques became more high-tech, and the anesthetic become more effective and easier to deliver. I still get a little knot in my stomach when I have a dentist appointment, but nothing like I used to. The fact is, in recent years I’ve had some of the most considerate, capable and gentle dentists I could hope for.

I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like, had I lived centuries ago, when the only resolution for a toothache was to liquor-up the patient and pry the tooth out. I’d hardly have a tooth left in my mouth, and I might have died, any number of times, from complications due to abscesses. I haven’t had many serious health issues, thank the good Lord, but my Achilles heel is in my mouth (talk about putting your foot in your mouth!). What a blessing that I live in this modern age, when dentists can work their wonders.

Thank you, Drs. Roholt and Cook, who cooperated in this successful and non-traumatic implant procedure.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T18:23:00.008-06:00

Last Sunday afaternoon Dan said, "Let's go down and see your Mom for Mother's Day." It sounded like a great idea to me, so we started making plans to do just that. But by Wednesday it was clear that Dan had come down with a doozy of a cold. We still held out hope that he could go to Carlsbad on Saturday, but he got progressively worse. By Saturday he had lost his voice entirely and was not feeling up to the trip. So I packed my bag and headed Mom's direction myself.

I got there Saturday afternoon - it's about a 5-hour trip down - and took her to her favorite Mexican restaurant, in Artesia, for dinner that night. It was great food, and we had a good time together. When we got home we stayed up until midnight talking. I went with her to Bible class and worship this morning, then hit the road again to return home.

It was a very brief visit, but we made the most of it, and I'm really glad I went.

About half-way between Albuquerque and Carlsbad lies Roswell. I always get a kick out of the Roswell UFO mystique. The downtown plays up that 1947 UFO crash to the hilt. This time through town I stopped for about five minutes and snapped a few alien shots. This first picture I took through the window of a shop. Hanging there is an old, water-stained copy of the Roswell newspaper, from the day of that famous and controversial event. I enlarged the date, from the banner of the paper, and inserted it at the bottom-right because that date -- July 8, 1947 -- is ALSO the day that Dan was born! Speculate all you want on any possible connection!

Here are just a few more shots -- just for the fun of it -- of a few of the aliens that seem to peek around every corner of downtown Roswell.

Early Morning Email

2011-05-06T06:45:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning and checked my email. There was a message from Takashi saying he and his bride, Yoko, will be coming to see us in August! Needless to say, we are happy and excited to see him again and to meet his bride of about one year, Yoko.

We may still be in our house, trying to sell it. We may have sold it and be packing to move out. We may already be out and living in a small apartment. But none of that will matter. It’ll just be great to see them, whatever our situation.

Takashi has come back to America to visit us a number of times since his exchange year. The first two times were in Oregon, and once again in Juneau. Now, for his fourth visit, he’s coming to see us in New Mexico – just in time, since a Texas move is on our radar.

Takashi’s first visit was a real surprise. You can read about it HERE. His third visit, to Juneau, was a little disappointing for him, because he had planned to do lots of sightseeing and outdoor adventures, but it was October, and the heavy, cold, windy rains had begun. Most of the tourist activities had closed for the season. He ended up hardly even catching a glimpse of the tops of the mountains or of any of the awesome scenery there. It was all shrouded in Juneau’s famous heavy, thick, low-hanging clouds, and the rain never did let up.

That kind of weather shouldn’t be a problem this time, but our guests should be prepared for HEAT at that time of year. I hope we can take them on a few day-trips out of the city, to see some of the beauty of New Mexico.

Robert's Book

2011-05-03T20:09:00.004-06:00

I've finally completed Robert's book about his great-grandpa, my Dad.

To view it:

1. Go to http://www.viovio.com/shop/96602
2. Click on "Flip Preview" (below the cover image)
3. Click on a page that you have finished viewing to turn to the next page

One Ringy-Dingy . . .

2011-04-28T12:30:00.012-06:00

When I pulled my iPhone out of my purse, the other day, I saw that I had missed a call, a few minutes earlier, from my friend, Tina. Better call her back, to see if it was something important. Two finger taps later, I was ringing Tina's number, which was stored in my Contacts list. While I was talking with her, I heard a “ting-ting,” which alerted me to the fact that someone (Tim, as it turned out) had texted me. And all of this happened while I was out shopping.

I know cell phone technology has been around awhile, and that my kids hardly remember a time when it wasn’t, but to me it is still amazing.

When I was a child in Portland, we had the standard black rotary phone. It was on a party line, so we had to listen to the pattern of the ring to know if it was a call for us or not. It was, of course, considered rude to listen in on another party's conversation. If we accidentally picked up the phone and heard talking, we were supposed to hang up promptly, to give the other party privacy. Of course, whether you were granted the same consideration all depended on who you shared that line with.

From Oregon, we moved to Alaska, and took a step backward in telephone technology. It was 1957, and Juneau didn’t yet have rotary dials. In place of a dial, a solid black disk was attached to the front of the phone. To call someone we had to lift the receiver, wait for the operator to answer, and then give her (it was always a “her”) the telephone number, which was a color+3-digit-number, such as “Blue 357.” The operator would ring the other party and make the connection once they answered. It wasn’t too long after our arrival that Juneau made the big move to dial phones, and caught up to the technology we had known back in Portland.

"Is this the party to whom I am speaking?" (Lily Tomlin, Laugh-In)

Long distance calls were expensive and rare, usually made only in times of emergency, such as dire illness or death; or in times of celebration, such as the arrival of a new baby. Even though we now had dials on our phones, long distance calls still required the assistance of an operator. Often the trunk lines were busy, so the operator would take our information and call us back when a trunk line became available. On holidays, the wait could be quite long.

To illustrate the rarity of long distance calls, here is a copy of a newspaper article, that ran in my Texas pen pal's hometown newspaper, telling about the phone call she (Ruby Nell) and I planned, executed and paid for ourselves. You'll need to click on it to enlarge and read it. Quite newsworthy, don’t you think?

But what happened if we received a call, back then, and we weren’t home? The answer, of course, is “nothing.” Nothing, at all, happened. The caller hung up and tried again later. There was no way to leave a message, no way to text, and no way to talk with me while I was shopping. (Shopping in Juneau in 1957 just might deserve its own blog.)

As a Juneau school kid – third grade through twelfth – I survived without being constantly tethered, by phone, to my mom and dad. If I got sick or hurt at school, I went to the nurse’s office, and she called my mom. If I forgot my homework or my lunch, too bad! That wasn’t considered an emergency, so I couldn’t use the office phone; we learned quickly NOT to forget our homework or lunch. If my plans changed, and I wanted to go to a friend’s house after school, I waited until school was out and used a pay phone, down the street at Juneau Dairy (where I also bought a Fudgesickle, if I had enough change after placing the phone call) to call Mom and ask permission. Knowing nothing else, we didn't consider this an inconvenience.

So, returning to the 21st century . . . I love my iPhone. I keep my calendar current on it, I have friends’ contact information with me at all times, I can access the internet, I can play games, I can take pictures and even videos, I can store and show-off photos, I can send and receive email or text messages, I can read books and listen to music! It’s almost magical to me, to be honest - very "Star Trek-y." But there was something sweet and simple about the days before rotary dials, answering machines, and cell phones, and I’m glad I have those memories.

Excuse me. Someone's calling.

Daring Bakers' April Challenge - Maple Mousse in an Edible Container

2011-04-27T00:01:00.002-06:00

The April 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Evelyne of the blog Cheap Ethnic Eatz. Evelyne chose to challenge everyone to make a maple mousse in an edible container. Prizes are being awarded to the most creative edible container and filling, so vote on your favorite from April 27th to May 27th at http://thedaringkitchen.com!

(Recipe HERE)

Of course, the main ingredient in this month's recipe was beautiful, sweet, pure maple syrup.

For the edible container, I chose to bake tuiles and form them into a bowl shape by draping them over a plastic cup. We had free rein when it came to this part of the challenge.

The mousse, itself, was easy to make, and didn't take a lot of time. It was just about the sweetest, richest thing I've ever tasted! In fact, it was a bit too rich for my taste, although Dan liked it a lot.

To top the dessert, I baked some meringues to a golden brown and let them firm up in the oven after turning it off.

Here is the finished product -- maple mousse in an edible container, topped with a lightly browned meringue dollop.

. . . GO!

2011-04-22T14:50:00.002-06:00

Listing began today :-)

Ready . . . Set . . .

2011-04-21T15:53:00.007-06:00

We've cleaned out closets, organized cupboards, moved extra furniture and items to storage, added a little color here and there, rearranged furniture, taken down "personal photos" and replaced them with generic artwork, touched up paint, restained the deck, swept out the garage and myriad other minor tasks; and now our house is READY and SET to GO on the market. It's as good as it's going to get. Bring on those buyers!

Empty House

2011-04-10T07:04:00.004-06:00

Chris and Kelsey arrived at the Albuquerque Sunport, on Wednesday night, around 11:00 p.m. Clara managed to stay awake the entire evening, and was there, with Dan, to greet her mommy and daddy as they came through the security gate. She was so excited!

Chris and Kelsey stayed with us Thursday and Friday, and left on Saturday morning, with the children. Sadly, Kelsey was suffering with a jet-lag headache the entire time, and Chris had a cold. Robert was not yet back to his normal cheerful self, either, having on-again, off-again symptoms. I felt so bad for them all, knowing that the best medicine for them would be to be back home in their own beds!

On Friday evening we all felt sufficiently okay to go out to dinner for a belated birthday celebration for Chris. Tim joined us at Lone Star, and we came home, afterward, for strawberry shortcake.

I heard from Kelsey this morning, and she said that Chris is not doing well. He's come down with a few more symptoms. Not a good way to end this adventure.

Despite a rocky finish, I think Chris and Kelsey had a successful and wonderful time in Paris, Belgium and London. Kelsey has begun posting a day-by-day log of their travels, on her blog. Be sure you visit there, to see the photos and read about their vacation (see link to her blog to the right - "Judd Stuff").

And now, Grandpa and I are home alone, in a very quiet house. We'll miss those little sweethearts, for sure. This experience has given us more incentive to get our house sold and get on with our plans to move closer.

Late Night

2011-04-06T20:42:00.004-06:00

Originally Chris and Kelsey were due into Albuquerque at about 6:45 tonight, but because their connection in Houston was very tight, they opted to take a later flight . . . and then it was delayed. Right now it appears they won't be getting in until more like 11:00 p.m. They will have been enroute for 24 hours! Of course, Clara really wants to go to the airport to see them, so she's trying to stay awake. Robert is in bed, so Dan will drive to the airport, and I'll stay home.

This was our last day "flying solo" with the kids. It's been so much fun, and so much hard work! I forgot how busy a mom of little ones really is. So busy that when I broke a fingernail early the other morning, I didn't find a minute to trim it until they were both in bed for the night. So busy that I forgot to eat both breakfast and lunch most days. So busy that I found it nearly impossible to cook a decent dinner in the evenings; we bought a lot of take-out ;-) And so tired at the end of the day that I not only didn't need to read to fall asleep; I couldn't read because I was too tired to keep my eyes open!

Today, Robert was nearly back to his normal, spunky self. I'm so glad he recovered before his mama and daddy got back. They'll be able to enjoy him rather than worry about him.

A couple days ago Clara found an orange juicer in one of my kitchen drawers and wanted to know what it was. So today I let her squeeze an orange and make juice for her breakfast. She had fun juicing the orange, but wasn't too keen on drinking the juice. I had to laugh when she told me, "I don't like the orange stuff in it."

After naps we went to the duck pond, not far from our house, and fed them. Clara had a great time feeding the ducks, and Robert really liked watching them. He sat on a bench to watch, and a couple of them came right up to him, but he wasn't afraid. He just kept saying, "Duck. Duck. Duck."

Girls' Night Out

2011-04-05T19:01:00.010-06:00

While we were eating breakfast, Clara spied a hot air balloon just back of our house. She was so excited. We saw a few the other morning, but they were in the distance. This one ended up coming almost over our house, which was a thrill for her.Although Robert isn't yet in A-One condition, I thought we could all use a little fresh air and change of scenery. It was sunny and warm, so we went to the neighborhood park for about a half hour.

After Dan got home, Clara and I had our Girls' Night Out. She had been counting down the days to this anticipated event!

We started by going to a nail salon and getting her a manicure. I had this vision of a cute little nail technician doing her nails and chatting with her, but it was a little different than that. I knew whoever we got would not speak very much English, because for some reason, here in Albuquerque, almost all nail techs are Vietnamese. But instead of a cute little gal, we got a sort of rough-looking guy! I was a wee bit leery about it, until we sat down and he started. He was very gentle with her. He told her that he was a daddy and had three little girls. And, because she was so good (and cute!), he did some complimentary nail art on both of her thumbnails. Lucky Clara!

After her nails were dry, we went to the Flying Star restaurant for dinner and a special dessert. I told her that just for tonight she didn't have to eat all of her dinner to get dessert, and that just for tonight she could have soda to drink. There's some history to this part of the Girls' Night Out. On my birthday Clara called me to say "Happy Birthday, Grandma." We talked for awhile, and I told her that Grandpa had just taken me out for a special dessert. She wanted to know what it was, and I told her it was an eclair. She didn't know what that was, so I tried to explain it to her and told her that the next time she came to visit us, I would take her out, and we would share an eclair. So that's what we did tonight, after dinner. Wow! This girl LOVES eclairs! We split it in half (it was huge), and she ate her half and part of mine. We had been joking about it all week, saying we would call it an e-clara and that mine would be an e-grandma. But tonight, she insisted we call it by its right name.

Grandma, look how full my tummy is!

Pleasant Day

2011-04-04T20:24:00.003-06:00

Robert is doing so much better. He has had no fever at all today. His appetite is still poor, but that's to be expected. He was happy and full of energy all day.

This afternoon we got a phone call from Kelsey. Clara got to talk with her, and she was really happy about that.

Clara was so good today. I know it's hard for her to be cooped up with Grandma and an under-the-weather brother. She worked on her scrapbook a little more, did some coloring and some pretending, and watched a few Blue's Clues videos. Because she was so cooperative all day, I popped some popcorn for her this evening. She got to eat it while she watched her before-bed cartoons (part of her nightly routine).

Tomorrow evening will be "Girls' Night Out," that Clara and I have been planning for several days. You'll have to wait to see what that is all about. Dan and Robert will be holding the fort down, here at home, while the two of us have some fun.

The Silver Lining

2011-04-03T22:19:00.004-06:00

You know what they say about every cloud having a silver lining. Well this craziness over the stolen email contacts is just one on-going black cloud. But the silver lining is that I've had quite a number of phone calls from friends whom I haven't talked with in a long time. Some are checking to make sure I'm not really stranded, penniless, in London. Most are calling to make sure I know about my stolen identity. To those of you who've called, thanks for caring! It's been great talking with you.

The Little Guy is a Little Better

2011-04-03T20:51:00.006-06:00

Robert woke this morning feeling a little better, but not back to normal. He had his ups and downs all day. As the day progressed, his fever came back up, so I gave him Infant Motrin. It brought his temperature down, but not for the full 6 hours between doses. When his temp was down, he was happy and playing and full of fun.

When he started getting warm again, he wanted to be held and cuddled, and he slept a lot. I called the clinic, and they told me to increase the Motrin dosage, since it was only working for about three hours. For his bedtime dose, that's what I did, so we'll see how it works. He's sleeping soundly right now, as is Clara.

Clara had a nice day. She went with Grandpa to church. She enjoyed her Bible class, and sat with our friends during worship, while Dan was preaching. Those friends have a middle-school daughter, Haley, and Clara was pretty smitten by her. After worship, Dan and Clara went to lunch with a group of friends, including Haley. When they came home, I asked Clara who she sat with. "Haley. She's nice, and she has pretty clothes!" Dan said Clara ate her entire - as in EVERY BITE - pancakes and bacon breakfast, which is what she wanted for lunch. And he said that she was good as gold the entire morning.

I asked Clara how Grandpa's preaching was. She said it was fine. I asked her what he preached about, not really expecting her to be able to tell me, but she told me that he preached about "a lost sheep and a lost coin and a lost man." Wow! I was so surprised that she heard and remembered that!

Today Clara started a scrapbook about her visit with Grandma and Grandpa. It has photographs, drawings by her, and words that she dictated to me about the pictures. On one page, she wanted to do the writing herself, and she did a nice job. She asked me to spell most words, but some of the words she knew how to spell on her own. It should be a fun little keepsake for her.

Clara continues to receive emails, most days, from her Mommy. Today the mail came from London, with pictures attached, including one of Chris and Kelsey standing outside Buckingham Palace. It appears that they are having a great time. I'm so glad they were able to make this trip together.

Some Days Are Diamonds; Some Days Are Just Plain Rocky

2011-04-02T22:40:00.004-06:00

I was up well past midnight last night, trying to get my facebook account closed, though I don't know if it will stop all of the crazy emails, phone calls, and instant messages that have been going out to my friends, falsely, in my name. Sadly, closing a Facebook account is neither quick nor easy. I've started the process, but it will be lengthy. By the way, if any of you get email from lindajudd52@yahoo.com, that is NOT my email address (sigh)!

So I was tired this morning when it was time to get rockin' and rollin' with the children. Robert, who has been a great eater since he arrived, didn't want anything for breakfast. He pushed everything away, which was surprising. As the day progressed, it became obvious that he wasn't feeling well. He even threw up a number of times :-( When we took his temperature, he wasn't running a fever, but as the day progressed, he started feeling a little warm. I got him in to the after hours pediatric clinic near our house. We saw a very nice physician's assistant. He checked Robert over -- no ear infection, no lung/breathing problems, and he was well-hydrated. He did have a low-grade fever and a red throat, and the PA suspected strep. He ran a quick-read lab culture, which proved positive for strep. Kelsey and Chris, please, please don't worry. We've got him started on Amoxacyllin, and we're anticipating a quick recovery! He should be good as new by the time you get here.

Clara is doing fine, but we'll watch her closely for any symptoms. She got to go out to breakfast with Grandpa and Uncle Tim this morning. She put down a huge pancake and bacon breakfast. I felt bad that for much of the day we were giving so much time and attention to Robert that she got cheated out of the fun Saturday that we had planned. I hope we can make it up to her as Robert improves.

Tomorrow Dan is preaching (we are currently preacherless, so Dan is taking his turns at feeding the flock) , and he will take Clara to church with him while I stay home with Robert. She'll have fun in her Bible class, I'm sure, and we have lots of terrific friends who will be happy to have her sit with them during worship, while Dan preaches. Not the way we planned it, but it's out of our control.

My Facebook Account Has Been Hacked

2011-04-02T00:10:00.002-06:00

In case you are one of my Facebook Friends, please know that I'm at home and fine. My FB account has been hijacked, and the culprit is asking my friends for money, saying I've been mugged in London and need money. DON'T SEND IT, please.

Blue's Clues and a Green Knee

2011-04-01T20:50:00.000-06:00

Until today, I've been putting off all household chores, but even Grandma has to change the sheets, do laundry, and tidy up a bit now and then. Today was that day. I decided that I'd have to resort to a morning of videos. Clara was delighted, and chose a series of Blue's Clues, from Netflix, to watch. Even Robert seemed to be interested in them, though not as fascinated as Clara.

We all enjoyed the morning. I sat and watched cartoons with them, between my chores, and answered all of Clara's many questions: "How does he jump into the picture in the book, Grandma? Why does he always make his hands go like that when the mailman comes? What is 'paprika,' Grandma?"

Robert was easy to entertain. In addition to half-heartedly watching Blue's Clues, he also played peek-a-boo with me, following me around the house and peeking around corners.

Here's a picture of Clara to show what this land of no humidity does to a little blond girl's hair.

The drama of the day came after lunch. I put Robert down for a nap, and asked Clara to take a quiet time in her bedroom. She wanted to color, and that was fine. She took her crayons and markers and a Cat in the Hat coloring book with her. She opened her door, after a few minutes, and called out that she thought the timer wasn't going to work. I went in to check on it and reassure her, but when I got there I was so surprised. She had taken a green marker and colored a big green patch on both front and back of her hand and an even bigger patch of green all up her left leg. The green had migrated to her face and the bed sheets. It seemed so out of character for her, which is why I decided it had to be a result of separation anxiety that she must be experiencing, but unable to put into words. The guilty look on her face, when I came in and saw her art work, was priceless. I was pretty easy on her, although I did put the markers up and tell her that she'll need to use them only when I'm with her, not by herself. She puddled up and promised not to do it again, but Grandma stayed firm.

These pictures were taken about 45 minutes later, just before I put her in the bathtub to scrub off the green. Judging by that face, maybe I was a little too soft on her :-)

Explora!

2011-03-31T20:52:00.003-06:00

It's not easy toting around my DSLR camera, but it's always worth it when I have a chance to capture photos of Clara and Robert. So this morning, as we headed to Explora, the children's science museum, I tucked my Nikon in, along with a diaper bag, my purse, and a bag of snacks.

Explora is a lot of fun for kids of all ages, with two floors of hands-on things to do. In fact, there's just about nothing that kids can hurt, and nothing that can hurt them, so they are free to try everything. It's like a smorgasbord of sights, sounds and feely things for kids, and they are in constant motion. Because of this, I had my hands full keeping both Clara and Robert within my reach at the same time, and that camera bouncing around and banging into things didn't help. But it was worth it, right?

NO!

Because when I went to take my first photo, I discovered I had no memory card in the camera. So all I had to take pictures with was my iPhone, and my camera was nothing but an anchor around my neck all morning. So, the photos here may not be so good, but at least they'll let Chris and Kelsey see that their little sweethearts are still doing fine, here in Albuquerque.

By the time we left, it was 12:30, and both children were hungry and tired (especially Robert) and, understandably, a little grouchy (especially Clara). None the less, I was thinking to myself how smart I was to let them run off all that energy, so that they'd both come home and take really good naps. But it backfired. Neither one settled down for a nap, or even a quiet time, this afternoon. Too much stimulation? Too tired to get to sleep? I don't know, but I think I'll go back to my previous modus operandi - staying home mornings, having lunch and naps, and then, in the afternoons, going on our outings.

A highlight of Clara's day was an email addressed to her from her Mama. She also got one yesterday. Both emails had pictures attached, yesterday's of Mama and Daddy in front of the Louvre, and today's of them in front of the Eifle Tower. I've been printing them out for her, and taping them to her bedroom door.

Visitors

2011-03-30T20:43:00.004-06:00

Uncle Tim came by tonight with his parakeets, Lady and Prince. He thought the children might like to see them, and he was right. Here are a couple pictures of Robert, getting acquainted.

This Was a REAL Daring Baker Project

2011-03-30T14:37:00.006-06:00

Some of you may have noticed that I didn't post a Daring Baker Blog on the 27th, as I should have. I was just too busy getting the house ready for selling and preparing for the grandkids. But today was a daring baker day of a different sort. Clara and I baked her favorite cookies, snickerdoodles! She did lots of the work herself:

SIFTING

STIRRING

CRACKING EGGS

ROLLING THE COOKIES IN CINNAMON SUGAR

WATCHING THEM BAKE

YUM. THEY ARE BEST DIPPED IN MILK!!!

A Quieter Day

2011-03-29T14:23:00.010-06:00

After such a busy day yesterday, we decided to be stay-at-homers, for the most part, today.

Clara wanted her picture taken in front of our pink blossoming peach tree - which is shaped more like a bush - so we dashed outside to do that this morning. I say "dashed" because once we opened the door we realized it was COLD out there! We snapped the picture and then came right back inside.

The children seem to be doing fine here at Grandma and Grandpa's, but Clara's secret feelings slipped out this morning when she and I were playing with the little dollhouse people that I have (and which have turned out to be her favorite playthings). I have quite a collection of them, and she has named each one. Left to Right in the photo below are: Nanny (wow! doesn't look a day over 15), Big Robert, Chris (Daddy), Little Robert (at his feet), Clara, Kelsey (Mama), Max/Zoe, Grandpa and Grandma (who, Clara keeps pointing out, has gray hair!). This morning the Chris- and Kelsey-dolls went on a trip, and the Clara-doll was moaning, "I miss my mommy. And I really miss my daddy." Real-Grandma just wanted to scoop Real-Clara up and hug on her awhile.

Both Robert and Clara took naps this afternoon. Afterward, I took them to Toys R Us, as I had promised Clara we would go get some new crayons and markers. While we were there I told her she could pick something else out, as well. She quickly spied a tote bag, with a pattern drawn on it, and markers to color it. She was SURE that was exactly what she wanted, so I said that was okay. Robert seemed pretty happy with a soft rubbery dinosaur (he's a dinosaur boy, for sure!). He hung onto it all the way through the store, and was unhappy when the clerk needed to see it as we were checking out.

Back home, I was really impressed with Clara's coloring skills, as she decorated her tote bag. There were also some stick-on "jewels" to make it even more stylish.

Here's a picture of her with her completed bag. She can't wait for her Mommy to see it.

So . . . the kids are doing fine! And Grandma is too, but is grateful when bedtime arrives each evening. Grandpa even beat Clara to bed tonight, after helping me with the children during dinner-preparation and clean-up. Yep, everyone is right about God's wisdom in giving little ones to young couples. But each day has been a treat, and I'm NOT complaining, because I wouldn't trade these days for anything.

Busy Busy Busy

2011-03-28T20:07:00.008-06:00

[Note to readers - although everyone is most welcome to read these blogs about the "grands," I realize that nearly two weeks of it might just get a bit tiresome. My reason for posting daily is so that Kelsey and Chris can keep tabs on what's going on here, and how the children are doing. It's Kelsey's first time to be away from the children this long - and, in fact, her first time ever to be away from Robert.]

Today was fun. The children slept through the night like troopers! This morning, after breakfast, we played with toys from Grandma's toybox. Clara had a great time making "cookies" with the PlayDoh.

And Robert built towers with blocks, just so he could knock them down.

Around 11:00 Clara was getting a little antsy to "do something." I loaded them both into the car and drove over to Dan's office. He was hoping to get to show them off to his colleagues, anyway, and this seemed as good a time as any. Of course, they were the center of attention as we paraded from office to office.

After lunch and Robert's nap, we went to the Children's Fantasy Garden, where the pumpkin house is. I had told Clara all about it . . . about how everything is really big, so it makes you feel really little ("Like Alice in Wonderland," she reminded me). She was pumped about going there, and was especially eager to see the giant vegetables and shovel and watering can . . . until we got there. She was scared, from the moment we stepped inside. Robert was enjoying everything, and even wanted to sit on one of the giant ants, after seeing some other kids playing on them.

But Clara wasn't having any of it, so I suggested we take the nearest exit and go outside, by the pond, and watch the ducks and geese. That didn't set well with her, either. She didn't want to be in the Fantasy Garden, but she didn't want to leave it either. It seemed there were going to be tears, whether we stayed or left. (Note to Grandma: Be sure activities are age-appropriate!)

We left.

The tears didn't last long.

We went to the pond, and Clara met a little girl, who was there with her mama, and the two of them fed the ducks and geese some little crackers. Robert LOVED the ducks.

It was a BIG day. Dan got home from work before we got back to the house. I fed the children their dinner, and told Dan we'd eat later. Soon after the kids had eaten Uncle Tim dropped by to see them. Clara was tickled to see him and spent almost the rest of the evening curled up in his lap. Tim read her a bedtime story before he left.

All is well, at the end of Day 2. Both children are sound asleep, and we have another day to look forward to tomorrow.

The Three Rules

2011-03-28T06:27:00.007-06:00

We had just left the airport when I heard (mis-heard) Clara say, "I have three rolls!" Hmmm, I wondered. Does she have some snacks with her, maybe for the airplane ride? So I asked her if they were in her little pink-piggy backpack. Giggling, she answered, "No, Grandma!"

Then she said, "The first one is to say, 'Yes, Grandma' and 'Yes, Grandpa' when you tell me to do something." Now I caught on. She had three RULES, not ROLLS.

"What are the other two rules?" we prompted.

"The next one is to help take care of Robert," she told us. "And the other one is . . . have FUN!"

I think we can live with those three rules! Especially the last one.

Rules don't go in backpacks, Grandma!

They're Here!

2011-03-27T20:00:00.007-06:00

Clara and Robert arrived this morning, about 10:30. They came with a good friend of Chris and Kelsey's, who is an airline employee, so flies for free. She handed them off, and hopped right back on the same plane, which was returning to Houston. What a friend! She said the children were very good on the flight.

At the gate, Clara came running, with arms open wide to smother me with hugs. Robert just looked at me with a puzzled look but was quite agreeable about getting into the stroller and going off with us.

Robert quickly fell asleep in the car on the way home, while Clara talked about anything and everything. She kept her eyes on the sky, hoping to see some balloons. I told her that the balloons usually only flew in the early morning, and that we'd try to see some while she was here.

The children were hungry when we got home, and both ate a big lunch. By now Robert had warmed up to us and was having a grand time. I decided to skip his nap, since he had slept in the car.

We spent the afternoon playing, mostly indoors, with a brief outing to the neighborhood park.

I had been warned by Kelsey that Robert wasn't a very good (or very big) eater, but he did really well at both meals today. He gobbled down the ham and carrots at dinner, but wasn't that excited about potatoes. Clara, on the other hand told me, "I LOVE your potatoes, Grandma!" And she ate everything on her plate.

Robert was amazing at bedtime. After a bath and a story book, I laid him in his bed and he was asleep in a matter of five minutes, I think.

Clara is in bed now, too, and seems to be doing fine, although she did come out, one time, to tell us "I hear noises." We talked about how different houses and different neighborhoods have different sounds sometimes, and I think she's settled down for the night now.

As I was unpacking their suitcase, I found a small smooth stone among the clothes. "What's this, Clara?" "That's to take to bed if I'm scared," she told me, very seriously. I was a tad bit puzzled, but not for long. She told me the story of a brave boy named David, and how he used a small stone to bring down a giant named Goliath. Clara's stone helps her remember that Bible story and not be afraid. How heart-warming is that?!

The adventure has begun! We have two pretty great grandkids.

Something GRAND

2011-03-22T17:06:00.003-06:00

This weekend will be the start of something grand! GrandKIDS, that is! Grandpa (Dan) and I will be hosting Clara and Robert, on our own, for ten days, or so. Although I have gone to their house to take care of Clara for a few days at a time, this will be the first time to keep the two of them, and the first time to keep them, sans parents, at our house. I hope it will be just the first of many such times, especially after we move closer to them next year.

One thing I want my grandkids to remember about me is that I always had time for them. So I have set aside all other responsibilities for these days, and plan to dedicate all of my minutes and hours to them. I foresee hours and hours of book-reading, coloring, block-building, doll-dressing, tickling, truck-driving, pretending, cookie-baking, hide-and-seeking and a few “field trips” to kid-friendly spots around town.

Isn't it GRAND?

One More Closet Treasure

2011-03-19T10:05:00.004-06:00

I was sad to see, when I pulled this photo out of a box, in the closet, that it has started to degrade, especially in the darker areas. Hopefully I have another, better preserved copy somewhere.

This picture of our three boys (including Takashi) brings back all sorts of good memories of the fun we always had, as a family, at the Oregon Coast. It was taken near the end of Takashi's year with us - spring or summer of 1989 - in Seaside, OR.

Treasures from the Closet

2011-03-18T13:05:00.008-06:00

Today I am cleaning out the guest room closet, which is where I have scads of photographs from all stages of our lives. I don't have time to sort through all of them right now, so they are going by handfuls into three plastic bins. Every now and then, though, I can't help but stop and dwell on one. Here's one that caught my eye -- my dad, my mom, and my grandma, all in their Sunday go-to-meeting attire. I don't know when it was taken, exactly, but the reflection in the windows of the trailer behind them looks like Thunderbird Terrace (Juneau), where they lived in 1969, when Dan and I got married.

Assuming this was taken around 1969, that would mean that Grandma would have been in her late 60s, which is considerably younger than my mom is, now. Wait a minute . . . that would actually make Grandma, in this picture, closer to my own current age, than to my mom's! Wow! Can that be right?

And here's another one I thought I'd post. When Chris was just five weeks old, I took him to Anchorage for a church lectureship. One morning I was in the church kitchen, helping to prepare lunch for everyone, and laid my sleeping baby in an apple box. Someone took his picture and sent it to me later. I always loved that it said, "Special Box." It certainly was special that day!

Takashi and Family

2011-03-15T17:57:00.003-06:00

I finally got word from our Japanese "son" Takashi, that he and his whole family, including his 100 year old grandmother, are fine after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. They are all in the south of Japan, so were not affected directly. Prayers have been answered!

Auf Wiedersehen, John and Betsy

2011-03-13T19:15:00.009-06:00

We, of the Northeast congregation of the Church of Christ, said farewell to our preacher, John, and his wife Betsy today. They have worked with this congregation since its beginning, 14 years ago. Although they will be sorely missed, we are excited and happy for them and the mission they are taking on. They will leave, tomorrow, for Kaiserslautern, Germany (known as "K-town") where John will preach and minister to an established English-speaking congregation of about 125 people. K-town is a military community, and John and Betsy were actually stationed there, themselves, when John was in the Army. They are perfectly suited for this work. They plan to complete a three-year commitment there, before returning to Albuquerque, to work in some capacity with the church here, again.

We said our goodbyes during a potluck meal in their honor this afternoon. The congregation presented them with two gifts. The first was one of those bluetooth digital picture frames, so we can all send photos directly to them through a dedicated email address. And the second was an amazing wreath, made, by one of our ladies, from cash donations from the congregation.

We'd appreciate your prayers as we look for a new preacher to come and work with us. Until we find and hire him, the men of the congregation will be sharing the preaching responsibilities.

It's been a hard day's night, and I've been working like a dog

2011-03-11T07:15:00.001-07:00

My blogs have been neglected lately. To those who have come here over and over, only to see nothing new, I apologize. Please don’t give up on me.

Our planned move is still nearly a year away, but because we want to put the house on the market in April, we have been working like two old dogs getting the house ready to show. Our storage unit is beginning to look less sparse, as we move boxes and bins over there. Still more to go!

On Wednesday my friend, Tina, who used to run her own business, staging houses for sale, came to help me rearrange furniture and to make suggestions for showing-off the best features of our house. From that session sprung yet another long to-do list.

Yesterday I boxed up two dozen of my milk bottles in preparation for shipping them to my friend, Cindy, in Juneau, who is going to “adopt” my collection. I have one more box of bottles to pack tonight, and then that task can be ticked off of my list.

For the past couple days, I have been busy using my nifty new receipt scanner to scan all of my receipts and other documents that need to be saved for several months to a year, so that I can shred the originals and just keep the scanned images in tidy little computer files. That is a start on cleaning up the most challenging room in our house – the office. I want to have the office completed by the middle of next week. Wish me luck on THAT one!

And here’s a follow-up on my very first Craigslist experience, as mentioned in my post below. That entertainment center, especially the center unit, is terribly heavy. It took four strong men – Dan, Tim, our friend Gary and his son, Ray – to haul the three units out of our house, into Gary’s pick-up, and, from there, into the storage unit. They did that last Saturday. On Saturday evening, around 9:30 p.m., I posted my Craigslist ad. When I got up on Sunday morning, there were two responses. One wanted more information, the other wanted to see it. I made arrangements with the second person to show her the furniture after our second worship service that afternoon (our second service runs from 2:00 to 3:00). Dan and I went to the storage unit around 4:00, and the interested party and her husband showed up, with a pick-up, trailer, and $$$ in hand, a few minutes later. They were serious buyers! The only bad part was that poor Dan had to help man-handle that monster once again, from the storage unit to their trailer. But there was no quibbling on the price, and it was sold about 18 hours after I first posted the ad. Success! I was pumped. I came home and started eyeing everything around the house. What else could I turn into cash?!! This is too easy.

First Steps

2011-03-01T22:04:00.004-07:00

This evening Dan and I moved the first load of moving boxes to our storage unit. They look so insignificant in that otherwise-empty 10x10 space! But these twelve boxes contain books - books that came from the shelves on either side of our entertainment center. Books are heavy, and loading the boxes into our little SUV, and from there into the storage unit, was a pretty big job for the two of us. (To give credit where credit is due, Dan did all the heavy lifting. I was the vehicle driver, door opener and dolly pusher.) It sure felt good when it was done!

The entertainment center is one piece of furniture that we do not intend to take with us when we move. We bought it when we had a big, heavy TV. Now that we have a flat screen, we don't need such a gigantic piece of furniture to hold it. We will be selling it on Craigslist -- our first time ever to either sell or buy using that venue.

Having the TV sitting, as it is now, on a slim sofa table, that we already had, makes our family room look bigger - which can't hurt when it comes to showing the house to prospective buyers.

Daring Bakers' February Challenge: Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies

2011-02-27T00:01:00.003-07:00

(See RECIPE HERE.)

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

I'd never heard of Panna Cotta before, but now it's one of my favorite desserts, for several reasons. First of all, it's beautiful and looks like something you'd find at a fancy restaurant or in a cruise ship dining room! Secondly, it's easy. Really, folks, it's very easy and maybe even "no fail." And, thirdly, it's delicious. The main ingredient is cream. It is sweetened with honey, and thickened just right with gelatin. It tastes similar to creme brulee (my VERY favorite dessert), but has a lighter, fresher taste, I believe. On top I poured a thin layer of home made pomegranate jelly. Yum! Pretty, tasty and easy.

To go with the Panna Cotta, we were challenged to bake a batch of Florentine Cookies. Florentines are thin, caramelized oat cookies, drizzled with chocolate. Maybe you can see, in this picture, how lacy they turned out.

I'm still laughing at my first pan of Florentine Cookies, which didn't turn out looking like cookies at all. Instead they spread and ran all together, making one giant Florentine.

But I peeled the thin mass of cookie from the Silpat liner, and used a pair of clean scissors to cut it into randomly-shaped individual cookies, which, by the way, tasted just as good as the nicely-shaped ones that came out on pans #2 and #3.

What's Keeping YOU Busy?

2011-02-24T16:30:00.004-07:00

I’ve never been a person who let myself get bored with life. In fact, I’m more likely to be faulted for going too many directions at once. I have to rein myself in, sometimes. I’m amazed at the diversity of talents and gifts that God gives to His people. Here are a half-dozen projects that are keeping me busy right now.

STAGING THE HOUSE TO SELL
Now that I’ve announced our retirement plans, I can share about our preparations. We want to put the house on the market this spring, which is not far off. Our house is, for the most part, in good shape, but some things need sprucing up (“staging” as they call it these days). I’m starting with closets and storage areas. They need to be clean, neat and pared down to just the essentials. Each week I’m setting myself a goal. The first week was our master clothes closet – and I successfully reorganized it. I even bought new hangers, so everything would be hanging on identical ones. It really made a difference! Last week I tackled two more areas – my kitchen pantry and the coat closet near the front door. This week I was hoping to organize the large bank of shelves in the laundry room, but I let a procedure with the oral surgeon, yesterday, ambush my plans. I’ll be back to it next week.

Here's a the pantry after it was tidied up.

MY TODDLERS’ BIBLE CLASS
My friend, Celia, and I share the responsibility of teaching the two- and three-year-olds on Sunday mornings. We’ve been working together for a long time, and it’s been such a delight getting to know and love her through our combined efforts. Our little class has four regulars this year, as well as occasional visitors. Each of our “little peeps” is so unique and precious. I can’t imagine NOT spending time with them each week, but it does require a lot of time to prepare the lessons.

This picture shows four little girls in Bible class -- our one little boy didn't want to get into Abraham's tent with all these girls. Don't blame him, do you? They are pretending to be the strangers who stayed to eat a meal with Abraham and Sarah. They had walked a long way and are washing their [cute little] feet. That's why all the shoes are coming off, and why there is a bowl in the foreground and a towel in one of the little one's hands.

BLOGGING – THIS BLOG AND MY PHOTO BLOG
I know that no one is forcing me to update my blogs on a regular basis, but I really enjoy both the writing and the photography, so wouldn’t want to give them up. I’ve fallen into a habit of taking Friday afternoons as “photo shoot day,” trying to find themes for the following week’s photo blog. That seems to be working for most weeks. If you're not checking my photo blog once a week or so, I hope you will.

ROBERT’S PICTURE BOOK
Believe it or not, I have Robert’s book about his Great-grandpa Robert, nearly finished. I just need to go back and proof read the text and touch up some of the art work. I probably won’t send it off to be printed until April, but the bulk of the work is done, and I’m happy with it. Once it is back from the printer, I’ll try to post the pages somewhere to share with you who remember my dad. For now, here's a sneak peek of one of the 2-page layouts.

CLARA’S AND ROBERT’S 2010 SCRAPBOOKS
Each year I do a digitally-created scrapbook for Clara, mostly using pictures that Kelsey shares with me, and a few of my own. I send them to viovio.com to be printed. Last year I took on the creation of one for Robert, as well.

I picked out two spreads, one from Clara's 2010 book and one from Robert's, to display here.

From Clara's:

From Robert's:

I've been surprised at how difficult it has been to complete two separate annual scrapbooks. I have Robert’s 98% done, but Clara’s is only at about 75%. And here we are, already, well into a new year, when I should be working on the 2011 books. I’ve toyed with the idea of doing a family scrapbook for them, instead of one for each of the children. That has some pros and some cons. What do you think? Really . . . I’d like your opinions.

DARING BAKERS
I love doing my once-a-month Daring Bakers challenge, but some months I find it difficult to squeeze in. Some of the challenges take more than one day to prepare, and then, as required by the Daring Baker rules, I must photograph and blog about the process on the 27th of each month. I just finished my February challenge and have the blog ready to automatically post early on Sunday morning. Don't miss it. It was really tasty. Wish I could post a picture for you here, but "rules are rules." Come back on Sunday.

Clara's First "Mad"

2011-02-15T21:34:00.002-07:00

I just read on Facebook about Clara's outburst over being told, by her mom, that she couldn't have any gum. In Kelsey's words: "She folded her arms and told me, 'I'm very mad at you. I'm mad at you all the way to space. Space is a very long way from here. You have to take a rocketship to get there. I am zero three thirty mad.'"

I commented on Kelsey's FB post that I'm pretty sure I've been "zero three thirty mad" at a few people in my life, but just didn't know what to call it. Now I do! Had to learn it from a 5-year-old.

Virtual Respect

2011-02-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Technology is creeping (stomping?) its way into even the most solemn of events. Here are some examples I noticed just last week.

In USA Today: U.S. Catholic Church blesses iPhone app for confession.

On the radio: A growing trend – online funerals. "Attend" your friend's or relative's funeral from the comfort of your home.

On a church sign in our neighborhood: “Drive Thru Prayer.”

Planning for the "Big R"

2011-02-08T17:30:00.001-07:00

Many of our friends here in Albuquerque know. Both Dan’s and my employers are aware. Our family knows. So maybe it’s time to share our retirement plans here, on my blog.

The target date is February 1, 2012 – according to my computer count-down timer, just 358 days from now! I call it a target date, knowing that God, in his providence, might have other plans for us, and we intend to follow His direction. My prayer is always that the right doors be opened, and, just as importantly, that wrong doors be closed.

That being said, we are starting the preparations for this big event. Our first task is to get our house ready to sell. We hope to put it on the market this spring, giving us nearly a year to sell. If it should sell quickly - that would be wonderful! - we will move into an apartment for the rest of our time here.

The plan is to move to the Temple, Texas, area – about three hours from Chris, Kelsey and the kids. We feel this is a healthy and convenient distance from them. We could easily go there for any special event. It wouldn’t even be out of the question to drive over early in the morning, spend a few hours, and drive back the same day. And yet, we wouldn’t be “on their doorstep,” so to speak, assuring them of the independence they’ve enjoyed for all their married years. We are also aware that, at any time, an opportunity could arise for them to make a move, themselves, although, as far as we know, there is none in the works. We want them to know that we would understand and be supportive of their decision. Being near them is probably the number one reason we have selected the Temple area as our prospective home, but we feel there are other reasons that make it a good decision.

That area of Texas has a lower cost of living, and lower housing costs – all good for living on a retirement income. It’s a scenic part of Texas, just on the edge of what is known as “the Hill Country.” Temple is a small town, but has a wonderful medical facility (Scott & White) and is only an hour away from Austin and a little farther away from San Antonio. There are also some very nice recreation areas, many located on Lake Belton.

I’m not blind to the fact that the summers are hot and humid – not, however, as humid as Houston. We have friends who moved to Temple from Albuquerque some years ago. They have this to say about the weather: Whereas in most places you limit your outdoor time in the winter, due to cold weather, in this part of Texas you limit your outdoor time in the summer, due to the heat and humidity. But the other nine months of the year are beautiful, and the mild temperatures welcome you to spend lots of time outdoors in the fall, winter and spring. I realize that that's a glass-half-full way of thinking, but I’m buying it!

We have made two trips to Temple to check out the area and to look at housing. We’ve identified our favorite builder and, even, a favorite house plan that he builds. We’ll have to wait to see if he has one on the market when we’re ready; if not, we might contract with him to build for us.

There is one more detail that should be mentioned – a very important detail, named “Tim.” While we’ll be moving closer to one son, we’ll be moving away from the other, which is a little troubling to me. However, Tim is happily and successfully working here in Albuquerque, and isn’t interested in making this move with us. We'll make sure to see him every now and then, and will stay in close touch through phone, email, Skype and texting. (Won't we, Tim?!)

Another Weather Day - Tomorrow!

2011-02-03T18:10:00.003-07:00

Up to 24,000 New Mexicans are experiencing natural gas outages as various utility companies are unable to keep up with the high demand for increased power and fuel due to sub zero temperatures. Emergency shelters have been set up throughout the state, with accommodations for families without heat.

As a result, UNM and UNM Foundation will both be closed tomorrow. What a week it has been! I'm looking forward to staying home, keeping warm, and getting some long over-due tasks checked off my to-do list.

Record-Breaking Cold Temperatures

2011-02-03T07:00:00.001-07:00

Negative 11 degrees. That’s what the temperature is, this morning, in Albuquerque! Because of strong east winds, the wind chill factor is -23 degrees. Maybe moving from Juneau, 7-1/2 years ago, was only a dream, because it feels like I’m back “home.”

Schools have been closed for three days now. UNM and the UNM Foundation (where I work) were closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and are on a 2-hour delay today. Although the roads were very bad on Tuesday, they are mostly clear now. The closures and delays today are not due to road conditions, but to the bitter cold. Albuquerque school-children (and adults, for that matter) do not have the warm clothing needed for this kind of weather.

I came to work this morning at my regular start-time; I didn’t see a reason to wait until later. The office building is pretty frigid, although our little suite of five offices is not bad at all. Other folks coming into our suite are calling it the banana belt of the building. The ladies’ restroom thermometer, on the other hand, reads 49 degrees! I’m pretty sure the toilet seats are closer to freezing.

According to the weather forecast, the temperature should begin rising tomorrow. By Saturday they are predicting a high of 41 degrees, but more snow is in the forecast for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

Winter Weather

2011-02-01T10:33:00.006-07:00

You couldn't turn on the news yesterday without hearing about the winter storm headed our way. We awoke to a bit of snow in the back yard. I received a text message telling me that my workplace would be on a 2-hour delay, but since Dan's car doesn't have all-weather tires, I agreed to go ahead and leave early, around 6:00 a.m., to take him to work. I figured I'd just go on to my office, despite the 2-hour delay.

Now I know that this picture shows we only had an inch or so of snow, but what you can't see is the condition of the roads. They are completely glazed over with a fairly thick layer of ice. Traffic on Paseo del Norte, the road we take to get across the Rio Grande, going east, was trecherous. Most of the drivers were being smart, thankfully, and going very slowly. There are three 60-mph-lanes going east, and all three lanes were moving between 7 and 15 miles per hour. It made for a long trip to Dan's office, but we made it without incident. Then I headed on to my office.

I got to work at 7:45, about 1 hour and 45 minutes after leaving home. My commute is normally 20-25 minutes. There were no other cars in the parking lot, which wasn't strange, since we were on the 2-hour delayed schedule. I went to my office, started up my computer, took off my coat, and was about to check my email when someone came in to tell me that the delay had been changed to a closure. Sigh.

So I went back to my car and made the long trip back home. I was home by 8:45, two hours and 45 minutes after leaving home in the first place.

They are predicting more snow today, tonight and tomorrow. The temperatures are also way below normal. Tomorrow is supposed to be the coldest day -- High 12 degrees, low -8 degrees! We've been here 7-1/2 years, and never seen it below zero.

I Need Your Help

2011-01-27T11:01:00.001-07:00

I’m working on a new picture book for grandson, Robert. It’s a book about his great-grandpa and his namesake – my dad, Bob Clark. I have an exciting and rather ambitious vision in my head of the art work, and hope I’m able to bring it to life.

Many of you knew my dad. I am soliciting your help with suggestions of things he did or things he was. Remember to keep your ideas simple, concrete, appealing to a toddler, and action-oriented, for instance: he was a sailor in the Navy; he was a baker; he was a fisherman; he was a hunter (and killed a brown bear!); he was an airplane pilot; he liked to camp in his RV; he was a golfer; he took art classes; he was a photographer; and, of course, he read his Bible daily. I could use about three to five additional ideas, so let’s hear them. I’m counting on you, friends and family!

Daring Bakers' January Challenge: Biscuit Joconde Imprime and an Entremets Dessert

2011-01-27T00:01:00.003-07:00

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert. (Recipe HERE.)

A joconde imprime is a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds. The batter bakes into a moist, flexible cake which may be tinted or marbleized for a decorative effect. Once baked and cooled, the sponge is cut into strips to line a ring mold, thus becoming a "wrapper" for the layered dessert, inside, known as the entremets.

Since Tim's birthday is in January, I decided to take on the challenge of turning my Biscuit Joconde Imprime into his birthday cake. In the interest of time (which was short) I simply filled the Jaconde with strawberry ice cream and whipped cream. It would be fun to do it again and fill it with chocolate mousse or a pastry cream of some kind.

Here is a picture of the cake after coming out of the oven. As you can see, I chose to flavor and tint the Décor Paste with cocoa powder. The cake itself is made using almond flour, and turned out very tasty.

I trimmed the cake into strips, and lined a spring-form pan with the cake, making sure the design was on the outside . . .

. . . and then filled the ring with softened strawberry ice cream.

I topped the ice cream with whipped cream and then froze the entire dessert until just before serving. I was a little fearful that it would not unmold well, but there was no problem at all. The dessert came out of the pan nicely . . .

. . . and sliced up beautifully.

You can see a picture of Tim blowing out his birthday candles on this dessert in the PREVIOUS POST.

Birthday Celebration

2011-01-13T08:51:00.005-07:00

Tim’s birthday was last Friday, January 7. Since I was sick, we had to put off the birthday celebration until this weekend. Our friend, Mike, from Juneau, is visiting for a few days, so he joined us for a nice dinner out, at Olive Garden, and for dessert at home afterward.

Not only was this a celebration of Tim's 35th birthday, but also of his 1st anniversary at HP. I have a feeling that the coming year will hold exciting changes for him, as he's seriously looking to buy his first house. In fact, Tim has invited Dan and me to see, this afternoon, a couple of properties that he is considering.

Happy birthday, Tim. I’m proud and happy to be your Mom!

Julie and Julia - Good Medicine!

2011-01-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

On Sunday my throat began hurting, and by that evening I knew I was getting sick. I finally gave up and went to bed around 5:30 p.m. after texting my boss, Betsy, to let her know there was a good chance I wouldn’t be in on Monday morning. Monday should have been my first day back following Christmas break, which started December 22.

When morning came, I couldn’t even pull myself out of bed. The sore throat had just been the precursor to a full-fledged cold or, more likely, flu (known, generically, as "the crud"). I couldn't even make it into the family room to lie on the couch. I was no better on Tuesday, but did force myself out of bed and to the couch for awhile.

There, on the couch, I turned on the TV and began watching the movie Julie and Julia. Wrapped in my fuzzy “blanky”, with my head wrapped in an even fuzzier cold-medicine fog, I watched and laughed and cried with the two main characters. I totally recommend this movie as a terrific cold/flu remedy, since for the couple hours it ran, I almost forgot my own miserable condition.

I returned to work yesterday. My head is still congested and I’m still coughing, but there’s no more sore throat or fever. I feel much better, and I don’t think I’m contagious anymore. Just to be safe, though, I'm practically bathing in hand-sanitizer every five minutes and keeping my head in my own little corner of the office. I'd hate to pass it along to anyone else.

There's a good side to everything. Had I not been grounded by "the crud", Julie and Julia would probably still be just a title - one among many - on my "To See" list. If you haven't seen it, don't wait until you're sick.

2010 in Review for the Judds

2011-01-02T07:19:00.009-07:00

January - It's hard to say good-bye to dear friends. Keith moved away in January.

February - Tim began his new job at HP. It's been a great year for his career.

May - We try to make it to Texas to see Clara's spring dance recital each year, as we did this year, in May.

June - Tim took me to see Cirque du Soleil, something I've wanted to do for a long time.

June and July - Wear your sun screen! I had two skin cancers removed in June and July.

July - We traveled to Muleshoe, TX, for Dan's 45th high school reunion.

August - Mom hopped on a little commuter plane and came to Albuquerque for a visit.

August - While Mom was here, a huge piece of tire tread, from a semi-truck, flew into the front of our car and did major damage; repairs all paid for by insurance (Accident #1)

September - It was scary when Dan had to go to the emergency room because of a blood clot in his leg. He's feeling much better now, although the recent ultrasound scan showed that the clot is still there. Until it's gone he'll have to stay on blood-thinner meds.

October - We traded in our Escape (all fixed and pretty) for a new VW Tiguan. Strange sounding name, but a fun car to drive.

November - Back to Texas we went, to celebrate Thanksgiving and Robert's birthday with the Texas Judds.

November - We were the victims of a drunk driver, when, at 12:30 at night, she jumped the curb, slammed into Tim's car (which was parked in our driveway), spun it 90 degrees, pushed it up the hill of our drive and into our garage door. Between Tim's car and our garage door, we sustained about $9000 damage. (Accident #2)

December - On our way to our Saturday breakfast, we were rear-ended in Dan's car. $700 damages, paid by other driver's insurance. (Accident #3)

December - Wonderful Christmas with the entire family.

December - While at Mom's (for Christmas) Dan tripped on a large, wooden planter box that Mom had just outside her front door, and took a spill on the concrete. He sustained some scrapes and bruises, and broke . . . his Nook e-reader. Better than breaking a bone! (Accident #4)

There were many wonderful memories made this year, but we're hoping that 2011 is the start of an accident-free year for our family!

365 Photos for 2011

2010-12-31T21:37:00.001-07:00

In 2008 I attempted to complete a photo challenge in which I was to post one picture per day (366 in all, since it was a leap year) taken during the year, each one representing a theme from an assigned list. Sadly, I fell short, only completing 266 photos. I let that challenge rest for both 2009 and 2010, and am now ready to take it on again. I'll give it my best try. You can check my new blog (click HERE) on a regular basis, starting on January 1, if you wish to follow along. (Link is also posted in the side bar, to the right.)

Christmas 2010 - Carlsbad, NM

2010-12-28T08:51:00.009-07:00

On Thursday, December 23, Dan and I folded down the seats in our little SUV, packed it to the brim with luggage, presents and groceries, and headed to my mom's house in Carlsbad, in preparation for a family Christmas. Tim left Albuquerque at the same time, in his rental car (his own car is still in the body shop), and we kept in touch along the way and stopped in Roswell for lunch together. We were glad that there was no inclement weather or bad roads this year.

Christmas Eve day was relaxing and enjoyable. Dan, Tim, Mom and I got in a lot of visiting, since the only tasks I had to do that day were to roll out some pie crusts for Christmas Day dinner and wrap the last of the presents.

I rose early on Christmas morning and started making our breakfast kolaches and baking pies. Chris, Kelsey and the children were due to arrive at Mom's house around 9:00 a.m. They were driving from Pecos, TX, where they had enjoyed a huge Christmas Eve celebration with Kelsey's extended family.

Shortly after 9:00 our Christmas Day became less relaxing, more energized and animated, and even more enjoyable than our Christmas Eve had been. Children are to Christmas morning as lights are to the tree; they make the day glow!

Clara waited patiently, with eager anticipation, until she was given the okay to start passing out the presents. Robert, who only a month ago celebrated his birthday, and just the day before had celebrated Christmas at his other grandparents' home, knew what opening packages was all about, but he was a bit slow, so big sister helped him along at times.

Our Christmas dinner was a roasted pork loin, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pasta salad, apple sauce, and bread rolls, with both pumpkin and pecan pie for dessert.

That evening, and the next day, we spent as much time as possible playing with the children. Robert walks - and even runs - all over the place now. He and I had fun playing the "Where's Robert?" game. He would run out of the living room, into the kitchen, where I couldn't see him. I would ask, "Where's Robert?" which was his cue to peek around the corner and wait for me to say "Peek-a-boo, there he is!" He would laugh, run and hug me, and then dash back into the kitchen, waiting for my next "Where's Robert?" Over and over. Such fun!

Clara and I took a walk to the river, played games, read books, tried out her new bicycle (her Santa gift) and her "stompers." She's such a sweetheart, and getting to an age where we can talk about so many interesting things.

Tim left on Sunday, right after lunch, because he had to be back at work on Monday. Chris and Kelsey and Dan and I planned to stay until Tuesday morning. However, our plans changed. Both Robert and Chris started having respiratory problems. Robert hardly slept on Sunday night because of a bad cough. All four of the Texas Judds were sleeping in the same room at Mom's house, so when Robert didn't sleep well, neither did the others. They decided to head on home on Monday. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Robert ends up visiting his doctor once they arrive back home.

As for Dan and I, we also opted to leave on Monday. On Sunday night, Dan tripped on a large wooden planter box that sits just outside Mom's front door, and fell down hard onto the pavement. We were so thankful that he didn't sustain any serious injuries -- nothing broken (except his Nook - his e-book reader), nothing sprained, just a few scrapes and some sore muscles. We felt that going home on Monday was the best thing to do, after such a shake-up.

Despite the less-than-perfect ending, we have many wonderful memories of our time together. I'm so grateful for my mom, who, at 84, was willing to host all of us; for Tim, who took time off work to spend time with the family; and for Chris and Kelsey, who always put family first, even when it means traveling so far with two little ones.

God is good. We are blessed.