Make The Trip

Last Saturday I took a trip to central Massachusetts. I had been preparing for weeks to drive 200 miles to the small town of Turners Falls, and I decided that the predicted heavy rain would not keep me from going. It took an hour longer than it was supposed to, and I felt a sense of accomplishment when I arrived. The purpose for the trip was to donate fabric, satin binding, yarn, and pattern books that were new and usable, things I had had for years or had inherited and hadn't used. There is a small shop in this small town that is making a name for itself in that it offers sewing/craft materials that will benefit from finding homes with people who will use what others have donated. They also offer classes and opportunities to gather for sewing, knitting, and crafting. The place is not on my way to anywhere but it was worth the trip.

From Turners Falls I headed to the Boston area to catch up with my sons and their families for Fathers Day. My sons are a pleasure to watch with their kids. I could not be more proud of them.

I decided years ago that when I got the idea to go somewhere I should go. I love to drive. I love to travel. If I make plans, and I am able, I follow through. 

Sometimes things happen beyond my control. Then I wish I had made the trip earlier, which often wasn't an option, but I feel sorry still. 

In early 2022 I made plans to travel to West Virginia in the summer to see my mom. My younger son and his family were also planning a trip to visit. In fact, from the hospital I talked to them about moving their trip to later in the summer until Grandma Ellie was settled in a rehab facility. The last time we'd visited was 2019, and we had scheduled different weeks to go to spread out the socializing for my mom. I have wonderful photos from those visits and am so glad we went when we did. The pandemic put off travel for the next two summers but last year we felt secure enough to plan the visits. Best laid plans....

I have been thinking this week about two other times my family has lost someone important to us, just as we were planning a visit. In 1982 Ken and I and the kids were going to Maryland for Thanksgiving. Ken has a large family and we were looking forward to seeing everyone. Just a few days before we were due to leave we got the call that Ken's mom had had a sudden fatal heart attack. We were devastated. Of course we all gathered but that day and all the gatherings after that felt the loss of Grammy. 

Just three years later we lost one of the most important people in our lives, a dear friend of Ken's family for decades, the man who started as a neighbor and became a mentor and friend to 12 year-old Ken who introduced him to travel, specifically to the state of Maine. We couldn't have been closer to Linwood if he had been a blood relative. When we moved to Maine we chose to live in the city where he had a home and started a business when he retired. We still talk about how glad we are that we had the years we did with Linwood. We spent holidays and birthdays with him and ordinary days in between. In 1985 I was home with my 6 year-old daughter and 3 year-old son, getting ready for Christmas and waiting for Ken to get home from work; it was Christmas Eve and we had plans for dinner at Linwood's. The call came that Linwood was with friends when he had a heart attack and died before anything could be done. We cried for days. All these years later we remember fondly our times with Linwood and share stories with our kids and grandkids.

The lesson for me through the years has been to take the trip, make the visit, and listen to the inner voice that says, "Go." I've never been sorry I listened.

Memory Boxes

In May, on our return trip from Philadelphia, my daughter and granddaughter and I stopped over at my older son's house to stay Saturday night with his family. Sunday morning my younger son and his wife and son came over for breakfast. We were all together, and I had something to share with each of my children: a memory box. In April I decided I wanted to do something concrete sooner rather than later, in addition to a family gathering later this summer. The Sunday before Mothers' Day, when we were all going to be together, seemed like the perfect time.

I had bought three decorative boxes about the size of shoe boxes. I had set aside two or three cards that I found among my mom's papers that each of my kids had sent their grandmother. I started filling each box with those cards and the small album I had created for her of each of her great-grandchildren in their baby & toddler years. From her stash of photos I selected a half dozen photos of her as a child and young woman for each of them, as well as a few photos of her with each of them when they were babies and teen-agers; I made small albums for those photos and attached on the last page a copy of the notice of her death I submitted to her local paper last August. Also in the box I placed a solar collector in the shape of a butterfly for their garden. The finishing touch was a small two-inch hoop with a piece of lace from her wedding gown and tied on top with a pink ribbon to hang in a window or as an ornament. 

The creation of the boxes was a process that I could not complete all at once. I set aside the cards one day. Another day I went through photos, and it took a few times through over a course of days because it was emotional for me. I had seen all the photos many times, even several times over the last year, but I hadn't looked at her life from age 5 to age 20 all at once. She was beautiful with the most wonderful smile, truly happy. I wished I had known her then; I wished she had been that happy when she was my mom. I was glad to have photos of her with my kids because they didn't see her often for a variety of reasons; when the kids were old enough to say what was true they coined the phrase "fly-by visit from Grandma" because she would come for a visit and in a couple days she'd be gone. I was glad there was a record of some of the time they had with her.

It was meaningful for me to give the  memory boxes. My children listened to my explanation of each item. We had time to talk a bit about what they remembered. Now the memories in each box may sit on a shelf for a while, and that's okay because what mattered to me was the giving of the opportunity to remember.

And I still have lots of photos to finish sorting, organizing, and preserving for future generations.

The journey continues.... 

The Final Family Piece Falls In Place

June 10 of last year was my 13th day in Morgantown, WV. It was the first time I would see my younger brother in twelve years, not since my older son's wedding in Boston. That was the last time all of us had been together. I am grateful we took advantage of the photographer's set-up for family photos ~ we enjoyed the time together that weekend and it shows.

It was only big events that brought us together once my mom married Charlie and moved to WV in 2003. We all made it to their wedding, another happy event as everyone there was glad for them. I was especially glad to see my mom happy. They lived in a small town in the mountains of eastern WV, not an easy place to get to from any direction. From my house it is a 15 hour trip, whether I drive or fly into a city that is still 3 hours away. There was no room for guests in their small trailer, which meant a stay in a run-down motel down the road. It was much easier for us to get together when she lived in Maryland, just outside D.C.

So I was glad my brother made the trip. I wanted to talk to him to see how he was doing. He has had serious health challenges and all I knew I had heard second-hand. It was good to hear his voice. We all sat and talked for a long time.

My sister decided to stay through the weekend because my brother and his partner were staying. She could stay in their room. I was leaving for Pennsylvania. I needed a solid night's sleep in a good bed and time to rest. I had one clean change of clothes and new socks and underwear from Target. 

It was bittersweet to say good-bye. I was glad I had had time with my brothers and sister. I didn't know when I would see them again. At the same time I felt okay about leaving. I had done what I came to do, and while the outcome was not what I wanted, I had done all I could do.

I was 250 miles from the hotel in central Pennsylvania, an easy trip all things considered. My friend was driving an hour from her home Saturday morning and would stay the night at the hotel. We would have a good old-fashioned sleepover. I hoped she remembered the wine.   

June Has 30 Days

Two weeks ago I wrenched my back. I have strained my back a handful of times in the past 35 years. I have never so seriously twisted it. I have seen my osteopath twice in the last week, which is another first. I am still moving slowly but I think I am on the right track to recovery.

When I saw the DO for the second time on Tuesday she said she hadn't seen me in such bad shape before. We reviewed what had been going on in the last month. The first week of May I drove 1200 miles to Philadelphia and back with my granddaughter and daughter, for her job. I walked and walked  all over University City with Maggie while my daughter worked. Then the two of them had a day at Hershey Park as we headed north, while I had a lovely visit with a dear friend. It was a wonderful week, beginning and ending with stop-overs near Boston to visit with my sons and their families.

When I got home I started taking things out of my bedroom to prepare for fresh paint on the walls and trim. I left just the bed. I took my time so it took a week to prepare the room and several days to paint. Through the whole project I was careful not to twist and lift, careful to secure my footing on the ladder, sure to take regular breaks to rest and eat, and I didn't push myself to finish. All went well until the last evening, when I put non-skid coasters under the bed...and on the lift of the second corner I felt the pop. Uh oh. I thought I had strained my back and it would take a few days of taking it easy to feel better. I already had an appointment scheduled with my osteopath six days out and surely by then I would be in better shape.

No such luck. She worked and worked and everything hurt. She did all she could in one treatment and told me to call for another appointment if I didn't feel better in three days. It was a holiday weekend so I left a message Monday evening and I went in again Tuesday. She could tell right away that things were still twisted. That's when she went back through all that I had done in May. Then she asked if there had been any additional stress.

It took me a moment to gather myself. I answered that last year these were the days when I was with my mom in the hospital in West Virginia. I have been reading through the notes I took during that time in a journal filled with dates, times, phone numbers, conversations, doctors' reports, tests done, mom's condition, questions to ask, and next steps. There is very little about how I was feeling. There was no time to process all that was happening ~ I needed to stay present to be there for mom. That's when my doctor reminded me how busy the rest of the summer was. She asked me if I have taken time to process the feelings. I told her I had been trying to reframe that experience; and as I have gone through decades of photos I have also been trying to reframe how I think about my mom's life. She said she could feel a shift in my body as I talked. Ah ha. There's something else to think about and process.

When I left the doctor's office on Tuesday I did feel a bit better. Today, June 1, I am moving more freely and with less pain. That's true for my feelings as well. The best way I know to work things through is to write.

June has 30 days. That gives me thirty opportunities to write.

Let me end with a poem by Lemn Sissay, shared by Anna on my last post:

"How do you do it?" said night
"How do you wake and shine?"
"I keep it simple." said light

"One day at a time."     

The Final Chapter

The book is almost closed on what needs to happen to settle my mom's affairs. Last week we accepted an offer on the sale of her trailer, which was not a given. My mom owned the trailer but not the property on which it sits; a neighbor wanted to buy it but the property owner refused to allow him to leave it where it sits, and the location is why he wanted to buy it for his mother-in-law. Yet after several attempts the property owner wouldn't give me a clear answer about what he wanted to do...until the day before the deadline when he texted an offer, which we accepted the same day. Next week my brother will transfer the title and the final chapter will be complete.

I made the two-day trip to West Virginia with two important pieces of advice in mind: Jacqueline's comment to accept that things had served my mother well and it was time to let them go; and Helen's advice to set up zones for keep/donate/throw and to touch things only once. I would not have been able to do the job in ten days without those things in mind.

I was not prepared for what I would find. My mother's trailer was exactly as she had left it and the large storage unit was almost full. The only thing to do was to begin, somewhere, anywhere. As I went through boxes, bins, closets, drawers and shelves, I set aside items for my brother to go through and things that I knew I wanted. I was able to sell the best pieces of furniture. I donated books, magazines, and puzzles to the nursing home and medical equipment to the Commission on Aging. I made one trip to a Goodwill store 40 miles away with a carload of electronics, dishes, utensils, pans, and blankets. My brother and sister-in-law each filled a vehicle, and I came home with a carload of items I will enjoy and use to share family history with my children and grandchildren. Everything else was discarded. As hard as it was, it was what had to happen. 

Ten days, 18 hours a day, and I was done. It was emotional and cathartic at the same time. I was able to stay present the entire time, which was essential for the tasks as hand. It was hot and humid so the afternoon thunderstorms were a welcome relief. I drank copious amounts of water. I talked to the neighbor's dog, Daisy, who made regular visits for pets and treats. I shared progress with family and my closest friend, whose encouragement and humor kept me going.

Through it all I felt my mom's energy and approval. I never doubted that we would find the help we needed or that we would finish the job at hand. I am grateful that I had the time and energy to do the work, and that my brother and I had time to work things through together. I think we did mom proud. 

Hello August

The support of friends and family has meant the world to me. That so many have walked this path before is a great comfort.

July held lots of conversations with my brother about all the things that need to happen to settle our mom's affairs. She lived in a small town in eastern West Virginia and the small-town connections have been helpful. The lawyer who is handling probate has an office around the corner from the courthouse; the manager of the storage facility knew a used furniture dealer to recommend; the home health aid has continued to take in the mail and water the plants on her own time; again and again one phone call has led to another phone call that has led to the person I need to talk to. I have been amazed with the information I have been able to collect from 700 miles away.

Distance communication has limitations, and my brother and I have done all we can without being in the same place at the same time. We need to figure out what to do with possessions as well as the small trailer she lived in. There isn't a thrift store or Goodwill in the town and any place to donate household items is an hour away, so there will be some hard decisions to make. We come from a long line of "Don't throw that out! Someone could use that!" It will be a challenge to overcome those voices....

But the time has come. Tomorrow I am heading to a place I never called home but where my mom lived for nineteen years. I will work with my brother and his family to sort, cull, re-home, and clean out what remains of 86 years of living. My hope is to stay present and attentive. If I do that, I will know what's right.   

Dream Realized

Any time I mentioned to anyone that I was planning a trip to Edinburgh, the response was, "Oh, what a lovely city." To a person everyone said they enjoyed their stay there and wanted to go back.

I feel the same way. My sister and brother-in-law were hosts extraordinaire, showing me as many aspects of the city as possible in seven days. We saw popular sights, as well places off the beaten path. The food was amazing, classic Scottish fare as well as Indian and Italian and delicious salads. We walked miles every day, rain or shine. The second day I was there was the hottest day on record, a sunny 87.8 degrees Fahrenheit. That was the day we went to Edinburgh Castle, where we enjoyed the coolness of stone buildings and a breeze off the water.

I love Edinburgh. If it was a city in New England I would be lobbying to move there. I knew from day one that I wouldn't be able to totally capture the city, but I could capture glimpses. I will forever remember my first trip to Scotland and hope to return someday.

 The Queen's House, where she stays when she visits the city~

The oldest close, or dead-end alley, is Bakehouse Close~

Many streets are "paved" with cobblestones~

The oldest part of the University~

The mix of old stone with new construction is striking~

A free Sunday evening concert by Odora Trio at St. Giles Cathedral~

The Botanical Gardens sprawled for acres with native plants~

That's what the climb was like up Arthur's Seat~

I made it most of the way up Arthur's Seat, high enough to wonder at the city below~

A Trip Long Planned

Almost 11 years ago my sister and her husband moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. They went for 3 years so he could do research and teach at the University. They loved it. When the grant ended, they moved back to the States. Then there was an opportunity for them to move back to Edinburgh; they took it.

Since their first trip I have wanted to go for a visit. This is the summer to go. I fly tonight.

I bought my ticket in April and have been mentally planning for weeks. There were phone calls to make to the bank, credit card company, and cell provider; money to exchange; check-ins with AAA to make sure I had my ducks in a row; lists to write, check off, and write again. I have laid out what I'm taking, and now it's time to pack.

I will take a bus from Portland to Boston. From there I will take a straight-through flight to Edinburgh. I'm taking the leap to check my luggage, a first since another airline lost my bag five years ago. I trust it will arrive with me since we'll be on the same flight, but I'm not packing anything I can't live without just in case.

I love the idea of travel. I'm good at getting everything lined up. I always have a good time once I'm at my destination. It's the 24 hours right before take-off that are nerve-wracking. Moving through that time now, I keep my eye on the prize of seeing my sister and brother-in-law and visiting someplace new.

I figured out how to create blog posts on my phone but I'm not sure I'll take time to work on the small screen. I will post photos on Instagram @ owlinmaine.

I will definitely post here when I return. The journey continues....

Saving Time

School ended three weeks ago Friday, and I have been soaking up the days like a sponge. Every day I wake up grateful to have the day to spend as I want.

The first week of my summer vacation I drove to Pittsburgh to see my sister, visiting from Scotland, and a good friend who drove over from eastern Pennsylvania for a visit.

The next week my husband and I met our son and his family at the airport in Boston. They had a lot of luggage as they are moving back to the east coast. Ken and I watched our grandchildren while our son and daughter-in-law started house hunting. We enjoyed two days together, including a July 4 cook-out with friends.

All the while I was aware that my friend Barbara was fighting for her life. In April 2017 she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Over the next 14 months she did everything a person can do to overcome cancer, and she did it with grace and humor and dignity. April this year she underwent a stem cell transplant, which often works when other treatments have failed. It appeared to be successful at first, and then at the end of June the cancer returned. There were complications from the stem cell transplant, and Barbara passed from this world a week ago. She touched so many lives and will be missed by so many that it's impossible to put into words the sadness that we feel.

That time is precious has been the theme this summer. It's not that I expect to live forever. It is that I want to appreciate the time I have. Today I found myself thinking about saving time. I stopped to ask what that means ~ to save time. Is that possible? I don't think it is. I think the answer is to appreciate the moments as they happen, to say yes, to stay present, and to be grateful.

I've turned to sewing to work through my questions and grief. Fabric therapy always helps. The first two projects use pink and yellow and orange ~

                                                                         "Sunrise"

                                                                          "Sunset"

There is a pink and green quilt top in the works. I want to get back to making clothes. There's time... as the journey continues.

Coming To Terms

July ended on a high note with nine days in California visiting my son and his family. We enjoyed being a part of their daily activities ~ a trip to the farmers' market, a field trip with our grandson's preschool, dinner cooked on the grill, trips to Home Depot, and my granddaughter's birthday party with friends and family. Ken and I had lunch with friends one afternoon. We enjoyed walks through local downtown areas and saw the ocean from Santa Cruz.

I had the first few days of August at home and then headed to the woods of Maine for a week of "quilt camp." It was officially a retreat, but family style meals in the lodge and sewing in the barn and stitching on the porch felt so much like camp that the nickname stuck. I took with me quilts in various stages of completion so had plenty to do in my free time. I slept great and even read an entire novel, something I have not done in a long time.

I returned home to squeeze every minute out of the days I had left before I had to be back at school. I sewed every day and thought I had a pretty good handle on household organization.

Then I went into school one day near the end of the fourth week of August. I had to unpack everything and get the room set up, and working at it for 28 hours before the first workshop day was barely enough. I was unwilling to give up any more of my summer....

And the struggle continues as I fight to have time for life outside school. I have claimed weekends as my own to sew, cook, work on projects at home, and enjoy the occasional day with family. I learned last winter that I will never get caught up with schoolwork, and this year there is twice the workload with a new online data collection/reporting system. The learning curve is steep and deadlines are always looming.

I am coming to terms with what is my life. Not much matches the plans I had. I spent my first thirty years trying to please others and denying many of my true feelings. I spent the next thirty years coming to terms with who I am and realizing that whatever I do I can't please everyone. Sadly, it's nonsense to think that I will be happy if I am true to myself ~ I have lost friends and many relationships have shifted because not everyone appreciates who I really am. The hardest losses are some of the people I love the most.

Tonight the thought came to me that I am living the wrong life. This isn't who I want to be or what I want to be doing. I don't know what to do other than put one foot in front of the other and hope that tomorrow is a better day. I don't know what the next thirty years will hold, but I do know that the journey continues....

Technology, Travel, and Teaching

This August is one for the books. I got a job, my desktop bit the dust, and I traveled to California to meet my granddaughter ~

Piper at three weeks old

I love this picture. Piper was napping beside me on the couch and she looked so relaxed. She's three weeks old in the photo. I swear she grew before my eyes.

I practiced traveling with just my phone when we went to New York in July. In the past I've taken a digital camera and my laptop and downloaded photos throughout a trip. I didn't want to lug my laptop to California this summer so took the chance to travel sans computer in July. I missed my laptop but got more comfortable with the camera on my phone which paid off as I was able to easily email photos of the grandkids home during my trip. Ken appreciated that.

The desktop refused to turn on just two days before I left for San Jose. It's not like it hadn't earned the right to be done after nine years. I wasn't ready to deal with its demise but I wasn't going to replace it until it was absolutely necessary. Thankfully my computer guru determined that the data could be saved to an external drive, so it was the best case scenario and something I could deal with upon my return in mid-August. Luckily by then I had a job and didn't need to access my resume and supporting documents in a timely manner. I had backed up photos but not documents, a lesson now learned.

I have waited to write about the job because I didn't want to jinx it. My contract was approved by the school board this week and only then did I feel comfortable announcing my news to the world. Everything happened very quickly: application made, cover letter sent, call for an interview, interview held, and job offer all within the space of six days. I was offered the job on August 1, one week before I left for California. It still feels a bit surreal, not just that I have a real job after nine years of searching but that I am going back to teaching and going into an area new to me. I will be a Resource Room teacher working with students who qualify for special education services. I will get training and take classes and have a supportive team to help me throughout the process. I am positively giddy about the thought of this job.

It has been an amazing 24 days ~

Me with my son and grandson in CA

Mid Summer

I checked the calendar today. We are at an important mid point, half of summer behind us and half still before us. Phew. Many people are talking about the waning days of this most pleasant season in Maine, and I really can't bear to think of it ending. I still have much to do before I launch into the next thing...more about that in a moment.

Ken and I have learned to plan our vacation earlier rather than later and took a road trip in mid July. We had so much fun in New York's wine country last summer that we returned this year, staying at the other end of Seneca Lake this time. We stayed three days instead of two and then drove to Pennsylvania to spend time with my dear friend of 40+ years. From food to trains to music it was an amazing trip. Here's a snapshot of our adventure~

The FLounge is a gift shop in Geneva, NY that serves sweet coffee drinks and delicious waffles

My grandson is enamored with trains so we made note of every one we saw

The Route 30 Diner in Lancaster, PA served all the best of home cooking

Verna's Fabrics was worth the drive to Mifflinburg, PA - that's Verna

Two happy Mainers on vacation with their friend from New Mexico

Food theme on steroids at Central Market in Lancaster, PA

Outside Central Market we were treated to a concert by students in a music camp

Before I left on vacation I worked diligently to rework my home filing system, take stock of all my sewing projects in various states of completion, review the contents and space in the house to seriously clear away the things someone else needs more than I do. I jumped back into my age-old job search with the knowledge that life would change drastically when I am successful....

I was and it will. More on that next post. In the meantime I know that I will always have time for sweet Maggie~

April Survival Guide

April is a transition month.  Spring can't quite settle in because winter refuses to quit.  The wide range of temperatures and odd display of weather is confusing.  In years past even April vacation, the third week of the month, has been frustrating.  I have never been able to cross everything off the incredibly long to-do list.

This year was different.  I took some notes so I can happily survive April next year....

Start the vacation week with company.  My son came for an overnight stay the first weekend so the house was clean and the pantry was full.  That freed us up to visit and play with Maggie~

Maggie "holding court"

Go away for a couple days.  Ken was working out of town so I joined him in Dover, New Hampshire for two nights.  His work schedule got crazy but we made it to our favorite restaurant in Portsmouth for dinner~

The view from our table

Work on a project in progress.  In March I cut into strips the first quilt I ever made out of scraps of the clothes I sewed while I was in high school.  The quilt needed an update and over April break it became clear what I wanted to do - add more color~

Framing fabrics are odd pieces handed down from my daughter

Do something new.  Sometime late winter I learned about the Maine Quilt Shop Hop.  It has been a tradition for 12 years but I just heard about it, which is a loss on my part that was corrected this April when I was lucky enough to visit 20 of the 36 shops taking part in this year's month-long challenge.  The idea is to visit as many shops as you can in the month of April, submit your stamped "passport" for a drawing for very nice prizes, and vote for the challenge quilt of your choice [each shop has one].  Here's my choice for the quilt challenge, found in the Sanford Sewing Machines shop~

A 3-D quilt designed by people in the store

Work with fabric.  Yes, it's true.  I bought fabric at most of those quilt shops I visited.  I have four projects in mind and need the raw materials to make them happen.  The lesson is to get the fabric when I see it because I may not find it again.  I traveled 565 miles to shops all over central and southern Maine, saw parts of the state I've never seen before.  It was so much fun!  Here are the solids I bought, all American Made Brand cottons grown, woven, and dyed right here in the USA~

This is a fraction of the colors available

Spend time with Maggie.  I adore this child~

Maggie went shop hopping too

 I survived April and now it is May.  I need to remember these strategies as the journey continues.... 

It Started With A Line

It's three days in and I can say that the year has gotten off to a good start. Ken and I decided to spend the first few days of 2016 out of town. I made reservations for three nights at an in-town hotel in Portsmouth, NH. Ordinarily the room is not classified as having a good view, but New Year's Eve we had front row seats at a gorgeous fireworks display right out our window over the parking garage. Fortunately I remembered to make fashionably late dinner reservations, and the meal was everything we hoped it would be.

New Year's Day we made a trip to a nearby mall. We had a few specific things to shop for but mostly we wanted a chance to walk and window shop. Our last stop was JCPenney. I had five items to purchase at the first register we approached. Ken remembered one more thing, so we left the line and walked to another department.

That was our first mistake.

We picked up the five dollar item and joined another line at the "line forms here" sign. The woman in front of us had a few items, but the couple in front of her had several hundred dollars worth of merchandise. The woman moved with her few items to a second clerk when it was her turn. The couple with piles of linens was still checking out when the second clerk at the register became open. It was our turn but a gentleman with one item stepped up the counter. We thought it couldn't take long, and our turn would come shortly.

That was our second mistake.

The second clerk asked the man if he had a JCPenney credit card. He couldn't remember, so she offered to check the computer. It took her four tries to correctly enter his phone number. Alas, he no longer had an active account. The clerk offered to open a new account for him, and he thought that was a fine idea. The couple in front of us had a total of 51 items; the store allows a maximum of 50 items on a receipt, so the first clerk had to start a new ticket. About that time a clerk in jewelry announced that she could take people at her register. We thought that sounded like a good idea.

That was our third mistake.

I started toward the jewelry department saying, "Thank you! We have been in line a long time." Just then a man came out of nowhere and raced me to the register. He got there first. Ken said, "Let's go back to the first register."

That was our fourth mistake.

We walked across the store with our six items and got in line again behind two people. There was a woman checking out with over $500 worth of clothes. She talked loudly about her use of reward points, and the clerk announced that the woman had saved over $250. The customer grabbed her bags filled with purchases. We breathed a sigh of relief because the next woman was holding just one item.

That was our fifth mistake.

The woman stepped up to the counter with one shirt. The clerk reached around to a counter behind her and picked up two bags of clothes which she placed on the front counter. "You want to return these?" the clerk asked. The woman responded in the affirmative. There were two separate receipts so each item had to be matched with the correct one. Ken and I were shaking our heads and trying not to laugh. About halfway through the process the customer shared that she forgot her wallet, so she had no identification. A moment later she explained that the items were gifts and she did not have the credit card on which the items were charged. Then the clerk got on the phone to the manager because she was unable to complete the conversion of the return to a gift card. Ken and I were still discreetly laughing when another clerk showed up. Did we dare hope....

Finally we were able to make our purchase. Other than the fact that I had to bring to her attention to an item she missed, we were successfully checked out and went on our way. It took us 45 minutes to purchase six items at JCPenney. At the 40-minute mark I said that I needed to write about this experience because it was so ridiculous. And because no one would believe it. And because Ken and I were able to laugh at an absurd series of events in a situation that will likely never occur again.

This is my first post of 2016, the result of something that happened that I decided to share here. I want to celebrate that. There were few moments like that to write about last year. The birth of my granddaughter was such a moment, as were the quilting retreats.

I want more moments like that this year, moments where I am so present that I see how miraculous they are or how creative or how ridiculous.

Here's to a year of moments ~

June Trip

Over the course of nine days we traveled 2316 miles across thirteen states. Our northeast region is complete with ~

farms, factories, and funeral homes
garden centers, gravel pits, and gas stations
car dealers, train yards, and truck stops
power plants and playgrounds
churches, schools, and hospitals.

It came to mind that our country of rural and urban, grass and concrete, mountains and rivers is a nation made strong by our diversity and hard work.  I wish every politician would take the time to see what I saw ~

Factory on the Ohio River

Crossing from Ohio into West Virginia

The view up the Ohio River

Farmland in Virginia

Making hay

Building construction around George Mason University

Rebuilt Woodrow Wilson Bridge from VA into MD

Construction where hometown fields used to be

Bridge into Delaware

Today I am on my way to the coast of Maine for a few days of color and quilting.  I will let you know how it goes as the journey continues....

Unpacking

It's good to go away, and it's good to come home.  Then there's all the laundry, accumulated mail, sorting, and putting away that needs to be tended to.  This trip had an excellent element to the unpacking in the Fiesta!ware.  Some pieces are for me and some are for my daughter.  Look at the colors~

Ken picked out the sauceboat because it turns out he likes the color tangerine.  All the poppy pieces are for my daughter, as well as the red tray with handles and the medium sized bowls I now know are labeled "bistro."  The small bowls are my choice for berries, snacks, or ice cream.  Ken chose the bowls that have square bottoms; the red pitcher was my prize, although the oblong platter that is really a bread plate is fun, too.  The three pieces at the top of this second photo were special selections not bought as seconds~

Once the pieces were unpacked, washed, dried, and sorted as to who got what, I needed to make room in my cupboards.  Clearing out kitchen cupboards can be tiresome or fun, and in this case it was the latter.  I had to question why I am still hanging onto bowls we've had since the beginning but no longer use and how many drink glasses two people really need.  The goal has been to add color and usefulness, and our latest purchases accomplish both.

Fiesta!

From New York we headed to West Virginia with a specific purpose in mind: to visit the Fiesta Dinnerware Factory in Newell, a town in the uppermost reaches of the state across the Ohio River from Ohio.  Truth be told it would have been easier to find if it had been in Ohio.  We got turned around in East Liverpool and asked directions of a AAA tow truck driver who offered to lead us to our turnoff.  We thanked him and headed up the hill.  We didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this~

There were bins and bins of Fiestaware in the parking lot.  We went into the outlet store to see what was what and learned that the manager decided to leave the leftover "seconds" from the weekend's tent sale out for people to peruse and purchase.  Oh, my~

A salesclerk handed me a list of items with their prices, which was all well and good until I realized the items were not labeled.  I had no idea what anything was called!  There were a few other people there so we talked to each other as we looked and called out if we found anything matching a description.  It was a beautiful day on the Ohio River and a lot of fun~

Ken and I each had a crate to fill and managed to find the right sized bowls and platters, and a pitcher I've had my eye on for years.  Though these "seconds" were a fraction of the retail price,  I wanted to find pieces I would really use.  It was late in the day and we had just a half hour to shop, which was a good thing because the amount of dishware was overwhelming~

It will feel like Christmas when I get home and unpack the boxes~ 

Hey, Wealthy Californians

I have a suggestion for all those wealthy people in California who are complaining about their brown lawns:  move to the state of New York.  No, I'm not kidding.  I have just traveled across the state and I can tell you there is no greener, more lush place in the country.  There are thousands of square miles of green.  Here are just a couple examples of what you could do if you decide to make the move~

You could own a vineyard on a lake, like this place on Seneca Lake, in the famous Finger Lakes Region~

You could own a farm overlooking miles of green~

There are roads to get you where you want to go~

And more green just over that hill~

The magnificent skies are an added bonus~

Summer Begins

I knew last week would be busy.  It was the last five days of school with all the normal busy-ness of that time of year.  The added stress was that the classroom needed to be entirely packed by noon Friday ~ every book, file, activity, and piece of paper needed to be in a box, file cabinet, or crate because everything is being moved to a room-not-yet-determined.  Final count: 53 boxes, 7 file cabinets, 10 crates, and the assorted odd-shaped large items in trash bags and labeled.

So I did something smart ~ I took myself to the movies after school on Monday.  I saw I'll See You In My Dreams and have been thinking about the movie ever since.

Blythe Danner stars.  Blythe Danner is the embodiment of grace, poise, beauty, understated emotion, and she can sing.  The story is of a woman named Carol who has crafted a life.  She has friends who want her to move to their retirement village, but Carol likes living alone.  She has a routine and has tried to shield herself from further heartbreak. 

Then she has a conversation with the guy who cleans her pool, and her world expands a bit.  Their talks are about real life questions and willingness to keep trying.  Carol sings.  She meets a man.  She makes small changes.  Carol is my new role model.  Through the losses and the gains she keeps going.

I was crying within the first ten minutes.  Later I laughed out loud.  I sat entranced as Carol sang.  At one emotional point Carol tells her daughter that she still has two boxes in the guest room she should go through before she leaves,  and I was crying again.  That is how it really happens, this thing about life moving forward.  People leave.  Others are left behind.  We take a risk because we think we finally found the thing missing, and then it doesn't work out.  Relationships change, sometimes in ways over which we have no control.  Friends rally.  Maybe we take a trip....

I am traveling this week.  The timing is only because this was the biggest chunk of time we had this summer to take a road trip.  I am channeling Carol as life keeps happening in spite of my desire to push the pause button.   Maintaining a sense of calm is always a good choice.

Cats And Dragons, Oh My

I think it's official:  we are the way station for wandering cats.  I don't want to think about why so many stray cats have made their way to our door, but #3 showed up just before midnight on Friday.  You may remember that that's how we wound up with Leo, who just showed up one evening and stole our hearts for two and a half years.  Then came the beautiful tiger kitten who wanted the safety of our porch and was a challenge to catch to take to the shelter.  Friday night's lovely was caught peering in the kitchen door and upon the invitation to enter was purring so loudly Ken could hear her across the room.  She introduced herself to everyone here and relished all affection lavished upon her~

I fixed her a dish of turkey, rice, and broth that she lapped right up.  She spent the night in the guest bathroom and explored every corner of the house the next morning.  I knew we needed to get her to the shelter for her sake and ours ~ I didn't want to get attached.  The people at the shelter took her right in, even though they were closed to visitors due to painting the entire interior of the building, and all said she would be easily adopted due to her beauty, disposition, and young age.  I nick-named her Bright Eyes and know she will make some family a wonderful pet~

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I had a request for a photo of the luggage I bought.  I think this angle shows the pieces most clearly~

It is the Extra Large Sportman's Expandable Pullman Set.  The little guy on guard needed surgery after too much loving from Mazulah at my daughter's house.  Baby Dragon needed a new eye~

He's the cutest thing, each arm and leg are made in one piece so you can make them longer or shorter by pulling them up or down.  I think a little boy I know may have fun with him when he visits in June.