Normal Thanksgiving

Now that Christmas is fast approaching, I think I'll reflect on Thanksgiving. Yeah, I'm a bit behind again - oh well. It really is true that everything is relative. In the past it seemed a bit lonely at Thanksgiving when it was just the four of us, when there were no grandparents joining us. However, after last year when it was just the two of us, going back to four seemed like a much fuller table.

Our son-in-law, Ian, was supposed to come, too, but since he had a new job with no vacation yet, he was unable to be here. Laura doesn't get paid vacation with her job so she just told her boss she was leaving for about 10 days (although she really wanted to say she was leaving forever). It was so nice to have her here for that long. We really didn't want to fly Erin out here for just a few days for such a high cost. However, when we found it was going to cost almost as much to fly her to her grandmother's in Florida as it would to bring her home, we pulled out the well worn credit card and bought her a ticket. She said she really wanted a "normal" Thanksgiving.

I have learned that a normal Thanksgiving requires that I fix exactly the same dishes that I've been making for years. The turkey is always stuffed with a bread dressing and barbequed on our Weber. We started this when we first moved here and discovered that the oven was too small. Now we wouldn't have it any other way. The meal also includes mashed potatoes, gravy (if I can get it right), green bean casserole, cranberry jello salad, bisquits, and pumpkin pie.

It was wonderful to be together, if only for a few days. On Friday evening the four of us went to our local Festival of Trees, a great way to get into the Christmas spirit.

A Different Halloween

For years at least one of us has stayed home on Halloween to answer the door for trick or treaters. This year Bob stated that he wanted to attend an Air Force band concert being given at a local high school. On Halloween? He pointed out that we don't get many trick or treaters. True. I relented but decided to put out a bowl of candy for the one large family of kids in our neighborhood. I grew a few great jack o' lantern size pumpkins this year so I convinced Bob to carve pumpkins with me the night before. The concert was great. Of course, it included some wonderful military marches but they played other types of music as well. The Singing Sargeants also performed and they were a lot of fun. My favorite section was the tribute to three singer/songwriters, three of my favorite: Elton John, Paul Simon, and Billy Joel. The two hours flew by and ended with a tribute to the different branches of the armed services. As each branch's song was played, members of the audience were asked to stand if they or a family member served or are serving in that military branch. We returned home to find the jack o' lanterns, still lit, and way too much candy left in the bowl. I'm doing my best to get rid of it (especially my favorite - Milky Ways).

It's Quiet Once Again

Wow, It's been a busy summer. My last post was just before Erin returned from her first year of college. Then there was the trip to Savannah for Laura's college graduation. And, oh yes, the wedding. Busy. Then suddenly everyone was gone. How strange. It's especially quiet this weekend because Bob went to San Luis Obispo for his "guys outing". While it is rather nice to have the place to myself, the four animals aren't exactly great conversationalists. I have been working on putting the last of the wedding stuff away and putting the photos onto an online share site, along with the laundry, dishes, etc.

Last weekend I went on the annual women's retreat with nine other women from our church. We went to a new spot this year, The Depot. The building is an old train depot that was moved to a scenic spot by the Payette River. They had added on a wonderful big deck but unfortunately the weather was a bit cool. For a relatively small fee, the staff fixed most of our meals for us which was a very nice change. This year some of us went for a hike along the Cascade Reservoir; we enjoyed some colorful fall displays. Our study this year was women of the Bible which honestly didn't excite me - for one thing we had used that subject before. However, one of the reflections on Sarah mentioned her dream (she wanted a child) and asked us to write down our dreams. That's not very easy for me. I did a little journaling on the subject (complete with cutouts from magazines). It is definitely a subject that I need to reflect on - now that I have more time.

Disturbing Times

The last two days have been difficult. I can't imagine what the families and friends of those killed and injured in the massacre at Virginia Tech are going through. As a parent of two college students, my heart goes out to those parents. I can only imagine the frantic calls on cell phones, trying to get through, hoping your child answers, that he or she is okay. On a more personal level, my husband is an alumnus of Virginia Tech. On many levels, this has been hard for him to watch. While being shocked at the carnage, he also grieves for his school. He doesn't want his alma mater to be remembered this way. As we watch the story unfold, so many questions arise. Of course, the issue of gun control will come up later. Although I don't even want to get into that now, I have a hard time listening to the people who say "guns don't kill people, people kill people" or the idiot who suggested that all of the students should be carrying guns for safety(????????). This young man was obviously seriously disturbed. A teacher tried to get him help; university administration and police knew about him. However, unless a person seeks help, there is little authorities can do until they actually do something. We are seeing more and more disturbed young men committing murder. The signs are there but people around them seem helpless to do anything. Two murders were committed recently in my state by another mentally ill young man. In a letter to our paper written by this man's parents, they alluded to having difficulty getting help for him. What can we do to prevent more of these horrible shootings? In a free society, that is a difficult question. At what point do we commit a mentally disturbed individual to an institution (hopefully to get help) when they haven't committed any crimes or indicated that they are planning any? How do we balance their rights and freedom with the protection of the rest of society? Does the right to bear arms really include automatic weapons or even handguns whose only purpose is to kill people? Should a mentally disturbed person have the right to buy a gun? Why don't we have more treatment facilities and funding for the mentally ill? These are questions that we citizens of the US will need to answer in the near future. Will anyone in Congress have the guts to deal with these questions honestly? I certainly hope so but I won't hold my breath.

Winter Blahs

Here it is, the beginning of March, and it snowed today!! Enough already! The Saturday before last we got a hint of spring - just enough to spoil us. Late morning Bob and I decided to walk over to our local coffee shop. The sun was shining and I even unzipped my light jacket. We met some neighbors, a woman and her elderly mother, heading out to their mailbox. We stood and chatted about the nearby commercial buildings (and resulting problems) going in and other neighborhood business. Several neighbors drove by and waved. Eventually one then two other neighbors came by on their walks. It took us over an hour to get our coffee but we enjoyed the time. Our spring-like weather was short lived. The snow came down fairly heavily for a while today then the sun came out, as if it had never snowed at all. Some time later we looked out the window and it was snowing again. It was a very wet snow and only stuck to the grass, not the pavement. Sigh. I long for T-shirts, short, and sandals (and sun).

Empty Nest Again

Our nest is now empty again. On Sunday our youngest flew back to Boston for her second semester of college. I kept track of her progress - or lack thereof. Her flight from Boise was almost an hour late leaving. The flight from Denver to Boston was over 2 hours late and it had nothing to do with weather. I'm not too impressed with United. My husband attributes their maintenance problems to an old fleet. Not too reassuring.

So, the house is quiet again and I'm spending more time on my cell phone. I've deposited money into accounts several times for food, medication, books, etc. The Christmas stuff is all boxed but hasn't made it to the garage yet (it's very cold out there). I'm trying to get the house back to normal - whatever that is. I guess that's one of the challenges of becoming an empty nester - determining what normal means now.

Mother of the Bride

About a week and a half ago I attended a "Bridal Extravaganza". Since the bride was on the other side of the country, I went with her sister, the maid of honor. We took our duties seriously, picking up brochures and business cards and sampling entrees and cake. We breezed by the wedding dress displays since we already have one but we did watch the fashion show. We spent several hours there and couldn't eat another bite as we waddled out. I think it was the cake that did it - lots of sugar. We even left with samples of cake in our bag, enough for the father of the bride, too!

Actually, I think we're doing well. Not only do we have the dress, we have a seamstress for the bridesmaid dresses and the pattern and fabric have been chosen. I still need to go and purchase the material and get it to the seamstress. We just signed the contract and made a deposit for the reception and I have spoken to the manager of a band who is making up a contract. The bride and groom have made a decision on the caterer although I still have to call them. We have a photographer lined up. The guest list is coming along and the happy couple is working on "save the date" postcards. Just may need to go sample some more cake, though - before I start back on my diet!

Go Broncos!

What an incredible game! The Boise State Broncos played an amazing game and beat Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime in the Fiesta Bowl tonight. We aren't big football fans but we couldn't miss this game - it's a really big deal here in Boise. We have been seeing orange and blue all over town for the past month. There are somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 Boise fans in Arizona for the big game. I look forward to hearing the stories from the fans when they return. Boise State sure proved themselves to all the people who questioned whether they belonged with the big guys. Go Broncos!

Full House

What happened to December? With the hustle bustle of the Christmas season, work, illness, home projects, etc. the month just flew by. We had to push to get everything cleaned up for the arrival of our daughter, Laura, her fiance, and their little dog on Friday, Dec. 15th (my birthday!) - well, actually they arrived late, after midnight, so it was the 16th. We had an enjoyable weekend, attending the Nutcracker on Saturday night and a church Christmas music program on Sunday night. Our younger daughter, Erin, arrived at the Boise airport Monday night. We were back to juggling bathroom schedules just like old times. Our pets were quite interested in our canine visitor. The cats were just plain puzzled; they had never seen a Chihuahua before and were not quite sure what he was. The dogs knew what he was and in between running around they began marking their territory. Just great! Somehow we managed to finish shopping, wrapping and packing by Friday afternoon and hit the road. It is not easy to squeeze 5 adults and a dog into a minivan, even with a top carrier but with the help of Ian's (the fiance) superior packing skills, we did it. A day later we arrived at my parents' home in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was so great to see everyone; it had been a long time. On Christmas Day we had 18 people packed into their not so big house for dinner. Other highlights included a rather rainy trip to the city (SF) which included a boat ride to Alcatraz plus another day trip to Placerville to see my parents' almost ready new house. It was a great holiday.

First Snow

The voice on the radio warned us to be careful. The valley roads were slick due to rain and snow. Snow! Aagh! I'm not ready. Yesterday we had to empty out our bedroom so the carpet could be laid today. The items I needed to get ready for work were in multiple rooms. And we had snow! Luckily we had received more rain than snow so it didn't take too long to defrost and scrape the car windows. The roads were fine and I got to work on time. Tonight the snow was flying at my window as I drove home from my tap class. Now the ground is dusted with snow. Hopefully there won't be any surprises in the morning (it's supposed to be cold). Snow is fine when you can admire it through your living room window. Driving in it is something else!

Festival of Trees

Today we attended the Festival of Trees. It seemed strange to go there without either of our girls. For years we were there because the girls were dancing; the trees were a bonus. Last year, I was the performer and my girls watched me - a reversal in roles. Today four of us from our adult class put on our tap shoes and a smile then walked out onto the little stage, praying that we didn't screw up in front of all those people. It went okay although the stage surface was rather strange (rough, with lots of seams). With that out of the way we walked around and enjoyed the wonderful display of decorated trees and wreaths. My favorite used peacock feathers as its focus point. Of course, there was a Boise State Broncos tree and a couple of wreaths all decked out in orange and blue. We also managed the catch the "dolls come to life" entertainment when actors play the part of dolls representing fairy tales and other stories. This year they had the evil queen, Hansel and Gretel, Queen of Hearts, fairy godmother, Noah, Cinderella, and Merlin & Arthur with Excalibur. We spent 3-4 hours total there, soaking it all in. I think I'm ready to go buy our tree now.

A Very Quiet Thanksgiving

This was the first Thanksgiving that I spent without my daughters. I had thought it was a small dinner before when we just had the four of us but this year it was just Bob and me. The girls were together at the home of Laura's fiance in Virginia. Since our house is a bit torn up, I didn't really want to invite anyone over here. On the bright side, we didn't have to clean the house or dress up. However, the table seemed terribly empty even though it was covered with food. I basically fixed what I always fix except that we barbequed a smaller turkey and I baked a pecan pie instead of a pumpkin pie. Just after we sat down to eat, we heard some noise and realized that a neigbor was setting off fireworks (I don't know why - leftovers?) We opened up the blinds and watched them for a few minutes.

Last night, since it was just the two of us, we attended the 24th Annual Thanksgiving Ecumenical and Interfaith Service. I had wanted to go for a number of years but with people coming into town, it had never worked out. Worshipers were asked to bring canned food and the offering went to Interfaith Sanctuary (winter shelter for the homeless). We were called to worship with the blowing of the Shofar (ritual instrument of Judaism) then representatives from various religions processed into the sanctuary. We were welcomed by the Catholic Bishop, a prayer was read from the Koran and then the Mayor of Boise voiced his Proclamation of Thanksgiving. The Ecumenical Choir, made up of musicians from a dozen Christian churches sang two numbers. There was a reading from the Book of Mormon, a call to meditation from a member of the Buddhist community and a song from the choir from the local Jewish synagogue. The message was from a Methodist minister and reflected on caring for the poor. There were hymns sung by the congregation, a blessing from the Rabbi, and a prayer from a woman of the Baha'i faith. We ended with the blowing of the Shofar and a recessional. It was a beautiful service and the place was packed - standing room only. If only the spirit of that worship service could move out into the world......

Canine children

One thing that I have noticed about people who either no longer have children at home or never had children is that their pets tend to become their children. All the attention that would have gone to children is now tranferred to their animals. I don't think that I am quite there yet but I have been giving our four furry family members more attention lately. As someone who has studied animal behavior, I am still puzzled, amused and sometimes amazed at their behavior. Piper, our Sharpei-Border Collie mix, is interesting to watch. She is about 3 years old but still acts like a teenage dog. A couple of days ago I bought a couple of soup bones while I was at the grocery store, one for Piper and one for Kozmo (American Eskimo-lab-? mix). I hadn't done that for a while and it didn't take me long to remember why. The dogs had been happily chewing on their bones while Bob and I were raking leaves. Suddenly, we heard a lot of barking and growling. I went to investigate and found Kozmo guarding his bone, snapping at Piper when she came near. I looked all over but couldn't see Piper's bone. She appeared to be totally clueless as to it's location. However, when I asked Kozmo "where's Piper's bone?", he ran over to one of the freshly dug holes (Piper is a digger, unfortunately) and looked at me. Piper immediately ran over and began to growl at Kozmo. So I reached into the hole, dug around, and sure enough, there was the bone. After wiping it off I gave it to Piper. She chewed on it for a bit but after a while she was carrying it around the yard, running in circles. There seemed to be an air of desperation about her, like she just HAD to bury it. The next day both bones had disappeared so Bob dug them up. Later, Piper was standing over both bones, not allowing poor Kozmo near them. She was moved inside so Kozmo could gnaw on his bone in peace. Today both bones were missing again but Bob felt he had better things to do besides digging for bones. (Imagine that!) I had been considering buying new dog beds but perhaps Piper is still not ready for that. When we first got her she managed to pull her foam dog bed through the dog door to the yard where she proceeded to destroy it. Once she had finished off her own bed, she did the same to Kozmo's. Poor Kozmo! He loved to curl up in that bed. After trying other beds (which she destroyed), they ended up with plywood with old carpet stapled to it - the one thing that Piper can't pull through the door or chew up. We keep hoping she'll grow up! Or develop more brains! We still love her, though. She's one of the family.

Clear and Shiny Shower

Today I took a shower in our newly rebuilt shower stall! It has shiny new chrome and clear glass sides, quite a contrast to the old one. This may not seem exciting to most people but it was a long time in coming. Oh yes, we also have a new ceiling, a new mirror and new vanity lights. I cleaned up the cedar cabinets and paneling with something called orange oil. Works great.

A Quiet Halloween

Living in a neighborhood with acre lots and few kids means we never have many trick or treaters. This makes me sad because I love Halloween. I enjoy the creative costumes and the fun decorations. If we had more kids coming to our door I would go all out with decorating. Last night I pulled out a few decorations and carved a small pumpkin that I grew. For a couple of hours tonight I kept peeking out the window, looking for movement out on the street. Finally, when we had just about given up, the doorbell rang. Five kids from the large Catholic family that lives around the corner smiled and held out their bags. It was hard to see their costumes through the coats and other layers; it's very cold today. After a handful of candy for each one and a "happy halloween", they were on their way. My jack o'lantern is now inside where he is grinning at me as I sip my tea and enjoy the warmth of my home.

End of the Season

It was time. My garden was tired, producing little. Plastic sheeting had protected some of the plants from a bit of frost at night. On Sunday I harvested what was left in the garden then ripped or dug out all of the plants and threw them on the pile. We pulled up all of the plastic and fabric mulch. The rocks that held them down were tossed into their winter spot to wait until next year. It's a tiring job made worse by all of the pollen that was stirred up. The most successful vegetable this year was the peppers - I got a large number of wonderful, sweet, red bell peppers. Of course I already have in mind the changes I'll make for next year...

Camping Out

About a week ago we moved out of our bedroom into the girls' bedrooms after the ceiling was removed in our bathroom. Actually, I moved out one day earlier than Bob. After spending one night with cold air blowing down on him from the attic (the bathroom is open to the bedroom), he decided that moving out was a good idea. The sheetrock had to be replaced due to water damage which resulted in mold. On the suggestion of our contractor, I also moved out all of my bathroom drawers and lined them up in the bedroom that I'm currently using. Of course, there is no room to put anything of ours in the girls' bathroom because all drawers and cabinets are overflowing. I'm not sure why. I have to wander into my bedroom (brrr), into the other one where my drawers are located and back into the girls' bathroom to get ready to go to work in the morning. I feel like I'm camping out!

Finally

Our older daughter's engagement is finally "official", meaning she has the ring. This was hardly a surprise since they have been talking about it for a while and have a tentative date. And, oh yeah, there's a wedding dress in one of our closets. Now I'm free to tell people so I announced it during "joys and concerns" this morning at church (as a joy). I know there will be lots of planning ahead and it will cost $$ but I'm excited for them.

Last night we enjoyed a concert by the Boise Philharmonic. We received free tickets from a couple from our church who couldn't use their season tickets because they were going out of town. The orchestra is searching for a new music director so last night we had the opportunity to observe one of the applicants conduct. She was Brazilian with Italian roots, tiny, and a bundle of energy. We went to the reception afterwards and one of the long-time musicians said she is really easy to follow with great facial expressions. We had a conversation with the previous music director and he encouraged Bob to dust off his old trumpet and start playing it again. He's thinking about it.

Today was the Ada County CROP Walk. After church and a quick stop at home to change we headed to Julia Davis Park, the starting point. There were several hundred people from a number of area churches there to fight for the cause of ending hunger. I managed to collect $255. We walked 6.2 miles or 10 kilometers, visiting with people from our church and the church where I work. The weather was not the best. We got a little bit of rain but it wasn't bad and the temperature was around 60 degrees. I walked the last half of the walk with a lady from our church who is nearing 80 years old (much to my surprise). I'm a bit tired and stiff tonight but not too bad. We had our usual TCBY (reward) and pizza afterwards. Walking is a small thing to do for a good cause. "We walk because they walk".

New Do

Okay, I finally did it. After some prodding from my eldest daughter I got a new hairstyle. So, what's the big deal? Well, I've had basically the same style for over 25 years. I have very fine, limp hair so perms have been easy - wash and wear. Now it's short with no perm. The question is how well I'll deal with it. It was time for a change.

Just the Two of Us

This weekend we finally began to truly feel like empty nesters. On Friday night we decided to attend a program at BSU that featured Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein as guest speaker. The evening began with the film "One Survivor Remembers" which tells Gerda Klein's story but unfortunately the film ended prematurely with technical difficulties. However, Gerda Klein is an engaging, touching speaker. She truly exemplifies the strength of the human spirit. The program was part of Human Rights Month. On our way home we stopped at TCBY. Yum.

Yesterday we slept in, puttered around the house, etc. until mid-afternoon then went downtown to Julia Davis Park for "Museum Comes to Life". This is an annual event but we hadn't been there for years. With our busy lives with teenagers we had mostly dropped going to these kind of events. We saw lots of people in period costumes (early Idaho) demonstrating things such as spinning, weaving, papermaking, printing, wheel construction, and firing rifles and cannons. Some of the volunteers had brought their personal collections of antiques items such as dental & medical, infantry, calvary, and Indian. We wandered through old cabins and homes which had been moved to the sight (and are only open to the public on rare occassions), the museum interior, and the lawn around the front of the building. Of course, we couldn't pass up a bag of kettle corn then on the way out we picked up BBQ beef sandwiches for our dinner.

Today was Bob's birthday. We attended church as usual then I asked him what he wanted to do. We toyed with the idea of going somewhere but I ended up baking him a cherry cake and we went out to dinner. With just two of us we can be a lot more spontaneous. I had kind of forgotten...