You can fool the fans - but not the players.... John Cage

The lonely house.

I'm sorry I've neglected you, little blog... it is just that we've been terribly busy with moving. Boxes, and furniture and things long forgotten out in the garage... so much stuff to deal with. I'm sure I did not edit enough - we have packed in a storage unit items that we'll never need or want again - but I did the best I could and I'll edit again when we unpack. If we ever unpack. Right now I'm ready to hit the road with only what fits in a 24" trailer.

I got a little melancholy once our pace slowed and the house was empty. Up until that point I'd been philosophical, practical, and eager for the next step in our lives. But walking through the empty rooms I was suddenly overcome with memories and all the love that was in this house.

We shared so many meals that came out of this kitchen and I watched seasons change through those windows. We really loved the layout of this house and it worked well for us, our family and friends who came to visit and stay.

This is a rare sight as JC does not like an empty fridge... he and I think very differently when it comes to a refrigerator. Right now, in the Rambler, I have just what I need and no more. Nothing is hiding in the back, no leftovers that won't get noticed until it is too late. He likes an abundant fridge - one full of opportunities. I like a lean fridge, one that I can keep a close eye on.

My baking counter. Many scones and cookies were rolled out in this corner. Christmas baking with the TV tuned to Channel 77- the music channel with the view of the Sierra, where I'd watch storms roll in as the house filled with the smell of sugar, cinnamon, cloves, chocolate, and butter.

And my lovely art room. A beautiful mess of paper, metal, resin, and more. My refuge during the blazing hot days of summer. The extra bed for the poor, unfortunate visitor that didn't get the GROG. This was the most luxurious space I've ever had for making and creating... it will be sorely missed.

My art room spilled over into the laundry room and that counter was the painting area. The cat ate his dinner on one end, the sewing machine sat in the middle, and the paints were right across from the sink. Right outside was our back yard; hummingbirds at the feeders and our laundry drying in the sun. So many loads of laundry sorted and folded in this room. A catchall for those Christmas decorations that got overlooked when we packed the rest off to storage.

Command central for teaching. How many Adobe Acrobat Live sessions did I record from my desk in this room? JC abandoned his desk after his new laptop and it became a flat surface for storage... but he was often in here making fires in the winter, filing VVR paperwork, and watching football on one of the multiple TVs he'd have tuned to the NFL.

Our room - with our view of the bird feeder, our chorus of frogs from the water feature, our lovely animals. We will miss this room.

This doesn't appear very often in my world... an empty closet? Of all the features in the house that I truly loved I didn't much love this closet. Cramped, the only one for the both of us... it was tight. But we made it work.

Good-bye dear bathroom. Loved the double sinks. Hated the permanently-spotted-with-hard-water-spots glass shower. Watched myself grow older and larger in this mirror... a by-product of that abundant fridge noted earlier.

Yes, we will miss you sweet house. So many good things happened inside these rooms. So many wonderful people stayed here with us. We are off to make new memories and we hope that the next people to move in here stay and very long time and enjoy all of the wonderful features that you have to offer. And we hope that we find a place that provides the space for making new memories just as wonderful.

Being thankful and feeling fortunate

On Friday I left my home office in the late afternoon to have a cup of tea with an aquaintance in town - a chance to talk about art, education and teaching. As I left there I heard sirens and the wind, which had been blowing ferociously all day, was not letting up - howling through the streets of Bishop. I stopped by my favorite thrift store to check for treasures and a lot of the people who work there were rushing out the door, heading for their homes in Big Pine. I caught wind of news of a fast moving fire threatening Big Pine and called JC. He was just heading down to do an early feed and winding up his work day. He told me he'd call me if it looked serious.

I heard more sirens and several other people rushed out the door and tore away in their cars heading south and I thought I might just make a couple of calls, line up somewhere to take the horses, and head that way since I had the truck.

Good thing, too, cause as I drove south making illegal calls, this is what I saw:

 

This is from 10 or 12 miles north. It did not look good. As I raced south I managed to get in touch with the owner of the equestrian center where we keep the filly for training, Millpond.

Hilke didn't hesitate in finding room for our two geldings and extended the invitation to anyone else who needed a place for their horses. Now, to get them there.

Inyo County sheriffs, CHP, and various fire service admin cars kept screaming past me on 395 - my speed was irrelevant and it was hard not to let the Dodge loose - but the wind was screaming and pushing against the truck and all I could think of was how was this going to feel with a trailer behind me?

 

I was very happy that JC and I were going to be able to do this together and that he was just ahead of me.

 

The scene at the saddle club was chaotic yet calm at the same time. The horses were amped, the smell of smoke was strong and it seemed the fire was not very far away. And still the wind howled. Our geldings were amazingly cooperative and calm. Our friends Irv and Sherry were doing a fabulous job of organizing the evacuation of horses for people who didn't own trailers. They rounded up the folks with the largest trailers and were loading and transporting to Bishop and up to the east to Joe's alfalfa ranch.

 

Murt, who owns the pack station out of Big Pine, keeps all of his stock in large pastures just to the north of the saddle club. Other packers and ranchers began arriving with their big stock trucks to help him.

 

We loaded our horses and headed north planning to return to help with other horses. The fire was moving so fast that within minutes the evacuation order for all of Big Pine west of U.S. 395 was in effect. The trailer rode fine with the weight of the horses in it and we got them to Millpond and turned them out into a gelding pen with two other geldings. I think they had a long night being the new boys and Rocket had a few chunks of hair on his rump missing - he's always the whipping boy.

We called back down to Big Pine to see if we could be of help but the word was that with the large stock trailers everything was going along and there were so many fire personnel and people trying to get the heck out of their homes we'd only add to the confusion and not be that much help. We headed home for a long night of worry for our friends.

 

I was glued to Twitter, Google's Realtime feed, Facebook, and CalFire the entire evening and even several times through the night woke up to check. I taught school at Big Pine High School and have kept my horses there for six years now - we know a lot of people there and were very concerned for their homes. And of course, for the saddle club. We had grabbed our saddles and bridles but left everything else there and around 4:30 am I had a vision of a blackened piece of earth with twisted panels and smoldering sheds. How could we ever rebuild that place? The arena, the round pen, the trees.... so many memories of good and and bad times.

It made it. 26 homes were lost in Big Pine. 26 families lost just about everything. The firefighters were amazing. They beat it back.

 

The fire command center was set up at the park and Big Pine Fire Department. Engines came from all over - we saw Long Valley, June Lake, Wheeler Crest, Mammoth Lakes heading south while we drove the horses north. CalFire, CDF, BLM, USFS were all there. And doubtless engines from the south - we just didn't see them.

 

We were able to return our horses to their home the next morning - and I think they were very relieved. There was much calling back and forth as we unloaded them.

 

It all came down so fast - another lesson in "you just never know". We recognize we got lucky and we realize there are others who were not lucky in this instance. Never ever take a day for granted. Our hearts go out for those who lost their homes in this early fire.

For Japan With Love

I've decided to join other bloggers in a day of no blogging for Japan on March 18. Please consider making a donation to ShelterBox via this link if you can. 

There is so much devastation in Japan. It is the very least we can do.

The organizers of this lovely effort are: Ever Ours and UtterlyEngaged

They say:

"We have handpicked ShelterBox as the organization we'd like to donate to. We know that their volunteers are already there in Japan helping, so please be assured that your donations are being put to good use. ShelterBox provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters at the time when they need it the most. Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items."

Give now if you can.

Yep, it's still me! Just a new look...

New layout for the blog.... just trying to keep it fresh and try new things. I've had the blue layout for years now and recognizing my resisitance to change I'm forcing myself to step out of the box. The old layout isn't gone, it's just stored. And this might encourage me to create a new banner or two.

I'm also thinking that I might.... I might... whoa, almost lost that thought right there. I might try Typekit for awhile. Try out a script maybe. Or maybe not. Does it really matter? I always change my font to one of the limited variations TypePad has to offer, ususally Terminal, but it how important is it? For me, color, style, layout - all that always matters but does it matter to the people who are reading this blog?

Anyhow. No pictures today, just a new layout. It's Friday and this weekend I'll have photos of baking, photos of metalsmithing, photos of something. The weather is dull this week - too warm for December, high boring clouds that do nothing, weather I want to smack into next year. December should be cold and white.

We filled the bird feeders last weekend and it took the birds a couple of days to find them but yesterday - whoa daddy, yesterday was a feeding frenzy. We put a big one right outside the kitchen window and there was a constant flutter around that feeder with all kinds of birds visiting. It's hard to get photos through the window but I might try to begin to identify the birds that are visiting. I love it, and I love that when I went out back there were quail in the yard. JC set up a big, flat feeder on a post and the bigger birds are all over that one. Then we have the teeny little birds that come for the thistle.

Home weekend and I am so looking forward to it.

Beach bridal shower

One of the reasons for our very quick trip to Southern California last weekend was so I could attend KC's bridal shower. We've been so fortunate to live close enough that we were there the weekend SC proposed (Christmas Eve last year) and a few of the other major events in their lives... and we're hoping we live close enough to enjoy future grandchildren in the coming years.

 

It was beach-themed (of course) and the bridesmaids went all out in the decorating of KC's future mother-in-law's townhome on the beach.

It was probably one of the hottest days of the year so these didn't see too much action - most of us were seeking shade and the moving air under the ceiling fans.

We've been to several parties at this beautiful home now, and we love how they've incorporated the colors of the sand and ocean and sky into their lives.

There was sangria, and margaritas, and chilled Chardonnay....

A Mexican food buffet and these beautiful cupcakes for dessert.

They make a stunning couple and it's almost scary how smart and successful they are already.

Of course, all these beautiful decorations were really just to frame this gorgeous bride to be...

 

and her friends....

As she takes that next leap into the rest of her life.

There were games and there were gifts and much laughter...

She handled all the attention with such grace and good humor and I swear, never broke a sweat.

All this leading up to a big moment just over a month away.... hard to believe we'll be sitting on a beach soon. Watching this same young woman in another white dress get married.

 

Big sigh.

Roses are red, and lemons make lemonade

I'm in the boring part of healing now... the time in between the more dramatic before-and-after results of surgery... the times when not being the person you are used to being gets to be a huge annoyance and burden. When you have to work extra hard to stay upbeat. When a climbing rose full of blooms can make all the difference.

If only all the roses were doing so well... I don't know what it is about this one but conditions seem perfect this year. We hacked it back hard last winter and it has responded with abundance. I recently transplanted another, struggling, rose to this same fence in hopes that it will flourish too.

During a day I constantly move about the house and yard - taking my laptop with me to work in a variety of locations and positions. Normally my job involves periods at the computer but also many days and hours of being out and about, meeting with people, interacting, making connections. Isolation is difficult.

Thank goodness for computers and high-speed internet access. I can't wear my glasses but I am able to read using a computer. So I've been reading about knowledge clusters, and economic strategies, and USDA local food reports, and following webcasts of conferences and meetings, and talking on the phone to members and associates. Does that make me lucky or unlucky? It certainly has helped me keep my mind occupied and off the dull ache in my head that is a constant with this "trunk".

 

Lemonade out of lemons - that is my mantra right now. Not going to let this get me down. The cup is half full, my cup runneth over, my cup contains exactly as much as I can tolerate, right?

All the cliches come to mind these days. What is the most important part of healing? What you eat or what you do? What you think? I believe it is all of the above as well as the life you've been leading prior to the injury or illness. We bank up all the good healing necessities with our nutrition, our exercise, our outlook on life. And I am pulling from the bank, baby. Pulling hard.

 

Maybe these roses are a good metaphor. They were pruned and didn't look pretty at all for months last winter... but look at them now. I've been pruned and don't look pretty at all either. But I'm healing like the roses healed and I'm thinking that it won't be months before I at least start to look like myself again. I'm thinking I won't have to go through the summer in seclusion. I'm thinking good lemonade thoughts. Keeping up the exercise, eating right, laughing with friends who are so deliciously witty with the nose jokes. Cultivating patience and trying not to waste a moment of my life.

Thank goodness for labradors and roses.... they were my saviors today.

birthday reflections

What is it about a birthday? Is it just that it is your one and only special day? Oh, sure, there's secretary day and grandma day and Christmas and all.... but there's only one day that is yours alone - even if you share that day with some other birthday person. And I feel many of that are reluctant to give up that special day.

There's an idea that you are to "grow out of it" - that birthday parties and cake and ice cream are to give way to a dinner out or some keepsake piece of jewelry; but that isn't what makes a birthday special. And at this age it isn't really about the presents - most of us can go out and manage to get the things we want and that is funny cause most of us don't even want that much "stuff" anymore. So what is it about?

My best birthday in a long time was my 50th. Spending the weekend out at Benton Hot Springs was so great and having my friends and some of my family there - that made it special. These birthdays that I work - they just go by like any other day.

Except that now I have JC; who has a knack for making things special. He gave me a birthday weekend - with funny and sweet cards hidden all over the place. I kept finding them in the oddest spots - the closet, the bathrom, in front of the dog food. It was fun - so fun. I'll treasure those cards. They came from the cat, at dinner time, before coffee.

The flip side of all that celebration and recognition is that you get to be another year older. Yeehaw! I've been digesting that for awhile. No turning back - it is what it is - but it is going to take me awhile to like it.

Ok - I'm over the reflection and the rumination over birthday issues. That was it; I got it out and I'm moving on now.

a little of this, a little of that

Rain is falling and I have a fire going in the woodstove, the animals are inside and lazy, and I am enjoying an evening of puttering from project to project. Sigh. Happiness. I thought I might post a random assortment of photos from the blog folder.

Barbed wire in the snow. Two of my favorite things.

Sunrise on New Year's Day.

Snow on the old wicker chair I really should NOT leave outside. It is getting drenched right now.

Our new coffee sign - I have to do something with this. It rocks.

Hmmmmmm. I think that might be all the ones I've resized yet hadn't yet posted. Ok. More tomorrow. I'm going back to listening to the rain.

Making the Most of Monday #2

It is all about me this Monday - job opportunities on the horizon, a good groove going with the arts and crafts, a January thaw making it pleasant to be outside in the late afternoon. So here are my goals for another week tied in with a journal page image. Thank you, Vintage Indie, for encouraging us to set goals and look at Mondays as a fresh start.