A Challenge

I have a really good excuse for not updating my blog lately. Two weeks ago I had repair surgery performed on my right shoulder which resulted in having my right arm in a sling/brace. The shoulder is healing nicely but it is rather a challenge to do everyday activities with just my left hand. I have to keep my arm in the sling 24/7 for about two more weeks. I am counting the days. But in the meantime these are the things I have learned. First, I have an amazing and compassionate husband who has been a lifesaver. I simply would have to be a blob on the couch if it werent for his help. I have learned that you need two hands to cut your meat. Hence I've been suriving on finger food and salads unless my husband cuts my meat for me. He says it reminds him of times he cut the meat for our children. Typing on the computer with my left hand is slow and although I'm getting faster it takes a lot of concentration. For a mental exercise you might try it. Buttons are for two handed people. Pants with elastic waistbands are my friend. Putting on socks with one hand...doable but try tube socks...getting the heels in the right place is a neat trick. Eating left handed, since I'm right handed has helped me with my weight loss program. I just get too tired chasing bits of food around my plate. I gave up trying to style my hair and got it cut short in a do I only have to fluff and go. I tried using the curling iron with only my left hand and gave it up as being dangerous. Putting in contacts one handed. Maybe for some of you this is no challenge but for me each morning is an exercise in how long I can keep one eye open and hopfully smush the contact in my eye before I blink. I'm not complaining. I'm finding this a unique opportunity to see how ingenious I can be at performing tasks that pre-surgery were no brainers but now take a great deal of mental effort to accomplish. I'm grateful that I do have two working limbs that I will in a few weeks be able to use in tandem. It has been an eye opening experience. You might like to try this, maybe for a short time. I'd love to hear what you discover, too.

Yosemite

Only a two hour drive from our home lies the majestic Yosemite Valley of California, a land of contrasts where granite crags thrust up from the serenity of the meadowed valley floor and gold-hued leaves of oak trees rustle in the breeze that also passes through stands of pines.

John Muir, noted naturalist and pioneer environmentalist explored Yosemite through it's various seasons. A poet in his own right, he wrote: "Nowhere will you see the majestic operations of Nature more clearly revealed beside the frailest, most gentle and peaceful things. Nearly all the park is a profound solitude. Yet it is full of charming company, full of God's thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and eager enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of beginnings abounding in first lessons of life..."


This week we took a day to visit this place of beginnings. Everywhere were grand vistas that were testaments to the ingenuity of God in creating this earth. I could only feel enveloped by the wondrous richness of this forested cathedral and humbled by the awesome power of cascading waterfalls over towering granite walls. It was good to put aside the mundane cares of daily life, as noble as they might be, and gather strength from this grand place and remember that this world was meant to be enjoyed, cherished and revered as a magnificent creation of God.

Into the Woods...and out of the Woods

My husband and a good friend just left for an off road High Sierra adventure. They packed their wilderness gear into a Toyota Land Cruiser outfitted with behemoth tires, a removable windshield, and canvas top...no windows... (why do you need to remove a windshield offroad)? They waved goodbye wearing ear-to-ear grins with hopes of catching numerous trout in Coyote Lake near the 9000 ft. elevation. The last mile is offroad and takes nearly an hour to traverse in the vehicle. You can walk it faster, so we're told. And the point is????

For the male of the species I suspect there is a gnawing need to be "The Hunter" that in day to day life is supressed. But from time to time that need surfaces and is manifest in a "hunt" of one sort or another. For some men, watching 22 men "hunt" an air inflated pigskin on a measured field fills the bill. For others, crouching in a reedy marsh, repeatedly blowing on an irritatingly brash imitation of a duck call and watching wooden decoys bob in the still water quenches the need. Some even may be able to meet this Mother-nature instilled craving by sitting in front of a computer screen blasting to bits C-G monsters all in the comforts of their own home.

My husband and friend apparently prefer the real deal. Nevermind these hunters have the latest technology with them, walkie talkies, GPS, iPhones, and the all-terrain vehicle that could climb Anapurna. Those inborn tendencies to face the foe and conquer the world are what drive the outfitters like REI and Cabelas to take advantage of the cross purposes of males needing to be basic hunters but to do so in comfort.

If you have never been to one of these outfitter's emporiums, you must go. It is an education in the social needs of the male animal. Big stuffed dead animals decorate the walls signifying that you, too, can be the champion of hunters. Tools with which to accomplish these goals fill cases and line locked cabinets. Gear for conquering almost any conceivable environmental condition is displayed (with pricetags neatly concealed). It is almost too much for the mortal mind to absorb.

I don't begrudge the male of the species their outings of manlihood. Being a female, I just don't get it. I'm happy to enjoy creatures of great size from afar, maybe shooting them...but with a camera. I'm happy to wear my comfy sweats nestled in a chair by the side of a river, reading a book, waving at my fly fishing husband from time to time as he lifts his latest catch from the streambed and cheer as he releases it. I'm happy to watch flights of geese lift from glass-like waters to form noisy V's as they wing their way south. To see a beautiful rainbow trout dart out from underneath a mossy rock, sip at a delicate winged insect then with a splash return to it's rocky abode is excitement enough for me.

When the mountains call once again, as I know they will, my husband will be ready with boots, flyrod, and backpack. And I will, with a smile, give him a kiss, wave goodbye as I did this morning, and await his return with stories of high adventure and of the hunt.

A Berry Good Tradition

In Washington State, August is blackberry month. The lanes and hillsides are thick with lush, green bushes heavy with dark, juicy blackberries. For many years the Wrights have trekked to Grandpa and Grandma's house near Bremerton, Washington to visit. Each visit always included picking blackberries. Almost as soon as we would arrive we would find a pail or bucket and head up the lane. The berries arched over a wide ditch that was always running water which irrigated the bushes and made for an abundance of the intensely flavored berries. Reaching across the ditch to pick the most delectable berries was risky. Most of us would only venture far enough to keep our balance and still be able to pick berries by the handful but an occasional tumble into the muddy ditch was inevitable. Some years berries hung in dark clusters from branches bent under the weight of hundreds of berries. Other years, when rain was not as plentiful, thorny branches stuck out over the fields as if grasping for nourishment and berries were small and fewer. But there were always more than enough berries for all. We would ooh and ahh over the crop. The most delicious were immediately popped into our mouths. Soon lips and fingers were stained with the sweetest juice and fingers became sore from being pricked over and over by thorns. But in no time the picking pails brimmed with berries destined to be made into pies, cobblers, and of course, jam and jelly. In years past, Grandma Louise Wright would don her worn, cotton apron (the one she didn't mind getting jelly stains on) and set to work washing berries and jars in preparation for making what we knew to be the best blackberry jelly and jam on earth. The berry pails were emptied into a colander, berries washed and picked over, then placed in a large kettle to crush. Removing seeds was optional but, to my taste, an important step. An old conical strainer with a mortar for pushing the berry juice and pulp through prepared the berries for jamming. We carefully mixed sugar, pectin, lemon juice and berries then heated the glossy mix until it bubbled and sputtered as it transformed into jam, filling the kitchen with the heavenly scent of sweet blackberries. The hot jam was then carefully ladled into clean jars, sealed, and labled with the year. The bits of jam left in the pot were quickly smeared onto pieces of bread and we savored every bite.

This week when we visited Grandpa Wright, it was only fitting that we pick blackberries and make jam. We missed having Grandma Louise there but as we picked, stirred, cooked and ladled blackberry jam I felt she would have been happy to know that her kitchen was still a place of sweet joy and happiness and that those memories of her, and the blackberry jam she made with us are preserved forever.

Catching my breath

It's been five weeks since I have posted. Five very busy weeks filled with great things. We took a trip back to Utah 4th of July week and spent time with the Utah clan doing some home repairs in their various locations, taking time out for a trip to the zoo with grandchildren, getting to know little baby Ella, celebrating 4th of July Utah style, taking in a performance of "Singin' in the Rain" that Kenneth had the lead in, congratulated Sarah and Teanca on their July birthdays, enjoyed seeing Teanca in "Oliver!", took a day in the mountains at Huntington Lake for a break from the heat, spent innumerable hours preparing for our community theater production of "Beauty and the Beast", enjoyed a surprise visit from Ann and the kids when they came to see the show, spent five days playing with Robyn and Megan when they drove out for a visit, celebrated the big "60" birthday with loving attention from my family and some beautiful yellow roses from my adorable husband, attending and coordinating the performances of "Beauty and the Beast" last week and this week...and whew...here I am and it's August. And this afternoon I finally took a nap. Now that I've caught my breath, I'm ready to see what next month holds.

Grandchildren are a Precious Gift

We are so blessed to be the grandparents of five amazing grandchildren. Our newest addition, Ella Jane made her appearance just a few days ago. We can't wait to meet her next week. Her older sister and brother are two very lively, creative bundles of energy who melt my heart when they wrap their little arms around my neck. I have to think back over a decade when our oldest granddaughter was that age. She just recently starred in a play alongside her brother, served as Student Body President, graduated from 8th grade and just got the lead in a summer production of Oliver! I still love getting the hugs even if her arms are a little longer and she's almost as tall as I am. Her brother is also amazing, talented, and gifted in so many ways. Sharing his enthusiasm for life makes my life rich.

I cherish the name "Grandma" and enjoy every moment we are able to share with these five terrific kids. What a precious gift they are.

Worth a Thousand Words

I know you've been waiting to see more pitctures from our trip to Europe. Here's just a taste of the marvelous things we experienced. I'm having trouble with the formatting, but here are some pictures anyway!

Castellina in Chianti, Tuscany

Roman Colosseum
Plaza Navonna, Rome

Fountain at St. Peter's Square, Vatican

Pantheon, Rome

Colosseum, Rome

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Lugano, Switzerland (Lake Lugano in background)

A view of the hills of Tuscany from a 13th century fortress.