Famous Last Words

It took me exactly 7 minutes to get to my new job today...SEVEN MINUTES!!!!!!! As I arrived at the parking lot, memories of our commute in the Washington DC area came flooding back to me. When we were considering leaving Iowa, we agonized for one week, going over the pros and cons. At one point Bob said, "But, Kath, the traffic is so bad there" (in context...we had lived in small town America the prior 19 years) and I answered "How bad could it be?".

Well, we soon found out and those words became my famous last words as we navigated REAL TRAFFIC. It was as if it was all traffic, all the time. Having grown up in the New York metro area, I thought I knew traffic. How naive I was and how quickly we learned. Bob would leave each day around 5:50 am and arrive at work about 1 1/2 hrs later. He would repeat that in the evening, with a grand total commute of three hours! On the days I worked, (Thank, God, I was part time), I would leave at 5:30 am and usually arrive at 6:45 for my 7:00 am, 12 hour shift. The only good thing about this 12+ hour day was that my trip home at night was usually more manageable.

The craziest thing about DC traffic, however, was that you were always vulnerable to sitting in a traffic jam of some sort. Sometimes there were accidents or road work, but mostly you never knew why you were sitting in your car...crawling along...getting stressed...and wondering...why did we leave Iowa???

When we arrived in St. Louis our main criteria for our home location was a good commute for Bob. We achieved that for him, but I still had a crazy commute (but, never as bad as DC!). In St. Louis I never quite figured out why my commute sometimes took 45 minutes and on other days it would be over an hour. So, in this context, my commute today is more than a dream come true...it's a truly amazing phenomenon. I must say it is wonderful to be done with big city traffic and having the miracle of getting into your car and getting to work in 7 minutes!!!!!!!

Coffee, coffee, everywhere!

Truth be told, even though I grew up in a coffee drinking household, I never liked the stuff myself. I loved the smell of the local Maxwell House factory in the small New York suburban town where I grew up, but even lots of sugar and cream didn't stop me from saying "ewe, yuck" when I taste tested a brew. Enter Starbucks (I didn't like those drinks in the beginning, either) and somewhere along the way in mid life I began to like coffee. I advanced from coffee flavored milkshake-like sweet slushes to regular coffee through the years and now I am a half & half with a spot of sugar kind of gal. Actually my favorite coffee brand is Dunkin' Donuts and we were so happy when Target began to sell the stuff nationally. Although there is a Dunkin' Donuts on every corner in Rhode Island, there are many parts of this great USA without my fave coffee (including here in Northwest).

The Northwest more than makes up for their lack of Dunkin', though, with their own answer to a coffee bar on every corner. And that is because there IS a coffee place on every corner!!!! They have all sorts of cute sounding names like Big Foot Java, I Wana Moka, Espresso, Tony's Coffee, Cruisin Coffee, Wood's Coffee, and of course, Starbucks. In our local yellow pages, there are 40 entries under Coffee Houses and Cafes. And, so, I am now never in danger of going without a nice, steaming cup of Java, Joe, or whatever you like to call it...it's always roasting here!

A New Job

It always is amazing to me how going down one road can lead you to another. I have been scouring the job site at our local hospital for about a year now. I wanted to keep up with job opportunities as I didn't anticipate being done with the world of work after our move. Last year I saw several "PRN" or as needed positions and thought I would have several to choose from when we moved to Bellingham. But, when we arrived I mainly saw full time and part time positions. For someone who is semi-retired and desires to travel frequently, the idea of being tied down with little vacation time did not appeal to me at all. So, I decided to follow my passion and become a Hospice volunteer...little did I know.

While I was getting my TB screening for above said volunteer work, I received a tip from the occupational health nurse. We were having a nice conversation about my various experiences and she thought there must be "something" that I could apply for. I told her that I looked frequently and nothing fit the bill. She was persistent, went to their on line job site and there it was, "PRN, radiation oncology". "You should apply", was her next advice. Long story short...I applied, interviewed and was offered the position last Friday.

I've been thinking a lot about how I would probably not have applied if not for my road to Hospice and the nurse with the tip. This new job is almost too good to be true...normal hours, no weekends/holidays, and I will fill in for vacations. What's a nurse not to like? There are no benefits, but of course for me the benefit of flexibility is priceless. Even when I told them of all my travel plans for this year, no one batted an eyelash.

And, so I embark on another new work adventure. I feel incredibly blessed to have found this position. I interviewed with the entire staff and they were warm and welcoming. Of course I'm scared to be a "newby" again, but that goes with the territory. One of the best things is that I'll still have time to volunteer with Hospice. Orientation begins next Monday...new beginnings continue!

Calming words

As my yoga class was ending today my instructor, Carol, said the following, "Each breath in nourishes your body, each breath out calms your spirit". I love those words...it was calming just to hear them...enough said.

Sometimes your "worries" do come true

Several weeks ago I bought tickets for some items that our church was raffling as a fund raiser for a mission trip. There were three lovely gifts and I entered two raffle tickets per item. I am a worrier at heart and I mentioned to Bob that if we won the painting that was being raffled, I would have no place to hang it. We have downsized and my wall space is full!!! Bob just laughed and stated, "Why are you worrying about something that is not going to happen?" And, that was that.

Then, upon returning from our Phoenix trip, there was a phone message that I had indeed won the painting. Although Bob thought I had worried for nothing, we now had the picture that I had no space for! As far as worries go, though, this was an easy one to solve...off with a small picture that I found another place for and on with the beautiful painting by the artist, Glen Goforth. Proof positive that "sometimes your worries do come true"!

An Easy Stroll

After our "big" hike last Thursday, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather on Friday and walk along one of the prettiest stretches in Bellingham. The weather was forecasted to turn wet (which it did) and we knew we'd be cool and cloudy this weekend. So, off we went on Friday afternoon to Boulevard Park. We originally found this path on one of our pre-retirement visits and immediately fell in love with the views of the bay. We've actually had a surprising amount of sunny weather this winter and we've enjoyed many afternoons in what has become our favorite spot to walk. Our muscles were sore from Thursday's climb, so this ended up being the perfect spot for an easy stroll.

Backpacking Training-Day 1

This coming July Bob and I will be embarking on a backpacking trip in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. Bob's backpacking trips go back some 14 years, when he first started with the group in Iowa City. Bruce Fischer is our ever faithful leader and this year he planned a trip that he thought I could manage. About 12 years ago I was all trained and ready to backpack in the Big Horn Mountains, but anemia and a sprained ankle counted me out of that one. Last year when I was working out one day I had the thought that it would be fun to try and do that backpacking trip that I had missed. Lo and behold, Bruce came through with a doable climb for me and now the training begins.

We were talking with some folks after church this past Sunday and they were giving us all kinds of tidbits on trails we could hike close to Bellingham. We wanted something fairly rigorous so our training will be meaningful. Bob sure doesn't want to get me out in the woods and have to carry me out! We thought we'd have to wait until June to hike in the Mt. Baker area, as there is mega snow on the trails up there. But, we were happy to learn that there are good trails locally and with good weather today, we were off.

When we first arrived at the Pine and Cedar Trail, we saw more snow than we expected and I was a little doubtful. But, after a little slipping and sliding, we got our footing and forged ahead. With an elevation gain of 1200 feet, I was breathing hard and my heart was pounding. Still, I was able to keep up and felt pretty good the whole way. We ended up at beautiful Cedar Lake and had lunch with some nice students from Western Washington U. They were kind enough to take our picture, so Bob can finally be seen. We were again worried about it being slippery on our trip back, but it was much better than anticipated.

I still have a long way to go. Today I carried about 10 pounds and that will have to increase to 40 pounds for the trip. Also, we will be at much higher elevations and that will be taxing to the lungs. Still, it felt good to begin training and the young man we met on the trail gave us a good tip on another rigorous hike nearby. He said it has the most beautiful view of Bellingham Bay and has an elevation gain of 1900 feet. Oyster Dome here we come!

Awe

I was driving around today, running some errands, enjoying the bright, blue sky and spectacular views of Mt. Baker. Although it has been a little cool, we've been blessed with clear skies today and yesterday. On Monday night a full moon was visible over Mt. Baker and it was a beautiful sight to see. I love these mountains. I am in awe!

Winter Getaway

Last winter we began making plans for an extended "winter" holiday. Our thought was that Bob would retire early in January 2009 and we would spend a leisurely 6 weeks traveling the Southwest. We'd go to see our land in New Mexico and the Garvey's in their new place near Phoenix. Well, as the saying goes, "the only constant in life is change" and we retired in September instead and the rest is history!

So, our leisurely winter turned into a "move, work, work, work," fall and "get settled" winter. And, our winter travel plans changed to one week in Phoenix, flying nonstop from Bellingham. (Someday we'll have to get to see that land in New Mexico...not to worry, the taxes are only $15 per year!).

Our one week getaway sure ended up being fun, however. There was sunshine, warmth, beautiful mountain views, lots of wine, good company and food. Geri and Mike were hosts extraordinaire! Bob especially loved the desert fauna. Visiting the "Casa Garvey" was like being in a resort and the entire week had relaxation written all over it. One of the most interesting things we did was to visit the old copper mining town of Jerome. We stopped into this little outdoor recreation store and the salesperson regaled us with a history lesson of the area. (See "cute" visitor's center below). We are already thinking that maybe next year we'll extend our time there and we have Geri looking for rentals...sounds divine, doesn't it?

Two great friends...two special Moms

There are some friends in life that share the big moments with you. Two of my dearest friends, Jan and Geri, fit that bill. Together we watched our children grow, graduate from school, and get married. Then we shared one of life's greatest gifts when we became grandparents within a few years of each other. Through all the trials, tribulations, and joys, it was such a blessing for me to have these friends close in my heart.

Now, in the past 15 months, I have seen them both lose their mothers. Jan's Mom, Loretta, died suddenly in her home in late 2007. With Jan's help, her Mom was able to be in her home and what a gift that was to Loretta. In the past two weeks, Geri's Mom died after a two week hospitalization. Geri's Dad did an outstanding job caring for Eloise at home these past few years and Geri's help was invaluable to them both.

This past week as I watched Geri at her Mom's memorial service, I also thought back to Jan's Mom's funeral. Both of these dear friends were so poised as they stood before the church congregations and shared memories of their mothers. I kept thinking about how grateful I was to Eloise and Loretta for giving me these special people in my life. They surely did a beautiful job raising them to become the wonderful women they are today. In grateful thanks, I honor Eloise and Loretta for the lives they led and the special mothers they were.