WILTING

I know I've written several blogs about the weather we've experienced since moving to the Pacific Northwest, but that's because we've had some STRANGE patterns since arriving last fall. This winter we had two straight weeks of snow and we were pretty amazed as it piled up and up and up. I remember blogging at that time that it felt like we were in the middle of an Iowa winter. At that time, people kept telling us that it was so "unusual" and we took them at their word and chalked it up to a winter we probably wouldn't see again soon.

Until a few days ago, we were having absolutely lovely, summer weather. Our family in New England has had a cool and rainy summer and the Midwest has had unusual cool weather as well. Something weird is definitely happening here,though, as we are breaking all kinds of HEAT records, with 103 degrees at the Seattle airport today. Our thermometer in B'Ham recorded 99 degrees and again the local reports are "this doesn't ever happen here"! We are starting to wonder if we are bad luck...well, actually, we are having very good luck as we have a/c in our house. And, I know people are not exaggerating when they say this heat is unusual because about 99% of the homes don't have a/c. My heart really goes out to most of my fellow Pacific North westerner's as they wilt in this warmth.

It will be interesting to see how this weather breaks. In the Midwest, we would usually have a good, old-fashioned thunder storm and a front would bring the desired cool air into place. Such storms are very unusual here and I haven't seen any lightening since our move here. I thought I heard thunder once in my sleep...but, that may have been a dream. There's still snow on Mt. Baker tonight, but with all this heat, who knows how long that will last!

All Grown Up

One of the most amazing things about my life has been the experience of raising our children. Anyone who is a parent can attest to the overwhelming feelings involved when you first hold that child and know you are responsible for their entire welfare. Of course, they do grow up and there are all the overwhelming feelings related to them leaving home to make their own way. Intellectually I know that Pete and Steve are grown men, but somewhere in the deepest parts of my heart they will always be my "little boys". I think on some level they know this and I'm sure it drives them crazy...but, hey, that's just the way Moms are.

This weekend we had the pleasure to attend the wedding of one of the old Iowa neighborhood "boy's" wedding. I know that Danny is "all grown up" as well, but as he and Elaine exchanged their vows, I couldn't help but think of him at age 7, walking to Lucas Elementary school with Peter. As each day turned into years, all of these kids grew up before our eyes. As I talked to some of the old gang from Iowa City last night, it was great to see the responsible, nice, "grown up " men they have all turned out to be.

Hannah will begin kindergarten in a few weeks. Peter and Anne's memories of the special moments in their children's lives have begun. And, I'm sure they will one day look back and have many of the same nostalgic feelings that I had this weekend. Danny's Dad, Jack, turned to me at the reception and said "Aren't we lucky to have our kids doing so well?". As I nodded in agreement, I felt deeply lucky, indeed.

Summer Memories

A few months ago I joined Facebook at the urging of my dear friend, Rosemary. She said, "Everyone is getting on, so just do it". After taking the time to figure it out, I was so glad that I did. It's fun keeping "quick" track of how people are doing in their everyday lives. We've met so many people through our travels and it's just plain impossible to keep up with everyone. One extra benefit is reconnecting with people from the way past as well. This weekend I was able to reconnect with a friend from high school that I haven't seen since we graduated in 1972. Over the years, we have shared this same memory of going to a fair in North Bergen and singing along with Rod Stewart's Maggie May while we were on a fair ride. Whenever I have heard this song, I have thought of Barbara and thanks to Facebook, I now know she thinks of me when she hears this song as well. Thinking of that time in my life, as I'm sure with most of us, conjures up so many emotional memories.

The recent summer weather has evoked another memory of my life back in New Jersey. I've been following reports across the country and we seem to be having mild summer weather everywhere. In 1976 I had been married one year and Bob and I were awaiting word on where our first VA assignment would be. My brother was in a severe car accident while traveling in Connecticut and ended up in a hospital in Greenwich. (Probably the closest I've ever been to people with "real" money). My Mom and I would travel at least weekly to see him from NJ. In those days people stayed in the hospital for long periods of time and I believe he was there for about 6 weeks. Other than the accident itself, what I remember most about that summer was the weather. It was an unusually mild season, with temps in the low 80's and low humidity. In fact it was so unusual that I still remember it today...visiting my brother, worrying about his condition, and then stepping out of the hospital to one beautiful day after another. There's been a lot of water under the bridge in my life since then. My brother survived that accident, but went on to have a pretty sad life and died at age 46. I was 22 in 1976 and he was 27...he seemed so old to me than...little did I know how young that really was.

Some say our memories can be very faulty...it was nice to hear that my old HS chum remembered the same fun night at the fair that I did. Although I don't believe in dwelling in the past (unfortunately my Mom had a master's degree in that), I do enjoy looking back at my life, reminiscing about the good times...and bad, as well. "Maggie May, I think I have something to say to you..." and it's 1972 again! Here's to interesting memories for us all.

Fish Tank Assistant

Bob has had a life long love of fish. It goes way back to the days when he and his life long friend, Ken, raised angel fish in the basement of the house Bob grew up in. And, most of our married life we have had some sort of fish tank with various types of fish. Probably the most interesting was our salt water tank, but that grew to be too expensive, so Bob has concentrated on fresh water species. We've had angels, community tanks, cichlids, tangs, clowns, etc, etc. Our tanks have run the gamut as well, from 29 gallon, to a 44 gallon...to our present 75 gallon. At one point we had a 44 gallon and a 75 gallon! Moving all of these tanks and their paraphernalia hasn't always been easy, but Bob loves his fish hobby, so he dutifully built special transport cases as needed.

Of course, caring for these fish has always been Bob's job. When he was traveling for work, I'd help out by throwing some fish flakes in the tank, but that was pretty much my input. I knew he had all of these processes that involved checking water and changing water, but I never really paid much attention. "Fish" are really not my thing. That all changed last week when I had to become the "fish tank assistant" as Bob could not haul these heavy pails of water post surgery. I assured him that I would help, not knowing what I was getting myself into.

I had my initiation last Saturday. All night long the water cured and then it was my duty to haul 3 gallons of water in about 16 trips from our guest bathroom to the tank in the great room. Over and over as I trudged back and forth, I thanked my yoga class for my new found arm strength. As I was lifting the pail up, "gently" per Bob's instructions, pouring it into the tank...I kept thinking..."I can't believe he does all this work every week for FISH!". Bob was pretty patient/insistent and I was pretty patient/whining the whole time. My biggest hurdle was getting the water to flow into the tank "just at the right speed"...oh, give me a break!

The good? news is that I will have to do this procedure for about 6 weeks. Now that I know how this whole water change thing works, I have new found respect? for Bob's beloved hobby. Still, I have been known to be thinking lately, "Bob sure owes me big time"...now, I have to think of a way to cash that in!

The little things in life

When I had my book group over last Friday I realized that I needed another small end table- like thing to go between my cute "accent" chair and the love seat in our great room/ living space. I just needed/wanted a place where guests could place their tea or coffee cups. I always keep the 20% Bed,Bath & Beyond coupons handy, so off I went Saturday with coupon in hand.

I was a little worried about finding exactly what I was looking for. Bob and I have been on the hunt for a particular garden statue for two years now and just can't find what we want. We've looked two years now and searched in Missouri, Iowa, and Washington and have had no luck. With that in mind, I wasn't too hopeful about finding a cute, little, inexpensive end table right away. I wandered into the store ( and boy, can you wander in B,B &B) and began looking at all of their fun stuff. Still, I tried to stay on task and made my way to the back of the store and there it was...my cute, little "Harrison (whatever that means) Tea Table" in exactly the color I wanted. At 39.95, with an additional 20% off, I was ecstatic with my purchase.

After getting it home and easily assembling it, I placed this little gem in it's new spot. I hate when things make me happy, but this little table has brought me such joy the past few days. It was just what I wanted and I didn't have to hunt all over for it. Now, if only I could find that garden statue...

The Speed of Darkness

Yesterday I hosted my book club and it was fun having these nice, smart women to the house. I've enjoyed being a part of this group since last December. It is one of the interest groups of the Newcomer's club and I've liked these women from the moment I've met them. I love to read, but other than when I took some fun ed literature classes in Iowa City, this is my first book club. We always get around to talking about the book, but there is lots of other conversations as well. Yesterday, we all shared "older parent" stories. As we discussed the challenges of our parents in their older years, it was comforting to know that we are all in this together.

This month we read The Speed of Darkness by Elizabeth Moon. The first interesting fact about this novel was finding it in the science fiction section at Village Books. Most of us in the group agreed that we are not avid sci fi readers, but we enjoyed this one. It even won the Nebula award (another new tidbit of information...it is the annual sci fi book award) in 2003. Although it didn't have a huge sci fi feel to it, there were some future medical advances that felt futuristic. Basically the story is about an autistic man who gets the chance to have a medical procedure to erase his autism. It was an intriguing question that the author sets up...if you could, would you change who you basically are?

As I was walking last night, I thought more about this. Recently I read an article that stated empty nester retirees were pretty happy people (unless, they invested with a Madoff like character, I guess) and I count myself to be among them. I thought about what I would change about myself...I would love to communicate in another language and it would be great to play a musical instrument. But, those skills wouldn't change who I am fundamentally. I guess if I could choose, it would be to have more confidence in myself and be less of a worrier. All in all, though, I'd be happy staying in my own skin. Another topic explored in the book was the concept of "being normal". She explored over and over what "so called normal" was...and we as a group decided that question was equally intriguing. So, did the main character get involved in the medical experiment? I won't be a spoiler here, but heartily recommend you read the book to find out.

A trip to the surgeon instead

With time on his hands with retirement, Bob decided to take care of some nagging aches and pains that have developed with "age". Some fixes were easier... physical therapy for shoulder pain, steroid shot for neck discomfort, but the double hernia found out by ultrasound needed old fashioned surgery. (Well, maybe not so old fashioned...it was done outpatient in the doctor's office...my oh my how surgery has changed since my nursing school days!). Bob went under the knife this past Monday and now has the slow walk of the post op patient. He's doing better each day and is grateful for pain meds and his private duty nurse... ah wife, I mean.

Due to this development, we had to cancel our backpacking trip for this summer. It was a difficult decision as we had all plans set and those reading this blog knew of our "training" hikes. Still, when the doctor states that "if you feel extreme lower abdominal pain and feel a lump in the area, get to a hospital immediately", it doesn't feel right hiking with a 50# backpack in the middle of nowhere. Really, can anybody imagine me getting Bob out of that situation? After the doctor said that, my thinking was, "why make a manageable situation unmanageable?". The straw that broke the camel's back for me was plantar fasciitis pain returning in my right heel after our hikes...I just figured two wrongs were not going to make a right here.

As with most things, we are looking at the silver lining. One of the neighborhood kids from our Iowa days is getting married in Seattle in late July and we get to go to this joyous occasion. Also, once Bob is healed, we will not want for day hiking trails...there are hundreds to choose from and in reality, day hikes will be better for my heel pain. It just seems as if backpacking is not in the cards for me. Bob may decide to go along with Bruce next year, but I think I will stick to trails around here for now. Anybody need a bear bell?

Point Whitehorn on the 4th

Point Whitehorn is Whatcom county's newest park. It is a marine reserve and just opened over the Memorial Day holiday. We read about it in our local paper and decided to check it out yesterday. From our house we went 8 miles north, 8 miles west, and then arrived at our destination. It was a lovely place. The trail is w/c accessible, which is a great plus. We meandered through the forested area which was 3/4 of a mile. There were several lookouts along the way with pretty views of the water and San Juans in the distance. Then you get to a stairway, (not w/c accessible) which leads you to the rocky beach below. We saw several families and the park ranger, but it mostly felt secluded and private. It was nice and relaxing, sitting on some driftwood, listening to the gentle waves against the shore.

All in all we ended up having a nice 4th of July. Bob put out the flag in the morning...we picked up some veggies at the local Farmer's Market...strolled around another park on the water...ate a good dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, and actually stayed awake for fireworks over the bay...will wonders never cease?

Sunrise...Sunset

7/4/09...Sunrise today 5:13am, Sunset today 9:15. One of the more interesting things about living in the Pacific NW is how long the days are leading up to the summer solstice. A few weeks ago we were having sunsets at 9:30PM...now that's a long day. I first witnessed this phenomenon during a visit to Yellowstone Nat'l Park in 1981. We were moving from California to South Dakota and stayed a few nights at this beautiful park...and it was still light out after 9PM! I'm sure Bob gave me the scientific reasoning at the time (something about being farther North), but I just remember thinking it was cool.

Now, we are getting to experience this every day. And, it still feels cool to look out at the sky and see blue at 9PM. Of course the downside is that the days are very short around the winter solstice, with it being dark by 4:30PM...that can drive some people nuts! Ah, well, for me it just represents the the ying and yang of it all. And one bright spot come next winter...I won't be waking up at 5Am thinking it feels like 7! Hopefully, we stay awake for fireworks tonight...we will need some darkness for that. Happy 4th of July to all.

ID Badges X Three

One of the realities of our security conscious world is the requisite ID badge that you must wear when you are representing or working with an organization. Today, I had a good laugh as I tried to keep track of three of my badges. Here's my schedule to illustrate:

10-1100- Work ID badge on for committee meeting

1200-1300- Work ID badge off, Red Cross ID badge on for quarterly chapter meeting

1330-1400- Red Cross ID badge off, Hospice ID badge on

1400-1500- Hospice ID badge off, Work ID badge back on for paperwork catch up at the clinic

1500-1530- Work ID badge off, Hospice ID badge back on-finish assignment for Hospice

When I got home, each badge was placed in it's storage spot. Who was I today? A person who kept laughing as I changed these badges over and over...are we secure or what?