In April, I chose to drive the 1100 miles from the desert to Portland alone. I have always wanted to take a long road trip, solo. Mostly because I don't think driving for long periods is my forté. The first day I drove for 11 hours. Four hours in, the gas would be at quarter tank. I stopped, filled up, hit the necessary, stretched, walked for 5 minutes and began again. It wasn't bad. One of the things I really enjoyed was how the terrain changed from south to north. I snapped this image as I approached the mountains in northern California. It completely captures the essence of my trip.

Jane Pauley and Me!

The first time I recall seeing Jane Pauley was in 1985 when I was home on leave after having had my first child, Drew. She and Bryant Gumbel  kept us company in the mornings through all of our chores. Turns out she is about my age and has the same number and gender of children. It was fun to hear her tell her young adult children stories and totally get it. What a great sense of humor! She spoke in April at the Voices lecture series. The topic was "Reinventing Yourself after 50", which is a series she does on the today show. Most of the audience could relate as we approach that time in life when our children are grown, we have some time and a few bucks AND want to be useful. Afterward at the reception, a friend snapped this picture. How fun is that.

Two side comments.

If you have never heard of Voices, you should check it out. See the link above. Each season, there are lectures by "Four amazing women; four incredible stories." 2012-2013 marks the 20th season.

When asked for the secret to a long marriage, Jane deferred to her husband Garry Trudeau's thought "Leave two things unsaid each day." Solid advice for any relationship or so it seems.

A Rose by any other name must be a Lily

Caite and her girlfriends spent some time with us over spring break. They do know the way to a mom's heart...flowers. When these lilies arrived, they were tight buds. It was so much fun watching them open over the next few days, I have the perfect northern exposure window for snapping photos. This was taken a few days into the bloom and is one of my favs. Gorgeous, right!

Lemon Tree Very Pretty...

Imagine having your very own Myers lemon tree. I do. I hear they are a cross between an orange and a lemon. Whatever! The new fruit is beginning to appear so it is time to pick the old. To accomplish this task, I needed the assistance of some one much younger than me. We girls found our own solution...a lawn chair in the pool to stand on, reaching the perfect height to grab the lemons. YUMMO! 

I'm Learning Spanish and You Could Too!

I watched this U-tube video, actually a TED lecture, by Luis von Ahn, who is responsible for capthcas, those annoying little phrases that you have to type in to prove you are not a spammer. Turns out he is a really smart individual who is conjuring ways to use the 7.5 millions individuals 10 seconds per day to do something useful. Segue forward to his latest project, translating wikipedia into other languages besides English, and you too can help. That's how I am learning Spanish and it is fun and cool. It's at Duolingo.com. I am on my way.

Yo quiero vino. haha

Adios.

Earth Day 2012

Earth Day was on Sunday. It could not have been a more spectacular day to celebrate this event. In Portland, the sun was out and we were warmed to the mid 70's, maybe even higher. I walked around my yard to see what was in bloom and found many beginnings. It was grand.

On a different note, I found this TED lecture by Chris Jordan to be thought provoking. He makes art by symbolizing social issues. Listen, see what you think and leave a comment. I would like to get your take.

Today and Everyday!

I found this on Pinterest today. You gotta love the thought. So I tried.

I vacuumed. Not so much in the amazing category but I did it first and got it out of the way.

I rode my bike.

I hit golf balls.

I picked lemons and grapefruit.

I started my new quilt project.

I made a ridiculously awesome salad and ate it for lunch and dinner.

I read some more in The Power of One. It comes highly recommended by my friend Dawn and she is very familiar with "Best of Stacks".

I enjoyed the hot tub and the night stars and a glass of wine.

Well done! What a day!
Tomorrow it's your turn.

The Real Deal

I have long been a fan of Hillary Clinton. I just really like smart women. Imagine another favorite of mine, Meryl Streep, who introduced Hillary at the Women in the World summit held recently in New York City.  Both are women who have honed their craft, so to speak.

Hillary asks “What does it mean to be a woman in the world?”  “It means never giving up. It means getting up, working hard, and putting a country or a community on your back.” And that is what she does on a regular basis.

Why then do so many women dismiss Hillary so easily. What possible reasons do they offer. Is it because she is Democrat and they are not. Or that she is highly successful. Or that she speaks out. OR simply, that she is a women. Why is it that women are so hard on other women.

Do the women of the world a favor and listen to these words about Hillary. You will be amazed.


And then hear what Hillary has to say. Trust me, it is worth your time.

Renew

Today I am trying to remember that my word for the year is "renew". Golf Cart Dave came as expected. God love you, Dave. Sort of like "Free throw guy". I will come up with my own version for myself. I could have done something else with that time had I known "Garage door guy" would be  a no show. They called after I already waited 3 hours and he was late. RAM will be tomorrows story unless they choose to respond differently than today. That IS a fun story. Well not so much fun on this end.

I will revert to Rachel Snyder and her definition of renew:
Renew your passion for being alive! Visit a museum and renew your love of history. Renew that excitement you used to feel when seeing something Aztec, something Japanese, something from a distant time. Renew your spirit. Take a long walk, a short trip, a week's retreat. Forget to take your appointment book or your reading file. Renew your relationship to your body. Go to the gym, go on a back country ski trip, go get shiatsu, go do yoga. Renew old friendships. Renew that spark that used to live between the two of you. Renew your vows, the promises you made to yourself and others long ago. Start over, start again, start anew. Revive, restore, refresh, replenish, rejuvenate, recharge and renew!

Gotta love that motivation...

My absolute fav for this week....
OH YEAH!

Words of Wisdom

I love it when I learn from my children, which seems to be happening more often than not, lately. In storing some of my middle child's things, I noticed a slip of paper on his bulletin board. It said:

Live simply,

Live efficiently,

Be generous!

He walks the talk. I love that about him. Thanks for the reminder, Nick.

Chimneys that Blow Smoke Rings--How Funny

You all know that I love TED. This topic caught my attention because it mentioned humor and living spaces and creative solutions. Do yourself a favor and listen to it in its entirety. Don't be turned off by it's length. It's better than playing Angry Birds or your other favorite computer game today. Just do it.

Bjarke Ingels' architecture is luxurious, sustainable and community-driven. At TEDxEast he shows us his playful designs, from a factory chimney that blows smoke rings to a ski slope built atop a waste processing plant.

The Passage of Time

My niece will marry this August. She wants to have photos of her grandparents on their wedding day at her wedding and asked me because I am the keeper of most of the photo books. She was blown away when I told her I also had my mother's wedding dress and some bits of lace left from the making of it. Perhaps this will be something old.

When preparing the items for the mail, it gave me pause. It was as though I held something sacred in my hands. My parents married in 1938 which makes both the photo and the lace 72 years old. That's old by today's disposable mentality. I share pictures of both with you here.  The lace is in amazing condition having survived the passage of time quite well.

While it might be odd to share this old but personal photo here, the passage of time makes that possible. The original image was a tiny 2 x 3 inches. I scanned it at a high resolution to grab the details. Obviously this concept was not possible back in the day. 

The passage of time has served my family well.  Quality and technology, you are not such distant cousins!

Use the Good Stuff

I saw this advice recently and it reminded me of a story.

My mother's good china was given to me. I seriously believe she purchased it for a celebration when I made my First Communion in the fifties. We didn't have a lot of money and so it was grocery store stuff but I always loved the happiness of the pattern.

My dad brought it to my house on a visit. I was thrilled but my children were small and I was afraid to use it. So it remained stored in my basement for just the right occasion.

When my family moved to Portland, there was no basement storage. I came to realize that my children had never know their grandmother. She died when I was just 14. These dishes were my memory and would never be theirs.

For these past 14 years, we have used these dishes nearly everyday. For me, it's as if my mama is hanging around the kitchen with me. I am so glad I used "the good stuff.." Really, it's probably always the best choice.

Changing Perspectives

I love this flower that defies the cold and blooms in winter. I am reminded of the Christmas song of German origin:

Lo, how a rose e'er blooming,
From tender stem hath sprung.
Of Jesse's lineage coming,
As men of old have sung;
It came, a flow'ret bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

365-002

I always wonder if this is what sparked the composer's imagination. I have photographed the Christmas Camellia many times but this time from behind. I love the reflection through the leaves.

Changing perspective can be a good thing.

And Another...

But were the shoppers caught by surprise and caught in their tracks. It was nice to see so many who stopped to enjoy in all of the hustle and bustle that is holiday shopping.

Mery Christmas To You

I spotted this on a friends blog and since I love Coldplay, I share it with you here.



Merry Christmas to all of you and to your families. I love you to bits.

Christmas Humor

You gotta love this humor.
Who would have thought this up?
Who would have carried out the plan?
If you haven't noticed, look closely to the left.
One thing is for sure, it gets a lot of attention.
It caught mine.

In the Air Again

What do you notice about these pictures?

Well the first one is rather obvious.When have you been on a margarita plane?  It actually cheered me up when leaving Portland on a rather grey (or is it gray?) day. I am pretty sure I don't really care which way it's spelled. But they did not serve margaritas, d#$@'t.

But check out this next image.....let this just soak in.

There were just 26 of us on this plane and only 16 on the connecting flight. We had to sit in the back to balance the plane's weight. The stewardesses were not so busy and gave us a guided tour of our flight into California. I broke my #1 rule and did not have my camera in my purse right next to me and did not get images of the Three Sisters or Crater Lake from on high. So instead you get to see the backs of these peoples heads and how empty the flight was. LOL

Harry Potter

One of our family's last day of school traditions was to go to lunch and then to the book store to pick up some summer reading material. In 1999, Caite had just finished third grade and her choice was the second Harry Potter book. It seems that her teacher had read the first one out loud to the class. Since I had never heard of Harry Potter, she suggested I get the first book too so that I could understand the story. I did and it soon became a family favorite. We have all--that's all five us--read all seven of the books. On several occasions, Caite and I went to the local borders book store at midnight to pick up our copy. No we did not dress up in character...but maybe we should have. We have also all seen all of the films, many together. Twelve years of family fun. Thank you JKR for giving us Harry.

You gotta love this U-Tube trailer.

Icky Nicky

It poured down rain at Palm Desert on Saturday. Whaaaat is that about.

Sunday shined so we played golf on the Nicholas Private, better known as Icky Nicky. It is a tough course designed by Jack Nicholas. Here is just one of those icky holes...OMG!

Just what do you aim at? haha