thankful thursday - light

This is my last "thankful Thursday" post. I have enjoyed posting something I'm thankful for every week for the past year - I hope you have, too. But now I'm looking forward to random posting - it might be a "Wacky Wednesday" (remember those?) or "Thankful Thursday" post or something totally different - like a restaurant review or someplace I've visited or something about my sweethearts. I will post weekly (or more often) but not necessarily on a specific day. Check back often - you don't want to miss anything!

I never thought much about light until I started dabbling in photography. It was either light or it was dark; I could see or I couldn't. When it got dark, it was time to turn on some lights.

But as I have learned more about photography, I realize how important light is. I have "discovered" all kinds of light, both natural and artificial - filtered, direct, indirect, bright, not bright, soft, harsh. And then there's directionality of the light - backlighting, side-lighting, overhead lighting.

Light provides ambiance, it creates a mood. In photography, it helps us see more of the picture (pun intended ;-)). It enhances the story being told.

And as I dabble deeper into photography, I am learning to look at light... all the time... even when I don't have my camera. I see beauty in the light. I think about light A LOT... how it enriches our lives, sometimes in ways we don't even give a second thought. Or how different light, like using a flash, could completely change a scene or photograph.

The more I thought about light, I came to realize it is a gift from God. He created it and declared it "good." (Genesis 1:3-5). And I absolutely agree. 

Not that darkness is "bad."  It serves a purpose. Our bodies recognize it as a time to rest. Some plants ONLY bloom at night, in the dark.

I have only been in absolute, complete, total darkness for about a minute when they turned off the lights in a cave and it was disorienting, bordering on scary. And I didn't like it very much. 

Yes, I much prefer "light!" In fact, I would say I need light. And that makes me appreciate the gift all the more!

thankful thursday - simple things

My mom used to tell us that we would be about as happy as we decided to be. This was usually in response to one of us moping about lamenting the sad fact that we didn't have something one of our friend's had. There was no point in moping about and being upset because the only thing that got us was extra chores.

In today's world, many would find that to be harsh or even cruel. Some would say that our self-esteem would surely suffer. (I'm here to tell you that is blatantly untrue in this case!) And others would claim that it was an infringement of our civil rights - surely we have the right to be unhappy. (To be fair, she didn't say we could not be unhappy, just that we would be as happy as we decided to be. The extra chores were for moping about what we didn't have - and the chore usually involved taking care of what we DID have - for example, cleaning something.) More than a few would argue that we wouldn't like our parents if they treated us that way, like we were inferior to them. (Nope, that wasn't true, either. We grew up respecting out parents and as adults, had great relationships with them.)

I am glad, grateful even, that my mom taught me that important lesson about being happy. I learned from an early age to be satisfied with what I had, to find contentment in my life. As an adult, that is still true.

In no particular order, here are three simple things that bring me joy, happiness and contentment:

1. Flowers - One of my favorite things to do in the spring is search for wildflowers. They are vibrant and delicate bringing a special beauty to the outdoors. But I don't have to be outdoors. I have a miniature rose bush in a pot on my kitchen window sill where it gets a lot of indirect light. It blooms often and brings a smile to my face daily.

2. A hand-written note - The art of writing a note with pen and paper has almost become extinct having been replaced with email and texts. While I appreciate personal emails and texts - they let me know the person sending them is thinking about me - there is something special about a hand-written note. I can feel the paper (soft, smooth, coarse, rough, ...) and the hand-writing evokes a special, almost emotional, response as I recognize the writer from the strokes of the pen. Texts and emails often get deleted but hand-written notes are carefully saved and reread time and time again. 

3. Flags on houses - I love seeing flags flying on houses. I love the patriotism they show. In this world of division, seeing flags flying on houses in neighborhoods reminds me are united in our love for our country. And who wouldn't be happy about unity?!

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

1 Timothy 6:6

thankful thursday - lists

I have a confession. I am a list-maker. I make a list of things I have to do,  things to take on vacation,  books to read, restaurants to try, things to buy with separate lists for each store, places I want to visit, and the list goes on and on.

I've written about this before.  50 Shades of Summer is a list of 50 things I did one summer and Amazing Arizona... 100 Things  is a list of places to see or things to do in Arizona that I completed during our state's centennial celebration.

I recently read The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski. It's a quick, fun read about a woman who is in a car accident and her passenger dies, leaving behind a list - "20 Things to Do by My 25th Birthday." The tasks are varied - run a 5K, throw away my scale, change someone's life, etc. To work through her guilt (although the accident was not her fault), the woman takes over the list completing the remaining 18 tasks before the deadline.

Hmmmm. That's an intriguing idea - completing someone else's list for them. And not just any list - their Bucket List. The things on a Bucket List are meaningful to that person. The tasks might be challenging or learning something new or visiting someplace or about a relationship. In other words, they are personal to the person making the list.

I thought about my Bucket List. I started it when I was in my 40's with about a half dozen tasks. I have added to it over time and quite honestly, I think there are more things on it than I could do in my lifetime. But it's good to have goals and I get great satisfaction from crossing something off the list.

Some are fairly straight forward and not too difficult like:
     *  Visit all 50 states
     *  Anonymously pay for a family's meal at a restaurant - must be people I don't know

Others are adventurous like:
     *  Visit Antartica
     *  Ride in a hot air balloon

And a few are edifying like:
     *  Read through the Bible in a year
     *  Secretly give something to someone I know

What would be like for someone else to do the things on my Bucket List? For someone who is always cold, visiting Antartica could be torture, not adventure. Or they could rise to the challenge, dress very warmly, have a great adventure and learn they can do more than they think they can.

I think at some point, as the woman in the book discovered, the list would become their own. They would learn different things and feel differently about completing the tasks than I would.

I am thankful for my Bucket List. It's good to have goals and I get great satisfaction from crossing something off the list. It's okay if I add two more things the next month. It's not about completing the list as much as it is just doing the list.

And that's what the woman in the book eventually learned.

thankful thursday - the entrepreneurs

While our sweethearts were visiting us a few weeks ago, we were telling stories about past 4th of July celebrations when our children (aka their mom and aunt) were their age. Like most kids, the older four enjoyed hearing what their mom and aunt did when they were kids. We laughed about the year our oldest daughter along with several neighbor kids worked all day decorating their bikes, trikes and a wagon (to haul our youngest daughter who was a toddler) with red, white and blue signs and streamers in preparation for the "Big 4th of July Parade." The parents and other extended family members gathered in the afternoon to watch the parade... which lasted all of a minute and a half! And we  laughed about the year all the kids in the neighborhood set up a lemonade stand in the drive-way but ended up drinking all their product since it was so hot... and there were no kids left to BUY the lemonade.

That story intrigued the kids and they kept bringing it up, asking questions. Pretty soon the inevitable, dreaded question was asked: Can we have a stand and sell something?

I told them they could do a snack stand on the 4th of July but they needed to prepare for it and do the work.

The first thing was deciding what to sell. They suggested lemonade, homemade chocolate chip cookies, popsicles, and chocolate candy. After being reminded that it would be really hot outside, they realized popsicles, chocolate chips and chocolate candy would melt too quickly. They finally decided on lemonade, Otter Pops (they don't make a mess if they melt and can be refrozen) and Red Vines.

They figured out how much to charge for their goodies. They, of course, were thinking "dollars" while we were suggesting "cents." We talked about what happens when you over-price your product... and they finally agreed cents made more sense (Oh yeah, they made that joke!).

Next was making signs. We cut up some cardboard boxes and they went to town with markers. They decided to make an arrow sign that someone would twirl and dance with to get people's attention.

We practiced making change and counting it back to the customer. We talked about making eye contact, smiling and being friendly. We talked about wearing food-service gloves when getting the Red Vines out of the container. Good customer service is priceless!

Finally, the big day arrived and the kids were sooooooo excited. We had decided 2:30 in the afternoon would be a good time to catch people coming and going as they connected with their family. At 2:30 on the dot they set up the card table in front of our driveway. They agreed beforehand on who would sell first and who would dance with the signs.

Christopher and Ben were the first salespersons. 

And Nick and Lexie were the sign dancers down on the corner.

Although they got a few cars to come down the street, they quickly realized they would have better success if their goods were on the corner where the cars passed by. We packed up the table, chairs, goodies and ice chest and walked down to the corner to set up. 

It was 108 degrees that afternoon. And these kids are not used to our extreme heat. But there was no complaining. They waved at cars and danced with their signs... and people stopped! Cars made u-turns to come back. A couple of times there was a line of cars waiting for their turn. People were talking and laughing. A few told stories of their own lemonade stand when they were a child.

After an hour, the adults decided to pack it in. When we got back to the house, the kids cleaned the table and put stuff away. Finally it was time to count their money. Christopher was the counter and Nick watched to make sure he counted correctly and didn't take any. Such brotherly love! Their mom and dad reminded them they needed to pay their supplier (me) for the goodies before they divided up the money.

Everyone - adults and kids - was surprised to learn they made $60! In an hour! They had quite a few large tips because they were "so friendly" and "so sweet" and "enthusiastic" but no one thought they made that much. After I told them I would donate the supplies and they could keep their $60, they were all very quick to calculate that was $15 each! 

I am thankful for the lessons my sweethearts learned through this entrepreneurial adventure. Things like it takes hard work to make money. To evaluate your business plan and modify it as needed. And how to work together towards a common goal. That having a good work ethic is important. And I am thankful we were only out in the heat for an hour!

thankful thursday - rules??

When my sweet hubby and I were first married, before we had children, we had many opinions (most of them incorrect!) about raising children. For example, I was convinced that no child of mine would ever be plopped down in front of the tv so I could get something done. That lasted until our first child was about a month old and I discovered I could brush my teeth and get dressed before my hubby came home from work if I positioned our daughter (who was VERY colicky and awake most of the day) so she could "watch" Sesame Street. The shapes and colors of the characters and sing-songy dialog seemed to calm her - or at least distract her - for a few minutes.

We eventually learned to relax and trust our instincts while following the "rules." Rules like bedtime is bedtime, no snacks if you didn't eat your meal, no running in the house, keep your hands and other body parts off the windows, and we don't have cookies or candy before lunch.  It's important for children to have routine and to know what the boundaries are. I firmly believed that children are happier when the "rules" are consistent.

Then I became a grandma.

And the "rules" changed. Dramatically. Almost over night.

At grandma's house, bedtime is more like a starting point or suggestion. Dessert and snacks are always an option if you ate at least some of your meal. Running in the house doesn't bother me as much as it used to. And not only do I not mind fingerprints (and other body-prints ;-)) on my windows, I have each of them make a handprint up high on the window that remains pristine for several weeks after they leave! M&M's or a cookie before breakfast is good clean fun. As is having ice cream for breakfast.

Yep. I became my mother and my mother-in-law. They "spoiled" our children in good ways. Spending time with them. Bending the rules. Eating ice cream for breakfast one day a year isn't going to harm anyone but is a memory kids never forget. Going to their houses was always a treat for our kids, something they looked forward to. I am thankful for the wisdom my mother and mother-in-law shared on being a grandparent and on rules.

And just to be clear, some rules never change or go out of style. Rules like speak respectfully to each other, ask permission before you use something that belongs to someone else, no means no, don't run on the kool-deck, buckle up in the car. They are rules for safety or being respectful to others. And I still firmly believe that children are happier when the rules are consistent. But they also learn that rules may be different in different places (like grandma's house) or situations (like vacation).

I think our sweethearts make lots of memories when they are at our house. I hope they will one day share those memories with their children.  And laugh as hard as their parents do when they share their grandparent memories!

We love our sweethearts!

thankful thursday - the unusual

My aunt and uncle had a small ranch in Montana when I was a child. I loved spending a few weeks with them during the summer - gathering the eggs each morning, trying to milk the cows, riding horses and watching the pigs roll and romp in the mud. It was a beautiful place to spend part of my summer vacation.

I grew up thinking all ranches were like the one my aunt and uncle had. Some were bigger, of course,  and a few might be smaller, but in general a ranch was a plot of land used for agricultural purposes or raising animals.

On our recent cross-country trip we visited four very different ranches.

1. Cadillac Ranch (west of Amarillo, Texas) - In 1974, Texas billionaire Stanley Marsh III wanted to create public art that would inspire as well as outrage the citizens of Amarillo. A group of art hippies from San Fransisco had an idea and Marsh became their silent partner. Ten caddies, ranging from a 1949 Club Sedan to a 1963 Sedan de Ville, were half-buried nose-down in a field. Visitors were encouraged to spray paint them and even take a souvenir. Today the car bodies bear little resemblance to their original form but are delightful to look at. They have now been in the ground as art longer than they were on the road as cars.

2. Slug Bug Ranch (Conway, Texas) - In 1967, Tom Crutchfield opened a service station and souvenir shop on the south frontage road of I-40. Some years later, when a Love's Travel Stop opened on the north frontage road and his business took a nose-dive, Tom decided to add a roadside attraction. He half-buried five VW Beetles nose-down and let folks go to town with their spray cans. It was a parody of nearby Cadillac Ranch and people loved it. The trouble was, they still filled up their tanks at Love's Travel Stop and then came by Slug Bug Ranch for some fun. He eventually moved on and today Slug Bug Ranch is surrounded by abandoned building on either side. 

3. Ra66it Ranch (Staunton, Illinois) - Rich Henry bought a parcel of land in Staunton, Illinois and after learning it was right on Route 66, he decided to drive the entire Mother Road. When he returned, he told his wife he wanted to open a kitchy place like Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman, Arizona (side note - it's well worth the trip!!) as a roadside attraction. About the same time, his daughter asked him to board her two pet rabbits for a few months. He fell in love with the critters and knew what his "theme" would be. In 1999, he half-buried seven VW Rabbits nose-down as a tribute to Cadillac Ranch but unlike the Caddies, the Rabbits are NOT spray painted. They are buried very close together to mimic real rabbits huddling. He also has a herd of about 20 rabbits, most of them orphaned by their owners, several semi-trucks, and a nine-foot rabbit "statue" you can climb on on the grounds.  He runs his insurance business out of the shop as well as sells  rabbit- and Route 66-themed souvenirs. We enjoyed talking to him!

4. Bottle Tree Ranch (north of Oro Grande, California) - When Elmer Long was a little boy, he hiked in the California desert with his dad. They collected all kinds of stuff (old garden tools, mattress springs, bottles, discarded glass insulators from telephone poles, washboards, ...) from old dumps. Fast forward several decades and he found a use for all the stuff he and his dad had collected. He started making bottle trees (large metal pipes with bottles and other stuff on them) in 2000 and now has a forest of over 200 of them! He likes to use the things he and his dad found on the top of his trees to give them character.

I am inspired by the creative artistry at these ranches. I appreciate their unusualness and am thankful for owners who aren't restricted by convention. I am amazed that all four of these ranches are open to public and are free of charge (although  Ra66it Ranch and Bottle Tree Ranch accept donations). And I am astonished that, at least on the day we were there, there were no gang tags, obscenities or inappropriate anythings spray painted on the cars at Cadillac Ranch and Slug Bug Ranch. 

thankful thursday - surf and sunset

Listening to ocean waves pounding the beach is soothing... relaxing... calming. It is why so many people listen to "waves" on their sound machines as they go to sleep. Watching and hearing the real thing takes it up a notch.

We recently spent a week in Southern California with our North Carolina sweethearts and their parents. In addition to the general chaos that comes with five kids, we also spent three days at Disneyland and California Adventure. Alternating Disney days with a beach day and a whale-watching tour day was the perfect way for us to unwind and relax so we could more fully enjoy the next "magical" day.

A beach day is an immersion experience involving all your senses.Watching children build sand castles as the waves roll in. The scent of fresh ocean air. Feeling the ocean spray on your face and the sand between your toes. The salty taste on your lips. Hearing the roar of the waves and the laughter of children.

I think I do some of my best pondering at the beach. I find solitude and energy in the crashing waves and inspiration in the tiny grains of sand. I recognize and appreciate the gift that has been given to me. And I am filled with awe.

The only thing better is being there at sunset!

"I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought." 

~ Helen Keller

thankful thursday - the unplanned things

I am, by nature, a planner... a list-maker... a scheduler. At home I have a "to-do" list every single day and I enjoy crossing the items off my list. It helps me remember what I did at the end of a busy day when it looks like I've done nothing at all. Sometimes my list gets derailed when unexpected things happen like the washing machine going on the fritz or illness.

On vacation, we have an itinerary, a list of places we're going or things we're doing. I research the places we're visiting to discover what there is to do and see. And occasionally we get sidelined due to road closures or traffic.

Some say that man makes plans and God laughs. They mean it in the sense that God is malicious and wants to circumvent our plans, to make life harder for no reason. I think God laughs because He has better things in store for us. Kind of like when my grandparents laughed when they asked my younger sister, who was four-years old at the time, if she'd rather go to Yellowstone Park to see geysers and buffalo or Yellowfront (a neighborhood variety-type store) to pick out something to buy and she chose Yellowfront.

While I am not usually happy about appliances needing repairs or illness or traffic issues, I have learned to appreciate the things I can't schedule or put on a list and cross off at the end of the day. The random things that "just happen." Things like...

... finding a nest full of robin eggs.

We were geocaching in Illinois when we stumbled upon this nest of eggs on the top of a bush. Mama bird was not very happy with us looking in the bushes for the geocache (which we found in a nearby bush) but did allow us a quick peek at her nursery. It was the first time I had ever seen eggs in a nest with mama bird watching over them. Amazing!

... finding a nest full of baby birds.

This is the house that Babe Ruth grew up in in Commerce, Oklahoma. As we were walking up to the porch, I noticed an irate bird squawking at us, then she flew away. It was then I heard a faint cheeping and saw three tiny beaks peaking out of the nest. Mama bird returned with what looked like a worm and after a few moments, began feeding her babies. It was also the first time I had seen baby birds in a nest. Amazing!

... watching the light from a lighthouse at night in the fog.

Two Harbors Lighthouse along Lake Superior is a working lighthouse (the oldest one in Minnesota!) keeping ships safe from the rocky shore. I have seen a dozen or so lighthouses in the daylight. Their lights are bright and I could imagine them piercing the thick darkness. But this was the first time I saw one at night... in the fog. Amazing!

... a snowstorm in May in Arizona with an impromptu snowball fight. 

It was a warmish, overcast morning in the Valley of the Sun as we left town but was snowing up on the Mogollon Rim. We arrived to a blanket of pristine white snow and just had to get out of the car and play a bit! Amazing!

I am thankful for the unexpected opportunities in my life. They are a blessing from God.

thankful thursday - vacation, part 2

One of my favorite things about being on vacation is meeting and talking to new people that God has put in my path - or me in theirs. Most of the time these encounters are brief and the conversations are several minutes long to maybe an hour or so. But my life is enriched by meeting these people.

One of my quirky photo ops is water towers (and that will probably be a blog post for another day!). Not the ordinary, run-of-the-mill water towers but something that makes them unique. Before we left on vacation I heard about a red-and-white-checkered water tower in Minot, North Dakota that was unlike any other checkered water tower. The information I found on it was dated so I called the public  works department in Minot, ND to enquire about the water tower. The woman on the phone assured me the tower was still around - but offered no directions and I didn't think to ask. When we arrived in Minot, I figured we could ask someone at our lunch stop. We eat local when we travel (also another blog post...) and stopped at a regional chain called Burger Time. After we ordered our food I asked the woman helping us if she knew where the red and white checkered water tower was. She laughed and said she just moved there from Florida and had no idea and then she asked the cook. The cook, a middle-aged woman, told us she had lived there her whole life and had no idea where it was. I showed her a picture of it which intrigued her and she went to her computer to see if she could find it. I went outside to call the public works department. The first woman I got had no idea where it was (I was beginning to see a trend...) but said if I could hold a few minutes, she'd ask someone else who has lived there longer. The second woman who came on the line knew exactly where it was and gave us directions. Meanwhile, the ladies at Burger Time were still interested in finding out where this mysterious water tower was so I shared the directions with them. They thanked us for showing them something new about their town and waved as we left to find the water tower. We enjoyed their friendly banter and were thankful for people willing to go the extra mile to answer a question.

It was worth the trouble to locate it! I've seen other checkered water towers but this one is truly the most beautiful.

No road trip is complete without seeing some of the kitschy things along the way. I researched some before we left using my favorite source, Roadside America, and found the largest ball of twine (by weight) according to the Guiness Book of World Records would be more-or-less on our route through Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin. The creator of the giant ball of twine is James Frank Kotera (he calls himself JFK) and he built it in his backyard. He came out to talk to us when we arrived and told us how he got started and how he does it. He started making the twine ball after God told him to stop drinking and turn his life around and then God would make JFK famous as the Twine Man of the World. Four years later, clean and sober, JFK began making his twine ball and it quickly made him famous, just as God had told him it would. Each twine piece is knotted to and through the next one to keep it together. Although he works on it many hours a day, his hands are smooth and soft, something he attributes to it being God's work. We enjoyed hearing his story and seeing his handiwork.  

His ball of twine is HUGE - over 8-feet high and 22-feet wide with a weight of 21,280 pounds! 

We stayed in 19 different hotels/motels on our 21-day road trip. Fourteen were chain hotels (Marriott or Hilton) and one was La Posada (originally a Fred Harvey hotel but now owned by private citizens) in Winslow, Arizona. But four were small mom & pop motels and we were blessed to spend some time talking with the owners. The motels were all around  during Route 66's heyday and are located in small towns.   All these motels have "outside entrances" which allowed us to park our car right outside our room making it much easier to get all our stuff from the car to the room. They have classic neon signs or large marquees advertising their amenities (color tv, air conditioning, etc.). Although the motels have been updated since they were built, the rooms and bathrooms are small compared to bigger chain hotels. But what they lack in space they more than make up for in character. The owners work the front desk and usually live on the premises. They were interested in knowing "our story" - where we live, why we were there, what we enjoyed so far - and also shared their story - how they came to own the motel, something about it's history and recommendations on where to eat (or not eat). It was a refreshing change from the very professional but hurried twenty-something behind the front desk of the big chain hotels.

Both owners and motels were all very different. We appreciated that the character of the motels was maintained during remodeling. The Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri was built in the 1920's and has the most beautiful cut-glass door handles in the rooms. The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico was built in the 1940's and has real rotary phones in the rooms along with instructions on how to use it. The Route 66 Motel in Shamrock, Texas (top right) was built in the 1950's and has slightly larger rooms and traditional decor. The Canyon Lodge Motel in Seligman, Arizona has themed-rooms - ours was the Hollywood room and had posters of famous movie stars as well as a headboard that looked like the curtains on a stage - which was their claim to fame when they opened in the 1960's. 

As we were leaving Kansas we made a u-turn so I could take a photo of the "Welcome to Kansas" sign since the tiny road we entered Kansas on didn't have one. I just finished getting my photo when a great classic car pulled up behind us and a woman jumped out with her camera. I asked her if I could take a photo of the hood ornament (another of my quirky photo ops...) on their car. She said I could and then offered to take one of me by the car. We introduced ourselves and chatted for about ten or fifteen minutes. During that time I learned that Sheila and her husband were also driving Route 66 but going west to east and doing it in the car she bought when she was in high school, we are both believers and enjoy seeing God's creation, we both take a lot of photos and that we have both met many more Europeans traveling Route 66 than Americans. I took a photo of her by the "Welcome to Kansas" sign and then we went our separate ways. Although our time together was short, I will always fondly remember Sheila when I think about this trip.

Isn't it a gorgeous hood ornament? And the car was built the year I was born!

I like talking with people - getting a different perspective on something or learning what's going on in their lives. For me, it's one of the things that makes vacation fun.  And thankfully, we were blessed with lots of fun opportunities!

thankful thursday - vacation, part 1

For many people, summer means vacation. It's a time to slow down and relax. Or maybe go like crazy to fit as much into a few days or weeks as possible. It might be a destination vacation like Disneyland or Paris. Or a cruise. Or some time in the mountains in a secluded cabin or tent.

Or... it might be the all-American road trip!

We recently returned from a three-week road trip across the country and back logging 6,571 miles as we traversed 15 states and three time zones. Along the way, we learned some important lessons about enjoying vacation.

1. Stick your feet out the car window for a few minutes and relax! (Okay, only do this if you are NOT the driver! And wear your seatbelt properly while you do this.) Taking off your shoes and socks and letting the wind rush through your toes is relaxing. It reminds you that the "normal routine" has been suspended for a time. And besides, it's fun!

Don't you just love indentations on your feet from your socks?

2. Pack food and drinks to have a quiet, impromptu picnic! We had picnic lunches quite a few times, mostly because we were in the middle of nowhere at lunchtime. Once we ate in the car because it was raining, but the rest of the time is was wonderful to sit by a river or along the side of a road and enjoy the quiet, the beauty of nature and each other.

Nacho Doritos... my favorite vacation food!

3. Enjoy the solitude. We get so caught up in the busyness of life, in the noise of living that sometimes it's refreshing to just be alone (okay, we were together but there was no one else!). No bright screens flashing, no text or email alerts, no cars zooming by - just peace and quiet. It's good to spend some time alone with your thoughts, to let your mind wander, to appreciate the beauty of the world.

Yep, that's a dirt road!

4. Seek shelter when things get too rough. We got caught in a downpour on I-55 near Wilson Heights, Illinois. Buckets of rain and hail pummeled our car as Richard tried to keep it on the road. We finally came to an overpass  and pulled waaaay off to the side underneath it right behind another car. And the car behind us and the one behind them did the same thing. Sometimes it's just not worth it to keep going.

After ten minutes or so, the storm let up some and we were able to safely continue on our way.

5. Enjoy the sunsets. Spend a couple of minutes reflecting on your day. Enjoy the beauty of a colorful sunset. Relax. Be grateful.

God paints a new picture for us every night!

I am thankful God gives us times of relaxation and fun as well as work to be done. I am thankful for the simple things - a cool breeze on my feet and a surreal sunset - not just the "big" things. 

thankful thursday - a day of remembrance

Memorial Day is the last Monday in May, and this year it falls on May 30th, the date originally ordained for the holiday before Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 which reordered several holidays to Mondays creating three-day weekends. You can read more about that in my blogpost Wacky Wednesday - Monday Holidays.

Many people confuse Veteran's Day and Memorial Day. And then there's Armed Forces Day thrown into the mix to confound folks even more. Consequently, those currently serving in the military as well as veterans are often wished a Happy Memorial Day, Happy Veteran's Day and Happy Armed Forces Day, all in the same year, year after year.

Armed Forces Day is the third Saturday in May and honors those currently serving in any branch of the military. Veteran's Day is November 11th and honors those who once served in the military. And Memorial Day is the last Monday in May and honors those who died while serving in the military.

We were in Williams, Arizona on May 18th and a shopkeeper asked us if we wanted a small American flag to wave when the bikers came in an hour or so. She said they were a group who were riding to Washington, D.C. for Memorial Day. We were intrigued and decided to wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

I noticed a man and his wife (and their cute dog!) seemed to be waiting, too. I asked if they knew anything about the bikers that were coming and the man smiled and said, "Why yes I do. They are bikers from all over who have served in the military or know someone who did. Most of them are Viet Nam veterans and they are part of the Run For The Wall organization." We started talking and it turns out he is a Viet Nam vet who is a member of the group but broke off early that day to meet up with his wife.

Run For The Wall's mission is to "promote healing among all veterans and their families and friends, to call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action (POW/MIA), to honor the memory of those killed in all wars (KIA), and to support our military personnel all over the world." One way they accomplish that is their ten-day ride from California to Washington, D.C., arriving Memorial Day weekend. I was told that they ride for those who can't. There are so many bikers going this year that they added a third route with SEVERAL HUNDRED bikers in each group.

I asked him a jillion questions and he told me a jillion stories. In what seemed like no time at all, it was time for the bikers to arrive. The police cleared the streets and folks lined up to cheer them on. It's like that in every city they ride through or stop in all across the country.

(This is the very end of the parade of bikers... hundreds went before these... but you get the idea!)

They meet at the Viet Nam Memorial (aka the Wall) when they arrive in Washington, D.C. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. They run their fingers over the names of friends who didn't make it home. It's a time to remember fallen comrades in arms. They lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery.

While this Monday is a day to remember those who have died while serving our country, I think it's also appropriate to remember, to pray for the POWs and MIAs and their families. May we never forget.

thankful thursday - birds

Do you remember Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 movie, The Birds? Hitchcock was a genius at taking ordinary things and making them suspenseful, earning him the nickname "The Master of Suspense." In the movie, there is a mysterious bird infestation in California. The ever-increasing flocks seem to target the main characters played by Rod Taylor and Suzanne Pleshette, attacking them over and over again. If you haven't seen the movie, it's worth watching but remember it was made before computer graphics and special effects. What it lacks in special effects it more than makes up for with story line and plot development.

I first watched the movie on television (not the silver screen) when I was about 12 years old - and the birds scared the daylights out of me! I couldn't look at a flock of birds (meaning more than two!) without wondering if they would attack. I knew in my head they wouldn't, but there was that tiny seed of doubt that always wondered, "What if..."

Somewhere between junior high and adulthood, the doubt and fear disappeared and I began to enjoy birds again. Their sweet voices are each so different. Some are melodious and tinkling like the music of a harp. Others are sharp and staccato-like, similar to a car horn. There are sopranos, altos, tenors and baritones. Most birds glide gracefully through the air as they go from perch to perch. Others, like ducks and chickens, spend some of their time waddling on the ground. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly both forwards and backwards, in addition to flying sideways, upside-down and hovering in mid-air.

I have come to appreciate their similarities and differences. I enjoy listening to and watching them. I love how they frolic in our birdbath splashing water around until they are wet and then fly up to the fence to shake and air dry. We live in a lake community and often have to stop our car to let the ducks cross the road - it always makes me smile. We get to watch mama ducks take care of their babies. We welcome the arrival the arrival of the "snowbirds" - the real ones! American coots fly down from snowy, northern states to winter with us. Their arrival means winter is not far behind.

While the birds in Hitchcock's movie brought fear into my heart, the feathered creatures I hear and see around me now are calming. They make me smile. And feel thankful for what God has created.

thankful thursday - a perfect morning

The fog in my brain starts to lift as I hear the beep of the coffee-maker alerting me that the coffee is done. I stretch... and sniff. Yep, the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee is wafting down the hallway into the bedroom. With one eye cracked open and the other tightly shut, I stumble into the kitchen, grab a mug from the cupboard and pour a cup of liquid encouragement - and not the alcoholic kind that only encourages you to do something regrettable.

I watch the steam float gently upward and inhale deeply. A smile slowly creeps across my face and I anticipate the robust flavor on my tongue, the heat in my mouth. I bring the mug up to my mouth and gingerly take a sip, not wanting to burn my lips.

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!! It is perfect! I take a big gulp. And then one more as my closed eye pops open.

I notice the sun is shining and the sky is blue. Birds are chirping. My heart begins to sing. It's gonna be a great day!

I am thankful for perfect mornings like this. And for coffee!

thankful thursday - books

I grew up in a home with books. Lots and lots of books. My parents read all the time... newspapers, magazines, books of all kinds. We had family reading time. I always received a book or two for Christmas and my birthday. "Good behavior" during the week was rewarded with a trip to the public library on Friday evening where I could check out as many books as I could carry. And "bad behavior" meant you forfeited the privilege of going to the library - something that happened only once or twice! We talked about the books we were reading. We took books to appointments to read while we waited. We read in the car on road trips.

Yes, I grew up with a love for books and reading. As I got older, I was surprised to discover that not all families had books in their homes or read for pleasure. How did these people learn things? When I was in fourth grade, I was intrigued with sea horses and read every book about them I could find. My family soon grew tired of sea horse trivia and was happy when I moved on to the next thing.

And how did nonreaders escape reality? My older sister gave me A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett one summer when I was sick and had to stay in bed for several days (back in the day when bedrest was prescribed and we had no television!). In my imagination, I escaped my sick bed and entered the life of Sarah Crewe, the young girl the story is about, and the days of confinement flew by.

As an adult, I continue to enjoy reading and appreciate a "good book." Not surprisingly, my sweet hubby also enjoys reading, although our reading interests are sometimes quite different. We encouraged our daughters to read - for knowledge, for fun, for escape.  And we are delighted that as adults, they both enjoy reading, too. It gives us another thing we can enjoy together as we recommend books to each other or introduce one another to a different genre.

Several years ago I was convinced that I would not enjoy the "young adult" trilogy, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I was sure I wouldn't like the premise of the book - a society that sends children to fight and kill each other for entertainment. After they read them, my daughters thought I would like the books and encouraged (read: nagged!) me to read them for myself. To my utter surprise, I did enjoy them and learned there was much more to them than what I had originally thought. You really can't (or shouldn't, anyway!) judge a book by its cover!

Reading is a lot like eating. There have been a few books I've started reading and didn't like just as there have been some foods I've tasted and didn't care for. It's okay to quit reading a book just as it's okay to not eat certain foods. On the other hand, there are some foods I absolutely didn't care for as a child (cantaloup!) but really enjoy now. And the same is true for a few books I quit reading when I was younger but picked back up to read years later and loved. Tastes change. Once in awhile you find a book you want to read again and again. I have read Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell eight or ten times. It reminds me of my grandmother who introduced me to the book and then the movie. It's like chicken noodle soup - comfort food!

There are many things concerning books and reading that I am thankful for. Things like having the freedom to read any book I choose - and God-given discernment to choose wisely. And that God gave me, and my parents nurtured, a love of reading from an early age. And that God gives some people the gift of writing well. Where would we be without such gifted and talented authors as William Shakespeare, Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Roald Dahl, C. S. Lewis, Mark Twain, Dr. Seuss, ...

May is National Get Caught Reading Month. Are you a book lover? Great! Or was the last book you read one that was assigned in school? I challenge you to pick a book and read it this month. You just might be surprised and really enjoy it.

thankful thursday - wind chimes

Wind chimes are something you either really like... or absolutely don't like. There aren't many people in the "take 'em or leave 'em" camp.

As a child, I loved to listen to the wind chimes on our patio. They often lulled me to sleep as I listened to their sweet, ever-changing melody. As an adult, I still enjoy listening to them when the windows are open. Or we're sitting on the patio or swimming in the pool. And even now their calming tones relax my mind as I fall asleep.

Over the years I have acquired a small collection of them. We received our first one as a wedding gift from the parents of a friend of ours. It is really more decorative than musical but is loved because it marks the beginning of our married life together.

This beauty has hung on the patios of each of the three homes we've owned.

Others play beautiful music together, the tempo depending on the speed of the wind. Their "voices" blend together creating beautiful melodies.

Each of these wind chimes has its own story about how they came to be ours. The one on the left was my Mother's Day gift from our daughters and their families several years ago. The middle one was regifted to me from the person I gave it to - long story! And the left one was given to me as sort of a gag gift - but I love it!

I have two handcrafted wind chimes made just for me. Their melodies are much more muted, but their sentiment sings loudly! And I love that they are examples of up-cycling.

The wind chime on the left was made for me by my North Carolina sweethearts. It hangs in my kitchen and I smile every time I look at it. The one on the right was made by my North Carolina son-in-law. I wondered why we were saving bottle caps every time I visited - but now I smile and remember sweet memories from my visits when I hear or see it on my patio!

I think the reason I like wind chimes so much is that they remind me of unseen things. I can't see the wind but I can see and hear the effect of wind. Similarly, I can't see the Holy Spirit but I can see His work in my life and the lives of others. Watching the pieces sway in the wind and listening to the soothing sounds reminds me of the people in our lives who are no longer with us. 

Some day I would like to visit the world's largest wind chime in Casey, Illinois. It's over 50 feet tall with the longest chime measuring 42 feet!  But for now, I am content with enjoying mine.

thankful thursday - paper road maps

A few weeks ago I went to AAA to get the maps I need to plan our summer vacation. With great expectation I walked into the building and approached the counter with my list in my hand. The woman efficiently put together the maps I requested and I returned to my car with a bag full of large paper maps. I was almost giddy with excitement as I drove home, thinking about all the possible routes we could take, places we could visit and things we could see.

I know there are apps for my phone that plot your route, give you hotel suggestions and points of interest nearby. They will even tell you if there is construction somewhere or road closures. They give you traffic updates. Navigation will give you audible, step-by-step directions to your destination. You can find gas stations with the cheapest gas.

They say there is an app for everything.

But you can't feel the crisp folds in the map or spread them open all over the floor to get "the big picture" with a map app. You can't smell the ink and paper on your phone. You don't sharpen your mental math skills adding up mileage between towns in your head. You don't learn to navigate, to go from point A to point B using nothing but your map and your brain.

It's not that I have anything against "progress." Although, just because something might be easier doesn't necessarily mean it's progress - but that's a blog post for another day.  I really just like the challenge of planning a trip myself, using a paper map and a highlighter. I'm thankful AAA still prints paper maps and hope they continue to do so for many years to come. I like the adventure of not knowing if there's road construction or a detour before I get there. It's what makes the great American road trip great!

thankful thursday - rest & refuge

Sometimes I get tired. Not just sleepy or tired from working hard. It goes beyond physically fatigued to emotionally tired... and spiritually tired. Does that happen to you? I think it happens to all of us once in awhile.

I was feeling that way a couple of weeks ago right before my sweet hubby and I were scheduled for a long weekend away. Just the two of us. In the middle of nowhere. Well, technically in the middle of the Mohave Desert. What perfect timing! In fact, you might say it was God-timing!

We have driven past the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park (JTNP) at lightening speed on our way to California at least 75 times and never stopped, always thinking we'd do it another time. We finally made it our destination for our long weekend away. Now I wonder what we were waiting for!

JTNP is one of the lesser crowded national parks with roughly 2 million visitors annually (compared to over 5 million visitors at Grand Canyon National Park!). Located in southern California where the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts meet, it is hot during the summer and cold during the winter making spring and fall the ideal times to visit. Since we went in the spring, I was expecting crowds. There were lots of people - but the park is a big place. There were two times we were in the midst of a lot of people - at Skull Rock (Thankful Thursday - Traveling Humor) and on a trail that started in a campground. Otherwise, we were on our own.

It was a beautiful spring weekend when we visited - not too warm with a slight breeze. It's the kind of weather that makes you want to be outside. We walked along vista points, turnouts on the road (although, to be honest, there aren't many of either) and in fields alongside the road. There was so much to see!

Every turn in the road revealed a different field - some were fields of cholla and yucca, some were fields of rocks, and some were fields of flowers (Thankful Thursday - Spring). Everywhere we looked. there was something new to see! It was quiet and calm. 

We hiked along a trail that led back to a palm canyon. It was mind-boggling to walk from the sunny, brown desert back into a lush, green, shady niche in just a few steps! There were birds chirping and we saw a bunny. It was peaceful and soothing.

After spending a day and a half exploring the park - being outside alone with our thoughts, spending time together and recharging our batteries - we noticed we were more rested physically and emotionally. It is impossible to be immersed in nature and not see the majestic hand of God - His infinite power and artistic flair and, yes, even His sense of humor.

I am thankful for periods of rest and places of refuge and that God restores, renews and recharges me.

thankful thursday - traveling humor

We enjoy traveling - seeing new sights or revisiting old favorites, meeting new people or reconnecting with friends, learning new things, geocaching in new locations, and eating local food. It's an adventure and we love it!

One of our favorite things while traveling is to discover "humor sightings." It might be a funny sign in a rural town or a tree covered in shoes. Sometimes it's a cloud shaped like something whimsical. If you keep your eyes peeled, you can find lots of things that make you laugh.

On a recent trip to Joshua Tree National Park, we found several treasures that tickled our funny bones. Some are completely natural...

This is Skull Rock. Although we didn't name it, we thought it was amusing to have a skull made out of rock in the desert - it goes along with the other skulls you find traipsing around the hot, arid desert - only bigger!

Others are natural with a side of human help...

I was amused that someone(s) threw little rocks on top of this huge boulder. I imagine it was a game of sorts. Something like who could toss the most rocks on the boulder without knocking any off. Or how close to the edge could you throw your rock. What I do know is that the average person couldn't just climb up the boulder and put them there without some climbing gear. I wonder how many people pass by without looking up and noticing the little rocks. 

And some are completely man-made...

This "yard art" was in the "backyard" of an art gallery out in the middle of the Mojave Desert just north of Joshua Tree National Park. I thought it was a funny place for an art gallery to begin with but as we explored (read: looked for a geocache) we found quite a few examples of interesting yard art. This one made us laugh!

I am thankful for the gift of laughter - it does a body good!

thankful thursday - spring

Spring is a love/hate time of year for many people. We love the warmer, sunnier days and the beautiful flowers that bloom. But we hate the pollen... and drippy noses, itching eyes and scratchy throats... that come with the flowers.

I admit that allergies can brutal and that some years are worse for allergy-sufferers than others. I am thankful that spring pollen is generally not troublesome for me - and when it is, Claritin works great. That leaves me free to walk through the desert, immersing myself in the artistry of the desert wildflowers.

One thing the desert has plenty of is cactus. It has taken me decades to appreciate their beauty despite their beastly appearance. In times of less water, their shrunken appearance accentuates the sharpness of their spines (aka needles or thorns). Some desert plants, like yuccas, agave and ocotillo, are often mistaken for cactus but are not. True cactus has spines instead of leaves, has a protective wax-like skin to keep moisture from evaporating, and its skin is green to promote photosynthesis since it has no leaves. Different species bloom at different times so the desert is colorful from March through July.

The only cactus here is beaver tail in the lower left corner. The top two are soaptree yucca and the bottom right is an ocotillo.

Warmer temperatures and a little rain makes the desert blossom in color. Sometimes you have to look carefully as the plants are small and very close to the ground. Others carpet the desert floor in a sea of color. 

Flowers of every color adorn the desert!

I think the desert Southwest is beautiful all the time but its beauty is more delicate, more intricate and more fragrant in the springtime. As I walk along the paths I am reminded of the words of the psalmist in Psalm 111:2-4 - "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate."

thankful thursday - order

It seems like chaos is the norm is our lives.  The media, especially social media, is bombarding us with more information - fact and opinion - than we can process. There's the national election cycle  with who's in, who's out, and who said what. Much of the commentary is filled with name-calling, hatred and rhetoric aimed to escalate emotional responses.  Then come world events - terrorist attacks, financial crisis, sports news. Add in life - family, work, school, social obligations, health issues, financial burdens,... - and we have a perfect storm for chaos.

Living in a state of chaos can be fun, even exciting, for a little while. But pretty soon it turns from fun to frenzy as we become increasingly stressed. And we all know stress is not a good thing for us.

So what's the opposite of chaos? Order!

Order is defined as "a condition in which each thing is properly disposed with reference to other things and to its purpose; methodical." I like order. I like my things in their place where they belong, not strewn haphazardly around the house. I make lists so I can get things done efficiently and in the right order. I alphabetize my dvd's in genres.

Earlier this week I was feeling the chaos of the world as election hype dominated Facebook and the news. As I walked down to our mailbox, I was thinking about chaos and order.

And then it struck me! There is order all around me! The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Every. Single. Day. The seasons follow one after the other. The planets orbit the sun in their determined paths. The stars are in their place in the heavens. Plants grow in a particular pattern and order unique to their specie creating beauty.

In high school I learned about a man named Leonardo of Pisa (called Fibonacci) who "discovered" a number sequence - 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55,... - where the last two numbers are added together to get the next number.  Squares whose side lengths are the Fibonacci numbers can be arranged in an ever-increasing spiral, a unique shape commonly found in nature. The seeds in a sunflower are arranged in this spiral formation. Pinecones and pineapples have a double set of spirals going in opposite directions. Petals and leaves of numerous plants are arranged in this pattern.

Although the bottom end of this shell is broken off, you can still see the spiral.

This isn't just order, it's mathematical order - precise and predictable!

I am thankful that God created our world in an orderly and precise manner.  And that creation mirrors that order. In the midst of chaos, there is order.