Thinking Back...

This morning was just wonderful! Just cool enough for a sweatshirt but sunny. Of course now it is 80 degrees out so I am glad I went for my walk this morning. I took the camera along in case I saw any great fall shots and walked the river road, which I haven't done since last fall. This summer it was closed off due to the flooding. When I got to the spillway I thought it would be fun to get some "after" shots and then compare them with what it looked like at the flood stage. (I'll try and get the similar shots side by side but I'm never quite sure where the pictures will end up)

Fall Cleaning

I've never been one much for fall cleaning, or spring for that matter. And I'm not sure if it even had anything to do with it being the first day of fall, but somehow the thought came to me this morning that I should make a trip to Goodwill. So I told Curt to check his closet for any clothes he might want to get rid of and I started going through my closet which led to the closet in Jeremy's room and downstairs. I'm not sure where the desk drawers came in and then the shelves and cabinet in the laundry area but before I knew it I had 5 grapefruit boxes, a black garbage bag and another bag of shoes ready to donate. Another two black garbage bags were headed for the trash. Now you would think that getting rid of that much stuff would definately make a difference in the looks of the closets, drawers, and shelves but unfortunately I still have the cluttered look. I guess I need someone to come and help me organize because I certainly don't have the knack. But it still feels good knowing that there is less of the clutter there. And it did turn out to be a perfect autumn day with sunshine and 63 degrees :)

Happy Autumn

Well, today definately feels like fall. Only 52 degrees and cloudy. I'm looking forward to bringing out my sweatshirts and cuddling up. The celebrity cipher today was from George Eliot and I totally agree with him, "...if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." It is a most beautiful time of year. Happy autumn to everyone!

A Look at the Heavens

I was out at the cabin tonight and as I get to the top of the stairs, BAM! there it is, the night sky! Millions of stars, so bright I couldn't take my eyes off of them. I just stood there in awe of the amazing beauty of it all. I can imagine David had the same type of experience when he wrote,"The heavens declare the glory of God...". The stars were probably even brighter then with no electric lights to interfere with the view. No matter how often I see the night sky it still amazes me and I thank the Lord for the joy it brings to me.

Fruits of my labor

Finally, my tomato plants produced more than one or two. I picked these all today!

Finally Summer

I just returned from a beautiful walk. I can't believe how warm it has been. All summer we had 60-70 degree weather, getting down to high 40's and low 50's at night. Now here it is September and you expect it to start getting cooler but not so. It has been in the 80's all month and only getting down to the high 50's at night. I sure hope it stays for a good long time.
I met on older couple, both well into their 70's, at the start of the bike path and boy, were they cruising. I almost got shin splints trying to maintain a healthy distance in front of them so I wouldn't look bad. Later, I met a young woman pushing her son in a stroller and even though she said "Good morning", I don't think she was having one judging by the look on her face. The birds seemed so active today. Maybe they are getting ready to head south. And something I noticed on my walk prompted a hiaku...
Sunflower faces
Peeking over the fence top
Brighten up my day

The Ren-Fest

One of my favorite things ever is to go to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. I feel like I am in another world. This year we took Curt's 2 nephews, Matt and Tim. We had a wonderful time as usual and I had a hard time leaving. I wish we could have stayed the whole day on Sunday also. There are so many shows to see and musicians to listen to that even in two days I don't think you could take it all in. Enjoy the pictures.

Make your dreams come true

On August 14, 2009 Rosie(my car) and I were on the road again. This time Curt was not with us. I love traveling alone, it gives one lots of time to think. I have not been content for quite some time now. I suppose some would call it depressed but I just feel unsettled, like "is this what I am suppose to be doing with my life or is there something more". At first I thought it was the very long, cold winter. And then I thought maybe it was being evacuated at work and spending every night shift stuck back in a dark room with only a small lamp to provide light. I was sure once summer came and we got back to work as usual this "sad" feeling would leave me. But I find the only time I am truly happy is when I am with my children and that is not nearly enough times. So as I am driving down to Iowa/Nebraska I am thinking about my life and how I have always felt cheated not being able to stay home and raise my children. I never really resented Pat for that until Jeremy's graduation and he mentioned that he was so glad he could be living his dream and I made a comment to the fact that someone had to be responsible and raise the four children. And I got very angry that he had stolen my dream and he didn't even seem to care. Not that he could have changed anything at that point. And then when I got remarried I thought that at least I could maybe cut back and be able to stay at home a little more. Be able to have more time to visit the kids. But not so. And now that the kids are all grown you would think I would have no problem with working full-time but I still long to be able to stay home. Maybe because I have never had the option, it is such a driving force for me. I know people that say they would be so bored staying at home every day and I can think of so many things I would do. I would take up quilting, take dance lessons, do volunteer work, work on scrapbooking, counted cross-stitch, practice guitar, clarinet, piano, organize my house, landscape my yard. The list goes on and on...Oh, and of course travel, travel, travel. So as I am driving I feel that I just want to run away, keep driving and end up wherever the road takes me. I started crying and couldn't stop. I called Curt on the cell phone when I stopped for gas and told him I thought maybe I should go see the doctor when I got home and get started on an anti-depressant. And then I saw the sign..."I'm a wife, a mother, and a student making my dream come true". It was a billboard for a college. And I thought, "Yup, Terri. It's up to you to make your own dream come true". I can feel sorry for myself because I feel cheated but only I can change that now. I have a dream of living by my children and having some type of family business, I dream about being a marriage counselor, I dream about traveling and visiting every National Park, I dream about being a really wonderful grandma someday. How I am going to make those dreams come true I don't know but it lifts my spirits just thinking about the possibilities. Well, I got to Tim and Amy's that night and after going to church and out to lunch at LaMesa we went to Lauritzen Gardens and saw some beautiful flowers. landscaping and my favorite part was the model railroad garden where they have these model trains running through tunnels and bridges and everything is made out of trees, bark, pinecones and other natural things, even the buildings, which were replicas of buildings in Omaha. They also had an exhibit of the architectural wonders of the world also made out of pinecones, bark, acorns, sand and other stuff. It was really amazing what some people can do. That evening we went to a concert of the "Brass in Blues"(I think was their name), an Air Force band. They were very good! Sunday morning Amy, Mom and myself were up early and on our way to Lincoln to pick up Angela to take her on the long trip to Ogalalla to meet Mat and then she and Mat would be leaving for Japan on Tuesday. (to get more of that story you'll have to go to Angela's blog). It was nice to be able to visit with Angela for 3 hours on the way out to western Neb. I was sad to have to leave and head back home on Monday. But all in all it was a very good trip.

To Oregon or Bust

Starting July 17th we embarked on a very long journey(we ended up putting 4800 miles on the car). The plan was to go out to Greshem, Oregon to visit Jeremy and Krissy by way of Lincoln, NE to see Angela in the musical, "Footloose". On our way down to Lincoln, we stopped at Watertown, SD and saw an exibit on King Tut. Even though everything was just replicas it was still pretty impressive.

We spent Friday night with Tim and Amy and then went to Lincoln on Saturday after we went to church in Bellvue. We enjoyed a scrumptious meal of lots of garden produce and packed a picnic lunch for the play. It was quite an experience getting there 2 hours before the play to get a great spot, spread out our blankets, played Phase 10 until we felt like breaking out the picnic lunch. Ben Yancer, Emily and her husband and little girl joined us later. It was a lot of fun and the play was great!

We left the next morning and drove to Laramie, Wy, where we stayed the first night. Then drove through some very desolate salt flats in Utah, with a stop at the Great Salt Lake(very smelly) and ended up at Elko, NV where we enjoyed some great Basque food. Our next day's journey brought us to California! Where we finally started seening some pretty scenery. Northern Nevada is pretty desolate and brown. We visited Lassen Volcano National Park that day and then stopped at Redding,CA for the night. We headed out the next morning for the California coastline to see the ocean and Redwoods National Park. At the first sighting of the ocean we turned off and had to take a walk on the beach. There is just something so mesmerizing about the sound of the ocean. I just love it and could sit and listen and watch it for hours.

We then stopped at Grants Pass, OR for the night. A very beautiful area. Then onward to Crater Lake National Park. By far the most beautiful lake you will ever see. I couldn't stop taking pictures. The blue coloring of the lake is fantastic! That alone was worth all the days of driving. That evening we finally arrived at Jeremy and Krissy's in Greshem.

The next day we ate breakfast at Maltnomah Falls and hiked up to some other waterfalls. I was fun walking behind Ponytail Falls. Saturday we packed a picnic lunch and headed for the ocean and had a relaxing day on the beach. Sunday we slept in and went to "The Proposal" and went out to eat at the Bombay Cricket Club for supper and went back to the apartment for some swimming in the pool.

We started our jouney home on Monday. Stopping at Coeur d'Alene,ID for a brief stop and wishing I could live there. We stayed at Missoula, MT for the night and drove to Gillette,Wy the next day to visit Curt's sister Claudine and her family. Wednesday we drove the last leg of the jouney home, stopping at Wall Drug for lunch and drove through the Badlands. I forgot how beautiful they were. Right up there with Bryce Canyon. We made it home about 10 pm that night. It was good to be home but truth be told I could have kept traveling. Curt was really glad to not be driving for a while. You see he did all the driving(his choice, I offered) and I got a lot of reading done.

July 4th fun

So much happened this summer and i haven't blogged about a thing. I tend to forget things so fast if I don't take time to write about them. Well, back on the 4th of July, Ben and Ashley and Tim and Amy were able to come up for a few days to spend some time at the cabin. Jeff and Charissa Boyd and Kayla were also able to spend time out there too. It had been cool all summer but the weather cooperated and was in the 80's but the water didn't. It was at it's turning over stage and was thick and green so wasn't too appealing for swimming. The skiers had wetsuits which made it more bareable. Sunday morning was like pure glass on the lake so Ben and Tim were in heaven! The next morning was fairly still but nothing like Sunday. Ben figured the Lord was blessing us for not skiing on Saturday even though the water had been very nice that day.