Two Days After Thanksgiving

Today I:

• Went on a two mile walk
• Ate breakfast at McDs with Wally (they have the best ever chocolate milk)
• Watched the end of "Becoming Jane Austen"
• Helped hang Christmas lights on the front of the house
• Went grocery shopping
• Read a lot of blogs, it was fun, you start with just one and then you keep linking through their friends and find people you know and just keep reading, Natalie calls it "blog stalking"
• Did not eat cheesecake
• Ate a lot of fruit (apple, orange and now a pomegranate)
• Did laundry
• Made beef stew for dinner (no turkey tonight, but the leftover fresh cut up veggies came in handy)
• Tonight we plan on watching "Get Smart"

The Band Aid Box Story

When I was a young girl living in Boise, Idaho in the late 1960's, my family lived in the country. We had a two story five bedroom house and we had a pasture with a small barn. Sometimes we had animals in the pasture, my sister had a horse and later my other sister had a calf, but that's another story.

The cool thing about the pasture was the ditch along the back that bordered the fence and a little gate back in the corner that connected us to our neighbors. Without the gate we would have to go to the end of our street, out to the main road and down a few houses.

We would have to walk past the scary house on the corner with the German shepherds that followed you from their side of the fence barking and growling at you all the way.

I was the youngest of five and my friend that lived through the gate was one year older than me and she was the oldest of five children. We spent many hours playing together with her younger brothers and her sister.

I'm guessing the band aid box came into use in the summertime. I don't know if we thought it up or our Moms did. For those of you much younger than me, you may not know that band aids actually used to come in a metal box with a hinged lid. When it was emptied of band aids it was useful for many things.

Well my friend and I took small pieces of paper and wrote various things to do on them. These pieces of paper were then folded up and placed in the band aid box. Whenever we couldn't decide what to do or we were bored (I would love to know what that feels like now), we would pull out a piece of paper and do whatever it said.

Some of the things on the papers were: ride bikes, play barbies, swim in the ditch, play board games, play outside, stuff like that. I don't know how often we used the box, but to this day I remember having it.

The reason I thought of this lately is that many times when I'm driving in the car, taking a shower, doing dishes, my mind wanders to all the things that I need to get done at home. But when I'm home and I have some time (not cause I'm bored) I never seem to have the motivation to accomplish those tasks.

So here is what I'm going to do. I'm going to get a small tin (since band aid boxes don't exist anymore) and I'm going to list small chores that can be done in 30 minutes or less in my box. I'm going to turn my laziness into achievements, one small scrap of paper at a time.

Here's just a start of what my papers will say: clean shelves in bedroom closet, clean printer desk drawers, clean kitchen pantry shelves, clean and organize hall closet - one shelf at a time, clean under the bathroom sink (where does all that hair product, shower gel and lotion come from anyway?). I might find something fun in the closet to sell on eBay, who knows.

And then when that list is finished there's the laundry room with full cupboards and shelves of who knows what, not to mention the sewing room.

Three Cups of Tea - Book Review

Three Cups of Tea, One Man's Mission to Promote Peace. . . One School at a Time.

I just finished reading this book written by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It was one of the most fascinating non fiction books I have ever read. I didn't want to put it down and I did not want it to end.

The book was written in 2006 and tells the story of Greg Mortenson who as a mountaineer in 1993 found himself in a small village in the Karakoram mountains in Pakistan after a failed attempt to climb K2.

He tells of his experience over the next 10 years of frequent travels back to Pakistan to build schools. His knowledge of the area and his acceptance by the many people in these small villages is heartwarming. I never would have thought that one person could make such a huge impact in the life of others.

He worked endlessly (still does) and did all he could to raise money for the schools. While living in California he meets a woman who he marries after just knowing her for three weeks. What an amazing person she must be to love a man so unconditionally that she is willing to share him with these people in a foreign country who have taken him in as if one of their own.

Currently Greg Mortenson is the Executive Director of the Central Asia Institute, a non-profit organization with the mission to promote and support community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

https://www.ikat.org/

I would strongly recommend reading this well written, entertaining and educational book. In addition to the wonderful story of Greg Mortenson, it provides great historical, political and geographical information.

"Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything--even die."

--Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan

If you live in my area, I would be happy to loan you my book.

November is Here!

2009, does that thought scare you? Well it's just right around the corner. As I put away my Halloween decorations yesterday, I put out a few things for Thanksgiving. I also cleaned house and moved the furniture around so we could get to the fireplace which we enjoy this time of year. It's actually a wood burning store so you need space to open the door out and I keep furniture in front of it most of the time.

When I went grocery shopping on Saturday the Halloween candy had quickly been replaced with yes, Christmas candy. I stayed 6 feet away from it and kept on walking. Funny how it's actually the same candy just in new Christmas colored wrappings.

As we go into the month of November it gives us time to reflect on the many things we are thankful for. I don't ignore the fact that there are a lot of bad things happening in the world today. It's so hard to believe that in 2008 there are still people in parts of the world without adequate drinking water, very little food and many without a roof over their heads.

We live in a country of excess and we shouldn't take that for granted nor abuse it. Just look at the volume of stores in your very own neighborhood. Anything you want right at your fingertips if you have the money.

I like to get down to the basics and be grateful for the ordinary things in my life. My family - every single one of them, my friends, my health, our home, the beauty in nature which surrounds us, my job, our dog, my religious beliefs (and the freedom to have them) and my memories. You can take away my car, my nice couch and even my indoor plumbing as long as I can keep the things listed above.

For all the luxuries and other things I live with that I think of as "necessities", those things I am also grateful for and I try not to take them for granted.
To name a few: chocolate, ice cream, movies, warm socks, a good book, a hot shower, electricity, my computer, the ocean, french fries, photographs, old books, toilet paper, fabric, shopping, even the public library.

Enjoy this season of Thanksgiving and take time to think about the many, many things in your life you have to be grateful for. Sure we may still be overweight, have to wear reading glasses, creak in the joints, never catch up on the laundry, have to cook yet another meal, run another million errands, have health problems or family challenges, but this is our life - enjoy it!

Trip to Washington D.C.

I have to say I enjoy traveling for work. Part of the reason is that I don't have to do it too often. So when the opportunity arises I am eager for it. On Sunday, October 26th I boarded a plane to Washington D.C. to attend a two day conference for work.
The conference was held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Pentagon City. With the three hour time difference it was after 5:00 p.m. by the time we arrived at the hotel. I was traveling with one of my coworkers as well as the many conference attendees who were from my larger organization.

That evening a group of about 14 of us walked from the hotel through the Fashion Center Mall which is attached to the hotel, then outside to an Italian restaurant.

Monday I woke at 6 am and went to the fitness center. I worked out on an elliptical but the real reason I was at the fitness center was the sauna and steam room. I haven't been in either for many years and I love them both.

We had breakfast at the conference as well as lunch, both catered by the hotel. Also snacks in the afternoon. The conference was very good. It was about Global Trade Control Regulations and lots of discussion on International Business. We had speakers from a few government agencies as well as from the UK and Canada Embassies. There is a lot to learn so I was happy to be attending.

Monday night I had made reservations and arranged for our staff to have a team dinner at Morton's Steak House. Some of us walked the mile to the restaurant and a few took a taxi. We had a lot of fun. We have a new work group which combines four different groups. This gave us a chance to all meet. I did meet my new manager on Monday. She has been my manager for 3 weeks, but is located in California.

Tuesday morning, same routine at the fitness center and the last day of the conference. Tuesday after the conference Glenda and I joined a tour bus that did D.C. at night. It was a lot of fun. We stopped at many of the monuments. It was dark and a little bit cold but very enjoyable. We saw the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Viet Nam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, FDR Memorial and Iwo Jima and the Washington Monument from the distance.

On Wednesday we had breakfast at the hotel, checked out, leaving our luggage and took the subway from Arlington across the river to D.C. I'll see if I can remember all we did that day before catching our flight at 5:30 p.m. to go home.

We got off the subway and did some walking till we found the International Spy Museum. It was so cool. This is not part of the Smithsonian museums so it was the only one we paid admission too. http://www.spymuseum.org/ They have a gift shop and the museum is quite big. It's laid out really good with so much to see. I would have to say the highlight for me was a chance to crawl through duct work and look down at the people visiting the museum. Just like they do in the movies.

We went to an Art Museum, then walked over near the White House. Then we visited the National Archives, the Natural History Museum, ate lunch at the Indian Museum, and visited the Smithsonian Castle which was the original building and where the body of James Smithson lays in a crypt.

From there we found the subway, got back to the hotel, caught a taxi and made it to the airport in time. It was a long flight home, but I was sitting with a nice group, good company. We had three babies in our area and they were very good.

Here is a link to my pictures which I have posted on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1068406&l=1d9d7&id=747090221

Fall is Here

The leaves are turning shades of gold, orange and red. We have some already dropping to the ground in the backyard. The wind and rain come and go, but it's a pleasant wind and rain, not yet cold and heavy.

Yesterday I bought a pumpkin and put it on my front door step. This afternoon, I got out some of my Halloween decorations. It's different when you don't have small children at home. But I enjoy the decorations anyway and like the feel of fall.

And of course the Halloween candy has been in the store for weeks now. Miniature versions of all your favorite candies. I enjoy candy corn and even the marshmellow peeps, but I know I can't call them peeps, they are now pumpkins or ghosts, but sugary delicious still the same.

I can honestly say that today I have no Halloween candy in the house. However, I have an empty candy dish set out now just waiting to be filled.

I like Halloween being the end of the month, that way we can enjoy the visuals of it and the treats for the whole month.

Yes, fall is in the air. I feel it, I smell it, I see it, and I love it!

This is a photo of my brother's puppy from 2006.

Pictures from Vacation and Graduation

Road Trip

We left Thursday morning, Sept 11th. Keep in mind that Wally can't drive cause of his eyes. I did all the driving. We took Wally's small S10 truck loaded up with furniture for his daughter. We stopped to visit the Shasta Lake Dam, the second largest in the country. We had to ask what the first was and was embarrassed to learn it was the Grand Coulee here in Washington. We got to Bart and Autumn's about 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Harper is just wonderful, adorable, smiley, just fun. Bart brought pizza home and we spent the evening visiting. They live in a small town outside Medford. They are one house away from the city park. They can walk to the grocery store. They really like it there. Friday morning we went into Ashland and had breakfast at harper's, which is Autumn's Mom's new restaurant that opened on Wednesday. She had the Avenues Bakery in Salt Lake, which they closed in August. Ashland is a great little town.

We stopped at The Olive Pit in Corning to do some shopping. Then we drove in to San Francisco and arrived at our hotel about 6:30 p.m. on Friday night. We were 30 miles away from the city and it took 1 1/2 hours to get into it. Wally's daughter picked us up at the hotel and out for Italian food for dinner. Saturday morning Wally and I walked down Union Street to a café for breakfast. Then we went to Carla's place in the Mission District. We lucked out and a got a parking spot right out front. We unloaded furniture and then spent hours putting it together. I walked over to the French bakery on the corner for treats. Then we walked around the Mission district, had lunch and looked at shops. We actually stood outside on the sidewalk for 15 minutes to get into an ice cream shop, which was really worth the wait. It was called Bi-Rite Creamery. I had toasted coconut ice cream and salted caramel ice cream with home made caramel sauce. It was delicious.

Later that night we went out for Chinese food at a place called Alice's restaurant. It was very good.Sunday was the same breakfast routine, check out of the hotel and then the afternoon spent in Sausalito, it was my first time on the Golden Gate Bridge. We basically spent 48 hours in San Francisco. Sunday night we drove about 3 hours north and spent the night in Corning. Monday we visited my friend Gail who just moved to Eugene in August. We've known each other since we were 8 years old. I hadn't seen her for a couple of year. As always it was great to see her and catch up on things.

From Eugene we drove to Corvallis then headed west to the Oregon Coast and 101. We arrived about 1 1/2 hours before sunset, which I anticipated watching on the beach. However when we arrived in Newport it was all fogged in. We found a nice hotel and a restaurant on the beach where we had dinner. I had crab cakes and brought a slice of cheesecake back to the hotel for later.

We woke in the morning to fog and headed north on 101. We did stop at Cannon Beach to go see the ocean.

We visited the Tillamook Cheese factory, had lunch (grilled ham and cheese on sourdough) and ice cream (rocky road on a sugar cone). We also visited a quilt/textile/museum/shop, which was fun. We made a brief stop in Astoria, the crossed the Columbia River to head home. We stopped at Black Angus for my free birthday dinner, which expired the next day. We were home by 7:30.

I had Wednesday to catch up at home and Natalie arrived Thursday morning. We had Wayne's portfolio review on Thursday, then we walked around Pike Place. Friday was graduation in the afternoon at Benaroya Hall. He now has his Associates Degree in Graphic Design now. Saturday, Wally, Natalie and I went to the Puyallup fair where we got very rained on but enjoyed the food. We visited Ian in his booth and thanked him for our free parking and admission. I hadn't seen him for over a year. He is doing good.

Natalie flew home Sunday morning. And Monday it was back to getting up at 6:00 a.m., working, cooking and cleaning. Back to routine. Vacation is great but routine can also be good.

Nature

I have the opportunity to work from home most days. I sit at my desk in the spare bedroom, which has been turned into my homeoffice/craft/sewing room. I have a window that looks into the front yard. We bought a wooden bird feeder in Oregon on our road trip which I wanted to use for the squirrels. We haven't hung it up yet so I sat it in my flower bed.

Here's a couple of pictures. It was fun watching the squirrels.

Road Trip

Tomorrow Wally and I begin our road trip to San Francisco. I am really looking forward to it. We will visit Bart and Autumn in Oregon. Meet Harper who is now three months old. Spend a couple of nights in San Francisco and hang out with Carla. On the way home we visit my friend Gail who just moved to Eugene, Oregon from Virginia. Great timing, except her furniture hasn't arrived yet!

We may drive a little along the coast, depending on how we're feeling by then. The weather should be great and I'm looking forward to a great trip.

I'll share pictures later. I bought my new digital camera about three weeks ago so I could learn how to use it, but let's just say I'll be bringing the instruction manual along, just in case.

Birthday

In celebration of my birthday today I joined an elite group. I've nicknamed this group the James Street Hill Walkers. James Hill is a mile long steep hill that I drive on all the time. I've walked up and down it once or twice a few years ago (when I was younger). My last attempt in January 2007, I didn't make it all the way up the hill.

Today I successfully made it up the hill and back down. I passed a few other hill walkers. I'm not sure if most people start at the top or the bottom. I choose to start at the bottom to get the worst part over with first. It takes me about 10-15 minutes longer to get up the hill then it does to get down the hill. Going up I have to stop and rest, catch my breath and stretch out my calves. Sweet success today!