April-ish 2015. . .
My excuses have overlapped and multiplied toward infinity now; there's no hope of any explanation for my communication absence, but here I am--again, hoping to jump-start my dedication to continued communication regarding our lives. Happy reading--and keep your fingers crossed that my motivation generator functions properly and indeed does generate some substantial thread of "ramblings" here.
My excuses have overlapped and multiplied toward infinity now; there's no hope of any explanation for my communication absence, but here I am--again, hoping to jump-start my dedication to continued communication regarding our lives. Happy reading--and keep your fingers crossed that my motivation generator functions properly and indeed does generate some substantial thread of "ramblings" here.
I like what I'd begun here nearly two years ago--even in it's sorry state of incompletion--so I'm going to just let it be as is, abandon the 101 excuses list, add in in some memorable highlights from the "absentia interim" and roll from there.
So, I know you've bubbled over with inquiry, a thousand "whys" and "how comes" and "whens" tumbling about in your teeming noggins, craving some rationale for my rampant lack of "Ramblings." In brutal honesty, I can sum it up in one five-cent, uninspired adjective: LAZY. But, in a less-succinct, friendlier defense of my dishonorable habits, I--seeking ready redemption from my esteemed readers-- offer this (presumably) more informational and imaginative justification for my severe and sustained silence
So, I know you've bubbled over with inquiry, a thousand "whys" and "how comes" and "whens" tumbling about in your teeming noggins, craving some rationale for my rampant lack of "Ramblings." In brutal honesty, I can sum it up in one five-cent, uninspired adjective: LAZY. But, in a less-succinct, friendlier defense of my dishonorable habits, I--seeking ready redemption from my esteemed readers-- offer this (presumably) more informational and imaginative justification for my severe and sustained silence
- Spring sunshine in my region beckons grey-winter-burdened persons to the outdoors. . .
- Protective Papa-hood precludes time at the computer while Princess is home on Spring Break
- Not to mention, the actual journey out of town to take Princess to visit high school friends living in the Pacific Northwest (and of course, dear Bride never neglects any opportunity to head ocean-ward.)
- And a partial week later, (think it happened before my last post--but still qualifies as an attention distracter) was my Spring Break which compelled us to take a soaking journey to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho! Lovely time, and a nice visit with son on way back.
- And speaking of the brilliant boy, his graduation from university in early May was a busy, exciting time--with lots of family involved in the festivities.
- Drove down on the Friday, met Grandpa from CA there, and made preparations for a celebration party in the park near son's apartment with friends and family after the ceremonies on Saturday.
- Two l-o-n-g ceremonies on Saturday and he participated in both, as he actually earned two Bachelor's degrees: in Mathematics and Computer Science. The Bride and Grandpa M. attended the morning one, while I happened to watch the part that included him receiving his degree streaming live on-line from the hotel room while preparing for the afternoon and waiting for more family to arrive.
- We all headed to the afternoon ceremony, but didn't meet up with rest of family until at the fieldhouse awaiting the ceremony. Most of us sat somewhat near one another in the hot, packed arena to endure the ceremonial pomp and witness his second pass through the lines, with mispronounced name, shaking of hands and reception of diploma holder. Again.
- A bit delayed, but very tasty dinner celebrating his achievements--after Grandma helped get the gravy fixed back in the hotel room, and we hauled all the parts of the feast to the park. He had 15 or so friends from college there to celebrate with him, as well as all of the family that came over. So very blessed to have the support and dedication of family: Grandpa M., Grandpa & Grandma W., two Aunties, Uncle, and two cousins, and --of course--Mom and Dad.
- Returning home plans after church services on Sunday needed a tweak or two, but worked out in the end--if a bit later than we'd figured. Sister's car suffered an ailment after encountering a deep pothole in the street on the way to church, but thanks to AAA membership, an uncle living within 100 miles, and available space in Grandpa M's car, we did all make it back that evening.
- And, loving Papa-hood (and Son-in-law-ship, too) again minimizes computer time while Son and Dad M. are home with us for about a week
- Some other time in the spring, spent a long weekend connecting with family. Spent one night and next morning at my oldest Sister's house--enjoyed too-infrequent relaxed conversation, and a glass of tasty home-brewed wine.
- Seems we headed up the road a mile for breakfast with Mom and Dad the next morning, and decided would like to go soaking that evening, so made lodging reservations while using wi-fi from sister's driveway, and headed off toward one of our favorite hot springs in Canada in the afternoon. Met up with other sister and husband for Chinese dinner, and a bit of visiting on the way up.
- Enjoyed a warm soak the last hour before closing at the National Park Hot Springs late that evening, and on our return trip the next morning, we ventured off the highway a ways back into a Provincial Park to check out a very natural, minimally developed hot springs we'd never been to before. Delightful soak among the rocks where a hot river flows off a cliffy-bank into a cold river on the floor of a steep canyon. Beautifully scenic and peaceful locale for a relaxing soak; we will go back!
- And to further perfect the day, we had a superbly tasty Japanese dinner at a restaurant just down the block from the Chinese we'd eaten with Sister and Brother-in-law the evening before. Also plan to return there.
- So, guess would be sufficient to say, we enjoy mini-vacations, connecting with family as often as we can fit it in, which makes composing blog entries at home a bit problematic.
And then there's the thing about my spring/summer jobs. For about six weeks in the spring, my two jobs tend to overlap. The greenhouse business sees its most critical and busiest times during the month of May and the first weeks of June. And concurrently, public schools drag on--despite long-lost focus from most students and a good many teachers as well--til a couple weeks into June. - Thus, between the harried "get-it-in rush" of the final weeks of lessons at my school, and the "spring-is-finally-here mania" of philafloralists at the garden-center, there were only three days that I did not report to "work" from the day after I got home from son's graduation the first weekend in May until the day we left to retrieve daughter from college in MN in mid-June.
- One of those days off I attended the memorial service for my sweet, recently-passed Auntie, (at which my brother-in-law compassionately officiated, my brother touchingly eulogized, and my nephew hauntingly fiddled); on another day off, I joined family to help celebrate my amazing Dad's 80th birthday.
- Last day of school was a Friday. We headed out early Saturday morning east toward MN. First night in Bismarck, ND and on to Twin Cities area on Sunday afternoon . Dinner with a friend and her mother at their home was delicious and relaxing, and was so good to catch up some.
- Monday was my 50th birthday and the Princess's last final and paper due; she'd estimated she'd be finished around 5:30, so we planned to go out to dinner to celebrate the milestones--new decade of life for me, completion of second year of college for her. She IM'ed or texted some time during the day stating that she was now taking her last test at 7:00, so wouldn't likely be done until around 9 p.m.
MUCH LATER: APRIL 2015: Wow. . . I even ended mid-thought way back then. I'll now try to succinctly complete the potentially lengthy tale of this day, and then change reporting gears for the remainder of the post. So, Princess's testing delay prompted the bride and I to venture forth for my birthday dinner celebration without her company and made plans to go for dessert with her later. We were sad to discover that the Indian cuisine place where we'd hoped to eat was closed on Mondays; since eatery choices in Northfield are rather limited, we drove one town north on the freeway, wandered a good while on dark streets in the entirely unfamiliar MN city, becoming increasingly frazzled when every well-lit suburban shopping strip failed to prove on its potential to provide "just the right" establishment for my celebratory dinner; we pondered the preposterous profusivity of "Sports Bar and Grills" in one city (NOT what we were looking for,) and were about to redirect our thinking: "Maybe an Arby's Melt is secretly the perfect birthday dinner fare," when just before the freeway ramp, we spotted a dining establishment called "Porterhouse" that projected potentiality. Steak place, as the name hints. Enter heavy wooden doors, dim lighting drifting from the dining area, greeted and guided to a table by a quite formally attired host, and offered menus: Arby's Melts are looking like a GREAT idea now. . .but we heroically suppressed all financial sensibilities, delved deep within to don the "Oh well, it's only money. . .it IS my birthday. . .we ARE on vacation" attitude and persevered. Truthfully, dinner was quite tasty, and we were even served a complimentary sweet, creamy, airy "birthday dessert." We actually took most of it away in a "go box," since even the two most low-end items from the menu were quite filling, and we had dessert plans with the Princess. She was well finished with her commitments by the time we got back to campus; we met up with her and exchanged "good-to-see-you" hugs on the dark porch of her Sci-Fi Interest-House residence; she wandered back inside to invite any friend to join us for late night ice cream and returned followed by one kind friend. Both Princess and the accompanying gentleman thought perhaps there was a Dairy Queen down the way, so we headed "down the way," never to discover a DQ, tried a mid-west diner chain called Culvers who happened to be just closing for the night as we pulled in, and finally arrived at a Perkins, a few cars and lights on hinted that it was still open for business. As we entered, we were quickly informed they were not an "all night" place but were open for another half-hour, and they did serve ice cream treats. Lovely Bride probably remembers her ice cream order that night; my "food memories" lack that accurate clarity, however, though I am sure I enjoyed it, and I know I definitely reveled in the company as we celebrated entrance into my "second half-century" of life. A memorable day! The next day was spent helping the Princess pack-up and clean her room, to leave behind her sophomore year of college. We also set out together toward Chicago that evening which ushers forth the Princess's next highlight adventure.
So, a nice segue into my "reporting-style change" as I catch up from the "missing months" of my delinquency. With no further ado, I present: RAMBLINGS ON FAMILY HIGHLIGHTS
*Princess spent 10 weeks of summer 2013 studying in Ireland. Irish history and culture through literature and writing was the gist of her coursework, and she explored and immersed herself in the vibrancy of Irish culture as much as possible. Ruins and pubs and cemeteries and sheep and pastoral green hills and dramatic seaside vistas filled her moments between reading Yeats and Joyce; solo-adventures to castles and museums and concerts around Dublin and a bit in Belfast filled her ten weeks away. On her mid-term long weekend break, she ventured off-island to the bustling metropolis of London-town to partake of the literature, history and cultural attractions there: got photos taken from Platform 9 3/4 in Charing Cross Station, toured Shakespeare's Globe theater museum, and reveled in the Charles Dickens museum, even acutely connected with beloved hero David Copperfield by reading parts from the book about him in Coventry Garden while sitting in a Dickens Coffee Shoppe in Coventry Garden. Had an adventurous night or two alone in the city with train mix-ups, before connecting with friends who had also ventured to London. Made for some quite exciting stories! You can see photos and read her own telling of the adventures from "Notes" on her facebook page if you are interested. We parents praise God for providing friendly people to care for her at the right moments and for giving her this wondrous life-broadening opportunity.
*Continuing in the vein of oversea adventures, our brilliant son ventured forth on his Peace Corps stint to Liberia, Africa in June of 2014. He spent the first part of the year doing some substitute teaching for the school district that I'm at, and completing all the medical, dental, travel paper, and vaccination requirements before flying off for a couple days of stateside orientation meetings in Philadelphia and off to Africa form NYC a couple of days later. A couple months of language and teacher training together with about 50 other new volunteers while living with a host family in Kakata (an hour or two outside of Monrovia, Liberia's capital) was scheduled before moving to the village where he would teach high school math to Liberian schoolkids. His host father was a Methodist preacher and the mom was a hairdresser; he thoroughly enjoyed learning the Liberian ways with this family, and formed deep connections with the culture and caring people of Liberia before all the volunteers in three countries in the region were suddenly evacuated to avoid the ebola outbreak that was ravaging West Africa at that time. So, on August 2, just a day or two before he was to learn where he was assigned to go to live and serve for two years, he was whisked away on a plane to London, where they had a layover for a day before routing everyone back to their homes in the US. He also has a good story about his night alone on the streets of London because of train schedules. Ask him sometime. The hope that the epidemic would subside and volunteers could return to their assignments in Africa after a month or so was unrealized, and the evacuation involved so many volunteers that Peace Corps was unable to reassign them to different sites, and he was granted "Completion of Service" as of October 1. After a bit of wondering how to proceed and still committed to volunteer service, he reapplied to Peace Corps; the application was processed very quickly, and he was invited to serve in Tanzania, Africa. He is happy about getting to return to Africa, albeit on the opposite side of the continent and some further south. It is the location of the famed Mount Kilimanjaro, part of Lake Victoria, the Serengeti Wildlife Preserve, and the island of Zanzibar, so has lots of appealing features. Unlike Liberia, where the main language was English (with several tribal languages spoken as well,) he will need to study a bit of Swahili during his orientation months, but he will still be assigned to teach high school level math, and gets to teach in English. He departs for Tanzania in early July.
*So, we parents have begun to think of the extra time we get to spend with him as the "bonus year." In God's wisdom, this bonus year has allowed him to be a part of several important happenings that he'd have had to miss if he'd been serving as scheduled in far away Liberia. Just a week or two after his return, he got to be a groomsman at the wedding of a friend he's been close buds with since middle school. He also was able to accompany us on our family road trip to take the Princess back to MN for her final year of college, and so was there to participate in our family dinner with the MN relatives; and he will still be around in June so will get to return to MN to attend his sister's graduation too. Serendipity!
*No listing of our "highlights" would be complete (as you've likely come to learn) without a mention of the special FAMILY moments we've experienced. So. . . had awesome time connecting with oldest nephew last spring when we journeyed to Portland to see him in concert with his "soul band." He plays bass guitar and writes music for a very lively band of seven talented musicians who have been professionally touring to sold-out performances across the country for over two years now, and have just returned from their third tour in Europe. So wonderful seeing him having so much fun and success living his dream as a "rock star." He remains very humble and gentle, and we got to stroll the neighborhood in Portland with him, have a bite to eat together, and visit a bit before his concert. (Of course, we also spent a night at the beach; simply can't be that close and NOT go!) So, was a great trip. Son was with us too, assuming it would be the last he'd see of his cousin for a few years before heading to Africa. Also, a grand family time again watching him in concert in our hometown in July of 2014 with LOTS of family attending. So cool!
Spent a week with Dad and brother in CA a few weeks ago, and also last February. Both kids with us both times, as thinking would be the last chance to all be together for awhile, due to son's departures for Africa. Always relaxing, fun times to be together, eat tasty international cuisine, play cards, enjoy the solace and sun in the back yard of their family home, and of course, head to the beach as many times as we can squeeze in. Awesome family times! This year, worked it in during Princess's Spring Break, and happened to be the week of our 25th wedding anniversary as well. So, lots of good reasons to travel and gather with family.
Early last summer saw the passing of two dear family members within a few weeks of one another, so gathered on those occasions for supporting family in our loss, remembering and celebrating the remarkable lives of gentle Great Uncle, and caring Cousin. God's commentary on Life--in all it's phases--was communicated with crystal clarity on these days: my oldest sister's first grandson was born the same morning as Uncle's memorial, and our Pastor's first granddaughter came into the world on the day of Cousin's service. Clever choreography from our caring Creator!
Work schedules prevented getting to see much of the extended family during the holidays this past winter, but was able to travel a bit and have a fun family-filled weekend in February. Son decided he'd like to spend a few days with college buddies back in his university town a few days after his birthday, so we drove him down on a Saturday. Treated him (and a friend he invited to come over too) to a festive and tasty teppan-yaki dinner that evening to further celebrate his birthday. We stayed in town that night and the next morning drove a sunny and scenic couple hours back west and some south to the small college town where Nephew #3 lives. He was acting the role of Count Paris in his college theatre department's production of "Romeo and Juliet" that afternoon. We enjoyed watching him (and a dear cousin's son-- who also attends university there) artfully perform, and gathered at his apartment afterwards, with my sister, brother-in-law, Nephew #1, and Niece #2 and her two adorable sons; his parents, brother, sister and nephews that had come down to see his production. They had all been at Nephew #1's concert at a larger university town a few hours north and west, and his band had a bit of a break in their tour, so he was able to spend a few days with his family before flying back to the South to do a private event and prepare for departure for their several week tour in Europe. Nephew #3's 21st birthday was just a day or two earlier, so his loving Mom (dear Sister) brought a carload of food for his birthday dinner to celebrate with friends. We were so honored to be invited and blessed to be able to share in the family festivities. Was super having some time to spend with Nephews and Niece and visit about their unique and busy lives. And the grand-nephews remain as adorable and sweet as ever. Also got in a tiny bit more time visiting with rock-star Nephew and Sister a few days later when they stayed the night at our house before his early morning flight back south. What a blessing having opportunity to spend time with family now and then!
Another blessed extended-family moment happened on a Friday evening in March when the lovely Bride and I got to spend a few hours with three beautiful sisters--dear Nieces #1, #5 and #7. They'd made sister plans to meet to view Disney's recent-release of the live-action Cinderella movie together, and Niece #1 had called to invite us to join them. We were honored to be asked and excited to spend time with the girls, and were even able to treat them to a tasty Asian-fusion dinner and have a bit of a mostly-sunny stroll together before showtime. Pretty and fun movie, and glorious connecting with the sweet Nieces.
*And you know I need to mention a few of our travel adventures too. Late last summer, we headed to Calgary for a bit of a journey before the Princess headed back to college. Always fun seeing whats new for the critters at the zoo, and taking in the stunning scenery of the Canadian Rockies; discovered another quite authentic and tasty Japanese restaurant in a town on the drive back. Yum! During my October days-off from school, we drove with the son to Seattle. Always revel in the chance to shop at the Uwajimaya Asian market, and enjoyed a fun Korean lunch at the awesome food court there, before heading to the docks to catch a ferry across to Bainbridge Island where the son's good friend now lives. We dropped him off at a Starbucks near his buddy's apartment to wait until he got home from work, and the Bride and I continued heading south and coastward through the grey, misty lowlands. Travel through the coastal hills and plains of the Pacific always takes much longer than it seems like it should when consulting mileage and routes on maps, but we got to our reserved place at Ocean Shores just a bit before dark. Peaceful, empowering, ocean view and sounds and smells just out the sliding window door from the deck, gas-fueled flickering flames from the faux-rock fireplace, and a full-functioning kitchen to whip up our simple pasta and fresh garlic green bean dinner all factored in to our satiating and idyllic seaside stay. A few miles of beach wandering on the peninsula the next day yielded a few fun seashore finds, and provided the breezy, salty solace that sea-goers crave. Enjoyed a tasty fish and chips take-out dinner on our deck the next evening, and soaked in the oceanic ambiance to energize us for our long-day's drive back home the next morning. Bride and I also have enjoyed a couple overnight getaways to more nearby locales too. To help celebrate her birthday last fall, we reveled in a "deluxe" room with a large jacuzzi-jetted soaking tub, a fireplace, and a scenic view of snow-topped mountains backdropping the wavery waters of a sizable mountain lake. We ordered takeout from a favorite Thai place just a ways down the street, brought it back to the room, and simply savored our peaceful, scenic, evening of exotic flavors and luxurious bubbles. Then, for another celebration of our quarter-century of wedded bliss in early March, we stayed at a ski resort in British Columbia; we're not skiers, but the condo-style room with kitchen and fireplace made for a delightful stay, and we loved having the hot tubs to ourselves while everyone else headed to the slopes the next morning. After our leisurely toasty soak overlooking the bustle of activity at the base of the ski runs, we checked out and made our way down the hill into town for lunch at the local Japanese restaurant. We'd discovered this one when we'd passed through town some months prior, but it was closed then, so we were excited to find it open and serving very fresh, genuine obento lunches. We deemed it, too, definitely worth a re-visit sometime.
