Dorothy had Toto...

I have Scout. 

He patiently waits for his next opportunity...

Quickly returns when he gets too far away...  

 

A best friend who always knows the way home.

What's Your Color?

I love blue.  Blue skies, blueberries, blue sweaters, blue blankets, the blue Pacific ocean.  Blue reminds me to slow down, relax, enjoy each passing moment.  It seems like we all have a few colors we naturally choose over others.  My sister enjoys red - red cherries, red fabric, red antiques, red flowers.  She and I balance each other out - even in our color choices.  Her red influence fires me up when my blue influence encourages a little too much relaxation and not enough action.  Friends and family balance us out and help us make our way though life's challenges.  It's reassuring to know we have others around us to sit along side occasionally. What's your color?

Idaho's Owyhee Mountains Waking Up

A sleepy reservoir wakes up to wandering geese and the aimless chatter of red wing blackbirds.

Snow-capped peaks lose their blanket of snow, ready to give way to fresh wildflowers...

A hottie golfer warms up...

Life's good.

Oregon (not Southern) Fried Chicken

Today as I sat in my car at the gas station and waited for my gas tank to fill, I noticed a sign across the street, "Mother's Day Car Wash Special 5 washes for $20."  I wondered if my Mom would've liked that kind of gift for Mother's Day.  I don't think she would've.  I think she would've thought that a car wash coupon was a silly Mother's Day gift.  Of course, if someone would've given her a car wash coupon for Mother's Day she would have acted like it was a really cool, useful gift but my sense is that she would have had different thoughts about it.  Like, "Geez, what a stupid gift. I don't need car washes...I want a new Nordstrom blouse.  I thought I raised these kids to have better taste.  Oh well, I guess they just take after their Dad."  She was a person of practicality but not to that extent! 

Done at the gas station, I went on through the rest of my day but still thinking about Mom.  She died June 7, 2005, a dark day for our family.  Since that dark day, I continue to relive memories of her last good days, one of which was Mother's Day, May 8, 2005.  It was a sunny Oregon morning as we gathered around her hospital bed for one last picture.  It was a good day.  As the days between May 8th and June 7th progressed, we continued to gather together as a family in search of hope and another treatment for her cancer, all the while questioning how and why life can be so mysterious and cruel at times.  I think our Mom would've wanted us to remember the good times and the good things about her life rather than the injustice of cancer and all such gloomy things. 

So I topped my day off by making fried chicken and potato salad.  Mom made the tastiest fried chicken and potato salad and they bring back great memories of back yard picnics and warm Oregon summer afternoons.  Betty Crocker and I tried to mimmick Mom's recipes as best we could, but Mom was the master of both juicy, tender fried chicken and smooth, creamy potato salad.  I plan to share my chicken and salad with friends tomorrow but deep inside my heart they will really be a little secret tribute to Mother's Day and my Mother's life :) 

Lifetime Projects

In this fast-paced, computerized, digitized, electronic high-tech world we live in, I seek comfort in occasionally making things.  Occasionally.  I'm not very skilled at making handmade treasures but there's something incredibly satisfying about gathering raw materials and turning them into something of beauty or purpose - especially if you sit in front of a computer all day at work.  I can't say I'm prolific at making many things, I guess I work in spurts.  I started knitting a scarf in January and there's plenty left to do on it.  I guess it's just as comforting to have the "works in progress" around as it is to have the actual finished products.  Maybe.  But it would be nice to finish something once in a while.  Recently I was describing to my sister a quilt project I've been working on for nearly 10 years.  My sister, an incredibly talented crafter, mentioned that most people have a lifetime project they work on for many years.  I think she was trying to make me feel better and she did but I think I have several lifetime projects that I'll probably never finish.  Maybe I should get busy on my scarf before arthritis overtakes my fingers and hands and my vision correction is no longer adequate to see the knit and purl stitches.  Here's to lifetime projects and the tenacity to see them through.