We've Been Busy

   I haven't written for a long time.  Since my mother died in January, we have been busy dealing with her estate, such as it is.  We sold her house, and it is now in escrow.  Thus, we have been sorting her belongings, asking my children (her only grandchildren) if there is anything they want by which to remember their grandmother.  They took a few things, and that left my sister and I to work on her clothes; which to toss and which to give to charity.  We had a charity pick up all her furniture, and as of today, the house is ready for the new owners.  It was a lot of physical work, mixed with emotional memories.  But it's done, and hopefully, I can move on.
   My husband and I took a week off to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  It is a wonderful, spiritual, historic and charming place.  It is a mecca for artists, with tons of galleries and artist's studios, as well as a mecca for good restaurants.  So, we ate and bought art work.
It was lots of fun.

Ironing during the Tsunami

     So much laundry. I got it all washed, but the ironing isn't done yet. I have a lot of trouble consolidating my wardrobe so that I can take one major suitcase. I can do it, but not without considerable angst. I think I have to iron everything wrinkled that I might want to take, just in case. This being a cruise to the tropics, I anticipate the need for clean fresh things every day......forget that the ship Laundromat is down the hall from our room. Of course they have valet service as well; I'm just insecure. We will be staying with friends in Boca Raton, Florida for a few days at the end of the cruise.  I need fresh clothes for that, too. I know my musings sound shallow, they are all about appearance. Oh well, so what?
     Big news today is the earthquake in Japan and the Tsunami causing so much damage. It's a terrible disaster.  We live about six blocks from the pacific coast. There is a Tsunami warning sign ONE BLOCK from our house. It says, "End Tsunami Zone.". The other side of the sign says "Tsunami evacuation Zone." We only noticed it last year.....we better huddle together on the 2nd floor, just in case.

THIS TRIP WAS A VACATION.

Three Pastry Chefs in Training

We had a fabulous trip to Carmel, Pebble Beach and Monterey.  We had been there before, of course, but never with a group of 10 people with a penchant for eating and drinking.  There were some business meetings thrown in among golf at Pebble Beach.  We stayed at the gorgeous Inn at Spanish Bay, where the bagpiper plays on the beach every night at 6:15.  I can't seem to get my photos to line up where I want them; either in chronological order or any other kind of order.  All I can say, is that I had a massage and a facial, and was treated to Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in our room.  The beautiful room looked out over the ocean and part of the golf course, with stately cypress trees all around.

The Jellyfish were astounding, as you can see.

At the Monterey Bay Acquarium

Big Sur Coastline

Dessert Plate Painting Class

My flourless chocolate cake

The Ladies were treated to a PLATE decorating class given by the extraordinary Chief Pastry Chef of the Pebble Beach Corporation.  He has prepared for the academy awards, and received numerous awards.  WE DESERVED NO AWARDS.  It was hard to do, but we got to eat our paintings.

A good time was had by all our friends....it was great to laugh so much.

Here's to You!

Bit of our room at Inn at Spanish Bay

Packing Stress

     I don't know why the preparation for packing, whether we will be gone for a few days or a few weeks, is so stressful for me.  I'm not talking about the actual act of putting things in the suitcase, I find that to be an enjoyable challenge.   I'm talking about what I'm going to take, whether the clothes need washing or cleaning, the button I have to sew on the jacket, ironing the orange linen shirt, packing the toiletries for myself (and the things Howard might need that he doesn't bother to pack).  Howard's theory is that he is not traveling into the Amazon.  There are stores all over and if he forgets something important he can always buy it.  My theory is, "why waste the time going to the drug store when I can have it all in my little bag?"
     What results is a few days, maybe a week, of pressure to get everything done amidst the ordinary vicissitudes of daily life, like doctor's appointments, hair cut, phone calls, emails, vet shots for Webber (he goes to a fancy pet hotel), and numerous other stuff.  Now YOU all travel.  Do you go through such stress?  Howard has threatened to cancel trips because I make him "crazy."  I do have a major problem; I am a perfectionist.  I have the fantasy that I I could just put a few things in a bag and go away on a moment's notice.  But I think I really could if pressed to do so; especially if we were going somewhere exciting.  I would just have to fight my nature to have everything "done" before I left.
     Right now I should be sewing the button on the jacket, but here I am writing in my blog.  Oh, well!

MotherLode and Dixieland Jazz Festival

  

                               

     We had a great time exploring the old west, including a private tour of the State Capitol.  Notice the personal welcome to the Senate Chamber.  

     The Sacramento Dixieland Jazz Festival was fantastic; about 60,000 people in lots of venues and on the streets, listening to great music.  One of the best things about car travel is experiencing the beauty of the California countryside; rolling hills, huge oak trees, cattle, horses, and all the things we forget about living in the big city.  It is very restorative.

"On The Road Again"

We are in Northern California on the trail of the Gold Rush in the 1850s.  Lots of charming old mining towns, with the historic main streets looking very much as they did, with the exception of little antique shops and boutiques housed in the storefronts.  The picture above is the Historic Murphys Hotel in the town of Murphys where we stayed.  There are a lot of wineries in Murphys, with tasting rooms.  It draws many tourists in the summer.  We are now in our state Capitol, Sacramento.  For the next few days we will be enjoying a Dixieland Jazz Festival...what fun!

THE RANCH AND THE TORNADO

    We have dear friends who have a wonderful ranch in Montana.  They raise buffalo to whom they give names of family members and friends.  The buffalo and the people are so proud to have the honor bestowed upon them.  Whenever I go to the ranch I get the feeling of calm and relief from stress that wide open spaces can bring about.
     One summer, our hostess, a friend and I (all city girls) drove the jeep into the small farm town to buy decorations and food for a neighbor's baby shower.  It was about a 45 minute drive, and we looked forward to the outing.  The moment we got there, we sensed there was something wrong.  There was a stillness in the air, and little pieces of paper were twirling around in a little circle.  Odd?  We thought so, too.  But it didn't stop us.  It was 3:00 PM on a Saturday, and some of the stores were closed.  Why? Did they know something we didn't know?
     We got some of the errands done, and when we exited the store we looked up and saw a pitch black sky.  It started to get windy.  We realized that it was a tornado, and we had a long drive ahead of us.  A tornado?  We don't have those in New York City or Los Angeles.  What do we do, hide from it? Drive right through it?  We were speeding down the road and the black funnel cloud was following us.  Then it started to hail.  Believe me when I tell you that the hail was as big as baseballs; and they made big dents in the car.  The only building we saw on the road was an abandoned gas station, and there was no place to take shelter, so we pressed on.
     We got back to the ranch in time to avoid being swallowed up by the storm, but there were others who were not so lucky.  The storm went on through the night.  We saw on TV that there were tornado warnings, but we couldn't see anything out the window but blackness and lightning.  We were glad to be on our way home the next day, but at the Billings Airport there were tornado warning sirens going off.  My thought?  Get me outta here!
     Of course, we returned to the ranch several more times, always with the anticipation of a wonderful few days with friends, living a much different life than we do at home.

ROAD TRIP!

COULD HAVE BEEN US IN THE 1970'S  

I found a website that really appeals to me (www.roadtripamerica.com).  It's full of information about wonderful back roads, destinations, articles, etc., that relate to car or RV travel throughout the USA.
   I don't know what the American version of the Anglophile is, but my husband and I fit into that category.  We have travelled throughout the world, and have seen many wonderful places that fill us with treasured memories.
   Sightseeing by car, with Howard driving in unfamiliar territory, has been a "trip" all its own, no matter what country we're in.  I think I may do some blogs about some of the predicaments in which we have found ourselves.  Car travel can be lots of fun; there are lots of things to discover when you are on your own.  If we were to rate our travel experiences, we would have to rate traversing America by car right on top. ( See "Teton Reflections")
   We have a Road Trip coming up.  We plan to explore the Gold Rush towns along Highway 49 in Northern California.  We went to the "Mother Lode Country" years ago, and don't expect it to be any different this time, at least we hope not.  The little towns in the Sierra Nevada foothills are charming and historic; we are very excited.
    As a finishing touch, we will spend 4 days in Sacramento at the "Dixieland Jazz Festival."  We haven't done that in quite a few years, and are really looking forward to visiting venues around the city and listening to that spirited and sometimes soulful music.

TETON REFLECTIONS

I was searching through photos and came across one that I took of the Grand Tetons, Wyoming.I really like it. It is a very calm scene, but taken on a journey that much the opposite of calm.

Our children were 9, 5, and 2 (still in diapers). We took all three plus a 15' Field and Stream trailer on a National Park Tour. We were on the road for three weeks. This was many years ago, but the pain lingers on.

I CALL IT THE TRIP FROM HELL!

I started the trip recording my thoughts into a tape recorder every day, and by the end of the trip I was crying into the mike. What were we thinking?  Who did we think we were, pioneers? We slept in our cramped "covered wagon" and ate all of our meals outside.

I swear this is true: The kids were sitting at a picnic table under the pines, drinking chicken rice soup. Stuff that looked like big pieces of rice started falling from the trees.....they were maggots. That was when I began to crumble.

    
In spite of the discomfort, we continued on, undaunted, determined to visit the glorious parks, and introduce our children to the beauty of nature (only the oldest one remembers the trip). The reason I feel comfortable recounting the horrors of the trip, is that it served its purpose.
    
Of course Howard and I repeated the trip several times over the years, but what pleased us most was that we have been able to share our love for the beauty of this country with the kids as they grew. We tent camped with them in Yosemite year after year. When they reached young adulthood, we all switched to backpacking. It was an adventure I was "dragged" into, but once I got going, I enjoyed it. I have a few stories about backpacking as well, but I'll save them for another day.