Friday Five: Friendship

Kathrynzj suggested today's Friday Five over at RevGalBlogPals:

1) Do you remember your first best friend? What did you do together? Are they still in your life?
My first best friend was Janis in Lynden, WA when I was going to kindergarten while my dad was stationed in Japan. For years after that, I would always see her when we would return to WA to visit my mother's relatives. However, we have lost touch with each other.

Being an only child (and a girl), I always wanted and had best friends throughout school. Since I moved every few years, there was not as much opportunity to maintain close ties with those left behind. The best friend who is still in my life is Nancy, the friend who went to New Mexico with me! We were best friends in 7th and 8th grades in Japan and continued to be good friends throughout all the intervening years.

2) Did you ever have to move away or have your best friend move away from you?
Both AND--see above.

3) Are there people in your life now that you can call 'friend'?
I am blessed with many friends, especially through church and small groups. I still keep in touch with high school friends who live in Seattle and see them every summer on trips back there. Blogging friends emerged out of the "air" (and helped by RevGalBlogPals)!

4) What are some of your favorite things to do with your friends?
Eat! (I remember talking with friend Terry in Seattle that we are "eating" and "giggling" friends.) Giggle. Talk. Go on trips together sometimes. I'm not good about calling though.

5) What is a gift friendship has given you?
Love and acceptance, plus fun! So much so that I have blogging labels entitled "Friends" and "Blogging Friends."

Dog Pictures

Sampson, AA, and DC

This is the only picture I took of the three of them while they visited last weekend.

Today AA announced on Facebook that she and DC are having a baby in November! At a doctor's appointment today, they heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time.

Maisie and Baillie

CB petting Cisco while Maisie and Baillie keep on tugging on the rope.

Since this picture, CB cut off the green handle, because Maisie kept gnawing on it, breaking little pieces of green plastic off. However, it is now put away--as Maisie kept chewing on the remaining glue.

TODAY!

Nothing
in the world
is usual today.
This is
the first morning.

~~Izumi Shikbu

Quiet

New Mexico Trip: More Doors

Jewish Center, Albuquerque

Abandoned building, Laguna Pueblo

This helped me to envision how Chaco Canyon dwellings may have looked when masonry was covered with thin layers of plaster.

Chetro Ketl in Chaco Canyon

Lt. Simpson's guide during the Army's 1849 expedition said Chetro Ketl means "rain pueblo."

Door in Albuquerque

At bottom of Acoma Pueblo Mesa

This is my favorite door, with the bushes growing inside the abandoned (and roofless) abode. Life goes on without human habitation.

I needed a laugh today

In the smallest details

The mystery of God touches us -- or does not --
in the smallest details:
giving a strawberry, with love;
receiving a touch, with love;
sharing the snapdragon red of an autumn sunset, with love.

~~Marion Woodman
Coming Home to Myself

To receive such quotations every day, subscribe to Word for the Day at Gratefulness.org.

When I spoke about Helen at her memorial service yesterday, I finished with this quote. Helen showed kindness and love in little ways like these, all of which remind me of how God loves us through each other.

The church was full yesterday, but today not as many people as usual attended the morning service. I guess some felt like attending church once was enough for the weekend.

I found that I missed Helen more today than yesterday; I noticed her absence more in the "regular" service. I am sure her husband did, too.

Too Much April 24th

I am remembering that I am an introvert and need time alone to regain energy. That is what is hopefully happening right now!

The different groups of people that I have been with today are usually enjoyable--on more days than just this one. Having four various events on the same day is overwhelming. (Here's further confirmation that I was NOT meant to be a minister.)

Last week while I was in New Mexico, a friend suddenly died of a stroke. Her husband asked me to speak at her memorial service which was today. So this morning, I was honored to attend her internment and then this afternoon be at Helen's memorial service, which was followed by a reception.

In the middle of these two events, CB and I attended a lunch at a local, casual restaurant. Friends of son DC and wife AA came down to Corpus Christi for this weekend, with their one-year old daughter. They kindly asked their friends and friends' parents to come to lunch. Somehow it had to be fit in before the memorial service! So CB came in his suit and I in my dress to sit outside at picnic tables, with everyone else in shorts. It was fun, but rushed.

Helen's service was beautiful and included Eucharist. It touched me greatly, partly because today would be my mother's birthday. April 24 is always special for me due to that. Now Helen's memory is entwined with my mother's from this day forward.

I felt overwhelmed when I got home from that, especially knowing that in another hour we will be going to a monthly retiree dinner with CB's friends and their spouses. I am in the process of making a salad to take to this. (And we can leave early, using DC and AA's visit as an "excuse;" which is true as we want to see them!)

It has really helped me to reflect on this here. Both CB and I are introverts, so we're in this together!

New Mexico Trip: Gates

Gate in Old Town, Albuquerque

Gate in Albuquerque

Gate in Old Town, Albuquerque

Gate of San Felipe de Neri Church
Albuquerque's oldest Catholic parish

Friday Five: Smiles (or not?)

With the end of RevGalBlogPals' third annual Big Event, I am wondering who went and what it was like. There must be a lot of smiling from the Big Event! Hopefully, the rest of us are not frowning either.

So let us know how your past week was for you.

Write five different aspects of the week
OR answer the following questions:

1. When were you smiling lately?
I have so much to smile about, since I returned last Friday night from my New Mexico trip with friend Nancy. Also, son DC and wife AA are coming to visit this weekend. Their dog Sampson will play with Maisie, which will be fun to watch. AND of course, I am smiling about their baby--the kumquat this week (the size).

And I smiled at the above picture, because when daughter AE was young she liked and collected penguins.

2. What happened unexpectedly to you this past week?
My cousin Margaret in Calgary sent me her deceased daughter's book, which is her published dissertation. I've heard about the research and writing of Beth for years and am excited to have this book: The Search for Salvation: Lay Faith in Scotland 1480-1560 by Audrey Beth-Fitch. (I just learned with that Amazon link that I have a pre-released copy!)

3. How was a catastrophe averted (or not)?
The only thing I can think of is that my suitcase arrived from Albuquerque with me, even though my flight to Dallas was late--only 20 minutes in between flights.

4. What was the most delicious thing you ate?
The desserts I shared with Nancy in Albuquerque at the Flying Star cafe were delucious! How I wish that restaurant was available to me more readily. The caramel cheesecake the chocolate almond petit four (with marzipan!) were memorable and too addictive.

Jan--the last morning in Albuquerque 4-16-10

5. Did you see any good movies or read any books or articles?
A friend gave me an old supplement to the "New York Times" and it had a very interesting article about Jung's Red Book. I know two people who have bought copies of that large book. And you can go here to read this article, which I highly recommend.

New Mexico Trip: Doors

Nancy got interested in New Mexico doors and gates when she had visited with her family in Deming, NM. She kept taking pictures of closed and open doors; soon I also started taking photos of them.

We use the metaphor of a door opening or closing to episodes in our lives, both physical and spiritual. Just like my mother would talk about a chapter ending in one's life, so does a door close. . . and then open again.

Albuquerque door/gate

Home door at Sky City
Acoma Pueblo on top of a mesa

Doors at Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon
I have this same picture on a magnet bought at the park store!

Door on abandoned building in Laguna Pueblo

Closet door in Nancy's room at Los Poblanos Inn
It used to be the dairy farm safe!
(What is now Los Poblanos Bed and Breakfast started out as a dairy farm.)

Alaska

This picture from Alaska reminds me that CB and I are going to Alaska for the first time at the end of July! He planned this trip while I was gone. We've always talked about taking the Bellingham, WA ferry to and from Alaska; in July we'll take it one way to Bellingham from Alaska.

Jan's jottings

I have had the longest blogging break since I started this blog in 2007 by going to and returning from New Mexico. I have lots to tell you about, but still have not labeled my pictures. And I seem to be rushing around, getting back into the rhythm of life at home.

• My grandchild is now the size of a kumquat. In the past few weeks she/he has been the size of a blueberry, a kidney bean, and a grape. These images help as I pray everyday for this living being within AA. The next doctor's appointment is in one week--when DC and AA are hoping to hear the heartbeat of their future child.
  

• Nancy has given me permission to use her name instead of merely the initials of "NKE." I appreciate that since we have been friends for the past 49 years! (Isn't that a shocking figure for you younger readers??)

• While in New Mexico, Nancy was seeking mountain lion fetishes. Looking with her, I became interested, too, and found that I love the corn maidens. I seem to be collecting them now, as you can see from the picture below:

• I have four corn maidens, plus a storyteller and an Acoma Pueblo pot. I was told that the tallest corn lady is "very Zuni." The coyote was bought from a young man outside a trading post and may be a belated 25th birthday present for son BJ.
  

• I was told that the Corn Maiden represents a good life and happy future. Cornmaiden emerged with the Zuni from the Underworld and assures her people of a plentiful harvest. The story of the Corn Maidens ends like this:

"Ever since these days, the beautiful corn maidens have dwelt in the Land of Everlasting Summer. This we know. For does not their sweet-smelling breath come from that flowery country, bringing life to their children, the corn-plants? It is the south wind which we feel in spring-time."

• "In the Pueblo Indian culture, corn is to the people the very symbol of life. The Corn Maiden brought this gift. The Corn Maiden brings the power of life to the people. As the corn is given life by the sun, the Corn Maiden brings the fire of the sun into the human bodies, making them as the creator designed them to be. The Great Spirit has given man many representations of His love and power through nature. The Corn Maidens are said to have been created by the Great Spirit in the palm of his right hand. Each Maiden brings one seed of corn that is nurtured with love like that given to a child, that this one seed would sustain the entire tribe forever. With love and strength from the tribe, the tiny seeds mature and grow tall and strong, soon offering mature ears of corn for an abundance of crops for the people. The spirit of the Corn Maidens is forever present with the tribal people. The Corn maiden is the ' Grandmother of the Sun and The Grandmother of the Light'." (From here.)

Baby on the way!

Oldest son DC and wife AA are having their first baby in November!

CB and I are excited about becoming grandparents.

My New Mexico Trip

Jan and Nancy by the chapel behind the Old Town Albuquerque Hotel
at the Richard Rohr conference on "Emergent Christianity"

I downloaded 336 pictures from my digital camera today, all taken in New Mexico. I have not labeled any yet. There is so much organization to do! And Nancy downloaded 550!

Friday Five: (UN)Pack Your Bags!

Well, I still have to UNpack my bag from my nine-day trip in New Mexico with my friend NKE. We had a wonderful time; I will not be lacking for topics to blog about for a long, long time.

AND it is very nice to be back to a computer again. NKE has an I-phone, but I don't know how to use it. I could not even turn off her alarm on it!

Friday Five from RevGal Blog Pals:

1) Some fold, some roll and some simply fling into the bag. What's your technique for packing clothes?
I roll shirts but fold almost everything else, except for socks and underwear, which I stuff in empty spaces. Coming back home (like today from NM), I fling more than pack!

2) The tight regulations about carrying liquids on planes makes packing complicated. What might we find in your quart-size bag? Ever lose a liquid that was too big?
I always take hand lotion and wet-tear drops. However, they are in my carry-on bag, which I put in the overhead compartment, so I rarely use them.

3) What's something you can't imagine leaving at home?
My address book and stamps!

4) Do you have a bag with wheels?
YES! And I've been so happy with a small rolling carry-on bag, which I bought after my trip to Zambia in 2006. On that long trip across two continents and the Atlantic Ocean, I grew very tired of lugging around my heavy bag at airports. (I always take too many books.)

5) What's your favorite reading material for a non-driving trip (plane, train, bus, ship)?
Whatever I am reading at the time. On this trip I read Jack Kornfield's book The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology. Then today on my three different Southwest flights from Albuquerque, I read the beginning chapters of Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science by Charles Wheelan.

However, usually I read a mystery.

The rose as metaphor

Transport

The rose, for all its behavior,
is smaller than the lifelove it stands for,
only briefly brightening,
and even its odor
only a metaphor.
Or so we suppose
just as we suppose the savior
we employ or see next door
is only some hired man
gardening.

by Marie Ponsot

Wednesday Wanderings

My trip to New Mexico starts tomorrow. I still need to pack. With weather forecasts of high temperatures ranging from upper 70s F. to mid-50s F., I need to pack various clothes for layering.

• When I was leaving from the voting site for the local run-off elections, a lady stopped my car. She excitedly told me that she loved the color (light metallic green) and had the same shade in her eye shadow!

• I was surprised and semi-appalled that there is a NEW study out that advocates the benefits of breastfeeding--and that there will be less spent on healthcare if babies are breastfed for at least the first six months of their lives. The benefits of breastfeeding were so great and numerous when I was first pregnant 31 years ago that I nursed that baby (DC) . . . .so what is NEW now??

• If all goes well tomorrow, NKE and I will arrive at the Albuquerque airport at just about the same time in the afternoon. This is exciting!

• NKE and I remained friends since we were 12 because we wrote frequent letters to each other. I remember that on the ship ride (on a Navy ship, not a "cruise" ship) from Japan to San Francisco in 1964, I wrote a daily letter to NKE that was pages and pages long. Oh, the angst of being an adolescent! She once told me that when the pile of letters arrived in her dad's office in Japan, he called her and she rode her bike to his office to get them more quickly. I wonder if letters like that are even exchanged any more.

• I have a poem ready to be posted tomorrow, but am unsure if or when I will post again. Perhaps I will find a computer and an opportunity somewhere on this short trip!
  

"New Tricks"

A friend told me about "New Tricks", the BBC police comedy that features three retired policemen under the direction of an assertive female detective superintendent. I have been watching episodes by renting them, one dvd at a time, from Netflix. They are excellent!

And here is the catchy theme song, which is sung by one of the stars:

The Future

For god's sake, be done
with this jabber of a "better world."
What blasphemy! No "futuristic"
twit or child thereof ever
in embodied light will see
a better world than this, though they
foretell inevitably a worse.
Do something! Go cut the weeds
beside the oblivious road. Pick up
the cans and bottles, old tires,
and dead predictions. No future
can be stuffed into this presence
except by being dead. The day is
clear and bright, and overhead
the sun not yet half finished
with his daily praise.

~~Wendell Berry

60th Birthday Trip!

Since I was born in 1950, it is always easy to figure out how old I am. 2010 is the year in which I will turn 60. My friend NKE was also born in 1950; we met as seventh graders while living on the Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan in 1962 and have been friends ever since, mainly because we both were good letter-writers. (Not so much now, but we talk once a week when cell phone minutes are free on Sundays.)

NKE and I are celebrating our 60th birthday year by going on a trip to New Mexico! We'll only be gone for eight days, beginning this Thursday. We are traveling while NKE is on her spring break from school. AND we're participating in TWO programs, including our first Exploritas (formerly Edlerhostel) trip.

On Thursday afternoon we will meet each other in the Alburquerque Airport. We will stay in Alburquerque for three nights and attend Richard Rohr's conference on "Emerging Christianity." The speakers for this conference are: Diana Butler Bass, Brian McLaren, Cynthia Bourgeault, and Richard Rohr.

When that conference concludes, we will drive to Gallup for the Exploritas trip, which is entitled "From Chaco Canyon Past to Zuni Present." We'll visit a Zuni village, cliff dwellings, and see petroglyphs.

In a little over six months, I'll be 60. NKE already is. We both have white hair, so we should fit into the Exploritas crowd!

Maisie is losing her baby teeth

MJ came home yesterday and left today. Here she is playing with (bigger and bigger) Maisie last night. Playing tug of war gets Maisie's mouth bleeding, because her baby teeth are getting loose.

We always take a cooler of drinks on road trips. So when we came home, I dumped the ice out on to the lawn. Maise kept chewing on the ice and even playing with ice cubes.

This reminded me of how I would give my toddlers ice popsickles when they were teething. It did not matter where they dripped as they wouldn't stain, and they could have as many as they wanted.

When I noticed Maisie's mouth this afternoon, I put more ice cubes outside for her. The other dogs could care less, but she likes the ice. I'm glad I finally noticed that she likes ice; it must make her gums feel better.

Happy Easter!

Wildflowers Galore!

The drive to Austin yesterday and back to Corpus Christi today was breathtakingly beautiful with all the wildflowers in bloom. We were most surprised to find more growing along I-37 than on the side roads we took to Austin on Friday. It seemed like Easter driving back this afternoon, only to be shrouded in fog when we got to Corpus Christi--which is more indicative of the day before Easter.

bluebonnets

Indian Paintbrush

Wildflowers are blooming all along the roads

CB and Jan at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, TX

Praying at Gethsemane

Title:	Praying at Gethsemane
Notes:	Dr. He Qi is a professor at the Nanjing Union Theological Seminary and a tutor for master candidate students in the Philosophy Department of Nanjing University. He is also a member of the China Art Association and a council member of the Asian Christian Art Association.
Date:	2001
Artist:	He Qi
Material:	Other
Country:	China