Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my dear husband CB!

Here he is at Glacier National Park yesterday, the last day he was 60 years old.

Going to the Sun (Highway)

While we went towards the sun, fog kept encroaching upon us.

This morning around 11 am, this is what we saw through our windshield as we travelled along the Going to the Sun Highway and never saw the sun shining on the U.S. part of Glacier National Park. Poor CB hated driving along the cliffs knowing there was a 1000 foot drop, though unseen. It is disappointing that we did not see the peaks or glaciers along the way. I have postcards to send of the sights we did not glimpse.

After we left the park and went through the Canadian border crossing (that is only open in the summers), we entered the joint Canadian national park--Waterton Lakes National Park. As we drove in this direction, we started seeing patches of blue sky and finally entered the sunshine again. And we saw the top of a mountain--and got to the sun!

Fall Foliage

No autumnal leaves around us in Corpus Christi, but I took pictures of some pretty trees in WA State last week. Here are a few:

Boulevard Park
Bellingham, WA

north Ballard neighborhood, Seattle

Magnolia Hill neighborhood, Seattle

Japanese Maples

on Magnolia Hill, Seattle

I love Japanese maples. CB planted one for me in front of our house in RI in 1991; when we moved in 1992, he transplanted it and put it in front of our house in Morristown, NJ. When we returned to TX in 1994, we could not take the Japanese maple with us. I wonder if it is still there; I hope so.in front of my parents' old house

Bellingham, WA

Sun and Drizzle

Washington State has been in the sunshine for two days and now is back in the clouds, which is more normal for November. Today it is gray and drizzly and is about 50 degrees F.

When CB and I flew here on Wednesday, we were shocked to clearly see all the mountains from our plane. The woman sitting next to me said she had traveled to Seattle on business trips for the last 12 years, and this was the first time she had ever seen Mount Rainier while in the air! When we arrived in Seattle, it was a record 74 degrees F., which was warmer than the weather we had left in TX. It was beautiful; I went around taking pictures of brilliantly colored Japanese maple trees.

We flew here for my father-in-law's 85th birthday. The party was last night in Bellingham, and it was full of laughter, fun and love. All four children and their spouses were there. It was one of the nicest times we have had together. There were three birthday cakes--for beloved dad, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law (me), so there was a lot of blowing on many candles. Oddly, I had the most candles; my sister-in-law Chris said that candelight was much kinder to older faces.

Now in Seattle, we are visiting friends and daughters AE and KA. I loved meeting AE today near the University of Washington Quad. She looked lovely in a brown sweater and jeans and took us to see her office. It is wonderful to see the girls again so soon after their surprise visit to Austin for my birthday.

Two days in Bellingham and two days in Seattle, then we whiz back to San Antonio, TX, so we can take daughter MJ out for her birthday dinner on Sunday night.

We are fortunate to travel here and also to have a friend, who is also my massage therapist, stay at our house taking care of our three dogs and one cat. The first time Denise met Maisie, Maisie kept leaping on her, leaving muddy pawprints. Denise was a little worried about being with Maisie so much and kept those muddy clothes to be worn just around the dogs, calling them her "Maisie clothes." However, she says that Maisie has calmed down and all the dogs like her.

SURPRISE!!

Monday is a big birthday for me (60!), so my only wish was to have dinner with my children, which was on Saturday night at my favorite Austin, TX restaurant The Eastside Cafe. Of course, daughter AE and KA from Seattle would not come, but Austin was an ideal location for daughter MJ from San Antonio and son BJ from Houston to meet us, because DC and 8-months-pregnant AA live there.

So we drove to Austin on Saturday, with two slight mishaps on the way. First, a Suburban sounded (and looked) like it hit our car when we were turning left from the right lane onto a one-way street--and the Suburban on our left went straight! We both stopped, but could see no damage, except for a scrape low on the front left fender, which seemed too low to be from the Suburban. So with a sigh of relief, we went on. Then about 10 minutes later, I realized that I had brought blouses along but NOT my skirt, so back home we drove. (That turned out to be beneficial, because we decided to make our own sandwiches for our lunch before driving on.)

We met at DC and AA's home in Austin and got to see the future baby nursery (in 3-4 weeks!), which is painted aqua with pink accents. They know they are having a baby girl, whose name will be Avery Elizabeth. Right now it is estimated, from a sonogram, that she weighs about 6 pounds.

After BJ and his girl friend TP got there, MJ arrived. We were telling her about the above-mentioned misadventures when suddenly from the kitchen came two figures I was not expecting at all -- AA and KA! From Seattle! MJ had picked them up at the Austin Airport for their 24-hour visit to TX. Husband CB and the kids had planned this for months to surprise me; I am overwhelmed by their love.

An even better surprise was my present from my children--a proposed pre-Christmas portrait of them all, including Avery! The last portrait was taken in 1997, and I am so pleased and excited that they'll do this for me. What a gift!

Today is the last day I will be 59, and I already received the best birthday presents possible -- and my birthday has not even come yet!

Meditation Lessens Shyness

The above picture shows how I usually feel at large gatherings, social occasions, and/or parties. I am usually the one who feels left out, thus showing others that I do not want to be with them. . . .not that I usually realize that at the time! I am an introvert; I am shy.

Because of my tendency to feel shy when I am in new situations, I was worried about my cousin Margaret's 80th birthday party in Calgary this past Saturday. I thought that I might fall back into myself and simply endure the time with all the people celebrating Margaret.

However, I forgot about myself and had a wonderful time. I helped Margaret's children set up first in the church auditorium and then looked for solitary people and introduced myself: "I am Jan, Margaret's cousin from Texas." That broke the ice and each person was warm and friendly.

This was a radical departure from the wedding I went to last summer for Margaret's daughter Kathy in Banff. I was glad to leave early because I knew so few people and escaped to the hotel as soon as I could!

I think the big difference in me since then is the consistent twice-daily practice of Christ-Centered Prayer. Before that wedding, I was sporadically meditating, but I newly committed around that time to pray twice a day, every day. Meditating is bringing greater peace to my life, plus less awareness of ME-me-me.

It's obvious that we are called to be kind to others and not selfishly focused on oneself, but my shyness has usually revolved around me not feeling good enough, not enough for people to want to talk with me. Then I would hide and withdraw, thus again indicating I am not interested in talking to anyone.

I am really grateful that I could wholeheartedly celebrate with Margaret, her family and friends on her 80th birthday! Thanks to God, I did not keep looking at myself but looked at each person as special (holy).

Margaret laughing after she blew out the candles on her birthday cake.

Home from Calgary

Home again, to cooler Texas, which has received two cold fronts since my visit to Calgary. It is still getting up into the 80s F. but cools off below the summer normal of 78 degrees F. at night. Now that cold fronts have passed through the area, we will not get any more hurricanes in 2010!

I spent six days with my cousin Margaret in Calgary. Margaret looked so pretty this day that I had to take her picture. She says she never knows how to smile in pictures; don't we all feel that way sometimes?

I love seeing her face because she reminds me so much of my mother, who died in 1992.

Margaret at age 80

One goal of my visit was to get a picture of Margaret and me together. My last night there, her daughter quickly took 8-10 pictures. I was sure one would be good, but I came home to find that NONE were on my digital camera. I guess she took them so quickly that the camera only beeped for the focus and did not take a picture. It is my fault for not checking to see the pictures right after she took them; then we could have rectified the situation. I am disappointed, but have sweet memories of us laughing together as our pictures were supposedly snapped. I hope we will have another opportunity sometime in the future to visit each other again.

On Sunday Margaret asked her oldest son (who is only 10 years younger than me) to take me out to look at trees. He is an avid athlete; his siblings and mother told me not to let him get carried away on our trek. He told me we would take about an hour walk at Fish Creek Provincial Park which was an underestimation. We must have walked 5-6 miles, which was enjoyable as we chatted and walked.

Fish Creek

Talkeetna, Alaska

We took the train from Fairbanks to Anchorage and stopped at Talkeetna for one night, hoping to see Denali (but didn't).

Jan and CB

What stands out in my memory for Talkeetna is the BEST CINNAMON ROLL I've ever had in my entire life, even better than my mother's!

There are the cinnamon rolls on the bottom shelf.

THIS is where to buy the cinnamon rolls!
The Talkeetna Roadhouse

This is also the place where I stopped counting my Weight Watcher points and ceased to think of dieting, but it was a vacation, right?

Alaska Railroad

CB and I loved traveling on the Alaska Railroad. They reminded me of train rides I took in my youth when my mother would take me to visit relatives whenever my father was transferred to a new military location.

Do you remember those dome cars? We rode in one like this.

This is where we waited to board in Seward. CB is in blue looking at a map.

This is a glacier we saw on the way to Seward from Anchorage.

There was even a dining car on the train!

A trip of (pleasant) mishaps

On Tuesday afternoon CB left me at the airport to catch my plane to Houston. I ended up waiting an extra hour, so that I missed my connecting flight to Calgary. Because of that, Continental paid for a hotel room in Houston, which turned out to be better than I expected. Then son BJ met me and we went out to dinner together! I had such a good time with him that I was pleased that I had been stuck there.

Today my flight to Calgary went smoothly, with a seat on the aisle and no one sitting in the middle seat. And we arrived 20 minutes early--and then I sailed through customs and baggage claim. I went outside to wait for my cousin Margaret, which is where she has always met me (with her daughter driving).

However, Margaret drove by herself in the daytime, because her daughter was at work. She parked her car and went to meet me inside and somehow we bypassed each other, partly because she arrived at the scheduled arrival time. She even had me paged, but I could not hear the announcement at the curb outside.

Not knowing what to do, I finally got some Canadian coins and called her home phone, but no one answered. Then I did something that I never do while in Canada: I turned on my cell phone and called husband CB! I asked him to call anyone else he could think of in the family. Eventually, another daughter called me and arranged for her husband to pick me up. While I was waiting for him (at 2:00), I was hungry and did not want to leave my post in case he came--then I remembered the 24 hour old peanut butter and jelly sandwich I had made for my Tuesday night dinner on the flight to Calgary. It was tasty!

So the positive things that happened despite mishaps were:

1. nice hotel room
2. dinner with son BJ
3. easy arrival in Calgary
4. peanut butter sandwich!
5. being rescued by cousin-in-law
6. getting here with Margaret already home (and the house unlocked)

Going to Calgary!

This afternoon I am flying from Corpus Christ to Houston and on to Calgary. I will get there tonight. It is interesting to see how much closer Seattle (where daughters AE and KA live) is to Calgary than to Houston (or further south, to Corpus Christi).

I guess it doesn't matter that my Passport picture shows me with brown hair, but my hair is now white. The picture was taken before I went to Zambia in 2006.

Mountains

Going to Alaska in the summer did not reveal the magnificent views of mountains that we had expected. Mt. McKinley or Denali was not visible while we were there, but that also means we fell into the 70% majority of people who visit and do not see the mountains.

Supposedly Denali mountain range is behind those clouds on the horizon.

We saw more elevated land while riding the train and on the ferry.

I took this picture as we were rounding curves on the way to Seward from Anchorage.

on that same train trip to Seward from Anchorage

At times we felt like we could see "better" mountains in our home state of Washington, although I am sure that in the winter we would see many mountains in Alaska IF we could reach those areas.

Mount Baker near Bellingham, WA

Now I have to decide if I would like to see more mountains in Alberta, Canada. My cousin Margaret has offered a two-day trip to Banff and Jasper. Never having been to Jasper, that is an enticing thought.

Another Trip!

I am somewhat embarrassed that I am going on ANOTHER trip! On Tuesday I fly to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to visit my cousin Margaret for her 80th birthday. Neither of my parents lived to be 80 and so I am excited to celebrate this landmark birthday with her and her children, grandchildren and friends. There is going to be a big party at a nearby church. I will stay one week, with long travel days for the first and last days. CB did not want to come with me, so he is staying home, working at Habitat and taking care of the three dogs and one cat.

Before this trip, I am washing many loads of clothes. Soon I have to try to find winter clothes, as I stuffed them away when it got hot last March! For seven days I don't need much though. I bought gloves for Alaska, so I'll have them to take along.

Since I am going on another trip, I realize I should write about the Alaska trip before I have another to describe. So I will be posting pictures in the near future. I think I'll pre-post various trip venues so they can "magically" appear while I am in Canada!

Pictures

I am going to start writing about our Alaska and Washington vacation tomorrow and will post pictures, too. Both CB and I had digital cameras, so it will be difficult to decide which pictures to put up here.

Since I went to the doctor and had my two stitches out this morning and then had my teeth examined by my dentist, I am assured that I am healing well. The only picture taken after the accident was with Terry (the next day) when we ate breakfast at Portage Bay again. I don't look as bad in the picture as I felt or how I looked "in real life." My mouth felt so swollen that it was hard to smile!

Terry and Jan
Seattle, WA

Splat!

I needed a sign like this on Thursday when I fell flat on my face, not being aware of "the present moment" at all. While CB was flying back to TX from Seattle, AE, MJ and I were wandering around downtown Ballard. When it was time to return to our parked car, we were rushing along and suddenly I fell SPLAT! My sandal had caught on the uneven sidewalk by a construction site.

I remember AE asking me if I could get up; as I lay there, I said "I don't know." Blood was flowing out of my mouth, but I was more concerned with my knee hurting. A nice lady gave me many tissues from her purse as I tried to stand.

AE drove me back to her house where the girls gave me sacks of ice to put on my mouth and on my knee. (As I write this on Monday, I can say that ice really helps a body to recover. I have a huge bruise on my left knee, but hardly any on the right which I kept ice on for hours.) AE called friend Terry and the local hospital to see where I should go with a hole gaping open from below my lower lip.

She and MJ got me to the Ballard Swedish Medical Center Emergency Room. Luckily, it was in the mid-afternoon and not in a major Seattle hospital. AE filled out all the paperwork for me, and I was surprised that I was shaking so much when I tried to sign my name. I was well taken care of and ended up with two stitches below my lip. The shots to prepare for the stitches were the worst part of all that!

Even with the ice, my mouth and chin were very swollen. It looked like someone punched me in the mouth! (Today is the first day there seems to be little swelling; tomorrow my own doctor will take out the stitches.)

Daughters AE, MJ, and KA were wonderful at taking care of me and later brought me Thai soup while I lay on Terry and Dennis' basement guest bed. It was so comforting to have family and friends caring for me. I feel very fortunate that I did not hurt myself more or break something.

Back home!

by Steve Kelley

I am home in Corpus Christi. It is nice to see the sunshine, but NOT to feel the heat and humidity! Still, I am glad to be home.

I'll be back on Sunday!

Well, before this long trip to Alaska and WA State, I pre-posted until a few days ago, because I thought I would be posting at friends' and family's computers. Nope! I'll be back more consistently on Sunday.

MJ and I will fly back to hot and humid Corpus Christi, TX on Sunday--it will be 20-30 degrees F. hotter there. I am so glad our house has air conditioning!

We had a wonderful four days in Bellingham with CB's family. Now we have four days in Seattle.

Today was a lot of fun. AE and KA took us out to breakfast at Portage Bay Cafe in Ballard (a neighborhood in Seattle), which is one of my favorite places in the morning because of their heaping bowls of berries, butter, and whipped cream to liberally apply to meals. Then we went on a tour of the Theo Chocolate Factory, which is not just a melter (as most chocolate factories in the USA)but a complete and organic chocolate factory. At almost every step of the tour, we were given a wooden bowl of chocolate chunks to pass around and sample. I could not try the DARK chocolate, which was 91% cocoa, but CB held it in his mouth to melt it. (I wish I liked dark chocolate, because I know it is healthier to eat.)

Then we went up on the observation deck of the Smith Tower, which was one of the first skyscrapers in the USA. The view was better than the one seen from the Space Needle.

Tonight we girls (MJ, AE, KA, Terry and me) are going out for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant called Carmelita's. I am sure that will be wonderful. I am so lucky AE and KA have planned such interesting things for us to do.

See you all on Sunday--unless our flights are delayed.

Last Day in Bellingham

I have not lived in Bellingham since 1972, but with visits back here every summer, I find that I remember most of the roads, though things have changed. Bellingham is a more prosperous looking city: little houses have been remodeled and enlarged; new houses are often gigantic. (I always wonder who cleans all those rooms??)

It is a wonderful place to live, so why aren't CB and I in my parents' house instead of renting it? It is the only steady home I had until we bought our first house in TX in 1979, so it is precious to me.

We stayed in TX because MJ had to graduate from high school two years ago, and now we seem to be waiting until she finishes college. Another magnet for staying in TX is that our first grandchild will be born in November and will be living in Austin. That is a four-hour drive from Corpus Christi, which is easily do-able. Three of our four children live in Texas, but one (AE) lives in Seattle. The other reasons are listed in the recent Friday Five.

This visit re-acquainted me with my sister-in-law CH, and I would love to have time and opportunities to get to know her better. Her kindness, authenticity, and intelligence stand out to me now. I was also touched that she is the only one in CB's family to ask if it is difficult being an "orphan" (It is sometimes, when I'm around so many of CB's family and realize I have no parents, siblings, and other relatives. BUT I do have children, their partners, a husband and a soon-to-be-born grandchild). Still, I appreciated CH noticing that very much. It does not have to happen again, but I needed that acknowledgement somehow.

Tomorrow we go to Seattle to be with daughters AE and KA as well as friends Terry and Dennis. These are the friends who drove their two vehicles up to Bellingham on Saturday, so we could have the use of one of them! My children view Terry and Dennis as their aunt and uncle, so that's more family!

By next week we'll be back home in hot, humid Corpus Christi, TX. We still have to decide what we will do with my parents house in Bellingham. . . .Someday we have to make a decision.

Bellingham on the last day of July

Today has been a serene and quiet day at CB's parents' home in Bellingham, WA. I woke up early and went to Weight Watchers to face the truth of my vacation eating (+) and then walked around Lake Padden (3.5 miles). I am pleased that I don't have to stop and catch my breath going up one of the long ascending hills, as I found necessary in past years. I walked around Lake Padden for the first time after my mother's funeral in 1992, when CB took me there for a quiet reprieve. It has been special to me ever since then.

We went to my parents' old home, the only "home" I ever had growing up, since we moved to different base housing every few years when my dad was transferred by the Marine Corps. Since my father died in 2002, we have rented the house. We were fortunate with our first renters who stayed for six years. The last one was a con man and a suspected drug dealer who was finally evicted this past month. He left the garage full of garbage crawling with maggots.

CB's sister and her son have been cleaning and fixing up the house. They had to replace the floor and tub in the main bathroom. The house looked much better; I feel fortunate that CB's family is taking care of it. It is in much better shape since CB's sister started managing the property instead of a property management company.

As CB, his sister and his nephew looked around the house and discussed what was to be done, I wandered around the house. It was bittersweet, as I remembered my parents there. I sat for a long time in the basement, remembering how baby MJ and I slept down there while my mother was dying of cancer. (She died of pancreatic cancer only 42 days after diagnosis.)

In contrast to my lack of siblings, aunts and uncles, there will be a large gathering of CB's family tomorrow. He has two sisters and one brother, so they and their families will be here. And daughers AE, KA, and MJ will drive up from Seattle with their cute little cocker spaniel Morgan! (MJ flew from TX to Seattle today.) It will be a busy day, but I am hoping to walk around Lake Padden before people start arriving.

And here are a few posts about prayer that I highly recommend, especially as I was excited to find the time to visit some of my blogging friends today:

• Katherine E. posts about Eckhart Tolle and the present moment of spaciousness.

and

• Mike Marsh writes about prayer and the question: "How is your prayer?"