Friday Five: Rainy Day

Sally brings today's Friday Five to RevGalBlogPals:

How about you do you do on a rainy summers day?

Rain is much different in TX than it is in my home state of WA. Down here, there usually seems to be a drought, plus rain comes in buckets. In WA, there are often continuous drizzle and/or gray days. No wonder there are glorious flowers and lush greenery in WA State!

So I am addressing rain in Corpus Christi, TX:

1. At home?
Yesterday was our first rainfall in over two months. Torrential rain fell from thunderstorms, and we all loved it! The UPS man delivered a book to me, grinning all the way to my doorstep and saying he hoped he'd bring more rain tomorrow, which is doubtful since it is supposed to reach up to 100 degrees F.

Yesterday I started reading my new book: G-Dog and the Homeboys: Father Greg Boyle and the Gangs of East Los Angeles by Celeste Fremon, purchased because I found Father Greg Boyle's book Tattoos on the Heart so powerful.

2. In your local area?
Rain here is usually so heavy that it is nice to be inside. Streets sometimes flood on that rare instances, and thus I would rather be at home. And reading is always a good choice of activity for me!

3. If you are away on holiday?
It depends where we are. Usually in WA, we forge ahead and do whatever activity is planned, unless there is heavy rain. When we were on our extended vacation, it rained while we drove through Glacier National Park--we kept going, but were glad we were inside a car and not on a motorcycle!

4. Name a rainy day read.
I am wishing I still had the Hunger Games Trilogy left to read, so I know any of those three books would be wonderful to have on a rainy day. Cuddle down and read!! I wrote about those books here.

5. Is there a piece of music/ a poem/ story that cheers you up?
Not sure, but I'm in too much of a hurry and will try to come back to do this!

Recommended Books!

On our long driving trip, I took along a bag full of books and then bought some more. It was nice to have the space in the car to have real books! I read a lot, but I am not recommending everything I read, just the best. Oddly enough, three of the four books I am going to mention were discovered in Seattle!

The first one was discovered in the Summer 2011 issue of Parabola, which I bought at the University of Washington Bookstore. The interview with Father Gregory Boyle was eight pages long and so interesting that I had to buy the book: Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle.

Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest, founded Homeboy Industries in 1992. The program is intended to assist at-risk youth and gang members with a variety of services, such as counseling, tutoring, and employment. The most distinctive feature of Homeboy Industries is its small businesses, which gives hard-to-place individuals an opportunity to be employed in transitional jobs in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn both concrete and soft job skills. Among the businesses are the Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Café & Catering, Homeboy Merchandise, Homeboy Press and Homeboy Silkscreen & Embroidery.

The stories that Father G relates are simple, bright and sad, showing life and death. He quotes many of my favorite people, including Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr, Rumi, and Hafiz. He faces the hard deaths with honest discussion, which pointed out to me that the point of life is to live like Jesus, NOT for the goal of positive RESULTS.

This is going to be the book we will read in the Wisdom Class at All Saints Episcopal Church, the weekly book study that will begin meeting again the day after Labor Day.

My daughters AE and KA really liked reading the first book in the trilogy by Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games. I kept seeing copies of the book in bookstores up in WA, so I ordered all three books to be delivered at DC's house in Austin, where we were scheduled to babysit Avery. In between the busy-ness of holding and taking care of Avery, I insatiably read that first book. When I got back to Corpus Christi, I read the other two in quick succession.

Being immersed in the world of North American dystopia captivated me. Katniss is the heroine in this young adult series. (This designation reminds me that the Harry Potter series is also categorized in this way, and I love those books!) Katniss is a flawed and very human character who survives against great odds. This first book is about the Hunger Games: Once a year the government chooses two children from each of the twelve districts to compete against one another in a live and televised reality show. Twenty-four kids and teens enter, and only one survives.

It is a violent book, which shows North America after its people warred against each other, demolishing their world and environments. It is a thought-provoking book that I am still pondering.

Now for the two books I am currently reading but have not finished yet.

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff is the one book that I carried throughout the USA on our travels and did not start reading until I was back in Corpus Christi--after I finished the Hunger Games trilogy.

Schiff researched ancient records, literature, and current information to bring forth this biography of someone who is more legend than anything else. There is little historical evidence of who Cleopatra really was--especially not Elizabeth Taylor from the movie! Stacy Schiff herself admits, "there is not universal agreement on most of even the basic details of Cleopatra's life. So much of this history is simply not known." She sifted through more information than I can imagine to bring forth this fascinating story of Cleopatra. I am mesmerized.

This last book was seen at the Elliot Bay Bookstore in Seattle, highly recommended by one of its staff members. It is a translation of Yogo Ogawa's sweet book, The Housekeeper and the Professor. This may be a future gift to many of my friends!

Ogawa's portrayal of the professor is particularly moving. Injured in a car accident in the early 1970s, he has only 80 minutes of short-term memory and must re-learn relationships and basic information on a continual basis. A brilliant mathematician, he uses math as a primary means of communication - he is most comfortable when talking about numbers and has a gift for making the complex seem simple. While lacking in memory, he has a natural and instinctual affinity for children, and bonds instantly with the housekeeper's son. The boy's presence helps to bring the professor out of his insular world - in fact the child is the only thing that the professor seems to care about besides his beloved prime numbers. The two bond over math, and later baseball, and their relationships nurtures and enriches both of their lives, as well as that of the housekeeper.

~~~~
These are four/six books I have greatly enjoyed. They come from different categories of reading material, so perhaps you will find one that interests you!

Friday Five: Road Trips

Here I offered today's Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals, and I am only getting around to doing my own post about Road Trips late Friday night! This being only our second day home after five weeks away, I have been busy, busy, busy.

So here are some road trips I remember:

1. The most recent one of July and August. Husband CB and I set out in mid-July driving north from Corpus Christi, TX to Mesa Verde, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks, followed by Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Everything was beautiful, though little was seen at Glacier because our day of driving on the Highway to the Sun was overwhelmed with fog and cold (47 degrees F.) rain. Otherwise, we saw beautiful scenery, especially when we drove the North Cascades Highway to Washington State on up to our hometown of Bellingham.

2. Trip to Oklahoma and Arkansas in 1983. We went to see friends Steve and Gayla in Duncan, OK first, but on the way we stopped at a forlorn rest area in TX where I drank a lot of water at the water fountain (because I was still nursing baby AE)--and by the time we reached OK, I was having lots of diarrhea. That continued when we visited friends and Dallas and went on to Mineral Springs, Ark. to see my grandmother (Grandma Brunie to my kids). I was really sick, but eventually got better. I've always blamed it on the water fountain near those bathrooms at an old, old rest area somewhere in TX, as I was the only one who drank from the fountain and no one else got sick on the entire trip. This was my worst road trip.

3. 1972 trip to CA and then to Needles. CB and I went down to Camarillo, CA for my friend Nancy's wedding in her backyard. I was one of her bridesmaids, just as she had been one of mine at our wedding. After that, us being new college graduates, CB had a job interview in Needles, CA. We both will always remember that long drive without air conditioning, with our windows wide open and the hot air blowing in on us. I recall sitting in the frigidly air-conditioned Denny's, while CB was at his interview. Luckily, he did not get the job--or we would have had to live in a trailer in Needles, CA. (Instead, we moved to Richmond, VA at the end of the summer, which was a road trip from Bellingham, WA to the east coast.)

4. 1974 trip from VA to Newport, OR. We left VA so that CB could go to graduate school at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Or. But I had gotten a teaching job in Toledo, OR, so we had an apartment in Newport to move into. I drove our Datsun 510 while CB drove a U-Haul truck. The most memorable time was me losing track of him in mid-America. With no cell phones or internet conceived at that time, we had no way to get in touch. We just had a pre-arranged motel to go to. I remember calling my parents from a pay-phone and then calling the state patrol. Eventually CB showed up, as he had expected me to call my mother and had called her from a pay-phone, too. We were reunited!

5. Innumerable moving road trips in my childhood. We did not go on vacations when I was growing up. The only times we went anywhere was when my dad was transferred to a new post as he was a career Marine officer. We would always drive to Arkansas to visit his family and then to Washington to see my mother's family and onto the new home on a base. It was always hot, and I would be in the backseat, climbing back and forth from there and the front seat--no concept of seat belts or car seats back then! On different trips, I saw Old Faithful at Yellowstone; we went down into Carlsbad Caverns; and we went to a Petrified Forest.

Home!

We got home late yesterday afternoon after five weeks away. There was little computer access during our travels and few minutes to spare, especially when I started reading The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I finished the third book this afternoon, so I finally have time to blog again!

We had various venues during our long trip--first the driving through much beautiful country, then visiting family and friends in Washington State, and finally babysitting our 8 month old granddaughter Avery in Austin, TX.

Avery loved me as the female figure with her mother and father gone. I don't think she completely remembered what or who were missing, but she was a little unsettled for the first few days. Usually, she would not let husband CB hold her and would laugh and giggle at him if I was holding her. I was glad to be honored by her attachment, but soon realized how much work it is carrying a baby around again on my hip. Avery seemed to get adjusted to us after a few days, but yesterday she had to switch gears again with the arrival of her other grandparents and our disappearance. It is good that she is a sweet-tempered girl. I wish I could see her reaction when her parents come home on Saturday night!

Returning to TX, I am newly aware of the tendency for dust to gather in houses. I am sure there is dust under our beds; I see it on the edges of the ceiling fans, too. It must get worse with pets, especially cats. I thought I noticed dust (and didn't see any) until I started seeing it more closely in hard-to-reach places. I will look into this more closely/deeply when I recover from our trip!

Back in Texas!

Yesterday MJ and I flew from Seattle to Austin via Alaska Airlines, which was a good, direct flight. When son DC and granddaughter Avery picked us up at the Austin airport, husband CB arrived at their home--he had spent the previous four days driving from Seattle to Austin. It is nice for all of us to be together, though tomorrow morning we grandparents will be left alone with Avery while her parents go on vacation to the Dominican Republic with friends.

Avery is an animated and pretty 8-month-old. We are lucky enough to end our vacation with babysitting our only grandchild for the next four days.Then the other grandparents will arrive to take care of her, and we will finally return to our three dogs and one cat in Corpus Christi.

Seattle now seems like a dream--it is 63 degrees F. there while it is (only) 97 degrees F. in Austin. (It is forecast to reach 102 though--to keep the run of +100 degrees going.)

Back in Bellingham

We spent four days in Seattle, visiting our daughters AE and KA and friends Terry and Dennis. AE took our picture this day when we ate lunch inside a greenhouse at Swanson's Nursery, near her home in Ballard.

Unfortunately, when we got to Seattle on Saturday, I thought I was having a huge allergy attack which ended up being a cold. (I was relieved that I wasn't allergic to Washington State, though having a cold to share was not that appealing.) So far both daughters AE and KA have caught this cold and possibly husband CB.

The weather is beautiful, with sunny days and high temperatures in the 70s F, both in Seattle and now back in Bellingham. Tonight we will walk around Boulevard Park, which was a traditional activity to do around sunset ever since the children were little and my mother was still with us.

As we drove to Seattle on Saturday, I heard the news that a dear friend, Susan Chaubal, died in her sleep. It was a great shock and is sad. I have many regrets, because I had not made time for her this past year, mostly because of my preoccupation with my health. Even so Susan encouraged me greatly to get a better diagnosis when it was not determined yet that I had RA.

Please pray for her husband Milind and daughter Anjulie.

Hometown: Bellingham, WA!

We got to Bellingham yesterday after driving west on the North Cascades Highway--more mountains! It is perfect weather in Bellingham: sunny and clear, with Mount Baker visible.

Now our whirlwind tour of WA State begins. This morning we drive to Seattle so that we can see our daughters AE and KA, since they are leaving for a wedding in another state next weekend. We will stay with dear friends Terry and Dennis, who always provide accomodations, transportation and friendship when we visit them. On Sunday MJ will fly from TX to be with us all. On Wednesday we'll drive back to Bellingham to have more time with husband CB's family before departing for the lower hot and humid part of the USA, where hurricanes and tropical storms threaten at this time of year.

Fun, food, and love abound!!

Yellowstone!

Bison walking towards our car on a road at Yellowstone on Sunday!

The only wild animals we saw during our two days at Yellowstone National Park were bison, a few elk, and some ducks. It was a little scary to have this bison walk towards our car though. Luckily, he walked right past it on the driver's side.

Since the only time I had been to Yellowstone before was in 1959, I only remembered Old Faithful. I don't think we saw much else, probably because 50+ years ago there had not been so much construction and attention to tourists' access to the many geysers and hot spots.
I took over 200 pictures during my two days there and hope to post about some of the amazing and weird sites when I get home to a regular computer. (AND I still have to post about my April/May trip to Spain!)

On our long drive to northern Montana, we had the first rain on this entire trip. Going along Swan Lake, we were reminded of the drives in northwest WA state, with the gray, close skies and drizzle. Tomorrow we will drive through Glacier National Park to reach Canada for the next two days.

By Friday we will be in Bellingham, WA to visit CB's parents and family.

Away for one week now!

Flaming Gorge, Utah

One week ago today we left Corpus Christi on this long driving trip. In a way, we are halfway through, as next Friday we will arrive in Bellingham, WA--our hometown and where CB's parents still live.

There is not as much time as I expected on this trip to be on the computer and to blog. I miss it and also all my blogging friends. It is cumbersome to use this laptop and so pictures may not be forthcoming until we return back to hot and humid TX.

Briefly, where we have been since Moab, Utah:

Thursday we drove most of the time in Colorado, leaving Moab in Utah and ending up in Flaming Gorge, Utah. After the red cliffs around Moab, we were a little disappointed by the so-called "Flaming" Gorge, though it was pretty by the National Park's visitor's center. We were somewhat surprised to learn that John Wesley Powell first found and described (for the American government) both the red cliffs and the flaming gorge.

Today we drove to Jackson, Wyoming. We were expecting Jackson HOLE, but learned on our arrival that the town is called "Jackson" and the "hole" is really a description of the 13-mile-wide canyon.

Tomorrow we will drive to West Yellowstone and spend two days and nights there, so we can tour Yellowstone National Parks. We'll go on some short hikes, but neither CB nor I can walk long distances at this time. (I have RA; CB has bad knees.)

We're in Moab, Utah!

CB and Jan at Mesa Verde National Park, NM

Near Spruce Tree House dwelling

July 18, 2011

It is so nice to be in Moab, Utah for tonight and tomorrow night, where we have wifi in our room! Unfortunately, the laptop we brought with us is clunky to use, so I will not be downloading as many pictures as I would like to. It is refreshing to be connected with the internet again, because we did not have access to that or to our cell phones (not here either) for the last two nights.

Sunday night we stayed at Jemez Springs, NM in a log cabin that also had a hot tub. CB and I had not been in a hot tub for over 25 years! Since my RA was acting up that day, the hot water felt soothing to my joints as we sat together in the hot tub, with the Ponderosa Pines swaying in the breeze around us.

Monday we drove to Mesa Verde, National Park where we spent the night at the park hotel called Far View Lodge. All afternoon we spent looking at different sites, ranging from pit houses built around 575 to cliff dwellings from 800-1200. The multi-story cliff dwellings were built at the later period, with the early Pueblo people leaving the area around 1300, abandoning all their structures. The cliff dwellings span long expanses of cliffs in clefts that appear. Amazing! It was hot walking on the short hikes.

This morning we left early to get to Canyonlands National Park, also in NM. The red cliffs, needles, and rock formations are truly amazing. It was hot, though mitigated by thunderclouds and huge raindrops at times. It was sad to see the remains of burnt trees and vegetation, still evident from serious fires in 1995, 2000, and 2006. The last one demolished over 23,000 acres!

I took over 100 pictures, which I will share someday when I have an easier computer, maybe at CB's parents' house in Bellingham, WA--where we will arrive in ten days.

Sadly, symptoms of RA flared again today, so we skipped the last hike to a petroglyph wall left by the early Pueblo people (whose name I cannot remember how to spell--Anasazi?) Maybe all the heat and exertion from yesterday caused this to happen, I don't know.

The only (!!) changes in my life since starting this vacation have been little or no meditating each day and no swimming/exercise. Otherwise, I have no idea why I have had two alternate days of pain.

Tomorrow we are going to visit Arches National Park.

We began our vacation on Friday!

On Friday we drove to Austin, but first we stopped in San Antonio to have lunch with daughter MJ and her boy friend.

CM and MJ after lunch

I like to play Words with Friends on my Ipod, though the only difficulty is getting wifi access. I could easily do that at son DC's house in Austin. However, I usually lose these Scrabble-like games, especially with DC. Yesterday I even asked my husband CB to help me find a word in a game with DC, who was just across the living room from us.

CB helping me with Words with Friends game.

Granddaughter Avery

Avery is almost 8 months old and laughs, smiles, and babbles. Last night DC kept lifting her up high, which guarantees a smile so I could get this wonderful picture.

Friday Five: My Name Spells Gratitude

A wise person once told me to make an ABC list of things I am grateful for any time I feel sad or depressed. It is a good practice when one is feeling happier than that, too. So for this Friday Five, I suggest that you use your name or nickname of about five letters and express your gratitude about something that starts with each letter. Some people have longer names, so you decide how you will go about this! (Last names, middle names, and nicknames count!)

Although I am known by most people as "Jan," my given name is JANET. When I was in first grade, I insisted that everyone, including my parents, should call me "Janet," because that was what my beautiful first grade teacher called me. That only lasted one year.

J:I like my name of Janet, though usually I am called Jan. Having a family name makes me feel connected, as I know that various ancestors were named Janet. More recently, my aunt was also named "Janet." I may be the only Jan though.

I love jonquils (or daffodils) and wish they could grow here (in the ground). It was always a joy to see them blooming as spring approached when I lived in WA, OR, RI, and NJ. I especially remember them around the time my father died.

A: Apples that are crisp and juicy are my favorites, and we hope to find those more easily on our trip up to WA State.

For people, I immediately go to my daughter AE, who has a family name, which is also my middle name. Also there is daughter-in-law AA who is married to our oldest son DC, and they are the proud parents of AVERY, who is seven months old!

N: My longest maintained/ing friend is Nancy. We have known each other since junior high school on a Navy base in Japan and continued much of our lives writing (real) letters to each other. Since that has slacked off, we mostly talk on the phone once a week. She's also the friend who went to NM with me last summer--to celebrate us turning 60!

Friends have found a NEST of baby hummingbirds in a tree by their house!

E: I am grateful that I am regularly exercising again. Thanks to the diagnosis of RA, I am going to deep water exercise classes at the YWCA at least five times a week. I feel better for doing this.

Since today we leave on our month long driving trip, I hope that I will be disciplined enough to go and exercise in motel pools along the way!

T: Today is when we leave on our TRIP--this driving adventure husband CB has talked about and planned for months and months.

We are driving north to Canada, stopping off to visit various national parks. Then we will drive along the Crow's Nest Highway along the border of Canada and the US and get to Bellingham, WA by the end of July. We'll then be more stationary and visit CB's parents and our daughters AE and KA in Seattle!

I will try to blog about the trip, while we are comforted to know that a friend is staying in this house with our three dogs and one cat. They love to be in the air conditioned house in this extreme TX heat (and drought).

I move but don't

SUDDENLY, it is time for our big trip north and west through the national parks, ending up eventually in Bellingham, WA. We leave Friday, and I feel like I am moving, without motion, to get ready and not getting enough accomplished.

So I am sorry I am not writing or reading blogs; I miss my friends and miss their comments.

I have not even finished writing postcards I got in Spain. I haven't blogged about the Spain trip OR labeled the 600+ pictures. Now I hope to write postcards to friends on this USA trip--as long as my fingers will allow me without too much pain.

I haven't gotten rid of piles of books or papers. Somehow I always think a trip is a deadline. With RA fatigue and sometimes pain, I am not meeting any of those odd goals I seem to set myself up for.

I have not written letters I meant to write--hopefully, postcards (maybe) will suffice. . .in the future.

I have no birthday present for husband CB, whose birthday will be celebrated on this trip.

The only packing I have done so far is putting a pile of books in a big bag to take along. That's one advantage to going in our own car.

There's more, but this is enough complaining. The time will get here on Friday morning; we will leave; that's that.

(Sarcasm: This is such a momentous 1,999 post!)

Friday Five: Summer Fun

Dorcas brings today's Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals:

So, what's up, Rev Gals and Pals? How are you spending your summer? (I know, some of you are in a different hemisphere and it may be chilly...sorry!) Are you experiencing fire or floods or tornados? Vacationing? Working harder than ever? Experiencing change? Longing for change?

Share five things that are happening in your life, personally or professionally or some of each, in this season of life.

1. Trips to WA State
Ever since we moved to TX in 1978, we have always gone back to our hometown of Bellingham, WA every summer. Both sets of parents/grandparents lived there until my mother died in 1992 and my father died in 2002. CB's parents still live there, and now our daughters AE and KA live in Seattle, plus our dear friends Terry and Dennis.

This year CB and I are venturing out on a long driving trip up there, which starts one week from today! We are going north from TX through various national parks in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana before we head west to the Pacific Coast.

2. Summer reading
Somehow summer gives me permission to read more frivolous books, such as the mysteries I love. I have a bag full of books that I will take on our driving trip, because there will be lots of room in the car!

New mysteries I am trying out are by Rick Riordan, whose detective lives in San Antonio, TX, and Matt Beynon Rees, whose detective operates in Israel and Palestine.

3. Coping with RA
Since the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in May, I have had innumerable medical tests, three visits with my rheumatologist, and the beginning of a drug regimen based upon methotextrate. Symptoms fluctuate, especially as I try to decrease my daily intake of prednisone while waiting (and hoping) that the methotextrate will start suppressing my immune system. Having a chronic disease is something I alternately deny and accept. There is an emotional limbo where I want to accept it and not be passive, but also be optimistic and trying to be better.

4. Choosing HEALTH
As a counselor once told a friend, one lives better if one "chooses health." I am trying to do that by exercising more, mainly taking water aerobics classes at the YWCA, and eating more nutritiously, as guided by Weight Watchers.

Being on prednisone keeps me from losing weight, but at least I am not gaining either. Eating is something to watch as we vacation for five weeks. A long-held tendency (tradition?) is to celebrate with food, especially desserts, on trips and with family. Trying to remember to choose health as the way to live (not the goal of losing weight) is what I hope to remember.

5. Continuing to meditate twice a day
My practice of sitting in silence, waiting upon the Lord, is pretty well set at twice a day. I managed to do this with daughter MJ on the Spain trip. I know the equanimity and peace given to me are helping me adjust to RA, among other things.

Just like eating, spiritual disciplines can be distorted, diminished, and/or delayed /forgotten on vacations. I will try to make prayer a priority, even if it is only 1-2 minutes at a time. (That is enough, because it is God's prayer after all.)

15

In 15 more posts I will have 2,000 posts up on this blog! That is definitely hard to fathom. Does that indicate a time to close this and open a new one? However, I am still "yearning for God."

Also, in 15 days CB and I are leaving for a long driving trip, which means we will be out of our house for over a month. Luckily, a friend is going to stay here, with her grandchildren, and take care of our three dogs and one cat. We are driving north, hoping to avoid forest fires, so that we can visit various national parks, like Canyon de Chelly, Moab, Glacier, and Yellowstone! These will be quick visits, so I hope we will appreciate each breathtaking view and not grow "accustomed" to the splendor and thus miss it.

Vacations as I grew up were always to visit relatives and we practiced that also while our children were growing up, since we lived in TX and our parents lived in WA State. CB's parents still live there, as do daughters AE and KA, so that will be the furthest destination on this trip.

I can point to another 15--as in 15 minutes of meditation. I try to sit in silence for 20 minutes twice a day, but often it is 15 minutes. . . . or even less. It is always good to remember that the important thing is to sit twice a day--even for one minute each time!

If you have any connection to 15 today, let me know in a comment!