tugging at heart strings

I could just cry.

In my field of nursing I see many who have the philosophy that the next prescription will cure their ills. Sadly, so many of them need much more than a prescription pad will ever be able to give them. They are in need of counseling/therapy to make it through the traumas that life has dealt them in order to move on. And, often, that is too overwhelming to even contemplate.

Then there are the others. 

The younger middle-aged man who so desperately wants to go back to work. He lives with his family because he can no longer live on his own. His deterioration, in every visit to us, is so blatantly visible. 

And, meanwhile, his neurologist says "see me in two months" and cuts his Parkinson's medications down to nearly nothing.

Today I tried to give him tools. I encouraged him to be forceful in seeking treatment. I gave him somewhere else to go. But I don't think it's enough. I don't know that his family has the tools or the ability to get him the help he needs. 

Today I wonder if he'll even be able to walk the next time I see him. 

He comes in to see us with a laugh and a smile. With an attitude that would serve many well. 

And I don't know how I can help him get what he needs to survive. 

Just recently he told me about a family member who had passed away. The family dug the grave. More accurately, this patient of mine dug the grave. For hours he dug while his family tried to get him to stop. He wouldn't. Maybe because it was all he could do. Maybe because that day he could do it. At the same time he knew he would pay for it. And he did. For days afterward he was terribly ill.

I'm not going to debate anyone about whether healthcare is a right or a privilege. The World Health Organization has one opinion. Some of the privileged who have the luxury of affording the best healthcare in the world have another opinion. I am stuck in the middle somewhere.

Rather, this is about one man.

One man who lives in a country where options are available.

None of which seem to be within his reach.

It makes me want to cry.

we ran away

For only a day.

But it was a great one.

Just the two of us.

 

A Friday night fish fry dinner date on the road.

 

An amazing sunset over the top of Apache Lake.

 



 

To a spot where we will certainly come back to.

Thanks for the tip Vic!

Our camper still needs some beautification done inside, but this was the maiden voyage.

 

 

To a spot so peaceful and quiet you could hear the fish jumping in the dark of night.

 

Morning brought a view that screamed something familiar, yet the name is completely different. The campers on the point showed up sometime in the night making all kinds of noise. They sort of deserved the whipping wind they were getting that morning. It was a tad bit chilly and windy.

I keep envisioning this later in the spring when the weather is warmer. Not too terribly far to get to and would be a great place to spend the day, easily accessible by car.

Because not only is our camper not finished, it isn't stocked ... breakfast for 2 eaten straight from the skillet.

After breakfast, the hoodie went on and the camera came out, finding interesting things in its path.

 I haven't a clue what they are, but they were new to me.

And then off to find something else to explore!

services weekend

I spent the 6 weeks before Winter Services playing with crafts at every available opportunity.
As is par for the course ... time ran out long before the project ideas did.
Thankfully, next year is less than 365 days away and we have plenty of time between here and there ... which means that on January 1st I'll be in a frenzy.

I spent a part of my weekend in the craft tent and was so thankful for all the willing workers, generous donations of crafted goodies ... and the ultimate financial result was much more than we anticipated.

In between the refreshing weekend of services and duties, we visited and thoroughly enjoyed a houseful of visitors. I was pretty negligent in the photo department, but Jari and I had a great time.

There is nothing like having family in town when you don't get to see them often and they're close to your heart.

 

I didn't manage to get a decent picture of the front side of these little folks, but let me tell you, I adore them!! They were all very little peoples when we left Alaska. One of the negatives about moving away from somewhere is that you miss the growing of children. Their worlds change so quickly and you, the adult who is no longer around, are forgotten. It was an absolute pleasure to make their acquaintance. To watch their joy. To learn their personalities. And my heart smiled most at watching them with their parents, and their parents with them. Makes my heart absolutely melt.

 

They were mighty busy this day watching the neighbor through the fence.

Jade: If you keep watching, the man comes running by again!

Garsh, but that girl really could've stayed instead of going home.

 

 

And this one? Oh. My. Goodness. He is one busy boy!

 

Can I just tell you a little something about Alaska grown children? They aren't sit in the house and play a game kind of kids ... at least these ones aren't. These little people hike mountains to burn off energy. 5 (that's five not 0.5) miles of mountain trails and they're still going. If I had just a bit of their energy ... that craft tent next year would be filled to the brim!!

Renae asked me before they got here if we were ready for the "Wuollet invasion". I sincerely hope that they weren't too cramped in our small abode, because I'd love to have them back here next year!! I just wish I could fit more in here. At one point in the past week I seriously thought about renting a huge old house, for several weeks, where we could ALL hang out together!

And stay longer next year, will ya please?
We have some girl style shopping to get done next year!

Parada Day!

Sometimes it just takes some motivating to get me out of the house.

It sure is fun when you finally get out, but it takes a bit to get me going!

The Parada Del Sol was a constant when our family was young.

I'm sure we didn't miss too many years.

By the time we quit going, I had probably seen enough horse flesh to last a lifetime.

And now we start bringing the next generation to downtown Scottsdale.

A stop a the LOVE statue for Haylee and Sawyer.



I did catch my young friend Heidi, wearing those shiny pink boots, catching a lift.

A day spent with the little guys.

 And just because I own half this feather ... we had to stop by here on the way back to the cars.

This would be the main entrance into the Scottsdale Public Library.

It is a beautiful library.

It has a beautiful feather hanging outside that entrance with an inkwell on the bottom level.

I have claimed ownership of half this feather for years.

My friend, Cheryl, claims the other half.

All paid for in checks payable to the

City of Scottsdale.

The memo line always read something like

library fines.



I'm hooommmmeee!

I was just thinking that it's a grand thing that I'm not participating in any blog hop this year.

There simply hasn't been any time for any of that.

We've been busy having a grand ol' time.

 

Heather, Shawn & family were here for a week earlier this month.

After a partly successful garage sale hunt one morning,

we spent part of the day at the Ostrich Farm.

These farm kids have it down!

 

 Our little kummi (god child) boy is quite the little man.

Cowboy boots make a cowboy according to him, and he even picked out a new pair for his dad on this trip.

Cowboy hats aren't necessary ... a baseball cap does the trick just fine.

 

The city boy .... well, maybe he wasn't so impressed!



 

He was one determined little guy ... he was on a mission to give these poor goats a hug.

Climbed right up there and was rather sad that he couldn't get through the fence!



Check out the green hair tie on the left boot.

He had a purpose for that thing but I never figured it out.

It was important enough to stay there all week long!

 



This family's favorite at the Ostrich Farm is the Lorakeet cage.

We laugh and laugh and laugh in there.

Perhaps we're a bit bird brained.

 



 For a moment or two, I was wondering what else we did that day ... and then I remembered!

The Lindula's went visiting and I went to a homemade caramel wrapping/gift tag tying ladies' evening with a bunch of women who were up for a fun evening.

Over 17 pounds of absolutely delicious homemade caramel got wrapped that evening!

 

Not bad for a Friday the 13th, hey?

 

Let's see if I can get a few other photos shared in the next week.

The camera has been collecting dust, but we haven't been!

sign making

I've been making signs for a craft sale in several weeks.

Although I'm still not finished, I have a few ready to go!

Before I moved that ping pong table/work surface today, I wanted to get this bugger up.

 

The most difficult part of this whole business is printing out the wording and getting it to fit the size board I'm using. I know there is a program that will make this all easy peasy .... I'm not using it. I'm sort of a sucker for doing things the hard way.

 

I did discover transfer paper, which transfers the image to the painted surface.

 

After transferring the image (lettering) onto the board, I use paint to paint the lettering on.

There are some seriously miracle producing paint pens out there .... otherwise it is a paint brush and I've been doing some finer work making that nearly impossible.



This one was a bit of a loooonnnng one. I started at the top, with transferring and painting each message before moving on to the next one.

 

 The bottom part I did in reverse order ... saving one of the most important ones for last.

 

After the paint was dry, out came the sander. Most often, I'm too impatient to use the hand sanding ... so it is power tools for me. I managed to keep all the skin on my fingers today!

After the sawdust was cleaned off, I rolled stain over the top ... one section at a time ... removing the excess with a rag. Then moving on to repeat it again. Why do the stain? It gives it an older look and I'm a fan of old.

 



I'm not sure this was really necessary but this sign is going to live outside. I then applied several coats of polycrylic finish to the piece.

 



 

The only problem .... I don't like shine. At all. And shiny it was.

 

While it dried and I covered it yet again with a matte vanish ... I cleaned up all the leftovers!

I have saved much of the lettering for signs I've made in case there is a desire for more,

but this one .... only one being made.

 



I store the rollers in baggies for reuse. As long as I remember which roller is soaked in what ...

I'll be just fine!



 

This is the spot I've been wanting to fill. Our patio door was obviously the much larger version at one time. The extra space is just a painted wood surface that I've been itching to fill for a year now.

Doesn't it just beg for something?!



Something like this?

 

 



As is often the case with my little projects ... I look at it afterward and think,

... I wonder if I should change that part .....

 

I don't think I will.

 

After all, this Porch Rule (and a family rule at that!) says that I'm suppose to take my coffee cup outdoors, put my feet up, read myself into a state of relaxation while the sunsets

and lulls me into a nap.

 

I'll leave it.

it has been a wee bit

 

 

c.r.a.z.y.

around.

here.

 

Crafting is happening, but life keeps interrupting.

I'm down to the next several days and by Saturday evening ... it needs to be put away.

'Cuz I have the first wave of special company coming to spend a week with us.

Power tools, paint supplies and little people all mixed together?

Probably not a great idea.

 

I might find a day or two for additional creativity several weeks from now.

If I do, that's great.

I can't guarantee it.

 

I have this cute long metally thing that I added candles to and stuck on the kitchen window sill a while back.

 

And then it became multi purpose.
It is filled with sand, or something like it that hubby had left from a job.
One day I had multiple brushes and sponges that needed drying ....
and I found the perfect place for them.

Adds a bit of color as well!

Tomorrow is sort of my Friday.
I do have a few hours of work on the real Friday, but it probably doesn't count.
I hope to share some finished projects with you before the weekend is done.