91,073

I've only been at this blog address for about 3 years and the number of visits to this site were numbered at 91,073 on some recent Thursday evening.

It has been a challenge lately to get here and I feel badly about it.

However, I'm not alone.
In the blogs I like to visit, 2 this past week lamented about the difficulty of getting to blogging, even though they love it.
I'm with them.
What on earth has happened to life?!

I thought mine was crazy, but seriously!

Today life came to a screeching halt. Yesterday we enjoyed Charlene's bridal shower and I may have gone way overboard on these things. 

Now I'll probably never eat them again. I haven't puked in years ... and after last nite ... would prefer it was many more years before it happens again. Today has been a catching up on sleep day. That's all I've been good for. Missed the first birthday party of the first grandchild. So sad. 

And I still haven't managed to catch up on any blog reading even if I'm being a slug!

See what I mean?!

And from today via text message ...

And off we go to another week!

I finally got me some coconut oil

and joined the coconut oil craze. 

Alright.

I'm not baking or cooking with it. 

And I'm guessing that within the next ten years, someone will decide it wasn't good for us anyway.

'T'is the way it usually works.

Besides, my hubby is allergic to coconuts so that ain't happening over here.

Somewhere (probably Pinterest) I had seen furniture being oiled using coconut oil.

Why not? Maybe I'll have a hankering sometime to make coffee using coconut oil and I'll have it at the ready.

In the meantime, I took it to my outdoor wood furniture.

This arid climate just dries out everything so fast. 

I should probably put this on the calendar to do once a month, because they looked so shiny and healthy when I was done gooping on oil.

I spent Saturday cleaning and puttering.
Oh, but I do love to putter.
The laundry room got organized enough to move the leftover crafting things from Winter Services out there and out of the guest room.
If you know the children's book If You Give a Moose a Muffin .... I found this M hanging out in a corner in the laundry room.
Hmmm.
I'm only working 2 days next week .... I'll show you what it becomes.
Note the yummy table runner underneath the M?
It was a beautiful gift that has turned into a brainchild.
My hubby may not be the only one with attention issues around here.
I'll share that (the result of the brainchild .. not Jari's attention issues) later this week.

Curtains and a throw pillow got made for the camper which means we are almost done out there!
I feel like I'm in a Scandinavian country on a boat when I look in there.
I'll share soon.

Laundry and more laundry got done.

The floors and bathrooms never saw a vacuum, mop or scrub rag, but I did manage to free this empty hole of projects that aren't going anywhere and haven't for a long time. I'm back to crocheting rugs while visiting.

Lately, I have noticed that I enjoy a relaxing morning when I can. Perhaps my subconscious knows that the weather is about to heat up and there won't be too terribly many more cool mornings to just sit outdoors and drink my coffee ... cup after cup. Somewhere in the sipping of my second cup Sunday morning, I found this.

The screen shot is bad quality. While the chair itself is fascinating, it makes me seriously hurt looking at it. 

However, I did find some cool ideas for next February!

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.