Front Porch

I love sitting on our front porch. Especially with weather like we've been having. This year has been a gift: we've had monsoon weather a whole month early. While it's a little warm and still from morning to mid-afternoon, later on the clouds roll in and a breeze pays us a visit. Thunder rumbles and we might even get some rain.

This afternoon I sat with my journal on our slider bench enjoying the drop in temperature, the distant rumbling thunder, and the occasional sprinkle. Our cat, Bobo, was sitting inside on the window ledge enjoying the air and being close to me through the open window...his whiskers were poking through the screen as he sat there almost asleep. Humming birds darted around the feeder - the one rust colored Rufus chasing off the other lone customer, a little guy of the green and fuchsia variety.

While most of the house is still a mess, I have worked on some spaces. The porch was a priority. It needed some color though, so today after church I went and bought some flowers on sale at Wal-Mart, all perennials which I hope I'll remember to water early enough next year so they actually come back. I planted them in some of Mom's pots when I got home. I had bought them and planted flowers for her knowing she would love looking out the windows at them. So now they are on my porch...our north facing porch, sadly enough. Actually our front porch faces northeast, so the northwest corner is the only spot I can place flowers where they'll get any light.

I love sitting on the porch. It's a peaceful, restful spot to enjoy the quiet, the cool, the trees, the sky. And now, my flowers.

(There will be more color when the red dianthis (I have no idea how to spell that) and bright pink vincas bloom more.) Those are two of her pigs. One is a funny ceramic planter and the other is one I spontaneously bought for her at the Safeway floral department last year. It makes me smile to remember her delight at this new pig, saying it was the cutest one she'd seen. She had a LOT of pigs so I was very happy to have found her a new favorite.

Exasperation

Tonight was my first attempt to post photos from my newly re-set up computer at home. Let me tell you.... Well, let's put it this way....Aaaaaaagggghhhh! It took 25 minutes (stare at the clock in the corner of your computer and count them, t.w.e.n.t.y-f.i.v.e) to get any word from my computer as to the upload status of my five photos. It's not like we haven't recently lost two batteries to our solar system thus decreasing our power storage capacity by 1/5 and I'd like to not use up too much power doing this. Nor is it like every day this week hasn't been beautifully overcast but therefore not fully recharging our batteries. It's also not like I've been conserving power by reading in bed with a flashlight instead of turning on the light - knowing I'd like to use the computer or watch a movie the next day. It's not like this could be a problem for this fairly new blogger. Nor is it like I'm disgusted or IMPATIENT or anything!!!

And then, did it finally and happily say "Images Uploaded"? Nooooo. I blinked and the screen said "Web Page Cannot Be Found". (Huh?) There went 25 minutes! I guess our connection speed is not very fast out here in the "boonies". We were warned by the telephone company. We're actually a few hundred feet past the limit of connectivity for whatever speed we have. We begged and pleaded and they gave it to us, but with the strong warning that if we EVER so much as call in ONE TIME with a problem or a complaint, they're pulling the plug on us. So... I'll complain to you guys. As far as the phone company goes...here's to an exasperated, fist biting, silent SCREAM!

P.S. More Alaska photo installments coming sometime between now and the year 2012.

A Gorgeous Night

I went into town this afternoon. "Town" is about 25 miles away and among the three connecting towns has a combined population of, oh... I'd say 15,000. As I came out into the parking lot of my last errand around 7:30pm, the sky was greying and the unseen sun was casting a rosy peach on the underside of flat-bottomed clouds. A strong breeze moved the perfect air all around. It was so beautiful. The temperature was in that range that's just perfect - where you can't tell if it's slightly warm or slightly cool. The breeze was heavenly. I wish I could bottle it up and take it with me where ever I am. I would open it up and the whole scene would rise from the bottle and fill the room like in some magical movie. The breeze, the temperature, the swishing leaves on the trees, the colors, the sunset...the whole thing. It felt so gorgeous I just wanted to stand there with my arms stretched out at my sides and my head tilted back, letting it envelope me. Mm. Mm. Mm.

It was a sweet refreshment to a mostly melancholy and difficult day. A gift.

Sacred Space

We have this awesome thing at Open Door Fellowship called Sacred Space. It started a few years back when we participated in a 24/7 Prayer Week. The team of visionaries met and prayed and planned for months in advance. Artists participated as well and the result was an amazing transformation of the sanctuary. From the soft lighting and background worship music to the many creative prayer stations, it became the most tranquil and inviting place I'd ever been in. The response was powerful and they decided to do it on a smaller scale once a month, calling it Sacred Space. I wrote a couple artlcles for the ODFprays blog site that shed a little more light on 24/7 and Sacred Space. 24/7 - Not Just for Super Pray-ers, and My First 24/7.

I love the name Sacred Space. And while we go to Sacred Space evenings at the church, the truth is, our very hearts are a sacred space. That's where we meet with God - in our hearts and minds. We don't need a building to go to and be with Him. I totally recognize that environment is a powerful facilitator. Environment and atmosphere are very important to me. I am visually oriented and sensitive to my surroundings. I love being at 24/7s and Sacred Space nights because of the focus and tranquility they bring to me. They help me forget everything else and just be with God, be it pouring my heart out to Him or letting Him lead the conversation. But I have been wanting to develop my own personal sacred space in my heart, not dependent on any church event or building. I have not been doing very well at it, but I do know that learning how to develop a quiet heart is a key factor to experiencing God's presence and His love. I have been thinking of ways to "bring it home." I have small ideas and big ideas. Some involve creating my own sacred space setting and others just require me, some quiet, and some discipline (ah-ha, there's the rub). Another article for the ODFprays blog has yet to be posted. I was reminded of it by seeing the canvas it mentions. Here it is:

Bringing It Home
The ministries of 24/7 and Sacred Space usher us into God’s presence and inspire in us prayer, meditation, reflection, and worship. The tranquil environment, the beauty and creativity all help us quiet our hearts and enter into a very real experience of God’s presence. These ministries are a gift and I greatly look forward to them. But wouldn’t it also be great if we could learn to find our own "sacred spaces" in our everyday relationship with God? That’s exactly what He wants.

I have been thinking over the last couple years about how to bring into my personal everyday relationship with God some of the wonderful aspects of these special prayer environments. They so beautifully facilitate sweet times with God that I want more. I began by asking myself what are my favorite things, what are the things that really work for me? Some of my favorite parts of any ODF Sacred Space or 24/7 are the stations that let me write on the wall. "The wall" might be butcher paper or a painted over piece of wood. Regardless of the medium, it's a big, shared, public space. Whatever it is that God has pointed out to me - whether glaringly or softly - through the prayer station’s meditation, I love the simple act of writing it down in a public way. I post it as a form of declaration, worthy of being remembered and permanently claimed as mine. As others write their words, the walls become a beautiful collection of private encounters with God, anonymous roof-top declarations, powerful statements. They are the documentation of pivotal moments taken place within listening and yielded hearts.

A few months ago I was excited to have an idea. I went to Aaron Brothers and bought a canvas and some Sharpie markers. I hung it up and began writing down, Sacred Space style, some of the things God was impressing upon my heart through my personal prayer times, Bible reading and scripture meditation. Let me tell you, I am loving it! I pass by the canvas, which is slowly filling up, and read the reminders of what God has spoken to me. Each time I "hear" something new I post it on the canvas. It has been such a blessing.


Sacred Space evenings and our yearly 24/7 events are wonderful and special times. They are also tools to train us how to bring it home into our everyday relationship with our Father who longs to meet with us everyday.

Alaska Photos 4 - Denali Nat'l Park

WILLOW PTARMIGAN - Alaska's state bird

(the "P" is silent.)

This is a cool, funny, and stupid bird. Cool - because they change colors every winter from brown to white and then back again in the spring. God's cool camouflage design built in to their DNA! Funny - because they have the dorkiest sounding call. Stupid - because they're slow to spot danger and don't get out of your way very fast. Some people call them Stupid Chickens.

MOOSE ENCOUNTER

There were these two moose on the opposite side of the road. We stopped and watched them as they made their way toward the road in the brush behind us. Another car, going the other direction, stopped in front of us. After awhile, I lost track of the moose so I got out and walked to the back of the van to see if I could see them. I was timid and careful to see how close I was to them before I just charged on out into the open. I was still looking behind us across the road when I noticed the woman from the stopped car behind us taking a picture toward the front of our van. I stepped into the road from behind the van to see this:

Dang! I should have stayed in the van; she crossed right in front of it. I quickly went back to the passenger side of the van, still in back, to see if I could see her as she went into the brush on our side of the road. Only she wasn't in the brush yet. She was still partly on the road in front of the van. She stopped. I stopped. She looked right at me. I looked right at her. Definite eye contact with this giant a mere 20 feet away. Gasp! Then...my own voice inside my head said,"Hey, take a picture!" I raised my camera, still exchanging stares with Miss Massive. Still staring me in the eye, she took a step toward me! Yikes! " 'Scuse me! Pardon me! My mistake!" Camera came down and I was outta there! I shot to the driver's side back of the van in about one second, putting our van kitty corner between me and her. And therefore, I saw her no more until she was well into the scrub brush on the passenger side of the road. Moose are not to be messed with! But...it was actually quite thrilling and fun!

CARIBOU

I love caribou. I love their amazing antlers. I love moose antlers a whole bunch but I am almost more fascinated with caribou antlers. They are so graceful and elegant. Unlike elk antlers they're not pointed on the ends and they stand more straight up from their heads than do elk. Females also have antlers, unlike nearly any other antlered animal. And I love the function of their antlers' design. It makes me marvel at God's intentional designs in nature. The paddle like shape of the frontmost portions (I'm sure they have an official name) are used when they graze. In winter, it serves almost like a hand to brush away snow and expose underlying grasses to feed them. I love it! These caribou's antlers are in "velvet," a fur that covers their antlers providing the blood supply for their growth. When it's time to mate, the velvet begins to slough off leaving the bone hard bare antlers that are great weapons for sparing for a mate.

SAVAGE RIVER

This was a great little hiking trail along the Savage River - or as I called it, the Not-So-Savage River. At least in the early spring month of May, it's not so savage. It was funny: we didn't realize it was a loop. We saw people walking the trail on the other side; we even saw a large group of grade schoolers who looked like they were on a field trip. There must have been about 25 in their group. When we saw some Dall Sheep on top of the hills on the other side of the river from us, we decided we wanted to be on the other side. So we turned around and walked all the way back to the van in the parking lot. We got in the van, drove across the bridge and parked in the smaller parking lot immediately on the other side of the river. We got out and walked to where it was a good place to hike up the grassy, mossy hillside. The Fisherman began climbing up while I waited on the trail, enjoying the scenery, taking photos, and climbing part way up to get photos of him getting photos of the sheep as he climbed higher and higher. Next thing you know, here comes the field trip kids traipsing along the trail on the side of the river we'd just come from. Duh-huh! I guess the trail is a loop! We were probably pretty close to the crossing when we turned around! When we walked back, we saw - for the first time - a sign saying "Savage River Trail Loop". *sigh* We got our exercise that day...especially The Fisherman who climbed the mountain, made it all the way up to the ridges and got some great photos of the Dall Sheep with his zoom lens.

Alaska Photos 3 - Denali Flight Seeing

Mt. McKinley - or as it's locally called, Denali (The High One) - is the tallest peak in North America at 20,320 feet. It actually appears taller than Mt. Everest because of a thing called vertical relief. Since the base elevation around Denali is nearly at sea level, you see far more of it than you do of Everest. I think it may hold the world record as the tallest peak for vertical relief.

We took a flight-seeing trip up into the mountains around McKinley. It was gorgeous! Stunning! Absolutely spectacular!



The tour we took included a landing on Ruth Glacier. However, our plane was transporting three McKinley climbers that day so they asked us if it was OK to not land on Ruth, but instead to land on the Kahiltna Glacier at a climbers' base camp. Oh...alright. It was so cool. What another world! There was even a sort of HQ tent that had small solar panels and antennae. I presume it provides the means of communication from camp to "earth" below, finding out who is coming up to climb and also relaying weather info to pilots. Climbers are required to register with the Park Service. At all times, the Park Service knows who is on the mountain, when they were dropped off and when they are expected back. It's life and death up there so it's important to keep close counts of all who go up. In fact, there was a terrible tragedy just last week where two climbers fell and died. (Ugh! What their families must be going through right now! Lord, please help them.) This is a photo of the Kahiltna Base Camp as we approached for a landing.

I loved this scene of a lone tent against the gigantic mountains. You have to remember that we're already several thousand feet in elevation.

Notice the snow walls at the previous camp sites of climbers who have already left Base Camp. The walls shield their tents from the strong winds.

We went with K2 Aviation out of Talkeetna.

We were supposed to fly right around the summit of Denali on our trip. Our pilot tried a few different tacks but was thwarted each time by wind and weather conditions. Here's a photo of Denali/Mckinley from the highway.

Alaska Photos 2- Once Inside the State

After we arrived in Alaska, we saw this huge flock of Canada Geese flying overhead. We followed them for several miles. At one point we stopped the van to take pictures. We turned the engine off and could hear them honking. It was pretty cool. You can click on any of my blog photos to enlarge them.

We came upon this porcupine crossing the highway. I didn't realize how cute their faces are.

But look at those quills! I guess they show off their quills when they feel threatened. This little guy didn't seem to like us taking his picture. But I think it's funny how they pull their fur up and show their quills only on their backsides.

Then we came upon this gnarly tree about 10 feet off the highway and this bald eagle sitting in the top of it. After we took pictures for awhile, the eagle looked like he was hunkering down to fly away. I pre-focused on him and prepared to capture a sequence of photos using my motor drive feature. I panned him as he flew right past me, almost at eye level. I got a great sequence! This is my favorite one because he's in such an interesting position that shows so much motion.
Further down the road is the location where The Fisherman got a breathtaking photo last fall on his way home. We call the photo Autumn Reflections with all its golden trees. We looked forward to seeing what it might look like in the Alaskan spring month of May. Here's The Fisherman taking a "Spring Reflections" photo.

Alaska Trip Photos 1 - Wildlife On the Way

Yearling moose along the highway in Canada

Mama black bear and yearling cub - through the windshield,
Cassiar Hwy, Canada

It's rare to see a wild cat, let alone in daylight.

This lynx was so pretty.

Caribou are very shy. At least when I've seen them roadside. It's hard to get a good photo of them roadside because they take off running so quickly as you approach. But I just love caribou, especially the males with their huge antlers (another photo later). Caribou are related to reindeer and are among the few animals whose females have antlers, too.

A deer along the Cassiar Hwy in Canada.

New Scarf & A Fun Day

I started a new scarf last week; I finished it yesterday. I used some of the fun and super soft yarn I bought in Seward, Alaska the day The Fisherman dropped me off at the internet cafe which just happened to be next door to a yarn shop. The yarn is called Geisha by Plymouth Yarn Co. Here's my scarf:


FUN DAY
I'm staying at my brother's house while in the valley. Today I had to pick up a matboard order and a photo order so I took my niece, Hannah, and her BFF, Taylor, with me. After the matboard, we drove by Mom's old neighborhood where she lived for 40 years up until about 3 years ago. My niece hadn't seen the house since "Nana" moved away and since it's drastically changed, I thought it would be fun for her to see it. We drove all around Mom's old neighborhood looking at the beautiful (and huge) houses in this desirable area of town. Hannah remembered the castle on the mountain and wanted to get a good view of it. I found the right road and took us right up to it. We drove around all the REALLY beautiful and REALLY huge houses on the mountain and at the base. The girls took pictures with their phones and we had a fun time. Next, after picking up my photo order, we went to PV Mall for Paradise Bakery and some shopping. We all had fun looking at the cute clothes in Aeropastle and Hollister, and then smelling all the fragrances at Bath and Body Works. Here are the girls after we got home, posing with pretty girl, Sarah. My niece, Hannah is on the left; Taylor is on the right.

Transition - from Alaska to Rural Arizona

Driving into town and back yesterday from our Arizona home, I was amused to find myself taking note of any curious dark shapes along the sides of the roads...and thinking they might be moose.

Roadside moose are a common sight in Alaska. We saw them everywhere we travelled the highways outside of cities. Unlike the elk in Arizona, moose are out foraging in broad daylight. And daylight is about 20 hours long on the Kenai Peninsula. In the city of Anchorage, with it's extensive woods and green belts within the city, moose are prevalent. They rest on people's lawns, eat from flower beds, give birth in back yards, and cool off in swimming pools. In the wintertime they are even seen walking along downtown streets. They also can cause some serious road hazards.

I Told You!

I told you my house was a mess and filled with boxes. I told you it was overwhelmed with chaos at my moving back in such a hurry and only a few days before we left for Alaska. But you thought I was exaggerating, didn't you? See for yourself....

See Mama Kitty staring up at me? She's probably thinking, "What are you doing standing on the couch, Mom?" She's probably thinking, "I thought the house was messy when Dad lived here alone! But now that YOU'RE back, what the heck!?" See the old clunky monitor? See the chaos? See the mess? See the WORK!? Aaaggghhhh!

I'm going to town... Leaving all this woodsy paradise (!) and going to town on errands. I think about 150 storage bins are in order, don't you?

Alaska Tidbit, Part 3

EARTHQUAKE
Can you believe I forgot to note that we experienced an earthquake? Even in my handwritten journal! I was only reminded by the show on the National Geographic Channel right now (called Extreme Alaska). The earthquake we felt was only for a second or two and it bumped the house and rattled some furniture. I felt it significantly and heard the furniture. But it was so brief that The Fisherman didn't notice it. To him it was one of those things he attributed to a big truck rumbling past and hitting a bump in the road or something. We were in different parts of our friends' house in Cooper Landing at the time so maybe I felt it more.

Alaska comprises 1% of the earth's total land surface but experiences 11% of the world's total earthquakes. Thankfully, because there is such a small population relative to it's size, Alaska earthquakes don't often have devastating effects. The NGC show was describing the Good Friday Earthquake around 1964. It was a 9.something and is the 2nd largest earthquake ever in the world. It did a ton of damage and over 100 people died. In Anchorage some neighborhoods slid off hillsides and were buried with mudslides. Downtown the pavement broke right down 4th Ave., one side rising some 30 feet above the other. 90% of the town of Seward slid into the water. Today, Seward sits on Resurrection Bay and many businesses contain the name Phoenix, noting how the town was reborn and resurrected after the earthquake. A giant tsunami hit the town of Valdez, located at the end of a bay; afterwards, city planners wisely rebuilt and relocated the town along the side of the bay.

To read about the Good Friday Earthquake and see photos, go to this site.

Ahhhh.....

I got my own computer connected tonight. I missed my "old fashioned" full size keyboard, my gigantic klunky monitor, my larger font size, and access to all my files. Photos should be coming soon.

Alaska Tidbits, Part 2

I don't know how I could manage to forget blogging about some of these things, honestly I don't!

FORGET-ME-NOTS - The funeral home prepared a sweet surprise for us. They took the photo of Mom we'd given them and put it on packets of flower seeds with "In Loving Memory of Gloria Dee Thomas 1927-2009" They are Forget-Me-Not wildflower seeds. As the Forget-Me-Not is Alaska's state flower, I figured they might grow up there a whole lot better than down here in Arizona. So I took several packs up with me to plant on our property. On Day 3 of our road building weekend, I took some time and found a spot in a lush little bowl along the south side of our driveway. There is a big beautiful birch tree there and it is on the southern side that looks out to our beautiful view. I found three spots around a white trunked tree and planted a total of 5 packets. We won't be there to attend to them or assure they get enough water during the dry month of June. But I sure hope they grow. I have some packets left and would like to plant them in a few other places. I haven't decided where yet because it's hard to project what spots will not be disturbed in our future efforts to improve and clean up the land.

I will be thrilled if I come back next year and see some pretty pale blue flowers growing around that birch. It's such a peaceful spot with a beautiful view.

Another interesting bit about Forget-Me-Nots. When we left Detroit in 1966, the wife of my dad's partner gave Mom a pin with Forget-Me-Nots on it. They had become friends and with the pin, Esther encouraged Mom to not forget her. Several years ago, Mom gave me the pin and told me the story, saying something like, "so here's so you won't forget me either!" Like I ever could, but it was cute. So, I love that the funeral home gave us these seeds, that it's Alaska's state flower and likely to grow there, and that some of them are now planted in a beautiful spot on our land there.

I DROVE THE BACKHOE! - Woohoo! I am such a scaredy-cat I can't believe I actually wanted to and asked The Fisherman if I could try it. But I did. First I got in with him so he could show me how the controls work. There is NO room for a passenger in a backhoe. At least no room for a passenger to sit. I perched on the edge of some tiny little half-ledge and hung on for dear life on the bumpiest bounciest ride of my life. The driver has a nice cushy and spring-loaded seat...a definite necessity.

I was to operate the bucket part. The basic controls were simple: Forward, Neutral, and Reverse. Then there's the bucket controls: Bucket Up, Bucket Down, Tilt Up and Tilt Down. We switched places and he directed me through a little jaunt! I went forward and reverse (beep, beep, beep) and then he had me manipulate the bucket. It was fun. He had me drive up to the dirt pile and was ready to end our little session (I'm sure presuming I'd be ready to quit, too) but I said, "Can I scoop something?!" "Yeah, you can!" He had me back up and when I put it in Forward, he told me to give it more gas as I approached the tall pile of dirt. "More gas. More still. Mash it!" he said as I was barely increasing my speed at all - ever conservative and timid. In order to dig into the dirt, you have to go faster than you think because the resistance of the wall of dirt will prevent you from going very far into the pile and you won't get a good bite. It is so counter-intuitive. Needless to say, I didn't get a full bucket of dirt but I did it! I backed up and carried the scoop a little ways. Then we switched and I got out. He delivered the scoop to a portion of the road. Woohoo! It was fun!

Alaska Journey - Forgotten Tidbits, Part 1

I forgot a couple things along the way in my Alaska posts.

BEAR RIBS - They were pretty good, especially with the tasty honey BBQ sauce they were in. They were a little tough, though. Our friend was disappointed because he cooked them for several hours. They plan to pre-cook them in the pressure cooker next time.

STUCK TRUCK - I'm sure you've figured out by the posts regarding building the road that we got the truck unstuck. After getting it stuck on May 23rd and creatively jacking it up and doing lots of pre-digging on May 27th, we gave the ground some more time to dry out. Then it rained the very same night and into the next day for a total of about 15 hours! On June 1st, with trepidation we decided to try. We started her up - no sign of the mysterious Won't Start problem. The loud diesel engine rattled and shook the truck like all diesel trucks do. My job was to intently watch to see if the truck was sinking any more with all that vibration. Not a bit. So The Fisherman put it in 4WD and in Reverse. In about 10 seconds he was cleanly and smoothly OUT! WooHoo! We were so excited - high fives and hugs! We were so proud of ourselves! We were patient and it paid off. We worked at it and we did it ourselves! We we were so happy ...and much relieved!

WELL, there was another thing I thought of that needed a follow-up. I should have started with that one because now I've forgotten it! That explains the title of this post as "Part 1".

Catch you all later. I'm heading up home this afternoon. Coming back in a few days for Father's Day.