Where do I even begin?

Sometimes the fullness of life gets squeezed into a few weeks.




Travel to Long Beach for work at a homeschool convention....











and One Way Productions' excellent job on Quest For Honor: A King Arthur Musical, with Claire playing a very convincing Morgana. (Don't let that smile fool you!)















In the midst of the swirl, we dashed away to our favorite winery for two nights of quiet and rest to celebrate our 26th anniversary,

returning in time to watch sapphire tulle swirl to the sounds of Masquerade.  Beauty in motion.

Then suddenly it was time to start the adventures that would culminate in the wedding of our son and his beautiful bride.  First, though, I took off early to spend a few days in Eugene with Madelaine. I could stare out these beautiful windows for hours.  In fact, I did!









Then it was on to Carol's to cook the rehearsal dinner.  Well, that was our stated purpose, but we really savored the chance to talk for HOURS.  Being able to start on a topic, finish it, come back to it, add a few more things, and talk about it some more was a rare gift between friends who live so doggone far apart.  It appears that Carol's job in my life is to be so incredibly generous that I have to learn how to receive without being able to respond in kind.  She is amazing.

I wore my mother's apron, tying those strings around my waist with a prayer of gratitude for her love.  Oh, she would have loved that rehearsal dinner meal.  And she would have sat back and soaked in my son's smile.  It was a beautiful sight.

The twinkle lights and tiki torches lit up the night, but nothing sparkled as brightly as the bride and groom.  What a happy couple, and man! do they know how to have fun at a party.
















The Callihan farm was like a fairy land as the sun set.  Faith and her family created the perfect ambiance for a wedding.  The evening ended with a pyromaniac's dream fireworks display, and the newlyweds ran off to their new life together under a canopy of sparklers.  God grant you many years, my dear ones.

We drove home by way of Eugene, bringing Madelaine back to school along with her dear friend Juliet.  Wedding bouquets do better in water than they do tucked into the car door, but sometimes you just want to keep the golden beauty nearby.  The drive was long, but it gave me hours to reflect on the blessings of the last few months.  It is a wonderful life after all!










FYI:  I have finally caught up on my photo blog, I have posted recipes from the rehearsal dinner on my recipe blog AND I have posted curriculum I have to sell on a new tag sale blog.  If you know of anyone who might need homeschool curriculum, I would appreciate you sending them my way.

Happy summer to you all!!!

General update

Time is flying... I have been busy thorougly enjoying basketball games here, there and everywhere. The grand finale was a tournament in Southern California. Bren and I took a road trip, traveled via the coast, and had a blast.

We started by driving to Cambria, to the home of a long-time friend of mine. She was my youth group leader back in Los Altos, the one who loved and comforted me, the one who made me laugh during the rough patches of high school. We have stayed in touch, through much joy and sorrow. I loved seeing her again.

We also spent an evening with her daughter-in-law and four granddaughters. Delicious food, a home that radiates peace and purpose and beauty, a quiet hour by the fire trying to catch up on the last ten years...it was a slice of heaven. Bren was introduced to Phase 10 by the girls, and we must go get a pack of those cards soon. He is hooked.

We then made our way to San Luis Obispo, a quaint little town where we had lunch at The Kreuzberg*CA Cafe. You know you are in a college town when your lunch options include the Thomas Mann, Jane Austen or Aristotle sandwiches. We had a long-overdue visit with a young woman whose family we have known since before we got married. Done with college, getting married in July, learning and growing and radiating happiness, she was terrific company. It was a very quick hour but a highlight of the trip.

We headed south down the coast, waving to Gus and Shawn and Jules as we moved through Santa Barbara.  We passed green hills and crashing waves and felt the cool ocean breezes; I had that gut-wrenching feeling I had so many years ago when we decided to move from the coast and live in a more affordable part of California.  I love where I live (I DO!  I DO!)  Oh, but those ocean breezes get me every time (insert Pablo Cruise's Ocean Breeze for the full effect.)

We made our way down the Ventura Freeway, and just in the nick of time we turned east with the rest of the traffic and found ourselves stopped in a concrete jungle.  The L.A. traffic helped me remember(once agan) the empty lanes of Highway 50 near home and how moving to our little hill was  a brilliant idea. 

Naturally, I did spend some time dictating texts for Brennan to send to John.  It went something like this:

Di:  Ventura Highway...
John: in the sunshine...
Di:  Where the days are longer
John: the nights are stronger...

etc. etc.

(America, Ventura Highway, for those who don't know.)

If only I had known last Wednesday what I know now (after googling the lyrics): 

'Cause the free wind is blowin' through your hair

And the days surround your daylight there

Seasons crying no despair

Alligator lizards in the air, in the air

Alligator lizards?  REALLY?  I triple checked, and it's true.  Turns out John knew...but he thought it was "Seasons crying notice there..."

We do love lyrics.  Sorry.

Marriage Handy Hint: the silliness factor can be greatly aided by a common jukebox .

And speaking of texting with John:  he and Claire had a very special trip of their own.  They were in Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Washington, D.C. for six days.  After eighteen trips with his school's eighth graders, John was finally able to bring one of his own children with him.  They had a blast.  Fortunately for us, their connecting flight home was in San Diego, and they could leave their tour group and head  north to meet us in Riverside.  It was a weekend of basketball that John would have hated to miss.

 
The Norcal Bears played really well.  They had four games, won them all, and they came home with the championship for their age group!  They had to beat two fantastic teams that were undefeated to get there, and they did it!  Both games had opponents that Brennan knew through speech and debate, so there was added excitement for him.  His friends were fantastic players, and it was great to see the battle go strong for all four quarters.  Both games were nail biters, especially the final game; they won the championship game in the last few seconds...by one point!  Our hearts were pounding for hours afterwards.

Bren was honored with the MVP award.  He played so well...we are really proud of him.

After our last game, we sneaked in a quick visit with more friends. another couple who spent time with me as a single woman.  Dear people, one now experiencing early dimentia.  Not an easy calling, but he is deeply loved by a great wife, and he will be taken care of through it all.  God calls us to dark paths sometimes, and I was glad to have a few minutes of heart-to-heart with his wife. 

We had one last stop to see good friends in L.A.  Sipping coffee, feeling the warmth of the morning sunshine, sharing the realities of life...it was a great last stop before we made the long haul home.

By the time we pulled in the driveway, our basketball player had a 103 degree fever, and our car had been the perfect petri dish for those germs to multiply and spread.  We're still coughing, still aching, still exhausted and we have been home for a week.  It's a good thing John had an extra week off this year.  Holy Week has been spent horizontal, hoping for relief and finding it in restless sleep.  I think the worst is over, and I am grateful.

All the coughing and sleeping doesn't diminish the joy of a road trip.  Time alone with my youngest, basketball wins and awards, good friends, lovely destinations, no mishaps.  It was a great week.

Road trip

Autumn's beauty is displaying itself boldly outside Madelaine's window in Eugene.  It was perfect Oregon weather for our trip north:  blue sky, a little rain, then plenty of fresh, cool air.  We were in town for a debate tournament, but I was able to sneak away on Thursday and spend the day with my marvelous daughter.  She came down with a nasty bug on Friday, so I was all the more grateful that we took the time away on Thursday.

A gorgeous drive to Harrisburg led to apple picking, difficult pumpkin decisions, and the chance for me to enjoy watching last year's roommates and their rich friendship.

Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.  ~ Aristotle

Apple picking in the autumn, watching friends quietly chatting, being with my daughter...it was a beautiful day. I am grateful.

"and things slowly come back into perspective"

 Cannon Beach, one of my special places

"Cooking is the only part of housekeeping I manage with any grace; it's something like writing a book: you look in the refrigerator and see what's there, choose all the ingredients you need, and a few your husband thinks you don't need, and put them all together to concoct a dish.  Vacuum cleaners are simply something more for me to trip over; and a kitchen floor, no matter how grubby, looks better before I wax it...Every so often I need OUT; something will throw me into total disproportion, and I have to get away from everybody - away from all these people I love most in the world - in order to regain a sense of proportion. 

I like hanging sheets on lines strung under the apple trees - the birds like it, too.  I enjoy going out the incinerator after dark and watching the flames; my bad feelings burn away with the trash.  But the house is still visible, and I can hear the sounds for a few minutes.  My special place is a brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings.  There's a natural stone bridge over the brook, and I sit there, dangling my legs and looking through the foliage at the sky reflected in the water, and things slowly come back into perspective...If I sit for a while, then my impatience, crossness, frustration, are indeed annihilated, and my sense of humor returns."

A Circle of Quiet, by Madeleine L'Engle

A gift of grace

Shortly after we arrived in Cannon Beach for our vacation, my friend Angela came to our room bearing a gift. Little did I know what beauty was wrapped in that simple brown paper.

We only see each other for a week each summer at the conference center, and yet she has prayed for us through my mom's illness and reached out to our family in many thoughtful ways.

But this quilt...oh my! Part of the gift is knowing that the fabric choice and piecing and careful stitching are bathed in prayer. This is a gift of grace to me.

There's no way around the fact that the last two years have been difficult ones, and the last nine months particularly so. Amidst it all, though, there are kind friends, generous gifts and quilted beauty. It really does make a difference.

Thank you, Angela.  Your friendship is a gift to us.

Napa: Phase Two

There's no longer any doubt in my mind about the beauty of Napa in the spring.  The vines are bright green, straight and endless and everywhere.  The stone buildings, the dark wood barn doors, the roses lined up at the edge of the fields, the mounds of blooming lavender...it is one gasp of beauty after another.

Wineries are beautiful places, too.  Comfortable seating, gorgeous landscape, friendly smiles and good wine. 

Little did we know when we arrived in Yountville on Thursday that our first stop would be the highlight, the standard to meet, the "you won the lottery" winery of the trip.  Hope and Grace lived up to its name:  Matthew was a gifted tasting guru, the cafe table in the courtyard provided us with seating for long conversation and a selection of unbelievably good wine.  We even enjoyed the companionship of a beautiful winery dog:  Romeo.

 Romeo, waiting for Juliet?

We walked, we sat, we solved problems, we told stories, we commiserated, we rejoiced, we wondered, and we laughed a lot. 

And that is the best kind of beautiful.

We savored the fellowship, down to the very last drop.

Napa: Phase One

Napa was heavenly.  It was blue sky after the rain, marriage retreat, fellowship binge and wine/foodie tasting all folded into two contented days.

I never seem to remember how good it is for us to drive away together.  We should probably get in the car and drive more often.  Destination is unimportant...time in the car is priceless.  And so we drove as the sun rose, leaving everyone sleeping at home.  We listened to David Sanborn, we talked and listened, we even talked about really hard things that we disagree about; it was time we needed and we are the better for taking it.

Oxbow Public Market, specifically Ritual Coffee Roasters, provided the perfect cup of espresso, twice.

Cup number one was outside by the river and under the shimmering canopy of bright blue sky.  We were serenaded by an extremely extroverted song bird, it was a little chilly (just the right amount of chilly) and we were all by ourselves.  Occasionally an obviously-on-their-way-to-work person would march purposefully by with their game face on, and we were the smirking, shirking, no-job-to-race-to couple that just kept staring at the blue sky and sipping and talking as long as we wanted to.

We weren't done talking when the chill soaked into our bones, so we moved inside.  I loved the golden walls, the unusual light fixtures, the open feel of the marketplace.  The smells of spices and pastries and coffee and tea mingled together to make the perfect ambiance.  

I expected Napa to make me uncomfortable.  The high prices, the celebrity status of the place, the glamour of it all isn't really my style.  Yes, we are Fairplay Wine Snobs.  But on this Thursday morning, a work day with regulars chatting over cups of coffee and pastries, the feeling was of a beautiful, normal neighborhood.  I felt very much at home.

 

Americano:  $2.95

Worth every penny.

We could have strolled back to the car, hand-in-hand, and headed back to Placerville to face life again.  It was that good.  But we didn't.  Well, we strolled back to the car hand-in-hand, but instead of going home we went up the hill, above downtown Napa, and we found the cottage that was the vacation place for friends.

It was time for the feast of fellowship, wine and food, games and laughter.  More on that tomorrow.

Life goes on

In answer to the question, "What's been going on?"

 

Easter celebrating with our niece and her family.  

Three children ages three and under...it was a trip down memory lane.

Except that now my children are the big kids.

Even the dog Bauer (as in Jack) found a friend.

 

Rex's Eagle Scout binder was accepted, aka: his parents can take a deep breath and eagerly anticipate his 18th birthday rather than being panic-stricken about the looming deadline.

WAY TO GO, REX!

Board of Review, ergo Official Eagle Scout status, still to come.  Stay tuned.

A trip to Bodega Bay,

with a special stop at Screamin' Mimi's Ice Cream Parlor in Sebastopol.

Ginger ice cream.  Yumola.

 

The sunset was glorious (and freezing).

The wild iris were blooming on the path above the cliffs.

Makes me think of you, HMB Alison.

And back home the wisteria is blooming, too.