Gratitude in the Midst of Busyness

Even when I have busy, tiring weeks, I feel it's important to pause to reflect on gratitude, to focus my thought on thankfulness.  This is why I love the following quote: 

“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” Brother David Steindl-Rast

 And this is why I love Friday Fave Five which is hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.  Here are my five favorite moments from Willow's Week.

1.  I cannot tell you how much I love homemade raspberry freezer jam.  I make my own.  I love it on toast. With peanut butter.  My lunch sometimes often includes a simple slice of toast with peanut butter and jam.  And raspberry is my favorite.

2.  Herons are one of my favorite birds.  Fortunately, I live in an area where herons are abundant.  This guy was posing for me recently at Channel Islands Harbor.

Along the creekbeds, I watch for them as I drive to work.  This week I spied a white heron (is this an egret?)  in an unusual spot.  Not in its normal habitat.

(full disclosure here: this is a heron I photographed at San Diego Zoo)

The white heron I saw this week was confusedly wandering, lost and bewildered, along my street.  While it is true that I live two blocks from an artificial lake which is in the middle of a golf course, this bird was seriously out of its preferred environment.  But he/she/it was so cute. I just had to slow down, stop, open my window and shoot some photos.

3.  Every day as I cross under the freeway (Hwy 101) to access the onramp, I look to the right up the road and over a field of citrus trees and in front of it at a row of poinsettias growing tall and semi-wild.  It thrills me every time I see the brilliant red blooms glowing over the dull greens and browns of a Southern California winter.

4.  Another walk. Ventura Harbor this week.

5.  The internet.  After being without internet at home for almost three full days, I am happy to have access again.  It's a little freaky how dependent we are on technology to work, play and communicate.

That was my week.  Busy and filled with compositions to correct, but also filled with blessings when I searched for them.

Friends, Flowers, Walks, Words

I love recording my week by focusing on the best events, the large and small delights.  It helps me stay grounded in thankfulness.  Fortunately, Susanne's weekly Friday Fave Five gives me the perfect opportunity to do just that.

1. For years, The Professor and I have enjoyed taking walks.  We've walked in cities in the US, in England, in Indonesia.  Almost daily, we walk in our neighborhood, and then we try to vary the routine by hiking in a different location once a week.  On Sunday afternoon, we decided to take advantage of the sunshine between rain storms and return to Ventura for another walk.  This time we started near the Ventura Pier and walked north.  I kept looking back at the pier.  Something was wrong.  There were no people. It was empty. 

We found out later that due to the extremely high surf, the city had closed the pier Sunday morning.  We hadn't realized that there was a high surf warning for the coast from Ventura County all the way to the Mexican border.

We walked all the way to the mouth of the Ventura River, the same river where we had walked along the rail trail path last week.

Surfers Point, where the river flows in to the Pacific Ocean, is a famous surfing destination.

There were a few brave, die hard surfers attempting to ride the big ones.

2. One evening this week, we enjoyed hosting friends for dinner.  Great food, great conversation.

3.  Once in a while, I treat myself to flowers from the farmers market.  Lilia, the flower lady, knows I prefer a small bouquet of non-fragrant blooms.  These were a perfect choice.



4.  Rain.  Southern California doesn't get much rain and we need it.  Two little storms blew through this week bringing a few inches of precipitation.  It was not so blustery and violent that there were floods or slides. A more gentle rain fell.  And one storm arrived on Monday so I didn't have to be out in it.

5. I love words.  I love reading.  When I am home after teaching my writing classes, I don't want to talk anymore for awhile. I sit and read and fill up my empty word tank again. Sometimes I read blogs.  Sometimes I read books.  I just read.

Words, walks, flowers and friends filled my week.  How did you invest your days?

Note:  If I don't get around to read or comment on your FFF posts, it's because internet is out at my house.  The provider is working on it...

Gardens and Hikes and No Snow

This mid January edition of Willow's Week has been brought to you and hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.  You can participate too by clicking on this link and signing up with Mr. Linky.

1. Work on the back bank gardening project is progressing!  Our dear friends the Salcedos arrived Saturday afternoon to help us with some of the heavy work like shoving railroad ties around, piling dirt, and planting our California native manzanitas, sages and grasses.  We celebrated with dinner after.

2.  On Monday afternoon, The Professor and I took a ramble along the Ventura River rail-trail path.  It was a perfect day for a hike and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring a new-to-us trail.

 
3. No Snow. But we have white in the landscape. All the flowering plum trees are bursting in to bloom. In January.

4.  Zicam.  It's this girl's best friend when I feel a cold coming on.  And echinacea tea.

5.  How does killing my cell phone count as a fave?  My phone died a sad and violent death at my own hand, literally.  I dropped it.  It's broken.  For a week, I've been phoneless and I've realized how dependent (addicted?) on it I had become for everything from checking email and facebook and IMing and texting to finding out the time.  And talking to people, even.  It's been a wake up call.  And I'm relieved that my phone is the one on the plan that's insured, which was wise planning on The Professor's part.

Bonus:  Younger son, The Grad Student, celebrated his birthday this week.  His birth, a little premature due to the fact that I had contracted malaria during the eighth month of pregnancy, caused us some trepidation.  But thankfully he was a fine healthy baby.  Because of this, he'll always be my 'miracle boy'.  Happy Birthday!

More Getty Villa

Just because I love the photos...

architectural details

Even our shadows on the wall below the dining patio fascinate me.

Ramblings and Routines

Friday Fave Five

An account of the best parts of my week

An exercise in reminding myself to focus on the positive

Hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story

1.  A Friday out.  We've visited the Getty Villa before, but we decided we really wanted to spend the afternoon there.  Admission is free although there is a parking charge.  Lunch packed, we drove through Malibu Canyon and out to the Pacific Ocean and down Hwy 1 to The Getty Villa where J. Paul Getty built a replica of an ancient Roman villa simply to store his collection of antiquities.

2.  Another adventure.  On Monday, we drove the other direction--to Santa Barbara to visit the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.  Most of the garden has been left in a natural state and it was a pleasure to walk the paths under the canopy of the gigantic California Live Oak trees.

From the creek bed, we climbed the steps

and at the top of one of the hills we could see across the city to the ocean and beyond to the island.

When we turned around, we faced the rugged coastal mountains.  No, that's not snow; it's sand colored bare rock.

3.  Coffee with a best buddy, just to catch up after the holidays.

4.  I love it when my students have birthdays.  Sometimes, like this week, they bring cookies to class to share.

5.  Getting back in a routine is always good.  Besides teaching classes again (see #4), I have enjoyed the morning lattes which The Professor provides and the evening walks we've taken together.  The advantage of routine is knowing that I'm going to walk and do other physical exercise which I certainly need because it's simply part of 'my day'.  Routines keep me accountable.

That was Willow's Week

How about you?

A Day to Remember Always

Friday's Fave Five is a reminder to review your week and focus on your favorite events.  I love thinking back over my week and choosing the best of the best to remember.  We spent most of our Christmas holiday in San Diego with our precious family.  Here are five faves from one of my fave days.

   On a perfect sunny day, we visited the San Diego Zoo.  Seven adults to corral four preschoolers.  Mostly, the adults had control.  We certainly all had the best time!

1. A flock of flamingoes greeted us as we entered the San Diego Zoo main gate.

2. Gorillas are absolutely fascinating!

3. Awwww...what a sweet panda.

4. At last! A vegan polar bear!

5. Is this guy for real?

Sometimes watching the little ones watching the zoo animals is the most fun.

There is no way we could see the whole zoo in one day.  We'll have to return again and again.  Don't you agree?

Thanks, Susanne for hosting Friday's Fave Five. Click the link to participate.

I Could Do That

Note:  I wrote this little essay on Christmas Day and waited to post it. Not sure why I was hesitant to publish these thoughts. Anyway, here they are:

I have often wondered what my true career, my passion, is.  I love my job teaching writing and composition.  But I fell into teaching quite by accident.  In fact, my choice of an English major in college was simply a matter of convenience and not of passionate interest.

This is what happened.  I was representing the college I was attending in a singing group and was told that I had to write up a little blurb about myself for a press release.  One bit of pertinent information I needed to add was what my major was.  Well, I was an undeclared freshman and being not as directed as some other students, I had no clue.  So another singer in the group suggested, "Just put down 'English' and you can change it when you decide next year."  Fall semester arrived, and since my stated major was 'English' I got signed up for Intro to Poetry and a special Literature class.  I discovered that, Wow, I'm good at this and, you mean, I can read all day and it's considered studying?  Being an English major was enjoyable although I really didn't pick it; it picked me.

Basically the same thing happened in my pursuit of a teaching credential.  I was happily working in my post college position as a clerk/front desk/admin in a small office.  Being one of those weird people who actually enjoys filing, I excelled in my job. But a friend (same one who steered me down the English major path, as a matter of fact) mentioned that the laws regarding granting of the elementary credential were changing and if I didn't finish what I'd started in my last year of college, I'd lose the opportunity to finish the teacher training.  So I did it.  But I think that, at some level, teaching chose me.

As much as I enjoy reading, literature, poetry, writing and teaching, I think that perhaps I missed my passion.  I should have been a clothing designer. 

I don't mean the Paris, New York, Milan style of fashion design.  That type of designing annoys me.  Fashion of that kind encourages women (and men) to buy clothing that they don't need with money that they don't have, to become quickly dissatisfied with those items of clothing that they bought with those dollars they didn't have, and to discard the shirts, skirts, slacks and shoes that they no longer want but which aren't worn out or even much used.  No, I would never have wanted to be that kind of a designer.

I ought to be a knitwear designer, someone who develops patterns and knits sweaters to be worn by people who love the clothes they purchase and wear them until they're used up, not thrown aside or given away when the fashion moment is over.  My family tells me that when we are strolling along a street, standing in line for coffee, or sitting in church or a meeting, I invariably focus on the sweater or hat being worn by someone in the vicinity.  Mentally, I dissect the pattern and unravel the stitches.  I work out the increases and decreases. Then I state, "I could do that."  I'll never make designing and knitting a career.  For one thing, in chronological years, I'm beyond the point of switching careers.  Instead, I take my ability to knit and spin and turn it in to real hats and scarves and sweaters and warm the world.  I can do that.

The Last One for the Year

This is the last Friday Fave Five that I will post for 2011.  Thank you, Susanne, for faithfully hosting FFF so we can focus on being grateful for the large and small blessings of the week.

The past week has been symbolic of the way the whole year has gone---busy, busy, busy.  There has been almost no time or opportunity for online time.  But my time has been taken up with much more important things.

1.  We have been down almost at the Mexican border with California being 'Meema' and 'Bapa' to three very busy preschoolers.  The New Boy has been getting to know the two little ones who may become his cousins.

2.  The boys had a special day with Meema and Bapa.  We rode the San Diego trolley around the city.

Watching out the window

Snuggling with Bapa for security

3.  All my children were in the same city at the same time.  This is a very unusual event, so unusual that we commemorated it with formal pictures.

The Four Siblings (in birth order from youngest to oldest)

4.  Morning snuggles with The New Boy.  he tiptoes into the room and peeks to see if we're awake.  Then he jumps up on the bed and climbs in under the blankets to say, "Good morning!"

5.  My Christmas present from The Professor:  it's not something you can see, but it's something you can hear.  He hired a piano tuner.  When we're back at The Cottage, I'll be able to play my favorite tunes (such as Moonlight Sonata) without wincing.  Thanks, Honey!

Happy New Year 2012 to everyone!

A Birthday

My Dad

Along the (Mighty) Columbia River Highway

On the Oregon side

Summer 1942

(I know it was summer because he isn't wearing a coat and it's not raining)

This photo was taken when my dad was twenty years old.  He had left the dairy farm where he had grown up in southwest Oregon.  The youngest of three boys, he had had his fill of milking cows and mucking out stalls.  So, shortly after he graduated from high school, he moved from Myrtle Point with several friends from the football team and took a position at Boeing near Seattle working on planes being built during the run up to the US's entrance into World War II.  Soon after this picture was taken, Dad left for Army Air Force basic training.

Yesterday was his birthday.  He would have been eighty-nine.

Not a White Christmas

More like a Brown and Blue and Green Christmas

Just a few miles north of the Mexican Border

Fourth Week of Advent and Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

Or as The New Boy announces,

Happy Merry Christmas!

Third Week of Advent

It's the third week of December.  As of Friday, December 16, there are nine days until Christmas.  Cards are arriving in the mailbox.  Christmas music is playing in the house and car.  Soon, soon, maybe I'll begin addressing envelopes (yes, I'm running really late this year).  As always, since it's Friday, I'm pausing to post my Friday Fave Fives which is hosted each week by Susanne at her blog Living to Tell the Story.

1.  My daughter's surgery last week was 'uneventful' and considered by the doctor to be 'successful'.  I am thankful for wise and skillful surgeons.

2.  My drive from near the Mexican border north through FOUR Southern California counties, much of it during rush hour traffic, took FOUR hours!  I think that's a record for me.  A facebook friend asked how I'd done that--it was truly mostly luck in choosing the fast lanes and ducking around the back-ups.

3.  We have had alternating rain and sunshine.  The rain we need because Southern California is an arid place.  The sunshine we love because, well, because we're Southern California sunshine addicts.

4.  I think I have received a year's supply of goodies as Christmas gifts from my very sweet students--chocolate truffles, peanut brittle, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate covered raspberry candies, to name just a few.  Undoubtedly, I am going to need to ration these desserts out for the next fifty-two weeks and share them with family, friends and neighbors!  But I'll keep the Starbuck's card for myself.

5.  Anticipation!  I am now on Christmas Break!  Three weeks!

And this Sunday I will light the third Advent Candle.

Second Week of Advent

It's Friday and time for Friday Fave Fives which is hosted by Susanne on her blog Living to Tell the Story.  Firday is the day I look back on my week and think about what events or activities impressed me with grace and gratitude.

1.  How many times during this week did I say, "Wow!  It's SO clear!"  (At least fifty!)  Because the Santa Ana winds blew again most of the week, the skies were crystal clear and everywhere I turned, I could see the mountains and beaches and islands that I know are there but not always visible.  We could see the silhouettes of the Channel Islands miles out from the coastline.  And the sky itself provided rich beauty in brilliant clouds and blowing palm trees.

2.  On Saturday and Sunday, we doggie-sat our friends' pit bull.  They live near the beach so we took advantage of the location and walked along "The Strand".  Windy days are perfect for kite flying on the beach.

We walked until the sun dropped below the horizon.

Sometimes boats really do sail off into the sunset.



3.  Winds bring beauty to our area but they also can bring wild fires.  On Saturday morning we had to detour from our usual exit to by our home because there was a fire right on the edge of the freeway less than a mile from our house.  Why would I choose this as something I'm thankful for?  I'm thankful that we have an excellent and well trained group of fire fighters in our county.  They respond quickly and know how to deal quickly with a potential disaster.  This nearby fire was contained to only twelve acres, there was little damage to property and no one was injured.  Things could so easily have ended very differently but for our wonderful fire fighters.

4.  Thursday afternoon, I drove to San Diego to stay with my daughter after she had surgery.  I'm thankful that I have a job that allows me to be away on long four day weekends so I can be available to help when I'm needed.

5.  Because I stopped in Orange County to have a late lunch with the pit bull's 'mommy',  I managed to hit San Diego right at rush hour.  The shining red lights of the cars in front of me were strung along the lanes like Christmas lights around a roof and the white lights facing me for miles on the opposite side of the freeway were as bright as Christmas tree lights.  Fortunately, I was relaxed, knowing that eventually I'd arrive at my daughter's house.  I had the company of Celtic Woman and Boney M singing Christmas carols and a marvelous choir performing The Messiah.  Do other drivers sing O Come All Ye Faithful and Little Drummer Boy at the top of their lungs, or am I the only one?

So that was Willow's Week.  I hope your week has been filled with beauty and song, too.

First Week of Advent

1. I admit to not yet being in the Christmas spirit. Because I'm not a shopper, the gift giving part of Christmas does not excite me.  However, our family tradition of drawing names and buying ONE gift for ONE person helps me generate a little bit of interest in that part of Christmas.  This month I'll be planning and purchasing a gift for my youngest girl.  Of course, The New Boy is exempt, but we'll be choosing a small gift that will fit in his suitcase and instead focusing on an activity to enjoy together during the days we'll be together.

2. However, I do love Christmas music!  As I am typing this, I am listening to Celtic Woman singing O Holy Night.

3.  Although there are no decorations inside the cottage yet, the December camellias have been decorating their bushes along the side of the front porch.

4.  The box of hats for the Chicago area food pantry kids' Christmas party was sent off just before Thanksgiving.  I heard this week that it had arrived--all twenty-six hats inside.

5.  Now I am knitting some Christmas projects.  No photos of those yet--obviously.  That would spoil the surprise.  I'll give you a hint, though.  They involve several balls of different colors of yarn and a knowledge of fair isle technique.

I shall light the second Advent candle this weekend, the candle that represents LOVE.  It follows the first candle, HOPE.  This week, among my offerings of gratitude through Friday Fave Five, I send my LOVE to all, friends and family, and my thanks to Susanne for hosting FFF every Friday.

A Simple List

It is Thanksgiving Day and it's time to write up Friday's Fave Five.  I have a simple list.

1.  I am thankful for my husband, he who carries the wallet, who drives so I don't have to, who trails after me into knit shops all over the world.  We sit quietly together in the evenings.  After all these years, we still talk and laugh daily.

2.  I am thankful for my children--four of them with a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law.   And a precious grandson.  Simply, I love them.

3.  Because I've lived in places where they were not available, I am thankful for clean water, secure shelter, and abundant food.  I hope I never take these things for granted.

4.  I am thankful for friends.  I am truly blessed with many old and new friends.

5.  I am thankful for the ability to read, access to a seemingly endless and infinite supply of reading material.

This is by no means an exhaustable list of thanksiving, just a quick and simple list.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  Please visit Susanne to link up for Friday Fave Five.

The Marines Came

The Marines know how to bake pies--fruit, apple, and pumpkin.Who knew?

They also know how to carve the turkey.  And wash dishes.  They are awesome help in the kitchen.  They can repair planes, shoot guns and secure unsafe places, too.

The Army and Navy were also well represented.

Now they're all playing chess and slapjack.  I'm knitting.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy

I had not intended to fall off the 'post-every-day' regimen.  But I seriously underestimated the amount of time I would have during my Thanksgiving break.  Since arriving by train in San Diego, I have been trailing behind my daughter and have realized how busy her life is.  I can't keep up.  However, I have finished my main part of the Thanksgiving Day dinner (homemade cranberry sauce) and am now sitting resting before returning to the kitchen to start on the family famous Grandma Rylander Rolls.  Obviously, there hasn't been much time to post on my blog or read other blogs since last Thursday night.

All the children but one (along with the New Boy) are here in San Diego.  The girls took off to buy a meat thermometer, the boys are playing a game, the dog is wagging her tail incessantly, and the cat is huddled into her hidey-hole.  The Professor and I are sitting and smiling.  We are happy.