written 1-7-2011
2010. It was full to the brim. Looking back at my calendar to review what I might share is a bit of a shock – seeing how busy it actually was…. Lots of good; some very difficult. It’s preferable not to expand on the latter! Let’s just say – that even though we ended the year well, it’s a year I’m glad to have ‘over’. It made a fresh start in 2011 very appealing!!!!!
I love the beginning of a year so fraught with conspicuous ‘new.’ On 1-1-11 at 11:11 a m I gave Kenzi, Bryn and Alli an ice cream treat (Nutty Buddy) to celebrate all the ones. Nothing says new beginning like 1 – and we had a plethora of ones all lined up in sequence! They were most impressed that they got ice cream right before lunch!
The wonderful aspects of the year related most saliently to the people in our lives and more incidentally to our trips. Sometimes both were combined, and those are precious treasures. Thank you to all who are part of those memories. They are pure joy!
We went to a Midvale, Idaho all-school reunion over Memorial Day weekend. I attended school at Midvale for my 5th, 6th and 7th grade years. All 3 of my brothers attended at least part of the reunion – and my former classmates let me sit in with them for their memory photo – even though I didn’t graduate with them. Midvale brings back a flood of memories – and it was really good to see people from that era. I treasure the memory of those friendships, and the opportunity to renew them.
On our way back from Midvale, we turned off on a random road in Oregon ‘just for the fun of it’ and it just happened to take us through one of my ‘bucket list’ destinations – Bridgeport, Oregon. My birth mother was born in Bridgeport and I have always wanted to see it. There wasn’t much to see – but I was thrilled to get to be there…to walk along a road she would have walked on…to read the history posted on a sign honoring the town’s location…to feel I was seeing what she saw.
We went on to Glass Butte to dig some obsidian. One of Al’s new hobbies is flint knapping. I would guesstimate that he has made a couple hundred arrowheads so far….and about 20 larger ones that he has mounted on handles made of antler, sagebrush, or a miscellany of other woods….
Speaking of Al’s hobbies, he has completed about 170 oil paintings in the two years he has been painting. He recently finished a very large Tuscan scene for Lynley for her office at school. We made a gallery in the basement to display some of his paintings. He is definitely good at being an impressionist. Many of his favorite paintings are ‘copies’ of old masters: Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, Monet…. Another favorite is his painting of a picture he took (on our Summer 2009 Wonderland Trail hike) of Indian Henry’s hunting ground, with Mt. Rainier in the background. My favorites are a collection of Tuscan scenes – and a painting of a reflection of a house, which was from a photo he took in Ketchikan in 2005.
He still carves ducks, makes a lot of wooden spatulas (which I call spurtles), turns wooden bowls, does honey and daughter projects, cuts down a few trees, picks up sticks and hunts. He truly amazes me. He doesn’t let any moss grow under his feet. And – retirement is full! Whatever he does he certainly does 100%.
In late July we attended the 1960’s era reunion for Northwest College (now University). I love seeing old friends. And I love that reconnecting with that group is representative of healing in many lives, including mine. It represents love, forgiveness, acceptance, second chances. It is a connection with friends who share roots – sharing old memories while building new ones. I need that reminder. Day-to-day life is often isolated – so it’s good to have those special touchstones.
In August we had our Meyer grandkids for 15 consecutive days and had a ball with them while they were here, including fulfilling another ‘bucket list’ dream for me. We took the 3 girls and went to the Kite Festival at Long Beach with Tom & Lynley and their family. Kami joined us for part of the trip as well. We got great pictures. While we were there we celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary. 2010 was a year of milestones. Lola: 65; Al: 72; 40th Anniversary! Where did the time go?
Our big trip for the year was a cross-country road trip. The ultimate goal of our trip was to be in the New England states for the fall colors. We left September 21. We returned November 3. We traveled well over 10,000 miles. Our route took us across Washington, through Northern Idaho and into Montana to Flathead Lake before we headed north along Glacier National Park to get into Canada. We drove across Canada to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, then south as far as Pennsylvania and back across the United States. I have been putting pics in Facebook albums sequentially – as I have time. If you aren’t already a Facebook friend, invite me to be one and you can see the pictures if you are interested. Lola Cain (Rice) is my identification on FB. It was an amazing trip. I have over 5,000 pictures. I kept a journal, as I do on all our trips…. Something to read later on when we can no longer travel. We love the times shared with friends and family on the journey!
One of the biggest things of my year was working very intently and intentionally on the children’s musical, A Letter From G. O. D. That is carrying over into 2011, but it is progressing. I’ll be so excited when it is finished and ready to publish! Next year I should be able to report that it is done!
I was going to just skip writing and send a picture – because a picture is worth a thousand words – but you get both. I came home from church on December 19, and asked Al to go out and pose for a picture of us – him in his normal attire, and me dressed up. We agree it reflects each of us at our best.
Pa, as the grandkids call him, grew a great beard this year – during the trip and hunting season – and played Santa for Bryn’s preschool. I figured since he had done it for her class for a couple of years – and this was the last year of preschool – he should have his own suit. He definitely got his money’s worth out of it. One day, when a friend called to say he wanted to drop by, Al ran in and put on his Santa suit, and went out front and sat in the antique wagon in our front yard. He played Santa for our grandkids at Christmas and dressed up in it one last time for three international students – young women who visited over the holidays.
Kids and grandkids are the most conspicuous priority of our lives. We love participating in their lives – and love that we have that opportunity. We are very blessed. I thank God! Al thanks Mother Nature!
PEACE AND JOY IN THE NEW YEAR!
Al & Lola
No comments:
Post a Comment