Breakthrough - the name of my latest quilt

I tend to quilt for a variety of reasons.  However, in January of 2015, 19 months ago, I decided to do a block of the month quilt.  The company sends you the pattern on the first month and then monthly for 10 months you received a packet in the mail with the next month's fabric and more detailed instructions.  I was really good the first few months, or so I thought.  I finished the big part of the block, but there is piecing around each of those big blocks and I decided to wait until finishing future blocks to finish the small piecing.  This was going to be a huge challenge since I would have to be more precise than I normally am, and I would be learning a lot of new patterns, and the color arrangements would be a challenge.

In retrospect this was a big mistake but not really.  In the middle of the 10 months, life got ahead of us as we sold a house, downsized by 2/3 of our material goods, bought a condo, had a wedding, went to another wedding, had 5 English visitors, blah, blah, blah.  Life got ahead of us.

Of the 10 blocks, last December 4-9 were finished, but there were those pesky first 3 blocks unfinished.  I literally did not roll out my sewing machine from December until last week.  I was incredibly stuck on this project to the point where I could not even fathom working on another easier project.  It wasn't that I don't have a stash of fabric, or ideas of what I want to work on next.  Every time I opened the closet where my rolling sewing cart is, and thought about figuring out how to proceed I was flummoxed.  I probably tried 3-4 times to actually figure out how to proceed by laying out those pesky 3 first blocks.  Nada

Last week in a flash of "Oh heck how hard can this be just start somewhere and proceed, and BTW, it does not have to be perfect.  No one knows how the quilt is supposed to look in the end and when has that every bothered you anyway?"

At the same time I am working through some past trauma which is painful and predictable.  As I worked through some of the pesky issues of the quilt blocks, new insights about my past popped open.  One quilt block at a time I started placing them on the floor and sewing them together, and squinting and observing how I liked the layout.  A few times as I said "Close enough!" it felt good to move on.  A few times I looked and said "No way" and out came the seam ripper.

A few days of this with the quilt laid out on the floor, I am very close to the end of those pesky 3 blocks.  There is one section that remains in disarray.  I may have to settle on good enough for that section or I may put the quilt away again to approach at a later time. There is no deadline for this quilt, just like there is not a deadline for when I have to finish this examination of past traumas.

I can say that on both accounts, the unfinished quilt and dealing with the trauma, I feel so much better than one week ago.  As my brother George says "You have to go through it rather than walk around it!"  Literally I have to walk through the middle of the quilt laid out occupying one big area of our condo.

The MOVE and purging - AND - IT ALL FIT IN

I have promised some people that I would write a blog about our recent move.  Honest, it was a manic 6 weeks, but now that we are on the other end of the tornado, I feel great.

We decided to put our house of 23 years on the market right before our daughter's wedding.  Don't ask!  We had some very good reasons and it was NOT an impulsive decision.  Trust me on this one.

Right before we put the house on the market we became familiar with the Japanese book on Tidying Up which is on the NYT best seller list.  We decided that moving from a 3-bedroom house with two sheds for storage into a one bedroom condo called for extreme measures.

This guy did not make the cut

Both of us followed the principles of the book, which is to gather ALL items of a certain category, and then touching each one ask "Does this bring me joy?"  Items that have survived several moves and many years of gathering dust were recycled or reused.  After a few 100 of these decisions the muscle memory became pretty strong.  In our new condo we have a NO JOY box, which is collecting things that survived the first cut.

We did it.  We moved everything into the condo with room to spare.  The storage unit is almost entirely taken up with Bethany's riding stuff which we will store until she rides again.  It has been quite a journey, and in the middle of it while questioning our sanity, we did not know we would be able to finish.

So where did the stuff end up?

• We recycled mattresses to an organization ,  UTEC Lawrence which recycles mattresses and provides young people with a job.  I think about that every time I drive by one on the curb.  What a waste!
• We took 20 boxes of books to More than Words in Waltham. They also have an excellent mission statement of running a cafe and book store on Moody street and selling used books run by young adults.
• All home goods and clothing we took to Global Thrift, also on Moody Street in Waltham.  I support them more than a huge organization like Salvation Army.  (Just not sure where their stuff ends up)
• Food and paper goods I took to Bristol Lodge soup kitchen.  I stayed to help serve the homeless one day.  That was very rewarding
• All baskets and vases any flower store will take with much appreciation
• Best Buy has an incredible recycling program.  We took all electronics, old audio tapes, VHS tapes, DVD, and unbelievable they take CD Jewel cases.  They also take any cables from electronics.  
• Sheets, pillows, and any house hold items we took to the Middlesex Human Service Agency.  There are something like 108 homeless facilities in Waltham alone.  They welcome anything like this.
• I also ran a virtual yard sale on my blog and raised over $200 for WATCH in Waltham.
• ADDED 12/3/2015 - AFTER THE MOVE I discovered two others recycling opportunities Yarn and needles can be taken to Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program located near Boston Medical Center.  They have a program that involves knitting for respite care patients
• Some Whole Foods Markets, and probably other stores, recycle corks from wine bottles

SECOND ROUND of our virtual yard sale to benefit WATCH

Our idea of a virtual yard sale could have been a bust but it was a huge success, for WATCH, for the recipients and for us.  We moved along a weed whacker, a snowblower, 2 tall books shelves (both to wonderful teachers for their classrooms) a big brown recliner to a college friend of Bethany's who stayed with us for a summer and is now relaxing once again in that recliner, a leaf blower to Chris's best man, composter to church friends, and the Keruig is in a lounge at Tufts Vet School, taken by one of Bethany's best friends.  The best donation in my mind though was for the roof rake to be used in the next 10 foot winter.  Dear friends are the owners of that precious commodity now.


We have discovered in our clean out some other items that folks might want.
SO here is what we have available in round 2.  Some are repeats.  Come on, no one wants 2 floor lamps to help read at night?  Rod got them for me to counteract Seasonal Affective Disorder.  

• Oil filled space heater

• TV with VHS player built in (don't you still have VHS tapes?)

• Small wooden desk perfect for student or sewing table (wait, maybe I should keep this for sewing!)

• HDTV

• Weber Grill - in full disclosure, we cannot find the piece to connect to the new propane tanks.  If someone is handy or clever this grill is in great shape

• 2 hoses - there might be holes, but if you are handy they are perfectly good

• Dog cable and post you drive into the ground for when you travel with a dog to contain them.  We used it when we visited people who did not like dogs (yes there are those kind of people in the world.

• UPDATE - 2 box fans, and in this September weather they can still be used this season - NEWS Flash - taken, while I was writing this post, to cool down a church tomorrow!

• 2 fluorescent floor lamps referred to above from my thoughtful husband NEWS Flash:  1 taken for an older person to light her apartment while I was writing this.   1 still available.

• 2 camp chairs

• A lawn seeder

• A desk perfect for a small business, L-shaped, with each side 77".  It comes apart in 3 pieces and we will help you move it.  Know anyone looking for nice wooden office furniture?

We don't want to make any money, rather we ask that you make a donation to WATCH which is a non-profit in a neighboring town, Waltham, that both Rodney and I support through barn raising activities and tutoring a Guatemalan woman who has become a friend.    

Here is the list in rough order of the pictures below:
 and below are pictures of the items:

Here is how it will work.  Call or email me which item you would like.  We can discuss a donation amount, you can ask any questions and we settle on a deal.  I will note in the comment area below which items are taken.  First come, first settle on a deal and pick up item!  Leave a comment below if you do not have my cell phone or email and I will get in touch with you! 

Only 1 left

GONE, sorry

CHANGES - Impulsive or maybe not - we have been moving in this direction for a while

For the casual observer our activities of the last month might appear to be impulsive or manic.  I am not going to list the activities, you can see that on my Facebook page so instead, I am sharing the sequence of events.  AND we may appear to be excited and happy on our Facebook posts.  We are also very very sad to be leaving our town and faith community of 23 years!  Believe me, this move is bittersweet!  It is very hard to think of leaving the house and town where we raised our two children.  There is a lot of love in this house, and we have the memories as we pack up the moving boxes. Here is what Bethany said on Facebook:

In case anyone ever questioned where I get my Do All The BIG Things At Once attitude from, my parents have decided to put their house on the market 8 days before their daughter gets married. Oh, and family is coming to stay for two weeks starting tomorrow. Go Big or Go Home just became Go Big And Sell Your Home. 

On a related note, know anyone looking to buy in Lexington, MA? Perfect house for a family with live-in in-laws. The MLS will tell you all about that. 

But the MLS ttotally missed the real perks: It's on a lot that's perfect for running off the legs of Labrador Retrievers. On a quiet street with a roller coaster hill. 10 minute walk to The Center, which means that during Nor'easters, you can walk to town in your snow suit and be the only family in the restaurant or coffee shop. And, it's been blessed over and over with a whole lot of love (the inside, not the "gardens").

BONUS: Rainbow bedroom that happened when certain parents told a certain 8 year old she could paint it whatever color(s) she wanted, complete with GIRL POWER light switch cover (inspired by the Spice Girls, of course).

— with Rodney Lowe and Sally Russell.
For 8-10 years, since Bethany graduated from high school, I have felt that this house is about double the space that we need in terms of rooms.  That and some heavy heavy winters have caused us to look at townhouses and condos in the Boston area.  We made an offer on one downtown Lexington right before Christmas 2 years ago.  Thankfully we did not get that one, although we were disappointed at the time.  We looked in Woburn, Burlington, Waltham, Arlington, Cambridge, etc.  We always came back to, we love the location of our house, it is one level, and close to downtown and our faith community, First Parish in Lexington.

Things changed this July when we decided to resign our membership from First Parish Lexington and go on a pilgrimage to find a church.  If anyone wants to talk about that decision please contact me and we can have coffee.

We both said, let's look for a UU church in the Boston area and if we don't find what we are looking for, we can come back to First Parish.  In the meantime, we started looking again actively with Bill Scott, who is fabulous by the way!  He showed us some in Cambridge and Somerville about 6 months ago, and he started to get a good sense of what we liked.

The beginning of August we received a letter in the mail from what ended up being our realtor, Joan Skomurski,  who is also terrific, asking AGAIN, if we are interested in selling our house.  I really did not want it to be a tear down, and after viewing our house, she did not feel it would be.  So that day we decided to list it and try to catch the last wave of parents looking for an excellent school system.  People move from India and China for our school system!

Incidentally that was 3 days before our daughter's wedding, and 5 of Rod's English family were visiting.  Our intent was to be vagabonds for a year, and we could always live in Vermont at Coniston.  We looked at a 2200 square foot warehouse in Cambridge, which would have been very complicated.  Our offer was rejected on that one, thankfully.

Right after Bryan and Bethany's wedding and right before we travelled to Colorado for another wedding Bill called and said "I know you are going to Colorado later today, but you have to come see this condo.  It is in final offer stage, and we will have to make an offer today!"  I looked online and knew it was one we would fall in love with.

Needless to say it is just what we have been looking for in terms of openness, loftiness, balcony and close to Boston.  Bethany has gotten us comfortable with the Union Square section of Somerville by living there for almost 2 years with Bryan and their two cats.

So the unit is a 2 minute walk from the extension to the Green Line due to open in 2017, the Washington St station, and from our patio we can see the Boston skyline.  We hope to stay in touch with our Lexington and First Parish friends, after all we are only a 30 minute drive away, there is a great view of Boston, and the loft will be great for entertaining.

I am an open book and make the offer again, to anyone who wants to talk about this, to have coffee.  Be wary of a too caffeinated Sally though!

The Mini was stolen

If anyone has been following our lives on Facebook for the last month it has been very very very full.  I cannot tell you for sure but I think today we reached the brink of craziness.

We were called by our real estate agent at 12:30 that there was a loft unit in Somerville we needed to see. I was bathing in anticipation of our 3pm departure to the airport with our nephew,for his trip back home to Newcastle and our trip to Colorado for a wedding.

Yes, we told him we can get there by 1:15 to see the unit.  We made it by 1:20, spent 20 minutes walking the unit asking quite a few questions, etc.  When the listing agent left, we asked what we would need to get the unit.  He guided us to an offer, we electronically signed it and drove to get a drink to quench our thirst in Winchester on our way home.

I parked right in front of an ice cream shop (this is important to the story) and we walked around the corner to a Starbucks. 20 minutes later at 2:40, we walked out of Starbucks and walked across the street.  Both of us panicked because the Mini was not in front of the Ice Cream shop. There was a fire hydrant and I was pretty sure I had not parked in front of it, but what other reason could there be for its absence?  Someone stole the Mini!

I ordered an Uber to drive me home to get Spencer to drive him to the airport and Rod called 911 and talked to the Winchester Police department.  He described what he was wearing so they would recognize him when they drove us and I waited for the Uber.  At the exact same time we said to each other "This is where we parked the car right?"  In that split second I remembered walking around the corner to Starbucks, versus parking right across the street. I hurried to the adjacent street and indeed there was the Mini, in front of THAT ice cream shop.  We cleared it up with the police, or rather they accompanied Rod to the car and looked at his license and the registration.  I cancelled the Uber and we got in the Mini.

We both laughed all the way home, at ourselves, at our level of stress and the situation. This is why we belong together and why we have stayed together for 28+ years of marriage. So this caused us to slow down a bit and be ready to get to the airport, sign more documents electronically, run reports to prove funds, photocopy a check and wait to hear that we got the unit, which happened exactly 5 hours later at 5:45.  This day will always be known as "The day the Mini was stolen".

A sad Passing yesterday - Mother Moffett

I hear more often of people dying the older I get, but hearing of Bette's death has really struck me deeply. She was such a unique person, and an incredible presence when she walked into the room.

I met Bette when her family bought our house in Brandon, Vermont. They had just moved back from Paris. Mom nicknamed her Mother Moffett. Her son Joe was my boyfriend during most of High School and into my first year of college. He died his senior year of high school, bunting a ball that hit his heart mid heart beat. His death was my first major loss.

After he died, Bette and I did a lot of things together to comfort each other. We saw movies and plays and kept each other company in our grief. When I left home permanently, she was always present when I came back to Brandon and we kept caught up during those times. She became a friend of mine in our shared grief.

Mostly I saw Bette and her husband Hugh, at the tennis courts on our property. Dad and Mom had wonderful parties down at the tennis courts and that group of friends watched over me from teen age years, into adulthood and motherhood. I saw Bette last at a funeral for another one of our family's friend.

I still have letters and cards she wrote to me. They are in the same box as all of the notes and letters that Joe wrote to me. As part of my grief process I am going to go read all of those letters. I tried to find a picture of her today, but could not find one. It is easier in the digital picture stage to store and have pictures. The memories I have of her are in my head and the sound of her voice is clearly stored in my mind.

Bette had one very peculiar behavior. When you talked to her, she never looked you in the eye, she looked at your shoulder and continue talking. It used to freak me out a bit, but later it was charming.

As I watch my parents generation pass away, I face my own mortality. It also allows me some time to revisit who I was in high school, who I was dating her son, and who I was in a small town in Vermont.

So, I imagine Dad and Bette and Hugh and Frank are having a mini-reunion tonight. They are catching each other up and laughing at old stories from the tennis court days. Hugh has his orange broom ball sneakers on, Dad is smoking a cigarette and listening to everyone, Frank is laughing as only Frank did, and Bette is staring at their shoulders and catching them up on Brandon news. If only I believed in Heaven it would be easier, but I do believe in Heaven for them to be able to have this reunion.

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2 Different Graduation experiences

Two weeks ago, I attended two graduations.  One for the ESL leaners at the non-profit in Waltham, WATCH, where I mentor a woman from Guatemala in English, and another at Mary Baldwin in Staunton Virginia.  PEG is the acronym for the Mary Baldwin program, Program for the Exceptionally Gifted.  My friend's daughter just graduated from there.

I was struck by the wide differences these two programs support.  WATCH is for immigrants in the Waltham area, to learn to speak English, to find housing and jobs and to be supported as they arrive from other countries.  The celebration was a potluck and the variety of ethnic dishes was incredible.  We ate first, then had the ceremonies where graduates spoke about what the programs meant to them.  Many of them came from a second job, or came in between jobs to attend the ceremony in the basement of a church.  They brought their relatives, and were so proud.  After that, they put on some music and danced.

The PEG ceremony consisted of 17 graduates.  Each graduate, and the professor of their choice, stood up in the front of the room and the professor spoke about the student.  Most of these young women were barely 18, and were graduating from college already having achieved much in their short college years and were on their way to keep achieving in graduate school and beyond into work.

I cannot say which group of graduates were prouder.  Neither graduation was better than the other.  They were just very different experiences. 

I wonder though if some of those immigrants in their native program would be qualified to go to a PEG like program in their native country?  They come to the US with hopes for a better life, and often their life is better here.  They really work hard to learn English, and get jobs to support their extended families.  They mow our lawns, clean our houses and take care of our elderly in nursing homes. 

A simple graduation in a church basement in Waltham, or one on a hill of a beautiful campus in rural Virginia are both important to mark and celebrate achievements.  This is the time of year that we recognize those events and celebrate, no matter what you have just completed.

It is Official, we are NOT moving

The last few months have been uncertain for sure, in that Rod's job was moved to Raleigh NC. This was officially announced the end of March. The rumors were swirling for a few months before that.

We spent this past weekend there on a "house hunting" trip which was lovely. Fidelity put us up in a 5-star hotel, fed us very well, had management staff present at receptions to schmooze with and encouraged us to take whatever time looking around that we needed.

The great part about this decision is that we do not have a BAD decision. We would be well compensated if we moved.  On the other hand, because of Rod's age and tenure, we will also be well compensated if he stays to the end of the project, September 2013.  At that point he leaves Fidelity after almost 25 years, with a very generous severance and retention bonus.

We always said we wanted to retire at 55. I loved my job so worked until 56.5 and Rod will be a similar age in 2013 when he leaves Fidelity.

Our interest was peaked as we both love an adventure, and that is how we viewed moving there for a couple of years. Financially it did not make sense to be disrupted. In the process of this decision, we realized that we have never had to prepare a house to sell. The thought of removing all of the clutter from this house was enough for me to stay here, but I would have done that if we had decided to move.

So, we will remain in our house, and stay with our community and my family, and we will search elsewhere for an adventure.
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Empty Nesting

Yesterday was the day that reality struck! It was not the day that Bethany moved out since she moved out the day before and that was happy and sad at the same time. No yesterday, Shakes the wonder cat moved to his new flat. He thought he was going on the 3.5 hour trip to Coniston, which is the usual trip in the car we take with him. He settled in on Bee's lap and was cleaning his paws when we pulled up on the street outside her new apartment. Head popped up, incessant meowing as we climbed the two flights, but I digress. ........


I think we have been partial empty nesters a few times before, but this time is for real. She has her own flat, she found it herself, and we will have to call her up to schedule time to see her.

In the last week, I realized I want to see her regularly so I suggested she could still come do her laundry here. Of course I gave her a mixed signal when I asked her if she wanted a small container of laundry detergent.

It has been a while since someone moved out permanently from our house. Chris moved out during college some time. That move out was not so clearly defined as this one. He was in college living in his frat, and stayed there after graduating, since his job was in Burlington, Vt.

So yesterday when I got back to the house, I vacuumed the cat hairs up from the carpet, cleaned out the front closet, mopped the kitchen floor and kept myself pretty busy.

I will miss having them both around. As much as I say I don't like cats, Shakes is different. He is more like a dog in that he greets you when you come in the front door, and wants cuddles, some times.



Bethany has been a joy to have around the house, in the snippets of her busy life that we have shared over the last four years since she went to college. She has cooked us lots of meals, organized the cabinets and fridge, and in general been a wonderful young adult with us. I am going to miss those snippets, and seeing her most every day. So it will be important to have "laundry" visits, and for me to have "Shakes" visits so I get my fix.

Yes, Virginia, we are empty nesters. Why then are we both thinking of getting a dog? HMMMM?

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Bee's Buzz around the World

Bee's graduation from Long Island University/Global College(LIU) was this past Thursday. It was a glorious sunny day. The morning ceremony was the pomp and circumstance portion of the day. In the afternoon all 20 students from Global College presented aspects of their senior thesis, to their friends and family. It is amazing what these 20 young people have done already in their short lives.

For her graduation I made the quilt in this photo. It is titled "Bee's Buzz Around the World". The color of the background represents the saffron color of the monks' robes. The peace flags are the 5 countries she studied in. The picture is of her at a meditation retreat with Burma in the background. The world picture has the logos from the two colleges that she attended, appliquéd on the picture of the world. The pewter bees are from Danforth pewter, a Vermont company. The elephant is a print from a linoleum block that Bee made in girl scouts in 5th grade. Elephants have been a theme in her life forever. I recently learned how to make a block print, and on the back of the quilt are two blackbirds. Blackbirds are the mascot of LIU.


It was a cathartic exercise to design her wallhanging in the weeks before her graduation. The time flew by and she packed a lot into 4 years. She made some lifelong friends at both Hampshire and Global College. She grew academically and personally. She learned to be more flexible, and she confirmed what it is she will contribute to the world. She buzzed the world, and spent the last five months in Brooklyn finishing her BA, while learning to navigate the NYC area.

Her internship was at a Friends agency in Newark, which focuses on immigrants' rights.

Stay tuned as she lives out her values in whatever she chooses to do. I am one proud mama.
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Lake Champlain flooding - and our afternoon checking it out

Murg and I just drove around the Champlain Islands looking at the impact of the worst flooding of Lake Champlain ever. Last night at 9:30 pm, when we drove across the route 2 causeway, it was one lane and we drove through up to 8 inches of water at some points. In the middle I said "I wish you were driving" to which he said "me too" and I got mad at him, but not really.

We rode our bikes down there today in the day light and took some pictures which will be posted in the future. Later we decided to go out again to buy a dessert wine at Snow Farm (yummy) and to visit the Green Frog for the first time this season. We were both in a wandering kind of mood, which drives Bee crazy, but suits the two of us fine. We then drove to the Grand Isle Ferry to see what damage had been done there, continued to Hero's Welcome in North Hero, which had just closed for the day. We continued to Alburgh, and bought ourselves a treat and caffeine to keep us awake. On to Rouse's Point, and then south to where the main street in Plattsburgh is closed because of flooding. We stopped at Gus's for a Michigan Red Hot, and then home via the Plattsburgh to Grand Isle Ferry. Mind you, our initial trip was for wine, and gift shop shopping.

This is why we are happily married. We both love to go with the flow, a tiny bit of planning and open to different suggestions along the way.

We laughed earlier in the day about our different learning styles and how different we are in general. This always precedes the conversation where we marvel once again that we found each other 26 years ago this week!

The flooding is horrific. Some summer camps are totally flooded, and some primary residences are totally flooded. Coniston looks out on more lake water and there is more water in the lawn out front, but we are lucky. At one point today I flashed back to winter blizzards where I long to be snowed in. I would not mind being flooded in here for a short period of time. I love to be nestled in with no place to go.

It is the calm before the storm you might say, as we look forward to Brooklyn and Bee's college graduation, England to see family, friends and meet two great nieces, 35th college reunion at Middlebury and then Alliance Nebraska for memorial service for Uncle Chuck. This is all in the next month. Why is May/June always so crazy?
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Since you asked- my retirement so far

Many people have asked me "How is retirement?" and I to their question i ask "What is not to like about this?"

I reflected on my walk today about how it is going. I have re-joined the YMCA and am going to yoga at least three times a week. Every other day I lift weights and every day I do some cardio, so I am taking care of myself in the exercise arena.

I have a few regular groups that I attend, knitting, quilting, beading and a women's group so I am taking care of myself in the social arena.

I have read at least 15 books which is a huge increase. I often walk to the library to read the daily newspaper.

I am over halfway scanning our 80 boxes of 35MM slides and syncing them to my iPad.

We only eat out once a month so I am cooking lots of healthy food, and not so healthy food, but good anyway, e.g. Cornmeal biscotti.

My sewing machine has been very active, and my sewing room has about 5 current projects laid out.

I have some great trips planned, Brooklyn this weekend to spend Easter with Bee, England to meet two great nieces in May, Nebraska in June for Uncle Chuck's memorial service, General Assembly in Charlotte in June and two weeks on Star in July. Most of these I might have done anyway, but it feels like I can do them since I am retired.

Mostly, I am more relaxed, am taking better care of myself, and I am really happy. I am just a wee bit anxious about not making money.

There are down sides. I miss the people at Intuit. I miss the company and the people there. That is about it.

I am re-inventing myself and what my answer is to "What do you do?"

I am getting trained to be a tutor for WATCH in Waltham and am narrowing down other places to put my energy.

How would I be able to work with all these trips and all these groups?

Life is very Good to me!


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Make the trip Now and floods of happy memories

We went two years ago to a mini reunion in Nevada to visit my deGanahl cousins. There was not a critical mass but after hearing that my Uncle Chuck died on Sunday I am so thankful we made that trip.

Daddy and Uncle Chuck with their wives, Mom and Auntie Pat bought the Lazy EH Ranch in 1954. In fact they closed on the ranch the day I was born, at least that was the story I was told. We grew up with the 5 deGanahl cousins on the ranch until 1965, when we moved away to Vermont and they continued to ranch it until it was sold a few years ago.

Daddy and Uncle Chuck learned how to ranch from other ranchers in Yampa, who called them the "kids". They worked and played together very well, and shared a lot of wonderful personality traits as well.  Chuck's granddaughter said "generous" on her facebook yesterday about him.  She is right on.

From my perspective, they were both quiet, gentle men, who knew what people needed and quietly put that in place to then watch others enjoy.  They never wanted the credit, they just wanted to watch others enjoy.  Two years ago, during our visit, Uncle Chuck heard me remark about the rosemary in front of their house, and the next day he had cut loads of rosemary and put a paper towel around it, in a plastic bag, for me to take home.  Daddy every Christmas would go downstairs, light the tree and then let us run down to see the miracle of Santa Claus.  He would be quietly sitting, grinning in the corner, sipping his coffee, as he watched our eyes light up, and observed us playing with the new toys.  They were both quiet and thoughtful, and unassuming, and very very very bright.

I have been on a 35mm slide scanning binge, so as soon as I heard about Uncle Chuck, I started scanning the pictures from Mama's (Chuck and Mom's mother) 90th birthday celebration, which was the last happy large gathering. The next unhappy large gathering was when Daddy died in 1995.  The picture of Daddy and Uncle Chuck from the 90th is out of focus, but the focus of the pixels is not what matters.
The deGanahl family for those years in Colorado, were our best friends. We lived 7 miles from Yampa, a town of 200 people, down a dirt road on a ranch at 8000 feet in the Rockies. I always say it is as close to heaven as you can get. We played and worked and grew up together. 

Seeing some of the deGanahls cousins, two years ago was lovely.  Unfortunately, the gathering for Uncle Chuck's service soon will be because of his loss, and there will be more of us present for that.

I for one, commit to seeing more of them more for happy occasions, in addition to the inevitable unhappy ones.

Cannot live without a furry beast around the house!

People who know us well, know that our beloved Qammi and brilliant Autumn died last year. It was a sad sad year for animals in the Russell/Lowe/Swartzbaugh house. We have had an animal in the house or barn since 1987 when I snuck the first little kitty into the house under the nose of my new husband. I knew he would not go for a dog, although that came 2 years later. At one point we had 3 cats, a dog and a horse.

Since December, every time I drive up the street, I expect a brown nose to be poking out from under the shade, to greet me. This week we are taking care of two rambunctious dogs and I realized that I MUST HAVE AN ANIMAL around the house.

Concurrent with this, Bee returns from Turkey on May 2nd and we were thinking of a welcome home gift for her. When we had squirrels in the winter, one solution on Murg's facebook entry was to have a cat. Bee asked recently on Skype "Now, that the squirrels are gone are you still considering a cat?"

So all of these forces of nature are coming together and on May 3rd we will be making a trip to the pound to choose a kitty. I don't want this kitty to scratch my furniture, so Bee's solution is to buy a scratching post, take it to the pound and see which feline is attracted to it.

This is her cat BTW, and as soon as she has an apartment where she can keep the cat either legally or illegally (2 bunnies lived illegally in her dorm room last year at Hampshire and then lived at our house last summer. I would rather have a cat than bunnies!), then it leaves 22 Hayes Lane for greener pastures, or apartments as the case may be.

The times they are a changin'

WOW, wasn't yesterday just about the most exciting day in a long time!!!!!!

Every move that Obama makes, convinces me that my vote was a good one on November 4th. Seeing him tonight on the news, as he sits at his desk in the oval office.

SO this is what if feels like to respect the person in the White House. I have never in my adult life respected someone so much. Clinton's first was close but his second was eroding.

I have been saying for a while, that we all need to get involved to make this administration successful, and he is going to hold us accountable to get involved. So how am I going to get involved? What is my passion?

On Monday, the day of volunteering, Bethany and I went to the Children's Room. They have a great mission and a non-profit like that could get me involved. Empowering youth and women are definitely my passions.

WOW, watching the news while writing this. Obama is in a shirt. Bush had a rule that you had to have a suit jacket on in the White House and Air Force 1. I am definitely liking this. How about Jeans?

This is an exciting time, and with the economic news, a scary time as well. What can I do right now to help out?

Respect for the White House, . . . this feels like a really great time to be an American.

drum roll please . . .

The excitement is definitely building toward next Tuesday. I just heard from a work mate that she just has to be there along with 4 million others. I am sure this is going to break records for viewers.

Did anyone even watch the last 2 inaugurations? I watch Clinton's first with some excitement but not like this.

I have not watched one with so much excitement since 1961. I cannot remember if we had a TV in Colorado by then, but I do remember we left our elementary school to go watch it, and then lots of months later, we watched the funeral.

Again, I repeat myself, but we all need to help Obama be successful. I am going to try to help out with the medical system reform, and green energy. Shall I take on world hunger at the same time? Once I finish this post I am going to put some action oriented to-dos around these two on my to-do list. For those of you who doubt that I have one, MURG, check my blackberry.

Yes, Tuesday is going to be very exciting. The TVs will be on in our lunchrooms at work for people to watch this incredible day. I cannot wait, and I am really enjoying all of the build up to this one.

Change and reflecting

On one of our VERY cold walks yesterday at Burlington, VT first night we had yet another Myers Briggs conversation. I don't like to spend much time alone, in fact in my extreme state of mind I would say NO TIME ALONE. As I sit here on New Year's Day and no one is up yet I thought about this time I often have when no one is up yet. A part of me is waiting for someone to get up to talk to. A part of me cleans up loose ends to start the day and a very little tiny part of me, sits back and enjoys this time alone. Mostly, I wait for someone to stir and get up.

With the New Year, I thought of changing the appearance of my blog, but why change something that works and is recognizable. I added a new quote today but only because the old quote was just that OLD and it is New Years Day after all.

So today I make the resolution to use a mug for coffee and drinks rather than use throw away stuff. I might need a belt clip to put my travel mug on or a camping one that collapses put in my handbag.

Last night was interesting. I needed to connect with our family traveling in Egypt and I did that via text. Rod was late connecting with England 2:45 am their time, CLS called just as he and Meg were going into Grace Potter and Mom called me at 10pm as we were leaving Burlington VT to go home and watch the fireworks from our very warm loft. Lots of extended family were touched in one way or another and some of the rest are helping us continue our First Foot tradition at Coniston. Only Ted and Margaret will need a phone call later today.

I did not write this yet but it is a true Sallyism. Tuesday night as I needed to kill some time before I picked Miss Amy up, I went to the Library. Truth be told, I needed to use their bathroom, but while I was there I decided to browse the recent returned fiction. That is the closest section to the bathroom. In that section was "Death on the Nile" and I grabbed it. What you need to know is that our traveling family got on a cruise of the Nile today their time. Why was that book there? Why did I chose to use the bathroom and browse for 30 seconds the recently returned fiction books? Why did I grab the book and think is some way that someone put that book there for me? I have never read it, so what an opportunity.

Typical blog, typical early morning basking in the recently appearing sun over Camel's Hump. Onto mugs and sub zero winter days in Vermont.

Life is Good

Each day I count my blessings and it is probably trite at this time of year, but I found myself doing it again today. We have a wonderful new house in Vermont, all of my extended family are well. My son is newly engaged and my daughter is on the trip of a lifetime with her aunt, uncle and 2 cousins. I LOVE MY JOB, in case you have not caught that in the tone of Intuit blog posts. I do have friends who are going through tough times; cancer, divorce, estrangement from family, deaths. Who knows why we are dealt the hand we are dealt? Who or what gave cancer to one and not another?

At times like this I always wait for the other shoe to fall. I wait to have some hand dealt to me that it hard to handle. But for now, I count my blessings, and look forward to the New Year with anticipation and reluctantly say good-bye to this one. It has been a very good year.

Milestone achieved

So yesterday was Crick's birthday and he asked his girlfriend of 5 years to marry him and she said YES. It seems like the perfect timing for them. I have felt since I met Meg and saw them together for the first time, that they are perfect for each other and belong together. She beats him at video games, loves playing games as much as he does and they often launch into dialogue from a movie. I am usually clueless about the movie since I don't remember details, but they have their own private laugh about the movie dialogue and I love it. They share a lot of the same values and want the same kind of important things in life. Needless to say, as a parent I could not be happier. One can only hope for your child to be happy in their marriage and to marry someone who you know makes them happy.

This is the first engagement in the Russell/Swartzbaugh family of the next generation of cousins.

I love all of the reactions from my siblings but the best is from my sister. "Another girl, Sal"

Post Election thoughts

And this is why I love my husband, he wrote this email on November 5th to our kids:

"Crick, B,
1. I'm starting my citizenship papers tonight, since a pretty good number of you Americans have fended off what was starting to look like a fundamentalist Christian government.
2. That's largely due to a large number of young voters like you coming forward to take the country in a new direction and that can only bode well for future elections. Those over 64 are one of the few demographics that stuck with McCain and they will start to die off with ever increasing frequency. You young folks will shift the balance if you stick with it.
3. Just in time, we are going to have a president who can restock the Supreme Court with younger progressive judges to replace the older ones who will retire (as they surely will during his first term). With any luck he may need to replace one of the older judges of the opposing persuasion.
4. The resounding victory has given him some pretty good coat tails, that leaves other legislators indebted to him somewhat, while they helped sweep others out of power. So all of his initiatives should have a "relatively" easy passage.
5. I will be able to listen to a presidential State of the Union, or other public message without cringing or being embarrassed.
6. I can look forward to:
*A better Supreme Court
*An economic fix to our current problems, based in reality, Recognizing that a huge deficit means me and my older compatriots are passing on our debts to you two and others of your age group
*A stimulus package that shifts large parts of the economy towards addressing the crisis of climate change and rotting infrastructure
*A healthcare system that becomes a civic right rather than a profit center
*Civil discourse within our country, strong accords with our partners overseas, and even a dialogue with those who the current administration has demonized

Of course its not all a rosy picture, but I'll save that for after the inauguration speech, when its clearer what "change" #44 is talking about.

With love - Rod, Dad "

I am also attaching a youtube video that was taken at B's college after the election winner was announced (the screaming OMG is my daughter, honestly she makes me so proud):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pe_aI7bSK4

My most pressing thoughts right now are how we make sure Obama is successful. We were all with him all along the way and supporting him so we cannot let our foot off the pedal now. We have to act and press on to make sure we overcome and win.

This is an amazing time, and a scary time. The alternative to Obama would have been a lot more scary.

Press on . . .