Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

 I've been having a heck of a time with internet connection here so hopefully I can get this to post.  I have been reading as many blogs as I can but not always commenting as it take so long to upload anything.  So if you don't see my note, that doesn't mean I haven't stopped by.  Sometimes it's a dropped connection that makes my comments not post but at any rate, hope you all know how much I appreciate reading about your adventures even if I can't always get a comment to post.  Take care.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the wonderful foods and friends and family that you can handle!

This is a weird holiday for us this year.  First one in many, many years that we have not been with family.  We just thought we would try something different and see how it works.  I am so thankful that most of my family is in Oregon and we can see them all often. 

I made enchiladas, beans, and rice for our Thanksgiving feast and we had it Wednesday evening.  If we feel like it, on Thanksgiving Day we are going to take off and go see some of the sights around the area.  Might even go as far as Borrego Springs.  We figure most folks will be hunkered down over a turkey so we will have the roads all to ourselves (yeah, right!).  So we’ll see what happens.

Today we went to visit some old friends of ours…old in the sense that we have known them for a long time, not that they are as old as we are!  Gary and Charlotte are Senior Pastors at Christian Center here in Desert  Hot Springs.  We got to see them last summer when they came through Oregon so we wanted to touch bases while we are here.  Had a wonderful visit in their beautiful home and then they were on their was to spend Thanksgiving with their kids in Fresno.




Russ got a nice picture of the sky this morning with the jet trails adding their streaks to the wispy clouds overhead.


Well, it’s Thanksgiving and while I enjoy the holiday and the sentiment, I wish that we could remember everyday what we have to be thankful for.  It’s easy to become discourage and even bitter about the economy, politics, family issues, poverty, occupiers…you name it, we can find a negative to worry about.  But what is more important is to search for that little nugget of positivity that can be found in almost every situation. 

I consider myself blessed, not only because I live and travel in a place that I love, but because of the blessings that we may forget to acknowledge on a day to day basis.  I am thankful for my kids and their spouses and my grandkids.  I am thankful for my wonderful siblings and their extended families.  I am thankful that I have a wonderful husband, and that he has family that I love as my own.  I am thankful for friends.

I am thankful for love and acceptance, both to give and to receive, without judgment.  I am thankful that I still have the faith of a child and can believe in what I cannot see with my eyes.  Yes, I believe in God and my faith sustains me when all else fails.  For that I am thankful.  May I never outgrow the simplicity of belief. 

Happy Thanksgiving All and may we be truly thankful, not just today, but every day.  God Bless.

Friends New and Re- Newed

This has been a good week for visits.  On Monday, Barbara and Katie from Me and My Dog came over for a visit.  We sat in the backyard and talked for quite a while and then gave Barbara a tour of Therapy.

We had such a great visit.  It was like we have known each other for a long time rather than just meeting for the first time a few days ago.  I kept my dogs in the house because I was worried they might scare Katie.  Finally I brought Rusty out and Katie was ready to take him on!  She must weigh all of about 8 lbs. but she was not going to let this big dog get away with anything.  Rusty just looked at her and kinda jumped back a little bit.  I don’t think he knew quite what to make of her.  He wandered around the yard a bit and finally decided he couldn’t find a dog to play with so went back in the house.  It was pretty funny seeing Katie stand her ground with him.

A few years back I ran across an old friend on Face Book.  We were all on staff at one time at our local church and school.  The church had a full k-12 school with about 200 students.  Russ was the business administrator of the church and school, I taught reading part-time, Gary was both a teacher and an associate minister and Charlotte worked with the music program.  She has one of the most beautiful alto voices I have ever heard and I would love to hear her sing again.

The school eventually closed after several years, and we all moved on to different paths in our lives.  Gary and Charlotte moved to Southern California and were associate ministers in a church in El Centro for 18 years.  For the past 10 years they have been senior pastors at a church in Desert Hot Springs.  Now where have I heard of that place before LOL??

A few months ago Charlotte sent me a message that they would be in Eugene this summer.  Today was the day they arrived.  We picked up two very weary travelers from the Amtrak Station.  Pastor Gary is a very tall man and they had both had trouble feeling comfortable in the itty bitty bunks that serve as beds on the train.  We had lunch and then took them to their hotel where they had a nice nap.

This evening we drove around to all the old places they remembered.  We went past the old church and there was someone there to let us in.  How nice to see how things had changed but yet it all still looked familiar.  We laughed and talked about all the things we remembered, like leaky roof and security alarm calls in the middle of the night.  We remembered old friends and students and picnics and potlucks.



We talked about how Gary’s office was here and Russ’s office was there and the nursery used to be here and on and on we went.  Oh the memories!

Then we went to my favorite pizza place on the river for dinner.  It doesn’t even matter that their pizza is NOT the best in Eugene…it’s on the river and there is outside seating.  With good friends to enjoy it with, what more could anyone ask for?



Then we visited the Oregon Duck Shop at the mall.  Charlotte is an Oregon native and since living in Eugene, they are both  Duck fans.  They are meeting some relatives tomorrow who are also Duck fans and wanted to get them a little remembrance.  We even had fun at the mall!



Did I mention we haven’t seen or talked to these dear friends in almost 30 years?  Yet it was as if the years were rolled back like the clouds after a spring rain.  The warm glow of our friendship was still there, hiding behind the clouds,  after all these years.  I was reminded of the Michael W. Smith song, “Friends".”  It was certainly fitting tonight.  Thank you Gary and Charlotte for the gift of your friendship and for allowing us to re-new our acquaintance.

Gary and Charlotte, this is for you.  Corny, I know, and perhaps a little dated…just like me, but sincerely meant!

Meeting New Friends

We had the pleasure to have breakfast this morning with Doug and Sue from B.C., Canada.  . We met at the Original Pancake House in Eugene and had a wonderful time just visiting.  The food was great as always and no one left hungry.  Doug and Sue are just as friendly and easy to talk to as this photo suggests.  We are so glad we had the opportunity to meet them.




We also got to meet Tucker and what a beautiful dog he is.  Very well mannered and sweet as can be.  Here are Sue and Doug and Tucker preparing to hit the road for their journey to the Oregon Coast.  Hope they don’t encounter any more problems like they ran in to on I-5 this morning, but I’ll let Sue tell you all about that.



  Sue and Doug also got to say hello to Poppy.  Rusty decided to stay home and no amount of coaxing could convince him to get into the car this morning.  He wanted to stay home and so we let him.
As you can see from the photo, we actually had SHADOWS today…and you know what that means…SUNSHINE!  It turned out to be a beautiful day in Eugene, the kind we have been waiting for all spring.  Looks like summer may have arrived.


We spent some time on the deck, just enjoying the warm and sunny weather.


The sun was shining so brightly that I could not get the proper shutter exposure on Russ without overexposing the rest of the shot WAAAY beyond the bounds of being corrected.  That’s okay – it was the photo of Russ that I wanted.

We went to the bookstore this afternoon about 3:00p,  and that may not have been a real good choice.  Seems like everyone was getting a head start on the weekend and the traffic was backed-up both in front…



…and behind.


We do have our “rush minutes” in Eugene but they usually occur from about 5:00p to 5:30p.  Didn’t take us long to get through but some folks were getting a little impatient.  I prefer to stay home on holidays and do my traveling when traffic is lighter.

To all my Canadian friends:  Happy Canada Day.  Have a fun filled and joyous weekend.

To all my USA friends:  Have a safe and sane 4th and travel safe if you are on the roads this weekend.