Read All About It

The house is under contract! We close on June 11 and that seems impossibly close. We are going through farewell rituals now, not knowing when and if we will be back to Missouri.
Logan went to the Jr/Sr Prom Saturday night as a goodbye to Ozark High School since he will be graduating from high school in California next year. He will graduate with kids from his attend kindergarten through second grade years. I wonder how many of them he will remember.

Going to the prom was a last minute decision. He bought a jacket the afternoon of the dance because he needed one large enough to fit around his back brace. I think he looks pretty sharp. He went stag but joined up with some kids to go out for something to eat after. It's very hard for me to let him go, but he's very considerate of my anxiety and reports in frequently.

Tonight I attended what is most likely my last meeting of my book club. I think I've belonged to this group for about three years and have really enjoyed the company of a bunch of interesting women. And of course, the books, the food, and the wine. Here we are at Cathy Gearing's house. It was very well attended. I know Martha Swick didn't make it and maybe someone else can think of others who were missing. Here we are at the end of the meeting where we talked about Mary Coin  by Marisa Silver. It's a novel based on a depression-era photograph taken by Dorothea Lange. Here's the iconic photograph:

And here we are:

I will miss these ladies!

Party On!

 Last night I crossed an item off my bucket list. I had never had Dom Perignon before and I was determined to have it for my 75th birthday. Friend Sharon thought that sounded like a fine idea and suggested a small group of my friends pitch in to buy a bottle and celebrate with me. Well, it sounded like a good idea, but I wasn't too keen on sharing a single bottle with a group of people, so I offered to buy a bottle if the group also bought one. And to sweeten the pot as it were, I had a very fine bottle of Veuve Cliquot on hand, a gift from Lindsay for helping her edit work for her masters degree.
The group also contributed some yummy food to complement the bubbly.

 Sue Walker takes her turn pouring a glass for herself.

 With fierce concentration, Sharon takes her turn. Not a drop was spilled.

 And then the bottle was passed to Molly who has a death grip on the neck of the bottle.

 I didn't think Lindsay would care too much for champagne. I was wrong.

 Andra also said she didn't think she would like it, so she brought a backup bottle of white zin. She never opened the zin and she learned something new about herself.

 Cheers, ladies!

Three bottles and about three hours later, this is how we looked. We felt fine! The wine was wonderful, the food was great and the company fabulous. Now I have to figure out how to celebrate my 80th birthday.

Obligatory, Late, and Final Dogwood Report

This year's photo of my Dogwood tree's blossoms is ten days later than usual for a couple of reasons. Spring is about two weeks later than usual and my enthusiasm is waning. But, here it is:

I had the tree severely pruned last fall, all the lower branches which were beginning to obstruct the walkway have been removed, so the tree now has a taller, thinner aspect than a typical dogwood. Here's a link to last year's picture taken ten days earlier. Notice in last year's April 18 picture the tree is already in leaf. This year, ten days later, the leaves are just beginning to appear. It's been a long snowy winter for this part of the country.

My enthusiasm is waning because in my heart, we have moved back to California.  We will be leaving on June 20, nine weeks from tomorrow. Logan will be travelling to Europe June 2-16 and as soon as he returns, catches his breath, and does his laundry, we'll be on the road. So much to do before that time! So much stuff to sort through and get rid of. So much packing and planning. So much overwhelm!

Logan has started a regimen of walking to build up his endurance for the trip. He is very determined to be able to participate fully. I'm excited for him. I think he has my wanderlust. While he's gone, I plan a quick trip to Charleston, South Carolina. South Caroline is the only state I haven't visited, so I want to check off one more item on my bucket list. Tomorrow evening I'm checking off another item. I'll report more on that next time.

Moving On

Logan and I will be moving to California this summer.We will be living in an apartment in El Dorado Hills to be near Colleen, Valery, friend Lisa, brother Rick and his wife, Kathy, Ben, and probably lots of other folks I forgot to mention. Logan will be able to finish high school with some of the kids he started kindergarten with/ He looks forward to trying his hand (feet?) at snowboarding with Danny as teacher. I am looking forward to the end of home ownership responsibilities.
So, that means I'm going to be very busy selling, trashing, and packing. I expect the new place will be around 1,000 square feet with no garage,, going down from 4,500 square feet with a three car garage. Big changes, welcome changes. Somehow, we'll bring it off.
Logan is healing well, although we are both suffering mightily from cabin fever. He is too old (and so am I) to be spending so many hours with me. It's exhausting and grueling for both of us.

School Daze

Logan returned to school for a few hours yesterday. He took a big nap when he got home. Today we went back to the school and met with the counselors to decide how to get him caught up. He will probably continue attending as his strength allows and fill in with homebound instruction. He was very pleased to get his computer back today. It survived the accident with only a shattered screen which has since been replaced.
Today is Colleen's last day here. I will miss her, she made a lot of progress with those of us mired in emotional quicksand. Tomorrow Valery arrives to spend a few days. It will be very comforting to see her as well.
Logan enjoys getting out and about and is tired of lying around on the couch. Today we went to Lambert's (Home of Throwed {sic} Rolls). I hate that place but going there is a right of passage for visitors. Tonight we will go to the school play "Mulan." Aunt Krista Cronin is doing the makeup for the performance and I'm eager to see her creativity in action.
These reports on Logan's progress are kind of dull and smack of "How I Spent My Summer Vacation,"type essays, bereft of any demonstration of writing skill, but I know there are several of you concerned about Logan's progress and I want to keep all of you in the loop. So look forward to several more days of simple factual reporting.

Annual Report

November 8 is picture day for the dogwood. The two pictures above were taken today. The one below is from last year. The light was much better for this year's shot, but I also think the tree is prettier than it has ever been. For earlier years, see last year's blog entry. The tree is getting a little big for the spot where it is planted. It's time for me to move so I don't have to face any hard decisions regarding its future.

And sew on. I finished this quilt a couple of weeks ago after nearly four years of off and on work on it. The piecing is elaborate, but the quilting is amazing. It was quilted by the talented long-arm quilter, Ivyonn Galloway. I tried to get a picture of the whole quilt in one frame, but it's too big for anyplace in the house. When I took it outside and laid it down on the driveway, the wind kept picking it up.

Inside the outer plain border is a pieced border of flowers and baskets.

Further in is a border of loosely attached triangles, not quite prairie points, but something like them. Inside the triangles is a stepped checkerboard surrounding the inner pieced sampler blocks (below). The rest of the pictures are intended to show the quilting detail. Click on the photos to get a larger view and see the stitching more clearly.

I really like this beige tonal king-sized quilt, but although I stitched the blocks together, I have no real artistic ownership. The fabric choices, the design, and the gorgeous quilting were all the work of others. My contribution is no more significant than a careful paint-by-the-numbers rendition. I feel more deeply attached to quilts  I have a greater artistic investment in. I think that's why I like the scrappy quilts best. I make them up as I go along. And I have so many scraps!

Autumn in the Ozarks

On Friday, November 1, I at last took the drive along the back way to Eureka Springs. I've been trying to get around to it since early this summer when I went to the Opera in the Ozarks and noticed several spots which were photo ops in the waiting. Fall colors were peaking last week and I knew if I didn't hurry, all I would see is gray, wintry vistas. Autumn in the Ozarks is splendid. Not to be compared with New England's display of homogeneous forests that set hillsides ablaze, the Ozark color is more of a calico variety due to the mixed nature of the hardwood forests. Breathtaking in their own right, but difficult to capture with a camera. You've just got to be there. 

The view above is approaching a bridge crossing Table Rock Lake. I stopped at a wide spot to take a picture and came face to face with a sign that said, No Trespassing, No Exit, No Turn Around. Sorry, I didn't mean to cause trouble, but I did either have to turn around or stay there forever. So scofflaw that I am, I put the car in reverse, turned around, and crossed the bridge.

 This building is on the bluff overlooking the lake just beyond the bridge. I'm not sure what it is, some kind of commercial enterprise, but I couldn't read the sign. It has a magnificent view of the lake, but I was unable to capture both the building and the view without getting out of my car. It did make me remember one of my father's tired old jokes: "People who live in glass houses should undress in the basement." Sad to say, the neighbor of this building is a ticky-tacky settlement of mobile homes of the type all to familiar on the shores of the lakes of the region.

 A bit further along my route, near Blue Eye, Missouri, I was astounded to come upon this development -- the last hurrah of Jim Bakker (of Tammy Faye Bakker fame). He is apparently still holding forth on TV, although I'm not sure if he has an audience, and I certainly hope he doesn't have any pledges. The whole thing is just creepy and pathetic. I followed the road into the mostly undeveloped development until I reached it's terminus.

 The buildings in this congregation outnumber the people I saw that day. It has sort of a ghost town feel. Some of you will remember Sam's Town in Cameron Park just before it was bulldozed. I was immediately reminded of it.

 Leaving Jim's Town, I proceeded toward Eureka Springs and continued to enjoy the splendors of the countryside, until, Eureka!

I at last arrived in Eureka Springs. I ate a hasty lunch at McDonald's without leaving my car and headed for home by way of Berryville.  

At home, I put the finishing touches on my latest quilt, "Stash Hash," a 56" x 64" patchwork of 2,688 pieces.

Doing the Limbo

We are still in limbo, waiting to see whether the sale of our house will go through. It is exasperating and fattening. I spend my days wandering around the house wondering if I should continue packing or start unpacking. In the meanwhile, I dust the tops of the packed boxes lining the walls of every room.

I can't really clean, everything is topsy-turvy, so I am cooking instead -- trying to use up food in the cupboards and freezer. I'm really strapped for cash because of (non) moving costs and paying for two places. Using up food on hand helps conserve grocery money, but it also results in meals of marginal nutritional value: lots of carbs, tortillas, pasta, potatoes and low on fresh fruit and veggies.

I haven't packed my sewing machine, but some of my sewing stuff is already at the other house, so I can do a limited amount of sewing, but not the projects I really want to work on, ones that would make me happy.

Just one more week and I'll know. I will have to pull the plug on the deal if it doesn't close by next Friday.

Ben is also in limbo, but his is a happier place. He has completed his four-week STEP orientation program and is awaiting the official beginning of the fall quarter with first classes on September 26. He'll spend the intervening time at Valery's. Move in date for his new residence hall is September 22. This break required that he move completely out of the room he had been living in, pack up his stuff, shlepp it over to Valery's and then move it back to campus on the move-in date. I'm thankful Valery has been able to help him with this. He is more enthusiastic than ever about where he is and what he is doing and I am even more certain it is the right thing and the right place for him. I sense that he is happy and confident.

Logan's limbo is that zone between being sick and well. He missed two days of school this past week with a cold. He hates to miss school because perfect attendance exempts him from finals. But, he seems to be on the mend today.

I'll try to come up with a happy post next time. Fall is in the air and the weather is perfect, surely that will cheer me up!

Overwhelmed and Losing it, Loosely Wrapped and Unraveling

I have been on the edge of hysteria for at least a week now. Well, that's not entirely true, at least three times I've gone over the edge and plunged into the depths. Life is really complicated right now and it requires lots of planning, coordination, and physical work. I need lots of help and as always, I have a tough time asking for it.
So far, I have blown up at Logan, Steve Maples, and my car. If any of the rest of you come into the line of fire in the next few weeks, please know I appreciate you being there for whatever reason and please know that if I blow up, it's probably about me, not you.

 What's eating me?

• I have to be ready for the movers on Saturday.
• Logan is also overwhelmed with balancing the demands of a job and the rigorous IB program at school. He spends every waking moment he is at home working on his school computer or with his nose in a book.
• Danny's hours limit his availability to help.
• Both boys are never available at the same time, so the two-man jobs aren't getting done.
• Rachel is constantly on my mind and in my heart. Chemo is not easy and she and Kevin have way too many stresses in their lives. 
• My physical strength is very limited. I can do only a small amount of work and then must rest.
• The Maples clan is all absorbed in grieving the loss of Julia's father and attending his funeral on the other side of the state.
• It's been bloody hot.
• I still have tons of sorting, selling, storing, and tossing to do.
• I miss Ben.

On the other hand:

• I'm so looking forward to living in a smaller, more manageable house.
• I can't wait to reduce my inventory of stuff (by sorting, selling, and tossing).
• The weather is pleasant. I don't think I've ever moved when the weather is decent -- it's always been during a terrible storm or a killer heatwave. 
• People are helping me.
• Most of the people I've offended will forgive me.
• This too, will pass.

In the meanwhile, I will practice as many avoidance techniques as I can muster:

• Blogging
• Re-reading a book from my childhood
• Playing solitaire mindlessly

I'm open to suggestions for any other distractions. 

Everything's fine, sort of

It's been hard to post lately because so much is going on, but nothing ever seems to get resolved. Here are some things I promise to write about later:

• Getting Ben off to school: I'm going to California this weekend to move Ben into the dormitory at UC Davis. He begins a four-week orientation program on Saturday and I attend a parent's session all day Saturday. It's going to be a whirlwind trip for me -- leaving home on Friday and returning on Monday. But, I have a feeling I'll be making more than one trip a year in the next few years.
• Health issues of family and friends (I'm fine): Daughter-in-law, Rachel is recovering from surgery. I'll know more after I visit with her next week. High school chum, Linda, has had a very rocky year and I'm wishing her a much improved finish to the year. Grandpa Steve has a nasty skin cancer on his hand that is going to require a lot more digging into. These folks are on my mind every hour of the day.
• Selling my house and moving: My house has sold and it looks like we'll be moving to a rental house within the month. I think I have located a place and if all goes smoothly, I'll announce a new (Ozark) address soon. But, in the meanwhile, I have lots of packing, sorting, selling, storing, and trashing to do. The new place is about one third the size of this house. 
• Quilting: Yes, I'm still quilting. I'll have a post dedicated to that subject before too long. 
• Back to school for Logan: Today is the first day of school for Logan and for the first time, I did not get a back to school photo. I think I'll cheat and get one sometime next week.
• Surprise party for Steve: Grandpa Steve will turn 65 on the 24th and the fam is throwing a surprise party for him. My job is decorations and I think I have it under control. But, with so much going on, it's hard to feel like anything is under control.

More later, gotta pack for tomorrow's trip.

More Circle of LIfe, Backyard Edition

It's only right that Ben provides me with blog material in the next couple of weeks, he leaves for California in just over two weeks! We are busy cleaning out his room, packing stuff for storage and to take. It's very hard. When he's not packing he continues his backyard observations. It's a race against the clock to see if his mantids will hatch before he leaves. He maintains a vigil as rigorous as any found in a maternity ward.

This bunny met his maker just over our back fence where our neighbor grows a vegetable garden. I'm hoping there is no connection between the rabbit's love of fresh vegetables and his demise. We had been watching this bunny make his rounds through the neighborhood over the past few weeks. We would first catch sight of him emerging from a back yard across the street (a yard with a vegetable garden). He would hop across the street, cut across our lawn, spend some time in our raspberry bushes before crawling under the fence to the greater bounty of our neighbor's garden. RIP, little cottontail. At least I'll miss you.

 

And it looks like the backyard biologist is assured of another generation of box turtles. Doesn't she look just a bit perturbed by the camera's intrusion? This photo leaves me with some lingering questions about what goes where and how does it get there, but I'm sure the turtles have it all figured out.

*Photos courtesy  of Benjamin Maples

Fledglings

As Ben got dressed for graduation, I made sure all his accessories were neatly arrayed. The blue gizmo represents the National Honor Society, he also received summa cum laude honors. Valery came all the way from California to share the excitement with us and we had a happy busy week as Ben wrapped up his high school career. Now we begin the countdown until he departs for California. He spends most of his time observing nature close at hand and researching what he has observed.
A nest of robins in our back yard has provided hours of entertainment and education.

These three babies have survived thus far. One of the siblings didn't make it. It fell from the nest three times and Ben put it back twice. The third time, it perished in the fall and became a part of the circle of life as it provided a snack to a large black snake.

 After eating the bird, the snake tried to climb to the nest, but couldn't make it up the posts, so it relaxed for a while before slithering off.

Mama bird waits till the coast is clear so she can feed her babies. Ben also fed an earthworm to the nestlings. 

This fledgling is from a different nest and is just a bit older than the birds under our deck. It seems to have left the nest a bit too soon and isn't able to fly well or high. It jumps along the ground and flutters a bit, but doesn't seem to gain enough altitude to clear the fence. It will no doubt become prey before long.

And finally, a ground beetle Ben found at a local gas station and relocated to our back yard. Ground beetles are generally a good thing, tending to be carnivorous, eating other critters that eat plants.

Ben took all these photos in our back yard and is seriously in need of a better camera, one that is easy to use but is good for close up photos of small things.

The Weeks That Were

Much has happened since my last post: Sister Valery visited for eight days, Ben graduated from high school, and the boys lost their great-grandfather, Arlan Maples. Here's the obit from the local paper:

Arlan C. Maples

Obituary

Arlan C. Maples, 90 years, of Rogersville passed away May 9, 2013. He was born July 1, 1922 in Stone County. He served in the Army and was a veteran of WWII. He was preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Rebecca Maples, five brothers and two sisters, one grandson Steve Maples Jr. and his wife Robin. He is survived by his wife of 66 years Bernice, his son Steve, daughter-in-law Julia, grandson Timothy, granddaughters Casey, Krista and Amanda and many great-grandchildren. Arlan retired from Reyco and enjoyed farming and carpentry. He had a large garden every year and would share his bounty. He and Bernice enjoyed spending time with family, neighbors, and friends. He was a very kind and loving husband, father, and grandfather and will be missed by all who knew him. Funeral is set for 1:00 P.M. Monday, May 13, 2013 at Green Lawn North with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in Green Lawn Cemetery following the service with full military honors. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Springfield Missouri Veterans Cemetery Assistance League. Envelopes for donations will be provided at the funeral home.

Published in the News-Leader on May 12, 201

Arlan entered my life when my daughter Robin, married his grandson in 1995. In my experience he was a gentle, sweet, patient, loyal, and smart man with quiet reserve. His name has been perpetuated as Logan's middle name, and he will live on in the hearts of all who knew him. 

Bittersweet

His high school career is drawing to a close. The past couple of months have been filled with accomplishments and "lasts." Tomorrow is his last academics awards assembly, he hasn't missed one, earning honors every year.  About a month ago, the winter drum line participated in their final performance of the season, receiving the highest marks the Ozark High School Winter Drum Line has received since its inception. He played marimba in a wind ensemble that scored a 1+, the highest possible score in a competition a couple of weeks ago. I have been remiss in flagging these events and accomplishments because I feel paralyzed by my mixed emotions. I am thrilled for all he is and all he has done, and I ache because this pride and joy should have been experienced by his mother.

 Ben has a strong sense of who he is. He loves nature, being in it, reading about it, observing it, even worshiping it. He is gentle, a pacifist to his core. He is an introvert -- one who renews himself in solitude. He is a avid learner and an amazing repository of information, especially about insects!

Part of my avoidance in recognizing that his time living with me is coming to an end, is my failure to purchase senior pictures. I know that those posed portraits would utterly fail to capture the essence of this wonderful person just as a pinned insect specimen destroys the essence of a magnificent creature. The photos on this page are some taken this past week and although you don't clearly see his face in the bottom two, they are much better portraits.

Easter and Many Men

 This will have to be my official birthday portrait this year, I don't think I can get these guys to stand still for a picture all together again. Why do you suppose it's so hard to get them to pose? You'd think it took real effort to stand around trying to look pleasant. And while I'm at it, why do you suppose it's so hard to get them to empty the lint trap in the dryer when they do laundry?

 Julia prepared a nice ham dinner for us on Easter Sunday which we consumed very soon after arriving at noon and then we sat around in a sated soporific state the rest of the afternoon as demonstrated by Logan, Ash, and Nick in the picture above.

Here Jerry and Adam show how it's done. Jerry has reason to be tired. He's been working feverishly to finish his RN program and will graduate in May. He already has a job waiting for him. He started back to school nearly four years ago and has plowed through the program nonstop ever since.  I can't wait to celebrate when he finishes -- imagine how he feels!

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon (until a cold front moved in around 4:00). Not seen in this photo are the women: me, Julia, Krista, Bernice, and Amanda. We're sitting on the porch watching the guys across the yard. I think Steve is refilling his wine glass. It was kind of a small gathering this year, and there were no little kids to hunt Easter eggs. And it may well be Ben's last Easter with the Maples clan for a while. If all goes according to plan, he'll be in California at this time next year.