The Struggle

I wrote a nice, long blog post outlining my current woes and disasters... and then decided to scrap it because, really, it was just all about me, me, me.

And that's not where my focus should be.

Suffice it to say, then, that today I am struggling and that today I feel as though my prayers are bouncing off the ceiling... AND...that today I needed to read this particular post from Joyce's blog From This Side of the Pond. Thank you, Joyce, for finding my blog and leaving a comment so that I could find yours!

- Catherine

Randon Dozen #4 -- the Wednesday meme

Once again, questions courtesy of Lid over at 2nd Cup of Coffee If you want to play along, copy and paste the questions into your own blog (with your own answer, of course). Lid asks that we go to her blog and link ours to hers, using Mister Linky thing-y at the bottom of her own Randon Dozen post.

1. Tell me the absolute best way to watch a movie.
In a mostly deserted theater with a really huge screen. That way you get all the sensory delight of the big screen movie but no annoying talking or kicking or cell phones around you.

2. Do you ever think about your own funeral? If so, do you have specific ideas about how you would like it to be?
Funerals are for the living, and I’ll be past caring by then – so, no, I won’t be picking out clothing or hymns or anything like that. The only thing I want for sure is a headstone in a cemetery (with my full name and dates on it).

3. Are you more of a giver or a taker?
Sadly, I’m probably more of a taker. I wish it were otherwise and it’s something I struggle with regularly.

4. Vacations: planned activities and schedules, or play it by ear?
Play it by ear, baby. That’s why I like to go and stay in one place for a week while we’re on vacation – so there is enough time to see the local attractions without doing so on a schedule. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, as far as I’m concerned – so the “if it’s Tuesday this must be Belgium” kind of vacation doesn’t much appeal to me.

5. What is one often overlooked item in your home that needs to be cleaned regularly?
We have two glider rocking chairs in the living room and I always forget to dust the underneath area where the gliding/rocking mechanism is. And I usually discover my oversight when a guest is quietly rocking away in the one of the chairs.

6. Name a cause that means a lot to you.
Compassion International. It's a Christian organization that works hard to make life on earth better for these kids and also strives to teach them about Jesus Christ (so that life after this earth is also better). You, the sponsor, get to correspond with your sponsored child, and most of the money you give goes directly to support the child.

7. Do you eat a regular old peanut butter jelly sandwich, or do you customize it? And by the way, jelly or no jelly?
I hardly ever eat pbj – it was never a favorite. When I do, it’s usually open faced on toast.

8. If we were having a conversation in person, how would I know if you were nervous?
I wouldn’t smile very much and I’d use REALLY long words.

9. Do you have an elaborate bedtime routine, or just the basics of toothbrushing and jammies?
Well, it’s more than the basics, I guess: Take herbal relaxer, brush teeth, remove makeup, smooth on moisturizer, climb into bed and read at least a page of an entertaining book, and then turn out the light.

10. Have you ever regretted something you wrote on your blog?
No, thankfully.

11. Has anyone ever told you that you look like a famous person or celebrity? Did you agree?
Fifteen (or so) years ago someone said I looked like Meryl Streep. That would be very nice because she is quite beautiful and has aged well -- but I really. don’t. think. so. Sigh.

12. If you were going to dedicate a song to a loved one or friend, what would the song be and to whom would it be dedicated?
To my husband, Tim: “Valentine” (written by Jim Brickman and sung by Martina McBride).

Don't Come

"Don't come," she says. Don't come??? You're taking pain meds and have been in pain for nearly 24 hours straight and you say, "Don't come??????"

"Are you crazy?" I wanted to say. Of course, I didn't.

She IS my mother, after all.

The Uber Planner isn't ready for me to come and stay yet. I reminded her that I wanted to get there before she's so out of it that she can't recognize me. She's pretty sure she'll be able to give me three days' notice before that point arrives (three days being the time it will take for me to drive there).

She said she's not ready for me to take her piano yet because she needs to practice Christmas music. I have no argument for that. Christmas music? I reassured her that I wasn't going to take her piano until it was all over anyway ("I'll be prying it out of your cold, dead fingers, Mom," I joked -- she laughed).

She sees her doctor on Monday and we will talk it over again after that.

Sigh.

Today is a good day for her -- she is pain-free and feels good. But yesterday was one of the worst days she's had yet. And the oral morphine made her sick on top of everything else, so they will have to find a different pain killer that she can take by mouth for now.

A few days ago she said (as I wrote in my blog entry), "With this disease, some days you die and some days you dance." She reiterated that today during our conversation.

It put me in mind of the old English carol, "Tomorrow shall be my dancing day" -- a piece we sang in our high school choir, and which is, arguably, the forerunner of the popular 1970s Jesus Movement song "Lord of the Dance."

Because after Mom dies, she WILL dance again.

As always, stay tuned.....

- Catherine

Still wondering, but getting ready to go.

Mom's not feeling too well today -- in fact, she's been in constant pain since last night. She doesn't like the pain meds, because they make her so sleepy, but it seems as though she doesn't have much choice about it today. The pain has been with her since the middle of last night, and when I spoke to her this afternoon, she'd had a couple of doses of pain med and was thinking about the next one in an hour or so. That's a sharp change from yesterday, when she was pain-free.

Tim and I had planned to go camping one last time in early October, but I think we might change our plans and go this weekend instead.

Mom said today, "I think this thing will go quickly when it happens." In other words, she won't be lingering.

And I'd better think about packing.

- Catherine

Random Dozen -- the Wednesday meme

Got this from a blog called 2nd Cup of Coffee. If you want to play along, copy and paste the questions into your own blog and then answer them for yourself!


1. Please share one middle school memory. It can be good, bad, ugly, funny. Pictures or words, I don't care, just share.

Our middle school campus had a major landscaping/design flaw in that the front lawn and main entry sidewalk would disappear under a veritable lake of water during a rainstorm. I’m talking inches deep, feet wide and yards long! I remember plenty of instances trying to get to or from the bus, walking on the heels of my shoes through the deep water that ran the entire width of the sidewalk for several feet (in the vain hope that I’d be able to keep my shoes at least somewhat dry. Ha!).

2. What's your favorite Beatles song?

If I Fell


3. If I asked you to describe your most comfortable outfit, what would it be?

Anything with a pair of jeans; I like dressing them up and dressing them down, and they’re my favorite article of clothing.

4. Would you rather host a party or be a guest?

Host. I don’t do small talk very well and usually end up feeling disoriented because I don’t have anything to do if I’m just the guest. And…. I really like to have people over for a party. I like planning it, organizing it, cooking for it, welcoming people into the house… the whole nine yards!


5. Do you think we will move completely from traditional books to digital ones, and if we do, are you OK with that?

No, I don’t think traditional books will ever go away, and I wouldn’t be okay with it if they did. I like to hold the book and have the freedom to use only my eyes (and not a scrolling bar) to move along the page. Plus there is something about having the spatial orientation of the book – you know how far you have to go, how far you’ve been, how much you would need to read to get to the end of the page, etc…. Reading electronically, to me, is a bit like proceeding blindly through something.


6. Do you learn best by reading, listening or experiencing?

Experiencing. Much to my chagrin. (I wish I could learn by listening.)


7. If you are (or when you were) single, what is the kiss of death for you concerning the opposite sex? (That is, what is one trait or behavior or habit or anything at all that immediately turns you off from considering that person a potential match for you?)

When I was single, the kiss of death was if the guy was more focused on my looks than on me as a person.

8. Snacks. Salty or sweet?

Sweet. Specifically: Chocolate. What else is there?


9. Look around you in a four foot radius. What object is around you that you didn't realize was there or forgot was there? How long has it been there?

There’s a phone book sitting on the shelf under my desk top. For months I’ve been hiking upstairs to get a phone book when I needed one, and I could have just reached under my desk and pulled it out!

10. What is your favorite Tom Cruise movie?

None. I’m not a fan of Tom Cruise’s acting.

11. You buy a bottle of shampoo and discover that you don't like what it does to your hair at all. What do you do with that full bottle?

Put it in the product graveyard underneath the bathroom sink – because MAYBE (just MAYBE) one day I will want it again…

12. Your favorite Fall comfort food?

Homemade Beef Stew.

Correction

I thought my mother was to have had a doctor's appointment today -- turns out it is next Monday.

She sounded great today on the phone -- well and strong. She IS going to get a 'cleaning lady' finally -- someone to come in every other week and run the vacuum, mop the floors, etc. Her strength just gives out too quickly these days. She daily runs the little 2-lb. cordless sweeper that I sent her so that the surface dirt is taken care of. But the 8-lb. Oreck is too much.

First time in her whole life that she's even considered having someone other than herself do the cleaning of her house.

So, even though she didn't see the doctor, she did have a visit from Hospice today; they are still coming only once a week, though. In answer to my question about frequency of visits, my mother hastened to assure me that the Hospice team is available ANYtime she needs them. But I don't need them right now, she added.

Go, Mom!

- Catherine

Shape-up Update

It's been over a week since I purchased The Moonshoes (as I affectionately call my Skechers Shape-ups Sneakers).

I added one other thing to my at-home regimen - in addition to the daily walking with Skechers: I'm doing sit-ups on a balance ball (sometimes called a Therapy Ball -- it's one of those enormous balls that you can roll around on). Now, while I do those sit-ups, I also tighten my buttocks in order to get a bit more of a workout (and also to hold my balance). An added benefit is that, because my sit-ups start at a negative angle (beyond flat), my spine gets a nice little adjustment, too. Stomach is definitely getting flatter.

So, here is what I've noticed in the last 24 hours: 1) my butt muscles are definitely feeling the effects of the sit-up workout and 2) my legs are more flexible.

I attribute #2 to The Moonshoes. Today I sat down on the floor at church and crossed my legs -- with ease! I haven't felt that flexible in YEARS, folks! Usually I have to uncross my legs almost immediately, but today I simply sat there, quite comfortable, for quite a long time. Amazing.

That's the Shape-up Update. I have to say that it's a fairly easy regimen -- daily walking and daily sit-ups -- but it does seem to be paying some pretty good dividends.

- Catherine

The Days of the Journey

I call my mother every day now. I didn't used to do that -- she never encouraged it when she was younger, feeling that girls who called their mothers every day weren't independent enough. I never understood that, but I do now. It's twofold: 1) my mother was a somewhat distant woman for most of her adult life; and 2) she lost her own mother just as she (my mom) was entering adulthood, really -- in the days when phone calls were expensive and thus were utilized only infrequently and for important messages. So, she never knew how rich it could be to talk to your mother often.

Now that my mom is ill, I call every day just to say hello and gauge how she's doing (as determined by the tone of her voice -- I wonder if she knows that yet!). We exchange small talk about what's new (not much) and I try to find something funny to say.

Yesterday she had a very good day and had gone out to lunch with an old friend. They'd laughed together for a couple of hours, and I could tell that that had done my mother quite a lot of good.

Here's what she said to me when I remarked that she sounded great over the phone: "With this disease, some days you die and some days you dance."

Yesterday she danced.

She has a doctor's appointment on Monday. Stay tuned....

- Catherine

The Energizer Bunny

My mother's email note to me this morning is as follows:

The hospice nurse was here and I'm definitely jaundiced. The liver is starting to be compromised.

We're going out with friends for dinner.


That's my mom.

- Catherine

My Left Foot, Part 2

I've been wearing my Skecher Shape-ups pretty much full time for the last few days now -- I even did my last shift at the Fair Booth in them (8+ hours). I have to say that I really like these shoes! With each step, your foot is gently flexed through the entire range of motion, and the shock absorption can't be beat. The soles of both my feet feel better, and I haven't had an acute attack of the Plantar Faciitis for several days. I did have to ice my left foot after cleaning the booth on Sunday, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been in that I could still walk on it and wasn't limping around - it just ached and needed ice.

As for the shaping up side of things, I do get a better workout in my walking -- so long as I walk as instructed in the Shape-ups' booklet (which accompanies each pair). You can feel the leg muscles working harder while you walk, and that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

I took note of peoples' footwear one afternoon at the Fair and I actually saw a few people wearing these kinds of sneakers, so the trend must be gathering. I've always wanted to be fashion-forward, and now, because I have old and touchy feet, it looks like I will be.

- Catherine

End of Summer

The State Fair is over for another year and, finally, our lives are returning to normal after a summer packed full of activity. I’m almost glad to be back on a regular schedule.

The grand tally of condiments that I made for our “Fish and Chips” booth is as follows: fry sauce: 18 gallons; tartar sauce: 18 gallons; cocktail sauce: 10 tubs (7 lbs each); cream cheese spread: 30+ pounds. Today is the first morning that I didn’t wake up thinking “How much do I need to make this morning?” What a relief.

I didn't take one single picture during the Fair this year -- I was too darn busy to even think about it. Sorry 'bout that!

What I’ve learned (besides how to make gallons of fry sauce) is that running a family business is a veritable minefield at times. We survived… with some unpleasant bruising but no loss of life or limb. We can do better. Tim and I learned a lot about that aspect of things this year, in addition to what we learned about the nuts and bolts operation.

A family meeting will be scheduled for this Fall so that we can talk about what to do with this year’s Fair booth proceeds.

I really like the work in the booth – I like talking to the customers and filling orders. 99.8% of the people you encounter are genuinely nice, and there is a great feeling of “hometown” values during the week of the Fair. There are all kinds of competitions and contests – photography, cake decorating, baking, garden produce, livestock (small and large), Junior rodeo, etc., etc., etc. Lots of fun all week for everyone. Plus there are the rides, the concerts, the horse races, and all the various vendors (yes, I bought a crazy looking broom, but I think it will be just the thing to clean the apricot pits from our sidewalk).

Update on my mother: the number of bad days is increasing and I am watching closely to see when I should hit the road to be there with her. The plan is for me to drive this trip (instead of flying) since the length of time I'll be staying is uncertain and I’ll need a car while I’m there.

- Catherine

My Left Foot

Oh. My. Heck. (as they say out here). I just spent $100 on a pair of sneakers. Sneakers! $100!! Not a nice pair of high-fashion leather boots but a pair of ugly black sneakers with sky-high soles.

Why would I do such a thing?

I thought you'd never ask.

I have two reasons for purchasing the Skechers Shape-ups: 1) I am hoping they help my left foot's Plantar Faciitis situation, and 2) I really do want a better workout when I'm walking since that is my main form of exercise through the winter.

I saw these in a local shoe store and, on impulse, decided to try them on. I'm not a foot expert, but they do seem to have really good shock absorption and they do seem to give my foot the kind of flexing that it needs for the Plantar Faciitis condition. Of course, that's after only one day with them. For the long term benefits for my left foot, the jury is still out.

As for the company's claims of toning muscles, etc. -- we will see.

I intend to wear them every day for at least my walks with the dog. I'll keep you posted.

- Catherine

Working at the State Fair

The Eastern Idaho State Fair has started, and the family's food concession booth is off to a good start. Tim's (extended) family has been doing this gig for more than a decade now, and it's become quite an operation. The booth started out all those years ago in a somewhat obscure corner of the fairgrounds, but it is now located on one of the main walkways very near the grandstand. Since that move (about 5 years ago), business has boomed -- helped by the fact that we offer some really good fish (fried salmon, fried cod, fried shrimp, and smoked salmon bagels).

I opened the booth yesterday for pre-fair business -- we had a surprising amount of traffic from the vendors who were setting up their own places and from the 4H families (one kid came twice during the course of the day, and each time he paid for his $8.00 meal with a $50 bill).

I got a really nice surprise today when a high school classmate showed up at our booth. Peter lives an hour away from us, and I "see" him on FB all the time, but I haven't actually seen him in person in about 10 years. So that was really fun to have a mini-reunion, talk for a few minutes and introduce him to my husband.

I'm tired as I write this and I'm afraid I'll have Restless Leg Syndrome tonight; I expect to be completely exhausted when the week is all over.

And... once it IS all over, I will start thinking about when I'm going to drive East to visit my Mom.

- Catherine

Musings from the deck

One of the joys of living in Idaho is that things start to cool off in late summer. Yes, the sun is intense and can be very hot, but the air is dry and as soon as the sun goes down, it becomes quite cool. So, here it is late August and I’m sitting on my deck at 4:00 in the afternoon. The sun is warm but the breeze has been cool all day, and when the sun goes down it will be cooler still.

I love my deck, ramshackle as it is these days. It desperately wants paint, for one thing. Worse, some of the boards really HAVE to be replaced – this is one of the many projects that will have to be done before we can sell this place and move onto some acreage outside of town.

So, on to some musings about life (from the deck, as I write this).

The fun:
Last night we went to a minor league baseball game in Idaho Falls (which is about an hour from us). I haven’t been to a live baseball game since the early 80s (the one and only time I went to Yankee Stadium). I used to like watching pro baseball on TV, until the media decided that their preferred filler shots were close-ups of the players in the dugout, spitting enormous streams of tobacco-colored saliva and scratching places that shouldn’t be scratched in public. Yuk. I stopped watching pro baseball a few years ago because it was so gross it distracted from the game itself.

I didn’t realize we had a minor league team nearby, so when one of our kids called and asked if we wanted to go, we were excited! The team is the Chukars, which, in real life, is some kind of bird, apparently. Unfortunate name.

At $6.50 a seat, the game provides a relatively inexpensive evening for a family. The crowd is nice and the playing is fun to watch. They cater to families – there are many fun contests and activities that go on during the game. The mascot comes around and greets the kids (not my grandson, though – he thinks the feathered mascot is ‘creepy’). And it’s just truly relaxing to sit in the bleachers on a late summer evening. We lost, but who cares? The fun was in being together and watching the game live.

The ballpark even has an organist still, who duly played “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch. My husband looked at me as we sang along and swayed from side to side, and said, “Is this a tradition?” I smiled. He didn't grow up watching the game on TV, as I did, and doesn't remember the flourishes and embellishments that organists provided to the games.

The awe:
I never cease to be amazed at the way God works. This morning one of the keys on the church’s electronic keyboard broke as I was practicing for this morning’s service. The spring action of the key, specifically, is what broke: I pounded it down with my thumb and it never came up. In and of itself, everything else was still workable, and all I had to do was move my chord phrasings to other keys in order to do the music – a very simple fix. But it rattled me to see that pathetic G key lying, as it were, on its back with its little legs in the air. My friend and colleague whispered “key killer, key killer, key killer” as I fretted over it. He’s such a comfort.

Anyway, I ended up struggling for each and every note that I played during the service, I swear. Felt like I’d lose my place if my attention wandered for even a split second. Occasionally found myself wondering how to actually play the next chord that was coming up on the chart. It was a real effort, this morning, to do something that I usually find both enjoyable and relatively easy.

Thank God for the “Holy Spirit Filter.” That’s the filter that causes people to hear good music when, in fact, the musician knows it ain’t so.

Not to cast any aspersions on my colleague – he played well, as he always does. But I felt like things behind the keyboard went badly. And yet, more people raised holy hands in praise than I usually see out there. And more than one person came up to me later and said that I play the keyboard well. Huh? If they only knew that the Holy Spirit had spread His very own filter between us this day! They heard what God intended at their end, even if I couldn’t quite play it at mine.

So, I’ll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned,
In awe of the One who made it all.
I’ll stand, my soul, Lord, to you surrendered,
All I have is Yours.

- Catherine

Epilogue

One of the old homes in Virginia City

Day 6 – our last full day – was cool and rainy all day, without any break. No time on the lake, which was disappointing, but only mildly so. “Hanging out” is the name of the game, and that’s what we did. Watched movies, read books, played games. Talked. Still a good day, when all was said and done.

We headed home on Day 7, starting out around 11:00 in the morning. Another smooth travel day, and we were home in plenty of time to unpack the RV and get it cleaned up.


I never tire of this view.


At one point during the week, Tim started talking about maybe going to the Oregon coast next summer. Doug and I looked at him as though he had three heads. Next year we go back to the lake. Period.



The view across the Madison Valley

And now, back to real life. Thanks for reading!

- Catherine



I just loved this bench on the side of a weather-worn building in Virginia City

Vacation Part 5

Day 5
Today we drove over to Virginia City (Montana), which is a restored western town located about 55 miles from where we are camping. Virginia City’s history is quintessential Wild West -- founded from a gold mine, with plenty of outlaws and vigilante violence. We took a 35-minute tour on an old fire truck, which gave us the opportunity to get a great overview of the town’s layout and history. We learned that gold was selling at $16 per ounce in the 1860s and that the Chinese laundry owners would sift the used wash water for gold dust after they had washed the miners clothes.





After the fire truck tour, we walked the boardwalks of Main Street, which is still the only paved road in town; if you don’t live on Main Street, you live on a dirt road in Virginia City (your street has a name and a modern street sign – but it ain’t paved). The old stores all have false fronts, which I learned was a way to make a town look bigger to outsiders.






The local outlaws were called “Road Agents” and there were 100 murders in Virginia City the very first winter of the town’s existence. Eventually, the local Masonic Lodge members took it upon themselves to rid the town of the road agents, and 22 road agents were hanged in one year, five of them in one day. Most of the outlaws were buried above the town, on Boot Hill – so named because these men were buried with their boots on.






The town museum has a preserved club foot from one of those road agents.

Of course, we had to go see it.

Yuk.

While in Virginia City, we had our “old time” photograph taken, and we are now the proud owners of a portrait of the four of us as a Wild West, gun-slingin’ family. (Yes, Hank is in the photo, but, absent opposable thumbs, he is not holding a gun.)

We got back to our camper around 5:30 p.m. Turns out we didn’t miss anything on the lake – because, although sunny, the day was too cool and breezy to do much swimming. (And it’s August, for Pete’s sake!) Tomorrow is our last full day here, so we hope for hot sunshine and a calm day!

Vacation Part 4

Day 4
A huge thunderstorm last night and the air is much fresher today. One clap actually shook the camper, waking me and worrying our dog (Hank hates thunderstorms). Lightening flashed for quite a while, but there were no more close thunder claps, thank goodness. It poured for a goodly amount of time, soaking Luci and the boys in their tents, unfortunately. Everyone was a bit tired this morning.

But, with the fresher air came some glorious weather – so we got some float time today – yay! The sun was hot and the water was beautiful.

Luci and the boys left mid-afternoon and we three are alone (well, we four, if you count the dog).



Yesterday’s mighty wind returned even stronger around 5:30 today, so we are back inside to relax with our laptops and movies. I like this summer living in our RV in this campground, with the lake outside my windows and the pine trees towering overhead. It’s a bit like having a cabin on a lake. The vacation isn’t so much about the camping as it is about the lake and relaxing; the RV is how we manage to have a lake vacation. We spend the day in our swimsuits and the evenings in our pajamas.

Speaking of pajamas, tonight the entire campground was given the opportunity to see our pajamas. Remember that wind? I looked down the hill and saw our raft and tubes floating in the lake, having blown off the shore from the sheltered area where we’d stowed them for the night. We sprinted down the hill through the trees, running pell mell along the shore to retrieve our stuff – which, thankfully, was being blown in the direction of the land and not out into the middle of the lake. With the wind absolutely roaring around us, we trussed up everything even more tightly than before and carefully placed our well-tied package of flotation devices in what we hoped was a more protected section of the lake shore. Once finished, we straggled back up the steep hill to our camper and collapsed inside.

Thus ends Day 4!




- Catherine

Vacation Part 3

Day 3
As I write this the wind is crashing through the pine forest – it has been doing so since about 3:00 this afternoon. I’m tired, my calf muscles hurt, I’m sunburnt, the dog is exhausted, and the outside temperature is cool (which soothes my hot flashes).

Tim rented a boat for the entire day today – a large, flat-bottomed row boat with an outboard motor. It fit all 8 of us, plus the two dogs. The boys did a little fishing in the morning, but no bites.

Luci and I did some food preparation this morning and then parked ourselves in chairs on the shore to watch the boys.

In the early afternoon, Tim took all of us (including the two dogs) out in the boat for a tour of the lake. The boys hung off the front of the boat, trailing their hands and/or feet in the water, and shoving each other now and again. I am not completely comfortable out on the water, so the antics of the boys (who are at the macho stage of life) were a little nerve-wracking. I lived, though.

We slowly motored around the lake. The bird watching was superb. We saw the osprey in their nest at the top of a very tall, very dead tree. Cormorants were everywhere, winging across the water in search of fish. Best of all, we saw two bald eagles – one perched on a log near the shore and the other perched high on top of a pine tree. As we approached, the first one took off majestically and swooped inches from the water before soaring up high over the ridge and into the next valley. The second eagle simply sat at the top of that very high pine tree, gorgeous brown and white against the dark green forest, surveying his domain. No wonder they are the national bird – there is nothing quite like them.

Most of the day was overcast. Not cool, but not really warm, either. The boys didn’t care – they swam and played with the rafts and the tubes anyway. Around 3:00, after I put the chicken in the Dutch Oven, the sun came out and I thought I’d finally get some time to float on the water. But at the same time that the sun came out, we suddenly became aware of a far-off roar of wind, which we heard for several seconds before finally feeling it. Down the valley it came. No rain, just wind. The lake went instantly from mirror calm to choppy wavelets. We sat on the shore and watched things blowing around (like our tubes, which had to be rescued more than once and placed ever higher on the shore to keep them from blowing away).



Suddenly, Tim rocketed out of his chair and headed for the rented boat. Luci and I thought he was trying to pull it higher up on the beach so that the waves didn’t rock it away, but as it turned out, he decided to take the boat out in the wind and waves just for the fun of it.

I grew up near the ocean and I have a healthy respect for Mother Nature, especially where water and weather are concerned. But this is an inland lake and the waves were ….six inches high at most. Still, it was a dramatic change and I could see the fun of it for them.

As Tim hauled the boat into the water, the boys looked up from their games and quickly joined him. In about two minutes they all were out on the lake, motoring around (it’s a “no wake” lake – you’re not allowed to go fast anyway). With the wind so strong, they actually did make a little wake and a little spray with that sedate old boat. The looks on their faces were priceless, especially Tim’s – he was a kid again, playing in the wind and waves.





- Catherine

Vacation Part 2

Day 2
Day 2 started a wee bit later – maybe an hour or so. I made it to the top of the rise to check my cell phone messages at 10:00 or so. No cows. Two messages. One from my parents-in-law to say they were on their way to visit us and that they had four of the teenage grandchildren with them. The other message was from my sister-in-law to say that she, too, was coming to visit and that she’d be staying overnight with the four boys (one of whom is her son).

Well, after talking on the cell with both my father-in-law and my sister-in-law in order to get some kind of estimate of times of arrival, I headed back down to the campground to let Tim and Doug in on the good news. Of course, we were delighted, and Doug was especially glad that his cousins – most of whom are his closest friends – were coming to spend time with him.

Shortly after 1:00, Tim’s parents arrived with the four cousins in their van. We had lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon by the lake. The boys had a blast playing in the water with the river raft and the river tubes that we had brought with us. My mother-in-law and I walked the lakeshore for part of the way, talking and enjoying each other's company.




Mom and Dad left at 5:00 and Luci, my sister-in-law, had still not arrived. The boys, of course, stayed with us. We sent them down to set up the tent on the camp site they’d be using. Luci arrived at 6:30, having missed a crucial turn and spent an extra 90 minutes on the road. Ah well. It’s vacation, after all. She enjoyed her quiet time, and we were none the worse for the wear.



- Catherine

Vacation Part 1

The next few days I will post my vacation blog, as I wrote it (more or less) during the week we were away. Our pictures are on my picasaweb site: http://picasaweb.google.com/cathering If you look at the albums "Summer Vacation 2008" and "Vacation 2009," you'll get a pretty good idea of this place we love.

And now.....

Day 1
Today is day 1 of our Montana vacation. It’s cloudy and breezy and not particularly warm. We don’t care. Yes, we’d like to be out on the lake, but we also like just hanging out. Tim is napping (actually, he’s snoring in my ear right now), Doug is playing a game on his laptop, and I’m writing the first of my vacation blog entries. The dog is snoozing after a hard morning of exploring his territory.

We arrived yesterday (Day 0 of the trip) after a 3+ hours’ drive from Pocatello. No traffic and no problems with the RV this year (last year we blew a tire on the way and had to stop for a new set in Idaho Falls). The campground is seven miles from the main highway, down a dirt road that has the topography of a washboard. It’s also open range territory, so there are Black Angus cattle to contend with. After traversing five and a half miles of the road, you begin a rather steep descent that rattles me with our big 5th wheel camper behind us. I’m sure it’s perfectly safe, but it makes me nervous nonetheless to have that huge vehicle attached to our behind as we make our way down, down, down into the valley.

This year I was so excited to arrive that I didn’t much care about the descent (well, just a little). My thirteen-year-old stuck his head out the window, inhaled deeply and noisily, and announced, “Smell that pine!” Indeed the valley is thickly forested with pine, with a carpet of wildflowers and loads of interesting birds -- and the lake that is so clear you can see 15 feet down. We love this spot and that’s why we’re so excited to return here.

We’d hoped for the same campsite as last year, which we considered perfect in its proximity to the lake and its privacy screen of trees on three sides, but, alas it was taken. We continued further up the hill and found what I think might be an even better spot. Definitely a better view of the lake, and there is a set of stairs made from railroad ties that leads from the camping area down to the fire pit/picnic table area of the campsite. This morning I sat on those stairs and savored a cup of tea and the tranquility of the lake view through the trees.

I woke at first light this morning, which wasn’t what I intended. It takes a while for me to wind down when on vacation, so each day I’ll probably sleep a little bit longer. I’m sure my husband will be happier about that – for some reason he doesn’t like to hear me banging around the camper at dawn.

The first activity after breakfast -- for me, that is -- was to walk back out from our campsite to a high point where I have cell phone signal. Normally I am very happy to spend a week without my cell phone, but this year, with my mother’s health situation, I decided that the only way I could take a vacation is if I check messages each day and periodically check in with my mother herself. So, each morning I’ll walk to the high point and turn on my cell phone for a few minutes.

Did I mention that it’s a mile and a half up to that point? “Up” being the operative word in that sentence. Uphill. All the way. A mile and a half. I made it, but I was a bit winded when I got there. Just before the top, there is a cattle guard – a metal grid laid down on the road, with the bars of the grid laid so far apart that animals can’t cross it. In fact, human crossing it was tricky – I had to hop from bar to bar of the grid (obviously, vehicles with tires have no trouble with it). This guard keeps the open range cattle from going down into the valley. It also just about kept my dog from accompanying me that last 300 yards to the point of cell phone signal. We finally figured out a spot for him to sneak underneath the wooden fence on the side of the gate.

I called my mother – mostly to test the signal since I’d spoken to her just yesterday and she’s actually feeling fine. It worked quite nicely. The cows seemed mildly interested, but mostly left me alone. Thank goodness, because it suddenly occurred to me that these weren’t just cows. There were young bulls in this herd, too – calves, still, but old enough to have figured out their mission in life (judging by what I observed). That gave me pause because four of those young bulls, plus one cow, had ranged themselves in a line across the road, staring straight at me and my dog. It was like a bovine version of Shootout at the OK Corral. They barely blinked. And I wondered how we were going to get past them to go back down the road.

I whooped. I yelled. I wildly waved my arms.

They stood there.

Finally, they moved somewhat to one side, so Hank and I made a break for it. I had Hank on a leash by this time, and I pushed him through the spot in the fence by the gate – whereupon his leash got hung up and he couldn’t quite make it through. I quickly released him from the leash, then I hopped back across the grid and unhooked his leash from the fence post where it was stuck.

Later I asked my husband if I need to be worried about the young bulls. He asked me if they were pawing the ground. When I said no, he nonchalantly said, “nothing to worry about.” I should probably ask him if young bulls have good days and bad days – maybe they were just in a good mood today.

On the walk this morning I saw a Western Tanager, which was cool. I’m not an avid bird watcher, but I do like to identify the different birds when we are out camping. Last year I saw osprey, bald eagles, and cormorants, to name a few. The Western Tanager is very pretty – golden yellow, with a blush-rose colored head.



(No, I didn't take that picture -- it's from animal.discovery.com.)

Later – the sun came out and we spent the afternoon drifting on the lake. Doug and Hank were in the raft (Hank loves boating), and I was in my tube. Tim had a long nap and then finally joined us, so there we four were – Tim and Hank in the raft, Doug on one tube and me on another, all of us hanging on or tethered to each other. Very serene and non-stressful, just lazing in the sun. The water is a wee bit colder than last year, due to all the rain they’ve had up here (not unlike the rest of the country, it seems), but in the hot sun, my butt and feet can take a little cold water. There were actually quite a few people swimming as well, although that would have been more than I’d have enjoyed.

Tonight’s dinner was Italian sausage cooked on the grill with onions and then immersed in marinara sauce; we also heated up some leftover corn. The entire dinner was cooked on my charcoal grill, leaving little to clean up at the end (that’s how I like it when we’re camping!). After dinner, we took a walk, meeting our new campsite neighbors, who are from Idaho Falls, and also some people who were launching their boat (they are from Utah, near where I used to live).

The campground is more crowded this year than last, but it is still a wonderful place to be. The campsites are very private and very far apart.

I walked the lakeshore for a while this afternoon, sitting for a time on a sun-warmed log that extended from the shore about 30 feet into the lake. I saw the osprey combing the shore on the other side, along the valley wall, looking for fish. I saw the cormorants bobbing under the surface and then rising off the water and into the air. I thought about everything and nothing. I prayed for a time, too. A good day.

So, that’s the news from Wade Lake, day 1.