TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS

On July 9th, I came home from a day of hurry and stress, walked through the living room, down the stairs to unload my arms, back through the living room, and out to the car for a second load…

I walked back into the living room, toward the stairway…

And stopped…

There, on the end table, sat a beautiful bouquet of red roses, which I had been totally oblivious to just a couple of minutes before…

There were Not a dozen…

Not two dozen…

But twenty-seven roses!...



One for each of the twenty-seven years that we had accomplished and were celebrating this day…the 9th of July.

We had AGREED…

At least he TOLD me he did…

Not to get anything for each other…



WHAT A BEAUTIFUL THING LOVE CAN BE...

AN ARTIST'S HOUSE CONTINUED

Here is more of the house, or cabin as they call it, of Doris...











The original bar/dance hall portion of the cabin...



Swinging bar doors off of the old saloon leading into the bathroom...







More of General Custer's room...



Doris designed a fun set of stairs in their cabin...You have to alternate back and forth, with your left foot and then right...



Another set of stairs goes to the Secret Attic...Again, all of the paintings on the walls are her own...







The maiden at the top of the stairs is painted on the wall...Her flowers are silk ones, which are attached on the wall...A deck goes outside over looking the stream...



This young girl is a characature of one of Doris' grandaughters who used to babysit for us...



Looking out onto the deck from the Secret Attic...





Random shots...





This artist used to travel to different lands and paint the people...She has many portraits of Arabs, Indians, etc.







Needless to say, it was a wonderful setting for a wedding...

THE SONG OF MY WEEK

Well this has been an odd week, indeed… A week of worry…A week of hope…A week of sadness…A week of delight…

A melody of both harmonious and discordant song…

Three evenings ago Our DD moved away. Pushed back a week due to vehicle troubles (they got about ¾ of a mile down the road and were stranded) they left a full week late. Because they had to take the trip slowly, they ended up having a 15-hour journey ahead of them.



On top of that…They planned on driving the whole way without stopping for the night. Getting out of town at 10:30 p.m., as they did, had them arriving at their destination at around 1:30 the following afternoon!

I felt tones of both worry and hope...



Thankfully, they made it! This is the third time that Keira has moved to the Salt Lake area. She claims that she doesn’t really care for it there…Hmmm…I think the boyfriend has something to do with it!



www.duluxcards.co.uk

Another note that has played this week is one of sadness...

On the 24th of June, I thought to myself that this was the date that marked the 20th anniversary of my sister and her husband. I was happy that they had made it this far, as they have had a pretty tough go of it all these years.

Just a few moments ago, I found out that divorce is most likely eminent.



That horrible D word is so common these days—thrown out of our mouths with ease and commonality. One, however, hopes that it never happens to you. Because it is so everyday doesn’t mean that it makes it o.k. or right in the mind of he or she who is getting the divorce. They have to go through an immense amount of pain. I feel so bad for my sister. I feel bad for her children. My prayers are with their family.



Another note in the dissonance of the week…

My dad informed me that this afternoon one of his employees had just recently found out that her young son was apparently in a pool with friends today and ended up having to have CPR. At the time of this writing, he is being transported from a small town 50 miles away to our hospital here. Not even she knows his condition. I pray for her; she is pregnant with another little one and is extremely distraught. I ask for your prayers as well in behalf of her and her family.



Thinking of the heartache of others, it hardly feels right mentioning that I have had a wonderful day...

Nonetheless, as a song is made up of many tones—some high and some low…

So too our lives possess a variable abundance of notes.

A note of delight…



My husband and I celebrated our anniversary of 26 years yesterday! Because we both had to work, we simply exchanged cards and kisses…



Today, while I was at work, I got a message on my cell phone. DH read off two lists of numbers and told me to write them down and then to call him to find out what they meant…

The first was his odometer reading. We do kind of a fun and silly thing. When he hits a run of identical numbers like 555,555 he calls to tell me. It’s always fun to hear, as he’s a trucker, and he has to find SOME enjoyment in his day!

Well…the second number…was the confirmation number to the motel room that he got for us tonight, as a late anniversary present! Oh, I was so excited that I could hardly wait to get off of work! I have always loved to stay in hotels. They are clean, they are quiet, and they afford me some wonderful reflection time.



So…after work I ran home, packed a bag, and headed off. I could have screamed by the time I arrived! What should have taken me less than 10 minutes of drive time and around 5 miles turned into a very frustrating and LONG expedition! Between my silliness forgetting the way to this particular hotel and going WAY out of my way, my husband inadvertently giving me the wrong hotel address, and the road construction that I hit at almost EVERY turn, it took me about an hour and 15 minutes of drive time and 26 miles in distance! I could have pulled my hair out!



One of my greatest pet peeves in this town is the construction. They can’t space it out…It all happens at once!



They can’t do like they do in a larger city that we lived in and work on it at night then cover with a steel plate during the day for people to drive on…They have to do it during peak working/traveling hours!



Between that, the out-of-town tourists, and the school kids who are now on the roads for the summer, I’d just as soon stay home as try to get around this city!



Shortly after I arrived, Hubby informed me via the telephone that he wouldn’t be off the road until about midnight. The poor man. He has been working 80 hours a week for a time now and was so hoping for a night of relaxation.

So…I sit here alone…And he drives the road alone. Hmmm….Not quite what we had planned!

Nonetheless, we still love each other…He still got this wonderful room for me…My children are safe unlike the poor woman awaiting word of her little one…And I am not in such a challenging time, as is my sister.



Life seems very odd to me. One person can be in the depths of anguish while the next is at the heights of enjoyment. It doesn’t seem quite right…It doesn’t seem quite fair.

I guess that is the way it is, however, and we just have to be sure to take the opportunity in helping and supporting those who are less fortunate…While we are in a time of rest and they…In a period of struggle.

VALENTINE WEEKEND

As I have been working on the clinic side as of late, Friday was the first time I had been back on the floors of the hospital in four months. It was a bit trying because you have to hit the ground running, and I was worried about changes that may have happened while I was away. I guess it was good that I was busy; I didn’t have a lot of time to worry. I never like being away for an extended time, as it feels -like being new again, and I hate that feeling! :)


I worked on ATU for the first eight hours and surgical for the last part. Twelve hours and forty-five minutes later, I headed for home feeling totally worn out...





But...My honey wanted to take me out for dinner for a valentine treat.


Now, how could I turn that down?





We had a really nice and delicious dinner. Afterward, under the pretense of wanting to see the new indoor water park, we toured one of the newer hotels in town. Well, he had arranged for a little over-night get-away for us! It was very nice and so thoughtful of him. When our house was busy with little children, these few-and-far-between get-aways were just what the doctor ordered. Now, our home is not all that busy, so staying home is relaxing, but it’s hard to deny a nice freshly cleaned room, crisply laundered linens, and together time with your sweetheart.





Steve had bought me a beautiful red tin of Dove chocolates—yum yum—and a sweet rose card. I felt very special and loved on this 25th Valentine’s Day together (not counting our dating days). ;)





On Valentine’s Day itself, we went to DD’s house as a family and had a wonderful steak dinner that she and her honey cooked for us all. Afterwards, we watched home movies of many moons ago. Oh, how those pull the heart strings! Seeing my little people made me want to travel back in time.





The night went very late, so strawberry shakes had to wait...


So…this evening, after the girls had finished skinning and processing the pig—yes, a pig—that they got yesterday (more on this POSSIBLY in a future post), we had our strawberry shakes!








And then we cuddled up...for another home movie...