December Garden Update--Really

As you may remember, I'm conducting a complicated, scientific project in my greenhouse this winter. And by complicated I mean I planted stuff and am hoping for the best.

I am nothing if not cheap, so my heating system is water bottles, lots of water bottles, some covered with a black trash bag.  In theory, they hold warmth and since they are on the ground the heat rises.  I also have an automatic watering system made up of watering spikes and old soda bottles.  I go out every few days (in the dark, because I'm never home in the daylight) and switch out the bottles.  I haven't been able to check the temperature well with the flashlight, so I'm hoping to take a look during daylight this weekend. I would really like to have a solar-powered ceramic heater out there, but they are all expensive.  And a watering system, but that requires plumbing.  And maybe a greenhouse made out of something other than plastic sheeting...someday...someday..

Let's see...
Potatoes--fail.  I don't know if they froze or if my terrible potato growing skills just came through again, but, sigh...no potatoes from this round.  (Don't worry...I have a bunch in my pantry that are growing legs...I'll try again).  I put them on the top shelf of the greenhouse, you know, because heat rises, but apparently not so much. 
Although..when I went out today to plant the new ones, I harvested 3 (Three!) baby potatoes, even though the greenery above ground was dead!

Three tiny potatoes and two tiny onions...an exciting winter harvest!

Beets--optimistic--although they are on the middle shelf, I'm thinking this is working to their advantage and they are more protected.

Kale--it was kind of on its last legs when I put it in the greenhouse, and there's not much to harvest, but it's not dead, so I'm counting it as a win so far.

Onions-- ready to harvest

Mint--growing from the ground--dead.  Hmm.  I'm sure it will be back with a vengeance in the spring.

Hurry up and wait...

There was at least one episode of MASH when the main characters talked about how life in a MASH unit was all "Hurry up and wait"--that there were periods of crazy rushing around surrounded by a lot of sitting and waiting. 

This week at school has been kind of like that for me--moments of utter chaos surrounded by time spent sitting and watching my kids write final exam essays.  There is, of course, that never-ending mom and teacher "to do list"...but in many moments this week I have just sat and done, well, nothing.  I have felt guilty several times and invented things to do(and been interrupted by "emergencies" several other times).

I think that is God's way of reminding me to observe Advent--to wait quietly and listen for "what next".  To remember that sometimes we are to just wait.  What a great reminder in this crazy, busy world...

Now if I could just grade all those essays in a speedy manner.....

November 2017...What did I read?

November was a slower reading month--partially because I didn't listen to anything in the car--Mr. IM's car had a long vacation at the auto shop, so we all car-pooled, meaning I don't get to listen to books (which is fine...but means I read fewer books!)

1.  The Chemist by Stephanie Meyer--an interesting premise.  Part mystery, part James Bond...a great story, might be top ten.
2.  Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan--Set in Italy during WWII.  This book is based on true stories.  It kind of started slow but came to me highly recommended, so I powered through until I started getting into it.  Very interesting perspective on the war.
3.  Breaking Wild by Diane Les Bequests-Story starts with a woman lost in the Colorado Wilderness and focuses on her and the Forest Servicewoman who tries to find her.  It was interesting, but there was a lot of "extra" stuff to the story that distracted...just being lost in the woods and/or trying to find her is a big enough story, we don't necessarily need extra detailed backstory on both people's childhood.
4.  What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty--very good--Someone recommended it to me a couple years ago and I didn't read it, finally got around to it and wasn't disappointed.  The main character is a 39-year-old woman who loses all memory of the past ten years. Some mystery as she struggles to figure out her current life, interesting characters, and storyline.
5.  I am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll.  A mystery set in England centers on a woman who sees what she thinks is the prelude to a crime.  Some interesting ideas about what we think should be reported and what we ignore.  Good story.
6.  Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden.  Didn't live up to the hype.  I thought it was a book about Joe Biden's relationship with his son Beau and how he and the family traveled through Beau's illness and death.  That part of the story was there, but it really was buried under Joe's stories about all the things he was doing as Vice President while Beau was ill.  It was interesting, but not great.

Christmas Letter 2017

Dear Friends,

You may notice that the Christmas letter has a new author this year. As many of you know, Tigger the Cat left us for the great catnip farm (or giant litterbox, depending on what you believe) last January.  I, personally, never met the great man, er, cat, however, Liberty, Morrison, Alice and the Hoomans speak very favorably of him.

Perhaps I should stop here and introduce myself...my name is Obsidian Bartholomew The Cat.  I joined the family in February.  The Boy really missed Tigger and convinced the parents to take him to the Dumb Friends Society to acquire a kitten.  After stops at two locations, they realized there were no true kittens, however, I had recently turned one year old and made a compelling argument that I be adopted, rather than some untrained kitten.  When the Hoomans reached the "check-out" they were alerted to the fact that there was a BOGO event, therefore they received not only my fabulous self, but also Coco Puff (also known as Poco and BOGO) and the rest is history.... (Although the hoomans say that it is important to read the biographies of potential cat adoptees...somehow they missed the note of "cat surrendered because it bites...)

The Parents continue at their jobs--Mrs. Ranch at the same high school she has taught at since August 2002 and Mr. IM at his law firm that he opened in 2005.  Mrs. Ranch realized earlier this week that this is her 25th year of being a teacher...a rather astounding number for a young cat like me.  Business at the law firm is going well.  There is a rumor that they have created a video for their website, stay tuned for viewing!

The Girl is a junior in high school.  In exchange for a new phone, she participated in track last spring.  As she states she doesn't like to run, she became a pole vaulter.  She did very well and might have enjoyed the season.  She still enjoys skiing on weekends and hanging out with her friends.  The college quest has started in earnest, with several contenders.  She has a part-time job and is saving money for a lovely classic pre-owned vehicle.

The Boy moved to public junior high after K-6 Catholic School.  Turns out the local Middle School is really a junior high, grades 7-8 only, so he joined his classmates in that new adventure.  Part of the adventure is riding the school bus to and from school as well as choosing lunch in the lunch line (instead of a month ahead).  He continues competitive snowboarding on the weekends, which gives us all lots of adventures.

The other pets are doing well--Morrison and Liberty enjoy trips to the mountains with the family.  Liberty has recently added an anti-arthritis pharmaceutical routine to her life.  Alice continues her reign, now as the oldest pet, including the pet everyone is most afraid of.

We wish you all a blessed holiday season! 

Love,
Sid the Cat (and the rest of the family, too)

Advent

For the past several years, I've attended an event called "Advent by Candlelight" hosted by the mom's group at my kids' Catholic Elementary School.  It is a great way to begin the season, a chance to sit with friends, eat appetizers and desserts, and listen to great music and speakers. The speaker last night said at one point that she appreciated all of us coming to hear her speak, and that she knew that for many of us it will be the last time we sit and relax with friends until the holiday season is long over.

Last night's speaker was fabulous, but as I told IM last night, she, like last year's speaker, was very "intellectual".  A great speaker, very scripturally sound.  She connected the prophesies of Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah, through Matthew and Luke, to Revelation.  It was a great talk, reminding me that Advent isn't just waiting for Christmas, but also waiting for Christ to return again.  As I listened, I thought to myself that I kind of miss the year that a mom of six (seven?) spoke to us, more along the lines of "how to survive the holiday season", it seemed like a much more relevant lesson.  But maybe that's the real message--that sometimes we get so caught up in the moment, in the surviving, that we miss the big picture.  As we move through this season of waiting let's all help each other find ways of not just surviving, but also purposefully waiting and using our wait time for what it was meant for.  For helping others, for spreading God's love here on earth, for making Christmas every day not just one day a year.

If I had Instagram in High School

Interesting

So I was scrolling through Facebook, looking at pictures of my nephews and other littles and thinking about when my Facebook feed had photos like this:

You see, if you don't follow me, these days it looks more like this

(Weird fog, right?)


















Or this....

 (This one didn't actually make it on to Facebook, its a photo of my students working for a class I'm taking--notice no faces..and want to know a secret?  Its' totally staged, because I forgot I had to turn in a "visual diary" and asked them to please pose (with their faces hidden...)











And occasionally this

(Notice he is walking away from me...)


















And while my Facebook page certainly looks different these days, I am thankful for my healthy children and their growing independence.  While The Girl is at a friend's house, the Boy, Mr IM and I went to a movie and to dinner--even though we had to wait, there were no crayons and no bribery (although The Boy did drink about 5 glasses of lemonade...hmmm.). The dishwasher is usually emptied by someone other than me, trash cans emptied, pets fed, bathrooms are cleaned.
 (well, not cleaned right now, but technically are cleaned by the children)...leaving me a few minutes this Saturday night to share this brave new world with all of you.  Enjoy where you are, my friends, but don't lament when you reach the next stage...each one so far has its own challenges and joys!

Bonus video from 10 years ago (!!!) this week when we moved into this house
YouTube November 2007, Tissue in the washer

A Garden Update? In November?!

Yep...we have things growing in November....

I'm still working on a better mechanism to keep the greenhouse warm..if I could find a solar powered, ceramic tile chicken house heater I'd be done. The current system is successful enough though that it tempts me to build a bigger greenhouse in the current garden location and have growing things year round (that would require a better heating system though...probably one with actual wires and so forth.

Here's what we have:

 Not in the greenhouse..and not growing..but still pretty!

 Kale and green onions

 Potatoes (from potatoes in the refrigerator drawer that grew legs)

 Beets! (Yes, they need to be thinned out)

 Onions (from onions that grew feet in the refrigerator drawer

 The heat conservation system (bottles and jugs of water covered by a black plastic bag) and buckets of dirt, being kept warm for additional projects)

Outside, low 60's, inside greenhouse, 70...that will work for now...

What I read in October 2017

I'm writing this on October 30--it seems unlikely that I'll finish the 528 page book on the top of the pile by tomorrow night since I'm only on about page 50....

Here we go:
1.  Audio CD in Car--Laughter of Dead Kings (Elizabeth Peters).  Still love it, still good, read the rest of the series first if you haven't or you'll be lost.
2. Close to Home (Robert Dugoni)--I do like this series, it hasn't failed me yet. Mystery/suspense set in the Pacific Northwest.  Female lead character.
3.  The Proving (Beverly Lewis)--probably never a top ten, but Amish romantic fiction is always entertaining. In this installment, a girl comes home from the English world to run her family's bed and breakfast.
4.  The Alice Network (Kate Quinn)--bounces between World War I and just after WWII.  Two female lead characters, lots of twists.  Good book and seems to be historically accurate for a fiction book.
5.  The Deep Dark Descending (Allen Eskins)--I was impatient to read this and was a little disappointed--it is a slightly different book than his earlier ones in the series.  I still liked it, but not as much as the others.  This one focuses on a police officer investigating his wife's death.
6.  Dead Stop (Barbar Nickless)--Set in Denver, a female railroad police officer and Iraq War Vet solves mysteries with her service dog.  This one was very good--the first was free on Amazon, I think this is the 3rd.
7.  When I'm Gone (Emily Bleeker)- Saw it recommended somewhere (the newspaper?) and thought it looked good.  Follows a man whose wife has just died of cancer and who is trying to solve a family mystery.  Pretty good story, a couple plot surprises, a few predictable.  Probably will look for other things by her.
8.  Haunted Hikes (Maren Horjus)--Recommended by Backpacker Magazine when I read a preview there.  Has the actual hikes (a few for each region of the US) and legends to go with each.  Hikes vary from "easy walk" to "expert only".  A fun, quick, read. Might pick it up used in a few months (when it isn't as new) to have for hike reference.
9.  Haunted Colorado (Charles Stanfield, Jr.)--I feel like I've probably read it before.  It was a quick read, not very exciting or spooky.  Arranged by regions, but appeared to be organized by someone who hadn't spent much time here.  Stories were mostly typical urban legends, very few facts.

Happy Reading!

Golly....

My mother keeps sending me boxes of treasures--the latest was mostly photos, newspaper articles, and about 30 napkins (clean) from our wedding in 1995.  (Ironically, I think I have about that many stashed somewhere, thinking long ago that we'd have a vow renewal at 10 or 20 years...I guess we've missed those dates...maybe at 25?)

 Anyway, when I told her that she was a week late because last week was my fall break and now I "don't have time" to deal with the treasures she said she is doing me a favor, that I can sort it all now, rather than later...Um, thanks?  In any case, I think I do have a plan for a new system...but it requires me making a mess first, so I'm not sure I'm up for it yet (Look out, Christmas break!)--I need to take all the assorted cardboard boxes of debris, sort them by type of item (photo, clipping, postcards, letters, misc debris) and by family (mine growing up, the Mr's growing up, and our kids) and repack them (labeled) in better (archival?) bins...In any case, every box I receive inspires me to cart out a box of my own and sort it, so I guess its all good...

Mom went on to say that "all her friends are downsizing" and that it seems like every week someone she knows, and not like just "knows from the community", but friends passes away.  I know that I am nowhere near that stage in life yet, but it has been a rough fall. and I sympathize with her (or is it empathize?  Which way is "I don't know what you're feeling, but I know it must stink"?)  First, my friend, Lisa, then my friend, J's, dad (that is a story in and of itself, Mike deserves his own post, but not today), and this one of my mentor-teachers, Dan passed away.  Dan, unlike Mike and Lisa, has been ill for several months.  We knew this was happening, it was just a matter of when.  As I told a mutual friend earlier this morning, I'm happy for him, that he is no longer in pain, but I'm sad for us.  I know that all three of these folks are in heaven, but golly, I"m sad for those of us left here.  

Then this afternoon I sat down to start reading a great book recommended by a friend...read about ten pages and thought..  "this seems really familiar"....but I kept reading.  Then I looked at the end. Hmm.  Don't remember it.  Read a little more.  Finally, looked at the publication date and looked it up...yep.  I read it in 2014. Apparently, it really made an impression, since I have no idea what happened, but it was familiar enough I have no desire to re-read it.  Sigh.  At least I have a pile of "next" books (including one for a class) that I can move on to. 

In happier news, I'm working on a greenhouse warming system (not heating, unfortunately, although if I can find a solar powered poultry heater I'll be in business...I don't want to run an extension cord all winter...).  If they survive the cold snap of the next few days we'll have beets, potatoes, and kale later this winter.  We also held a very early 13th birthday party for the Boy...his birthday is in December, but he wanted to have his friends Z and M over to watch a movie...and this weekend was very well the last Friday/Saturday/Sunday we'll be home until snowboarding season is over in April.  We'll still do something in December, perhaps with his snowboarding (yet to be made) friends, but it was nice to watch Purdue/Nebraska (Der, Purdue, really?Lead the whole game and then...sigh) and eat gluten free snacks.

Anyway, this is kind of a random post, so hopefully, you won't all think I am experiencing early onset Altizmers... (although some days I wonder)...Happy Halloween..perhaps I can organize another Halloween post for this year...

What I read....September 2017

September is always a weird month.  I feel like I should read more, because the fall is coming and it is cooler, and...well, no...

I did read an Amazon pick--(#1) and a few others...read the commentary for thoughts, I guess...

1.  All the Little Children (Jo Furniss)--An Amazon monthly pick a while back. If she hadn't announced that she has no plans to write a sequel, this would have made my top ten.  It is a nontraditional dystopian novel...instead of being about teenagers, its about two moms and their assorted children.  I wasn't disappointed because everything wasn't tied up in a bow, I'm disappointed because there were so many unexplained story lines that were just kind of left wide open or were ended in a way that wasn't consistent with the story.  The last chapter, the characters don't really act consistently with themselves either.  You'd have to read it I suppose to understand.  The premise of the story was really interesting though...perhaps she will write a sequel or someone else will take her idea and run with it.
2.  The Trapped Girl (Robert Dugoni)--Eventually he's going to stop writing sequels....right now I'm (impatiently) waiting for the one published a couple weeks ago...This one didn't disappoint, again, not top ten, but entertaining and work reading.
3.  Nevertheless (Alec Baldwin)--Parts of this autobiography were really fascinating and parts were not...I like biographies and autobiographies, so it was interesting.
4. Don't You Cry (Mary Kubica)--I think I've read other things by this author.  She was entertaining.  A couple twists.  Good mystery. No urgency to ready anything else by her right now.
5. The Last of the Doughboys (Richard Rubin)--Great book, maybe not top 10, but I do recommend it.  It just took me a loooonng time to finish it.  (It is a loooonng book).  I learned a lot about World War I.  It made me sad that I didn't meet more WWI vets and talk to them before they were all gone.
6.  Night Train to Memphis (Elizabeth Peters)--A classic, especially when read by Barbara Rosenblat.

What's up next?
Well, at the moment, I have these checked out of the library:

When I'm Gone (Emily Bleeker)
The Alice Network (Kate Quinn)
Close to Home (Robert Dugoni)
California (Edan Lepuki)
Commonwealth (Ann Patchett
For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood...and the Rest of Y'all Too (Christopher Emdin)
The Proving (Beverly Lewis)

I've also committed to a semi-informal book study at school, we're reading Teaching Adolescents with Autism (Walter G. Kaweski)  and to reading another Amazon pick from a few months ago, Beneath a Scarlet Sky (Mark Sullivan)  because one of my other co-workers read it and wants to talk to someone about it....so I'd say I have enough to keep me busy for the month.

Happy reading!

Butterfly Bonanza!

I'm very happy that we planted lilacs and butterfly bushes--check our our visitors this morning! (Yes, I know they might be moths...I'm not letting any in the house)...

Almost end of summer garden and other report

This has been an interesting garden year. Some of the veggies that have gone nuts before (cucumbers) have yet to produce anything this year. Due to that weird May snowstorm, the peach and cherry trees and the grape vines didn't produce any fruit (boo hiss).  But we've had lots of tomatoes...

and peppers (don't bother asking what kind...we discovered years ago that no matter what kind of peppers we plant they all end up as some weird, hot hybrid because peppers cross-pollinate..)

A couple weeks ago we spent a quick weekend at the apartment--I have real wildflowers outside the kitchen window! (Not for long...they had snow predicted today!!!)

This is my Alma gardening experiment--one little pepper plant producing some olive-sized peppers :)

What else have we been up to you ask?  Well, we discovered that hats cause Sid to become paralyzed and unable to bite...a win-win (see how cute he is?)

Five (fast) weeks of Cross Country...new team, new bests, new school--lots of fun.

More peppers... (the big one is from the CSA, not the garden)

More tomatoes (Heirloom and other) and enough okra to cook with (yay!)

And, of course, mint.  So much mint.  Do you want mint?  Come on over, we have mint everywhere...

Beets from the garden for beet salad...

And my favorite--carrots, parsnips, leeks, and potatoes from the garden.  There were only three potatoes, but I planted a fall crop in the greenhouse...maybe we'll get some later this winter.

A bonus photo of Claudia and I at a cross country meet...

I guess fall is officially here!

August 2017 books!

Hello...
This blogging thing may not be as used as it once was...


Books from August 2017:
 1. The Painted Queen (Elizabeth Peters)--Long-awaited and much anticipated.  Apparently, Barbara Mertz (Elizabeth Peters) was working on this book when she passed away.  There was possibly a lot of drama behind the scenes, as the family and the estate tried to figure out if and how to publish it.  Eventually, a friend of hers who is also a writer stepped up and finished the book.  There are some "errors" in the story--things that I don't think Peters would have let slip through, but nothing too terrible.  The book also set in the middle of the series, so we all know "what happens next" anyway.  It was a nice book, a good way to say goodbye (one more time) to Peters and her characters.
2.  Matchup (Edited by Lee Childs)--This is a collection of short stories (some fairly long) written by mystery writers in a partnership.  It probably would have been a lot more entertaining if I knew more of the authors.  Diana Gabaldon was a contributor and many of the other stories were entertaining. (Glad it came from the library though, not purchased).
3. in Scarlett (Elizabeth Peters)--CD in the car--always entertaining to listen to Barbara Rosenblat perform Elizabeth Peters.
4.  Loved (PC and Kristin Cast)--The Casts say that they never intended to write another sequel, but for some reason (that they never really explain, but hint at) they did.  It looks like there are going to be more books in this post sequel series. If you read the earlier novels, worth reading, if you didn't, don't start with this one.
5  And the Rest Is History (Jodie Taylor)-Entertaining as always...
6.  One for Sorrow (Mary Downing Hahn)--Not what I thought it was.  Someone (or maybe I read somewhere) recommended it as a ghost story, turns out it is by an author I've read before and really was an upper elementary school age book.  Quick read.
7.  Option B (Sheryl Sanberg and Adam Grant)--Interesting book.  She references "Lean In" a lot and how clueless she was.  It was an interesting book about how to deal with unexpected things in life.
8.  In the Clearing (Robert Dugoni)--Can I say I enjoyed a murder mystery?  I did....Robert Dugoni is very entertaining.
9.  Long Way Gone (Charles Martin)--I thought I had read everything by Charles Martin, then I saw this and didn't think I had...then I started reading and it is a very familiar story....but just published.  So maybe I read an excerpt or summary?  I always love Charles Martin's stories--a good read.  Follows a former country songwriter with flashbacks and current story.
10.  Trojan Gold (Elizabeth Peters)--CD in car--see # 3 :)

Goodbye, for now, my friend

I've written before about friends who are far away.  Who we communicate rarely, but when we do it is like no time has passed. I realize that I take for granted that those friends will always be "where I left them".  This past week my friend, Lisa, passed away after a brief illness.   I told a mutual friend that I didn't realize how much I missed her until she left us for Heaven.

 Lisa was one of the few people who we still exchanged handwritten letters. Especially since her stroke, she didn't use much electronic communication, at least not with me. The past few years we wrote a letter once or twice a year, trying to catch up in three to five pages (front and back) of loopy, 1980's writing. When I wrote to her family tonight, it was hard to remember I was writing about her, not to her. I loved finding one of her letters in my mailbox.

 In one of her letters, writing about her life as a single mom, Lisa said something like she was just a statistic now. As I told her at the time, Lisa could never be just a statistic. Lisa was an overcomer before Mandisa made it a thing to be.  She never found a problem she couldn't find her way around. Pretty much anything she set her mind to was completed.  When she had a stroke about eleven years ago, the prognosis wasn't good.  Against all the odds, she recovered from that illness, had another baby, went back to work.  She raised her four kids, leading them to follow Christ as she does.  Her kids are a stunning legacy to her overcomer skills.

Lisa was one of those friends who I wasn't close to at school, but who I spent an extraordinary part of my childhood and teen years with outside of school.  As I get older, I'm the first to admit that some of my memories are a bit fuzzy on the details. I can't be trusted to remember if it was Lisa, or her sister, or someone else....really who said or did a lot of things...but I remember the feelings and the general idea: Slumber parties on living room floors, New Year's Eve parties (with chex mix), choir practices, after church "field trips"...I can't tell you all the details, but I can tell you there was a lot of laughter, usually because Lisa said something witty. I have no idea why we found it funny at the time, but I still smile when I think of one slumber party, very (very) late at night, when Lisa rolled herself up in a sleeping bag and we all giggled hysterically as she said, "I'm a piggie in a blanket".  (Hmm...I probably should go easier on my daughter's slumber party giggle fests...).  I have no idea to this day why that was so funny...but it was. There was the (in)famous 4-H Fashion Show where a slip had to be stapled.  Games of sardines in my tiny house on Jackson street, when we all piled (with my mom) behind the laundry hampers (best hiding place ever!). A few (too short and too few) visits to each other's dorms and apartments at Purdue, and even fewer and shorter visits as adults.  At one point as kids, we all had matching shirts, in theory, so our parents could find us on the field trips, but really because  we enjoyed having matching shirts (not matching with the boys though--yuck)  Lisa's shirt was just a little bit different than the rest--we all had green apples, but she had a fancy neckline. I also have a lot of memories of us walking places--walking to the store in Burrows, walking to church from your house, walking to my house from the elementary school (once in our costumes from the sixth-grade play..."monster" makeup and all).

I loved going to her house.  There were German lessons during dinner--after the devotions book was read and the food was served, of course.  I think I can still order a beer in German (why did your dad teach us that?) but I don't think I can ask for the milk...And I feel like I remember a story about chicken surprise that wasn't really chicken.  Or maybe that was just something we talked about...like I said, the details are fuzzy.  Once I was there when your cat had kittens in your closet.  That didn't turn out so well, unfortunately.  And there was the night there was the world's tiniest, cutest, MOUSE, hopping up the back stairs (eeeekkkk....)....But you did teach me about other livestock--I astound people who think I'm a city girl (which I am) with my ability to herd hogs back into their pens using the big board thingy!  I also remember fondly "stealing" frozen cookies from the basement at church...I still have an affinity for frozen cookies.

Lisa and I were at Purdue at the same time.  I remember hanging out in her dorm room a few times that first year, and then we had different friends and different interests.  We saw each other at home, at church, over holidays, but not often otherwise.  I love watching the film of my wedding, because there is a clear scene of Lisa and a couple other friends from childhood/high school talking in the back row of the church.  They are talking about who each of the folks in the wedding party are and all the other things people discuss at weddings.  Their lips are easy to read. When Lisa got married, she personally mailed me a photo of her and her bridesmaids, since I already lived far away.  I kept that photo on my desk for years.  She was diligent about sending photos of her kids (back when we all printed and sent photos)along with little notes about what everyone was up to.

When my daughter was young, I visited the church we grew up in and was able to spend a few lovely hours with Lisa, her parents, and the two kids she had at the time.  I loved hearing that her kids put my daughter's photo on their refrigerator and referred to her as "my".  I have pictures in my head of that day, but have not successfully found any actual photos.

As I sit here, so far away from Lisa's family,  I have a lot of "I wish" and "I should have"...but I continue to take a deep breath and remember this is not goodbye--it is just a "see you someday".  For now, I will remember all wonderful things that made Lisa who she was. I'll remember her legacy, brought to life in her four beautiful children. My mom said it well when she noted that while we'll always picture Lisa as the sixteen year old opening a toy car for her birthday, I am happy to hear of her wonderful adult accomplishments and the strong faith she was able to help her children grow.
 I'll  continue to pray for her children, parents, and siblings.  And maybe I'll be a little better at keeping in touch with those of you still here on Earth.

May God hold you in the palm of his hand, until I see you again, my Friend.

Other memories that didn't make the narrative and may or may not be part of Lisa's story(I decided to leave them here as my notes)
reheating waffles
sunday school--the 1950's manners books, the demons went in the pigs and they ran off a cliff
drop by visits to our house during fair
rat behind barn door (Beth?)
shaved ham--something smells like shaved ham (Beth)
"Jump"on big rock in front yard
watching sound of music on new years
watching mtv on sat morning
riding bus to your house