Sunday, April 20, 2008 –
At 7 a.m. Mountain time, my sister's cat Cheeto meows at the guest house door to be let in one last time. He settles down on the bed while I drink my coffee and pack for my return trip. I have to leave by 9:30 a.m. Mountain time to make my flight back home which departs Lubbock, Texas at 3:50 p.m. Central time. It's a 3 hour trip to Lubbock from Roswell. My brother-in-law Jim calculates an hour and a half for lunch in between.
Breakfast for me is vanilla yogurt, strawberries, a banana and a sprinkle of cereal and coffee. I have brought to the table a meditation to share on heritage. As soon as I say the word "heritage," my precious sister tears up and I find it difficult to read without my throat tightening up. That's because some might characterize our mutual "heritage" as a little bit of holy and a whole lot of horrendous.
"We are God's love in action. Lives are enriched as family members, united through ancestry or shared life experiences, gather together. Each generation expresses its uniqueness and connects in loving ways with other generations. Picturing this interaction is like looking at a living photo album of God’s love. Babies bask in the loving care they receive. Children share with real and imagined playmates. Adults connect through like interests. Elders share with an understanding that only years of experience can bring to one’s perspective. Whatever generation I belong to, whatever the age differences within my group of friends or family, I appreciate our shared heritage. We are God’s love in expression, inspiring one another, one generation to another. "
“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.” —Psalm 16:6
I have prepared a few notes to myself to tie up conversations that I didn't finish with Jim or Kate. They are patient as I go through my list. There had been so many years of silence between us that I didn't know when I'd get another opportunity for a few shared words. It's important to get it said before time runs out. I remind Kate that in the Scripture God promised to restore to us the years that the locusts have eaten. They ate a lot of years. Kate and Jim indulge me in respectful silence. My face is wet with tears too. We hug. "My sister is a preacher," Kate says. "Who knew?"
We leave Roswell on time. Along the highway we spot hawks high up on telephone poles. They've built their nests on boards that jut out from each pole. We pass windmills and oil wells, neither of which I have ever seen in my life except on TV. Jim pulls over so I can get a shot of one working oil well planted close to the road. We pass sheep and cattle ranches and horse farms.
We arrive in Lubbock in time for lunch at an Italian restaurant and enjoy a family size serving of pasta and individual salads. When we reach the airport, I tell Jim to let me out at the departure terminal. He waits in his SUV while Kate helps me get my bag checked in. I have forgotten the hat Jim gave me and she retrieves it for me before hugs. She waves, "No tears, just all joy," she says and she is gone.
On the plane, I work 3 Sudoku puzzles from the American Airlines magazine in my seat pocket. The ear plugs Kate gave me at her office help me concentrate. It's only about an hour in the air before we land in Dallas. At the security station, I am told that my C-PAP has "given a signal" and I will need to be body searched. Baloney. How can my C-PAP signal the security people to search me? I just know it's because I am wearing Jim's hat. How could they think I look strange with a cowboy hat on in the Dallas airport? A female security officer strip searches me and cannot find whatever it is she thinks she is looking for.
My C-PAP is returned to me and I wind my way to the Sky Train which takes me to Terminal D where my flight supposedly takes off. Ten minutes before flight time, an announcer comes on the intercom to direct everyone back to Terminal A. I barely make it back in time for boarding. It's a 3 hour flight to Richmond where the captain announces it's raining. Jim had told me to look for the circles on the ground that are formed by a radius of water pipes, a grid-like irrigation of the fields. For miles I can see the circles from my window seat - large quilt-like multi-colored patches in shades of green, rust and brown. The land is carved up into neat patches.
When we touch down in Richmond at 10:45 p.m. EST, it's pouring rain, but I am happy and grateful to have make the trip to visit my sister Kate and her dear husband Jim. I so needed to get away and have a few days of R&R.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
UFOs and Sudoku
Saturday, April 19, 2008 -
Kate has prepared breakfast of fresh strawberries, bananas and hot oatmeal. I feel relieved that we don't say a blessing. I find it hard to pray out loud. I remember the last time I did and I was so humiliated I vowed I'd never be caught praying aloud again.
It is a perfect day weather-wise for a stroll through the neighborhood. The temperature is in the 70s- so the three of us set out for the UFO Museum, where we watch a long documentary on the supposed UFO sightings in 1947. I can't find anything in the gift shop I want to buy. On the way home we stop at a local bakery to load up with freshly baked goodies which we snack on once home before heading out by car to the Bitter Wildlife Refuge Reserve. The word "bitter" in the title of the Reserve reminds us of Barack Obama's recent description of "the locals" as "bitter, clinging on to their guns and religion."
Jim and Kate have packed several binoculars so we each have one. Jim is first to spot a coyote ambling along the side of a nearly dried up riverbed where ducks swim, their white tails sticking straight up in the air as they duck their heads under water to search for food. KB and Jim point out lots of different birds -- most of them KB can name - she and Jim have been studying birds for 4 years. They have the Audobon book of Birds of the Southwest. Jim lets me out of his black Toyota SUV to get a few good shots of the scenery. It's a very windy afternoon at the Reserve. I try to keep his golf hat on my head with my left arm while holding the camera with my right. I like his hat so much that he says I can have it. I am thrilled to have this souvenir of our visit.
Back at home I help Kate fix dinner. I make a green salad of Granny Smith apples, feta cheese, and green onions while she steams fresh broccoli and cooks salmon on her George Foreman grill given to her as a wedding present. Jim brings out another bottle of New Mexico wine- this time a Riesling. It is sweet and delicious. He says there is a winery in Roswell and there are wineries throughout the State.
After dinner Jim gives me a few hints on how to solve Sudoku puzzles. I think I’m hooked. Then I join Kate and Jim in their dining room for a game that uses dice - FARKLE or Five Hundred. Jim keeps score and we play two rounds. Kate beats us both times. Before turning in, we top off the evening with some freshly brewed expresso and a homemade almond cake brought to Jim and Kate by a friend.
Kate has prepared breakfast of fresh strawberries, bananas and hot oatmeal. I feel relieved that we don't say a blessing. I find it hard to pray out loud. I remember the last time I did and I was so humiliated I vowed I'd never be caught praying aloud again.
It is a perfect day weather-wise for a stroll through the neighborhood. The temperature is in the 70s- so the three of us set out for the UFO Museum, where we watch a long documentary on the supposed UFO sightings in 1947. I can't find anything in the gift shop I want to buy. On the way home we stop at a local bakery to load up with freshly baked goodies which we snack on once home before heading out by car to the Bitter Wildlife Refuge Reserve. The word "bitter" in the title of the Reserve reminds us of Barack Obama's recent description of "the locals" as "bitter, clinging on to their guns and religion."
Jim and Kate have packed several binoculars so we each have one. Jim is first to spot a coyote ambling along the side of a nearly dried up riverbed where ducks swim, their white tails sticking straight up in the air as they duck their heads under water to search for food. KB and Jim point out lots of different birds -- most of them KB can name - she and Jim have been studying birds for 4 years. They have the Audobon book of Birds of the Southwest. Jim lets me out of his black Toyota SUV to get a few good shots of the scenery. It's a very windy afternoon at the Reserve. I try to keep his golf hat on my head with my left arm while holding the camera with my right. I like his hat so much that he says I can have it. I am thrilled to have this souvenir of our visit.
Back at home I help Kate fix dinner. I make a green salad of Granny Smith apples, feta cheese, and green onions while she steams fresh broccoli and cooks salmon on her George Foreman grill given to her as a wedding present. Jim brings out another bottle of New Mexico wine- this time a Riesling. It is sweet and delicious. He says there is a winery in Roswell and there are wineries throughout the State.
After dinner Jim gives me a few hints on how to solve Sudoku puzzles. I think I’m hooked. Then I join Kate and Jim in their dining room for a game that uses dice - FARKLE or Five Hundred. Jim keeps score and we play two rounds. Kate beats us both times. Before turning in, we top off the evening with some freshly brewed expresso and a homemade almond cake brought to Jim and Kate by a friend.
Coffee, Cats, Cactus and Coke
Friday, April 18, 2008-
Cheeto and Earl Grey are waiting at the guest house door this morning when I wake up. They have to revisit and resniff the house before settling down once again at the foot of the bed for a morning snooze. I am soon up and dressed and sipping freshly brewed coffee and am reading morning meditations on the sofa. I let the cats out and stroll up the walk that leads to the mudroom at the back of the house. At the front side of the guest house is an assortment of cactus plants -- broomstick, adobe, and prickly pear. Inside the mudroom cozy cat beds line one side of the wall while Kate's washer and dryer rest on the other side.
In the kitchen, Kate has prepared breakfast and we enjoy conversation around the center aisle, its top covered in blue and rust tile. She has a refrigerator and a freezer too just like our Mother does in South Carolina. She points out her Ph.D. books now relegated to a lower shelf in the bookcase on the opposite side wall. I browse wonderful cookbooks too from Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods. I am going to subscribe to them on KB's computer after breakfast so I can enjoy cooking good foods again that are simple and healthy. KB is proud of her German made coffee contraption which is a size larger than a large bread machine. With the press of a button, the steaming aroma of freshly made coffee soon fills up the room.
After breakfast, Kate guides me on a tour of her garden. She has inherited our Mother's love of gardening and has plenty to show for it: irises (standard and Japanese) of every imaginable color; red, yellow and white roses, and snowball and lilac bushes. We stop to taste and smell the petals from her sage and rosemary bushes. She also has "mint galore," she says.
Jim's his new buddy- Hans from Germany- arrives to take Jim out for lunch in town. In her backyard garden, Kate and I lunch on vegies from yesterday's feast. She has placed two green lawn chairs in a warm and sunny spot at the edge of the walkway that leads to the guest house. She wants to get a haircut and I am happy to bask in the backyard sunshine and pet the cats while she is getting beautified at the beauty salon. Jim returns from lunch and sets off again for a round of golf with another friend.
This afternoon Kate and I visit her office where I meet one of her assistants, Angela, a sweet young mother who is proud to show me pictures of her children, before Kate tests my hearing. Good news. I have borderline normal hearing with some beginning loss. Kate prints out reports that show my hearing is in the normal range though on the borderline. She assures me I do not need hearing aids yet and explains that hearing loss occurs gradually over time. She "blew out her ears" during her college years in Florida on air skies and wears hearing aids now. I have my camera and have taken pictures of the office to share with our Mother for Mother’s Day. Angela has promised to e-mail me a photo of "Dr. Kate."
Tonight, we all go out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant – I am treating us to shrimp fajitas, fried beans, guacamole and Mexican coke. I lap up the beans and guacamole but cannot finish the shrimp fajitas. The Mexican coke is delicious - not as sweet as the American version. At home we end another wonderful day together with a dessert of ganoche I had bought at Sam's this afternoon and some delicious New Mexico wine which Jim says I can order online.
Cheeto and Earl Grey are waiting at the guest house door this morning when I wake up. They have to revisit and resniff the house before settling down once again at the foot of the bed for a morning snooze. I am soon up and dressed and sipping freshly brewed coffee and am reading morning meditations on the sofa. I let the cats out and stroll up the walk that leads to the mudroom at the back of the house. At the front side of the guest house is an assortment of cactus plants -- broomstick, adobe, and prickly pear. Inside the mudroom cozy cat beds line one side of the wall while Kate's washer and dryer rest on the other side.
In the kitchen, Kate has prepared breakfast and we enjoy conversation around the center aisle, its top covered in blue and rust tile. She has a refrigerator and a freezer too just like our Mother does in South Carolina. She points out her Ph.D. books now relegated to a lower shelf in the bookcase on the opposite side wall. I browse wonderful cookbooks too from Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods. I am going to subscribe to them on KB's computer after breakfast so I can enjoy cooking good foods again that are simple and healthy. KB is proud of her German made coffee contraption which is a size larger than a large bread machine. With the press of a button, the steaming aroma of freshly made coffee soon fills up the room.
After breakfast, Kate guides me on a tour of her garden. She has inherited our Mother's love of gardening and has plenty to show for it: irises (standard and Japanese) of every imaginable color; red, yellow and white roses, and snowball and lilac bushes. We stop to taste and smell the petals from her sage and rosemary bushes. She also has "mint galore," she says.
Jim's his new buddy- Hans from Germany- arrives to take Jim out for lunch in town. In her backyard garden, Kate and I lunch on vegies from yesterday's feast. She has placed two green lawn chairs in a warm and sunny spot at the edge of the walkway that leads to the guest house. She wants to get a haircut and I am happy to bask in the backyard sunshine and pet the cats while she is getting beautified at the beauty salon. Jim returns from lunch and sets off again for a round of golf with another friend.
This afternoon Kate and I visit her office where I meet one of her assistants, Angela, a sweet young mother who is proud to show me pictures of her children, before Kate tests my hearing. Good news. I have borderline normal hearing with some beginning loss. Kate prints out reports that show my hearing is in the normal range though on the borderline. She assures me I do not need hearing aids yet and explains that hearing loss occurs gradually over time. She "blew out her ears" during her college years in Florida on air skies and wears hearing aids now. I have my camera and have taken pictures of the office to share with our Mother for Mother’s Day. Angela has promised to e-mail me a photo of "Dr. Kate."
Tonight, we all go out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant – I am treating us to shrimp fajitas, fried beans, guacamole and Mexican coke. I lap up the beans and guacamole but cannot finish the shrimp fajitas. The Mexican coke is delicious - not as sweet as the American version. At home we end another wonderful day together with a dessert of ganoche I had bought at Sam's this afternoon and some delicious New Mexico wine which Jim says I can order online.
On the Road Again...
Thursday, April 17, 2008 -
I leave home at 11:30 a.m. for the Richmond airport and arrive 5 1/2 hours later at the Lubbock, Texas airport on American Airlines at 5 p.m. central time. On the escalator to the baggage area, I spot Kate waiting for me. We gather my 1 checked bag and away we go in her red Honda SUV for 3 hours across the desert on the open winding roads through oil fields and brownfields into the vast agricultural region of West Texas and New Mexico, finally arriving at 200 S. Kentucky Avenue in Roswell, New Mexico, Kate and Jim's fabulous estate, at 7:45 p.m. Mountain time (9:45 EST pm.—a 10 hour + trip for me).
Now in my 60's, I have come here to visit my sister Kate and her husband Jim, to continue our healing journey and to reconnect after so many years we have lost since our childhood days. Kate has her Ph.D. in Audiology, runs a clinic in the city as the sole audiologist, and has offered to test my hearing. I suspect some hearing loss - I have had ringing in my ears for years and often miss parts of conversations. I have told her she is the only one I trust to stick anything in my ears! Jim is retired and enjoys his golf game while making new friends. His sparkly blue eyes, quiet smile, premature white hair and reserved demeanor suggest he is friendly but thoughtful and cautious.
Kate has risen early this morning to make an assortment of salads that will accompany sliced ham for Jim whose golf buddies will be joining him for lunch while she and I are en route from Lubbock. At supper we three happily gobble up leftovers. Before turning in for the night, I play a few tunes from memory for Kate and Jim on their Baldwin piano in their sun room.
Kate escorts me to the guest house in back of their historic Mediterranean-style home where I will stay during our visit. She has thought of everything to make it a bed and breakfast retreat -- all the amenities one would find at any Omni Hotel. The guest house is very comfortably furnished. At the foot of the queen size bed is an armoire; along its side, a large walk-in closet whose sliding doors have been artfully carved to create a mountain scene; at the head, a table, lamp and clock on one side and a sofa on the other. A wooden gate separates the bedroom from the kitchen area which contains a refrigerator on one side of the room near the front door and a writing table, chair and lamp. Across the room a mirror hangs above a sink beside which a table holds a microwave, a basket full of Starbucks coffee and creamer, a Mr. Coffee pot and coffee cup. The tile floor feels cool and welcoming to my feet.
I am not long in bed before two of the resident 5 cats—Earl Grey (solid grey) and Cheeto (orange and white) who are both grown male cats -- are meowing at the door to be let in, and of course, I am delighted to do so because I always seem to miss my two male cats whenever I travel and have to leave them behind. Satisfied that they have sniffed out most of the spaces in the guest house, they hop on the bed and curl up at the foot beside each other. Earl Grey has been in a fight and has an open sore which he licks but can’t keep from running onto the white bedspread. I don't notice the evidence of their having been with me until 2:30 a.m. when they meow to be let out. I hope it is okay for me to have let them in.
I leave home at 11:30 a.m. for the Richmond airport and arrive 5 1/2 hours later at the Lubbock, Texas airport on American Airlines at 5 p.m. central time. On the escalator to the baggage area, I spot Kate waiting for me. We gather my 1 checked bag and away we go in her red Honda SUV for 3 hours across the desert on the open winding roads through oil fields and brownfields into the vast agricultural region of West Texas and New Mexico, finally arriving at 200 S. Kentucky Avenue in Roswell, New Mexico, Kate and Jim's fabulous estate, at 7:45 p.m. Mountain time (9:45 EST pm.—a 10 hour + trip for me).
Now in my 60's, I have come here to visit my sister Kate and her husband Jim, to continue our healing journey and to reconnect after so many years we have lost since our childhood days. Kate has her Ph.D. in Audiology, runs a clinic in the city as the sole audiologist, and has offered to test my hearing. I suspect some hearing loss - I have had ringing in my ears for years and often miss parts of conversations. I have told her she is the only one I trust to stick anything in my ears! Jim is retired and enjoys his golf game while making new friends. His sparkly blue eyes, quiet smile, premature white hair and reserved demeanor suggest he is friendly but thoughtful and cautious.
Kate has risen early this morning to make an assortment of salads that will accompany sliced ham for Jim whose golf buddies will be joining him for lunch while she and I are en route from Lubbock. At supper we three happily gobble up leftovers. Before turning in for the night, I play a few tunes from memory for Kate and Jim on their Baldwin piano in their sun room.
Kate escorts me to the guest house in back of their historic Mediterranean-style home where I will stay during our visit. She has thought of everything to make it a bed and breakfast retreat -- all the amenities one would find at any Omni Hotel. The guest house is very comfortably furnished. At the foot of the queen size bed is an armoire; along its side, a large walk-in closet whose sliding doors have been artfully carved to create a mountain scene; at the head, a table, lamp and clock on one side and a sofa on the other. A wooden gate separates the bedroom from the kitchen area which contains a refrigerator on one side of the room near the front door and a writing table, chair and lamp. Across the room a mirror hangs above a sink beside which a table holds a microwave, a basket full of Starbucks coffee and creamer, a Mr. Coffee pot and coffee cup. The tile floor feels cool and welcoming to my feet.
I am not long in bed before two of the resident 5 cats—Earl Grey (solid grey) and Cheeto (orange and white) who are both grown male cats -- are meowing at the door to be let in, and of course, I am delighted to do so because I always seem to miss my two male cats whenever I travel and have to leave them behind. Satisfied that they have sniffed out most of the spaces in the guest house, they hop on the bed and curl up at the foot beside each other. Earl Grey has been in a fight and has an open sore which he licks but can’t keep from running onto the white bedspread. I don't notice the evidence of their having been with me until 2:30 a.m. when they meow to be let out. I hope it is okay for me to have let them in.
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