Re-Entry

"Re-Entry: a reentering; specif., a coming back, as of a space vehicle, into the earth's atmosphere."

It's day 9, the final day of our family vacation. We have 500 miles to drive before we get home. Lots of time to spend just thinking while driving or sitting in the truck. Nine hours actually.

Vacation was wonderful but tomorrow would be Monday, back to work. I opted to work from home on Monday to ease into the transition.

My train of thought that day went over mountains and through tunnels and occasionally came to a screeching halt --- the things that would have to be done once we got home --- things I never had to even think about the previous week.

work, meetings, laundry, grocery shopping,teaching on Sunday,

paying bills, housecleaning, waking up early, hitting the gym,
commuting, the list went on and on...

The traffic on I-90 had a couple of rough spots, we made it to the kennel to pick up Missy before closing. At home we unpacked the truck, putting the totes in the garage for later. Unpacked our suitcases, ran to the store for some basics and Chinese food for dinner.

Then. I. Crashed. And then it was Monday!

Grab Bag for Big Kids

I remember when I was a kid how much fun grab bags were. At a store there would be a brown paper bag in a box marked "boy" or "girl". You picked a bag and paid for it and whatever was inside now belonged to you. It might be a ring, a toy, a puzzle, you had no idea until you opened it. Today at an Estate Sale I found my version of a grab bag for big kids. We were able to go through all the rooms in this house. In a spare bedroom was an old Kenmore sewing machine and next to it was this cool blue box marked 7.00. I admit I did peek inside because I could! I decided between the box itself and the goodies inside it was worth 7.00. When I got home I took pictures as I discovered all the cool things inside the box. Of course there are items that will be thrown away and other items that will continue their journey to the thrift store for someone else to discover. The beaded bag which is the best find in the box, I'm going to give to one of my sisters. I think she'll like that. She'll have to finish off the bag, it still has the thread and beads attached to it. Who among us doesn't have unfinished projects sitting around? There were little Japanese packages and when I opened them I discovered a cool cutting tool and then four different sizes of very tiny thin sewing needles. They are silver with gold eyes. Let me know if you have any idea what they would be used for. I've never seen any that tiny.

Here is the box, such a cool box.












These would be used for snipping threads. I like them a lot.





See the little tiny Japanese papers? That's what the little needles are wrapped in.

I've never seen one of these beaded purses in the process of being made. Really cool.

Nice little Fiskar scissors. One can never have too many pairs of scissors. All in all, a great find.

For the Beauty of the Earth

This is Why

This is why we keep things. Things like old letters and scraps of paper, kept packed away in boxes, in the bottom of the closet. Why? Simply to make me smile on a Sunday afternoon as I sit on my bedroom floor sorting through boxes to "downsize" the "stuff".

This was in a letter from my Mom. She loved to write poetry. They were living in St. George at the time and for a few years, I was able to fly down and visit for a long weekend in February or March. It was a great time to escape the rain in Seattle and I usually timed it to attend Dad's Barbershop Chorus show.

Here is the poem my Mom wrote on my last visit. It was in March of 1998 and my Father passed away three months later in June.

TRUDY CAME TO OUR HOUSE

When Trudy came to our house
Things were changed around.
She straightened up my bathroom
And now things can be found.

She helped her dad at the computer
And made him feel the king.
She made for me some ID cards
To last me plum till spring.

And then guess what happened?
Trudy went shopping at the mall
She came home with new shoes,
I thought she'd buy them all.

It was early in the morning
We drove her in the car
Where she could catch the shuttle
It was early I recall.

Now she is back in Kent
A walking in the rain
And our home will miss Trudy,
To feel her touch again.

L.c. - march 1998