Poor Knees

When you are two miles from your house and fall on your run, what do you do? You keep going! Darn those uneven sidewalks!! My poor knees are so scarred up. Vitamin E cream, you are my best friend! Gotta be ready for Saturday's half marathon, scabs and all!

So True!

Simple truth!!

Denver

My BFF and I take a trip every year. We try and tie it to a race for me and find a great quilt shop for her. This year it took us to Denver. We stayed downtown and walked much of the city. We ate good food, saw a movie and shopped and shopped. We used uber, which I had never done before, and it was an adventure.

We always joke that in our old age, we will be each other's wife. When we saw this darling sign in a antique shop, we had to get a photo!

The Denver Botanic Garden was a peaceful and beautiful place right within the city. Surrounded by high rise buildings, you find this lush, green oasis. We had a light breakfast and walked the grounds.

When we caught a glimpse of these two, in their muumuus and socks and sandals we decided that would be us in 10 or 20 years!! YIKES!!

Pot is legal in CO which explains the smell that grabs you every so often as you are walking down the street! We had to go inside a "dispensary" and check it out. They were really nice to two uncool, old ladies! We even got a sticker from them! StarBUDS...get it??

We crammed a lot into four days (we always do!) One of my favorite memories is sitting in the hotel room laughing far into the night. The memories we create on these trips are always with me. They are a sweet reminder of how important friendship is and how lucky I am to have such a beautiful friend!

 





 

 







Life Interrupted

Eleven years ago today, our lives were changed in a big way! Princess Madeline made her appearance. Oh, I know it sounds corny and trite to say that grandkids are the best thing to ever happen to you, but, frankly, they are!! Where you'd be considered a crazy mom if you walked around telling everyone how beautiful, perfect and amazing your children are, it is perfectly acceptable to say these things about your grandchildren. People listen, smile and nod. They thinks it's sweet that you are so enchanted by them. They say how lucky the kids are to have you close and involved. Little do they know who the lucky ones really are...us!!
Maddy has become this tall, willowy blond who still doesn't know how beautiful she is. She loves her crazy, mismatched socks and beanie caps with any outfit she decides to put them with on any given day. She has a masters degree in the eye roll and often wonders how we all got so dumb when she is so smart! Then, in the next moment, she will sit down on Pa's lap and act like a little girl again. She can be infuriating and charming at a moments notice. Her world is getting larger and more interesting every day. Conversations with her are lively and often mature. Her math homework gives me a headache! I pray every week I can keep up with her.
#1 granddaughter, we love you to the moon and back! To us, you are, and always will be, perfect and beautiful!  We can't wait to see what the future holds for you.


 

Happy Grandparent's Day

 Happy National Grandparent's Day. A day thought up, probably by Hallmark, to sell more STUFF! It also gives me a chance to comment on the idea of grandparents. The media always seems to portray us as gray haired, glasses wearing, old people like you see here. Really?? Isn't that image kind of outdated (no pun intended)??  We have iPhones. We have iPads. We Face Time our grandkids when they are away. Now, I admit, I will NEVER get the fascination with Minecraft, but I try to listen when they excitedly tell me they've reached a new level and unlocked a dozen new ways to kill things!
My husband is never too tired (even if he is) to toss the ball with Jack, play with the girls, take them all for ice cream. I can still come up with ideas and crafts that interest them and actually tear them away from their electronic devices.

THIS is the image of today's grandparents. We are older, but not old. We dye our hair and swear, if there's enough light, we still don't need reading glasses! We run half marathons. We build towers of kids in the swimming pool and toss endless cannon balls. We want to be involved in both the small and big moments that make up our grandchildren's lives. We choose to be on the sidelines of everything, watching, cheering, laughing and crying with them. We pray they feel completely confident in the love we have for them and how much they matter to us.
So, Happy Grandparents Day, from a red headed, contact lens wearing grammie!! May your day be filled with love!

What's on Your Table?

After doing two funeral/receptions last week, I got to thinking about what people bring me to set up on the memorial table. I always encourage people to do one as I feel it brings a great deal of comfort to those in attendance.
There has been a interesting array of items on these tables over the years. It has ranged from tchotchke stuffed birds, a tea set, a doctor lab coat, a picture they painted and more. Of course, photos are a very big part of what people display. Many choose to share old photos of the deceased when they were young, graduated from high school, their wedding day, a cruise they took. People love pouring over these photos and take a great deal of delight when they find that they are in one or two of them. I guess it proves that they mattered in the life of their loved one who is gone.
So, what would be on my table? My daughter (the minimalist) would roll her eyes. Me (the collector) wonders, out of all the things I have collected over the years, what would I like to display on a six foot table that would represent the best and biggest parts of my life? Photos, for sure. They are everywhere in my house. Thank God someone else will have to pick which ones. Hopefully, they will be a mix of professional and posed to silly and fun captured moments. I would want some of the handmade Christmas cards I have made every year to be on display. I have collected pigs for decades and some are special. At least one or two should make the table. I'd like the copies of my blog books to be there and later given to my grandchildren to read so they know how much they mattered to me. I'd like the binder that holds every running bib from every race I have ever run (65 and counting). 
Actually, I am not sure what else. Isn't it funny that I have a house stuffed with things and yet have a difficult time deciding what really matters in the end to represent ME?? Did the people who brought me these bags filled with trinkets and photos from their loved one have a hard time choosing? Did they labor over wondering if they were doing the person's memory justice? Did they have a conversation with their loved one prior to their death asking them what they wanted on their memory table? A memory table may not rank up there with end of life measures and finances, but it does matter! I have witnessed people shed tears and embrace each other as they pour over these tables. They find comfort and even joy, in these tables. They remember.
Years from now, when my grandkids are adults, they may come across a ceramic pig somewhere and pause and turn to the person they are with and say, "My grammie used to collect pigs. They were all over her house."
What more can we ask for than to be remembered?
So, what's on YOUR table?

Redheads

 Found this yesterday and it just made me smile. I am sure it is quite true!

Do you have a redhead friend??

Love Lucille Ball, a totally original redhead who made us laugh for ages.

As we say in our house, "Blondes tease. Redheads please!"

He's been with me so long, we've been through three hair colors...four if you count gray!!!

Forty Years?? Really??

 "For all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you."

 

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that today marks 40 years that we have bee married. That's 14,600 days being married. That's a long time! When I mention it to people, they are often impressed or touched and think it is so sweet. I usually scoff. Not because I am unhappy, but because, these forty years have held a lot of ups and downs, sadness and happiness, excitement and boredom, things we want to remember and things we want to forget.

I read on Facebook where people claim their spouse is their soul mate. I am not even sure what that word actually means, but I don't know if we'd call each other that, on Facebook or anywhere else. We are very different people. We have had very different interests over the past 40 years. We have annoyed each other and wondered why we were together. And yet we still are together.

You know those vows you say "yes" to on your wedding day? Well, guess what? They really happen throughout a marriage and you are forced to choose that other person, again and again. Let's see ~ better or worse? Yes, we've had those moments and some were pretty ugly. Richer or poorer? Yes, we've been both. Sickness and health? Yes, been through both of those also. To love and to cherish?  Wow, this one takes some thought because cherish is a very powerful word. Love comes in many forms, but cherish, now that's a deeper level of respect and admiration that I would not label many things in my life. I would say that my husband has cherished me throughout most of our marriage, even when I was pretty un-cherishable! Til death do us part? This one remains to be seen, but, so far, so good!

Marriage comes down to a whole lot of little things, not grand gestures. He fills your car with gas. You make sure his sock drawer is full of clean socks. You make dinner. He cleans up. It is knowing that getting through this life, tough as it may be at times, you have someone in your corner that you love, trust, and rely on, that will be there for you. They make the journey a little easier, a little more fun. What more can we ask for?

 

As Sara Bareilles sings:

"Tell the world we finally got it all right

I choose you

I become yours and you become mine

I choose you"

Happy Anniversary, honey! Looks like you are stuck with me!!

Time with My Friend

 

 My Texas friend was in town and we planned to have breakfast together. Then, inspiration hit and I suggested "an adventure" instead! We went to the best nail salon in the OC that my daughter discovered several years ago. They don't just paint your toes, they turn them into works of art! There are literally 1000s of designs from which to choose. It can be a bit overwhelming. My friend wasn't sure what to get and then I suggested the University of Texas "hook 'em horns" insignia. Boom! Perfect! Football season is about to start and they have season tickets. I think she'll be wearing open toed shoes to the first few games!!

I am her crazy friend who always has adventure ideas and pushes her to come along. She is my grounded, faith-filled friend who makes me think and be a little kinder. Time and distance does nothing to dampen our friendship.
What would we do without each other??

OC Fun (?) Run

Dear OC Fair 5K Runners/Director:
This year marks the fourth time I have run this race. Usually, no matter how difficult a race has been, I always have a feeling of exhilaration at the end. Not this time! This year, this "fun" race was nothing but frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I came in third in my age group out of 44 women, which is an accomplishment for me. I am a "late in life" runner and am happy to be able to run at all.
You proudly stated that this race started a few years ago with only a few hundred people and, today, it had over 2000 runners. Great for the sport. Great for the race director's pocket book. For some of us, who want to always do our best, it has become more frustrating that it's worth.
Every year, at every race, I hear the announcer ask people who are not five or six minute runners to MOVE BACK!! He explains it is for safety as well as courtesy. NOBODY LISTENS!! I am not very fast and I know where I belong in the race corral. This morning, two women, standing next to me, had this conversation. "What's our goal today?" "Well, I think we can do it in an hour and thirty minutes, don't you??" Let me state it again ~ they were standing NEXT to me!!! I later looked at the clock, at home, and realized I had run the race, got some water, walked to my car, drove through Starbucks and got a coffee and was home reading the paper and they were still running!!!! While I applaud anybody who gets out there and attempts to run/walk a race, this is ridiculous! Yes, run, but stay towards the back. It is chipped timed. That means, as they explain every time, you time is your time based upon when you start and when you finish. You are not penalized for being at the back of the pack.
There was a little kid next to me on a scooter today!! This is not only annoying, but it is dangerous!! Why would a responsible parent allow them to ride a scooter in a running race?
Now, strollers...there are many very fast runners who push a stroller. They often beat me, but there are also very casual runners who push strollers and start way up front. Many other runners end up dodging these huge strollers and it becomes a safety issue. It costs you time to get around them. That actually matters to some of us. Strollers, no matter what or who, belong in the back with a taped off area that only allows them to be there for the start. If people cannot police themselves, which obviously they can't, then the race director needs to do it.
Perhaps these thoughts will cause a backlash from people who think every race is for everybody. I, too, think races can be for everyone, but, in an age when common courtesy and common sense are in short supply, race directors and promoters must do a better job of making them a fun experience for the runner interested in bettering performance and their time, not just the casual runner who pays the fee.
The one good thing that came out of todays race is that I have decided, after 28 5Ks, to never run a 5K again. I will stick to 10Ks and half marathons. At my age and speed, I will never end up in the top of my age group, but, perhaps I will not feel the frustration I felt this morning.
Congrats to all the "runners" this morning. You were all lapping the people still sitting on their sofa eating a jelly donut!

 

DWBH

I like this.
I have a hard time remembering this.
I am working on it.
Happy is just better. Don't you think?

SA Zoo

 This week's adventure was  a trip to the Santa Ana Zoo. It's close. It's small and easy to cover in an hour or two AND it was FREE! I won 4 tickets to the zoo and had been saving them for summer.
The history of the zoo is kind of interesting to me. In 1949, J. E. Prentice donated 12 acres of his citrus ranch to Santa Ana for a park. With this donation, he stipulated that the city must keep at least 50 monkeys at all times. Prentice loved animals, and always had a fascination with monkeys. He kept several on his back porch at his first home, and he and his wife would feed them and enjoy their antics from their kitchen window.

 The kids read the sign to "swing like a monkey" and took it to heart, especially Abbey. Watching the antics of monkeys really is very entertaining. Mr. Prentice was right. They often behave like siblings, fighting, picking on each other, hitting and screeching.  We observed a variety of animals. We saw a camel (and it wasn't even Hump Day!). I have never seen an anteater up close. They are very odd looking creatures. The kids loved it.

They also have a cute merry-go-round and, at first, the trio decided they didn't want to ride it. Then, they saw the basket that they could spin, much like the Disneyland teacups. The thought of trying to make each other nauseous was too good to pass up! Ugh!
My monkeys enjoyed the other monkeys.
"Good adventure!", proclaimed Jack as we left. Music to my ears!!
Biggsuzi

Almost There??

You see lots of signs along the side of the road when you run races. Some are funny and make you chuckle as you run. Now THIS is a realistic sign for a race. I hate when people shout, "Almost there!" when there are still miles to go. If you have ever run a distance, it gets harder and harder as you chalk up the miles. When you hit the double digits (10 miles) of a half marathon, you know you have the better part of it licked, but you are far from "almost there". You still need to run 3.1 miles and that's a 5K. To some runners, a 5K is the ENTIRE race. Who would tell them, at the start, that they are "almost there"??? Probably nobody. Unless you are standing at the 13 mile marker, don't tell me I am "almost there"!

Now these are pretty funny. Smiling through the pain...cuz I'm almost there!!!

 



Trinity Bat Co Adventure

 These three lucky kids (Jack, his buddy from up north, Dylan and Abbey) got to tour Trinity Bat Co. today. They make wooden baseball bats. Jack had been asking me lately about a lathe machine and how bats are made, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to find out. This photo is of the wood as it comes into them to be made into the bats. It is carefully inspected for any flaws and weighed to get a precise weight for each and every bat made.

 This local company (USA made) makes bats for all ages and levels, even up to the majors. They count Adrian Gonzalez (Dodgers) and Hunter Pence (Giants) among their famous clients. I didn't know that major league guys can go through 200+ bats per year! They showed the kids the cutting of the wood and how it is painted. You can order any color of bat and have it engraved with your name, logo, etc. Jack said the man who was doing the painting was amazing with how perfectly he painted them. They ship a huge amount of bats to Korea and, for some reason, the Korean teams like the color orange and request their bats to be painted that color!
Their motto, "You will always cross home plate with Trinity Bats" is true because, as you enter their showroom, you have to cross home plate! Abbey insisted I take her picture standing right there. Great motto and clever idea.

Thank you, Jeremy, for being such a gracious host. He said they asked really great questions. They each shook his hand and thanked him when we were finished. Proud Grammie moment! As we left and headed to the car, they proclaimed how cool that was and how much they liked the tour. All three chatted the whole drive home about what they had seem and learned.
Another successful summer adventure!!! Isn't the world interesting if you just take the time to look around and learn about things??

Our Weekend

"A picture is worth a thousand words."
This was our weekend, in a nut shell.
1)We were invited to join the hockey team for a BBQ on Saturday. The hosts had a lovely home, complete with an amazing rock slide which the kids went down a bazillion times! Holding onto the sides as they went, they found out later they had scraped up their fingers pretty bad, but it was worth it. Abbey decided she needed a bandaid on every finger. It may have been more of a fashion statement than a medical need!
2) Jack's team won the gold medal for their division. Here he stands between his two biggest cheerleaders. Watching him play, watching his smile, watching the team work so well together, is sheer joy.
3) Maddy headed off to sleep away camp for a week. She and Pa were being extra silly by shaking hands good bye. It was especially silly because Pa helped drive her to camp and they probably hugged ten times after this photo was taken. These two, thick as thieves, as they say. Plus, Pa's humor ranges in the eight year old mentality, so the kids find him extra funny. Me...not so much!!
Not Hawaii, not Europe, not even close, and, yet, such a fun weekend! Guess it's true. It's not where you are, but who you are with that makes life great.

JWA Tour

In our continuing quest for summer adventures, we toured John Wayne Airport today. Being an event planner, I put it out there on Facebook and invited others to join us. As you can see, we ended up with a great group of adults and kids. Fred was our tour guide. He is a darling man who volunteers his time to give these tours, retired military, pilot and sweet, sweet man. We thoroughly enjoyed him and he said we were a wonderful and attentive group. He talked about the history of the airport and all of its name changes over the years (Santa Ana Airport, Orange County Airport and, finally, JWA). We checked out baggage claim and where lost bags end up. Other than on a tour, you hope you never have to go to that counter! The lady at the counter gave each child a sucker.

 The kids had a first hand conversation with the head of the TSA security. They had them walk through the detector machine, explained what they are looking for, scanned a mom's handbag, and told them what they can and cannot bring on an airplane and why. Each kid was given a TSA badge sticker.

Before he said goodbye, Fred took us upstairs to a secret little spot that is perfect for viewing the departure and landing of the airplanes. We saw both up close.

Here's our group, 21 strong, from five years old to, well, old!!! As they say, a good time was had by all! Making an ordinary day extraordinary. What could be better??

Summer Adventures

 Determined not to spend the summer watching the kids "veg" out in front of the iPad, I have been doing research on local "adventures". I read about this cool park in Cerritos that had mini houses set in old English style with slides and climbs inside, a pond with ducks, geese and many turtles. We headed over there to check it out and it was pretty cool. Tons of kids from a summer camp were also there, so we didn't stay too long. Watching the swimming turtles was fascinating.

 We decided to head to another park in Huntington Beach that had beautiful trails and trees. Our blanket and picnic basket gave us a reason to stop and enjoy the area and eat our lunch. The fresh air must have done them good, because all three ate every bite of their sandwich!

We found a playground with play equipment. The trio immediately got involved in a game with kids who were already there. Abbey told me she made three new friends and could name all of them. Two were nice and one was mean, according to her! Their game involved finding sticks and turning them into "guns". Now, I have never bought my kids or grandkids toy guns, but, somehow, that doesn't stop them from creating them. I watched carefully and they had strict rules that you could not actually touch anyone with your stick gun. A good rule, I thought! Lots of running and laughing and tagging ensued. Nobody cried! Nobody got mad! Nobody came and tattled! Maybe the sticks were magic!!!
At the end of the day, I realized we had not spent any money (except gas and lunch from home) and, yet, had a terrific time.
Another successful adventure.