Huh??? Wha' Happened?

To the followers of this blog:   Huh????   I dunno what happened but all I was doing was adding some labels to my previous posts and somehow got the order of them re-arranged a little bit.    So the post at the top of the blog that I did for yesterday was one I did several months ago!   I am completely baffled how that happened and those of you who know anything at all about doing anything with a computer should not be surprised at this.   After I consulted the "help" section for Blogger I came away scratching my head even more.   No help there.   And, I know you're going to be shocked by this, but I was more confused than before I looked at the help section.  

So my solution to this problem (since I think it is a temporary thing that just re-arranged the order of posts a little bit) is to post another entry and move the posts down.   Eventually, it won't matter.    Just know that the real post for yesterday was supposed to be the one about Retirement: Looking Back After One Year.  Oh and the moral of the story is to try not to monkey around with this thing without a license as weird things might happen that you can't fix.   And to think I wanted to revamp the whole thing from top to bottom.    Perish that thought.  ;-)

In a few more days I'll be flying to North Carolina to spend some time with my niece, Rebecca,  that I mention frequently in this blog.    She and I are more like sisters than aunt and niece since we're only eight years apart in age.  We played together as children and are even closer now that we're all grown up. My sister, Ginny, and I were known to dress Rebecca up (when she was too little to stop us) in all manner of borrowed clothing, including hats from mama and things that we thought passed for ball gowns and called her Our Little Princess.  To say I love her like a sister is really understating the case.  I know the time spent with her and her amazing husband, Rich, will jump start my thinking.  We've already made reservations at a place called Memory Lane, so look for some ramblings from me that include lots of memories and discussions about how important those are in crafting a Good Life.   

Marcia and Rebecca in Breckenridge, CO, 2000


Happy Trails and Remember to Book Your Tour Down Memory Lane!

Marcia

Recognizing When You Have the Good Life

The camper is quiet now, only the sound of wind whistling through the screens.    Occasionally, way off in the distance I hear a human sound but mainly this place is very quiet.    The environment lends itself very well to a lot of reflection and analysis of the past few days.    

The kids arrived last Friday afternoon to lots of excitement, noise and the sheer exuberance that children seem to have in abundance.   Seems like most of the adults in the world manage to contain their exuberance and keep it firmly under wraps.  Not so with children.   So the kids spilled out of the van, eager to get in the camper to see the inside and "their bunkhouse".   They wanted to explore the campgrounds and find out what there was to do.   They wanted to hug us and get going full blast on our camping vacation together.   

It wasn't long before we had a camper full of people, food and other things we thought necessary to have a good time camping.    We brought alone some games---Phase 10 and Scattergories, among others.    We had fishing equipment, books to read and decorations for Halloween.   As usual,  we brought way more things to do than we had time to do!   But that's OK 'cause that just gave us some options when it came time to choose an activity.  

We grilled burgers, played games until late into the night, had a reverse Halloween experience (neighbors brought candy to the kids!) and just hung out and had a marvelous time.   We brought out the Treasure Chest a few times where the kids got to spend their "coin" ---collected from Gramps who had been observing them being nice to each other and doing helpful things around the camper.    Filled mostly with trinkets and cheap stuff, the Treasure Chest also had envelopes with prizes inside like "you get to choose the activity for this evening" and "good for a trip to get a treat".   That one resulted in all of us going down to the nearby Dairy Queen (now known as DQ) for an ice cream treat one sunny afternoon.   

                                              Dipped Cone from the DQ

Luci and Ben bought two small shovels from the Treasure Chest for a few pennies and had a ball digging in the sand that was just a few steps away from the camper.    Of course, that meant they had to cross a small bridge that Luci had become convinced was the hiding place of an ogre of some sort so when she crossed it (after much pleading and begging from Ben) she ran as if a monster was about to pounce upon her.   Oh, the imagination of a seven year old!    But once across, she made a bee line for the sand and dug and dug searching for treasure and just for the sheer fun of digging.   No reason needed.    

                                    Ben enjoying the white sands at Gulf Shores.

Gavin entertained us with his guitar and enjoyed showing off his developing skills as a musician.   His Paw Paw and Ms. Brenda who live in Gulf Shores came by one afternoon and got to hear his musical interludes, including a Beatle tune or two.    I think he surprised his Paw Paw when he recognized the Beatle song without being told what it was and realized it was his 13 year old  grandson who was playing so skillfully.   

                                       Gavin playing "Blackbird" by the Beatles

So the time with the kids and Brian and April went by so quickly that when it was time to leave all of them were lamenting the fact that it was over.   They all wished for another day to spend in the sunshine and soft breezes along the Gulf of Mexico.    But alas, duty called and Brian had to be back at work, so they left on Tuesday morning as planned.  

Before their van drove out of sight, we were feeling the pangs of sadness that come when a happy visit is ending.    The pall that fell over us lasted most of the day and we commented how eerily quiet it was here in the camper without the hubbub and laughter that goes everywhere the kids go.   It would be easy to let the story end here but really not fair since out of the quiet and still moments after they are gone is when the truth appears.    

We are a family (like most, I hope!) that builds up our treasure in the memories of good times together.     We squirrel those nuggets of time away in our memory vaults so we can bring them out later and relive them.    We pull out a treasured memory and hold it in our hands like a diamond most valued.    It really is true that you can't hold time in a bottle.   And once the moment is passed, you can't bring it back.    What you can hold and bring back are the memories you have created.   

How many times have we told the story about the time Rebecca fell out the window in the middle of the night?     Can we ever get tired of telling about the time(s) that Gramps/Larry dressed up in some outlandish costume and made all the kids AND grown ups laugh until they cried?     And who is ever going to forget our first Iron Chef competition complete with funny fake names (Broccoli Garlique and Luci Balducci, Heir to the Gucci Muchi) and tall chef hats???  

So these past few days we've been making deposits in our memory bank.   We'll hear the stories about catching only "bait stealers" on their fishing excursion.     Ben will remind us for sure how he kicked butt and annihilated us in Phase 10.    Luci will long remember the monster under the bridge she evaded on her way to the playground.   Larry and I will not forget the poignant moments when the kids were leaving and we realized that these are the moments that really make up the good life.   

Halloween Fun!

                                                     Scary faces on Halloween Night!
It's not having all the latest gadgetry or the biggest house, the fastest car or the most money that make it a good life.   It's having a family and friends whom you love and wonder of wonders----love you back.     It's having a grand daughter who says, "Grammy, if I had an UnSkip Card, I'd use it for you."   Then she blew me a kiss.     (This was after someone else had used their skip card on me during Phase 10).     It's knowing what is important to you and having the good sense to use your time wisely to fill that bank with memories that will last for a lifetime.    I know my bank is overflowing with good times, happy memories and even the not so happy times I can recall.    They all go in the bank and will get pulled out sooner or later to bring a laugh or even a tear in recollection of the things that make my life worth living. 

I hope you'll take the time to look at what's in YOUR memory bank and if you haven't been taking the time to make a deposit,  plan on doing that soon.   Time is a river that never stops flowing and all you need to do is jump in and start living and making a few memories.    Pretty soon, your bank will be filled to capacity.  And the good news is that there is always room for more! 

Retirement: Looking Back After Year One

One year ago today Larry officially retired from his job.   It wasn't what he wanted or planned to do.   He had thought he would probably continue to work until he was sixty-five.    But life can hand us surprises and unexpected turns in the road so ---like it or not---he jumped through all the hoops and on Jan. 14, 2011 worked his last shift.    His manager came over from New Orleans and, along with several people at the station, held a nice retirement breakfast for him and bid him fare well.    He didn't want a lot of hoopla and razzing about it and they honored his wishes and kept it fairly short and heart felt.    And thus ended his years as a working  man.  

Larry with Mike and Dave
Jan. 14, 2011

It has been a strange year in some ways since he had worked in one job or another since he was sixteen years old.    He began working when his father became seriously ill, unable to work and his help was needed to assist his mother in keeping their family fed and housed.   As a teen-ager, about all he could do was go to work at a fast food joint and he turned over just about every penny he made to his mother because his family needed it and he was glad he could help out.   She gave him money for gas and some spending money but the rest was used for necessities for the family.    It was a big sacrifice for him when other kids his age were going to ball games, participating in school activities and thinking about having fun. 

When you begin working as a kid and continue working for 40 some-odd years after that it's hard to imagine not getting up and going to a job anymore.    You feel kind of lost for a while and have a nagging feeling that you're supposed to be somewhere.    It is a weird feeling to not be responsible for working at a job anymore.    And so it was with Larry.  To be honest, he actually enjoyed the part about not having to get up at a god-awful hour to go to work.    He had worked a terrible shift for many years, getting up at midnight or sometimes one in the morning to go to his job.   He would work until 9:30 and be home by 10 o'clock most days.    Not doing that any more was a relief because he never got enough rest and was chronically sleep deprived.   But not having a routine or schedule was a struggle.    It didn't take long for him to figure out he needed to do something regularly to keep busy and not go buggy.   

He ended up volunteering at our local food bank on Mondays.    He rarely misses a day and occasionally fills in on another day when they need him.     He fills bags with groceries that are given out each day and then restocks the shelves with the donations that come in from local citizens, churches and even stores like Wal-Mart and Publix.    One thing he has learned is that there are many people in our community who need help with food.  They are not deadbeats like a lot of people assume.   Many are old, some are sick and lots of them are just down on their luck, have lost their job or can't find one.    I think he finds it to be a privilege to help out with this community service to, in some way, pay back for his good fortune in life.   

One thing that took up a lot of his time right after he retired was educating himself and sorting through many major decisions regarding what he would do with various payouts and pension benefits that were distributed to him in the months following his retirement.     He knew some things could wait until later but there were a few things that needed to be decided rather quickly.    So he spent many hours reading various sources about what he should do with the money.     He consulted a financial planner and basically filled his head with as much information as he could, hoping to make smart, sound decisions that would not end up hurting us in the long run.   

Now we are not rich people or even a little bit "well off", but Larry has had good benefits over the past twenty-two years so there was a 401 K account that had to be dealt with, some company stock and some pension pay outs.    It can be really nerve racking to make decisions with what assets you have knowing that you'll probably never work again in a position that has good benefits.    So you tread carefully and hope you're making the right decision, often not knowing until many years later if the choice you made was smart or dumb.   

Against the advice of the financial planner, we decided to pay off the mortgage on our house.     We didn't owe a huge amount on it but it would have been several more years before it would be paid off if we continued to make the regular payments.    So while we had the chance we decided we wanted to be out from under that burden.     This past year would have been a whole lot more stressful had we been making mortgage payments so, in spite of the fact that the financial planner thought it was "not wise", we did it anyhow.    And we're not sorry.   (Maybe I should wait until after we file our tax return this year before I make the final judgment on that.)

We also decided to wait to begin drawing from the 401 K until later.    Larry is required to begin using it at age 70 but so far we have survived just fine without it and will continue to hold off as long as we are able to meet our obligations and have a few of life's finer joys with our current income.  The 401 K fund had to be turned over to a different manager and Larry has watched anxiously this past year as it has slipped backward and then crept back up, although not back to where it was when he retired.    It has been a difficult thing to not have complete control of that money but tinkering with things like that when you really don't know what you're doing can be a dangerous thing.     So he has learned to not obsess over every twist and turn of the stock market, but he still occasionally will have a pang of regret or worry.    Then he comes to his senses and realizes that he just has to step back and stay calm.   No one said that being retired would be easy or worry-free.  

One of the greatest joys of this past year has been the wonderful trips we made.    In April last year we took our middle grandson, Benjamin, to Washington, DC.    We drove to Cary, NC and with my niece, Rebecca, her husband, Rich, and their granddaughter, Shannon, caught the Amtrak to Washington.    Ben is a certified train nut.   He admits that.    So he was in heaven and we had a nice ride through Virginia and Maryland where no one had to drive, stress out over traffic or worry about the next rest stop.    We spent several days in Washington seeing monuments, museums and lots and lots of tourists like us.    We all had a grand time and one of the best things was having plenty of time to spend with Ben.    Everyone should consider doing that if you have more than one grandchild because you can really keep your focus on that child and not feel hurried or interrupted.  

Ice Cream and Fun
Grammy, Gramps and Ben
April 2011

Then in late June we embarked on a trip of lifetime to see the wildness of Alaska.    We were with Rich and Rebecca again and they had planned a wonderful excursion that began in Vancouver and then we took a flight to Anchorage and a train ride that took us to Denali and Fairbanks.    We flew back to Anchorage, rode a huge motor coach down to Seward where we boarded the Ms. Zaandam for a cruise that took us back to Vancouver.    It would probably take several blog entries to cover what we saw and did on that trip, but suffice it to say, we had a royal good time.    We ate marvelous meals, saw glaciers and tundra,  flew in a tiny plane over the Misty Fjords,  played Phase 10 in our stateroom and laughed our way across our 49th state.  

Larry enjoying our first moments aboard
the Ms Zaandam, July 2011

Marcia  on Ms. Zaandam, July 2011


Finally, in September, as if one cruise was not enough for one year, we took a much anticipated trip with Brian, April and the three grand kids down to Mexico.     April had been planning the trip for most of the year and had pretty much figured our every move.    Things went like clockwork thanks to April's advance work and, again, we had a great time eating, laughing and playing our way across the Gulf of Mexico and back.   We saw the crystal blue waters near Cozumel, a blazing sun set along Mobile Bay, a ship full of people partying like it was 1999 and happy, energetic entertainers  and stewards only so happy to make us smile and cater to our every whim.  It was a wonderful trip and we were glad we got to go!

Elegant Night on the Elation Sept. 2011

So this past year has been full of activities, decisions and fun.   But to be honest, it has not all been fun and games.    There is a learning curve to being retired.    There are books and online articles that tell you about retiring.    What you should expect.    How to plan.    What to do.   What NOT to do.  On and on they go.    The truth is that retirement really is what you make of it and you just have to get in there and live it.    Every day you are given choices, options.      When you are in charge of your own time and your own life without the directorship of a major corporation or a boss telling you how your day will go, it can be a daunting task.   And yes, it can be intimidating, too.     I guess it's possible to have too many choices and too much freedom.   

The thing is you just have to figure out who you are-- now that you're not a "working person" any more.    It certainly doesn't mean you won't ever work again.    Lots of retirees end up back among the employed.   Sometimes it's because they have to for financial reasons.    Other times it is because they need to be busy and going back to work is the easiest and surest way to make sure they stay on task.    Remember, when your time is your own, it's easy to give yourself the day off.    That's great if you really want to have a day off.    Not so good when it starts to drive you crazy.   

So this past year has been a learning experience for Larry and for me, too.    I stopped working at a paid job in August before Larry did last January.   I got a head start on this "retired" thing.     We have had hard decisions to make, time to relax and just "be" and more fun than we probably deserve in such a short period.    Larry has fretted from time to time about decisions he had to make and I was the one reassuring him that it would be all right.   That has been our pattern for forty-three years so I guess we won't be changing that at this late date.    It has been a fast year and sometimes I wonder where the days went.    Then I look on the calendar and see trips and camping excursions (I didn't even tell about camping in this post!),  volunteer duties and I know where the days went.    It wasn't as bad as Larry worried it would be and wasn't as glorious and care free as I thought it would be.   But all in all, it was a good year for both of us.    We've learned a lot and are looking forward to other adventures in 2012.     We'll be blogging and keeping track of it all and hope to hear comments from anyone who takes the time to read about it.  And yes, Larry is going to be the one who writes the blog entry soon. He has plenty of time for that these days.

Happy Trails,

Marcia

Collaging and Roasted Veggies and How They Are Related

Blogging is one of those cool activities that is truly your own.    You are allowed to write about the things that inspire, bore, scare and intrigue you or just pop into your head on a moment's notice.    What you post is your business and can be inspired by almost anything that happens in your life.   In other words, you can reach into that great grab bag we call "life" and sometimes interesting comparisons and correlations come out.   That is sort of what happened a day or two ago.    

You see, I had been feeling a little guilty since I have not posted to the blog since BEFORE Christmas.    I kept thinking that I needed to do something-- anything-- and get a post done.    However, those of you with writing experience know that sometimes if the inspiration is lacking, the words won't come.    So I was poking around the house searching for something to jump start my inspiration.    I happened to go into our computer/craft room and spied a project I did last year.     It was a collage I created and (so far) have not put in a frame or even in a folder.    Shame on me.   Now I have another thing to add to my to do list.   Oh, well.....

Collaging, for those of you who are unfamiliar with this method of creating art, is the use of small bits and pieces of fabric, paper, used postage stamps, labels and wrappers, ribbon and yarn, photographs, stamp art, stickers ---- well, to be honest, almost anything you can think of --- to glue, pin, insert or otherwise attach --- to a background that can be paper, canvas, board, glass, or whatever flat surface you like.    It is a very forgiving and flexible way to create a piece of art since there are few (if any) rules and what you make is entirely up to you.    It comes from within and often reflects your feelings in ways that will surprise and amaze you.    If you haven't given collaging a try, I urge you to do so since it is fun, relaxing and very revealing of the inner "you".    And furthermore, it's a great way to use up left over materials from other projects you have created. 

So I came across this collage and casually picked it up and was studying it as I often do, thinking to myself, "Did I do this?  Dang, this is pretty neat. "    I am not an artist, never thought of myself in that way and frankly have felt this way since I was a child.    In my family, growing up, it was my younger sister, Ginny, who was the "artist".   She took art lessons when she was in grade school and until she died was involved in some type of art activity.  Drawing, painting and playing with craft materials were her idea of a fun time.  Not me.   Her craft closet at the time of her death was overflowing with supplies and "under construction" projects.   I, myself, thought that just drawing a stick figure was a challenge.    As a matter of fact, I used to almost break out in a cold sweat if I had to draw or paint anything remotely connected to an art project.   

Do Your Best to Remember Your Dreams

From this background, I had always concluded that I was no artist.    Then one day in the middle 1990s I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop with a local artist named Donna Freckmann.   She was hosting an event for people who had experienced life threatening illness and were looking for a creative outlet for their feelings regarding that experience.    I went out of curiosity and also because there was a writing component to this event.   Now, writing was something I had always felt like was my "thing".   I had good success with writing in school and have been told many times that I have "a good way with words".      So off I went to this activity and made my first collage.   

I guess that unleashed some kind of inner "repressed" artist because I learned from the experience that being free to pick and choose your materials and then how you assemble them often results in some pretty amazing expressions of what is in your heart and mind.   It was the first time I ever had anyone tell me that there were no rules about how I created my collage.  Donna said if my inner critic tried to take over and intimidate me, I should tell my inner critic to take a hike.   I made a collage that I called "It Came From Out of the Blue" that ended up in an art show.   It depicted how I felt I had changed through the experience of having cancer, although the person I became was there all along.   It took a life threatening event to provoke the changes that shaped and impacted how I felt about myself. 

It Came From Out of the Blue

Now you know why I am writing about collaging. A chance find in my craft room made me come up with the topic.  The challenge then became explaining why I included the roasted veggies in the title of this post.     The same day I found the collage, I needed to make a side dish to go with our supper.     I had no idea what I wanted to make so I did what any stumped cook does----I went rummaging around in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator.     I found an assortment of things just begging me to do something with them before they became fodder for the compost bucket.   There was one yellow squash, a couple of zucchini squash, half of a butternut squash that didn't get roasted earlier in the week, a half of a yellow onion and a whole box of button mushrooms.   Hmmm, I said to myself, why not just cut up the pieces-parts I have here, drizzle them with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and some parsley flakes?  

Roasted Squash, Onions and Mushrooms

Before you know it, I had  a pan full of lovely, colorful veggies just right for placing in a 375 degree oven for 30 or 40 minutes to cook until they are tender and begging to jump on my dinner plate.    And that is when it hit me that making the veggies was a lot like making a collage.   They even sort of look alike.     You take what you have on hand (paper, ribbon, stamps----onion, squash, mushrooms), put them together in whatever style or method you like and voila!    You have a lovely piece of art for your walls----or a dish to go with your dinner!   Easy, peasey, lemon squeezy, as my grand daughter, Luci, likes to say!   

The next time you're looking for an art project to entertain (or inspire you) or a dish to go with your meat loaf, think of collaging.     It is creative and puts your bits and pieces to good use.    Bon Appetit!

PS  While I was taking pictures for this blog, I snapped one more of  a tiny collage I made last year.   It is perhaps 3" X 4" and one I really like.  (The green background is just a placemat it was on when I snapped the picture.)   Maybe this little work of art will give you an idea of a collage you'd like to make. 

Grandioso Sun

Happy times finding out who you really are!  Who knows what or who you'll find?

Marcia

Christmas Past Visits Christmas Present

Well, as usual, the holidays have sped up and before we know it, we'll be taking down our decorations and looking back at this Christmas instead of anticipating its arrival.   A few days ago we were driving around our neighborhood looking at Christmas lights and noticed a remarkable absence of trees in windows and houses festooned with multiple strings of blinking (or non-blinking if that is your preference) lights.    I am not sure if that is a reflection of a more somber mood about the season or just a change in what the decorating fad is for this year.    All I know is that in the not too distant past you could drive down any street (in neighborhoods rich and poor) and you could count on seeing a tree in the window, proudly lit up and showing off its finery to all who passed by.  I could scarcely believe my eyes as we passed house after house that was dark and no evidence of  Christmas or any other holiday for that matter.    There were a few but even those were restrained and Clark Griswold (you Christmas Vacation fans know who you are!) would win a neighborhood decorating contest, hands down.   And it was only four days until Christmas.  

So that had me thinking about the good old days when we would beg and plead with mama and daddy to hurry and put our tree up.  This always took place after we got out of school for the holidays.   That meant that no amount of begging, pleading or nagging would entice my parents to put up a tree before December 18th.   Daddy frequently reminded us that in "his day" Santa brought the tree.   In the 1950s, not too many people put lights outside but most of us had a wreath or candy cane (fake) on the front door.    One year mama made (with Daddy's help I am sure) a cut out of Santa and a chimney made of plywood that she hand painted and then placed in our flower bed by the front door.    Most of the decorations in our home were pretty simple and often handmade.    We made paper chains of red and green construction paper at school and brought those home to drape on the tree.  We had a collection of glass ornaments for our tree that were quite delicate and some got chipped or broken nearly every year.  The lights that we used back then were most frustrating and sure to make a father pull his hair out in rage when one single bulb burning out could make the whole darn string go dark.    Finding the offending bulb was a tedious and unpleasant chore.    We had some friends who had the "bubble lights" that were long, skinny tubes that had colored liquid in them that made sparkling bubbles.   I always coveted those lights but, alas, we never had that kind.

Memories of those days are pretty dim and distant but sometimes I see something these days that helps transport me back to those happy days of childhood.    Today I saw some something that stirred a memory long buried.    As I was driving out of my neighborhood, I saw that on a house not too far from ours, someone had gotten hold of a can of spray snow.    That was one of those things that we frequently hounded mother to buy during the holidays and more often than not, she did not buy it.    It was easy to put on and really hard to get off.    The house near us had sprayed every single window pane on the front of the house, top to bottom, with a thick layer of "snow".    It was as if a blizzard had come to Pensacola last night instead of the steady stream of thundershowers that passed through.    I couldn't help but laugh thinking how tempting it was when I was a kid to make it "snow" and put the fake stuff on the windows, write Christmasy sayings like, "Ho Ho Ho" or "Joy to the World" all over our front picture window.   

And then I remembered the decorating stuff I wanted most of all back then.    It was called Glass Wax and you bought it in cans along with a set of holiday stencils and a sponge.    It was really easy to use and even  pleasant to remove since it was designed to go on glass and essentially was a cleaning aid that not only dried to a whitish finish (perfect SNOW!) but left the windows clean and shiny when you polished the stuff off when the holidays were over.    Not so with the fake spray on snow.   You could rub that stuff for days and it stayed stubbornly on whatever it touched!     I think mama probably consented to buy the Glass Wax for us maybe a time or two and I am sure that our joy knew no bounds.     Such a simple time with simple pleasures and entertainment.   

34 designs for 59 cents! 

Whatever triggers those moments that transport you back in time to simpler ways and simpler wants, please be sure to take a few minutes this holiday season to remember them with fondness.    We live in a crazy world with lots of things to frustrate us and cause us much stress and unhappiness.    Just a few minutes down Memory Lane can bring a smile to your face and can ease your troubles for a while.     May all your Christmas wishes come true and your memories take you to special times and places.   OH, and if you have a happy memory of childhood (or even of recent holidays) please leave a comment.    

Ginny, Marcia and Rebecca 1959, Christmas in Jackson, Mississippi
Blessing our Tea Party----while one of us sneaks a peek at the camera!

Happy Trails to you,


Marcia

December at the Beach

Some of you may be having the kind of December we're having along the Gulf coast.    It is warm and definitely not the kind of weather to put one in the mood to sing holiday songs and deck the halls with bows of holly or any other form of greenery.    In fact, yesterday as I was leaving the house, I was struck by how "spring-like" the weather felt.    You know what I'm talking about.    You walk out and are met with warm air, blue skies and the feeling that it's going to be a lovely day.    You half expect to see flowers sprouting everywhere and robins scratching the ground for worms and other goodies.   Except it was mid-December and I was thinking about putting the Christmas wreath on our front door when I got home.

We have years like this pretty often where we are a week away from the jolly fat man coming down the chimney and you'd swear it's time to break out the shorts and tee shirts.   The very thought of wearing a sweater or other winter apparel makes you start to itch and sweat.    In fact, having really cold weather at Christmas is more often the exception to the rule.  Having weather cold enough for even a fake log in the fireplace is rare.  True winter weather is probably another two or three weeks away, in January.  The one time I remember snow at Christmas was in 1993 and it was big, gloppy flakes that melted upon contact with anything they touched but they sure put us all in the mood to sing, "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas".     Never mind that it never accumulated, not even enough for a decent snowball.   We did get very cold weather that Christmas, just not a winter wonderland to go with it.   

So with such a lovely day before us, Larry and  I took a drive to Gulf Breeze on a short shopping trip in search of a new recliner for me.    Since we were so close we decided to go on a few more miles to Pensacola Beach.    Truthfully, the beach is only about a half hour drive from our house.   We are so accustomed to having this wonder of nature so close by that we often forget about going down there.    We really take it for granted except when a hurricane wipes the beach clean and flattens all the dunes so we don't even recognize the place.     The beach has definitely recovered from the last big blow that re-arranged the landscape down there.   It has even recovered (on the surface anyhow) from the BP oil spill of 2010.    

Beach visitors and shore birds (who live there!)

On the drive along Scenic Highway as we headed toward Gulf Breeze, we couldn't help but notice the flatness of Escambia Bay.   It was slick and smooth and Larry commented that he could have gone out there even in his tiny Porta-bote.      As we entered Pensacola Beach, we saw the sign that warned beach goers about the "moderate" surf.     The Santa Rosa Island Authority gives tourists and locals the heads up on the surf conditions every day with wise instructions on when it is safe to go in the water and when it is mandatory to stay out.  (Here's a hint for any of you who come here:    Rip tide days---high surf days--- are good days to stay on the beach and out of the water.)    

After seeing the calm waters in the bay, we were surprised to find a fairly vigorous surf when we got to the beach.     In fact, the noise from the waves crashing into one another made quite a smack and near booming sound while we stood at the water's edge admiring the water, the shore birds and the stunningly beautiful day we were privileged to be enjoying.     We watched one wave after another come rolling onto the beach and then retreat back only to be thrown back on the beach over and over again.   

Larry soaking up the sun.

Shells for the taking.

             

The beach was populated with a few locals and some tourists visiting here for the holidays.     Larry and I remarked what a great time it is to come to the beach since you could have your pick of choice spots to set up a chair or do a bit of surf fishing. And some folks were doing just that with some very long fishing poles, jammed tightly into the sand.   There were no drunken visitors making a nuisance of themselves.   No dogs running amok in the dunes.  The weather was so nice we did not even need a jacket or long sleeves.    In fact, if we had stayed much longer, we would have needed a wide brimmed hat and some sun screen.    

Marcia by the shore.

So I snapped some pictures, breathed in the salt air and just took in the free show that the Gulf of Mexico provides for us on a regular basis.    It struck me that even when I am back home in the quiet of my family room, when I am sleeping, when I am reading the newspaper, doing the most mundane, ordinary things, the waves and the tide go on.    The waves lap at the shore, sometimes in a great, crashing crescendo, other times gently kissing the sand.  Tide moves in--tide moves out.  It is eternal and doesn't need me to do what it does.   It just is.  
 

It never stops moving.

There are so many places like that in our world and we need to visit them from time to time to remind ourselves of the vastness of time and space.    We need to put ourselves into that scene to gain some perspective on our tiny part in all of it.     We have the power to protect this for ourselves and for those who will come after us.   If you have one of these great spaces near you, get out and enjoy it.    Take pictures and spend time breathing in the air and soaking up the beauty around you.     When you get the opportunity to do something to preserve that special place or donate money to those who are trying to save our mountains, meadows, forests, beaches, rivers and wetlands, think of what your world would be without them.   Then give what you can and do what you can to protect and save them.   And if you are so inclined, please comment and tell about your favorite spot to go when you need to renew your spirit and remind yourself of all the wonders and beauty of our world. 

Tackling a Black Hole

Perhaps you have one in your home.    I think there must be at least one in every dwelling.   You will know what I am talking about shortly.    I refer to ours as a Black Hole.   In most homes these days we have places where we euphemistically "store" things.     Sometimes these places are closets.   Other times they are the so-called junk drawer.     On larger scale they are our garages and out buildings.    For today's blog entry I am referring to that dark, dense place known as our pantry.     

When we moved in this house in 1994 our galley type kitchen had a pantry----basically a closet with shelves and a door to hide it all.     I was happy, at first, because it was a pantry separate from the other cabinets.     It seemed like an enormous amount of space to put cans of baby corn, sacks of dried beans, cereal and syrup.    We had lived in an apartment and had not lived in our Mobile, AL house for several years.      So having what was clearly planned as a storage space for all those staples we use to stock our kitchen seemed like the bee's knees.  (That is a good thing for all you readers who are many years younger than me.)   

For a while this pantry worked nicely and functioned as intended.     But you know it had to happen.   One day I realized that things had migrated to the back, never to be seen again.     Cans of chili beans, lone jars of mango-chili pepper jelly (given to us as a gift), half a box of raisins (long since petrified into a muy shriveled version of itself), nearly a whole bag of dark brown sugar (easily a substitute for a brick) and assorted remnants of half eaten boxes of cereal (clearly past their prime so that even the birds would not eat it if I tossed it out in the back yard).   Our pantry needed help and fast!  Food was being wasted and ruined.   In addition I would get aggravated when I would discover (by accident) that I had 6 cans of tomatoes but NO tomato sauce when it was the sauce that I really needed to buy. 
 

Nice pantry, but definitely a Black Hole!

                                                           Pantry pre-modification

So I would pull it all out, re-arrange the contents and vow to do better to use up things, never allowing it to mysteriously migrate to the far reaches of the shelves again.     But it is hopeless when the shelves are too deep for me to reach to the back.    Things get shoved back there, not rotated to the front.     The pantry is also dark inside, another factor that makes it extremely hard to see what is in the pantry, no matter where it is located on the shelf.     It would have taken a lot of discipline and determination to stop the inevitable and I had neither.   
After many complaints and hearing me bemoan the poor design of the pantry, Larry finally heard my pleas.     It also helped that my niece, Rebecca, recently got a makeover to her pantry, a storage place in her kitchen of very similar design to mine.     And what was the solution that turned the black hole (hers and mine) into better storage places for our family larder?     Pull out drawers that sit atop the shelves, thus making things at the back, easily accessible to even a shorty like me.     Yes, there are limitations to this solution, but all in all, we're pretty happy with the way this modification turned out.  

Larry started the process by measuring the shelves and door opening of the pantry.    Then he went to the local building supply company where he found the drawers at a very seasonable price, made out of real wood---Italian Oak!    Then we unloaded the food inside the pantry and discovered before he could do anything else, he would need to paint the walls and shelves.   (He actually asked me if I wanted him to do that!)  Who knew that cans and boxes could leave so many black marks on the walls and shelves?     A quick two coats of an off-white paint to the dingy walls and shelves and he was ready to install the drawers.    

Making measurements and marks for drawer guides

                                     Two coats of paint to cover the black scuff marks.

Next he had to put the runners on the drawers and then make the appropriate marks on the shelves to determine where he needed to screw the runners in place.      Then it was just a matter of installing the drawers in the guide-runners.
 

                                           One drawer installed----three more to go!

Once that was done, it became apparent that the small vinyl covered shelves that hold boxes and bottles of spices on the inside of the door would no longer fit inside the pantry without butting up against the newly installed drawers.     OK, so we didn't think of everything.     That meant moving them up or down slightly so they would fit correctly.    Problem solved at no extra expense.    

The pantry looked nice after I started putting things back inside.     I am still adjusting and figuring out the most logical way to have the food inside, but so far, I am very happy since I can pull out the drawers and actually SEE what is there.      There are spaces along side each drawer where I can put more food and will use those for things like cans of tomatoes that I usually keep in quantity.    I also have put some taller bottles of things like catsup and vinegar that are too tall for the drawers but fit nicely along the sides.

Checking out the contents of the pantry is much easier now.

                                           Drawers pull out so the contents are easily seen.

                                        For right now, things are pretty neat and tidy!

Oh and one other thing.    After Larry put the door back up and the drawers were loaded, shelves filled with the food necessary to keep our kitchen open, I shut the door.    Or at least I tried.   One last little glitch jumped into our faces----the door knob bumped into the drawer directly across from where it entered the pantry.    I was somewhat stumped with what to do about that problem.     Larry took one look, went to his tool box and retrieved a screw driver.  Before long he had the whole problem solved.     Since this is a pantry and no one will ever be on the inside, hoping to get out, he simply removed the inside knob.   Duh, now why didn't I think of that?  The door shuts, doesn't hit the drawer and all is well.     Yay for people like Larry who can see the problem and instantly know what to do to fix it!    And thanks, Larry, for fixing this black hole!

                                         No need for a knob on the inside of the pantry!
So this was one more step in finding the good life. It's amazing how much a little thing like improving storage can raise your mood and make your kitchen a happier place. This entire project took less than two days to complete. It could have been done in a day if we had not had to wait on the paint to dry for a second coat. If you have one of these black holes at your house, I urge you to consider installing some pull out drawers so that the contents can no longer go into hiding, never to be discovered until 3 years after their expiration date!   

                 A happy Marcia inspects the inside of the reformed and transformed pantry.


Happy Trails to you in your search for the good life!

Marcia