Plugging along

The best part of the last month was a visit from our son, daughter-in-law and 2 grandsons, while Guitar Guy was home for 2 weeks.  Now he's back in Florida doing chemo and I'm plugging away on internship and work. It's no fun, but it is what we both need to be doing right now.

I am knitting socks for the grandsons but it's slow going.  Just not very inspired this year.

Off to a full day of in-home visits with my clients.  Have a great weekend!

Difficult times

I haven't been around here much in the last few months.  My social work internship has started and the extra time is crunching my schedule.  I knew it was going to be busy between August and May but had not counted on Guitar Guy being diagnosed with colon cancer.  We were totally taken by surprise and life changed in an instant.  He's currently in Florida with our daughter so that he can have access to Moffitt Cancer Center. Surgery is done and now we wait for the recommendations on chemo over the next several months.  Keep a good thought for us and give your loved ones a hug.

School Days and Summer Vacation

 I had a wonderful week in Iowa with my son and his family even though Guitar Guy didn't get to go.  It was hot and sticky so we did mostly inside activities.  These photos were from the Children's Museum, where we spent part of an afternoon.  They have a whole restaurant set up for making play pizza complete with menus, a drink station and check out. Although the boys liked the "blue room" with all of its building components, the airplane room is their favorite. Many activities and play planes to pretend to fly.

The summer semester is winding down. Only one more week of classes and a few projects to finish this weekend.  We will have to write a major paper on the social work standards before the 16th and my internship starts the 25th of August.  Not looking forward to the commute back and forth to Bullhead City for 8 months but I'll survive.

Hoping you are having some down time this summer to enjoy family and fun!

Father's Day and Life in General

This is my 5th Father's Day without my dad and by now I thought it would be easier.  Then I remember that I still can't walk through a Mother's Day card aisle without tearing up and my mom has been gone for 27 years.

This isn't the deep overwhelming grief I used to feel, but instead a bittersweet ache for the time we had and a wish for just one more hug. (My dad was a great hugger in his older years!)

Although he could be critical and cranky, today I will remember the love and laughter he brought to my life.  For that I am truly grateful.


I haven't been around the blog much in a couple of months.  Life has been stressful and I've gotten little more done than what I absolutely have to for work and school.  The heat is reminding me how much I have grown to dislike Arizona summers.  I have no motivation to knit and still need to start cross stitching my grandson's Christmas stocking.  The good news is that I'm almost half way through summer semester and have a short vacation with family planned in July.

Now I have a paper to write and maybe a trip to the grocery store.  Do I know how to live it up? 

Marching through March

This week has been spring break and I have thoroughly enjoyed not having classes.  I was so excited for the week off until I realized that A) I still had to work and B) I had tons of school projects to get caught up on.

I did one fun thing this week at least.  Monday night one of our local theaters screened a touring version of "The Last Unicorn".  I've been watching this movie almost since it was released.  My kids loved it and now my grandchildren are watching it.  The author of the book and screenplay, Peter Beagle, is part of a screening tour across the US which includes a Q & A with him and book signings if one is so inclined.

Guitar Guy faded out at the last minute so I went by myself.  It was a smallish crowd of about 50 people, some who had driven up to 150 miles.  The teenagers cleaning the theater had no idea what the movie was about and asked me if it is a "thing".  Actually it is!  People sometimes come in costume and know every song and bit of dialogue by heart.  The remastered version for the big screen was vivid and beautiful and I had a great time.  Big nerd here and proud of it!

Last weekend we had a glorious time in Phoenix with our daughter.  We went to Arizona Broadway Theater's performance of Les Mis, which was excellent, as was the food and company.  Nicole and I love musical theater. Guitar Guy not so much, but he tolerates it for our sake. Did I mention that ABT has amazing frozen fuzzy navels?

Sunday morning I drove to downtown Phoenix to meet up Facebook Fairyland friend Lorri and her furry boy Dodger.  We've discovered we both have Ragdolls and decided to meet while they were visiting for spring training.  Dodger is loving the spring and was sitting patiently by the door waiting for me (or watching the birds).  I gifted him with a lovely catnip toy (one of Pippin's favorites), which was a major hit.  We talked, drank coffee and petted a purring kitty.  The perfect way to start the day!

As soon as I got back to the apartment, the family headed out to The Great Wall for dim sum.  Unfortunately, because we went late, they were low on baked pork buns, which are my personal favorite.  No one left hungry though.  We made a Trader Joe's run so I could stock up on my favorite products.  Those of us who live in the boonies don't have such options.

This weekend won't be nearly as fun as I'm working on school stuff, which will be my life until the end of the semester.  Next week is my internship interview, so please keep your fingers crossed that I can convince them to take me.  It will mean a lengthy drive twice a week for 8 months but I will persevere!  

February Flew By

Sound Bites for February:

* I actually knitted a baby sweater and socks for my daughter's friend and forgot to take pictures

*School is plugging along and my field placement for the fall is shaping up

*Work is plugging along though not as busy as I would like

*My decluttering has stalled and the clutter is reclaiming the table and counter...sigh...

*We had yummy barbecued chicken last night with left overs for another meal

*The cats don't know that I'm plotting to get them shaved this spring

*It's raining this morning, which is weird after a really warm February

*This week we go to visit our grandchildren for a couple of days - Yippee!

*My daughter is in Tampa, FL interviewing for a nurse practitioner program - keep your fingers crossed

Happy Monday!

January blahs

It's almost the end of January and I'm still not back in the swing of things.  School has started again and life is full of work and volunteering but my beginning of the year energy just isn't there yet. 

I've been trying to do 365 days of decluttering and have kept up fairly well so far.  My kitchen cupboards are a lot more organized and by the end of this week, my refrigerator should be cleaned out.  As much as I dislike cleaning, 15 minutes a day is manageable on most days. 

Now I'm off to do 200 pages of reading on panic disorder and social phobias.  Aren't you jealous :-)

Christmas in Iowa

How quickly our Christmas week in Iowa went by!  The weather was cool and misty.  With no snow on the ground this year we were able to go out and do a few things like a trip to the Amana Colonies and another to Prairie Light bookstore in downtown Iowa City.  The big people even got out for a special dinner together.

Two of the hits of Christmas morning were the rocking horse for Ash and the lighted mini ray guns the boys found in their stockings.  Rowan and Ash had a great time and didn't get bored until the next day LOL

Aunt Nicole was able to come for a couple of days before Christmas and we had a great time together as a family.  We were happy our daughter, Nicole, was there to be part of the fun, and our son, Dominic, and daughter-in-law, Alex, were both off for the week.  That rarely happens that everyone is off together!

It's always hard to leave, especially when the boys are telling us not to go, but the realities of life called us back to Arizona.  The cats still have barely left my side.

Soon school will start again and I'll be back in another round of reading and papers. I'm closing my nonprofit consulting business, to focus on geriatric care and my volunteer work with Creating the Future. Guitar Guy is moving to a different law firm starting January 2, so the new year will bring changes for both of us.

Hoping you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and have a healthy, happy 2015!