Plains~Trains~ & Automobiles

Whew! We are back.
In order to prepare myself for my trip, I had looked up the weather in Nebraska to see what type of clothes to pack for. The first two days were T-storms, wind and rain. I didn't think to much about it and just got my clothes for the appropriate weather. I got up at two o'clock AM to get ready to leave the house by 4:00 AM for an hour and a half drive to the airport, parked in Economy Parking, caught a bus over to the Airport where we then checked in an hour and a half earlier than our plane's scheduled departure at 7:33 AM. We got there right on time! Unfortunately our plane was canceled because of the weather. They had put us on a 1:00 PM flight out... but the nice woman was kind enough to go through all of the flights and get us on a earlier 10:00 o'clock flight out. We were so excited to leave and then upset at being delayed. The adrenaline had left my body and the hours I had been up were taking a toll on my me. I walked around the Sacramento Airport and took some pictures. Charlie suggested that we ate something for breakfast. He ate, my nerves were too shot.

These are some pictures of Mosaics that were hanging on the wall of the airport. I thought it was funny that they also had a Starbucks sign hanging at the end of this wall art.

It was labeled "All In Motion..."

Earth

Sun


Sky


Water


Horn of Plenty


Starbucks

I couldn't believe the view of the Nevada/Colorado Mountains I got from the plane window . It was gorgeous! I was so tired... Charlie suggested that I get a nap in before getting to Nebraska, I said "No way!" I didn't want to miss anything. How many times do I get to fly so high? It was incredible!

There was a 2 and a 1/2 hour overlay in Denver.... sigh. We had to take the train from section A to section B. By the time we figured it all out, our adventure in Denver, Colorado didn't seem like it took as long as we had originally thought. Our flight from Denver to Nebraska was a little rough. We could only unbuckle for about 5 minutes.

When we got to Nebraska it was 7:30 PM. By the time we got our luggage, rented our car, and drove to the Air Force Base it was 8:30 in the evening. Finally!! I had my kids in my sight! They got out of their truck and ran over to the car ...... hugs~kisses~hugs~and more hugs!

off to see....

I am off to see my son and my lovely girl (I call her "my girl," she feels like my own... I think it sounds better than "daughter-in-law" too) for a visit before he goes to Kuwait... I have a feeling it will whiz by so fast it will leave my head spinning. My husband hates to fly, so this will be interesting. wink~

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Isn't it a Pity!

Isn't it a pity

Isn't it a pity
that I'm not the prettiest
girl in the world.

'cause sometimes
I feel,
when
I kick up my heels
in the sun.

I'm the loveliest one!


Song written by Melanie from the Album "The Good Book."

When I was a little girl in 1971, A singer named Melanie came out with a record album called "The Good Book." The album had many song's that we loved ... Nickle song, Babe Rainbow, Birthday of the Sun, You can go Fishin (that is just to name a few). We would beg my mom to play this record over and over. We would never get sick of it! Finally the song "Isn't it a pity" would come on .... my mom, sister and I would clap our hands and stomp our feet just like Melanie, making a happy beat singing this at the top of our lungs. I still find myself reciting this! It makes me happy everytime.

*Note~ Make sure you click on picture of this girl, she is quite a beauty!
Don't you agree? ;)

My "Old Soul"

The last three posts have been poem's my son Robert has written this past week and sent to me via e-mail. Through these poems, I am able to recognize his love for hunting, fishing, wilderness, the country, and the greatness of all God's creation. He is in the Air Force and being deployed to Kuwait on May 10-13th. He is currently getting his papers ready and being trained for different situations he might encounter while working in a different environment. We have discussed how he feels about serving over seas. At this time... he assures me that this is something that he has always wanted to do, that he is ready and he believes in serving his Country. Let me say, I am very proud of him! smile ~ sigh

His only worries are leaving his wife and loved ones behind. I have been reading his poems, knowing that he has been thinking about these special memories that have so much meaning to his inner being.

Rob has always been known to be an "old soul". He never saw things the way the rest of his classmates would see them. I remember finding the beginning of a poem or thought jotted down on pieces of paper laying here and there about the house or his room.... Yes, sometimes even half crumpled in the waste paper basket only for me to save and tuck away for safe-keeping.

Heavenly Sunrise

Whitesides
by Robert Hilton

Its dark outside
Barely awake, I stumble out of the tent
Pulling on my trousers and boots
Looking around
I see smoke lifting from what is left of the campfire
Still a glow from last nights laughing and old stories
The stars are still bright leaving a hazy glow
Flooding the landscape around
Dark shadows of trees and rocks from the moonlight
Stretching up the mountainside and over the ridge
It’s quiet, real quiet, and the bucks are listening
Papa and I grab a sweet roll
Trying to thaw out our fingers
The hot coffee warms up our hands
We grab our daypacks and ready our rifles
Slinging them over our backs, heading off
We slowly make our way through the darkness crossing the stream
Weaving in and out of rocks and ducking for branches
Coming into a clearing the smell of wild lavender fills the crisp cold air
We climb our way over rocks
And through the shadows
Towards the rocky ridge overlooking the valley
We stop
The cold wind whispers at our faces
The sunrise is heavenly
And the only thing I can think of is God

~Robert's Poem~

Fishing for Rainbow Trout
By Robert Hilton

Its evening,
and the forest is alive with praise.
I can see
down the river;
chaff of old Dandelions floating in the air.
The sunsets, unfolding off the granite boulders,
pine trees swaying with the breeze.
The sound of the white water
twists and churns;
engulfing around me,
and from far away the river roars like a lion
I look towards the sandbars behind rocks in the rapids
The stillness resides,
and for a brief moment you can see the outline of a fish
And then it disappears


“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”
~Henry David Thoreau

A Memory

Hunting in November

By Robert Hilton

In the morning
passed
the rusty barbed wire fence,
the misty fields
stand quiet.
A young pheasant bursting out of the tall grass
breaks the stillness
Colors flying
Towards wild skies.
The sun rises beyond the hill yonder
where the dew on blackberries glisten sweet.
A truck drives down old Johnson Road
leaving a faint dusty cloud behind
Carrying a hey bale in the back
A dog chases after the truck,
trailing behind barking
Slowly disappearing into the distance
it becomes quiet again.

A Thought

Taking
it all in.
...we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everthing happens once a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that's so deelply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems so limitless.

Paul Bowles

My Mom's Garden~

This last weekend when my sister was here visiting, I also took some pictures of my mom's garden. I explained to you in the previous post about her house; her garden is the same way. There are so many interesting plants and garden art, you have to walk slowly just so that you can admire every detail.

I will never forget helping my mom with the garden a few years ago. The phone rang and my mom went in the house to answer it, so I started pulling some "weeds." She came out of the house after getting off the phone, and in seeing what I was doing started to laugh with a panic-striken voice and said, "Angela, honey those are not weeds! You are pulling out my _____" (some unique flower she had ordered, I don't know the name of them). We replanted them very carefully. The next time I had gone over for a visit, she showed me what I had pulled out... they were indeed beautiful flowers!
That was the last time I helped pulling the "weeds."

If you are very still, you might get a faeire sighting!

~Home Sweet Home~

This weekend my little sister and her family came for a visit. We celebrated my nephew's sixth birthday. I can't believe that he is growing up! I feel a great connection with my three nephews and niece. I helped with bringing all three of my nephews into the world. Unfortunately, I was not in town when my niece was born. I was so bummed! My youngest sister is expecting her third baby in June. We know that this newest addition to our family is a girl!

My mom's house has been full of constant laughter, crying, screaming and visiting since Friday night. April showers filled our Saturday so the kids were locked in all day. We woke up Sunday to a yummy breakfast at my youngest sister's house. I love when we drop everything, come together and just love on each other! It is one of my favorite ways to pass the time.

I love my mom's house. She is the great collector of many things. When you are in any of her rooms, your eyes can not help but wander about to each delicate and interesting item placed neatly upon a shelf, or antique dresser.

On one occasion I remember sitting at my kitchen table with my dad. We were talking about the choices I made in picking and choosing furniture as well as color schemes. My dad pointed out to me, in a loving way, that I have basically recreated the house I lived in with my him and my mom when I was little. He said it made him happy to walk in my house and to know that I was so happy as a child that I would do this with my house as a grown up. He said he knew that I had done it unknowingly. I will tell you I have not changed anything in the seventeen years we have lived here. I have added to, taken away objects and updated, of course. However, it does have the same feel to it. Thinking about this has made me realize why I find myself making comments at times like, "I feel like a little girl playing house!" It was an 'ah ha!' moment for me. I do not want to change anything. It will never be a model looking home, with everything in its place. I call it "Hodge Podge," my mom calls it "Eclectic" (she likes it because it sounds more sophisticated). Whatever it is, it is home to me.

Here are some pictures of my moms home....



















Note: As I was taking pictures around the house, one of my favorite brother-in-laws would pipe in, " Steph! You better watch for these picture's on Ebay!"

To Comment or Not to Comment

The Websters New World Dictionary defines the word:

comment- 3. to consider thoroughly] to make a comment or comments (on or upon); make remarks

connection- 3. a relation; association; specif., a) the relation between things that depend on, involve, or follow each other; causal relationship

There are blogs that I will go to and read. I look forward to see what they have posted, but.... I will not comment. Why? I really did not know why. Until something that happened in the "Blog Realm," that made me seriously ponder as to why!

There is a circle of blogger's that will comment back and forth to each other; it feels as if we are all in the same room having a conversation. I loved it! I would look forward to a fellow blogger's opinion on different subjects.... Now, he is gone. I miss seeing his face and his comments. I would read his blog and had never gained enough courage to comment on any of his posts. Recently he passed away unexpectedly from a brain aneurysm in his sleep. He was 44 years old, newly divorced, and had two kids, a daughter and son. He loved these two with all of his heart. He was a brother who loved his siblings dearly. He was a preacher's son and very close to his parents. He was finding his way. He was caring, loving, and funny. He always wanted to do right by people..... He is now missed. Our hearts were touched by His greatness!

I never had the privilege to meet him. I only knew of him. I feel that if we ever did meet, we would have been friends. He seemed like the type of person that had friends anywhere he went.

There was not a funeral or memorial that I could go to. I will always remember him though. You see he has taught me many lessons, one of them being: To seize the moment. I will not go to a blog and not comment if I have one.

I have thought about why I do not leave comments and the reason why I don't. I have gone through life not feeling valued, wanted or even that I mattered. I do not want to get into the specifics, I will just leave it at that. Unfortunately, that has poured over to so many areas in my life, tucked away in a suitcase I carry with me everywhere. Through this journey of mine, I am beginning to believe that I am Valuable, I am wanted, and I do matter!

Leaving a comment... the way I see it, I have nothing to lose and only to gain if anything. I admire how some people dive right in and have no problem with this. sigh~

It is also making connections. Beautiful connections. For me, I am giving myself the gift of commenting.



I am opening the gate.....



and I am going to see what will bloom.

For what it is worth... I do value you and your opinion, your comments do matter to me. You are wanted by me. :)

Vicci's Challenge!

I have accepted Vicci's challenge which is this: "to find one of your favorite photos... from lets say... at least 20 years ago... and to post it! That is not all. We are to tell a story about it and why you like it so much. The photo can be anything you want; a person, place or thing. Any of you that want to do this...feel free to do so!" What a great idea Vicci!



This was hard to pick just one from so many. I narrowed it down to this one. Here is my photo. It is of my husband Charlie, my son Robert and my daughter Diandra. When I look at this photo, I do not just see my husband happy with his catch of the day. There is a story behind this still image frozen in time.

Here is my story....

When I look at this photo, I see the love of my life and my babies. At a last minutes notice, Charlie was invited to go to the Delta for a fishing tournament. Charlie and I had thrown some chickens in the oven to be baked for sandwiches to take for lunch the following day. Well... we both fell asleep. The chickens were well done by the time I had woken up from a dead sleep (about 1:30 a.m.). Charlie helped me pull the chicken to make these sandwiches. His friend came shortly after that to pick him up (3:00 a.m.). I kissed him goodbye and cleaned up the mess and went back to bed. My day had consisted of cleaning the house and having a great day with my babies! I had dinner all ready for him when he got home. When he arrived the kids ran to the door so excited that their Daddy was home. He pulled this fish out of the ice chest and wanted a picture of it with the kids. When I took this picture Charlie was grinning from ear to ear... Diandra and Robert are a little freaked out by the size of the fish. Diandra has a dazed look on her face and is not even looking at me, probably thinking 'this fish is as big as me' and look at how her little toes are curled! Robert is just freaked! He did ask his dad, " Did you win the tournament?!"



*Note~ At the time I did not know about the picture of my husband with his granny and grand-daddy existed. I later came across this picture in a frame on a visit to Tennessee at his Grand Daddy's house. When I saw the picture I understood there was much more for me having to take a picture with everyone positioned where they were and the importance of it to my husband.

At the time this picture was taken, Charlie had some trust issues that stemmed from his divorce. For him to go with any "friend" was a huge step for him. He stepped out of his comfort zone showing such growth and for that I was so proud of him.

Diandra's favorite color today is purple. She is wearing purple.
Robert is in the Air Force today. He is wearing a military t-shirt.

The chicken sandwiches were the the best he had ever had! To this day when he goes somewhere this is what he wants me to make him. Hhmmm... I don't think I have ever duplicated that!

I am quoting Vicci in saying "Photos~ "All I know is that I am grateful for memories, when you stop and think about it... memories are really "who we are"... just layers and layers of memories... built on top of one another... over and over..." this is so true. A picture really does hold a thousand words!

**Note I have noticed on quite a few blogs that on there posts photo's and memories can go hand in hand. My friend Corey has posted something on this very issue just the other day.

*Snap*

~Things Happen for a Reason....Just Believe~

Calaveras BIG Trees

On our visit to Murphys, I twisted Diandra's arm to head up the road to Calaveras Big Trees State Park. This is one of my favorite places to go to, unlike my daughter's . I find it to be so peaceful and serene, she finds it cold and dark and quite frankly is over it. In the 6th grade, this is where they go for outdoor education. Apparently, when they went for her trip in 6th grade, it was laden with snow from tree top to tree root. Need I say more. Our family has gone camping there for a number of years. We drag her, each time. She hates it. I was forbidden to take more than one picture of the same tree, so that we could walk the tour and get out as quickly as possible. She said, she tried to be a good sport about going, but once we got there, the idea was out the car door. She said "Next time, bring Nana!"

Millions of years ago, giant redwoods dominated the entire northern hemisphere. Today, due to climatic changes (El Nino?), these redwoods have all but disappeared. This is one of only three locations worldwide. The colossal trees of Calaveras Big Trees State Park stand in quiet testimony to a time when giants ruled the earth. These massive relics, which can reach a height of 325 feet and a diameter of 33 feet. Some of these trees are thought to be as much as 2,000 years old. The camera does not capture how BIG these trees actually are. I know that there are special camera lens that take more than my camera will let in. I think that it is time to start saving... hmmmm.

Diandra walking the path


The Three Graces

It is unlikely that anyone could look upon the Sequoiadendron giganteum and not feel a sense of awe and reverence. Well... maybe Diandra. smiling :)