travel

Last week I went on a trip. 

This lush green-ness is the kind of beauty I miss now that I don't live in the south.

This is Toccoa Falls.

Also Toccoa Falls.

I went to school at Toccoa Falls College, and this week was Homecoming. Since my graduation was 20 years ago, (!?) I decided to go back for a little visit. It was a fantastic trip - I got to see old friends, I got to take in the beauty, I got to visit with a kid from my church in Colorado that goes to school there now, and all-in-all it was a grand time. 

I lived in Athens, GA for 10 years, and I also got to visit there. I went to my favorite restaurants, and a couple new ones. I visited with old friends, and got to drive around the beautiful campus without the distraction of 100,000 people clamoring to get into the football game. :)

And I went to church.

I went back to church and got to visit with friends I haven't seen in a long time. In fact I would call these people family. They adopted me into their family when I was living across the country from my own family. They had me over for family lunch on Sundays, and made sure I had a place to go for Thanksgiving if I wasn't traveling to my own family. 

I had such a great time seeing them and catching up. 

My soul is full.

K

recovery

Well this week has been Spring Break.

I am grateful for the break, but more than that I am grateful to be feeling better.

About 5 weeks ago, I got pneumonia. Didn't get sick, didn't catch anything, didn't come out any other sickness. Just...WHAM! Pneumonia.

So I got the drugs, and an X-ray to confirm, and spent a week getting better.

Felt great for a couple weeks, and then caught this nasty virus that went around school. I got it, but a bunch of other students and staff got it as well. And THAT was awful! It was the sickest I've been in several years. Even considering pneumonia!

So for the past 2 weeks I've been taking drugs for that, and doing breathing treatments, and just generally breathing.

Finally, I think I am better. I've gone a couple days without doing a breathing treatment, and besides my regular allergies, I'm feeling "normal". As normal as I usually am.

I just want to say that I am grateful to be better! I guess sometimes it takes feeling poorly to be grateful for health.

Here's to breathing.
K

celebration

Yesterday I went to a wedding.

Actually, I got to play in the worship band. It was a great wedding. And not because I was there playing.

The bride and groom were both in youth group when they were in high school, so I was their youth leader. I've gone on several missions trips with them, and known them for several years and I consider them friends.

It was so great to see them stand up in front of friends and family and be wedded to each other.

But I really enjoyed the day. Not just the wedding, but the rest of it too.

The practice - the best man, and the pastor's wife and I were the worship band, so we got together to practice. It was fun getting to worship with them.

The rehearsal - hanging out with the pastor's wife, and the groom's mom, who I consider a great friend. Getting to see them all nervous, and READY to be married already!

The wedding - worshipping with a bunch of church family, and great friends. Being excited for the bride and groom as they start their journey together.

It was such a fun weekend. And such a blessing to be a little part of their story.
Congratulations Taylor and Lauren!
K :)

music

Yesterday, I went to the symphony.

With my sister.

My sweet friend Miriam gave me the tickets, and I thought about a lot of people I could ask to go with me. But then I remembered the last time I gave a symphony ticket to my sister, and how much she enjoyed it.

So I asked my sister. And we went.

It was truly a lovely evening. We went out to a leisurely dinner, and then got to the hall about an hour early. So I had a coffee and we sat there and talked.

It has been a LONG time since we sat and had a sisterly talk - It was sweet.

And the music was divine! They played the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24, and selections from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. The piano soloist for the Mozart was SO much fun to watch. She was incredibly expressive and did the whole thing without music. Then in the Romeo and Juliet, there were several times where there was a pause in the music and I said under my breath, "wow".

That is a perfect expression for last night.

Wow.
K

even bigger

Well I thought things couldn't get bigger and more scarier...(scarier?) but they have.

...

I bought a house today.

Holy cow - this is HUGE.

Really I'm not sure how to feel. I'm excited, but I'm also scared, and a little overwhelmed, and still waking up in the middle of the night thinking about things I need to do.

Oh. My. Word.

But the bottom line is that it will be a great thing. I'm trusting God. I've prayed this WHOLE time that He would work out all things in this big endeavor. And He is good. All the time. Regardless of what is happening in my housing situation.

And that's exactly what I have right now - a housing "situation".

So, I'm off to pack. I've got to get all my stuff over to Mom and Dad's house, because next weekend I'm moving the furniture into a storage unit for awhile.
Here's to cardboard boxes.
K

the end

Today was the end of school.

I always feel kind of weird about this. I'm ready for school to be over, but I love my job and don't want to be away from kids for 10 weeks. I'm ready for a break, but I really like the people I work with and consider them friends - I don't want to be gone for 10 weeks.

And of course it is sad that a whole grade level of kids is moving up to Jr. Hi, and I won't have them again. Ever. I've been their music teacher for the past 6 years of their schooling, and now not. That's really what makes me sad this time of year.

And then there is the thought of being off work for 10 weeks, and there is rejoicing in my heart!

I feel very mixed emotions. I'm excited about being off, but sad about being off at the same time.

And I'm so grateful to love my job, to love my boss, and to work with such great people that I consider friends.

I guess I just don't know *what* to feel at this point.
K

reverence

While in Washington DC, Carol took me to the National Cathedral. I was NOT expecting to be as moved by this building as I was. Even though it is an Episcopal Church, and services are held there all the time, it is really a beautiful Gothic Revival building.

Awhile back, the whole east coast had a pretty big earthquake, and some pieces fell off the cathedral:

I'm SO glad that this random guy walked behind them, just as I was taking a picture, so you can see how huge they really are! These are sitting out in front of the cathedral, and I'm not sure when there are plans to replace them.  If you look at the following picture closely, you can see the minarets that they fell off of. They are flat on top, unlike their neighbors:

Broken minaret - right in the center.

The main sanctuary is beautiful, and has gorgeous stained-glass windows all around it. Note the black netting on the inside, because they weren't sure if any pieces would fall on the inside:

This picture is from the main platform, looking up into the nave where a service was taking place:

As I was taking the above picture, right next to my left leg was the seat where Nancy sat for Ronald Reagan's funereal. Lots of Presidents and important people have had funereals here, and Woodrow Wilson is actually buried here. Well, not actually buried - his crypt is here.

Woodrow Wilson's crypt

The stained-glass over Woodrow Wilson's crypt.

There are other beautiful stained-glass windows also, like the Space window:

And the Colorado window. Look closely for the Air Force Academy Chapel at the top:

There is a hall with the flag of every state:

And lots of little chapels off of every hallway. This one was being prepared for Sunday Services, with fresh flowers:

I happened upon this crucifix while wandering the halls and finding other little chapels:

Carol and I went up to the 7th floor observatory, and could see several states. This is a view of Washington - notice the Washington Monument sticking up right in the middle:

And this is looking down from the observatory, on a garden that is on the property:

I think the thing that struck me most while visiting the National Cathedral was the diversity of the people there - not just different cultures, but different religions as well. I think that this place inspires reverence, no matter what you relationship with God. I'm sure that every person there was not there because of their close, personal relationship with God, but because it is beautiful, and one of the things to do. But, I really appreciate that this place is about the collision of daily life with the Holy; About how the Divine reaches down to us, regardless of what we call ourselves.

I reveled in the reverence that was there.

And it didn't matter what the people around me labeled their religion: God was there.
K

dead people are everywhere

This week I got back from visiting Washington DC. Yes, I saw a bunch of the monuments, and Yes, I walked almost the entire Museum of American History, and Yes, I rode the Metro. But none of these things were what made this vacation so great.

It was the friends.

I got the stay with my friend Carol for the first 2 days, and had a great time hanging out with her. She also happens to be a fantastic Personal Tour Guide, and I was the better for that.

The world's smallest house (blue one in the center)

Mount Vernon

Christ Church in Alexandria, VA

US Marines Memorial (Iwo Jima)

Iwo Jima from the west: Notice the US Capital and Washington Monument on the right.

National Cathedral

 In the National Cathedral, there are so many beautiful stained glass windows to see, and so many little chapels to duck into, that there is something beautiful and "picture-worthy" at every  turn. BUT, Woodrow Wilson is alos buried there, and as we stood next to his crypt, I told Carol, "this creeps me out a little." I think it was just the juxtaposition of the beautiful windows, the reverent feeling, and then this crypt. And me standing about a foot away from it. Like I could have reached out and touched it. Eeewwwww...
And he's not even the only one! There are lots of crypts, and it seems like every time you turn a corner there is a crypt of some kind. Why so many dead people???

"Space" window in the National Cathedral

 In that "Space" window, you can see the big red moon in the upper center. Right in the middle of that red moon, there is a piece of the actual moon, brought back from the Apollo XI mission.

We ate at Ben's Chili Bowl: a U St. landmark since the 50's.

I did have a great time visiting all these great places, and learning a TON about George Washington. By the way, I believe he was visionary. I think he just had *something* that let him see what needed to happen at a certain time. Like when Braddock was taken out in the French and Indian War, and George just stepped in and organized the men how they needed to go in order to win that battle. Then, he said that God gave him that victory, because 2 horses were shot out from under him, and there were 4 bullet holes in his jacket, yet he came out unscathed.
AND, I have so much respect for him; At that time, money almost always had a picture of the person in power. But George eschewed the personal gratification, and featured Lady Liberty instead, so that all Americans could reflect on what makes our nation great: Liberty.

But, that was not even the best part. The best part was the part where I got to deepen my friendship with Carol. It was refreshing to spend time with her and her family - she made me feel like I was part of the family. And I am grateful.

Then I got to spend some time with my adopted sister, CherylLyn. She's not a sister by blood, but because my family has made her a part of our family. Even if she lives in Maryland now. :)

We also got to see a lot of neat places and things in the DC area. We went to Baltimore, and one of the Smithsonian Museums, and on a bus tour of the monuments after dark.

A Baltimore Neighborhood

Ship...or restaurant???

US Capital

Me, as the president. HA!

CherylLyn as the president.

Thomas Jefferson

Sunset from the Jefferson Memorial

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Jefferson Memorial from across the tidal basin

Washington Monument

Honest Abe

Lincoln Memorial

And all these things were great as well. We both had a good time seeing things, but the best part was spending the time together. To talk without anyone else around, to hang out with just the two of us was fantastic, mostly because we never get to do that.

What a great time - great time with friends and family, great time seeing our nation's capital, great time just being together.

But as we walked out of the Smithsonian castle, there is another crypt - Smithson is buried there. Right there! Just to the right of the main doorway. And the person in the information center told me this like it was something great - "you can walk right up to  Smithson's crypt!"

No thanks, there are dead people everywhere.
K

cards

Playing cards.

Today I am thankful for playing cards.

Last weekend the family went up to the cabin in the mountains and just hung out as a family for Memorial Day weekend. It was lovely. My assignment was 1 watermelon and 2 cantaloupe, so that was the sum total of my cooking for the weekend - cutting up those melons. And, someone (thank you mom and Dan) had made coffee each morning before I even got out of bed, so I didn't even have to do that. And I can already hear you asking, so I will preemptively answer your question: No I did not sleep half the day away. I set my alarm each morning for about 7am, and then hit snooze once or twice. That's it.

But I did nap most afternoons...  :)

So I grew up watching, and then as I got older, playing card games. The preferred game was pinochle, but there were others, such as the Twist version of London Rummy. For example, my Grandma Annie taught me how to play solitaire. I still think of her every time I deal out a game of solitaire.

Anyway, pinochle.

My brother-in-law always thought of pinochle as an "old people game", and then he married into our family. We do play us some pinochle. And it is fun. There are always rules, like "Dan and Pop can't be on the same team" and the like, but it is fun to play together. Last weekend we played pinochle 2 evenings, after the nephews went to bed, and it was a terribly fun way to spend time together as a family.

So I'm thankful for cards. I guess I could be thankful for my family, but that's been done. :)

Here's to more playing cards, and spirited family game-playing in love.
K

plague

I believe we are going through a plague.

The moths are among us. How can something that only lives for 20 days be such a nuisance? And why do they always fly RIGHT at your face? My vacuum cleaner is full of moth carcasses. But I will admit that attacking them with a flyswatter is GLORIOUS!!! I bought 4 brand-spankin-new flyswatters last week - 2 for my classroom, and 2 for home. Boy oh boy, I have used those things like crazy. And I am taking out every ounce of hate I have ever had in my whole life, whapping at those moths.

And now that it seems like the moths are dying out, we are being attacked by the cottonwood tree blooms. As I was driving home the other day I was dreaming up a way to "catch" these little natural cotton balls that always seem to get stuck in my mouth. It involved a tennis racket, and some duct tape. But I can't tell you the rest, because I'm pretty sure the patent will make me tons of money.

Yeah, I know, the moths are not really a plague. But they are REALLY annoying.

For reals, the last couple weeks of school is a plague. We have about 2 and a half weeks of school left, and I don't know if I can make it. OK, OK, I can make it. But it doesn't feel like it.

I don't really need a whole summer off - I just need a break. And I know lots of people that feel the same way.

Why does it not matter when the "end" is...we still look for it and count down the days?

Is that a natural human inclination - to always look forward to the end? To look forward to the next thing coming down the pike? What happens if we don't have anything to look forward to? Would that affect our human-ness, if we didn't ever look forward? To the next break? To the next vacation? To the next...

I can say for sure that I am looking forward to being off school for some time. If that makes me more human, than so be it. Human I am.

But I will be human with 10 weeks off work.
K :)

down

Today I was down.

I had down time, watching things I had recorded on TV this week. (Survivor, CSI, and some other fun stuff.)

I laid down for a nap.

I sat down and read a book for a little bit. I only have 3 different books going right now...

I did walk down to the front door, but only to look out at the weather, and decide how much snow we got this morning.

I put the phone down, after getting the call that school was cancelled.

I called my friend Jenn and TRIED to not be down that we are off school today. :)

I actually am a little down that Mom is still sick - she sounds terrible, and I don't like when she is sick.

What a great way to be down - I will take this kind of down anytime!
K

sleeping in

I just want to publicly say how wonderful it is to NOT wake up to an alarm clock.

This morning I woke a couple times, and rolled over to get some more sleep. At one point, I woke (back) up, thought that my neck was kinda stiff, and looked over at the alarm clock. It said it was 10:03 am.

Holy cow!

I got up pretty quick after that, but it was so nice to get sleep without any reason to be up and ready at any specific time.

Yea for sleeping in!
K

fall color

This weekend I went up into the mountains. It was about a 2 hour drive from home, and even though the trees are starting to drop their beautiful leaves, some of the scenes were amazing.

Here are a couple pictures:

The Arkansas River

Old railroad tunnels, north of Buena Vista, CO

North of Buena Vista, CO

North of Buena Vista, CO

Cottonwood Lake

 

 

Family rockskipping championships at Cottonwood Lake!

Howard, CO; taken on the drive home

It was a great family weekend.Very relaxing, and lots of fun playing with the nephews. A fine way to end Fall Break, if I do say so myself! Thanks for stopping by.
K

vacation

So, I just got back from California.

It was a lovely trip, and sunburn notwithstanding, I'm not sure how it could have been better.

Mom and Dad at Moss Landing State Beach

We started on the the coast, a little bit south of San Francisco. Moss Landing is between Santa Cruz and Monterey. It's right on the water, and fishing is BIG business here. Maybe that's why the food at our lunch spot was so good. We ate at Phil's Fish Market, and oh my land I could eat there everyday. They WON Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and I think we all know why. I would fly out there now, just to eat there again.

Phil's Fish Market: hard to find, but easy to eat their awesome food.

The next day we went to San Francisco. And we outdid ourselves on the tourist agenda. Not to mention we took my Auntie Carolyn with us. Carolyn is 80, but she's incredibly fun to be around. I had a great day seeing the sights, and hanging out with her.

Dad, Auntie Carolyn, and Mom at Pier 39

We went to Pier 39, ate Chowder in a Sourdough Bread bowl, and the took a driving tour around the city.

The Golden Gate bridge, socked in by fog.

We went over to the ocean, and the Cliff House. From there I could look down the coast where the boardwalk used to be. Now, it's all been developed into housing.

Where the ocean meets the city of San Francisco.

Then my dad drove us up over Twin Peaks, and because the fog had started to burn off we could see the whole city.

San Francisco, as seen from Twin Peaks.

San Francisco

Then we drove through the city, and after some shopping we drove down Lombard St.

The Cable Car that was dropping people off at the top of Lombard.

Going down Lombard: the crookedest street in America.

What a great day!

The next day we took a drive through the Napa valley, and saw all the vineyards and wineries. It was beautiful, and a relaxing day for everyone except Dad, because he drove. :)

Since our time in the bay area was done, we drove up the coast to Mendocino. Even though there was a music festival going on, we had a nice time walking around the town and looking at all the little shops there.

Mendocino coastline

Then we drove a little bit more, and stayed in Ft. Bragg for the next day. On the north coast it was gray and overcast, but that made the weather really cool and nice. It was a welcome change from the heat of the Napa Valley the day before.

The rocky beaches of Ft. Bragg.

We didn't do much in Ft. Bragg. We looked around the town, slept in, and Mom and I went hunting Sea Glass down at Glass Beach. Here's Mom with her treasures, coming back over the "difficult access".

And here's me, in front of the rocks and water.

And a fun time was had by all. :)
K