Kelty Is Blossoming

Celebration!

My baby Kelty's
baby is due
to make her appearance
in January.




Family and friends gathered to honor the mother-to-be, to shower her with sweet little baby things and fortify her with sage advice.

There was 'LIGHT SUPPER' which wasn't all that light.

Then, Jill
(my extraodinary daughter-in-law)
asked Kelty
to remove
the petals of a yellow rose,
sharing
thoughts or feelings
about becoming a mom,
one for each petal.

Followed by the ceremonious
opening of the gifts.

Let me just say, this wee little buttercup will have some stunning (and cozy) outfits during her first year of life! The presents were thoughtfully chosen and accompanied by sound advice from moms who've proceeded her on this journey.

Dana, my goddaughter #3, is also expecting in January and the two mamacitas look so darling together with their swelling bellies.

THANK YOU Jill and Leah, for putting together this marvelous event. You'll see no shots of my Leah girl, since she is tethered to her three little babes in Ohio. None-the-less, she managed to orchestrate various elements of the shower from the Midwest. She even made and mailed 30 parties favors and they were A HIT.

Sheesh.

I can't believe my BABY is With Child.

I look at her and my heart sings . . .

"Is this the little girl I carried?"

Thanksgiving 2009

The Thanksgiving holiday translated into a full week of wonderful chaos around my place.

(And, BTW, that's legitimate excuse for skipping the blog about my amazing drive home from Nevada.)

Amidst it all,
there were moments for snoozing.
Duane on the couch.
Pregnant Kelty on the floor
and Chica, the dog cozying into the scene.

And early morning wake-ups.
Grandson Kenneth on my bed.

Delightful, fully-awake play times.
Grandma Ginger's "Wiggle Cars"

And communal work times.
Arian and Duane peeling potatoes for a crowd.

Time for good conversation
with intermittent turkey basting.
Sister-in-law Cathy, her eldest girls Robyn & Eliza,
my goddaughter Victoria.


Finally, the BIG feast . . .

(Sorry, folks. I didn't catch everyone in this shot.)

and some little feasting too!
My darling granddaughter Audrey.


Fortunately,
there was a willing clean-up crew.
Kelty, Jill, niece Grace, Duane, goddaughter Dana and others.

When the dishes were done,
the extended family gathered for carol singing.
Every one of our clan loves to sing
and I have to say, we sounded awesome.

And, of course,
there were stolen moments for
hiking up the canyon.
Here's my dear daughter-in-law Jill
during one of those strolls.

Good times.

In Charge, In Nevada

.

My son and his wife did their first ever
Get Away, just the two of them.
Off to Boston.

So Grandma Ginger came onto the scene
and did the A - Z with her dear Nevada Kidlets.

I brought a pile of play toys with me.
As you can see, the dinosaurs were a hit.



Little Audrey loved having a Patty Cake Partner.

Bright and early,

3 year-old Kenneth

climbed onto

the preschool bus.

Notice that

FIRST STEP!!!


He absolutely LOVES

going to school.

In turn, the bus driver

and the teachers ADORE

Mr. Kenneth. Who wouldn't?

Then THIS darling tike and I
got some one-on-one time in the mornings.

We strolled the neighborhood together,
which was ever so pleasant in the Nevada sunshine.

She absolutely WON my heart,

fair and square!

* * *

In the evenings, there was time for stuff like
Artistic Endeavors & Culinary Crafts.



Notice Audrey, APPRECIATING our masterpieces.

* * *

One day, I took my grandson to gymnastics.
I was totally awed by the things a good teacher
can get a 3 year-old to accomplish.

When Mommy and Daddy arrived home,
it was tough to say goodbye.

However, I had sweet little adventure coming home.
I'll share THAT in the next post.

Let me just say,
I didn't travel on the Yellow Brick Road.
Rather, the Red Sandstone Highway.
It's something else!

Zipped Down to Zion

.

Zipped down to ZION where my friend Fae lives.

In fact, I took this photo from just outside her home.
She has a 1,000,000 dollar view of Zion's National Park.
And a Way Cool House, to boot!

If you don't know about Zion,
this photo will give you a second glimpse.
(The first glimpse was at the beginning of this post.)


I took it while strolling near Fae's home.

And here's where Fae lived for two years,
as she and her husband were building their home . . .
FROM SCRATCH. Sacrificing visionaries in their sixties!!!
Fae's husband died unexpectedly two years ago,
but this courageous woman keeps their dream alive.


Fae has been my friend forever and a day.
She gave each of my daughters a celebratory massage
to mark their passage into womanhood.
I guess we go back to about 1985, nearly a quarter of a decade!!!
And here we are in 2009, together over the weekend!


I can't even begin to describe Fae's hospitality.
There was a WELCOME sign on the door and lit candles in her casita!
Then she swept me off for dinner at Oscars.

Here's an outside view of the casita (or guest house).
It's made up from three little buildings, each with it's own unique roof.
They are linked together with doors,
giving the honored out-of-towner a bedroom, kitchen,
and bathroom illuminated by several skylights.


Here's what it looked like when I opened the door of the casita
after a good night's rest.


Busted.
I got up LATE.
Due to the fact that Fae and I had such a fine evening together.

First of all, the dinner and over-the-top dessert
was a benefit for Fae being an organizer of the
RED ROCK FILM FESTIVAL.

After stuffing ourselves on bleu cheese garlic burgers and fish tacos,
we soaked for literally HOURS in her hot tub.
Here's a daytime shot, taken while I was leaning against the hot tub.

Pretty amazing.
But NOTHING compared to
watching drama in the night sky from such a wild & wonderful place.

I saw FOUR shooting stars!
November 2009 is THE month
for the Leonid Meteor Shower (SEE HERE)
and I got to experience the show
from the comfort of a hot tub located far, far away from city lights.


After a very long time steaming away under the stars,
I sort of looked like a lobster, well done.

Fae, on the other hand, looked refreshed
and ready to play.
We chatted another hour in the casita.
Couldn't get enuf girlfriend time.

* * *
In the morning, I took in the many
"Fae Touches" around the place.

Intriguing sculptures are placed around the property.


This wind art changes with even the slightest breeze . . .

And I can't even BEGIN to describe
the imaginative crafting of the inside spaces.
Unfortunately, this is my only shot
and it's really about the beauty seen through the windows.


If you want a bit of my friend Fae in YOUR LIFE,
go to her website and see how you can experience
fae & zion
together.

Last photo.
From the NE corner of Fae's home.
Taken just before I drove away.
Sad to leave.

Lovely Lassies!

Last spring, I took on a church assignment to work with the girls, ages 8 - 12. Actually, I get to PLAY with these darling little damsels. We take field trips and do service projects and learn new skills and make cool stuff and it's ALL PURE FUN.

You may see them in a game of Tug of War,
but I am quite relieved to report,
they DON'T really tussle with each other.

They are a get-along gang and everyone's included.

In the summer, we went to the Provo Waterpark
and my grandson had about 10 big sisters to play with him.


When school started, KNITTING became the RAGE
and they begged for more of it.

So, we did yet another round of knitting!

This fall, we were blessed with an Indian Summer
making it possible for more outdoor pursuits.


See the Really Cool Dinosaur they created out of mud?!


Then, we were back indoors for our Halloween crafts,

with pumpkin cookie decorating, on the side.

Last week, we cleaned the church nursery.

It was just about as delightful as playing in the mud,
because they really had a BLAST
spraying and scouring
and discovering innovative ways to sparkle up the toys.

After A LOT of elbow grease,
I brought out my Wiggle Cars.

2 ride-on toys + 8 girls = NO PROBLEM

Having these young maidens in my life does me good.

Their effervescence and imaginative spirits
and trusting natures, even their impishness . . .
SPICE up my world.

My Birthday

Some really weird things happened this summer.

1. My goddaughter Victoria got her wings and flew the coop.

2. My birth-daughter Kelty and her husband Duane
completed their BYU studies and moved to Chicago.

I felt a bit of a VOID
as I considered my upcoming birthday.
No kids in town. Not one.

WELL . . .


. . . without so much as a moan from my end,
some dear friends got together
and created the PERFECT CELEBRATION.

They put on a scrumptious Mexican buffet
with all kinds of fabulous side dishes.

The festivities took place under the stars!

How cool is that?!

Lots of storytelling and laughter
while the fire warmed our toes as well as our spirits.

"Thus nature has no love for solitude, and always leans, as it were, on some support; and the sweetest support is found in the most intimate friendships." - Cicero

Wow. I get that. I REALLY GET THAT.

And while we're on the subject, here are some Amigas Buenas
who recently joined me in the Provo City Art Stroll.

Florence 1923 - 2007

Today is my mom's 86th birthday.

My dad was awfully lucky to snag that gal, 66 years ago.

Her kids were pretty darn lucky too!

The six of us don't agree on everything,
but we are unanimous in thinking our mom was AMAZING.

This woman loved to hop in the car and go places.
Across the desert! Across the country!!

A full tank of gas made her happy.
It spoke of POSSIBILITIES.

She was an earthy gal,

finding joy in the seasons, the critters,
the light on the mountain, a spectacular cloud formation.

She appreciated beauty and taught us to look for it.


If there was an adventure within arm's reach,
Mom was game.

She was taking flying lessons and planned to become a pilot.

Instead she raised a flock of kidlets
and gave us wings to rise on the wind currents.

Unquestionably, we are all adventurers.
(Thank you Dad, as well as Mom.)


I know my mom had one birthday which wasn't very fun.

It was her 29th.

It was SUPPOSE to be fun. She got gussied up for a Halloween party . . . in a pumpkin costume (Dad was the pumpkin's escort.)

Then a certain daughter put a monkey wrench in the plans. Perhaps this little gal didn't like being a part of the wacky pumpkin decor. Or maybe she was just feeling cramped, because she began kicking and hollering "Let me otta here." From what I've heard, she kicked hard enough to send a whoosh of water onto the carpet at the party house.

So, the poor birthday gal had to excuse herself as politely as possible while that daughter of hers continued with out-of-control gestational tantrums. They lasted for HOURS and HOURS.

No. It wasn't a fun birthday.

However, there WAS a silver lining.
My mom and I were able to share
54 birthday celebrations TOGETHER
due to the events of that day.

Still Vibrant Hues

It's not New England.

It's Utah.

Shots taken TODAY in the canyon behind my home.

My dog on the path. (HAPPY.)


This year's almost-daily rainfall through May and June
gifted us with extra-vibrant autumn hues.

Even the native Utah Oaks (sometimes drab)
have joined in the colorful choir.

As I head down past the Forest Service's green gate
at the base of the canyon,
I feel like I've FEASTED at a lavish banquet.

And I have.

Moab

Just returned from a long weekend near Moab, Utah with girlfriends. Stayed at the Pack Creek Ranch. It's situated just below the La Sals mountain range with fabulous hikes, just right outside the cabin door.

Here's the dive:

The shot BELOW was taken within a mile of our lodgings.
The geology in southern Utah is Over The Top!

When we weren't hiking, we were eating and laughing. Oh. There was the hot tub too. (Quite the amenities for $32 per day, per person!)

We all shared the cooking duties and meals were simply scrumptious. Lots of healthy veggie meals.

The terrain around Moab is extraordinarily diverse.
We were dealing with a cattle drive on a steep mountainside . . .

. . . and an hour later, we were hiking in red rock country
with bizarre formations like THIS:

Stunning beauties abound in the desert.

The lichen create a kaleidoscope of colors.

My favorite part of the trip - the morning I awoke at 6 a.m. and took a two-hour jaunt as the sun rose over the La Sals, creating a spotlight on the red rock ridges on the other side of the valley.

Breathtaking.