can you hear me now?

Baby Noa was fascinated with Madeline's long ears.

the answer

my happy day

My happy day started with a morning walk down the railroad tracks, then some second hand shop explorations, a quick trip to Sprouts to pick up picnic food, followed by a palm tree-lined drive to Seaport Village.


It had been 26 years since I've been in the San Diego area (now I'm making myself feel old) but when I spotted Seaport Village on the tourist map I remembered another day long ago when I had spent a delightful Sunday afternoon enjoying the sun and sea of this cute little park surprising tucked in right near downtown San Diego.

Jay and I picnicked on crackers, cheese, and turkey pot roast while watching the boats sail under the Coronado bridge, then set off to quickly explore the little shopping village before the parking meter ran out signaling our departure for home.


I has happy from the top of my sun-bleached hair to the bottom of my grass enveloped toes.


Seaport Village has a little something for everyone and this day even included an "artist" who was balancing stones and collecting tips from the admiring passerby.


The quaint shops in the village include a kite shop (where Jay headed first), a wind chime stop (where the shop keeper had to keep shooing out the pigeons who wandered in the door and then panicked and made a ruckus trying to escape), a gourmet cupcake shop (sorry Julie, I didn't get a pic), a sock store that Besty would have loved with socks for every interest....

and a wonderful hammock store where I once again got to try out the amazingly comfortable Air Chair that I someday hope to own (that's an imaginary book in my hands)...


and plenty of opportunities for Kodak moments.

Front to back...this was my happy day.

hidden treasure

Not long after our arrival at Oasis of Hope I spotted a small wooden sign with a long name, The Frozen Yogurt Place Restaurant, peculiarly stuck in the middle of the island dividing the traffic outside the hospital window. The little sign was so obscure and oddly placed it took several tries directing Jay's attention to the exact spot before he spied the sign. Similar to how things worked with my mother, it doesn't take more than a slight nudge to get Jay moving in the direction of frozen deserts. The fact that we arrived at lunchtime and Ron and Lura would soon be receiving trays from the hospital cafeteria made our exploratory trip down the street in the direction the sign pointed seem like the right thing to do.

Mexico is full of surprises and contradictions and Tijuana was no different. We walked about two blocks down a narrow side street stepping over broken glass, passing a large building several stories high containing a variety of businesses then side stepping a car wash set up in the gravel at the edge of the road with a hose and bucket then finally arrived at this small oasis of green tucked away like a hidden treasure. At the entrance was a small shop with bright Mexican clothing leading into a lush little courtyard with plants and fountains and a cute little Yorkie.


After admiring the garden we entered through the first of several doors and found ourselves in a small health food store. Most of the products were in Spanish but we looked though the shelves with curiosity, stopping to admire a display that looked a lot like local honey. When Jay asked the young girl who greeted us from behind the counter she confirmed in English that it was honey, then gave Jay a sample taste of a sweet, thick, dark goo that looked a lot like molasses. Although we didn't purchase any honey we did return later to buy some vegetable salt that we discovered in the salt shaker at the restaurant.

The restaurant was also a delightful surprise with a rounded bank of windows over looking a steep cliff with a green jungle of plants at the bottom. When seated we actually sat level with the top of the trees. Outside the windows were several Humming bird feeders that attracted more Humming birds than I have ever witnessed in one place.


At The Frozen Yogurt Place Restaurant we shared a cheese quesadilla...

(My November black and white photo)

...and a bowl of raspberry, peach, and pina colada frozen yogurt with walnuts on top and chocolate sauce on the side. But of course, for this part of the story the picture says it best.

orange you glad I didn't say banana

On our search to find pancakes in San Diego Monday morning Jay and I happened upon this wonderful orange alley. It was obviously a color Kodak moment.


The Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana has wonderful mirrored window, perfect for reflective photos.

the fence, tijuina

life on the edge

spotted this risk taker on a walk through San Diego
swamp/nature center/homeless camp

road to recovery

The first leg of our journey was the drive to San Diego in the 15 passenger van that was recently donated to Soaring Eagles Ministry. Although there were only four of us traveling we decided the van would make the trip easier for Ron. Jay took out the two center benches and strapped in the large leather recliner that friends had given to me. When Ron came home from the hospice center we took the leather chair to his house. He found the chair was often the most comfortable place for him, allowing him to rest and still breath. Between his weakened state and his dependence on the oxygen machine to help him breath, Ron was pretty anxious about the long drive.


The night before our leaving my throat began hurting. I was concerned about passing anything on to Ron so I wore a face mask when we were in confined spaces together.


The drive to San Diego includes a climb to 4,000 feet and lost of desert-scape. It was a color feast for the eyes when we reached these fresh green lettuce fields.


We left AJ around noon and got to San Diego without incident in time to check into our motel, scour the local IGA for something healthy for dinner, and tuck ourselves in bed in anticipation of a big day on Monday.

reflections of hope

Next post series...
photo journal of our first of several trips to San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico dropping off and retrieving our friends Ron and Lura from Oasis of Hope Hospital.

sunshine's busy day

On Thursday I went with Lura to help clean while another friend stayed with Ron. But Friday I stayed with Ron while Lura cleaned by herself. She had a box full of apples that were nearing their expiration date so in between checking on Ron and answering the door and phone I juiced. It seemed that from the first moment I came in Sunshine was posing for her picture.

At 9:00 Sunshine dipped her paw in her cat food bowl and danity licked the sticky glob off her paw so she didn't have to lower her face into the food bowl.

At 10 AM Sunshine played in the laundry basket.

At 11:00 I sat down to look something up on the computer. Sunshine positioned herself so she was available to help at a moments notice.

At noon Sunshine apparently was not feeling well.

At one o'clock Sunshine decided to try the hug therapy we had been talking about.

At 2 PM Sunshine decided to rest.

Meanwhile, back on the porch...

black and white mountain

photo credit Jay

I used my phone a friend option for this photo. I saw the clouds snuggled tight against the top of the mountain but didn't have my camera with me. I called Jay and he hustled out the door to take this photo. I changed the photo to black but in reality the original was very close to what you see above.

new heights

photo credit David Ingold

A Birthday Blessing for my favorite 11/11 blogger:

This year
May the shalom peace of The Father and the freshness of the Holy Spirit
rest in your thoughts,
rule in your dreams each night,
and conquer all your fears.
May Abba Father manifest Himself this year
in ways you have never experienced before.
May your creativity flourish
and overflow into unexplored territories.
May your joys be fulfilled,
your dreams be closer,
and your prayers be answered.
May faith enter a new height for you;
and your territory be enlarged.
May you know shalom peace,
health,
joy,
and true and undying love for The Father.
May YaHWeH bless you and keep you
and make his face shine upon you.
May He bless you going out and your coming in,
your lying down and your rising up,
your labor and your leisure,
your laughter and your tears.

ron in black and white

I've spent the the better part of the past three weeks helping our friends Ron and Lura as they work through health issues involving Ron's lungs. On Sunday we'll travel to Tijuana, Mexico to a clinic where they will treat Ron's condition with faith based practices and natural protocols that have a better success record than the big name treatment centers in the states.

This morning was a good morning. Ron is four days off the morphine and much stronger and more alert than he has been for many days. Up until today I couldn't bring myself to take any photos but today I pushed past my comfort and got some shots. This one was one of my favorites.

black and white november

In honor of the self-designated black and white photography month I am taking up the unattractive, dated, gold carpet from our living room to uncover the gray concrete slab beneath. Actually, I've been waiting for this moment since the first time I walked in the house. We took up the first part of the carpet in our bedroom earlier this year and replaced it with wood flooring I had purchased off Craigslist. I've found that my the hacking cough and rattle in my lungs that I couldn't seem to shake regardless of the remedies I tried disappeared after removing the bedroom carpet. That made me all the more anxious to get the carpet in the living room out the door. When Tracy, our favorite homeless friend, took up one area of carpeting today we found black dots the size of quarters that looked suspiciously like black mold. Although I may have to live with drab gray cement floors for a time I will enjoy the physical and ascetic health benefits of removing the ugly carpet.

melon for breakfast

Last week I bought a box full of very ripe cantalope melon for $2.00. Each morning I cut a melon up for the chickens but I save a slice back for Lily.

When the weather is hot she often will not eat until evening when it is cooler but now that fall has arrived she has been quick to slurp up this yummy (at least to her) treat. So quick that I almost missed this Kodak moment when I stepped in the house to grab my camera.

how to make a mountain disappear

I'm always surprised when the weather-either rain or dust storms- causes our mountain to disappear from view. It's enormous presence is the backdrop for "home" and it feels disorientating when it is suddenly gone. This afternoon the winds blew and the mountain all but disappeared in a cloud of dust.

the end....

and the beginning....

My spring garden (which didn't produce very well due to a late start) is on it's way out. One tomato plant, a couple of pepper plants and the ever-hardy zucchini are on their last root.


Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the "real" Arizona growing season is here and I've been busy planting seeds and transplanting seedlings. The temperature has been very comfortable which makes working outside very pleasant. I usually putter in the dirt for awhile each morning after I get the chickens up and started on their day. I hope to stretch my planting out and rotate new plants in as others mature. I don't think it will take long before the first bed is full so I hope to get Jay started building a second bed.



This volunteer tomato didn't want to wait for a second bed so made it's home in my compost pile.