Packing

Packing and preparation for a trip is as much of a project as the trip itself, I think.  At least, for me, it has come in stages.  First I would think about what I want to pack and what we might need.  Then I would make lists of what to pack.  Then I would make piles of what to pack in the suitcase.  This has been going on for weeks.

Then, of course, everything we need won't fit in suitcases, so there are other assorted kinds of bags.

There is a computer bag, a snack bag, a trip bag (maps, etc.), a bathroom bag, a shoe bag, a hanging clothes bag, a tennis bag. (and that's just for me)
These are much smaller, of course.

Gerry won't think or worry about it very much.  He said he will just pack for seven days.  Then we'll do laundry.

Gerry's bag

Of course, I know that the moment will come when he will want or need something, and lo and behold, I'll have it in one of my bags!  (especially sweet snacks!)


I can only hope that all these bags will fit in the car, which doesn't ever really have a trunk, just a hatch-back area.

Of course, then there is the problem of which bags you want to lug into the hotel room every night.

Technically, this is a vacation.   But its really the opposite!  Our lives are a vacation;  this is work!

Granddaughter Graduates

Zandrea, better known as Zanni has now graduated from Newfield High School.  She will be attending Tompkins Cortland Community College in the fall, and hopes to eventually study Nutritional Sciences.

Her mother, my daughter, has been a single parent for most of Zanni's life, and I want to say to her, good job, honey!  Well done! You have been a determined, dedicated,  faithful and devoted mother, even though that was most challenging.

I hope that the next stage of life for both my daughter and my grand-daughter will bring happiness and success and peace.

You both bring me so much joy.  I love you!

Finally In Bloom

This climatis has taken at least four years to grow enough to put out a blossom.  This is a red letter day for this plant!  (or maybe a purple climbing day)

Every year the new baby leaves would get eaten by the woodchucks and I would be crushed with disappointment.

This year I decided that I was no longer going to fight with the woodchuck, and for whatever reason....... the plant has grown, thrived and blossomed. (doesn't eastern wisdom say that acceptance is the way to peace?)

When I went looking, I could not find the deep purple flower that I wanted, but these too are lovely.

Thank you, climatis for putting forth your blooms.  It means so much to me!

Now I am at peace!

Manna

When I woke up, I noticed out the bedroom window some white fluffy stuff on the grass.  My first thought was lint from the dryer hose,  but out that window is a different side of the house from the hose location.  It looked like a lawn mower had chopped up some tissue.   I went out to investigate.  It was moist like some kind of dew, so I figured that was what it was.  I thought it more or less melted in my hand.

Gerry came home from getting the oil changed.  I asked him if he had noticed it.  He had not, so he went out to check on it.  I told him I thought it was manna for my birthday!

He touched it, picked it up, and said,  "It doesn't exactly melt, it is fibrous!  Must come from a tree."

"See, manna with fiber!"

When he left to go to his work, I went out again and walked around the house.  There was manna on all four sides of the house,  both in the shade and in the sunshine, at 10:00 a.m.---a little late for dew, and 70 degrees.   And that is some tree that can deposit on all four sides of the house!

We don't believe in the supernatural in today's world.  We believe in science.  I'm sure there must be some scientific explanation.  But since I do not know what that is,  I chose to believe that I have received manna on my birthday, as a reminder of all my abundant blessings.

Even so, I'm not brave enough to eat it!