Thinking about feet...

I've been thinking about my favorite vacation photo - the very first one, of my feet. Last year I took one just like it, and it became my favorite and my background on both my computer and my cell phone.

Searsport, Maine - August, 2010

This picture reminds me of rest and relaxation...just what feet need. It occurred to me that our feet need R&R as much as our minds do - perhaps more. When I think about all the work and abuse our feet go through in a day, a month, a year - if I was a foot, I'd have taken early retirement long ago!

This does not go without saying that my feet bother me, almost constantly. One foot has severe mid-foot arthritis from a bad sprain in a car accident 25 years ago. The other one is (finally) suffering from a sprained arch which occurred during my walking-to-high-school days...wearing heels, usually. Go figure. Time does take a toll on us!

But I love my feet. And I love to "dress them up" either by beautiful shoes, or with a pedicure. I've only had one pedicure this year, as it took me forever to get my feet looking good enough to "expose" them to anyone publicly who would have to treat them with care. After that pedicure, however, I felt new and pretty. It was a good thing!

As the pedicure begins to show its wear, and the weather gets cooler, I'm confronted with what shoes to wear. I have way too many shoes in my closet, and the ones I do wear on a regular basis do not begin to outnumber the pairs left in my closet. Kind of sad, isn't it? There's nothing worse than shoes nobody wears, if you ask me!

The other day I pulled out a pair of sandals that had not been worn in a couple of years. My hammer toe was giving me fits, so comfort was of utmost importance. As soon as I put these shoes on, I knew that I'd been missing out on something good for too long. They held my feet lovingly all day, and now I want to wear them every day.

Criss Cross 08/26/2010

There's another pair of sandals that give me good comfort, too. I know I've had them for several years, but don't remember where I purchased them...wish I did, because I'd buy them in every color! The main reason I like them is because they give me a sense of "support" while allowing room for exposure. They are great!

 Faves! July, 2010

Although they aren't sandals, there is another pair of shoes which gives me great comfort. They are actually men's shoes, which I bought at great discount late last summer. I wore them until the snow began to fly (they have holes in the sides of them). When summer and vacation rolled around this year, out they came. I think I wore them more than any other shoes this summer!

My Men's Shoes - August, 2010

"Sitting on my garden bench"

So...do you have favorite shoes? Do you hate shoes? Do you love shoes? Let's talk about feet and caring for them, and how they take us from place to place. If you were one of your feet, what would you tell yourself?

Happy end of summer. Pretty soon, I'll post pictures of my "warm" shoes...which doesn't sound like much fun right now, but maybe I'll have a new pair to show off by then!

XO

Rainy Day Randomness

It's been seven days since we pulled into the driveway last Monday, after almost two weeks away...relaxing, reading, soaking up the sun. At first, the "re-entry" was fairly easy. Then, all of a sudden, life began to happen.

On Wednesday, Warren returned to work to hear that the father of one of our parishioners had died. So, he began the process of planning a memorial service...

Our nephew, who has been suffering from Krohn's Disease, had a bad reaction to the steroid treatment he'd been administered. Lots of questions and worry about all that, especially as he's getting ready to become a Junior in high school...

Our son, who was an absolute delight and banner child on vacation, disappointed us greatly with his bad choice one afternoon when he was left alone. It wasn't life threatening, and it didn't hurt anyone. Nonetheless, it made us question our trust...

My sister was supposed to come visit for the weekend, to celebrate my birthday with me. The morning she was to drive out, she called to say she was sick and couldn't come...

Part of us was happy about that, because we can't afford to be sick right now. But to me, it would have been nice to have somebody here for my birthday. I love my birthday...

...Warren had to go to Springfield on Friday for a meeting. He called in the morning to see if we wanted to go see the Worcester Tornadoes play that night. "Sure! Great idea!" So, we went to the game (which they won in the bottom of the 8th) and saw the Friday Night Fireworks that went along with our ticket. Great show!!...


...while we were there, Warren got a text from our friends' daughter, Laynie, that she had committed to Holy Cross College (in Worcester) for Volleyball in the fall of 2011. We were so excited to hear that news! We started figuring out how we could get tickets and re-learn how to score volleyball before she got here...

...Saturday, my birthday arrived. There was a card from my brother and one from a parishioner in the mail. My mother-in-law had sent a package earlier in the week, which I was saving. Warren was doing the funeral Saturday morning, and Jonathan had decided to caddy, so I spent the morning quietly by myself. There's nothing like reading the Telegram & Gazette, drinking coffee, and eating little slices of hard salami to make a person happy! I was having a great day...

...Jonathan called for a ride home. We stopped by the Anniversary Open House at Tatnuck Pet Store on the way back. I had a free hot dog; Jonathan had some popcorn. We picked up free samples of dog food, and talked to the guy about what kind of fish Jonathan should consider to live with his shark in his tank...

...Warren was home when we got back. He and Jonathan went off "to do some monkey business." I had a 3 p.m. manicure...

...shortly after I got home with my beautifully polished nails, I received a text message from my sister, Amy: "Michael has a broken pelvis and will have surgery tomorrow." I read it to Warren and he said, "CALL HER RIGHT NOW!"...

...Michael had been broadsided at a big intersection on the west side of Denver, near where they live in Golden. Someone ran a red light and T-Boned him. Their 10-year-old son, Tony, was in the back seat (thankfully on the passenger side of the car) and seemed to be okay, but was taken by ambulence to the hospital with his dad...

...by the time Amy got a call and figured out where the accident was and arrived there, Michael and Tony had already been transported. The police asked her to stay and give them information regarding insurance, etc. She still did not know if Tony had been hurt, and did not know the extent of Michael's injuries. She was frantic, to say the least. When she left, she headed for St. Anthony Hospital - not too far away - and rushed into the ER...

..This is a brand new facility, and apparently they aren't even open for patients yet. She found out that her loved ones were at the St. A's Central, several miles to the east. As she was rushing out of the ER there, the security guard stopped her and said, "I need you to calm down. It wouldn't be good for you to be in an accident on your way to Central, would it?" Poor Amy! She didn't know what to do but get in her car and drive...

...She arrived at St. A's Central and rushed into Tony's room in the ER. When he saw her, they both started crying. (This is the part I can really relate to...and cry about...) She was so happy to see him, to see him whole and acknowledging her and wanting her to love him...

...Michael was in a nearby room. The diagnosis is a broken pelvis, which will require surgery (now scheduled for 8/24). After surgery, he will require at least 8 weeks of non-weight-bearing on his hip, which pretty much means he can't even begin rehab until at least eight weeks after his surgery is completed. It's going to be a long road...

...Warren fixed us a great meal for my birthday: Rib Eye steaks with roasted new potatoes and green beans, fresh corn on the cob, and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream for dessert! I opened my presents after dinner (just like I used to do as a kid!) and it was a happy time, spiced with worry for Amy and Michael and Tony...

...Sunday was sort of the real "back to work" day for Warren, what with having to preach and all. It's really draining, sometimes even for me. I can't explain it. Being a Rector's wife is interesting. Yes, it's interesting...

...Sunday afternoon we were all so tired! We sat around, and then Warren and Jonathan went upstairs to watch a movie. I came in towards the end, right during the really stressful part. When it was over, we were all exhausted...

...Warren fixed another awesome meal. We had downloaded "Date Night" to our NetFlix and decided to spend the evening watching that. I almost immediately fell asleep after it began! By the time it was over, I had "napped" and could not get to sleep for the life of me. So I sat up and played Hearts on my computer for a couple of hours...

...This morning, we all went out to breakfast to the Miss Worcester Diner, a.k.a. Miss Woo. What a great breakfast! I won't tell you what we had, but will say that we all got some exercise of some sort this afternoon, despite the rain...

...I got cabin fever after being inside for almost two days due to the rain, so took myself out of the house and went bumming. It was a good outing! Picked up some things we needed, and a couple of things I'll probably need sometime...

...another great meal tonight: Italian Sausage Panini with roasted cauliflower and fresh, green salad...

...then the phone rang. Our friends from Austin are in such deep distress. Their daughter has made a really bad choice in behavior, which could ruin her chances for a college future with scholarships of any kind. Warren and I are heartbroken for them...

...and exhausted from the week. Thank goodness we were refreshed when it began, otherwise we'd be unable to function. This week has made me realize how important it is for people to get away from the day-to-day and really take time to relax and not feel pressure from outside sources. We felt like that's what we did on our vacation. Thank goodness we did...

...tomorrow will be a nother day. Jonathan starts his high school orientation tomorrow; I go to work at St. Andrew's; Warren will be in the church office...

...welcome back to the madness! Here we go again...

Vacation thoughts and some sharing...

 

We left Worcester and headed for Glens Falls, NY...well, Fourth Lake, to be totally correct (you'll have an easier time finding Glens Falls on a map). We spent two nights with Julie and Steve at "High and Dry" and it was a great time. Julie and Jonathan had fun in the lake on Wednesday afternoon while Steve took a nap (on the beach...in his chair), Warren read a book, and Mary just did some serious people watching. We had two glorious lunches and dinners with them. Jonathan, Julie, and I spent lots of time on that wonderful screened-in porch they have. Skip was pretty well-behaved. Once we figured out he was troubled by the squirrel-with-the-prickly-tail statue, and we moved it, he calmed down considerably in his crate on the porch. Thursday morning we headed out to Maine.

 

The rain caught up with us as we entered New Hampshire and crossed Vermont, and it was sort of a drizzly/foggy drive. But so beautiful! We saw mountains -- bigger than we knew existed in this part of the country. It was great to drive through the towns and feel like we were in Colorado, as many of them have more winter tourist business than they have summer tourist business. So many new, wonderful sights.

 

When we finally pulled in to Searsport Shores Ocean Campground in Searsport, Maine we were engulfed in fog. Setting up camp was fast and furious, but it felt so good to be there that we just kept working until we were done. It was after 8:30 when we finally finished, then we were off to find dinner...which turned out to be "Pizza Hut Italian Bistro" in Belfast. Who knew? We all actually enjoyed our dinner and went back to camp ready for a good night's sleep. It had been a long day.

 

Friday morning greeted us with bright sunshine and a beautiful low tide. Warren and I set up our chairs, and the hammock, and began our job of "unwinding" -- which took a couple of days to actually accomplish. Jonathan was off on his bike making new friends, meeting old friends, and becoming a helper of Steve, the campground owner. Steve encouraged Jonathan to attend the clam digging demo on Saturday afternoon, and Jonathan decided to buy a 3-day license. His first day out, he dug 11 clams. His third day out, however, he was able to dig up 30 nice clams. We had a great dinner that night, and Jonathan invited Steve down and saved him the biggest clam.

 

Jonathan ended up helping Steve a lot around the campground, and Steve was so very encouraging and a very good friend. Warren and I kept a close eye on Jonathan from afar while we sat and read, napped, read, walked on the beach, and read some more. Our most extensive conversations were about what to have for dinner. I did most of the grocery runs to Tozier's but didn't mind. Warren did almost all of the cooking, and didn't mind. It was all so good. We only ate out five times in 10 days.

 

 

 

One "eat out" day was at Young's Lobster Farm in Belfast. OMG, it's always so good! We sat on their outdoor patio on the wharf and enjoyed every minute of our lobsters. Another "eat out" was in Rockland. We'd driven down their for an art festival. When we arrived, we found out it was a $12 admission, and pets weren't allowed. So we decided not to pay $12 each to walk around and spend money on festival food. Instead, we went across the street and ordered Lobster Rolls to go. They were incredible! Toasted buns loaded with lobster claw and knuckle meat, drizzled with a touch of mayo. Man, oh man - it was like heaven. My only complaint is that by the time I ate, I was so hungry I couldn't really enjoy the feast. It was the best Lobster Roll I've ever had, by far.

 

We spent one day in Belfast, just being tourists. We ate at a local diner...it was okay. After we ate, we went strolling and window shopping. Jonathan found a camouflage shirt at the Army/Navy store and was ecstatic! Warren and Jonathan dropped me off at the Co-Op so I could check it out while they drove out to the smoked salmon company (whose products Warren used to sell). I discovered a bevy of wonderful edible treasures there, and Warren and I decided he would drive back and meet me there. While I was waiting, I walked next door to a little shop...

 

...and upon entering the shop heard the screeching of wheels, silence, a scream, and lots of loud voices...in that order. I said out loud, "That did not sound good!" I walked out of the shop and over to Main Street and turned right. Just in front of the Army/Navy store, someone had "hit the gas" thinking he was in reverse and hit a stroller containing a small child. Luckily, the child was not injured. No buildings were damaged. It really shook me up to see all of this happening. The man who was driving the car had a 3-year old son in his car seat, and his son was terrified. I watched that man get his son out of the car and comfort him, all the while reeling over what he had just done. I wanted to help him, but the fire department showed up and shooed everyone away so they could do their job. The next day, I bought the Belfast newspaper and the pictures and story just horrified me. But, the best part is that nobody was seriously injured. It was almost like witnessing a miracle.

 

 

Warren took several good paddles out to the island, which is so good for him. I stayed back, walking Skip on the beach or reading or napping...all in all, I read 7 books this trip - one more than last year! One, "On Folly Beach" I loaned to our camping neighbor. She wasn't quite finished with it when they left on Sunday, and was ready to go buy one and read the end. I told her to "take it with you, finish it, and share it!" She was so happy. I'd recommend that book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Another book I read, "Charlie St. Cloud" still has me mesmerized. This is a book you must read - before you see the movie, which I intend to see very soon. It's the kind of book you have to go back and read some parts because it's so incredible. Would love to know what you think!

 

During my walks on the beach, I picked up lots of little rocks, shells, and sea glass. I had bought a cheap plastic bowl at Ocean State Job lot to keep it all in. On Saturday night, I poured it all out and made a "Sea Lover's Pizza" collage of it all. It was so much fun to show to our neighbors! Now, I'm trying to figure out how to reconstruct it and make it permanent here in Worcester. Glass? Wood? Other ideas? My last morning on the beach, there was "something big and blue" settled on a rock. I mapped my way through the kelp and finally reached this "thing" which turned out NOT to be a bag filled with $100 million dollars (as I'd led myself to believe while imagining what I was going to find), but a helium balloon from who-know-where which had become entangled around a piece of kelp and brought in by the tide. Now I understand how those plastic balloons can be so bad for small animals AND FISH. I also found "my rock" and used it to pop that balloon when I got back to the campground!

 

 

 

Monday morning was foggy, and as we began loading up it became more and more dense. We were pretty damp by the time we finally got everything locked up and connected and ready for the trip back to Worcester. Only one hour late, we stopped into the office. Steve was there, and it was hard for all of us to tell him goodbye. But we've already made our reservations for next year! That is exciting, knowing we've finally learned how to VACATE and relax.

 

We stopped in Kittery, ME at Bob's Clam Hut for fried clams/scallops on the way back. The traffic in Kittery was bumper to bumper...amazing to us, since we'd seen nothing like this since the accident in Belfast! While we sat outside eating our lunch, watching the traffic trickle by, Warren and I both agreed that it was more like Las Vegas than a small town in Maine. We were so happy we didn't have to ever spend more than about 90 minutes a year there, eating fried clams! We were in and out in a flash, and happy to head back to Worcester.

SoulCollage Blog Party - July 31, 2010

Hello friends,

I'd like to invite you to participate in this first-of-its kind event on July 31st. Here are some links to let you know more about the process of SoulCollage, something I've been involved with for nearly three years. I truly believe in this creative art form. Here are a few of my own cards.

I am the one who cares about the future of our children.
I am the one who knows that life comes out of tragedy.
I am the one who holds the future in my hands.
I am the one whose heart burns with the desire for our earth to be healed.

For some helpful insights and knowledge of SoulCollage, you can also visit http://www.kaleidosoul.com

Mary

http://bit.ly/soulcollageblogparty

Post-Vacation Thoughts/Thanks

Just under 48 hours ago, we returned from five days together in Denver...home? I'm not sure about that, but it comes close. Anyway, I just wanted to say a few things about this trip.

First of all, we left feeling as if it was going to be completely "family occupied" which isn't such a bad thing, it's just not what we really wanted to happen. God is good! Here's what actually happened.

When we realized that the family greeting of Jonathan, Adam and David from Space Camp at DIA was not going to involve a family outing for dinner and discussion of their week in Huntsville, Warren and I were thinking...hey! We have a free evening and nobody but us knows about it! I suggested we call Durlin' (one of my longest and dearest friends). Warren said, "Call!" So I did...and, thankfully, she called back a few minutes later. As it worked out, we spent the evening with Durlin' (Debbi) and Les and Les fixed us a wonderful meal and we all had a wonderful time catching up and just re-energizing our love for each other. What a gift!

Saturday was pretty much family-oriented, which was a good thing. Jonathan had good times with his cousins on my side of the family, and lots of folks showed up to celebrate Jonathan's 15th birthday. It was a long, wonderful day with family and friends.

We'd thought long and hard about where to go to church on Sunday, and finally decided on St. John C's in Golden, where our dear friend Tim Thaden is Rector. We sent Jonathan in ahead of us and, as expected, Tim did not recognize him. After an "uncomfortable" greeting (Jonathan had a mouthful of Egg McMuffin...go figure), Tim looked out the window and spied me and Warren in the parking lot. He was astounded to realize that the young man he'd just greeted was Jonathan Hicks. We had a great reunion, and enjoyed so much sharing Eucharist with Tim and his flock. Unfortunately, Kathy Thaden was busy at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival that morning, so we missed her...boo!

Off to the Heim's house -- great 4th of July celebration -- we cooked kabobs on the grill and had a really nice time with family, which included Uncle Rich who drove down from Ft. Collins to be with us. The rain put a bit of a damper on the fireworks displays, but it cooled things off enough that it just didn't matter! We had a good, long day and were so happy to get back to Julie & Steve's house in Capitol Hill and just unlax, with nobody around to be bothered by. God is good.

Monday, by some happy glitch, we were able to schedule "breakfast" with our good friends Steve and Karen into our schedule. It was as if we'd been there last week...we hugged and kissed and got that out of the way, and then we were "off to the races" with our disconnected conversations and insights and jokes. We made so much noise, their neighbors closed their windows! FUN, FUN, FUN. Thank you, God. You are so very good! What a gift, to spend those few hours with those wonderful, dear friends.

On our way back to Golden, we'd re-connected with the Thadens, who live about two miles from Amy. So we did a "drive by" their house and were able to hug Kathy and have some chips and salsa with our dear friends. Another gift, as we never expected to see anyone other than family our entire visit. God is so good!

Once we were back at Amy's, it was all about family but it was all good. Dad and Olga arrived, and the party began. Michael sang; the boys played their instruments; the boys played baseball; the boys played and played and played. We have a wonderful family, and everyone was so gracious to spend so much of their time with us.

Tuesday, we got up early and packed up and locked up Julie & Steve's house. We drove up to W. 32nd Ave. and found a restaurant open. It was about 9:00 when we arrived. I ordered chile rellenos (so did Jonathan), and Warren ordered a bowl of menudo. Yum, yum, yum, yum! Our visit was now complete with the addition of Mexican food.

On our way to meet Jerry Heim to take us to the airport, we drove by our old houses in North Denver. They all look pretty good...a little worse for the wear, but sort of the same. It was the first time I did not feel sad seeing them. I'm not sure what that means, but I think it's important to remember.

Now we're back in Worcester. I can't say that I'm "home" because I don't think I can identify where my home is right now. That's sort of a sad feeling, but exciting in the fact that there are so many possibilities! We are so looking forward to our "relaxing" vacation next month in Maine, where we park our pop-up camper and read and sleep and watch the ocean currents and eat lobster and don't have to go anywhere or do anything.

God is so very good. And so are you, if you've taken time out of your busy life to read this!

XO

It's hotter than blazes here today, but that's not why I'm here. On Blissfully Art Journaling, today's journal prompt was to "write about your dog." That idea didn't really appeal to me, so I went out on the porch to catch some of the slight breeze. At one point, I looked down at my feet and was literally shocked to see that there was dog poop all over the soles of my flip flops! It was dry, so I hadn't discovered it in the house - it had happened last night. When? I couldn't remember walking in the grass in the dark. Dumbfounded!

I took off my shoes and walked through the house to go put them on the deck to clean. When I opened the door, the deck was all wet from a "recent scrubbing and washing" by my husband. I heard him behind me, "I already cleaned it up!" Great, I thought -- glad I didn't know there was a mess, but wish I'd known when I came out here last night and didn't turn on the light! Anyway, I put my shoes in the bucket by the door -- just too hot right now to worry about them. And I looked down into that bucket and thought, "That just about sums up life sometimes: I just put my shitty shoes in the bucket until I feel like cleaning them up."

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to get my work done so I can go upstairs and turn on the window air conditioner in the TV room and just veg for the rest of the day. Maybe tomorrow I'll clean my shoes. Maybe not!

Happy Being Unhappy??

My older sister called me tonight, and she's probably regretting it! She asked me if I was excited about my upcoming trip "back home" and I pretty much let her have it...

"How can I be happy about a trip that allows me no time for myself? As it is, I'm already pissing people off about this time together, and that's only one person! I'm sick and tired of flying into Denver and speeding around trying to please people! It's impossible! I don't want to do it any more! I didn't even want to make this trip!" Etc., etc., etc.,...wherein my "sister with the most caring, loving heart in the world said, "Whoa! It's time for me to go eat dinner! I'll talk to you later in the week!""

Yup, that's how I feel. And I'm okay with it. It doesn't feel great, but it's what I am right now. And I'm learning not to care what others think of me, so if I decide I want to be unhappy about making this trip, it's my stuff. I'm sure that, once I get there, I'll be fine. Amy (baby sis) and I will have some time together and I'll spend the first night with her. The rest of the time? I have no clue...haven't been part of the planning process! I'm just sort of waiting for folks to tell me where to go and where to sleep and where to eat. Then, four days later, we'll all fly home together -- one happy family! LOL

The part that is so hard for me is that I've realized there is nowhere I can call "home" any more. I have no place that we "own" - I don't have my parent's home to stay at in Denver - I don't have anywhere in Denver that is even considered home any more. Do I miss Denver? NO! Do I miss people in Denver? YES! There is a big difference, but I no longer call Denver my home.

And part of me thinks I'd feel differently about things if we owned a home where we are. But we don't. We live in a Rectory -- on a busy street, right next door to the church -- with neighbors on our other side, really close, who trim our trees and drive me crazy....and they speak very little English. Yes, I'm lonely! And, even worse, I'm bored out of my mind. Being bored is one of the hardest things I've ever experienced in my entire 57+ years of living.

I wish I knew how to become "unbored" but I do not. Working two part-time jobs has not seemed to solve the problem, only enhance it. Going to work was my ultimate reason out of boredom. It just hasn't been successful. Should I apologize? Maybe only to myself, since it's me that needs to figure out the next step. So, "Self! I am sorry! Hopefully the next adventure will be more fulfilling, and you won't feel like you've been dropped  into a vat of boredom. My promise to you is to find something unique - something fulfilling - something FUN - for you to do...money or no money involved. You deserve to feel happy and at home. My intention is to make that happen for YOU.

There! I've said it. Keep watching!!

XO
Mary