Okay, I moved to Cottonwood AZ because it's warm. And granted, this past summer was really, really warm, kinda like hellish- days, weeks maybe, over 110 degrees. But today, it actually felt like winter here- I don't think it was above 45 degrees, with a bitter wind. I actually had to wear a coat and gloves... It reminded me of Colorado this time of year! Flagstaff has snow, lots of it, the ski resort opened this week, and it was 2 degrees yesterday morning at 8. Hard to believe it's only 50 miles away. Most of the time we get into the 60-70's during most of the winter, so this week is an arctic blast... at least for desert rats like me.
When we moved here in 1999, I had finally grown tired of winter in the Rockies. We moved to Colorado from Arizona in 1982, the same year that John Elway was drafted by the Broncos. I know that because that was the only thing on the news for 3 months after we moved there. Coloradans are crazy about their Broncos... Anyhow, we moved from Phoenix to Parachute, yes that's really a town. It was over a hundred degrees by June in Phoenix, and then all summer the Coloradans I knew were whining when the weather got 'hot', all of 85 degrees!
I laughed this week when Flagstaff cancelled school after 6 inches of snow overnight. In the 17 years we lived in Colorado, they NEVER CANCELLED SCHOOL! There were a few snow days, but no cancellations. I remember driving school bus, after a huge snowstorm, with snow still falling, pushing 4-6 inches of snow on a dirt road, but we had to keep going. They did start school later that day, but scoffed at the idea of cancelling it. I loved the snow and cold weather for years, I grew up in the mountains, it wasn't new to me, but the mountains there are so much greater than anything in Arizona. I miss the mountains, and I miss watching it snow, and the kids having snowball fights, coming in soaking wet and freezing, the winds howling down the canyon, wait, I guess I don't miss it all, but I love watching it snow! It makes it feel more like Christmas somehow.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Deck the Halls
Well, I'm in full Christmas mode. Usually I enjoy making gifts for family and friends, then thoughtfully buying gifts for family and a few friends. Then of course there's the Christmas letter, although mine often becomes a New Years letter, just can't get everything done at the same time. With the kids all grown up and moved away, I end up decorating the house and tree alone. David will bring the tree in, but doesn't care to decorate. I enjoy it, though. I still have the ornaments the kids made in grade school. That's been 15 years, about, but I love them and fix them when they break or the glue finally stops working. I figure that I'll give them to each child when they start having a big tree themselves. Right now Heather puts up a little tree, but I don't think Nic and Jared do. A few more years and they'll be ready.
This year is so different. I haven't really made any gifts, and don't feel good enough to do any baking. I like to make candy, banana and other fruit breads. No, I don't do fruitcakes. I never liked them, and figure other than doorstops they don't get used much. I may make fudge, but probably not other candies. Darn, I love that part!
Decorating- I don't know how much will happen. David will set up the tree, so I can decorate, but other than the Nativity set and stockings, who knows? Now the stockings, I made them a few years ago, nice big crocheted stockings. Then I made Grandma Farr one when she moved in with us.
As for gifts, thank goodness for the internet! I've been able to get everyone's gifts ordered, and sent to my siblings out of town. I'm trying to follow my own advice, and keep it simple, but we always spend more on the kids than we originally planned. At least we pay for everything, and while we use a credit card, we pay off the balance, so we're not paying for Christmas all year. I'm grateful we can have a nice Christmas, and we help others have a better one too.
This year is so different. I haven't really made any gifts, and don't feel good enough to do any baking. I like to make candy, banana and other fruit breads. No, I don't do fruitcakes. I never liked them, and figure other than doorstops they don't get used much. I may make fudge, but probably not other candies. Darn, I love that part!
Decorating- I don't know how much will happen. David will set up the tree, so I can decorate, but other than the Nativity set and stockings, who knows? Now the stockings, I made them a few years ago, nice big crocheted stockings. Then I made Grandma Farr one when she moved in with us.
As for gifts, thank goodness for the internet! I've been able to get everyone's gifts ordered, and sent to my siblings out of town. I'm trying to follow my own advice, and keep it simple, but we always spend more on the kids than we originally planned. At least we pay for everything, and while we use a credit card, we pay off the balance, so we're not paying for Christmas all year. I'm grateful we can have a nice Christmas, and we help others have a better one too.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
So it is Christmas
I'm watching a segment on Nightline about a man that preaches against consumerism at Christmas. He's pretty flamboyant, but I think he has a great point. We have allowed the merchants and businesses to hijack Christmas. First they took the gentle art of gift giving to an all out orgy of buying. There is a bigger diamond, a newer tech-toy, a cooler set of clothing. Then they took Christ out of the holiday. Non-christians have pressured businesses to remove any christian themes, leaving us with Santa Claus and snowmen. I was thrilled to see an ad by Sanderson farms that actually used the song 'Noel', and even had a bold "Merry Christmas" at the end. While it is still advertising, at least they aren't allowing political/social correctness to keep them from acknowledging what we all know- Christmas is about Christ, and gratitude.
I am all for including other holidays in our gratitude and acknowledgement, but let's don't leave out Christ, please. We are a Christian nation, founded on Judeo/Christian values, and I'm sick of having that removed from our public conscousness. I would never try to force my religion on another person, but I don't want religion taken out of the identity of this nation. Let's all respect one another's beliefs, and be tolerant of ideas that are different from our own. Respectful, but we shouldn't abandon our heritage out of pressure.
My hope for each of us, as we plunge into the Christmas season, is that we will each take time every day to express gratitude for our blessings. I hope and pray that each of us can remember why we celebrate this season, and not let the media blitz and advertising frenzy take away from our peace and joy. LET'S TAKE THIS HOLIDAY BACK! We do not have to be all things to all people, and there are other ways to express our love and gratitude than just with money or lavish gifts. Now, if I can only follow my own advice...
I am all for including other holidays in our gratitude and acknowledgement, but let's don't leave out Christ, please. We are a Christian nation, founded on Judeo/Christian values, and I'm sick of having that removed from our public conscousness. I would never try to force my religion on another person, but I don't want religion taken out of the identity of this nation. Let's all respect one another's beliefs, and be tolerant of ideas that are different from our own. Respectful, but we shouldn't abandon our heritage out of pressure.
My hope for each of us, as we plunge into the Christmas season, is that we will each take time every day to express gratitude for our blessings. I hope and pray that each of us can remember why we celebrate this season, and not let the media blitz and advertising frenzy take away from our peace and joy. LET'S TAKE THIS HOLIDAY BACK! We do not have to be all things to all people, and there are other ways to express our love and gratitude than just with money or lavish gifts. Now, if I can only follow my own advice...
Sunday, December 2, 2007
So You Think You're Tough
Yeah, I think I'm tough, heck, I had 2 heart surgeries this past summer, and could crack jokes right out of surgery. I drug tubes around for days after each one, feeling the pain every time I moved. I think I'm 10 foot tall and bullet-proof sometimes.
And then, I talked to my Uncle Gerald. He's 79 years old, a rancher. Works every day, no big deal. He calls to check up on me, and eventually tells me about his week. He was working cows with a couple 'kids', when a cow runs over him. He struggled to get up, had the guys get a knee brace out of his truck. His words- "I tried to use the brace, but my leg kept floppin' around, so I had the guys put a make-shift splint on it. Then we went back to work, spent hours working cows, finally finished and I went on to feed the 200 calves by the house."
After his daughter saw his leg, she made him go to the doctor the next day. No big deal, just a broken ankle and leg! The Urgent Care doctor sent him to a specialist about his knee. Well, he told him that the knee was shredded, there was no way to do surgery on it. After the Dr. heard the story, he told the office-"This guy is 79, has the body of a 50 year old, but acts like he's 30!
Quick question, wonder what it would have looked like if he'd quit working cows to go to the doctor? Wait, not gonna happen, he's a cowboy!
And then, I talked to my Uncle Gerald. He's 79 years old, a rancher. Works every day, no big deal. He calls to check up on me, and eventually tells me about his week. He was working cows with a couple 'kids', when a cow runs over him. He struggled to get up, had the guys get a knee brace out of his truck. His words- "I tried to use the brace, but my leg kept floppin' around, so I had the guys put a make-shift splint on it. Then we went back to work, spent hours working cows, finally finished and I went on to feed the 200 calves by the house."
After his daughter saw his leg, she made him go to the doctor the next day. No big deal, just a broken ankle and leg! The Urgent Care doctor sent him to a specialist about his knee. Well, he told him that the knee was shredded, there was no way to do surgery on it. After the Dr. heard the story, he told the office-"This guy is 79, has the body of a 50 year old, but acts like he's 30!
Quick question, wonder what it would have looked like if he'd quit working cows to go to the doctor? Wait, not gonna happen, he's a cowboy!
Friday, November 30, 2007
It's Raining!
Wow! Someone sure did a great rain dance, all of Arizona is getting rain! I've been under a food haze since Thanksgiving, I think, and the last week has just sped by. I can't think of anything else that's happened, except I've been anxiously watching the news and Weather channel, hoping that this storm wouldn't pass us by the way so many have. We haven't really had rain since mid-August. There were a couple sprinkles, but they only spattered the dust around on the car. Today is awesome- I could smell the rain in the air as I was barely coming to consciousness this morning. My mind was drifting out of sleep as my nose whiffed a... sort of freshness as the furnace kicked on. As the scent pushed its way into my brain, I realized it was rain! Then my senses took in the joy of moisture in the atmosphere, it took little time to perk up.
It is still raining, or misting, for the past 14 hours. It's such a thrill for we desert rats to have rain, moisture, whatever wet comes our way. When we lived in Colorado, there were clouds and real weather on a regular basis. The standard saying was "if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes." It was absolutely true- I've seen it snow in the morning, change to sleet or hail, rain and clear up to beautiful skies in a matter of hours. But here, in the desert southwest, rain is a precious thing. Growing up on a ranch in Yavapai county, the standard phrase was -We can use a little more rain. Even if it had just poured!
Now that brings me to a story. We lived in Copper Basin, and Copper Creek was our neighbor. Most of the time, it was a sleepy little trickle meandering down the wash. Sometimes it wasn't even above the sand, you'd have to dig down into the sand to find water. But, let it rain a while and life changed. During the monsoons, many times we'd drive home, only to find the wash flooded completely- 40-50 feet wide. We would be stuck on the wrong side of the creek, waiting for the water to drop enough to get across. Once the water went down, we still had to deal with the drop-off it had created. The water would cut the sand down a foot or more, sometimes up to three feet. The road would just drop into the creekbed. If we were in the truck, not too troubling, but Mom drove a van, and trying to get it up the other side of the cut was pretty tough.
The first time David came out to the ranch with me, it had been raining, and Mom came trudging up the road on foot. She couldn't get the van up from the crick, and had to walk to the house for help. It was at least a mile walk, in the dark. David had an old '69 Chevy short-bed sidestep 6 cylinder. (He told me that, I didn't remember!) We drove her down to the crick, strapped on a chain between the truck and the van, and darned if he didn't pull her out of that hole! My dad didn't think it was tough enough, but we did it. Earlier that day, my brother Hap got stuck on the wrong side of the creek when it flooded- he was horseback. We went to see if we could find him, and help him, but the water was too wide and deep, so he rode to the neighbor's house to stay until it dropped enough to get back across. Gee, and they wonder why I didn't come home very often from college!
It is still raining, or misting, for the past 14 hours. It's such a thrill for we desert rats to have rain, moisture, whatever wet comes our way. When we lived in Colorado, there were clouds and real weather on a regular basis. The standard saying was "if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes." It was absolutely true- I've seen it snow in the morning, change to sleet or hail, rain and clear up to beautiful skies in a matter of hours. But here, in the desert southwest, rain is a precious thing. Growing up on a ranch in Yavapai county, the standard phrase was -We can use a little more rain. Even if it had just poured!
Now that brings me to a story. We lived in Copper Basin, and Copper Creek was our neighbor. Most of the time, it was a sleepy little trickle meandering down the wash. Sometimes it wasn't even above the sand, you'd have to dig down into the sand to find water. But, let it rain a while and life changed. During the monsoons, many times we'd drive home, only to find the wash flooded completely- 40-50 feet wide. We would be stuck on the wrong side of the creek, waiting for the water to drop enough to get across. Once the water went down, we still had to deal with the drop-off it had created. The water would cut the sand down a foot or more, sometimes up to three feet. The road would just drop into the creekbed. If we were in the truck, not too troubling, but Mom drove a van, and trying to get it up the other side of the cut was pretty tough.
The first time David came out to the ranch with me, it had been raining, and Mom came trudging up the road on foot. She couldn't get the van up from the crick, and had to walk to the house for help. It was at least a mile walk, in the dark. David had an old '69 Chevy short-bed sidestep 6 cylinder. (He told me that, I didn't remember!) We drove her down to the crick, strapped on a chain between the truck and the van, and darned if he didn't pull her out of that hole! My dad didn't think it was tough enough, but we did it. Earlier that day, my brother Hap got stuck on the wrong side of the creek when it flooded- he was horseback. We went to see if we could find him, and help him, but the water was too wide and deep, so he rode to the neighbor's house to stay until it dropped enough to get back across. Gee, and they wonder why I didn't come home very often from college!
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