The Next Great Adventure

Tonight an incredible person went home. I had the privilege of working for him for the past 13 1/2 years. He was intelligent, compassionate, far thinking, and always in for a good joke. He loved God, his family, his neighbors, his employees.

He was always looking at how things might impact other people, looking for ways to make things better. It was a joke around the workplace that when we weren't sure what to do, we'd ask ourselves WWJD (the J was for his name--and it was not to be disrespectful of the other J that letter stands for). Coincidentally, before the heart attack that took his life, my deputy and I had just asked ourselves that very question this afternoon, and we made the choice to follow the spirit of the law rather than the letter--and serve the community ... just as he would have done.

This man took a chance and placed me in a management position, when I'd had very little experience in it. I hope I never disappointed his confidence in me.

My heart goes out to his family at this time of loss. I know he's in a good place (what Dumbledore called the next great adventure), but I feel for their loss. I know what it's like to come home to an empty house ... empty even when there are other people around. The husband who's not there anymore to talk to, plan with, joke with, love. The father who's not at your high school graduation. The grandfather you don't know except in pictures.

Most of all I think we'll miss his presence. His position was a very influential one, and he was always looking ahead, searching for ways to make things better for the employees he managed and for the community he served.

Jim, I'll be sure to make arrangements to have one of your rooms on the other side completely wrapped in foil as you inspired my immediate coworkers to do when I returned from my 25th wedding anniversary cruise. Who knows what you'll have in store for your family, when they finally join you!


Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away to the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other,
That, we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way
which you always used.
Put no difference into your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed
at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me. Pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word
that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effect.
Without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same that it ever was.
There is absolute unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind
because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you.
For an interval.
Somewhere. Very near.
Just around the corner.

All is well.

~~Henry Scott Holland

Book Academy & The Big Read

I'm starting to get excited about attending the Book Academy this Thursday at UVU. I printed out the presenter biographies, and they have a nice variety of people there in the form of authors, publishers, book sellers, and even agents, I think. Brandon Mull (Fablehaven series) is the keynote speaker. It's nice to know that in my relatively low populated state there is such a thriving publication industry.

Last week I attended a presentation at my local library by one of my favorite authors--Brandon Sanderson to launch the library's The Big Read program. Sanderson's a New York Times best seller in his own right, but he's also finishing the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan at the request of Jordan's widow (he died of cancer four years ago). When this was announced I decided I would like to read some of Brandon's work to see how I liked it. Love it! I'm in the process of reading his most recent work The Way of Kings and look forward to the next to last book in WoT which is coming out in November--Towers of Midnight.

New Deathly Hallows Part 1 Trailer

All I can say is SQUEEEEEE!

November 2nd can't come soon enough!

Click here to view new trailer.

Aging with Style

A strange incident happened on Friday night. My hubby and I had been at a church function (talent show) and were returning the building key to the responsible party. No one was home at the time, so hubby was getting back into the car. A neighbor of the key custodian was walking down the middle of the street.

This old man was obviously intoxicated and asked us if we had any cigarettes. Neither of us smoke, so we weren't able to help him. I was driving, and the old man was on my side of the car. When hubby got out to offer him $5, the old man exclaimed that hubby was older than he was. (Sorry, but this guy was much older than my man--I'm not biased either). The old man couldn't figure out how my hubby was with a much younger woman (I'm not--only 5 years difference, but I'm fighting my advancing gray ...er years, while hubby embraces his).

The man began to tell us about his sad life. He's alone now because his woman took him for everything he was worth--but it was fun while it lasted. He told my husband how lucky he was to have me (obviously he doesn't know me). He actually got choked up when he said it. It was sweet, and I felt bad for him.

However, on a funny note, as we were driving home afterward, my dear, sweet man said to me that the only reason people think I'm attractive is because he's so old.

Ummm .... you can tell I married a real charmer! =D

(It's really okay because he puts his foot in his mouth regularly. We're both good at that.)

Mini Me at the Office

I'm in charge of the committee at church that plans activities, and last year we did a talent show. A dear friend, Arlene, and I did Mini Me in the Morning. She was in front and I was hidden. Her arms provided the feet, and my arms were her arms. I managed to almost feed her bread and jam for breakfast (a lot got all over her face) and to put lipstick on her.

Well, tonight we held out second annual event. Arlene insisted that it was only fair that we do another skit--this time in reverse. We called it Mini Me at the Office also known as Arlene's Revenge. Here is the video.



Adam participated and played a song of his own composition. He recorded the various parts and then accompanied the song on his guitar. He's amazing.

Romance Movies

I've been on a kick lately of wanting to watch romance movies. I'm all for a good adventure/ action story, so my hubby has no problem getting me to those films. For some reason I just haven't been able to get my fill of the romance genre. I've watched all the favorites I own ... While You Were Sleeping, Overboard (one of my favorites), Runaway Bride, The Princess Bride, Notting Hill (love this one too), BBC/A&E Pride & Prejudice (Colin Firth will always be the ultimate Mr. Darcy), Sense & Sensibility, You've Got Mail, Ever After (love!), Ghost, Sleepless in Seattle, Sabrina, The Holiday, When in Rome, and even Baby Boom to name a few.

Finally I went to my coworkers and asked for some suggestions for films I haven't seen. Some of the suggested films are Leap Year, My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding (no, I haven't seen it), Raising Helen and the two listed below.

The first one I watched (thanks Bobbie) was Maid in Manhattan. It was a cute little film. I'd never seen it and didn't even realize Ralph Fiennes was the love interest. It's a dang good thing Voldemort doesn't have a nose (and tends to remind me a lot of Uncle Fester from the Addams Family) otherwise I'd have had a hard time buying him as romantic.

Another suggestion was for 50 First Dates. Too bad I don't enjoy Adam Sandler's humor. It just falls flat for me. I'm still pretty early in the movie, but I'm not sure I want to watch anymore.
ETA: I put it on again while I was getting dressed, and it got better. I just wish Sandler wasn't such a mixed bag for me. He can be quite endearing and then other times I want to smack him silly.

However, I was also loaned How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I loved Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in Fools Gold, so I'm hopeful about this one.

What I'm waiting to come out on DVD is Letters to Juliet, which I loved. For me the most compelling story wasn't that of Sophie and Charlie (cute as they both are) but his grandmother Claire's search for her Lorenzo. Of course I'm old now and can relate to them much better (even though I'm not as old as they are).

I was particularly drawn to the real life romance of the actors Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero. She played the role of Guinevere, and he was Lancelot in the the film Camelot. They became involved in real life and had a son together, though they split up not long after his birth. They always stayed in touch though and about five years ago they married.

Grandson and His Cousin

This made me smile.

Davey and his cousin.

Thriller

Oooo ... I'm so excited! I just got tickets for myself, my daughter-in-law Kelsey, her mother and sister to go see Odyssey Dance perform Thriller. It'll be a girls night out.

Now if Erin didn't live so far away ...

Chop Chop

*dances a jig*

Woot! This weekend I forced myself to stay on task and complete a major edit of WiP#1. I decided to expand parts 1 and 3, which meant I had to really cut back part 2 to keep it under 100,000 words. I managed to cut about 8,000 words, which really gives me some good flexibility.

Now I can move on to part 3 which has been on my mind anyway. =D

Stress Relief

Sometimes things just build up, and they have to come out. It seems like I went through an episode like this a few months ago. If I wasn't menopausal I'd think it was hormonal.

I feel very much at times that I'm stuck on a treadmill that I can never get off yet is taking me nowhere. Then when I think about the feelings, they make me seem selfish and whiny.

I was feeling particularly sorry for myself today. My hubby has health conditions that limit his activity level and energy. I accept that and sympathize and support him in enduring for the last twenty years. But sometimes it just seems like that's an excuse for not doing what he doesn't want to do. I can even deal with that until it starts to get in the way, until I feel claustrophobic in my own home, unable to live as I'm living but unable to change it.

That's how I was feeling this afternoon after a little disagreement at home (see, if I say something is bothering me, then I'm not supportive and don't say nice things). This makes me feel emotionally manipulated. Yet there are time when I'm not feeling supportive and don't always say nice things (and keep in mind that he's ultra sensitive, so simply stating a fact can be not saying nice things). I can't help but question my feelings and wonder if I'm just having a bad day and being unfair.

What kills me is not being able to say how I feel, not having the chance to make it better. I've learned after over 25 years, it's a wasted effort. So I just have to swallow my feelings or find relief somewhere else.

I'm frustrated because I feel like my life is ebbing away. I'll be 56 this month, and there's so much I want to be able to do before I physically can't do it anymore. Things like biking down Provo Canyon or hiking up to Stewart Falls at Sundance. Ed's not up to that. He also only wants to do things with me. So if he can't do an activity, but I can't do it alone, it means I can't do it or offend him by going by myself.

These frustrations led me up Provo Canyon this afternoon with all my windows open, the sunroof cranked back, and my stereo blasting. The fall colors are coming on. The fall is my favorite season, and every year that I can I like to go up to Sundance to take the ski lift up to view the fall colors. It's a little early for that yet. It'll be incredible in 2-3 weeks, and if the weather permits it's one event that Ed can come with me on.

I was going to go to the library, but I drove to Sundance instead, parked the car, and took my laptop and started walking.


As always I'm struck by the beauty of Mt. Timpanogos. I love the "front" side, but the "back" grabs me as well with its never-melting glacier (you can make it out on the left).





I love the sound of running water from the stream and the smell of the pine trees.





I found myself a shady spot under an aspen tree on the edge of the pond, pulled out my laptop, and continued editing WiP#1. And I felt the beauty around me provide me with the stress relief I so desperately needed.


I wasn't ready to go back home yet, so I'm at the library. I didn't realize they had WiFi, so I'm posting here and then I'll get back to my WiP.

ETA--See, as I was having my pity party on this anniversary of September 11th, I read a link Donna H. posted. I have to share.

Everything's relative.

Meg Cabot on the 9th anniversary of 9/11.

Day of Caring

Several people from our office participated in United Way's Day of Caring this morning. We worked at a home that had belonged to an elderly person who was not able to maintain it. It's a cute little house on a fairly large lot that's probably large enough to be subdivided.

A large portion of the lot must have once been a garden (I could see what must have once been gardening rows). It was full of fruit trees (that needed trimming) and raspberry bushes (that tried to kill us). It could really be a lovely play area if it was tilled and planted with grass. Great place for children to run and play. Mature trees give it lots of shade

Besides a large number of city employees who came to help there were people from several local businesses. It was amazing how much work all these willing hand were able to get done in such a short period of time.

Kudos to all those people who came out today and helped.

(The picture above is not from our group. If I can get hold of one I will post it.)

Messing Around

Okay, I'm going to take Donna's suggestion to heart and start out by messing around with the title to my blog. Don't get too confused by the ever changing titles. I guess it'll be like shopping for clothing. I'll try one on to see how it fits and if(when) I don't like it, I'll change it back.

They'll be lame, I guarantee it.

Titles

I attended a blog party this weekend (I'd never heard of these before, but what a fun idea--and what I would expect from Donna Hosie anyway, clever girl she is--plus being the hostess with the mostest). Something struck me as I was checking out all these interesting literary (mostly) blogs.

Titles.

As I spent quite a bit of Saturday working through a major rewrite of my WiP#1, it was particularly on my mind. You see, for the life of me, I cannot think of a title for it. WiP#2 had a title at conception, but not #1. My situation reminds me of the parents who cannot agree on a name for a new baby and call the child "Baby" for six months. I can't figure out the appropriate name for my baby (which I've been calling My Story for nine months--I know, even my holding name is pathetic).

With that on my mind I happened to open my blog this afternoon and saw my stunningly clever blog title (or not). Perhaps my problem goes deeper than the tale. Perhaps it's what we called when I was in the Army "Operator Headspace." (We didn't use it to refer to pilot error but rather the lack of brain in the headspace.)

I really should rename this blog. I wonder if I should call it "Baby."

*sigh*

Bad Day

On a lighter note ...

There I was sitting at the bar staring at my drink when a large, trouble-making biker steps up next to me, grabs my drink and gulps it down in one swig.

"Well, whatcha gonna do about it?" he says, menacingly, as I burst into tears.

"Come on, man," the biker says, "I didn't think you'd CRY. I can’t stand to see a man crying."

"This is the worst day of my life," I say. "I'm a complete failure. I was late to a meeting and my boss fired me. When I went to the parking lot, I found my car had been stolen & I don't have any insurance. I left my wallet in the cab I took home. I found my old lady in bed with the gardener and then my dog bit me. So I came to this bar to work up the courage to put an end to it all, I buy a drink, I drop a capsule in and sit here watching the poison dissolve; then you show up and drink the whole thing! But enough about me. How's your day going?"

Cells

I found out something very interesting today when I went for my (kinda) two week after lasik visit. Seems that when they cut that flap that cells can sometimes get up underneath it. Sometimes it's no big deal because the cells are off to the side and just sit there. No problem because they're not in the way of your vision.

However, sometimes the cells are closer to the middle of the cornea... and they start to grow. What this means is they have to lift the flap again and remove the cells before they can cause problems with your vision.

Anybody want to guess which scenario is mine? I won't know until the surgeon examines my eye tomorrow if I'll have to have them removed, but the Ophthalmologist is concerned that my right eye's vision isn't better (it's not bad, but not what they'd like to see at this point). The vision in my left (reading) eye is fabulous.

So they might be lifting my flap again tomorrow afternoon.

Joy.