A Big Birthday

/

I am celebrating a decadal birthday this year but haven’t made time to consider how I want to celebrate the event (my family has been asking). The default has become a series of whims….

  • Thoroughly enjoying some big candy canes (couldn’t find the peppermint barber poles that I bought every year until the past decade or so…the candy canes were close enough…rediscovering that I like peppermint candy better than chocolate!).

  • Going out for brunch during one of my breaks from elder care. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the café had a special birthday pancakes meal. That was what I ordered, of course. Afterwards I walked around the pond at Josey Ranch photographing birds. The weather was sunny and cool. It was a perfect break from my focus on elder care.

  • My daughter is coming down from Missouri for the actual day. I’ve sent another list of stuff to bring from home. She will bring a gourmet cherry pie – which I will enjoy and so will my parents (a good rationale for pie over cake).

My husband had proposed a total tech refresh – new phone and laptop – but I turned that down at the time. Now I am rethinking that decision…but while I am away from home is no time to make tech changes and work through the transitions. The ‘big gifts’ will have to wait.

Drive Thru Holiday Lights (Vicariously)

/

My husband and daughter drove through two light displays recently and sent me pictures --- another chance for me to enjoy the Springfield, MO area’s holiday decorations vicariously.

Candy Cane Lane at Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park can be experienced as a regular light display or with special glasses that make points of light into candy canes! My daughter is bringing the glasses she purchased when she comes to visit before Christmas; it will be fun to see how they work with the lights on the wreath and reindeer in my parents’ house.

Ozark’s Festival of Lights at Finley River Park is becoming a family tradition. We drove through it last year too. Kudos to Ozark for continuing the display.

Holiday Decorations

/

This December is going to be a unique one for me…away from home….focused on other priorities…somewhat stressed by the situation. I am savoring the decorations two of my sisters arranged at my parents’ house:

The wreath on the door…

The reindeer and poinsettias on the mantle…

The big wreath on the wall…

These are all decorations that have been used in previous years…associated with pleasant memories of past Decembers, prompting us to prepare for celebrating an anniversary, a birthday, and Christmas that are all part of our family celebrations in December. The month has always be an emotional high…and this year there is the overlay of realizing that it is probably the last one for my parents in this house.

Ten Little Celebrations – November 2023

/

November has been a more emotional month that usual…there are some little celebrations on my list for the month that seem normal….but others that reflect the rapid changes occurring with one of my parents.

90+ birthday. Both of my parents are approaching their mid-90s and my family tries to celebrate each birthday (realizing that it could be the last). The one that happened in November was celebrated over 3 days to avoid exhausting them both. I got to be there for all three days since I stay in their home when I am in Carrollton.

Birds at the feeder (after we unclogged them). I unclogged bird feeders at both Carrollton and my home in Missouri…celebrated when the birds quickly discovered that the seed was available again.

A cool sunny day. I had grass and leaves to mow…celebrated the sunny afternoon that was not too cold for the activity. It was one of the most enjoyable mowing experiences of the season!

Twigs burned/millet planted. I had other yard work to accomplish as part of fall clean up in my yard and there was an excellent day to get it done. I burned the accumulated twigs (savoring the heat produced) and put the millet seed heads in strategic places so that (maybe) plants will grow next summer. My husband helped me store all the tools that had been out under the deck for quick access during the summer. We both celebrated the completion of our preparations for winter.

A good nap today. I drove from Missouri to Carrollton the day after my parent entered the hospital and immediately went to the hospital to stay with them overnight. My sister arrived the next morning to spend the next 24 hours helping the parent in the hospitals and I managed to drive to my parents’ house….and celebrated another sister being there to fix lunch so that I could nap. I went completely to sleep…got a full 90 minute sleep cycle in 100 minutes….celebrated feeling so much better afterward.

Bluebird at Josey Ranch. Seeing the bluebird at Josey Ranch was a boost to my mental outlook. I celebrated that I was savvy enough to know that nature often does that for me…and to stop at Josey Ranch on my way from the hospital to my parents’ house.

A parent coming home from the hospital. The sunrise I noticed at the hospital was a good start on the day my parent was projected to come home from the hospital. I celebrated the beauty at the beginning of the day…glad that the homecoming occurred later in the day.

The home health nurse coming for a 1st visit. I celebrated that we got a visit from the home health nurse on the Friday after Thanksgiving (i.e. we didn’t have to wait for the week after Thanksgiving)!

The time I have with my parents now….being in the present. I celebrate the time I am having with both parents now. Appreciating joys in every day shared with them.

Thanksgiving. The holiday was very different this year. I spent it with my parents and having various family bring special foods throughout the weekend rather than one huge meal. Gratitude is integrated with all my other emotions right now…and I celebrate that it is. It makes everything else easier.

Happy Thanksgiving!

/

I had big plans for Thanksgiving at my home in Missouri – sharing a meal with my daughter and son-in-law. The planned menu was: pumpkin soup, balsamic vinaigrette baked chicken, sauteed green beans with sesame seeds, spicy cornbread (with cheese and whole kernel corn), apple cranberry crisp. With everyone contributing some part of the feast (but all cooked in my kitchen).

But the plan was overtaken by the reality of a parent in a Texas hospital and them coming home just in time for the holiday. The change has only made my thanksgiving more profound this year; I am thankful that my parent survived a near death event more than a decade ago – there are so many wonderful shared memories of those years! And we’ll savor whatever new memories we can make this Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to us all.

12 years of Blog Anniversary

/

This blog started in November 2011…just after I made the decision to retire. 12 years have certainly been full of new adventures…a satisfying mix of days that were challenging and full of activity … also plenty to savor and enjoy. The blog helped me document much of what happened.

Last year I documented the changes within the blog over the first 11 years so I won’t repeat that. The main change over the past year has been my more regular visits to Carrollton, TX that resulted in a monthly visits to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (near Sherman TX), observations in my parents’ yard, and the birds at a park in Carrollton….and subsequent blog posts. There were also 1st visits to many places close to where we moved in Missouri that became fodder for blog posts as well.

I am anticipating that the 13th year of the blog will document our return to attending birding festivals and include more posts about elder care…documenting the journey my sisters and I have with our parents.

Previous anniversary posts: 11th anniversary, 10th anniversary

Ten Little Celebrations – October 2023

/

Continuing deeper into fall…celebrating the seasonal changes!

Fall days – sunny and cool. A great time of year to get outdoors…perfect temperatures and blasts of color.

American White Pelicans. Seen in two places: Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (Texas) and Sequoyah State Park (Oklahoma). It’s migration time. These are big birds that are fun to watch on the water and in the air. I always celebrate seeing them.

Apple Crisp. One of my favorite ways to use the fall apple harvest. It’s a little splurge on my diet…but well worth it.

First chili of the season. Another seasonal favorite.

Getting registered for an early winter birding festival. We signed in on the first day of registration and found that one of the sessions we wanted was already full; we picked an alternative and celebrated our itinerary when the registration process was complete. We are anticipating a wonderful week in December!

Butterflies and milkweed at Lake Springfield boathouse. Migrating monarchs and pipevine butterflies on thistles….milkweed seeds spilling out of pods…some favorite fall sightings.

Successful cleanup of my daughter’s fall yard (part 1). This is the second year I have offered to help my daughter do some fall yard cleanup. Our first work session was in October this year. I celebrated how much we got done in just few hours….we work well together! I am anticipating a second session in November.

Virginia creeper turned red. I let the Virginia Creeper grow in my front flower bed…spill over the low rock wall….and am celebrating that it has now turned red! Hurray for native plant fall colors!

Miniature pumpkin harvest. I was pleasantly surprised that my miniature pumpkin vines produced lots of pumpkins. As I harvested them, I celebrated the season…and the natural decorations for my breakfast table.

Company and fall cleaning. I had company twice during October and am celebrating their visits AND that the visits acted as an incentive to get my house cleaner and picked up going into the coming holiday season.

Ten Little Celebrations – September 2023

/

Welcoming cooler temperatures…the beginning of fall. Lots to celebrate!

Shaw Nature Reserve. A first visit…a short hike. Celebrating the place and an early fall day with my daughter.

Pawpaw. Celebrating a new fruit…and its native to North America. I planted the seeds; maybe they’ll come up next spring/summer and I’ll have pawpaws from my yard in 5-7 years.

Wood Duck in an Egret picture. I was taking a picture of an egret catching a fish but celebrated the wood duck in the background when I looked at the image on a big monitor!

Pineapple Whip. Celebrating a birthday with a unique-to-Springfield MO treat!

New addition for my travel computer. Celebrating a new mouse, mini-keyboard, and portable monitor to travel with my laptop. It will make packing easier and using my laptop more comfortable for my week in Texas every month.

Yellow/orange Watermelon. Cutting the watermelon, we got from our CSA revealed something different than the usual red! I celebrated a great watermelon and the memory of the yellow watermelon that my paternal grandparents grew (along with red ones) during my childhood.

Green Heron at the Neighborhood Pond. Surprise! The bird was hiding in plain sight, but I didn’t see it until it flew…and celebrated that I was able to photograph it in the place where it landed. Green herons are one of my favorite birds to watch because they can change their shape (extending or contracting their neck) so quickly.

Beautyberry. Buying a beautyberry for my yard had been on my list for a bit….I celebrated that I found one at the Shaw Nature Reserve’s Wildflower Festival.

Vaccinations. My husband and I celebrated that we could easily schedule getting both the updated flu and COVID-19 vaccinations…increasing our confidence of staying well as we travel more this fall.

5 Native Plants. I celebrated when I got the 5 new native plants in the ground…and they seem to be doing well in my yard.

Ten Little Celebrations – August 2023

/

Hot summer…plenty to celebrate indoors and out!

Kohlrabi. I rediscovered how much I like kohlrabi after a big one came with my first CSA delivery (more on that later). A quarter was a serving in stir fries and salads. Celebrating another great veggie!

High protein brownies. Wow! 15 grams of protein in a good tasting brownie…worth celebrating. I’ll use this recipe again and again.

Neon cardstock and new pens. My version of celebrating the start of the school year (fall) - new Zentangle supplies!

Rainy days. The rains that came broke the high heat…I celebrated and enjoyed an indoors day. It was great to be able to turn off the sprinkler system for about a week!

Brooklyn Duo.  Celebrated finding Brooklyn Duo on YouTube – music that enhances every day!

Dickerson Park Zoo. Enjoyed our first walk around before the heat of the day got overwhelming…celebrated that it is local to us!

Indigo Bunting. Indigo buntings successfully nested in a bird box near Lake Springfield Boathouse. Celebrating seeing a parent arrive with a caterpillar for the nestlings!

OSU Botanical Garden. A morning walkabout in a botanical garden. Celebrating and appreciating it after attending a funeral the previous day.

Finishing mowing the whole yard. The morning was cool enough that I managed to mow the whole yard rather than splitting it into a 2-morning effort. I celebrated when it was done!

Hummingbird moth. Finding a snowberry clearwing (hummingbird moth) on my pumpkin vine was a pleasant surprise…celebrating the jewel-like insect almost hidden in the green leaves.

Ten Little Celebrations – July 2023

/

Celebrating is often linked with appreciation. When I notice that I am celebrating something – I almost always notice that I appreciate that it happened or how beautiful it is…or just that it is a brilliant positive in my day.   Noticing little things to celebrate/appreciate every day is a habit that builds mental resilience!

Miniature pumpkins on the vine. I planted the seeds back in May, not confident that they would be more than vines. They started to bloom – and I enjoyed the flowers. I am celebrating the recognizable little pumpkins now.

A new low weight of the year. Slowly but surely…I am getting to the ‘normal’ weight for my height. Every time I reach a new low for the year, I celebrate!

Ozark (Missouri) farmers market. I was overwhelmed by the crowd at the farmers market in Springfield and underwhelmed by the sparse number of vendors in Nixa. I celebrated that the Ozark farmers market was the Goldilocks (i.e. ‘just right’).

2 ‘hens and chicks’ planted. I finally planted something new in the front flower bed; it wasn’t a simple task since it required moving rock and cutting away landscaping fabric underneath. I celebrated the completed project…and am enjoying the anticipation of ‘chicks’ appearing before fall.

Getting the lawn mowed. Avoiding high temperatures…rain..heavy due. I celebrated that the night was dry, the light dew in the morning, and the temperatures still in the 70s when I did the mowing.

Intensity minutes while gardening. This summer I have increased my ‘intensity minutes’ rather than simply sustaining my low sedentary time. Mowing generally results in ‘intensity minutes’…but I celebrated when some of my general gardening did too!

Lake Springfield meadow. There is something different to celebrate every time I go. In July the uptick in dragonflies and butterflies was the high-point.

Sprinklers all working. We noticed that one zone of our sprinkler system was not working when the grass started turning brown…so we celebrated when it was fixed (and also that we got rain too) and the grass started its recovery.

Rounding of 3 corners in our yard. I had an idea to round the corners of our yard to make mowing easier (curves rather than right angles) and celebrated that the actions I took for 3 corners (planting some and putting down landscaping cloth to kill grass so that I can plant something) is working!

Test at doctors office shows all OK. Its always worth celebrating when a test comes back with the desired result….of course, with some measure of relief too.

Ten Little Celebrations – June 2023

/

Every day brings multiple little celebrations…I choose one to log for the day and then select 10 each month to savor in this post.

One year anniversary for our Missoure home. June 2022 is when we moved to Missouri. We’ve settled into the house and I’ve confirmed that my favorite room in the house is my office…just as it was in the Maryland house. The house itself and being closer to family have confirmed again and again that we made a good decision to move when did! So we are celebrating the anniversary.

Dishwasher and sprinkler system working. Of course, every house needs maintenance…in June both our dishwasher and sprinkler system had problems (dishwasher leaked water and the sprinkler system developed a broken head/pipe after the grinding of the pine stump). Fortunately, both were easily fixed (rather than an expensive replacement) and we celebrated that they are functioning again.

Internet/TV/phones working. Shortly after I got to my parents’ home in Carrollton, their internet and TV and phones failed. We had a painful 4 days….celebrated when the tech finally came and replaced their outside box (it was at least 18 years old!).

Scissor-tail at Josey Ranch. Celebrated when I saw a scissor-tailed flycatcher while I was out of my car with camera in hand!

Ducklings at Josey Ranch. Celebrated seeing newly hatched ducklings with a mom trying to protect them from turtles!

Seeing beautyberry flowering. I had previously only noticed beautyberry plants after they had their purple berries. This June I celebrated knowing where the plants grew so I could see the flowers.

Trimming all the dead parts out of crape myrtle and rose buses. It was a daunting task because it seemed like there was so much to trim. It got a little better when I discovered that my gauntlet gloves worked (not thorn pricks from the roses) and that the dead twigs/branches would burn easily. I celebrated when the task was completed…felt like I had accomplished a lot in getting my yard looking better for the summer.

Buying a fragrant sumac (native plant sale). I celebrated my first native plant addition to my landscaping…there will be more through the years.

Homemade marinade with balsamic vinegar. Celebrating trying a new recipe and realizing that I will never need to buy bottle mariade again!

Road trip to St. Louis. Celebrating another road trip with my daughter! Blog posts coming up re our adventure.

Ten Little Celebrations – May 2023

/

I picked my 10 little celebrations for May…then grouped them in to 3 categories: playing tourist (5), emotional experience (3) and getting outdoors (2). There was a lot to celebrate in May!

ArtsFest in Springfield. An interesting event and great weather too. We went with my daughter and son-in-law. I had heard about it in previous years from my daughter but it was my first time to experience it. It was a way to celebrate great spring weather and the artists of the area.

Springfield Botanical Gardens/Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden. Another way to celebrate springtime…savor the flowers…the new growth everywhere.

Fantastic Caverns. The easiest way to tour a cave…riding on a tram. I celebrated that this one had visible fossils in the ceiling that were visible too.

Springfield Art Museum. I celebrated the pottery/ceramics which is the focus of one of the exhibits now. Somehow art that has the potential to be something functional always appeals to me.  

World of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium. Celebrating the improvements in presentation of taxidermied specimens (meticulous attention to the depiction of the ecosystem around the animal)….and best aquarium in this part of the country!

Mother’s Day. A hearty breakfast then a hike alongside a meadow with my daughter…celebrating the relationship (and motherhood).


A sister’s successful surgery. Health of ourselves and people we have close relationships is always somewhat emotion. It’s great to be able to celebrate a procedure that was successful.

In-range blood work results. I celebrated some recent blood work that indicated that everything being checked was in the normal range. As we get older, we tend to be more aware that there could be some challenges ahead…and it is reassuring when the results indicate everything is still fine.

Coopers hawk over the Pocket Prairie. It’s always startling to see a raptor in a suburban area. I heard the racket of other birds before I saw the hawk swoop over the pocket prairie at Josey Ranch and into the neighborhood across the street. I celebrated that these small hawks evidently have thrived in that environment.

Rhododendron Flowering. I missed the rhododendron blooming last year…was thrilled when the flowers opened. It was a big part of the celebration of spring in our back yard!

Ten Little Celebrations – April 2023

/

Glorious spring…cool mornings and very pleasant afternoons…flowers…travel. So much to celebrate.

Springfield Botanical Garden and Mizumoto Japanese Stroll Garden. Visiting gardens is one of my favorite spring activities! There is so much to see and celebrate as the gardens come back from winter…blooms abound.

Finding a lost ring in a gardening glove.  I celebrated finding a ring I thought I had lost in the tip of a gardening glove finger. It must have some off with the glove and then pushed to the tip when I put on the glove the next time. It was lost for over a month before I finally realized there was something in the end of glove finger!

Ducklings on the neighborhood pond. Another sign of spring – baby birds. The ducklings were all staying close to their parent…still tiny enough to be vulnerable to turtle predation.

Getting to Pensacola FL. We took our first multi-day vacation since before the pandemic. The drive to Pensacola took us longer than we anticipated but we made it. More posts about our adventures in the week ahead. We both celebrated when we got to the hotel after 13 hours on the road.

Indigo buntings. A small flock of indigo buntings was enjoying the grass/weed area near some buildings in Gulf Islands National Seashore….more than I had ever seen at one time! Celebrated noticing the small birds with vibrant coloring.

Home again. It always feels good to come home again after being away. It happened twice in April: once when I can back from Texas and the again when I returned from Florida. Celebrating being at home.

Mowing the yard. I celebrated that the new yard and new mower are going to be a positive learning experience during the growing season – the yard looks great and the work is helping me build up my stamina, get some ‘intensity minutes’ into my routine.

Forsythia with composting mulch. The idea to pull some none flowering weeds as mulch under the forsythia where there was bare soil has worked beautifully. I celebrated finding a place in the yard to put cut/pulled vegetation rather than taking it to the recycling facility.

Great day to put out mulch around trees in the front yard. After mowing the front yard the first time, I realized the trees needed mulch under them to make mowing eaiser. I celebrated that we had great weather on the day we bought the mulch and were able to complete mulching the trees in the front yard…and celebrated again every subsequent mowing.

Great day to put out mulch around trees in the front yard. After mowing the front yard the first time, I realized the trees needed mulch under them to make mowing eaiser. I celebrated that we had great weather on the day we bought the mulch and were able to complete mulching the trees in the front yard…and celebrated again every subsequent mowing.

Planting bulbs around the red maples. I realized that the mulch around the trees made it easier to plant bulbs too. I planted some summer blooming flowers – lilies and butterfly weed and gladiolas. I celebrated that it was so easy to do…and will be celebrating again when the plants bloom this summer.

Ten Little Celebrations – March 2023

/

March has been a bit different than I expected…a lot more very cold starts to the days which have made it harder for the spring bulbs I planted last fall. Still – there was plenty to celebrate.

Clean car. The dust (and maybe salt) is rinsed off the car. I celebrated the days of driving a clean car…until I drove around the gravel road that is the wildlife loop at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge! The door and hatch seals keep the dust from getting into the car but the spaces before the seals are covered and the car wash does not reach it!

Banana bread (that included the peels). I will never make banana bread without the peels again. Yes – organic bananas are a bit more expensive…but the bread is so good….well worth it.

Plans for our back yard. So many ideas…and enough time to make them happen! The evidence of the work I did last fall (planting bulbs) is giving me confidence that I can do more. Maybe I’ll even become a gardener.

Frosty forsythia. The cold mornings were problematic for some of early blooming flowers, bushes, and trees. I celebrated that I captured the beauty of frost on the forsythia flowers.

Pumpkin soup. I was surprised that I had more than 4 cans of pumpkin in my pantry….not sure how it happened. I opted to make soup with one of them. Tastey…colorful…a celebration with winter fare on a cold March day.

Staying standard time for sleep. I like for the sun to be coming up when I go down to my office and didn’t like the beginning of daylight savings time because it was suddenly dark again at that time….so this year I opted to not change my sleep schedule from standard time. I celebrate the light every morning with my first cup of tea.

Walking around the neighborhood ponds 2 days in a row. It seems like the month has had a lot of cold or wet days, so I celebrated when there were 2 warmer sunny days to make pleasant walks around our neighborhood ponds.

Two mockingbirds. This time of year, I look for pairs of birds around where I live. This year, I celebrated two mockingbirds close to my house. I hope they nest somewhere nearby. Last year we had a blue jay nest in one of our front yard red maples and barn swallows nested under our deck. There must be nests of mourning doves and finches nesting nearby too because we have so many of them.

New low weight for the year. Celebrating another month of taking off some weight. This needs to continue for as long as it takes to reach my goal (and then some to sustain it)!

Birdsong in the morning. The birds chorus in the morning and I celebrate the start of the day with them. I try to identify the birds I am hearing…a lot of robins usually but others join too.

Ten Little Celebrations – February 2023

/

A lot to celebrate this second month of 2023….here are my top 10 little celebrations:

A new low weight for the year. This happened several mornings of the month….and I celebrated each time since it was an indicator that my careful work to maximize nutritional value of more limited calorie intake was working.

Barbecue lunch at homecoming. My husband suggested that he get barbecue take out to have when I arrived home from my road trip from Carrollton. It is always a celebration to return home but the barbecue made it more festive.

Finding black bean chips. I have assumed that I wouldn’t be able to find my husband’s favorite chips (because they don’t cause blood sugar issues) when we moved to Missouri…so I celebrated when I found them again….a different brand but they taste the same. We are both enjoying them as our chip-or-choice.

Finding snack sized edamame pod packages. These have become my favorite high protein snack. I’ve enjoyed them before…but celebrated when I found them in smaller packages.

Spaghetti sauce soup. It’s a great way to use leftovers…or have a quick meal. I use a jar of spaghetti sauce, frozen sausage (cubed) or leftover baked chicken (any meat that is already cooked and seasoned) and lots of veggies. So easy…and so good. Worth celebrating.

Frost pictures (columns and ferns). I always celebrate frost days…particularly if the crystals are a type I haven’t photographed before!

Ice and algae on our neighborhood ponds. Winter field trips on 2 days not far from my own back yard! I celebrated getting outdoors for a short walk…not having to get in the car. My favorite sight were the neuron type shapes in the ice/snow of the pond.

Table Rock Lake. Celebrating a little field trip close to where we live in Missouri.

Birds at Josey Ranch. There always seem to be birds around at Josey Ranch…and this year I am visiting every month when I am Carrollton…celebrating the changes with the seasons.

Elm Fork Nature Preserve. A new-to-me natural area near Carrollton, TX. I celebrated the birds and forest there. I’ll be posted about the experience later this week.

Ten Little Celebrations – January 2023

/

January is usually the calm after the flurry of holidays and other big celebrations in November and December. Still - there are plenty of little celebrations to choose from; these are the top 10 for January 2023.

50th wedding anniversary. My husband and I celebrated our 50th anniversary….a delivered lunch with our daughter. Our anniversary celebrations have always been relatively low key; this year I thought more about my parents’ 70th anniversary back in December…savoring enduring relationships with my family.

A new low weight for the year. I put on some weight in November and December. I put myself on a “healthy food” diet (logging my food into the Cronometer app) and celebrated that it worked…slowly but surely taking off pounds!

Lake Springfield. A winter meadow…and black vultures. Celebrating being outdoors in winter.

Another frost data point. I celebrated getting a second frosty morning to add to my project…noting temperature and humidit and photographing the crystals.

Hurray – bone density results still in the ‘normal’ range. Every time I get new bone density check, I am always a little anxious. I am leery of medications to treat bone density issues so I’m glad my preventative exercise - calcium – magnesium – Vitamin D regime seems to be maintaining my bones.

A sunny day in Carrollton (and seeing a downy woodpecker). After clouds and rain, a sunny day is always welcome and seeing a small woodpecker getting breakfast in a tree near a window adds to the celebration.

Coursera anatomy course. Starting a new course…celebrating filling in gaps in what I already know. Its always fun to slip back into the student role.

Pumpkin custard with peanut powder. I celebrated the success of my culinary experiment of the month: adding a cup of peanut powder to pumpkin custard (and rounding up on the spices). Yummy…and high in protein.

Snow (pictures) from Nixa/Springfield. I celebrated the event while I was in Texas.

Frosty morning in Carrollton. I added 2 frost events into my project while I was in Texas…celebrated that the conditions were cold enough…humidity high enough too.

A 50th Anniversary

/

I posted about my parents’ 70th anniversary back in December; now I am celebrating my own 50th wedding anniversary with my husband. The anniversary prompts me to think about those 50 years of shared life from different perspectives.

Our external focus shifted through the years:

  • For the first 10 years, we were completing our education – a PhD for him, a masters for me. I was working full time during those years…not thinking about computer science as a career for the first 5 years but gradually realizing that I liked the work too much to switch fields. From the beginning he seemed to have a clearer idea of what he wanted to do. We were the first in both our families to go beyond an undergraduate degree.

  • We moved to the east coast for my husband’s work; it was a great career move for me too. We were both focused on our careers for about 5 years.

  • Then we decided to have a child and took the precautions needed for a successful pregnancy in our mid-30s. We thought we were prepared when our daughter was born but quickly realized that there was a learning curve that was just beginning. Between the two of us we successfully juggled parenting and careers…until she went off to college 20 years later.

  • There were 5 years of career focus with occasional bursts of activity to help my daughter move out of the dorm into an apartment, get to an internship, or move for graduate school. The internship and graduate school were more than halfway across the US!

  • 10 years ago - I retired and my husband started a ramp down from his career that continued for several years.

We’ve lived in several states over the 50 years: Texas for 10, Virginia for 3, Maryland for 36.5, Missouri for .5 years. The two long haul moves (from Texas to Virginia and from Maryland to Missouri) were quite different. We had a lot more household items to move the second time, the technology of finding a new house/selling our old one had improved dramatically, and we were able to buy our current house rather than get a mortgage.

Our shared interests have evolved over the years.

  • Photography. My husband was the one that enjoyed photography from the beginning….doing his own black/white and color developing (and printing too). I remember in our first house when one of the developing chemicals was not diluted enough when he poured it down the kitchen sink and it dissolved the disposal flaps! We have a lot of negatives and slides from those pre-digital years. The transition to digital happened about the time our daughter was old enough to start taking pictures. My interest in photography picked up a little when my daughter was born but ramped up dramatically once I retired.

  • Travel. From the very beginning we’ve both enjoyed day trips and vacations to outdoor destinations: gardens, state parks, and national parks. In the beginning, we economized by car/tent camping and not eating out. By the time we moved to Virginia we could afford flying, staying in hotels, and eating out although the road trip still dominated our vacations. When my daughter was born, we shifted our accommodations to ones that had a small kitchen to accommodate her food requirements/preferences. Some of our travel was associated with either my career or my husband’s…so that part of the travel was paid for as part of our work. After she got older and as we travelled more on our own, we enjoyed short term house rentals. For a few years before the COVID-19 pandemic, my husband and I used birding festivals as a focus for our travels.

  • Astronomy. My husband was interested in astronomy before I knew him. One of our early dates included a lunar eclipse at the local astronomy club’s observatory. In the early years of our marriage, we participated in grazing occultations (stars and the mountains of the moon); my role was to help him get the telescope set up as quickly as possible in the assigned location so he could take the measurements. Later I used the cast iron telescope mount to add weight in the back of my rear-wheel drive car – to give it more traction on snowy days in Virginia. His astronomy activity ebbed although he did replace his telescope; we (daughter included) observed the sunrise in 2000…our celebration of the new millennium. Once he retired, he became active the local astronomy club in Maryland and we both camped on the field for a star party at a dark sky site in Virginia several times; he liked the dark sky (and being able to call it a night whenever he got tired) and I enjoyed being outdoors, hiking during the day.

A lot has happened in 50 years and we’re both realizing how fortunate we are that the big decision we made all those years ago was a good one for both of us!

Memorable Events of 2022

/

2022 has been a year with more memorable events than most years.

My health. For most of the year, from the surgery at the beginning of the year until early fall, my health seemed to be sputtering; it was the longest period of my life to be uncertain that my health was good to excellent. Fortunately, it seems that I have recovered and am back to feeling as healthy as in recent years. Every other time I was concerned about my health was much shorter in duration: the month before and after pregnancy in 1989 and the month after a surgery in 2006.

Pets and family. 3 kittens…oh my! They are getting a little older now but still quite capable of causing havoc. The last time we had a kitten around was in 1985. The first baby in over 20 years has arrived in my extended family…and he adds a whole new dynamic to family gatherings. The milestone 70th anniversary of my parents adds to the list of memorable events in this category.

Home and Travel. Moving from Maryland to Missouri was a big undertaking and we’ll probably look back years from now, seeing it as a pivot point in our lives just as the move from Texas to the east coast In 1983 turned out to be. On a smaller scale, the week in London, Ontario was memorable for time spent in another country (the longest since my trip to Mexico City in 1966 when I was in elementary school) and the amount of time I was on my own in a new place.

Changes in the world. Queen Elizabeth II’s death is on my list this year because she was queen for my whole life…a constant in the world that I consciously knew would not last but that I will miss. The other change is one that reversed something that was constant for my entire adult life and increased my confidence that I would receive the care I needed when my husband and I decided to have a child (which we did successfully and without complications); when Roe v Wade was overturned, I became anxious that younger women will not have access to the same level of care that I did.

I am hoping that 2023 will be a little less memorable!

Zooming– December 2022

/

Kittens – holiday lights – plants in winter – a great blue heron….pictures made possible by the Zooming capabilities of my three cameras: phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e), small point and shoot (Cannon PowerShot SX730 HS), and bridge (Canon PowerShot SX70 HS). The one I have with me all the time is the phone; the point and shoot fits in a coat pocket so it is easy to take along, the bridge camera I need for the optics (i.e. the greatest optical zoom of my cameras). Enjoy the December zoomed images!